Rumble and Northern Data Announce Merger Agreement

According to BlockBeats, U.S. video and cloud platform Rumble has signed a business merger agreement with Frankfurt-listed AI and high-performance computing infrastructure company Northern Data. Rumble plans to initiate a voluntary public exchange offer for all outstanding shares of Northern Data. This merger will provide Rumble with one of Europe's largest GPU asset portfolios, enhancing its presence in the cloud computing and artificial intelligence sectors. The deal also strengthens Rumble's collaboration with Tether, which has committed to providing substantial customer and commercial support for the transaction. Under the acquisition offer, each Northern Data share can be exchanged for 2.0281 newly issued Rumble Class A shares, with no minimum acceptance threshold. This means the transaction can proceed even if only a few shareholders accept the offer. However, this exchange ratio is lower than the 2.319 shares proposed when Rumble first announced the acquisition plan in August, which valued the potential deal at approximately $1.17 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first or second quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions. Upon completion, Northern Data shares will be delisted. If all outstanding shares participate in the exchange, Northern Data shareholders will own about 30.4% of the merged company. Additionally, Rumble will assume Northern Data's approximately €610 million ($705 million) shareholder loan owed to Tether. Half of this loan will be converted into Rumble shares at $7.88 per share, while the remaining portion will be refinanced through a new secured loan provided by Tether.