Riot Platforms Acquires 9.25% Stake in Bitfarms Following Rejected $950M Takeover Offer
Bitcoin miner Bitfarms declined Riot Platforms’ $950 million acquisition offer, but Riot Platforms has acquired a 9.25% stake in Bitfarms, becoming one of its largest shareholders.
- Riot offered $2.30 a share in cash and stock for Bitfarms, according to a statement. The price is about 20% above where Bitfarms traded before Riot’s offer in April, made privately to the board.
"A combination of Bitfarms and Riot would create the premier and largest publicly listed Bitcoin miner globally, with geographically diversified operations well-positioned for long-term growth. We were disappointed to learn that the Bitfarms Board rejected our compelling Proposal without engaging in substantive dialogue with us. While we have long respected Bitfarms’ business and management team, we are confident that Bitfarms’ shareholders will agree that this Proposal represents a significantly more attractive alternative for Bitfarms than its standalone trajectory," said Benjamin Yi, Executive Chairman of Riot.
- Following Bitfarms' firing of interim CEO Geoffrey Morphy, who sued for $27 million, Riot cited corporate governance issues and plans to call a vote to add new directors.
- "We are deeply concerned that the founders on the Bitfarms Board – Nicolas Bonta and Emiliano Grodzki – may not be acting in the best interests of all Bitfarms shareholders. The abrupt termination of the Bitfarms CEO without a transition plan in place at a critical period of execution for Bitfarms and the industry, as well as the allegations, if accurate, regarding the actions of certain members of the Bitfarms Board set out in the lawsuit filed by that recently terminated CEO, raise serious governance questions," said Jason Les, Chief Executive Officer of Riot.
"This is why we intend to call a Special Meeting to give shareholders a chance to bring needed change to the Bitfarms Board and make repairing Bitfarms’ broken corporate governance and maximizing value for all Bitfarms’ shareholders their top priorities," added Les.
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