Over 100 parties have expressed interest in buying at least one part of FTX, lawyers handling the crypto giant's bankruptcy say

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Over 100 parties have expressed interest in buying at least one part of FTX, lawyers handling the crypto giant's bankruptcy say
Sam Bankman-Fried, the FTX founder, arrives at Manhattan federal court on January 3.REUTERS/David Dee Delgado
  • 117 parties have expressed an interest in buying at least one of four FTX businesses up for sale.
  • Court filings said Embed, LedgerX, FTX Europe, and FTX Japan had segregated customer accounts.
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Over 100 parties are interested in buying part of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, court documents reviewed by Insider show.

Lawyers handling the chapter 11 bankruptcy case are planning to auction off four of the companies previously controlled by Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces up to 115 years in prison if found guilty of all eight criminal charges against him.

A document filed in the Delaware bankruptcy court on Sunday said 117 parties had expressed interest in purchasing at least one entity owned by FTX, and 59 confidentiality agreements have been agreed. Their identities haven't been disclosed, but the filing says they include "various financial and strategic counterparties globally."

At least 50 parties are interested in LedgerX, an exchange platform purchased by FTX in October 2021, and Embed, bought as part of plans to allow stock trading on FTX, the documents show.

FTX Europe and FTX Japan are also up for sale, both with around 40 interested parties, the documents show. The debtors produced management presentations with "preliminary diligence materials" for Embed and LedgerX, but are still in the process of creating these for the FTX platforms — which have had their operations suspended.

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Bankman-Fried stands accused of misusing as much as $8 billion of customers' money to fund luxury purchases and political donations – although bankruptcy filings from December 2022 said the four businesses up for sale "maintained segregated customer accounts."

It also noted that that Embed, LedgerX, and FTX Europe maintained separate computer systems, while FTX Europe and FTX Japan had distinct headquarters.

The debtors said they had received "dozens of unsolicited inbound inquiries" and the sales are important to maximize the estate's value, with the hopes of reimbursing FTX customers. Auctions are set to begin on February 27.

However, the United States Trustee, part of the federal justice department, has objected to the sales noting "serious cause for concern." It said that allowing any sales could see business records sold off, which could hinder potential investigations into alleged wrongdoing at FTX. A hearing is scheduled at the Delaware bankruptcy court for Wednesday.

Lawyers handling the bankruptcy case did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, sent outside normal working hours.

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