Bitcoin miner Argo to avoid bankruptcy with $100M deal from Galaxy Digital

Galaxy Digital has agreed to acquire Argo Blockchain’s bitcoin mining facility Helios for $65 million, the two firms announced Wednesday.

The deal also includes Galaxy acquiring “related operations” from Argo Blockchain. Galaxy will also provide Argo with a $35 million loan as the company restructures, secured by a collateral package with Argo mining equipment. Argo will keep ownership of its machines at the Dickens County, Texas, facility and will enter a two-year hosting agreement with Galaxy to provide a place for its mining machines at the facility.

Through this deal, not only will Galaxy’s mining operations grow, but Argo will also avoid bankruptcy. The transaction will “strengthen Argo’s balance sheet” and improve its liquidity position so the company can “continue operations,” Argo said in a statement.

The financing will help to reduce Argo’s debt by $41 million and enhance its liquidity “to help ensure continued operations through the ongoing bear market,” Argo’s CEO Peter Wall said in a statement.

In recent months, bankruptcy has been lingering around the bitcoin mining industry as the market faces significant downturns due to energy prices rising and miner revenues dropping, which has tightened margins and increased profit losses.

Bitcoin miners say energy efficiency and regulatory certainty are crucial for the industry’s success

Last week, Core Scientific, one of the largest publicly traded crypto mining firms in the U.S., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In September, bitcoin mining data firm Compute North filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after raising $385 million in strategic funding seven months earlier.

“The transaction will accelerate the expansion of Galaxy's bitcoin mining operations and services, provide access to tax-efficient mining infrastructure and reduce reliance on third-party hosting providers,” Galaxy said in a statement.

Even though some miners are struggling, the Helios acquisition points to Galaxy’s intentions to grow its mining operations, as Helios will be its second facility that it will own and operate, alongside its first proprietary mining site that was announced earlier this year.

This acquisition is a “new stage” for Galaxy’s two-year bitcoin mining journey as it increases its operating scale and breadth of solutions, Chris Ferraro, president and chief investment officer at Galaxy, said in a release.

Argo shares rose 77.43% on the day to about $6.39 GBX on the London Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s price was down slightly on the day, around $16,750 in the same time frame.