After several weeks of speculation and gossip as to whether Justin Sun’s TRON will purchase BitTorrent, the newest reports are in confirming that the deal is done. BitTorrent is now officially owned by TRON, and the reports claim that the deal is valued at $140 million.
BitTorrent now belongs to TRON
Ever since the information that TRON might buy BitTorrent was leaked earlier this year, in May, the internet has been speculating and awaiting the official announcement. According to the leak, BitTorrent was in negotiation with TRON’s founder, Justin Sun, since September 2017.
BitTorrent sells to blockchain entrepreneur Justin Sun https://t.co/MhzwMX0afM
— Variety (@Variety) June 11, 2018
The details about the purchase seemed to be finalized in January 2018, when the two parties signed a letter of intent. However, only hours after the letter was signed, Ro Choy, CEO of BitTorrent, tried to improve the terms of the deal by mentioning that the company received three other bids, superior to the one given by TRON.
This did not sit well with Sun, who filed a lawsuit against the company almost immediately, and attempted to exclude it from negotiating with other parties. Ever since then, no official details have been released, and the internet has been speculating and theorizing.
https://twitter.com/cryptomusik/status/1009029503472062465
All that was known at the time was that the case was dismissed and the deal is still not official. The two parties were obviously in disagreement regarding the terms, but it was largely believed that the disagreement will only postpone the deal, not jeopardize it. After all, BitTorrent had been searching for buyers for a while at that point, and TRON seemed to be more than eager to acquire the company.
TRON wanted BitTorrent despite everything
When it comes to BitTorrent, it appeared to be in great need of the buyout. Not only did the company have outstanding legal issues, but it also failed to deliver on its investors’ expectations. Failing to generate returns lost it support and led to its highest valuation only reaching around $145 million. The company had been suffering performance-wise since its launch in 2004.
This is when TRON entered the picture and offered to buy the company. Its motives were unclear at the time, and never publicly disclosed, but it seemed that its interest lies in BitTorrent’s reputation and, more importantly, its infrastructure.
In any case, the deal seems to be concluded, and BitTorrent now officially belongs to TRON cryptocurrency. What the next step is regarding this development is anyone’s guess, but what’s certain is that Justin Sun knows what he is doing, and that he probably has great plans for the future of both, TRON and BitTorrent.
