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>China Crypto Mogul Seeks to Sell Huobi Stake at $3 Billion Value

China Crypto Mogul Seeks to Sell Huobi Stake at $3 Billion Value

Huobi Group founder Leon Li is in talks with a clutch of investors to sell his majority stake in the crypto-exchange at a valuation of as much as $3 billion, in what could be the industry’s largest takeover since a $2 trillion global crypto rout began.

The Chinese crypto-mogul has held discussions with a raft of financiers, seeking to sell a roughly 60% slice of the company he founded almost a decade ago, according to people familiar with the matter. Tron founder Justin Sun and crypto-billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX are among those who’ve had preliminary contact with Huobi about a share transfer, the people said, asking to remain anonymous discussing private information.

Existing backers including ZhenFund and Sequoia China were informed about Li’s decision during a July shareholders’ meeting, the people said. A deal could be completed as soon as the end of this month, one person said. Li is seeking a valuation of between $2 billion to $3 billion, meaning a sale could fetch upwards of $1 billion, the people added.