A $3.3 billion deal to take a Cincinnati bitcoin mining firm public continues to face repeated delays, with officials seeking more extensions.
New York-based special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Adit EdTech Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: ADEX) first announced plans to take Griid Infrastructure, a locally based startup, public in November 2021. The deal is now on its fifth extension and a new filing with with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission shows more on the horizon.
On May 12, Adit EdTech's board approved extending the deal's completion date to June 14. It's the fifth of six one-month extensions officials included in an amended agreement shareholders approved in January.
But new filings with regulators show officials are hoping to buy even more time to complete the deal. According to documents, Adit EdTech will soon seek shareholder approval to two additional extensions of three months each. If approved, Adit officials can begin using those extensions in July.
The deal originally had a consummation date of May 29, 2022.
A request for comment from Adit EdTech was not returned as of this posting.
Griid, founded by CEO Trey Kelly, a Cincinnati resident and 2010 Miami University alumnus, procures cheap, carbon-free energy to manage, build and operate U.S.-based bitcoin mining facilities.
David Shrier, CEO of Adit EdTech, previously called Griid’s carbon-free approach “the future of bitcoin.” Adit EdTech, a so-called blank check company whose sole purpose is to serve as a vehicle for taking startups public, is an affiliate of Adit Ventures, a New York City late-stage venture capital firm.
At the time the deal was announced, Griid had more than 1,300 megawatts of available power from existing energy generation partners. The company said it has one of the largest and lowest-cost power pipelines in the industry.
Griid's deal has faced a series of hurdles since its conception. The larger cryptocurrency industry has taken several hits in recent years and SPAC deals in general have lost some their cache. Another proposed Cincinnati area SPAC for Luminex Home Decor & Fragrance, for instance, fell through at the end of 2022.
In addition to those challenges, Griid also was accused of defaulting on its main line of credit by lender Blockchain.com in June 2022 and continues to face legal battles in East Tennessee over one of its plants.
