South Korea’s Bithumb exchange is up for sale from $430 million

For the second time, Bithumb exchange is reportedly looking for a new buyer to take over its operations. The development was disclosed on Tuesday by a Korean news outlet, Herald Corporation. The decision to sell the cryptocurrency exchange could stem from the long-standing management disputes, which the report said, has been holding Bithumb back.

Bithumb exchange is open for sale from $430M to $604M

While citing the investment banking (IB) industry, the Herald Corporation reported the exchange sale is being promoted by the Bithumb Holdings, which holds a significant stake (about 74 percent) in Bithumb exchange in Korea. Reportedly, the exchange is open for sale from about $430 million (500 billion won) to $604 million (700 billion won). An accounting company, Samjong KPMG, has been placed in charge of the exchange’s sale.

Already, foreign financial investors (FIs) and domestic private equity funds have shown interest to buy Bithumb exchange. However, these investors might undergo complicated processes to complete the acquisition because of the uncertainties hovering around the exchange. While hinting on the reason why Bithumb exchange has been put on sale, one of the officials at IB industry said:

The industry sees the sale of Bithumb Holdings as an exit (return of investment) for founders. As management rights disputes and legal disputes continue, we are speculating that investors are trying to recover their investments and get out of their hands through the sale.

Bithumb goes on sale for the second time

The report held that Bithumb management has been in shambles with shareholders for years amid the governance structure. The management issues were referred to as the major hindrance for Bithumb exchange. Meanwhile, the digital currency exchange has been named as one of the largest in the country. It sees around 4.77 million users.

The first attempt to sell the cryptocurrency exchange was announced last two years. During the time, Bithumb Holdings offered to sell the exchange at $345 million (400 billion won) to BK Global Consortium. However, the deal was not successful, given that Kim Byung-gun, the chairman of BK Global Consortium couldn’t complete the whole acquisition amount.