Market Updates

One of the only Ferrari 250 GTOs ever made sold at auction for $51.7 million. This model, from 1962 and bearing chassis number 3765 was being offered for sale for the first time in 38 years and achieved a record-setting price for a Ferrari at auction (one sold privately for $70 million in 2018). It is one of only 39 ever made and is the only 250 GTO to ever be raced by the Scuderia Ferrari racing team - even taking part in the famed Le Mans 24 hour race. According to the listing, “the public availability of such a singular GTO may never repeat itself within our lifetime”, so it’s no surprise the sale set a record.

Crypto financial services company Blockchain.com saw its valuation cut in half. The company best known for its crypto wallet and exchange raised a $110 million Series E round, and it did so at less than half of its prior $14 billion valuation. The fact that it raised a round at all is a good sign for the crypto venture community, as the company faced an existential crisis after it lost $270 million that it lent to the now-defunct hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. As crypto prices tick up, expect more startups to take advantage and try to secure funding.

The worldwide slump in VC funding has led to some firms attempting to buy out startups at a discount. Because even promising early-stage companies are struggling to secure funding, these new investment groups see opportunities to acquire the companies rather than fund them. The transition from venture funding to private equity takeovers can give second life to companies who are low on cash but with viable business models. In a down market, there could certainly be opportunities to make acquisitions on the cheap.

The Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary evening sales saw mixed results. The modern sale saw 8 of 41 lots withdrawn and total sales before fees of $190.4 million, compared to the pre-sale low estimate (including the withdrawn lots) of $199.2 million. The contemporary sale was led by a $42 million Basquiat sale and saw total sales before fees of $214.7 million, above the low estimate of $202 million. Taken together, the results more or less met expectations, which qualifies as good news given industry-wide worries that the high-end art market would see a big pullback this season.