Bitfarms postpones shareholder meeting in response to Riot request

Bitfarms has rescheduled its special shareholder meeting as part of the company’s response to the latest developments from Riot Platforms.

The rescheduling will offer Bitfarms’ Special Committee time to review and respond to a recent request from Bitcoin (BTC) miner Riot, Bitfarms said in a press release.

Bitfarms pushes special meeting to November

Riot Platforms is a major shareholder in Bitfarms, having tried to acquired its smaller rival to no avail so far.

When Riot withdrew its $950 million acquisition proposal in July, it accompanied the move with a request for a special meeting to initiate changes to Bitfarms’ board. The miner recently amended its requisition, targeting the special meeting previously scheduled for Oct. 29.

Control of the board is currently a major flashpoint in the saga. Bitfarms asserts that its board’s actions are in the best interests of all BITF shareholders, while accusing Riot of focusing solely on its own interests and those of its shareholders, rather than those of Bitfarms.

To protect its interests and those of its shareholders, one of the proposals the Bitfarms Special Committee wants to consider is increasing the number of board nominees from five to six.

Bitfarms has rescheduled the meeting to consider this to Nov. 6.

An acquisition saga

Bitcoin miners Bitfarms and Riot Platforms have engaged in one of the longest running acquisition battle in the crypto space. It’s all been there – from the days of Bitfarms’ ‘poison pill’ approach to Riot’s recent warning against moves to solidify control.

In between, Riot has increased its shares in Bitfarms, while the latter has sought to strengthen by striking a deal to acquire Stronghold Digital.

In a recent comment on the takeover bid, Bitfarms questioned Riot Platforms’ nominees to the board. According to the miner, Riot Platforms is looking to governance as a tactic towards taking control.