Huobi Founder Is Selling Shares For $3 Billion

Huobi exchange founder Leon Li is in talks with a group of investors to sell most of his shares at a possible valuation of up to $3 billion.

According to information from Bloomberg, Chinese crypto magnate Leon Li has held discussions with a large group of financial institutions in the industry to find a way to sell most of his shares in Huobi (about 60%).

A Huobi spokesperson also confirmed that Mr. Leon Li is engaged with several international organizations about the share sale but declined to provide specific details.

“He hopes that the new shareholders will be more powerful and resourceful, and that they will value the Huobi brand and invest more capital and energy to drive the growth of Huobi.”

Current supporters of Mr. Leon Li’s decision include investment fund ZhenFund and Sequoia China – the fund that holds the second largest number of shares in Huobi after Leon Li. The deal can be completed as early as the end of August 2022. The Huobi founder is looking for a valuation between $2 billion and $3 billion, meaning the deal could raise more than $1.5 billion.

In addition, the source also said that Tron founder Justin Sun and FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried were among those who contacted Huobi about this transfer. But in a tweet, Sun denied any involvement:

As CoinCu report a month ago also hinted at Li’s intentions to sell his shares. At the time, many joked that Sam Bankman-Fried was likely to strike a deal with the chief executive because FTX was “shopping around” during the bear market.

Huobi Group is one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide. However, it has faced some seemingly severe problems over the past few years, including a crypto crackdown in China, which has affected the company’s revenue.

The company has been trying to strengthen its global presence in the previous months by getting regulatory approvals in different countries. Two weeks ago, Australia’s financial watchdogs also gave the green light.

Like many other exchanges, Houbi had to lay off some employees due to the crypto winter’s impact and investors’ departure. In June, the company laid off at least 30% of its employees.

DISCLAIMER: The Information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

Join CoinCu Telegram to keep track of news: https://t.me/coincunews

Follow CoinCu Youtube Channel | Follow CoinCu Facebook page

Harold

CoinCu News