(Bloomberg) -- Quebec’s pension manager broke its silence about its investment in Celsius Network LLC, saying it will “take time” to resolve claims around the bankrupt cryptocurrency lender but admitting the investment didn’t pan out. 

Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec invested $150 million in Celsius in October as part of a $400 million funding round co-led by WestCap Investment Partners LLC. 

Equity holders are likely to be wiped out after Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a US court, a casualty of a meltdown in cryptocurrency prices that has wiped out a number of digital-asset lenders and platforms. Celsius disclosed last week that it has a $1.19 billion deficit on its balance sheet, with $5.5 billion of liabilities against $4.3 billion of assets. 

“We understand that our investment in Celsius raises a number of questions,” Caisse de Depot spokesperson Maxime Chagnon said in an emailed statement. “This is something that we take very seriously and we will provide further comment at the appropriate moment. Celsius is currently engaged in a complex process that will take time to resolve.”

The financing gave Celsius a valuation of more than $3 billion, the Quebec investment firm said at the time. Changon said the Caisse is “making every effort to preserve our rights” but did not elaborate. 

‘Not Performing’

“A very small portion of our overall portfolio is invested in new technologies, which feature innovative, high-growth companies in riskier sectors that offer the potential for superior returns -- and have provided outstanding returns to our clients over a number of years,” said the Caisse statement. “However, some of our investments, such as the one in Celsius, are not performing as expected.”

Read more: Celsius Crypto FOMO Lured Finance Pros Too

Caisse, a C$420 billion ($326 billion) investment manager for pensions and other government funds in Quebec, will report mid-year investment results in August. 

The outcome of the transaction raises questions about the due diligence on the deal by the Montreal-based institution. At the time of the investment, Caisse Chief Technology Officer Alexandre Synnett said Celsius was “the world’s leading crypto lender with a strong management team that puts transparency and customer protection at the core of their operations.” 

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