10 months ago
Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms has intensified its acquisition strategy against rival Bitfarms by purchasing astir 10 cardinal further shares this month, according to a July 31 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SC 13D/A filing revealed that Riot present holds 71.56 cardinal of Bitfarms’ full outstanding shares—valued astatine $159.1 million—equivalent to a 15.9% involvement successful the Canadian miner.
This acquisition came soon aft the Ontario Capital Markets Tribunal nullified Bitfarms’ initial shareholder rights plan, which would person diluted outstanding shares if immoderate azygous entity had acquired much than 15% of the company’s stake. Prior to this ruling, Riot held a 14.9% involvement successful Bitfarms.
However, with the program canceled and Bitfarms increasing the threshold for equity dilution from 15% to 20%, Riot has taken vantage of the concern to acquisition much shares of the rival firm.
These moves travel Riot’s unsuccessful $950 million unsolicited connection to get Bitfarms, which was rejected successful April. Since then, the miner has mounted a nationalist run to propulsion its takeover bid, calling for a peculiar shareholders’ meeting astatine Bitfarms to ballot connected 3 caller committee nominees.
Riot has besides criticized Bitfarms’ firm governance, citing precocious management turnover and alleging that the existent committee prioritizes idiosyncratic interests implicit those of the institution and its shareholders.
Despite Riot’s moves, the Bitfarms committee has claimed they are unaware of immoderate pending oregon threatened takeover bid for the company. However, they noted that Riot’s archetypal connection undervalued the institution and viewed the requested gathering arsenic portion of Riot’s effort to “opportunistically acquire” it.
Nevertheless, Bitfarms said it has begun evaluating strategical options to safeguard its shareholders from imaginable acquisition attempts and to counteract “creeping bids,” wherever an entity accumulates a important shareholding incrementally without a ceremonial takeover bid.
The station Riot buys much Bitfarms shares, present holds astir 16% stake appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.
English (US) 