On December 22nd, Cayman Islands-based crypto exchange Bullish and the special purpose acquisition company, Far Peak Acquisition Corporation disclosed their mutual decision to end their intended corporate merger.
Bullish and Far Peak signed a corporate merger agreement on July 8th, 2021. Due to this business combination, the exchange would start trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The exchange was established as a division of Block.one, the software firm that created the open-source blockchain platform EOSIO, last year. Initial investments of $10 billion were made by the software firm and several prominent investors.
That agreement has experienced delays and had its termination date moved from July 8th to December 31st due to overall market volatility, notably in the SPAC and crypto markets.
However, when the two companies first agreed to join in July 2021, they reserved the right to dissolve the merger agreement if it couldn’t be completed by the end of 2022.
After 18 months of intense negotiations, both Bullish and Far Peak have concluded that it would not be possible for Bullish’s previously filed registration statement on Form F-4 to become effective before year-end. It means there won’t be enough time before December 31st for them to hold a meeting to vote on “the proposed business combination.”
Bullish & Far Peak Ends Deal, Citing SEC’s Work
Chairman and CEO of Bullish, Brendan Blumer, said
Our quest to become a public company is taking longer than expected, but we respect the SEC’s ongoing work to lay new digital asset frameworks and clarify industry-specific disclosure and accounting complexities.
He continued by expressing his satisfaction with the hardworking group of Bullish advisors and workers who have spent countless hours ensuring the company upholds the most significant standards of accountability and transparency.
Whereas Thomas Farley, the chairman, and CEO of Far Peak, expressed regret for not being able to present the Bullish deal to Far Peak shareholders. He added that the achievements of Bullish since its start had exceeded their expectations, and their daily trading volumes demonstrate their impressive growth.
According to his statement:
I am a big believer in Bullish’s talented team, their vertically integrated approach to exchange liquidity, and their unwavering commitment to regulation, and the highest standards of industry transparency.
However, the press release further asserts that due to time restrictions and current market conditions, Far Peak will not be looking for a new merger partner and will instead concentrate on dissolving either on March 7th, 2023, or earlier if possible.
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