Galaxy to acquire Helios Bitcoin Mining Facility from Argo Blockchain
State-of-the-art facilities will significantly expand Galaxy’s mining capacity
NEW YORK, 28 December 2022 /CNW/ – Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. (TSX: GLXY) (“Galaxy” or the “Company”), a digital asset financial services and investment management innovator, cryptocurrencyand blockchain technology sectors, has agreed to acquire Helios bitcoin mining facilities and associated operations from Argo Blockchain plc (LSE: ARB; NASDAQ: ARBK) (“Argo”) for approx. 65 million dollars.
The transaction will accelerate Galaxy’s expansion bitcoin mining and services, provides access to tax-efficient mining infrastructure and reduces reliance on third-party hosting providers.
Helios is a large scale bitcoin mining facility located in Dickens County, Texas, which has the ability to operate up to 180 megawatts (MW) of mining capacity, using immersion cooling technology. Upon receipt of certain approvals, Helios is expected to provide Galaxy with as much as 800 MW of capacity, enabling the company to grow its proprietary and hosted bitcoin mining infrastructure beyond the previously stated goals. Helios, which is located on a 160-acre campus, started its operations in May 2022 and is currently staffed by approximately 40 employees who manage the day-to-day operations.
“Galaxy hopes to be one of the most trusted nodes in the decentralized future,” said Chris Ferraro, President and Chief Investment Officer of Galaxy. “The acquisition of Helios represents a new phase in our two-year journey into bitcoin mining that increases our operating scale and breadth of solutions, creating sustainable value for the largest decentralized digital asset network and shareholders.”
Galaxy intends to use Helios as its flagship proprietary mining facility and retain the entire operations team. Galaxy will also begin offering hosting services for third parties bitcoin miners in Helios, creating a new revenue stream for the company. Galaxy and Argo will work together to ensure a smooth transition on Helios, and minimize disruption to operations. Galaxy has also pledged to support the various community commitments Argo has established since it began building Helios in July 2021.
In connection with this transaction, Galaxy has agreed to provide Argo with a new senior secured loan valued at 35 million dollars, secured by a security package that includes Argo mining equipment. Argo will also enter into a two-year hosting agreement with Galaxy, which ensures space for Argo’s mining machines at the Helios facility.
Helios is the second planned bitcoin mining facilities that Galaxy will own and operate. As previously announced, Galaxy broke ground on its first proprietary mining site earlier this year, which is also located in Texas.
“Quality infrastructure and access to low-cost energy are the cornerstones of a successful mining operation, making the acquisition of Helios an incredible milestone for the growth of Galaxy’s mining business,” said Amanda Fabiano, mine manager at Galaxy. “We’re thrilled to welcome people who support Helios to the Galaxy team. We’re also looking forward to having Argo as our first hosting client.”
Galaxy and Argo expect the transaction to close 28 December 2022.
Galaxy Investment Banking acted as exclusive financial advisor to Galaxy on the acquisition of Helios. Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as Galaxy’s legal advisor in connection with the transaction.
About Galaxy
Galaxy (TSX: GLXY) is a digital asset and blockchain leader that gives institutions, startups and qualified individuals access to crypto economy. Our complete suite of financial services is tailored for a digital native ecosystem, spanning several synergistic lines of business: Trading, Asset Management, Investment Banking, Mining and Ventures.
Galaxy’s CEO and founder Michael Novogratz leads a team of crypto enthusiasts and institutional veterans working together on a mission to construct a new economic paradigm. The company has its headquarters in New York Citywith offices in Chicago, New Jersey, Texas, London, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Tokyoand Cayman Islands (reg. office).
Additional information about Galaxy’s businesses and products is available at www.galaxy.com.
Disclaimers
The TSX has neither approved nor rejected the contents of this press release.
CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The information in this communication may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and ” forward-looking information” under Canadian securities laws (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the acquisition of Helios Bitcoin The Mining Facility (the “Transaction”), and the parties, perspectives and expectations are forward-looking statements. In addition, statements that refer to estimates, projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “may”, “perhaps”, “plan”, “possible” “potential”, “anticipate”, “project”, “should”, “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this press release may include, for example, statements about: our expectations regarding the performance of our mining operations; additional mining capacity at the Helios facility; the creation of new sources of income and businesses with the transaction. The forward-looking statements in this release are based on our current expectations and beliefs regarding future developments and their potential effects on us, taking into account information available to us. There can be no guarantee that future developments affecting us will be those we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that could cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: (1) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted after the transaction; (2) costs associated with the transaction and energy sources; (3) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (4) the possibility that mining operations may be adversely affected by other economic, business and/or competitive factors or natural disasters; (5) changes or events affecting cryptocurrency industry, including potential regulation, which is beyond our control; (6) the risk that our business will not grow in line with our expectations; (7) the possibility that our addressable market is smaller than we have anticipated and/or that we may not be able to capture it; (8) the other risks in the annual information form for the year ended 31 December 2021 available on the Company’s profile at www.sedar.com and (9) other risks and uncertainties that shall be disclosed from time to time in filings on SEDAR. Factors that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, failure to receive regulatory approvals or the introduction of new regulations; a downturn in the digital asset market or general economic conditions; the failure or delay in the adoption of digital assets and the blockchain ecosystem and corresponding impact on our business. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, they could cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You should not take any statement about past trends or activities as a representation that the trends or activities will continue in the future. Accordingly, you should not rely on these statements.
SOURCE Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd.
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