- Tether-linked executives quietly acquired Northern Data’s mining arm for up to $200m via affiliated entities.
- The Peak Mining sale followed a failed $235M deal, ending at a lower valuation with related-party buyers.
- Deal adds to scrutiny as Northern Data faces EU tax probes and a pending Rumble acquisition.
A Bitcoin mining unit formerly owned by Northern Data, a German AI and data center company majority-owned by Tether, was sold for up to $200 million to a group of companies linked to Tether’s senior leadership, according to corporate filings.
Northern Data disclosed in November that it had sold its mining subsidiary, Peak Mining, but did not name the buyers at the time. Subsequent filings show the assets were acquired by Highland Group Mining Inc., Appalachian Energy LLC, and 2750418 Alberta ULC.
Records in the British Virgin Islands indicate Tether co-founder and chairman Giancarlo Devasini and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino control Highland Group Mining. Canadian filings list Devasini as the sole director of Alberta ULC, while ownership details for Appalachian Energy, registered in Delaware, are not publicly available.
Structure of the Peak Mining Transaction
The sale serves as the second attempt by Northern Data to transfer Peak Mining to entities associated with Devasini. In August, the company announced a nonbinding agreement to sell the unit to Elektron Energy for $235 million. Corporate records show Devasini also controls Elektron. That transaction did not close, and Peak Mining was later sold at a lower valuation to the three firms identified in recent filings.
Northern Data is listed on a regulated but unofficial German market segment. While the platform requires certain disclosures, it does not mandate reporting related-party transactions. As a result, the company was not required to publicly identify that executives linked to its majority shareholder were on both sides of the Peak Mining deal.
Rumble Acquisition Adds Further Links
The divestment occurred shortly before Rumble, in which Tether holds a 48% stake, announced a business combination agreement to acquire Northern Data for approximately $767 million. As part of that arrangement, Tether committed to purchasing $150 million in GPU services from Rumble and entered into a separate $100 million advertising agreement.
Tether has also extended a €610 million loan to Northern Data. Under the terms of the Rumble transaction, half of that loan is expected to convert into Rumble equity upon closing, with the remainder restructured as a new loan from Tether to Rumble, secured by Northern Data’s assets.
The Peak Mining transaction comes as Northern Data faces regulatory attention in Europe. In September, authorities raided the company’s offices in Germany and Sweden as part of an investigation into alleged VAT fraud that could exceed €100 million. Northern Data denied wrongdoing, stating the inquiry stemmed from a misunderstanding related to tax treatment of GPU cloud services and earlier mining operations.
Related: Abu Dhabi Regulator Approves USDT on Nine Blockchains as Tether Expands Into Robotics
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Source: https://coinedition.com/tether-linked-firms-buy-northern-datas-peak-mining-for-200m/
