Greensill Capital has moved to a fast-paced process after Credit Suisse Group AG suspended $ 10 billion in investment funds that fueled the startup backed by SoftBank Group Corp.
With a key source of frozen funding, Greensill called on Grant Thornton to guide her through a possible restructuring and could file for insolvency, the equivalent of a UK bankruptcy, in a few days, according to people familiar with the company.
Greensill is also in talks with private equity giant Apollo Global Management Inc. to sell its operating business for about $ 100 million, according to people familiar with the talks. Although a transaction would not be for all Greensill assets, the amount represents a small part of its maximum valuation of $ 4 billion.
Greensill, based in the UK, is the brainchild of former Citigroup Inc. financier. and Morgan Stanley financier Lex Greensill. Founded in 2011, Greensill specializes in an area known as supply chain financing, a form of short-term cash advance that allows companies to extend the time they have to pay their bills.
Greensill wraps those cash advances in government securities that give investors a higher return than they could get from bank deposits. Credit Suisse funds were a major buyer of these securities, giving Greensill firepower to expand its business. Investors in funds include pensions, corporate treasurers and wealthy families.