Argo’s creditor grabs 87.5% stake in struggling miner in bold takeover move

Argo Blockchain’s largest lender, Growler Mining, is taking control of the embattled crypto miner through a debt-for-equity swap that leaves existing shareholders with just a small stake in the company.

The restructuring, filed under the UK Companies Act, revealed that Growler will convert about $7.5 million in secured loans and provide new funding in exchange for 87.5% of Argo’s recapitalized equity.

Bondholders of Argo’s $40 million unsecured notes will collectively receive 10%, while current shareholders will retain only 2.5%. The deal, part of a court-supervised restructuring plan dubbed Project Triumph, is designed to prevent insolvency and preserve the miner’s Nasdaq listing.

“Unless the Plan Company [Argo] implements a restructuring of its balance sheet, the Plan Company will be unable to obtain the funding it needs and will be insolvent on both a cash flow basis and a balance sheet basis,” Argo said.

Argo’s restructuring plan timeline overview. Source. Argo

Related: Bitcoin miner Argo repays $35M Galaxy bailout loan

Argo to delist from LSE

Argo will also delist from the London Stock Exchange, ending a six-year run as one of the UK’s few publicly traded crypto companies. Its shares will continue to trade on Nasdaq, provided the firm meets compliance conditions, including a planned reverse stock split before January 2026.

The company remains incorporated and headquartered in London, but its capital-market focus will shift entirely to the United States. In 2018, Argo became the first cryptocurrency company to list on the London Stock Exchange, raising around $32 million for a valuation of $61 million.

The filing revealed that Argo’s Bitcoin (BTC) output has plunged over the past two years, from nearly six coins a day in 2022 to barely two in 2024, as aging machines and high energy costs crushed profitability.

The miner has sold its Helios facility in Texas to Galaxy Digital, leaving operations concentrated in Canada’s Baie-Comeau site and US hosting centers in Tennessee and Washington State.

Related: Argo Blockchain cuts 2022 debt by half, down to $75M

End of Argo’s era as Britain’s public company

Growler’s takeover includes a plan to inject new capital, dubbed “Exit Capital,” and transfer ownership of Growler USCo, a subsidiary with fresh mining assets, into Argo in exchange for new shares. The move gives the lender operational control and the means to refresh Argo’s outdated fleet before it becomes obsolete in 2026.

If approved by the High Court of England and Wales, the restructuring will erase most of Argo’s debt load, rescue its Nasdaq listing and hand control of the company to its creditors. For investors, it’s a near-total wipeout, and the end of Argo’s era as one of Britain’s public-market crypto pioneers.

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