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- Whinstone is the largest North American Bitcoin mining facility, with a total power capacity of 750 MW, out of which 300 MW has currently been developed.
- Riot’s “strategic vision and resources” and Whinstone’s “infrastructure strength” together, will help them realise their vision for the future of American Bitcoin mining.
- Following the acquisition, Northern Data will own 12% shares of Riot’s total outstanding common stock.
Riot Blockchain, Inc. (RIOT) announced Thursday that it has signed a definitive agreement stating the mining company will, comprising all its assets and operations, acquire Whinstone US, Inc. data center operations in Texas from Northern Data AG. Based on Riot’s closing price of $48.37, at $80 million cash plus fixed 11.8 million Riot common stock shares, the total transaction value sums up to approximately $651 million.
Whinstone: the largest North American Bitcoin mining facility
In 2019, the Rockdale, Texas-based 100-acre spanning facility was acquired by German Northern Data AG, a developer and operator of high-performance computing (“HPC”) infrastructure solutions. Whinstone is the owner and operator of the largest North American Bitcoin hosting facility, with total power capacity of 750 MW, out of which 300 MW currently developed, and long-term power supply agreement. This acquisition provides a clear and de-risked path for Riot’s growth.
Nasdaq-listed Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT) holds powerful “strategic vision and resources”, which together with Whinstone’s “infrastructure strength” will allow them to realise their shared vision for “the future of Bitcoin mining in America”, said Whinstone co-founder, Chad Harris.
Acquisition and its accompanying Expectations
CEO of Riot Blockchain, Jason Les is so ready for Riot to “wholly” own Whinstone and industry’s “one of the most talented development teams”, positioning Riot as a Bitcoin mining “industry leader.”
The acquisition will see Northern Data as the 12% shareholder of Riot’s total outstanding common stock. Aroosh Thillainathan, CEO of Northern Data said, being “a minority shareholder in Riot”, the HPC solutions firm will be able to benefit from the transaction-generated “synergies” and continue to “directly participate in the growth of Bitcoin value potential”. At the same time, Northern Data can focus on using the cash proceeds to implement its “decentralized, multi-site, scalable and ESG-focused strategy.”
In this way, Thillainathan believes the transaction will benefit both companies to polish strategies and further strengthen their respective core businesses.
On Wednesday, Riot made a purchase of 42,000 mining machines from Bitmain Technologies, raising the bitcoin mining hash rate of the company by 93%. At press time, Riot Blockchain shares are trading at $51.89.
With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.
