Scaramucci leads bidding for Silicon Valley Bank VC arm: Report

September 18, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital is among the asset management firms leading the bids for Silicon Valley Bank’s venture capital arm, with a sale expected in the coming weeks.

SVB Financial Group, the former parent company of Silicon Valley Bank is getting closer to a deal that will see the institution sell its venture capital arm SVB Capital.

According to a Sept. 15 report from the Wall Street Journal — citing sources familiar with the matter — Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital and Atlas Merchant Capital are jostling with the San Francisco firm Vector Capital in the final stages of the bidding process.

Sources claimed that SVB’s venture capital arm could be sold off for between $250 million and $500 million, but warned that a final sale is not guaranteed and that it would still require the review of the creditor’s committee.

A decision on the sale is expected to come before the court in the coming weeks.

Notably, SVB Capital was not included in the SVB's overarching Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, and the bank reportedly said that the outfit would continue its “ordinary course operation” of business despite being put up for sale.

SVB Capital is an investment capital platform that conducts a wide range of investments, including the backing of other major Silicon Valley venture capital firms such as Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).

As of December 2022, SVB Capital held $9.5 billion in assets across 20 funds and 760 companies, including blockchain analytics service Chainalysis.

*SVB Capital holdings overview as of December 2022. Source: SVB Capital*

Meanwhile, Scarammuci’s SkyBridge Capital manages some $1.8 billion in assets. Of that figure, approximately $580 million is held in cryptocurrencies and other digital asset-related investments.

Cointelegraph contacted SkyBridge Capital and SVB Capital for comment but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.

Earlier this year, Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by California’s financial watchdog on March 10 and filed for bankruptcy on March 17. Prior to its collapse, Silicon Valley Bank was one of the few institutions that offered banking services to crypto companies in the United States.

Customers lining up outside of Silicon Valley Bank at its Menlo Park, CA branch. pic.twitter.com/SDNrSUC1C0
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 10, 2023

SVB crumbled alongside other crypto and tech-friendly banks, including Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank, in what was later seen as the worst banking crisis since 2008.

Earlier this year, the investment-banking arm of SVB Financial, known as SVB Securities, sold itself to its founder Jeff Leerink and other senior managers for $100 million.

Magazine: How to protect your crypto in a volatile market — Bitcoin OGs and experts weigh in

SVB’s UK arm issues 15M pounds in bonuses after symbolic bailout: Report

March 19, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bank of England

Insider sources reportedly described the bonus pool as “modest,” adding that the stock held by senior execs had been “rendered worthless” following Silicon Valley Bank UK arm's "near-collapse.”

Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVB UK) has granted millions of pounds in employee bonuses, just days after it was rescued by global banking giant HSBC for just 1 British pound, according to unnamed sources.

In a March 18 Sky News report citing unnamed sources, it was reported that payouts to SVB UK staff and senior executives were signed off "earlier this week" by HSBC UK Bank – the institution which acquired SVB UK for 1 British pound ($1.22 USD) on March 13.

It was reportedly "unclear" how much had been awarded to SVB UK’s CEO, Erin Platts, "or her senior colleagues," however the sources described the bonus pool as “modest,” and said that it totalled “between £15m and £20m" (approximately $18.26 million and $24.35 million USD).

While the insiders reportedly noted that if SVB UK “not been acquired solvently,” the bonuses wouldn’t have “been paid this week,” one insider reportedly “pointed out” that the stock held by senior executives and other employees had been “rendered worthless” by SVB UK’s near-collapse.

Another insider reportedly added that the bonus payments were “a signal of HSBC’s confidence in the talent base” at SVB UK, and was to honor “previous agreed payments” in an effort to “retain key staff.”

SVB UK previously stated in a March 17 tweet that it was "delighted" to now be part of HSBC, after 14 years of supporting and "growing the UK's innovative economy."

With 14 years of supporting & growing the UK's innovation economy, @SVB_UK is delighted to now be part of @HSBC, joining a successful global organisation to fuel our client's growth and ours. #UKTech #SVBUK #Startups #HSBC https://t.co/MNUl57S33Z
— SVB UK (@SVB_UK) March 16, 2023

This comes after the Bank of England shut down the operations of SVB UK on March 10, stating that it had a “limited presence,” and no “critical functions” supporting the financial system.

The statement declared that SVB UK will “stop making payments or accepting deposits,” as the BoE intended to apply to the court to place SVB into a “Bank Insolvency Procedure.”

Meanwhile, SVB's United States banking arm has been taken into government ownership and its holding company, SVB Financial Group, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 17, as it seeks buyers for its other assets.

SVB Group chief restructuring officer, William Kosturos, stated that the Chapter 11 process will allow SVB Financial Group to “preserve value as it evaluates strategic alternatives for its prized businesses and assets.”

Kosturos emphasized that SVB Capital and SVB Securities will continue to operate, led by their respective independent teams.