Tether to become largest Rumble shareholder in Northern Data acquisition

Rumble, the video-sharing and cloud services company backed by Tether, is considering a major takeover of Germany-based computing group and bitcoin miner Northern Data in a deal that could be worth around €1 billion ($1.17 billion).

Under the proposed terms mentioned in a Bloomberg report, Northern Data shareholders would receive 2.319 new Class A Rumble shares for each of their own shares. If all are exchanged, Northern Data investors would hold roughly a third of the merged business.

Tether, which owns 54% of Northern Data, signaled its backing for the proposal. The stablecoin issuer would become Rumble’s largest single shareholder on completion and has agreed to a multi-year purchase commitment for GPUs.

The announcement comes months after Tether invested $775 million in Rumble to support the platform’s growth. In its statement, Rumble said the combined firm would focus on artificial intelligence while also promoting global data privacy and independence.

Northern Data confirmed it has been informed of the possible share swap and is open to further talks.

The potential deal follows a strong first half of 2025 for Northern Data. The company reported a 72% jump in revenue to €94.3 million ($109.8 million) from the same period a year earlier, supported by its Taiga Cloud and Peak Mining operations. Mining income rose 49% to €53.5 million ($62.3 million) as capacity expanded and bitcoin prices climbed.

Rumble’s own shares climbed 20% in pre-market trade Monday after the news, reaching $9.48, according to TradingView.

The proposed agreement would not include Northern Data’s bitcoin mining subsidiary, Peak Mining. Northern Data said a preliminary deal has been signed to sell the unit to Elektron Energy for up to $235 million. This includes $175 million upfront, with proceeds to go toward paying down a Tether loan, while a restructured portion of the debt would remain. Rumble would not assume responsibility for this loan.

Despite Peak Mining being left out, Rumble has been adding bitcoin to its own reserves. The company currently holds 210.8 BTC, worth about $25.6 million at current prices.

If completed, Rumble would take on Northern Data’s Ardent data centers and Taiga GPU-as-a-service unit, which together have over 20,000 Nvidia graphics processors and extensive hosting capacity. The plan aims to boost Rumble’s infrastructure to nearly 850 megawatts of active capacity, with major sites including a planned 180 MW facility in Maysville, Georgia.

The transaction is targeted for the second half of 2025 but will require due diligence, final terms, board approval, and regulatory clearance in both the U.S. and Germany. Rumble stressed no final decision has been made, and there is no certainty the offer will proceed or secure all necessary backing.

Alongside the potential acquisition news, Rumble released its second-quarter results. The company posted a net loss of $30.2 million, or 12 cents per share, compared to a $26.8 million loss, or 13 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected a smaller loss of 7 cents per share.

Revenue rose 12% to $25.1 million but fell short of the $26.8 million forecast. The firm’s global monthly active users averaged 51 million, down from 59 million in the prior quarter. Rumble attributed the drop to reduced political and news content activity outside of an election year in the United States.

Average revenue per user rose 24% from the previous quarter to 42 cents, driven by higher subscription and licensing income.

Northern Data’s shares were down 9% in Monday trading to €20.94 ($24.38) after closing at €23.02 last week.

Both companies said discussions are ongoing and emphasized there is no guarantee a formal offer will follow.

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