Rumble Mulls Tether-Backed Northern Data Acquisition

Video-sharing and cloud services provider Rumble (NASDAQ:RUM), announced its intent to acquire Northern Data (ETR: NB2,) a leading provider of AI and High-Performance Computing (HPC) solutions. The potential all-stock exchange offer for 100% of Northern Data's shares is valued at approximately $1.17 billion, and has received the support of Northern Data's majority shareholder, Tether.

If successful, this acquisition would see Rumble integrate Northern Data's businesses, Ardent, and Taiga, into its operations and significantly expand Rumble's cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities if successful. Taiga is a cloud service with a substantial number of Nvidia GPUs, including 20,480 H100s and 2,048 H200s, while Ardent's five data centers offer nearly 850 MW of potential energized capacity.

This move aligns with a shared vision between Rumble and Tether to "democratize compute while providing unfettered access to infrastructure," according to a company statement .

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino expressed his approval for the move in a simple tweet.

Both companies have confirmed that Rumble is considering an offer of 2.319 shares for each Northern Data share. The proposed deal, which values Northern Data at about $18.3 per share, represents a 32% discount to the German company's last closing price. If the transaction proceeds on these terms, Northern Data shareholders would own roughly 33.3% of Rumble's shares, and Tether, Northern Data's majority shareholder, would become the single largest holder of Class A Rumble shares. Despite this, Rumble's CEO Chris Pavlovski would retain a majority of the company's voting rights.

Tether currently holds a 54% stake in Northern Data and, a 48% stake in Rumble following a $775 million investment in December 2024. If the acquisition goes forward, Tether will "[become] an important customer of Rumble...with a multi-year commitment to purchase GPUs", according to the company's statement.

The potential offer is subject to a number of conditions, including the standard regulatory and due diligence processes. It is also contingent upon the sale of Northern Data's Peak Mining unit to reduce existing debt. Proceeds from the sale would be used to partially repay a 575 million euro loan that Tether extended to Northern Data nearly two years ago. The companies have noted that there is no certainty that these discussions will result in a formal offer.

Rumble went public in late 2021 via a SPAC deal, and secured early investments from U.S. Vice President JD Vance and tech billionaire Peter Thiel, among others.