Samara Asset Group to expand Bitcoin reserves via $33M bond offering

Samara Asset Group plans to expand its Bitcoin holdings by using funds from a €30 million ($32.8 million) senior secured Nordic bond.

According to an October 14 announcement, the Malta-based investment firm said it would use proceeds from a 30 million euro bond offering to add more Bitcoin to its reserves.

Patrick Lowry, the firm’s CEO, noted that the company has held Bitcoin “for years” and aims to further increase its holdings.

For those not aware, a bond is essentially a debt instrument that allows a company to borrow money from investors, with the promise to pay it back at a later date, typically with interest.

In this case, Samara will use the proceeds from the bond sale to expand its Bitcoin holdings.

The “senior secured” nature of the bond means that it is backed by some form of collateral.

Lowry pointed to MicroStrategy’s aggressive Bitcoin acquisition strategy as a model Samara aims to follow, expressing his aspiration to accumulate a similar amount of Bitcoin as that by the Michael Saylor-led firm.

He remarked that it would be a “dream” for Samara to build up its Bitcoin reserves to that level.

As of press time, MicroStrategy held 252,220 Bitcoin.

To aid with the bond issuance, the asset management firm has engaged Pareto Securities to arrange a series of fixed-income investor meetings for the potential bond issuance.

Proceeds from the bond will be allocated to both limited partnership stakes and additional investments in Bitcoin, which serves as Samara’s primary treasury reserve asset.

“The size of our Bitcoin investment will depend on how much we raise,” Lowry stated, adding that any funds not deployed elsewhere will be held in Bitcoin.

Lowry revealed that Samara currently holds 421 BTC but aims to surpass 1,000 BTC by the end of 2024.

Formerly known as Cryptology Asset Group, Samara Asset Group was co-founded in 2018 by Mike Novogratz, Apeiron Investment Group, and Christian Angermayer’s family office.

The company is listed on the German stock exchange Xetra.

According to Lowry, as of June 2024, the company boasted a net asset value of $206.28 million.

Bitcoin as a treasury asset

Samara’s move to raise funds through a bond issuance is part of a broader trend of companies utilizing financial instruments to grow their cryptocurrency portfolios.

For instance, Japanese investment firm Metaplanet recently sold 223 Bitcoin put options, earning a premium of 23.972 BTC ($1.44 million).

The company intends to reinvest these funds in further Bitcoin purchases.

Further, on Oct. 11, Metaplanet bought ¥1 billion ($6.7 million) worth of Bitcoin, bringing its total holdings to 748.50 BTC, valued at $45.65 million.

The company is currently the second-largest Bitcoin holder among Asia-listed firms, following Hong Kong’s Meitu, which holds 941 BTC.

Meanwhile, MicroStrategy, which has inspired several other corporate players to acquire Bitcoin, has also been increasing its Bitcoin reserves by raising additional funds.

In late September, the Saylor-led firm completed a $1 billion convertible senior notes offering and used the proceeds to buy $458 million worth of Bitcoin.

A month before, the Bitcoin holder announced its intentions to sell a portion of its class A shares to fund more BTC purchases.

Among others, Galaxy Digital, another firm founded by Novogratz, added 500 BTC to its holdings between Oct. 7 and Oct. 14.

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