Robinhood bought back Sam Bankman-Fried’s stake from US govt for $606M

The purchase of the 55 million Robinhood shares had been expected following approval from the company’s board and a U.S. district court.

Cryptocurrency and stock trading platform Robinhood has announced the purchase of more than 55 million shares of the firm previously held by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

According to an Aug. 31 blog post, Robinhood completed a purchase of 55,273,469 shares for roughly $606 million following a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The shares, originally held by Bankman-Fried and FTX co-founder Gary Wang through Emergent Fidelity Technologies, were seized in January by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The purchase had been expected. Robinhood’s board of directors announced the approval of the deal in the company’s Q4 2022 report, and an Aug. 30 SEC filing said the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York had approved the purchase “free and clear of any claims, interests, liens and encumbrances”.

“We are happy to have completed the purchase of these shares and look forward to executing on our growth plans on behalf of our customers and shareholders,” said Robinhood chief financial officer Jason Warnick.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.