Argo Blockchain shares jump 100%+ after Galaxy Digital deal

Argo Blockchain PLC (LON: ARB; NASDAQ: ARBK) shares more than doubled on Wednesday as news of the cryptocurrency mining giant’s deal with blockchain firm Galaxy Digital hit the market.

As we highlighted this morning, the Bitcoin (BTC/USD) miner has sealed a definitive agreement with Galaxy for the sale of Argo’s Helios mining facility. The $65 million transaction for the Dickens County, Texas facility and another $35 million collateral backed loan comes at a crucial time as the Argo team looks to keep the mining company afloat in an environment that has seen multiple peers file for bankruptcy.

The asset-backed loan is for an initial 36 months and is secured by 23,619 Bitmain S19J Pro mining rigs at Helios and a few of these at Argo’s data centers in Canada.

Argo Blockchain CEO Peter Wall said in a press release:

“This transaction with Galaxy is a transformational one for Argo and benefits the Company in several ways. It reduces our debt by $41 million (£34 million) and provides us with a stronger balance sheet and enhanced liquidity to help ensure continued operations through the ongoing bear market. It also allows us to focus on optimizing our operations with significantly lower capex and opex requirements.”

Argo shares double

Argo Blockchain remains in a strong position to continue its crypto mining operations as a result of these transactions. Galaxy’s agreement to host Argo’s mining rigs at Helios appears to have buoyed investors and helped trigger further interest in the Bitcoin miner’s shares.

The ARB share price was up by 108% at 07:17 am ET on Wednesday, with the stock trading around $9.05 (£7.49) in London.

On Tuesday, Nasdaq suspended the Argo shares on the mining company’s request, a decision taken ahead of today’s announcement. Trading is the miner’s ADSs and unsecured notes in the US will resume when markets open on Wednesday, 28 December 2022 both in the UK and the US.