CleanSpark set to acquire GRIID as part of Tennessee build-out

Bitcoin mining giant CleanSpark continues acting upon its acquisition ambitions, this time agreeing to buy GRIID Infrastructure.

The Las Vegas-based miner is set to acquire all issued and outstanding GRIID stock in a deal valued at roughly $155 million, the company said Thursday. 

CleanSpark is set to add 20 megawatts of available power immediately as part of a hosting agreement signed in tandem with the merger. The company plans to use the business combination to help it build out its presence in Tennessee, where most of GRIID’s mining capacity resides.

“This acquisition would give us a clear and steady path over the next three years to accomplish in Tennessee what we proudly achieved in Georgia over the past three years,” CleanSpark CEO Zach Bradford said in a Thursday statement. 

Read more: Buyers and sellers: How bitcoin miners are thinking about post-halving M&A

That includes building out more than 400 MW backed by long-term power contracts, the CEO added. CleanSpark expects to eclipse 100 MW in Tennessee by the end of the year and 200 MW the following year — before hitting the final target in 2026.

Bradford has said in recent months that the company would be an active acquirer in the space around April’s Bitcoin halving. 

CleanSpark bought three facilities in Mississippi in February for roughly $20 million and committed in May to spend about $19 million to acquire 75 MW worth of mining sites in Wyoming.  

More recently, the miner said it would buy five more bitcoin mining facilities in Georgia for nearly $26 million. 

Read more: Riot nominates directors for Bitfarms board as part of takeover saga

Though approved by the companies’ director boards, the transaction is subject to GRIID shareholder approval and is expected to close in the third quarter.  

Unlike Riot Platforms’ ongoing attempt to acquire rival miner Bitfarms, this merger agreement is not of the so-called hostile takeover variety. 

“I am incredibly excited for the opportunity for GRIID to join the CleanSpark team,” GRIID CEO Trey Kelly said in a statement. “Together, we will achieve rapid growth in the Tennessee Valley.”

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