FTX Europe Resolved to Resume Sales as Legal Team Works to Reopen Exchanges
According to its debtors, a Swiss court has granted permission for FTX to investigate the sale of its troubled European arm on the global exchange. Meanwhile, its bankruptcy attorneys claim the exchange could reopen in 2024. FTX attorney Andy Dietderich, a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, claimed during Wednesday’s hearing in Delaware that the exchange has recovered $7.3 billion in assets and may now consider refinancing. restart .
The exchange’s parent company, FTX, has a US branch known as FTX.US, but the $7.3 billion amount applies to the exchange as a whole. Dietderich said during a hearing on Wednesday that the exchange may reopen next year, depending on funding. The assets seized have so far been frozen pending court approval of FTX’s creditor settlement scheme, which may take some time.
According to Dietderich during the trial, the reopening of FTX trading doors could be part of the proposal. The trial process was covered in full by Reuters. According to bankruptcy court records, FTX’s legal staff had laid out a framework for restarting the exchange. The now-closed February legal fees, published this week as part of its compensation report filing, show the debtor paid nearly $30 million to six different law firms in a month.
In February, Sullivan & Cromwell received $13.5 million from FTX for various assignments, including researching “long-term options” for exchanges. Dieterish’s billing items and comments are consistent with earlier statements from the exchange, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. In January, FTX’s new CEO, John Ray, stated that the exchange would reopen at some point.
The hearing on Wednesday came after a Swiss court granted FTX Europe AG permission to investigate the sale of the exchange’s European subsidiary. According to Swiss law, the moratorium allows exchanges to consider alternatives for the future of the business, including potential sales.
In the US stock exchange bankruptcy proceedings, FTX Europe AG is still listed as a debtor. While granting the moratorium, a Swiss court acknowledged the fact, implying that the corporation would be required to follow a creditor’s payback plan if approved.
