CoreWeave (CRWV) CEO Michael Intrator told CNBC that the company will not increase its $9 billion stock offering for Bitcoin miner Core Scientific (CORZ), calling the acquisition a “nice to have, not a necessity.” He said the offer fairly reflected the relative value of the two companies and that CoreWeave would continue as planned even if the deal was rejected.
Additionally, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) yesterday urged shareholders to reject CoreWeave’s proposed purchase of Core Scientific ahead of an October 30 vote.
ISS argued that Core Scientific, a computing power provider, has performed well on its own and believes the company can continue to grow without the merger.
CoreWeave, an AI-focused cloud infrastructure company, proposed an all-stock transaction for CORZ in July at a price of $20.40 per share.
Core Scientific investor Two Seas Capital led the charge against the deal, citing flaws in the sales process, deal structure and valuation, and warning that the fixed exchange ratio exposes Core Scientific shareholders to the volatility of CoreWeave stock.
CRWV is down 4.3% in Tuesday trading, while CORZ rose 1.6% to its highest level since the deal was announced in July – perhaps signaling that markets are supportive of the company remaining independent rather than proceeding with the sale.
