Rumble Considers Acquisition of Northern Data for AI Cloud Expansion

NEW YORK, USA — Video platform Rumble is exploring a potential acquisition of Germany’s Northern Data to enhance its global AI cloud capabilities. This move would allow Rumble to take control of Northern Data’s cloud business, Taiga, and its data center division, Ardent.

Rumble disclosed that Taiga houses a significant inventory of Nvidia graphics processing unit (GPU) chips, including around 20,480 H100s and over 2,000 H200s. If the acquisition is finalized, Tether, which currently holds 54% of Northern Data, would become a key customer for Rumble with a multi-year commitment to purchase GPUs.

Under the potential terms of the acquisition, Tether is expected to be Rumble’s largest single shareholder holding Class A common stock. Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski would retain the majority of voting rights. Tether owns 48% of Rumble, having invested $775 million in December 2022.

Rumble is considering an offer of 2.319 shares for each share of Northern Data. The proposed offer values Northern Data at about $18.3 per share and reflects a 32% discount from its last closing price in Frankfurt. The total deal could be worth approximately $1.17 billion, with Northern Data shareholders projected to own about 33.3% of Rumble after the transaction.

Northern Data’s board is currently evaluating Rumble’s potential offer and is open to further discussions. However, there is no guarantee that these talks will lead to a formal agreement.

The acquisition could also involve Northern Data selling its crypto mining operation, Peak Mining, to repay part of a loan from Tether. This loan totaled 575 million euros two years ago as part of Northern Data’s expansion plan.

Tether is known as the world’s largest stablecoin company and claims to have issued over $160 billion of its dollar-pegged cryptocurrency.