Benzinga - Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) mining giant Riot Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT) has upped its stake in rival Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ:BITF) to 14% by purchasing an additional $3.87 million worth of shares as part of its ongoing hostile takeover bid.
What Happened: Riot Platforms procured another 1,432,063 shares of Bitfarms at approximately $2.70 per share, The Block reported Thursday. This latest acquisition brings Riot’s total ownership to 57.62 million shares, or about 14% of Bitfarms.
Bitfarms had earlier this week implemented a “poison pill” strategy to prevent the takeover, a move that would dilute the stake of any entity acquiring more than 15% of Bitfarms’ stake after June 20 and up to Sept. 10.
Riot Platforms’ CEO, Jason Les, criticized Bitfarms’ recent efforts to block the takeover, saying, “Instead of engaging with us privately and in good faith, Bitfarms has responded by implementing an off-market poison pill with a trigger well below the customary 20% threshold.”
See Also: Here’s How Much Trump Could Have Had Today If He Didn’t Sell His Ethereum Back In December
Why It Matters: Last month, Riot attempted to acquire Bitfarms for an estimated $950 million. It increased its stake to 12% last week.
Due to concerns regarding the latter's corporate governance, Riot has expressed its intention to call for a special shareholder meeting to include independent directors on Bitfarms' board.
In the meanwhile, Bitfarms announced plans to develop its first large-scale mining site in the U.S. at Pennsylvania.
#Bitfarms Enters into Agreement to Develop 120 MW in U.S.; Provides 2025 Guidance of Over 35 EH/sPrice Action: Shares of Riot Platforms closed 3.2% higher at $10.98 during Thursday’s regular trading hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Bitfarms' shares surged 15% to close at $2.810.• First U.S. large scale site supports 8 EH/s in 2025 with deployment of 600 PH/s in 2024
• Strategically located in PJM Interconnection market, providing access to low-cost,… pic.twitter.com/4JAbTVfJzl
— Bitfarms (@Bitfarms_io) June 13, 2024
Photo by Gaston Cerliani on Shutterstock
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