Riot requisitions special meeting of Bitfarms, withdraws $950m acquisition proposal

Riot has called for a special meeting of Bitfarms shareholders to reconstitute its board, citing urgent governance issues, after withdrawing its previous acquisition proposal.

Riot Platforms, a public U.S.-based Bitcoin mining company, has taken a new step in its ongoing efforts to influence the future direction of Bitfarms, requisitioning a special meeting of Bitfarms shareholders.

Riot, which currently holds approximately 14.9% of Bitfarms, aims to reconstitute the Bitfarms board of directors by removing Bitfamrs interim chief executive Nicolas Bonta, director Andrés Finkielsztain, and any recent appointee following Emiliano Grodzki’s resignation, according to a press release seen by crypto.news.

The Colorado-headquartered company says Bonta and Finkielsztain “bear direct responsibility for the Bitfarms board’s poor corporate governance practices and consistent inability to realize Bitfarms’ full potential.”

“Riot will also seek to remove any additional director appointed by the Bitfarms board after the date of this press release.” Riot Platforms

In its turn, Riot nominated three directors, John Delaney, Amy Freedman, and Ralph Goehring, to replace Bonta and Finkielsztain, citing the need to “fix Bitfarms’ broken corporate governance.”

Riot’s latest move comes after months of attempts to engage with Bitfarms regarding a potential merger. Riot has now explicitly withdrawn its $950 million proposal to buy Bitfarms, stating that “engaging with the incumbent Bitfarms board on a potential combination is just not possible.”

The special meeting will allow shareholders to vote on the proposed changes, which Riot believes are essential due to the Bitfarms board’s mishandling of chief executive succession as “good faith negotiations simply will not be possible until there is real change in the Bitfarms boardroom.”