According to various reports, investors are interested in buying Coindesk, a cryptocurrency news publication. On Jan. 18, Wang Feng, founder of China-based news publication Marsbit, announced his intentions to buy Coindesk along with other members of the crypto industry. This news follows a report from Semafor in late November 2022 stating that Coindesk had received takeover requests from various investors.
Alleged Coindesk sale price: $200M or more, as Charles Hoskinson and Marsbit express interest in purchase
Investors are reportedly considering buying cryptocurrency news publication Coindesk after a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), Genesis Global Capital, filed for bankruptcy. Coindesk is an independent news and conference company wholly owned by DCG.
According to Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of Ethereum and founder of Cardano, sources familiar with the matter have indicated that the sale price of the Coindesk news outlet is around $200 million. Hoskinson has expressed interest in purchasing Coindesk, as noted in a Youtube video titled “Buy Coindesk”.
Hoskinson’s $200 million listing is lower than the estimate given to Semafor in late November 2022 when sources informed the news publication that investors were interested in buying Coindesk. At the time, Semafor’s Bradley Saacks and Liz Hoffman reported that there was a “suggested purchase price of $300 million.” The report added that people familiar with the matter claimed that the $300 million estimate was “considered too low.”
Semafor’s Bradley Saacks said Coindesk generates most of its revenue from events like Consensus conferences and advertising. Saacks notes that the “income bracket of both is rapidly shrinking.” In addition to Charles Hoskinson, Wang Feng, founder of the China-based news publication Marsbit, has also Announced intention to buy the publication. Marsbit is a news publication backed by Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume.
Wang announced on Jan. 18, 2023, that Marsbit is willing to “organize a number of known funds to jointly acquire and integrate Coindesk,” according to the founder’s tweet. He also said that Consensus’ conferencing business would be included in the acquisition. Coindesk was originally founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Shakil Khanwho is also a co-founder of Prima Materia and an early investor in Bitpay.
Coindesk was acquired by DCG in January 2016, for an estimated amount of $500,000 to $600,000, according to a report by Techcrunch reporter Lucas Matney. Coindesk published a Article about the acquisition, noting that they were “excited” to join DCG and mentioning that DCG had been an “early investor and supporter” of Coindesk.
What do you think about the interest expressed in buying Coindesk by investors like Charles Hoskinson and Marsbit founder Wang Feng? Share your thoughts on this topic in the comments section below.
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