Crypto news site CoinDesk draws buyout interest: Semafor

Crypto news site CoinDesk, owned by Digital Currency Group (DCG), has received takeover interest including one that suggested a $300 million purchase price, according to Semafor, according to Semafor.

Potential buyers circling the company include private equity firms, family offices, rival publications including Blockworks and hedge funds that hunt for distressed assets, but there is no formal sales process, unnamed sources told the publication.

CoinDesk's story earlier this month showing that a large portion of Alameda's Research balance sheet was made up of FTT tokens has been cited as a catalyst for FTX's unraveling by prompting investors to lose faith in the exchange.

The publication — a competitor of The Block — brings in $50 million in yearly revenues stemming from advertising and its Consensus conference, Semafor said.

A spokesperson with DCG declined to comment on the story.

In a letter to shareholders last week, DCG CEO Barry Silbert addressed issues with one of the group's other companies, Genesis, after media reports said that it might be headed toward bankruptcy. Genesis Trading was hit by FTX’s collapse, with close to $175 million of the derivatives business locked up in an account with the bankrupt centralized exchange.

“DCG will continue to be a leading builder of the industry and we are committed to our long-term mission of accelerating the development of a better financial system,” he wrote in a note to clients obtained by The Block.