Bitfarms shares surge 16% as Riot Platforms reveals 14% stake

Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:) stated on Thursday it had acquired an extra 1,432,063 shares of Bitfarms (BITF) at roughly $2.70 per share, totaling about $3.87 million.

This buy brings Riot’s possession to 57.62 million shares of Bitfarms, equating to roughly 14% of the corporate.

Bitfarms shares surged 16% in Toronto on Friday.

The transfer marks the newest step in Riot’s ongoing try at a hostile takeover of Bitfarms.

Final month, the Bitcoin miner made a proposal to accumulate Bitfarms for round $950 million. Nevertheless, Bitfarms has taken defensive measures in opposition to the takeover.

Riot CEO Jason Les criticized the transfer.

“As a substitute of participating with us privately and in good religion, Bitfarms has responded by implementing an off-market Poison Capsule with a set off effectively beneath the customary 20% threshold,” Les stated in an announcement.

Earlier this week, Bitfarms adopted a “poison tablet” technique designed to stop a takeover, a technique aimed toward making the corporate much less interesting.

In response to Reuters, underneath Bitfarms’ plan, if an entity acquires greater than 15% of Bitfarms’ stake between June 20 and September 10, the corporate will problem new shares, thereby diluting the entity’s possession. After September 10, this threshold can be adjusted to twenty% if sure situations for a takeover try are met.

Riot Platforms plans to name for a particular assembly of Bitfarms shareholders, the place they intend to suggest a number of impartial administrators to affix Bitfarms’ board.

Bitfarms introduced on Friday its growth into the US with the institution of a brand new web site in Sharon, Pennsylvania. The agency plans to develop as much as 120 megawatts (MW) of energy capability on this new location, it stated in an announcement.