A China crypto mogul seeks to sell Huobi’s stake for $3 billion

“He hopes the Huobi Group founder Leon Li is in talks with a group of investors to sell his majority stake in the crypto-exchange for up to $3 billion, in what could be the largest takeover in the industry since a $2 trillion global crypto rout began.

According to people familiar with the matter, the Chinese crypto-mogul has held talks with a slew of financiers about selling a roughly 60% stake in the company he founded nearly a decade ago.

Tron founder Justin Sun and crypto-billionaire Sam Bankman-FTX Fried are among those who have had preliminary discussions with Huobi about a share transfer, according to the people, who asked to remain anonymous because they were discussing private information. 

 Existing backers such as ZhenFund and Sequoia China were informed of Li’s decision during a July shareholders’ meeting, according to the people.

According to one source, a deal could be completed as soon as the end of this month.

According to the sources, Li is seeking a valuation of $2 billion to $3 billion, implying that a sale could fetch more than $1 billion.

A Huobi spokesperson confirmed that Li is in talks with several international institutions about selling his stake, but declined to elaborate.

at the new shareholders will be more powerful and resourceful, that they will value the Huobi brand, and they will invest more capital and energy to drive Huobi’s growth,” a spokesperson said in an email.

An FTX representative declined to comment, Sun, on the other hand, stated in a text message that he has not had any sales negotiations with Li. 

Use this link to sign up and start trading with 0% trading fees at Bitdenex Exchange