Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn is making a foray into fintech by investing USD$18 million in a cryptocurrency merchant bank launched by a former partner at Goldman Sachs.
Foxconn, which is China’s biggest private employer, announced via an official statement that it had used venture capital arm HCM International to invest $18 million in the private placement of Bradmer Pharmaceuticals Inc, the Canadian shell company that will be responsible for the cryptocurrency bank.
Bradmer announced last month that it would use a private placement to raise $200 million for the creation of merchant bank dedicated to cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
In addition to trading in cryptocurrencies, the bank will also make principal investments and manage digital assets on behalf of clients.
The company has entered a letter of intent to establish the bank with New York-based Galaxy Digital LP, founded by former Goldman Sachs partner Mike Novogratz, and Canadian tech start-up First Coin Capital Corp.
The deal will see Galaxy acquire First Coin before merging with Bradmer via a reverse takeover.
Bradmer, which will change its name to Galaxy Digital Holdings and hold a stake in the cryptocurrency bank, will subsequently be listed on Toronto’s TSX Venture Exchange.
According to Bloomberg Bradmer has already raised around $250 million in funds, while Foxconn CEO Terry Gou is amongst the investors named by the private placement.
