Galaxy Digital Holdings has taken the ownership title of BitGo, an independent digital assets infrastructure provider, in a cash and stock transaction valued at about $1.2 billion, widening Galaxy’s offerings and geographic reach.
The financial services and investment manager in the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology sectors mentioned that it made a payment of $265 million in cash and is issuing 33.8 million shares to finance the acquisition.
Galaxy Digital will take the larger shares, while BitGo’s shareholders will still possess 10% of the company’s shares. Galaxy Digital will also hold on to most of BitGo’s employees and management team.
Commenting on the acquisition, Michael Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, noted that the move “establishes Galaxy Digital as a one-stop-shop for institutions and significantly accelerates our mission to institutionalize digital asset ecosystems and blockchain technology.”
He continued, “The power of the technology, solutions, and people we will have as a result of this acquisition will unlock unique value for our clients and drive long-term growth for our combined business. We are excited to welcome Mike Belshe and the talented BitGo team to Galaxy Digital.”
BitGo, with its headquarters in Palo Alto, California, was founded in 2013 by Mike Belshe and Ben Davenport. The former is an engineer who formerly worked on Google’s Chrome. He will become the deputy chief executive officer under Galaxy and also a member of the company’s board of directors.
“Joining Galaxy Digital represents an exciting new chapter for our business as our current clients gain access to a wide set of financial solutions. We will now be in a position to offer our best-in-class digital asset infrastructure capabilities to significantly more corporate, institutional, and high net worth investor clients,” Mike Belshe commented.
In a recent development, Galaxy Digital appointed former Goldman Executive Michael Daffey to take the position of chairman. The chairman’s position was once held by the founder of the company, Michael Novogratz, who will remain as chief executive.
