Bitfarms 950m acquisition proposal withdrawn as Riot calls for a special meeting
Riot Platforms, a publicly traded Bitcoin mining company based in the United States, is taking a new approach to influence the future direction of Bitfarms. They have called for a special meeting of Bitfarms shareholders in order to restructure the company’s board of directors.
Riot, which currently owns around 14.9% of Bitfarms, intends to remove Bitfarms’ interim CEO Nicolas Bonta, director Andrés Finkielsztain, and any recently appointed directors following Emiliano Grodzki’s resignation. According to a press release obtained by crypto.news, Riot blames Bonta and Finkielsztain for the inadequate corporate governance practices of the Bitfarms board and its failure to achieve its full potential.
Riot also plans to remove any directors appointed after the date of the press release. In their place, Riot has nominated three new directors – John Delaney, Amy Freedman, and Ralph Goehring – with the goal of fixing Bitfarms’ broken corporate governance.
This move by Riot comes after months of attempts to engage with Bitfarms regarding a potential merger. However, Riot has now officially withdrawn its $950 million acquisition proposal, stating that it is no longer possible to negotiate with the current Bitfarms board.
The special meeting called by Riot will give shareholders the opportunity to vote on these proposed changes. Riot believes that these changes are crucial due to the mishandling of CEO succession by the Bitfarms board. They believe that genuine negotiations can only take place once there is real change in the Bitfarms boardroom.
In a separate development, Riot Platforms has acquired a 12% stake in Bitfarms, further solidifying its position as a major player in the Bitcoin mining industry.
