In the latest twist in Bolt's aggressive fundraising efforts, the fintech company's CEO appears to have made a veiled threat of legal action against Silverbear Capital, the investment bank that is still embroiled in controversy over the deal.
“We believe there was a lack of internal communication at one of our key investors, Silverbear Capital, that led to unnecessary confusion,” CEO Justin Grooms wrote in an email seen by Forbes. “In fact, they have signed a binding term sheet pledging $200 million. Our outstanding legal team at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher stands ready to vigorously enforce our rights on behalf of the company.”
Bolt, which provides tools for one-click e-commerce checkouts, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Silverbear partner Veronica Welch told Forbes that “this was in no way related to misrepresentation” and that the deal “was never discussed or approved by the company.”
According to a leaked contract earlier this month, Bolt plans to raise $200 million in equity and $250 million in “marketing credits” at a $14 billion valuation, with an unusual pay-to-play deal structure that would require existing backers to invest in the company or forfeit their stake.
While Silverbear was initially reported to be leading this capital raising round, the firm's partner Brad Pamnani recently told TechCrunch that the deal is actually being conducted through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) run by a private equity firm headquartered in the United Arab Emirates.
“I initially responded to a few things using Silverbear email, which caused some confusion, but Silverbear never actually looked into the deal,” Pamnani said.
Meanwhile, The London Fund’s CEO confirmed to TechCrunch that the company was contributing “marketing credit” to the deal. However, The London Fund issued a statement on Friday saying it “cannot confirm” or “cannot verify” any part of the documents leaked to the press.
“We can confirm that there were discussions between the London fund and Bolt management, but at no point did we state that a deal had been completed,” the company said.
