Crypto Miner Bitdeer Delays $4B SPAC Deal Again

The SPAC firm that is taking cryptocurrency miner Bitdeer public at a valuation of $4 billion has filed for another three-month extension.

Blue Safari Group, a special buyout company, was supposed to merge with BitDeer by June 14, but filed an extension to push the deadline back to September 14. The combination was originally announced in November 2021.

SPACs act like blank check companies. They are set up and registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise capital and find a company to take public in the event of an acquisition or merger. These investment vehicles have become a popular way to take companies public because they bypass the longer process of an IPO.

But the bear market has left many crypto firms waiting in the wings or worse.

Each delay has required a $575,000 cash infusion from Bitdeer. A press release sent to the SEC explains that “Bitdeer agreed to lend the company [Blue Safari Group] a total principal of $1.99 million in two tranches.”

According to the terms, this second extension is the last one that can be covered by the loan. It does not bear interest and must not be repaid until the companies have completed the merger.

With its latest expansion, Blue Safari Group will now have until December 14 to complete its combination with founder Jihan Wu’s Singapore-based mining company Bitdeer.

What is Bitdeer?

Wu is something of a legend in the crypto community due to his role in translating Satoshi Nakamotoits original Bitcoin Whitepaper to Mandarin in 2011.

Then in 2013, he founded Bitmain, the Beijing-based hardware company that has become synonymous with the application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) that power Bitcoin mining rigs.

After stepping down as co-CEO of Bitmain in 2019, he founded the crypto financial services firm Matrixport. So in 2020, he turned his attention to Bitdeer.

“As a leader in crypto mining, we will continue to strengthen our leading position in crypto mining,” Wu said of the merger when it was first announced last year. “Today marks a significant milestone for Bitdeer, and we strive to create value for our broader group of stakeholders in the future, including our customers, employees and shareholders.”

Crypto SPACs miss the mark

The ongoing crypto winter has put a damper on recent SPAC deals in the crypto space.

USD Coin issuer Circle, trading platform eToro and Bullish Group have all delayed their plans to go public through SPACs.

In July, VCV Digital Technology, a crypto miner valued at $294 million, ended its plans to go public by combining with Fortune Rise Acquisition Corporation.

And last week, crypto miner PrimeBlock saw CEO Gaurav Budhrani step down after canceling plans to combine with 10X Capital Venture at a $1.3 billion valuation.