Bitdeer, B. Riley Financial enter into agreement for $150M share purchase

Bitdeer, a crypto mining firm spun off from mining manufacturer Bitmain, has entered into an agreement with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) B. Riley Financial to sell up to $150 million of its Class A ordinary shares.

According to an Aug. 9 filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), B. Riley will have the right, but not the obligation, to purchase a specified number of Bitdeer’s shares over three years. The agreement’s rules include a maximum purchase of 1 million shares or 25% of Bitdeer’s shares traded on the Nasdaq during the purchase period.

“Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the Company has the right to sell to B. Riley Principal Capital II, up to US$150,000,000 of its Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0000001 per share (the “Class A Ordinary Shares”), subject to certain limitations and conditions set forth in the Purchase Agreement,” reads the filing.

Bitdeer went public in a SPAC deal with Blue Safari Group in April, following months of delays due to the crypto winter. A SPAC deal involves a special purpose acquisition company merging with a private firm, taking it public without a traditional initial public offering (IPO) process.

The deal gives B. Riley a special seat at Bitdeer’s table. Class A shares are typically not sold to the public, as it provides shareholders more voting rights than Class B shares. In other words, the deal gives B. Riley an ownership stake in the crypto mining company.

As part of the transaction, Bitdeer will pay B. Riley 0.5% of the deal’s value in exchange for its commitment to purchase the shares. B. Riley will also be reimbursed for legal fees and disbursements up to $50,000.

Founded by former Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu, Bitdeer provides cloud-mining services through its U.S.-based data centers in Tennessee, Washington and Texas. According to Bitdeer’s latest operations report, it mined 220 Bitcoin (BTC) through its self-mining business in July, a 41% increase year-over-year. In May, the company announced a partnership with Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) to create an eco-friendly and carbon-free digital asset mining operation in the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Cointelegraph reached out to Bitdeer for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

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