Tether Backs Rumble’s $1.17B Bid for AI Firm Northern Data

• Tether to become Rumble’s largest Class A shareholder after Northern Data deal.
• A $1.17B bid unites AI infrastructure, crypto mining, and digital media assets.
• Multi-year GPU supply deal to power AI, blockchain, and high-performance computing.

Tether has endorsed Rumble’s proposed €1.17 billion all-stock acquisition of Germany-based AI infrastructure provider Northern Data. Under the agreement, Northern Data shareholders would receive 2.319 newly issued Class A Rumble shares per Northern Data share tendered.

The offer values Northern Data shares at $18.27, based on Rumble’s Friday closing price of $7.88. The deal would result in Northern Data shareholders holding approximately 33.3% of Rumble’s total Class A common stock.

Rumble and Tether aim to consolidate AI computing resources, digital media platforms, and cryptocurrency infrastructure within a single operational network. Northern Data operates across three divisions: Taiga Cloud, Ardent Data Center, and Peak Mining. The company has indicated plans to divest Peak Mining and reinvest proceeds into AI and high-performance computing projects. The deal structure may be adjusted if the mining unit sale is completed before the transaction closes.

Tether’s Role and Shareholding Position

Tether is currently Northern Data’s largest shareholder and would support Rumble’s acquisition bid in full. Upon completion, Tether is expected to become Rumble’s largest Class A common stockholder. The company invested $775 million in Rumble in late 2024, strengthening ties between the two businesses. Tether’s backing positions the combined entity to pursue long-term collaborations in AI, communications, and data storage.

In late 2023, Tether provided Northern Data with €575 million ($610 million) in debt financing.

This loan would be amended to provide additional financial flexibility post-acquisition. The arrangement is expected to secure multi-year GPU supply agreements for the merged operations. Such supply commitments would support AI model training, blockchain validation, and other computationally intensive workloads.

Northern Data’s Market Position and Financials

Northern Data is a publicly traded German high-performance computing and AI-focused infrastructure provider. It is a company with a market capitalization of about 1.46 billion euros ($1.7 billion), an enterprise value of 2.05 billion euros ($2.39 billion). The company achieved a full-year revenue of 200.27 million Euros ($233.24 million) in 2024. Its activities include GPU cloud, data infrastructure, and cryptocurrency mining.

Taiga Cloud offers an enterprise-scale cloud computing based on GPUs for enterprise-level clients in AI research, graphics rendering, and machine learning. Ardent Data Center provides high-performance workload-specific managed hosting and data center services. Peak Mining aims to maximize the use of renewable power for cryptocurrency mining. The proposed divestiture of Peak Mining reflects the company’s pivot toward AI and HPC markets. 

Rumble’s Acquisition Objectives

Rumble said the merger with Northern Data would build a freedom-first infrastructure platform that extends globally. The video-sharing company plans to expand its scope of activities beyond media to AI and data processing capacities. The merger is expected to enhance Rumble’s market position and capabilities in privacy-focused infrastructure development.

The acquisition is structured entirely as a stock-swap transaction, without cash consideration to Northern Data shareholders. Rumble’s chairman and CEO, Chris Pavlovski, plans to leverage his majority stake to secure deal approval. The German firm’s board has not yet formally accepted the offer, but Tether’s backing is viewed as a decisive factor. If approved, the merger would align AI processing power, blockchain infrastructure, and social media content delivery in one entity.

Related: Tether Q2 2025: $4.9B Profit and $162.5B in Verified Total Assets

Future Prospects for the Combined Entity

The approach of Tether investing implies an attempt to combine AI computing with cryptocurrency infrastructure. The impact of the firm in the merged operation may fast-track blockchain applications that need high processing power. A unified GPU supply system would provide competitive availability of model AIs training and blockchain validation.

The two firms are maneuvering to expand into markets that focus on decentralization and data sovereignty. This might allow entry into new verticals like enterprise AI services, cloud security, and decentralized applications. The resulting income from the sale of Peak Mining would provide additional funds for AI and HPC investments.

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