CleanSpark (CLSK) has announced plans to acquire rival GRIID Infrastructure (GRDI) for $155 million in an all-stock deal. This move is part of the ongoing consolidation in the Bitcoin mining sector following the halving event in April, which reduced the available supply of BTC. GRIID’s stock fell more than 50% upon news of the acquisition, while CleanSpark’s stock rose 4%.
This acquisition is just the latest in a series of merger and acquisition activities in the crypto mining sector. Riot Platforms (RIOT) recently attempted a takeover of Bitfarms (BITF), without success, and Core Scientific (CORZ) is being acquired by a cloud computing company.
The deal between CleanSpark and GRIID is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. As part of the agreement, CleanSpark will immediately receive 20-megawatts of power capacity from GRIID.
GRIID, founded in 2018 and listed on the Nasdaq earlier this year, operates crypto mining facilities in New York state and Tennessee. Despite its IPO, GRIID’s stock has fallen 73% and currently trades at $1.22 per share. In contrast, CleanSpark’s stock has risen 280% in the past year, trading at $16.05 per share.