CoreWeave in Talks to Acquire Core Scientific Amid AI Infrastructure Expansion

According to Cointelegraph, CoreWeave, a company that transitioned from cryptocurrency mining to AI infrastructure provision, is reportedly in discussions to acquire Core Scientific. This follows an increased bid after a previous offer was rejected last year. The Wall Street Journal reported that the acquisition could be finalized in the coming weeks, although financial specifics remain undisclosed. The offer must consider Core Scientific's significant growth over the past year. The news of the potential acquisition led to a surge in Core Scientific's stock, which rallied over 23%, prompting a temporary halt in trading. Currently, Core Scientific holds a market capitalization of approximately $3.6 billion. The company's stock, listed under the ticker CORZ, experienced a substantial intraday rally. Last year, CoreWeave proposed a takeover bid of $5.75 per share, valuing Core Scientific at around $1 billion. However, Core Scientific declined the offer, opting to strengthen its partnership with CoreWeave, which included a $1.225 billion agreement to bolster infrastructure support for Nvidia GPUs. CoreWeave's stock, trading under the ticker CRWV, has seen a remarkable increase of nearly 300% this year, elevating its market cap to $78.4 billion. Core Scientific's decision to reject the initial offer proved beneficial, as its stock now trades at nearly three times the original bid. Cointelegraph reported that Core Scientific's first-quarter earnings more than doubled, with net income reaching $580 million, although revenue fell short of analyst expectations at $79.5 million, with $67.2 million derived from self-mining. The company attributed its revenue and mining declines to the Bitcoin network's quadrennial halving in April 2024, which reduced mining rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. Core Scientific is recognized as the 30th largest corporate Bitcoin holder, possessing 977 BTC according to industry data. As the landscape of cryptocurrency mining evolves, Core Scientific's strategic decisions and partnerships continue to shape its trajectory in the sector.