Are creditors expected to be paid in full?
Following the previously announced investment of up to $4 billion from Amazon, artificial intelligence startup Anthropic has completed another financing deal. The Information quoted people familiar with the matter as reporting that Anthropic has received $2 billion in new funding from other investors. According to media reports, Google, which has acquired about 10% of the company's shares in 2022, may participate in a new round of investment. The deal could raise its valuation to $20-30 billion.
Lawyer Cai Kunzhou of Shangcheng Law Firm told foreign media The Block that given that SBF led Anthropic’s Series B financing in 2022 with an investment amount of US$580 million, this is a “good sign” for FTX’s creditors. Anthropic’s latest funding and the potential increase in the company’s valuation could result in a “100%” recovery rate for FTX’s creditors. Lawyer Cai Kunzhou said:
"It is currently uncertain when the FTX bankruptcy reorganization team will be able to sell their shares in Anthropic. Unless there are special circumstances (such as over-the-counter transactions), they may need to wait until Anthropic goes public."
On the other hand, the FTX creditor organization (FTX 2.0 Coalition) published an article on The conclusion is that "FTX creditors may be fully compensated."
Anthropic to raise from Google at 20-30B valuation, putting FTX's stake at 3-4.5B.FTX customers now stand to be made whole. pic.twitter.com/Vy9mZc8bEl
— FTX 2.0 Coalition (@AFTXcreditor) October 3, 2023
However, lawyer Cai Kunzhou emphasized that there are still variables. Considering that SBF is facing multiple lawsuits from multiple entities, creditors, former FTX employees and government agencies, who should get priority in Anthropic's shares will become another point of dispute in the lawsuit. . Lawyer Cai Kunzhou said:
“If SBF invested in Anthropic in his own name rather than through FTX, those who sue him individually may claim priority for compensation.”
There's no harm in taking it conservatively
Thomas Braziel, a partner at 117 Partners and 507 Capital, said Anthropic’s financing move is good news for creditors:
"If you have $10 billion in debt, simple math, and that's $3 billion, that means you can recover 30 cents of a dollar of debt. I mean, that's a huge number. It's really huge. .
However, Thomas Braziel also reminded that this is just a purely book number. There is currently no market and no liquidity, and the high valuation does not necessarily mean that it will still have such a high value when it is realized.
"Coinbase and some other companies, like Kraken, raised money at crazy valuations. But now you can buy shares from the secondary market for a tenth of the price."
Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran also held a more pessimistic view, commenting on X:
“FTX clients are about to learn a profound lesson in the market value assessment of equity interests in “paper companies.” "
However, the FTX creditor organization also proposed an interesting idea. If FTX 2.0 can really be restarted, FTX can tokenize Anthropic’s equity, distribute it to creditors, and open the market for user transactions.
FTX debt market value rises to 36%
As FTX's bankruptcy proceedings progressed, the value of FTX's claims increased over time. According to data from Claims Market, a subsidiary of Cherokee Acquisition, the market value of FTX claims has risen from an initial 10% to 36%, with the latest data updated to September 29.
This article: AI startup Anthropic has received another capital injection from Google and other investors. Is FTX creditors expected to pay full compensation? First appeared in Zombit.
