Consolidation in the Bitcoin (BTC) mining sector continues as CleanSpark (CLSK) moves to buy rival GRIID Infrastructure (GRDI) for $155 million U.S.
The all-stock deal will see CleanSpark assume all the debt and other obligations of GRIID, the companies announced in a written statement.
Shares of GRIID fell more than 50% on news that it is being acquired. CleanSpark's stock rose 4% after the deal was announced.
This is the latest in a series of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity to hit the crypto mining sector following Bitcoin’s halving event this April, which saw the available supply of BTC and the rewards for mining it reduced by 50%.
Over the past few months, Riot Platforms (RIOT) has pursued an unsuccessful takeover of rival Bitfarms (BITF), while Core Scientific (CORZ) is being acquired by a cloud computing company.
The GRIID acquisition is expected to close in this year’s third quarter, according to the statement.
The companies have also entered into a hosting agreement where 20-megawatts (MW) worth of power capacity will be immediately allocated to CleanSpark from GRIID.
GRIID was founded in 2018 and listed on the Nasdaq exchange earlier this year. The company has crypto mining facilities in New York state and Tennessee.
GRIID’s stock has fallen 73% since its IPO and currently trades at $1.22 U.S. per share.
CleanSpark’s stock has risen 280% over the past 12 months to trade at $16.05 U.S. a share.
