Galaxy Digital to acquire crypto custodian and services provider BitGo

Galaxy Digital, a crypto and blockchain-focused financial services and investment manager founded by Mike Novogratz, is set to acquire institutional crypto custodian service and wallet operator BitGo.

According to an announcement on Wednesday, Galaxy Digital Holdings will pay $1.2 billon in stock and cash to settle the deal. Under the acquisition’s terms, BitGo shareholders will get 33.8 million in newly issued shares of Galaxy Digital, in addition to $265 million in cash.

To fund the cash part of the acquisition payment, Galaxy will use its balance sheet and defer a large part of the sum to be settled up to 12 months after the deal’s closure. It is currently expected to close by the end of the fourth quarter of this year. At the deal’s closure, Galaxy will issue incremental shares to BitGo’s shareholders in exchange for net digital assets.

BitGo’s shareholders will jointly own 10% of the pro forma new company, and Galaxy expects to retain the majority of current BitGo employees and management team. 

BitGo presently has over $40 billion in assets under custody and provides services to over 150 exchanges, in addition to over 400 institutional clients. Each month, the company processes over 30 billion transactions and provides custody services for over 400 different digital assets.

 In a statement, a Galaxy Digital representative said that the company believes the acquisition will “position Galaxy Digital as a leading global full-service platform for institutions seeking access to the crypto economy, offering an unparalleled breadth of industry-leading products and services at scale.”

As reported, Galaxy Digital recently submitted a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund application to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which, if approved, would trade on the NYSE Arca exchange.