Core Scientific Deal With CoreWeave Terminated After Failing to Secure Shareholder Support
By Robb M. Stewart
CoreWeave's plans to buy Core Scientific in an all-stock transaction valued at about $9 billion flopped.
Core Scientific said the merger agreement has been terminated and it will remain public traded after it failed to secure the shareholder votes necessary to approve the deal.
Core Scientific's shares climbed following the news, rising 1.6% to $21.17, while CoreWeave's stock fell 5.9% to $131.65.
CoreWeave, which went public earlier this year, sought to tie up with Core Scientific in an effort to verticalize its data center footprint and accelerate its strategy to deploy artificial intelligence. CoreWeave last year tried to acquire Core Scientific in a deal that at the time valued the business at north of $1 billion, but Core Scientific rejected the proposal as too low and said it was focused on its existing partnership with CoreWeave.
According to its website, Core Scientific is one of the largest owners and operators of high-powered digital infrastructure for bitcoin mining and hosting services in North America.
Investment management firm Two Seas Capital had urged fellow Core Scientific shareholders to reject the agreed deal with CoreWeave, and pointed to the negative market reaction to a deal it said was mispriced and poorly structured. Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis & Co. also recommended shareholders vote against the proposed sale to CoreWeave.
Michael Intrator, co-founder, chairman, and chief executive of CoreWeave, said his company respected the views of Core Scientific's stockholders. He said the AI company would continue to focus on the commercial partnership already in place with Core Scientific and would collaborate on shared opportunities.
Core Scientific said a preliminary count of shareholder votes should the deal with CoreWeave didn't receive the needed support. Final voting results are set to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com