Bitcoin
Bitcoin Mining Riot Platforms Attacks Bitfarms Takeover Target Over Poison Pill
(Reuters) – Riot Platforms said Bitfarms’ decision to adopt a poison pill to prevent its takeover by the bitcoin miner was “unfriendly to shareholders” and highlighted a lack of strong corporate governance standards.
Riot said on Wednesday that it had privately asked Bitfarms to remove its interim chairman and CEO, Nicolas Bonta, and add at least two new independent directors to its board.
The dispute stems from an unsolicited offer Riot made in April to acquire Bitfarms for around $950 million. Bitfarms rejected the offer, saying it significantly undervalued the company, and approved a poison pill plan to prevent any hostile takeover attempts.
Under the plan, if an entity acquires more than a 15% stake in the company after June 20 and by September 10, Bitfarms will issue new shares to other shareholders, diluting the entity’s stake.
The 15% trigger “is in direct conflict with established legal and governance standards,” Riot said on Wednesday.
“We will continue to press to resolve the serious corporate governance issues at Bitfarms and ensure shareholders have a say in the company’s path forward,” said Riot CEO Jason Les.
Bitfarms did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Separately, Riot disclosed in a regulatory filing that it has increased its stake in Bitfarms to 13.1% from 12% earlier this month. The company is Bitfarms’ largest shareholder, according to LSEG data.
Shares of Riot and Bitfarms have been hammered so far this year, falling 35% and 19%, respectively, despite a wave of optimism in the crypto industry due to the approval of exchange-traded funds tied to the spot price of bitcoin.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)