Starboard Demands Riot Platforms Accelerate AI Data Center Deals
Starboard Value sent a letter to Riot Platforms demanding faster progress on converting Bitcoin mining sites into AI data centers. The activist shareholder, which owns 3.5% of Riot, warned the company could become a takeover target if it doesn't move quickly.
Starboard Value Managing Member Peter Feld sent a letter to Riot Platforms CEO Jason Les demanding faster progress on converting Bitcoin mining sites into AI data centers. The activist shareholder, which owns 3.5% of Riot, warned the company could become a takeover target if it doesn't move quickly.
Feld said time is of the essence and a renewed sense of urgency is required to get more deals completed. The firm estimates Riot's data center business alone could be worth ₱1,333 ($23) to $53 per share — well above the company's current $15 stock price.
The pressure reflects how desperately Bitcoin miners need to pivot after last year's halving event made mining deeply unprofitable. Wall Street analysts now value these companies on AI output rather than Bitcoin production. Riot has 1.4 gigawatts of capacity available for monetization, and Feld said the company operates two of the most attractive sites in the country for AI data centers.
Starboard wants Riot to be selective and focus on high-quality tenants like hyperscalers instead of lower-quality, non-investment-grade tenants that some competitors have signed. TeraWulf secured an AI contract worth ₱388.18 billion ($6.7 billion), while Hut 8 locked in ₱405.57 billion ($7 billion) — both backed by Google-supported financial frameworks.
VanEck Head of Digital Assets Research Matthew Sigel called Riot's AI infrastructure bets increasingly fragile as investor skepticism about AI spending grows. Starboard's warning was clear: if Riot cannot execute quickly, it could become a takeover candidate, with competitors like TeraWulf setting the ₱388.18 billion ($6.7 billion) execution benchmark.
This article was written based on reporting from Dlnews.
