Ripple Backs Out Of Fortress Trust Acquisition Deal

According to Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple has decided not to proceed with the acquisition of Fortress Trust.

Although Garlinghouse didn’t provide a detailed explanation for discontinuing the deal, he indicated that Ripple will maintain involvement as an investor in some capacity.

Ripple Stays Committed To Fortress Trust After Dropping Acquisition

On September 29, Brad Garlinghouse announced on X (formerly Twitter) that Ripple would no longer acquire Fortress Trust. The decision came despite signing a letter of intent just three weeks earlier on September 8.

“A few weeks ago, we signed a letter of intent to acquire Fortress Trust – we’ve since made the decision not to move forward with an outright acquisition, though Ripple will remain an investor.”

However, Garlinghouse commended the team at Fortress as “incredibly talented.” He emphasized that while the current arrangement didn’t work out, there remains potential for future collaboration between the two companies.

Upon Ripple announcing the plan earlier this month, it outlined the valuable role that Fortress Trust can offer in complementing Ripple’s ongoing advancements.

Ripple explained that Fortress Trust’s technology and licensing would play a vital role in supporting the expanding enterprise crypto market. Furthermore, Ripple believes that the company is well-aligned with its business and product plans.

Ripple highlighted at the time that the acquisition would expand its portfolio of regulatory licenses. It further noted that Fortress Trust holds a Nevada Trust license.

Meanwhile, Ripple remains under regulatory scrutiny from the U.S. SEC. Even after a court verdict stating that its native token XRP is not considered a security for retail purposes, the SEC quickly filed an appeal.

The court has scheduled the hearing for the appeal in the second quarter of 2024.

At the time of publication, XRP’s price is $0.51.

Fortress Reveals Recent Customer Compromise

Just a day before the announcement, Fortress reported a breach that led to the compromise of four customers.

A third-party vendor, whose cloud tools were compromised, is said to have affected Fortress.

However, it claimed that the accounts were fully restored and there was “no loss of funds.”

The same announcement from Fortress hinted that it will be announcing “some big company news” shortly.

Meanwhile, just four months earlier, Ripple had disclosed a significant acquisition.

On May 17, Garlinghouse revealed that the company had purchased Swiss custody firm Metaco for $250 million.