Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms has intensified its acquisition strategy against rival Bitfarms by purchasing approximately 10 million additional 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 now holds 71.56 million of Bitfarms’ total outstanding shares—valued at $159.1 million—equivalent to a 15.9% stake in the Canadian miner.
This acquisition came shortly after the Ontario Capital Markets Tribunal nullified Bitfarms’ initial shareholder rights plan, which would have diluted outstanding shares if any single entity had acquired more than 15% of the company’s stake. Prior to this ruling, Riot held a 14.9% stake in Bitfarms.
However, with the plan canceled and Bitfarms increasing the threshold for equity dilution from 15% to 20%, Riot has taken advantage of the situation to purchase more shares of the rival firm.
These moves follow Riot’s unsuccessful $950 million unsolicited offer to acquire Bitfarms, which was rejected in April. Since then, the miner has mounted a public campaign to push its takeover bid, calling for a special shareholders’ meeting at Bitfarms to vote on three new board nominees.
Riot has also criticized Bitfarms’ corporate governance, citing high management turnover and alleging that the current board prioritizes personal interests over those of the company and its shareholders.
Despite Riot’s moves, the Bitfarms board has claimed they are unaware of any pending or threatened takeover bid for the company. However, they noted that Riot’s initial offer undervalued the company and viewed the requested meeting as part of Riot’s effort to “opportunistically acquire” it.
Nevertheless, Bitfarms said it has begun evaluating strategic options to safeguard its shareholders from potential acquisition attempts and to counteract “creeping bids,” where an entity accumulates a substantial shareholding incrementally without a formal takeover bid.
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