Mining company Riot Platforms has acquired another 1 million shares of Bitfarms, increasing its stake to 18.9% in a bid to stage a hostile takeover, The Block reports.

At the time of writing, Riot Platforms owns more than 85.29 million shares of the competitor, making it the largest shareholder.

On August 13, Bitfarms co-founder Nicolas Bonta stepped down from the board of directors and was replaced by the company's CEO Ben Gagnon.

At the end of May, it became known that Riot had made an offer to acquire Bitfarms for $950 million. The latter considered it to be “significantly undervaluing the company and its growth prospects.”

The Bitfarms board expressed a desire to continue discussing a potential deal in a “substantive manner,” but with traditional confidentiality measures. The special committee said the proposal “significantly undervalues ​​the company and its growth prospects.”

Riot declined to participate in the strategic alternatives process and continued to buy securities on the secondary market.

In June, Bitfarms adopted a plan to protect shareholders’ rights through a “poison pill.” Riot nominated three independent directors to the board of the acquired company, increasing its stake to 14%.

In July, Bitfarms adopted a new poison pill protection plan. It would limit the accumulation of shares to 20%. The company's management noted that there are currently no specific takeover offers that can be accepted under Canadian law. This means that holders of 50% of common shares must give consent to their buyout.

Recall that in July, Riot Platforms bought the Bitcoin miner Block Mining for $92.5 million.