Bitcoin miner Bitfarms said it has entered into a merger agreement to acquire Stronghold Digital Mining for $125 million in equity value, alongside $50 million in assumed debt.
In a joint Aug. 21 statement, both companies revealed that their Boards of Directors unanimously approved the transaction. The deal—subject to regulatory approval and other conditions—is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025.
As part of the acquisition, Stronghold shareholders will receive 2.52 shares of Bitfarms for each Stronghold share they hold. Following the merger, Stronghold shareholders are projected to own less than 10% of the combined entity.
Expansion potentials
The merger could boost Bitfarms’ capacity to 307 MW, advancing its goal of reaching 950 MW by the end of 2025. This development comes as Bitfarms continues to explore expanding its capacity to support high-performance computing (HPC) and AI ventures in addition to its Bitcoin mining operations.
Bitfarms CEO Ben Gagnon revealed that the merger followed three years of negotiations and stated that the deal would secure a strong future for the miner’s operations. He said:
“With this transaction, we anticipate expanding and rebalancing our energy portfolio to 950 MW, with nearly 50% located in the U.S. by the end of 2025. We also see potential for multi-year expansion up to 1.6 GW, with approximately 66% in the U.S., up from about 6% today.”
Riot Platforms’ takeover efforts
This acquisition occurs against Riot Platforms‘ hostile takeover attempt on Bitfarms.
Last week, Riot revealed that it had raised its stake in Bitfarms to 85.3 million shares. This means the third largest Bitcoin miner on Wall Street owns 18.9% of the Canadian mining company, adding a new dimension to its ongoing efforts to exert pressure on Bitfarms’ management after a failed $950 million takeover bid in April.
Since then, Riot has adopted an approach that resulted in significant boardroom changes for Bitfarms, including the sudden exit of co-founder Nicolas Bonta and the appointment of Gagnon as the firm’s CEO.
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Liam ‘Akiba’ Wright
Also known as “Akiba,” Liam is a reporter, editor and podcast producer at CryptoSlate. He believes that decentralized technology has the potential to make widespread positive change.
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