Bitcoin Miner Cipher Mulls Sale Amid Takeover Interest

(Bloomberg) — Cipher Mining Inc. is exploring a potential sale after receiving takeover interest, people familiar with the matter said, as soaring demand for data centers make Bitcoin miners takeover targets.

US-based Cipher is working with advisers as it seeks to gauge potential buyer interest, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.

Shares in Cipher rose as much as 18% on Wednesday. The stock was up 2.8% at 10:41 a.m. in New York, giving the company a market value of about $2.2 billion.

Deliberations are in the early stages and there’s no certainty that Cipher will decide to pursue a sale, the people said. A representative for Cipher declined to comment.

The artificial-intelligence boom has created an unprecedented shortage of data-center space. As a result, crypto-mining companies, which already sit on the necessary infrastructure, are being targeted by AI firms looking to boost their computing capabilities via acquisitions.

Last month, CoreWeave Inc., a closely held cloud computing provider, offered to acquire Bitcoin miner Core Scientific Inc. for about $1 billion, Bloomberg News reported. Meanwhile, crypto miner-turned high-performance computing provider Northern Data AG is mulling a US listing at the valuation of as much as $16 billion.

Cipher went public in 2021 through a merger with blank-check company Good Works Acquisition Corp.

(Updates shares in third paragraph.)