Ryan Reynolds-backed fintech’s FTX ties create risk, says short-seller Spruce Point
Quick Take
- Fintech payments firm Nuvei announced actor Ryan Reynolds is an investor a day before short-seller Spruce Point said the Canadian company’s ties to FTX could cause its shares to slide by as much as 50%.
- Nuvei identified as an FTX creditor. The companies inked a partnership in late 2021.
Canadian payments firm Nuvei announced yesterday actor and celebrity entrepreneur Ryan Reynolds had invested in the financial technology company, which provides services for gaming and crypto companies.
Today, short-seller Spruce Point Capital Management suggested another one of Nuvei’s high-profile relationships could cause its shares to plummet by as much as 50% over the long term. The firm highlighted Nuvei's ties to FTX as a creditor of the defunct and disgraced cryptocurrency trading platform at the heart of the digital assets market’s recent troubles.
“Nuvei obscured the extent of its digital and crypto exposure, had an FTX partnership and reportedly also an FTX equity interest,” Spruce Point said in its report, which asserted that the Montreal-based fintech’s share could face “up to 35% to 50% long-term downside risk.”
Shares of Nuvei are down nearly 2% in U.S. trading, according to Investing.com.
Spruce Point, which holds a short position in Nuvei, first issued its original report on the company in December 2021, highlighting what it said were concerns about management biographies and questionable acquisitions.
In its more recent expose, the short-seller called out Reynolds, asking how much money the actor invested and whether it involved his own money or an "in-kind grant." The firm also tweeted at Reynolds, seemingly urging him to abandon his newly-announced tie-up with Nuvei.
FTX ties questioned
FTX is currently undergoing a bankruptcy proceeding on top of a prolonged period of heightened scrutiny. As each process has unfolded several companies and individuals have been caught up in the wreckage.
Spruce Point appears to also view Nuvei’s hiring of FTX’s former global head of payments, Adam Cole Jacobs, with pronounced skepticism.
“Based on our investigation, we find that he advised multiple defunct companies with ties to known stock promoters with a list of unsavory allegations," the report said.
Nuvei partnered with FTX in 2021 to enable instant payment solutions. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Disclaimer: The former CEO and majority shareholder of The Block has disclosed a series of loans from former FTX and Alameda founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
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