• FTX settles $600M Robinhood shares dispute with Emergent for $14M.

  • The agreement accelerates FTX’s creditor repayments and bankruptcy resolution.

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has reached a settlement with Emergent Fidelity Technologies, a firm co-founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, over more than $600 million worth of Robinhood shares. The deal, disclosed in a motion by FTX CEO John Ray III on September 6 in a Delaware Bankruptcy Court, involves FTX paying $14 million to cover administrative costs for Emergent’s withdrawal of its claim to the disputed Robinhood shares.

The agreement comes as FTX aims to maximize value for creditors while minimizing litigation costs. Emergent had acquired 56 million Robinhood shares, valued at $600 million. It is through an agreement involving Bankman-Fried and Alameda Research in May 2022. However, following its collapse in November 2022, ownership of the shares was contested by multiple parties, including FTX, BlockFi, Bankman-Fried, and Emergent. The shares were eventually seized by the U.S. Department of Justice in January 2023 and were repurchased by Robinhood on September 1 for $606 million.

Snippet from FTX’s Global Settlement Agreement motion

Moreover, FTX stated that the settlement with Emergent is crucial in advancing its reorganization efforts. And expediting the return of funds to its creditors. Additionally, the deal clears the way for Emergent to resolve its bankruptcy proceedings in Antigua. In support of the agreement, Ray emphasized that the settlement was the product of “good faith, arm’s length negotiations” and free of collusion.’

Further Details

The dispute over the Robinhood shares is part of the broader fallout from FTX’s collapse. It led to multiple lawsuits and claims. In a separate development a month earlier, a U.S. court ordered it to pay $12.7 billion in restitution to its customers. It was after the exchange was accused of misappropriating deposits for risky investments. A hearing on the Emergent settlement is scheduled for October 22.

The resolution with Emergent marks a step for it as it seeks to streamline its bankruptcy proceedings and focus on repaying its crypto creditors.

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