Ondo Finance was shopped to buyers after founder Nathan Allman's death, sources say

Ondo Finance was offered to prospective buyers, three people say

Ondo Finance, a platform that puts traditional assets such as U.S. Treasuries and stocks on a blockchain, was shopped to potential buyers after the death of its founder and CEO, Nathan Allman, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

The outreach took place sometime after Allman died on May 25, two of those people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private. It is not clear who was behind the attempt to sell the company.

Ondo denies that it was ever looking for buyers.

Key points from the report

• Three people with knowledge of the matter said Ondo Finance was shopped to prospective buyers.
• Two of them said the outreach came after Allman's death on May 25.
• Ondo's spokesman called talk of a possible sale "wholly untrue."
• Allman's estate declined to comment.
• One person said the legal fight over control of the company has likely put any sale plans on hold.

What Ondo says about the sale talk

An Ondo spokesman denied that the company was, at any point, looking for buyers. He described talk of a potential sale as "wholly untrue."

"Nobody at the company has shopped it for sale, been in sales talks, or engaged or asked anyone to do so on its behalf. There are no facts to support this," the spokesman said.

Who was behind the approach, and at what price

The source accounts leave important questions open. None of the people who spoke to CoinDesk identified who was behind the attempts to sell the company, and CoinDesk said it was unable to determine what price was discussed.

Ondo has not disclosed a valuation in either of its announced funding rounds.

The court fight over control of Ondo

Allman died unexpectedly and without a will at the age of 32. His death left uncertainty over his controlling stake in Ondo and his holding of ONDO tokens, the company's own crypto asset.

After a probate process, his estate was awarded to his parents, Kathleen Allman, 77, and Lawrence Allman, 82. In early August, the estate filed suit against Ondo's acting CEO, Ian De Bode, alleging an unlawful power and money grab. That case started a bitter fight over control of the company.

Under a current court order, De Bode remains Ondo's CEO and can oversee day-to-day operations, but he cannot make major changes to the company while the control dispute is resolved.

A separate court petition by Allman's half-sister and an Ondo investor sought to limit Kathleen Allman's control over her share of the estate. She denied the petition's allegations.

What Ondo Finance is and how much it has raised

Ondo was founded in 2021 by former Goldman Sachs executives and is based in New York. It offers tokenized U.S. Treasuries and stocks, meaning traditional assets represented as blockchain tokens, and says it has more than $3.8 billion across its products, making it one of the largest platforms for real-world assets on a blockchain. Its OUSG fund holds investments in BlackRock's tokenized BUIDL fund.

The company has raised $24 million in equity funding: $4 million in 2021 and $20 million in 2022. A separate $10 million token sale brings publicly reported fundraising to $34 million. Its equity backers include Pantera Capital, Founders Fund, Coinbase Ventures and Tiger Global.

Why the timing matters for tokenized finance deals

The reported sale effort came during a busy period for crypto dealmaking, including acquisitions aimed at expanding tokenized finance. Announced crypto mergers and acquisitions totaled $12.9 billion in the second quarter, the industry's second-largest quarterly sum, according to the research firm Architect Partners.

Sources

• CoinDesk