Rumble plans to spend $1.17 billion to acquire AI giant Northern Data, major shareholder Tether nods in support, RUM jumps 13%

Video sharing platform and cloud service provider Rumble announced that it has made an acquisition offer to Northern Data AG, a German artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) solutions company, planning to acquire all outstanding shares of Northern Data through an all-stock transaction. As investors in both companies, stablecoin leader Tether has currently agreed to this deal. (Background: Tether reaffirms: We will return to the U.S. market! Targeting institutional clients, but not learning from Circle's IPO) (Background information: Tether released Q2 financial report: USDT market cap hits new high, holding $127 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds, quarterly net profit of $4.9 billion) Video sharing platform and cloud service provider Rumble (Nasdaq code: RUM) announced today (11th) that it has confirmed making an acquisition offer to Northern Data AG (German stock exchange code: NB2), planning to invest €1 billion (approximately $1.17 billion) to acquire all outstanding shares of Northern Data through an all-stock transaction. Rumble pointed out that this deal aims to integrate Northern Data's advanced AI infrastructure and strengthen Rumble's competitiveness in the global AI cloud service market. Acquisition plan details According to Rumble's announcement, the key terms of the potential acquisition offer (hereinafter referred to as the 'offer') include: First, exchange ratio: Each participating Northern Data shareholder is expected to exchange each share of Northern Data for 2.319 newly issued Class A common shares of Rumble, valuing approximately $18.3 per share, which is about a 32% discount to Northern Data's most recent closing price. Second, equity structure: If all outstanding shares of Northern Data participate in the offer, Northern Data shareholders will hold approximately 33.3% of the combined Rumble. Third, business integration: Rumble plans to integrate Northern Data's GPU cloud service business Taiga (which has approximately 20,480 Nvidia H100 and 2,048 H200 GPUs) and data center business Ardent (with nearly 850 megawatts of potential power capacity, including a 180-megawatt site in Mayesville, Georgia). Fourth, conditions and adjustments: The transaction assumes that Northern Data's cryptocurrency mining division Peak Mining will be divested before the transaction is completed, with proceeds used to repay Tether's existing loans to Northern Data. Fifth, financial structure: Rumble emphasizes that the transaction structure will ensure that Rumble and its subsidiaries bear no obligations or liabilities for Tether's remaining loans. Rumble stated that if the transaction is completed, it will transform into one of the leaders in the global AI field, combining Northern Data's powerful GPU resources with data centers to achieve strategic goals of data privacy and global independence. Tether's support It is worth mentioning that Tether, the issuer of the US dollar stablecoin USDT and the largest shareholder of Northern Data, has explicitly expressed support for Rumble's offer. Once the transaction is finalized, Tether will exchange its Northern Data shares (approximately 54%) for Rumble Class A common stock at the same exchange ratio as other shareholders, becoming Rumble's largest single shareholder. At the same time, Tether also promised to sign a long-term GPU purchase agreement with Rumble after the transaction is completed, becoming its important customer. Furthermore, Tether is also an investor in Rumble. According to public information, at the beginning of this year, Tether invested $775 million in Rumble, purchasing 103.3 million shares of Rumble Class A common stock (at $7.50 per share), of which $250 million was used to support Rumble's growth plans. However, it is worth noting that Rumble emphasizes that this transaction has not yet been finalized and requires the completion of confirmatory due diligence, signing of final agreements, and obtaining regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025, but there remains uncertainty. Rumble’s pre-market surge of 13% Encouraged by this news, Rumble's stock RUM surged 13% before the U.S. stock market opened, currently valuing at $2.668 billion. Image source: Google Finance Online discussions Some internet users analyzed that this acquisition plan is a significant move for Rumble to expand its AI business, potentially challenging the existing positions of cloud service giants such as AWS and Google Cloud. "Rumble's acquisition of Northern Data will integrate a large number of GPUs and data centers, aiming directly at the position of AI cloud leader." Others also expressed that Tether's support adds more intrigue to the transaction, as Rumble aims to acquire Northern Data, and Tether, as an investor in both parties, leads some to speculate that Tether may use Rumble as an indirect listing channel, converting Northern Data's shares into Rumble stock, possibly to achieve liquidity for its assets in the U.S. stock market. However, this speculation has not been officially confirmed. Related reports Tether announces gold token XAUt reserves: 7.66 tons of gold bars safely stored in Swiss vault Tether's investment empire holds 120 companies: involved in Bitcoin mining, AI, Taiwan's XREX, Juventus Football Club, the largest Bitcoin miner dream) Tether collaborates with South American agricultural company Adecoagro to introduce renewable energy mining "Rumble plans to spend $1.17 billion to acquire AI giant Northern Data, major shareholder Tether nods in support, RUM jumps 13%" This article was first published on BlockTempo (BlockTempo - the most influential blockchain news media).