The company operated Silicon Valley Bank until financial regulators closed the latter company last Friday. Clients’ deposits were moved to a new entity on Monday. The new entity, Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, is operated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
SVB Financial Group continues to maintain several other assets and is currently working to sell those assets to investors.
The company has received “significant interest” from prospective buyers. One of the company’s flagship assets is its SVB Securities subsidiary, a Boston-based investment bank that helps technology and life sciences startups go public.
What SVB Financial Group does
SVB Financial Group provides financial advice to companies carrying out mergers and acquisitions. SVB Financial Group also operates a second subsidiary called SVB Capital which invests in startups and venture capital funds. SVB Capital reportedly has $9.5 billion in assets under management.
SVB Financial Group stated that neither SVB Capital nor SVB Securities are included in its bankruptcy filing. As a result, the two subsidiaries can continue their usual business operations while the bankruptcy proceedings are ongoing. That will potentially make the subsidiaries easier to sell.
Along with SVB Capital and SVB Securities, SVB Financial Group is seeking buyers for certain unspecified “valuable investment securities accounts and other assets.”
A board-appointed restructuring committee is leading the sale process
Any sale that the committee proposes will have to be approved by the court overseeing its bankruptcy proceedings.
William Kosturos, chief restructuring officer of SVB Financial Group, said, “The Chapter 11 process will allow SVB Financial Group to preserve value as it evaluates strategic alternatives for its prized businesses and assets, especially SVB Capital and SVB Securities. SVB Capital and SVB Securities continue to operate and serve clients, led by their longstanding and independent leadership teams.”
In parallel, regulators are working to find a buyer for Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, the entity to which the deposits held by Silicon Valley Bank were moved on Monday. According to an Axios report, several investors have proposed buying parts of the company, while regulators are reportedly seeking a deal in which a bank would purchase all of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank’s assets rather than just parts of it.
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