Scaramucci leads bidding for Silicon Valley Bank VC arm: Report

Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital is among the asset management firms leading the bids for Silicon Valley Bank’s venture capital arm, with a sale expected in the coming weeks.

SVB Financial Group, the former parent company of Silicon Valley Bank is getting closer to a deal that will see the institution sell its venture capital arm SVB Capital.

According to a Sept. 15 report from the Wall Street Journal — citing sources familiar with the matter — Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital and Atlas Merchant Capital are jostling with the San Francisco firm Vector Capital in the final stages of the bidding process.

Sources claimed that SVB’s venture capital arm could be sold off for between $250 million and $500 million, but warned that a final sale is not guaranteed and that it would still require the review of the creditor’s committee.

A decision on the sale is expected to come before the court in the coming weeks.

Notably, SVB Capital was not included in the SVB’s overarching Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, and the bank reportedly said that the outfit would continue its “ordinary course operation” of business despite being put up for sale.

SVB Capital is an investment capital platform that conducts a wide range of investments, including the backing of other major Silicon Valley venture capital firms such as Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).

As of December 2022, SVB Capital held $9.5 billion in assets across 20 funds and 760 companies, including blockchain analytics service Chainalysis.

Meanwhile, Scarammuci’s SkyBridge Capital manages some $1.8 billion in assets. Of that figure, approximately $580 million is held in cryptocurrencies and other digital asset-related investments.

Cointelegraph contacted SkyBridge Capital and SVB Capital for comment but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.

Related: Senators slam bank execs for blaming collapses on crypto, pocketing millions

Earlier this year, Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by California’s financial watchdog on March 10 and filed for bankruptcy on March 17. Prior to its collapse, Silicon Valley Bank was one of the few institutions that offered banking services to crypto companies in the United States.

Customers lining up outside of Silicon Valley Bank at its Menlo Park, CA branch. pic.twitter.com/SDNrSUC1C0

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 10, 2023

SVB crumbled alongside other crypto and tech-friendly banks, including Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank, in what was later seen as the worst banking crisis since 2008.

Earlier this year, the investment-banking arm of SVB Financial, known as SVB Securities, sold itself to its founder Jeff Leerink and other senior managers for $100 million.

Magazine: How to protect your crypto in a volatile market — Bitcoin OGs and experts weigh in