The company has vehemently denied that it was shopping for buyers. Allman’s estate declined to comment.

• Ondo Finance was shopped to prospective buyers after founder and CEO Nathan Allman’s death, according to people familiar with the matter.
• A legal fight over control of the company has likely put any sale plans on hold, one of the people said.
• Ondo offers tokenized Treasuries and stocks, with more than $3.8 billion across its products.

Tokenization platform Ondo Finance was shopped to prospective buyers after the sudden death of its founder and CEO, Nathan Allman, earlier this year, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

The outreach occurred sometime after Allman’s death on May 25, according to two of the people who spoke on condition of anonymity, as the matter is private.

But who, exactly, was behind the attempts to sell Ondo Finance remains unclear.

In early August, Allman’s estate filed suit against Ondo’s acting CEO Ian De Bode, alleging an unlawful power and money grab and sparking a bitter corporate control fight.

Nathan Allman died unexpectedly and without a will at 32, creating uncertainty over the fate of his controlling stake in Ondo Finance and his massive trove of ONDO tokens. After a probate process, his estate was awarded to his parents, 77-year-old Kathleen Allman and 82-year-old Lawrence Allman.

Under a current court order, De Bode remains Ondo’s CEO and can oversee day-to-day operations, but he cannot make major changes to the company while the dispute over its control is being resolved. A separate court petition by Allman’s half-sister and an Ondo investor sought to limit Kathleen’s control over her share of the estate. Kathleen Allman denied the petition’s allegations.

The escalating legal fight for control of the firm has likely put any plans for a sale on hold, one of the people said.

An Ondo spokesman denied that the company was, at any point, looking for buyers, calling the talk of a potential sale “wholly untrue.”

“Nobody at the company has shopped it for sale, been in sales talks, or engaged or asked anyone to do so on its behalf. There are no facts to support this,” the spokesperson added.

Founded in 2021 by former Goldman Sachs executives, New York-based Ondo offers tokenized U.S. Treasuries and stocks and has more than $3.8 billion across its products, making it one of the largest platforms for real-world assets on blockchain. Ondo’s OUSG fund holds investments in BlackRock’s tokenized BUIDL fund.

Ondo did not disclose a valuation in either of its announced funding rounds, and CoinDesk was unable to determine what price was discussed during the sale talks.

The company has raised $24 million in equity funding: $4 million in 2021 and $20 million in 2022. A separate $10 million token sale brings publicly reported fundraising to $34 million. Ondo’s equity backers include Pantera Capital, Founders Fund, Coinbase Ventures and Tiger Global.

Ondo was shopped amid a wave of crypto dealmaking, including acquisitions aimed at expanding tokenized finance. Announced crypto mergers and acquisitions totaled $12.9 billion in the second quarter, the industry’s second-largest quarterly sum, according to Architect Partners.

The quarter’s biggest deal was Bullish’s $4.2 billion acquisition of transfer agent Equiniti, a bet on bringing traditional financial assets onto blockchain rails.

Bullish is the parent company of CoinDesk.

Read more: Power struggle erupts at Ondo Finance after founder’s death

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