MGT Capital Investments, Inc. (NYSEMKT:MGT) has announced the suspension of merger talks with Tera Group, Inc., after the deadline set in the Letter of Intent, confined to the potential deal, expired on March 16, 2015.
On February 27, 2015, the companies said they were planning a merger that would have to create the first publicly traded U.S. Bitcoin derivatives exchange. The binding LOI, however, expired on Monday, and the companies could not agree on extension.
Still, MGT’s chief executive Robert Ladd voiced an optimistic note on a potential deal, saying that “The upside opportunity of a deal is extraordinary for our stockholders, and we remain committed to working with Tera management and legal team to finalize the complex agreement.”
Tera Group owns TeraExchange LLC, a swap execution facility regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). TeraExchange is well known to fans of virtual currencies, mostly because in September 2014 it started offering trading with USD/Bitcoin swaps and launched a spot bitcoin price index.
The recent developments around the MGT/Tera merger talks serve as a reminder of the complex nature of such deals, as many M&A moves start convincingly and easily but never see completion.
The official announcement on the merger discussions suspension can be read here.