Bitcoin Miner Greenidge Generation Restructures Another $11M of Debt
The deal with investment bank B. Riley includes a share sale and some additional time for repayments.
Jan 31, 2023 at 1:49 p.m. UTC:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/4Q5BEMNBMBHUDIJ66ODQM6LU3M.jpg)
Greenidge Generation's facility in Dresden, N.Y. (CoinDesk)
Eliza Gkritsi is CoinDesk's crypto mining reporter based in Asia.
Greenidge Generation (GREE) and B. Riley Financial (RILY) have agreed to restructure an $11 million promissory note the miner owes to the investment bank.
Greenidge was one of several miners that struggled last year to meet operating costs and debt obligations as crypto prices slumped and energy costs rose. It was hit particularly hard because of its reliance on natural gas. Its mining margin declined to 20% in the third quarter of last year from 42% in the second quarter, according to CoinDesk's calculation based on public filings.
As detailed in a press release on Tuesday, under the new restructuring deal, Greenidge will raise $1 million in a stock sale underwritten by B. Riley. The miner will make a $1.9 million principal payment on the note, bringing the balance down to about $9 million, with no more payments due until June.
In addition, Greenidge is seeking to sell excess real estate from its South Carolina mining facility, with proceeds going toward the note. If the miner is able to pay down $6 million or more before June, its monthly payments would be trimmed to $400,000 from the currently scheduled $1.5 million.
Greenidge previously reduced $76 million of debt to NYDIG to $17 million by transferring mining rigs that had 2.8 exahash/second of computing power to the lender along with accrued coupons and credits. Greenidge can further cut its debt to NYDIG by $10 million if it facilitates "for NYDIG the rights to a mining site within three months." Greenidge has signed five-year hosting agreements with NYDIG, which "includes a profit-sharing component," according to the press release.
Greenidge warned of its deteriorating liquidity position as early as September. Its situation was similar to those of now-bankrupt Core Scientific (CORZ) and Argo Blockchain (ARBK), which received a $100 million lifeline from crypto financial-services firm Galaxy Digital.
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Eliza Gkritsi is CoinDesk's crypto mining reporter based in Asia.
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Eliza Gkritsi is CoinDesk's crypto mining reporter based in Asia.
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