Riot Platforms has decided to withdraw its bid to acquire rival Bitfarms and instead aims to overhaul Bitfarms' Board of Directors before considering any further acquisition attempts.

On June 24, Riot formally requested a special meeting of Bitfarms shareholders to restructure the board by removing Bitfarms Chairman and Interim CEO Nicolas Bonta and director Andrés Finkielsztain. Shareholders will vote on this decision.

The vote will also determine whether to remove any appointees filling the vacancy left by co-founder Emiliano Grodzki, who was recently ousted from the board at the annual shareholders’ meeting. Bonta and Grodzki co-founded Bitfarms in 2017.

Riot stated that this action is necessary due to stalled negotiations with Bitfarms’ board, asserting that meaningful negotiations are not possible without significant board changes.

Riot explained:

“The current Bitfarms Board is founder-driven, prioritizing individual directors' interests over those of Bitfarms and its shareholders.”

As part of the restructuring, Riot is nominating John Delaney, Amy Freedman, and Ralph Goehring to replace the current board members. Riot clarified:

“None of these nominees will receive any compensation or financial benefit from Riot or its advisors related to Riot’s requisition of the Special Meeting or their potential service as Bitfarms directors.”

Riot initially attempted to acquire Bitfarms in April for about $950 million, but Bitfarms rejected the offer, deeming it significantly undervalued. Since then, Riot has steadily purchased Bitfarms stock, becoming its largest shareholder with a 14.9% stake.

Riot indicated its willingness to discuss a potential acquisition with a restructured Bitfarms board but has retracted its previous offer of $2.30 per share.