Strategic financing strengthens firm’s balance sheet and establishes access to institutional debt capital markets
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Digital Currency Group (DCG) today announced the completion of a debt capital raise providing a credit facility up to $600 million. Eldridge led and served as administrative agent of the credit facility, which includes a syndicate of institutional lenders and funds managed by Capital Group, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, and Francisco Partners, among others. The financing marks the company’s first entry into the debt capital markets and follows a recent $700 million secondary equity transaction led by SoftBank Group. The debt financing enhances DCG’s strategic, operational, and financial capabilities by reducing DCG’s cost of capital and fueling the growth of its investment portfolio and wholly-owned subsidiaries.
“This financing strengthens our ability to respond dynamically to opportunities in the market,” said DCG Founder and CEO Barry Silbert. “We’re very pleased to partner with this cohort of high-quality institutional lenders and, as a profitable and rapidly growing company, we are fortunate to be able to access this growth financing with an attractive cost of capital.”
Founded by Silbert in 2015, DCG is a global investment company that has invested in more than 200 blockchain companies and is the parent company of several subsidiaries that have emerged as digital asset leaders and grown significantly. Grayscale Investments is the world’s largest digital currency asset manager with more than $50 billion in assets under management. Genesis is a full-service digital currency prime brokerage and one of the leading institutional trading and lending firms in the world. Luno is a consumer-focused digital asset platform that provides digital asset education and investment tools to more than nine million customers in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Foundry powers decentralized infrastructure with better capital access, efficiency, and transparency in digital currency mining and staking, and hosts North America’s largest Bitcoin mining pool. CoinDesk is a premier financial media, data, index, and events company, and TradeBlock has developed an institutional trading platform.
“We’ve solidified our premier market position in recent years through the development and growth of our diversified subsidiaries, continued expansion of our investment portfolio, and via acquisitions,” said DCG CFO Michael Kraines. “This debt financing is an important milestone to ensure DCG continues to play a leading role in the financing and development of this remarkably dynamic sector.”
Today, DCG and its subsidiaries are some of the most recognized, innovative, and active participants in the digital currency and blockchain industry. The company is backed by some of the world’s most prominent investors and its subsidiaries collectively employ more than 1,000 people worldwide.
Digital Currency Group was advised by Goodwin Procter who served as legal counsel and Ducera Partners who served as financial advisor in connection with the debt capital raise.
About Digital Currency Group
Founded in 2015 by CEO Barry Silbert, DCG is the most active investor in the blockchain sector, with a mission to accelerate the development of a better financial system through the proliferation of digital assets and blockchain technology. Today, DCG sits at the epicenter of the industry, backing more than 200 blockchain-related companies in over 35 countries. DCG also invests directly in digital currencies and other digital assets. In addition to its investment portfolio, DCG is the parent company of Genesis (a global digital asset prime brokerage), Grayscale Investments (the world’s largest digital currency asset manager), CoinDesk (a leading financial media, data, and information company), Foundry (a leader in bitcoin mining and staking), Luno (a leading cryptocurrency platform with a large international footprint), and TradeBlock (an institutional trading platform).
Contacts
Mark Murphy
dcg@fullyvested.com