Crypto Exchange Bullish Terminates $9B SPAC Deal
- Bullish has decided to terminate the $9 billion merger deal with Thomas Farley-led Far Peak Acquisition Corp.
- The exchange, which is audited by the biggest of the Big Four, Deloitte, and backed by tech investor Peter Thiel.
- Bullish confirmed that it has no exposure to the now-collapsed crypto exchange FTX or related entities.
- CEO Brendan Blumer revealed that the exchange’s pursuit to become a public company is taking longer than anticipated.
Gibraltar-based crypto exchange Bullish has decided to terminate the $9 billion merger deal with Thomas Farley-led Far Peak Acquisition Corp. As per the official statement, the two companies have mutually decided to call off their proposed business merger.
Bullish, which is audited by the biggest of the Big Four, Deloitte, and backed by tech investor Peter Thiel, has recently assured that it has no exposure to the now-collapsed crypto exchange FTX or related entities.
Notably, in July 2021, the exchange had planned to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Far Peak Acquisition. The merger proposal has since gone through a number of revisions, but the SEC is still not satisfied. The most recent amendment permitted the two entities to end their merger agreement on December 31 if it was not completed before then. However, in light of Friday’s statement, that deadline now seems meaningless.
Bullish Chairman and CEO Brendan Blumer commented on the canceled SPAC merger by stating that the exchange’s pursuit to become a public company is taking longer than anticipated. However, he stressed the importance of regulators’ work to create a relevant framework for the digital asset industry. Blumer further added:
“I’m proud of the dedicated team of Bullish employees and advisors who have devoted countless hours to ensure Bullish operates with the highest standards of transparency and responsibility. This work has formed the operating foundation required to service our customers in the best and safest possible way.”
SPACs are basically publicly traded shell companies created to take private firms public. In recent years, they have evolved as a favored option for cryptocurrency companies aiming to bypass a conventional initial public offering.
Several well-known companies, such as Cipher Mining, Bakkt, and Core Scientific, have merger agreements with SPACs, however, just five out of 14 acquisitions have been successful for the last four years. Numerous proposed mergers between Web3 companies and SPACs have been postponed or abandoned due to the ongoing crypto winter.
In August this year, a crypto mining company named Prime Blockchain mutually ended a $1.25 billion merger agreement with Blank-check vehicle 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp II. Moreover, renowned peer-to-peer payments technology company Circle recently called off its merger deal with SPAC partner Concord Acquisition.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
