Riot Platforms buys another 1 million Bitfarms shares, increasing ownership stake to 18.9%

Business•August 14, 2024, 10:34AM EDT
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Riot Platforms buys another 1 million Bitfarms shares, increasing ownership stake to 18.9%

Quick Take

  • Riot Platforms has been steadily buying up shares in Bitfarms since April.
  • Riot now owns 85.29 million shares, representing approximately 18.9% of the issued and outstanding common shares.
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Riot Platforms, one of the largest U.S.-traded bitcoin miners, has purchased an additional 1 million shares of Bitfarms, advancing its bid to take over the company.

With the latest acquisition, Riot now owns more than 85.29 million shares, representing about 18.9% of Bitfarms' outstanding common shares, making it the company's largest shareholder. The move comes just a day after Bitfarms co-founder and former chairman Nicolas Bonta stepped down from the board of directors.

In July, Riot nominated three independent directors to the Bitfarms board to replace Bonta, among others. Bitfarms had set Oct. 29 as the date for a special meeting of its shareholders to vote on reconstituting its board of directors following Riot Platforms’ requisition for the meeting on June 24.

Last week, Bitfarms reported a net loss of $27 million, or a 7-cent loss per basic and diluted share. For its part, Riot booked a net loss of $84.4 million in the second quarter, compared to a net loss of $27.4 million in the same period last year, according to its latest quarterly report.

Amid the M&A tussle, Riot and Bitfarms saw bitcoin production rise 45% and 34%, respectively, during the month of July.

Riot's stock (ticker: RIOT) is down 50% year to date while Bitfarms (ticker: BITF) is down 21%.