BENGALURU: Cryptocurrency firm Bullish and Far Peak Acquisition Corp said on Thursday (Dec 22) they had called off their US$9 billion (RM39.8 billion) merger, making it the latest blank-cheque deal to fall through as the industry comes under increasing regulatory scrutiny.
The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which raised US$550 million in its initial public offering and is led by former NYSE president Thomas Farley, will also wind down by March 7.
“Our quest to become a public company is taking longer than expected, but we respect the SEC’s ongoing work to lay new digital asset frameworks and clarify industry-specific disclosure and accounting complexities,“” Bullish CEO Brendan Blumer said.
One of the hallmarks of pandemic-era dealmaking, SPACs have since fallen out of favour amid a regulatory crackdown and a sudden rise in interest rates that has rattled the equity market.
Backed by billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel, Bullish is a unit of the blockchain software company Block.one. The deal would have fetched it nearly US$600 million in proceeds. – Reuters
