Riot wants three Bitfarms board members, it says it owns a 14.9% stake.
Riot Platforms, which has been trying to take over Canadian mining company BitFarms, has announced plans to replace three members of the company's board of directors.
In a June 24 announcement, Riot said it holds an approximately 14.9% stake in Bitfarms after the mining company announced a shareholder rights plan to prevent it from acquiring more than a 15% stake. Instead of continuing to buy BitFarm shares, Riot plans to replace three of the company's board members and remove additional directors appointed after the announcement.
“[It] “It is clear that working in conjunction with the current BitFarms board is not possible,” Riot said. “Riot has informed the Bitfarms board that it has formally withdrawn its previous proposal to acquire all Bitfarms common shares at a price of US$2.30 and is prepared to discuss and jointly invest with the reformed Bitfarms board. Riot”
The mining company intends to replace the board members with three people “completely independent of Riot and BitFarms” – John Delaney, Amy Friedman and Ralph Goehring. Bitfarms' Nasdaq stock price has risen more than 36 percent in the past 30 days. Cointelegraph reached out to Bitfarms for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
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The mining company said the Bitfarms board had “refused to engage constructively” regarding its mandate and that the company had “botched the process of replacing the CEO”. Former BitFarms CEO Geoffrey Morphy resigned in May after filing a lawsuit against the company. Nicolas Bonta has been acting as interim president and chief executive – but could be removed as one of three board members if Riot's appeal to shareholders is successful.
The plan to revamp the Bitfarms board is the latest development in Riot's plans to enter Bitfarms. In May, Riot offered to buy the mining company for $950 million and began increasing its stake until BitFarms implemented its ‘poison pill' strategy, covering any holdings by 15%.
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