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Tuesday, Inform us Backpack has acquired FTX EU in a deal valued at $32.7 million. The next day, FTX rolled out a statement Illustration of the backpack ad. Then in her press release kingBackpack Explained FTX Illustration.

I think that's how companies fight.

Here's the gist of it all: What's left of FTX said it wasn't aware that Backpack had bought FTX EU, swore responsibility for repaying FTX EU customers and said it couldn't verify whether what Backpack was saying was true. Backpack responded by saying that much of the saga leading up to its acquisition of FTX EU had already been reported, and that it would rename FTX EU to Backpack EU before it began distributing customer claims.

The conflicting press releases seem to stem from some bad relationships that FTX still has with FTX EU. FTX File a lawsuit against Its European arm to try to recoup some of the $323 million Sam Bankman-Fried spent on the startup. The lawsuit ended with a settlement in which FTX EU's original founders, Patrick Gruen and Robin Matzke, bought back FTX EU for $32.7 million. Backpack then purchased FTX EU from Gruhn and Matzke, and the ownership shares appear to be awaiting transfer.

Backpack failed to explain the entire series of events in its original press He releasesbut it also doesn't change much in physical terms. Whether Backpack bought FTX EU from FTX or from people who bought it from FTX, the basic fact remains that Backpack owns the asset.

However, the sale itself remains a bit strange, at least in my opinion. Backpack told me it bought FTX EU in April 2024 for $32.7 million. This is only a month or two after the founders of FTX EU bought the company back for that exact price as part of the lawsuit settlement. At that time, FTX It is said It concluded that “no other buyer would agree to purchase” FTX EU.

It doesn't seem commercially smart for Backpack to pay the full $32.7 million for an exchange that apparently no one else wanted — which was sold in a court settlement. Couldn't they charge a few million more than the sticker price just to get it out of Gruhn and Matzke's hands? It's also a lot of money for a startup like Backpack: Project It is said It lost much of its funding in the FTX collapse, and only raised $17 million in its latest funding round. Where did you get $32.7 million to spend on FTX EU? Backpack did not respond to my request for comment on the financial aspect of the deal.

In any case, FTX appears to be scrutinizing Backpack's press release, the outlines of which don't seem to call for much doubt. But we're talking about FTX here, so it stands to reason that things won't go as smoothly as planned.

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