Animoca shelves Currenc merger over 'short- and medium-term' misalignment

Animoca Brands and Currenc Group have mutually suspended talks on the proposed reverse merger.

Both companies said Tuesday that the time still needed to close the deal no longer fits their near-term plans.

Why did the Animoca and Currenc deal fall apart?

Animoca Brands and Currenc Group released a joint statement on Animoca’s website stating that they have mutually suspended their proposed merger. The deal was reportedly called off following a review that found the timeline needed to complete the deal didn’t align with what the companies called “evolving market conditions.”

However, the door was left open, with both parties saying they may revisit the merger “if and when conditions permit.”

Animoca was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange in 2020 after regulators scrutinized its crypto activities, and it has been privately held since. The merger with Currenc (NASDAQ: CURR) was an opportunity for the company to fast-track its reentry into the market.

The deal was first announced on 3 November 2025 through a non-binding term sheet. The transaction required Currenc to acquire all of Animoca’s shares via an Australian scheme of arrangement.

The original filing states that following the merger, Animoca shareholders would have ended up holding roughly 95% of the combined company, leaving existing Currenc investors with about 5%.

The merged entity would have kept the Animoca Brands name and given NASDAQ investors exposure to a portfolio of more than 600 digital-asset companies.

In May, a Currenc statement confirmed that the closing of the deal was targeted for the third quarter after both companies extended an exclusivity window through 30 June 2026 and set a long stop date of 31 December.

Will Animoca eventually be relisted?

Yat Siu, Animoca’s co-founder and executive chairman, has said that the company will “continue to pursue optimal routes to a public listing” as it works to satisfy the audit and compliance steps a major exchange demands.

Animoca published an audit of its 2023 financial statements on 17 July, its second such release of 2026, and said preparation for the audit of its 2024 financial statements is underway.

Notably, in 2022, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission convicted and fined the company over unlodged annual reports covering 2019 through 2021.

Meanwhile, in April, Cryptopolitan reported that Currenc became one of the first Nasdaq-listed firms to put its own ordinary shares on-chain, tokenizing CURR stock on Ethereum and Solana through Securitize.

Earlier this month, its Currenc Capital subsidiary signed a consulting agreement to help Nasdaq-listed Mint tokenize a slice of its shares.

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