Cipher Digital, a publicly traded developer and operator of industrial-scale data centres for high-performance computing workloads, announced Wednesday that it has signed a 15-year lease for its third data centre campus, furthering its recent pivot from Bitcoin miner to powering the growing demand for AI power and other computing needs.
The company will develop and deliver a new HPC data centre at one of its existing sites under the agreement, according to a press release. Investors appear to like the news, with Cipher’s stock (CIFR) rising more than 8% since the opening bell Wednesday to recently trade at $16.14 per share.
"This agreement for our third large AI campus reinforces Cipher's position as a trusted partner to develop high-quality HPC data centre infrastructure for the world's leading companies," said Cipher CEO Tyler Page, in a statement.
Cipher also announced the closing of a revolving credit facility providing up to $200 million of committed capacity, with an additional accordion option of up to $50 million. The facility, which was undrawn at close, has a scheduled maturity of March 2030 and bears interest at the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus 1.25% to 1.75%, with step-down pricing based on the company's total debt to market capitalisation ratio.
“This transaction marks Cipher’s first syndicated revolving credit facility and represents a major step in the evolution of our capital structure,” said Cipher CFO Greg Mumford, in a statement. “We believe this facility highlights the continued strength and maturation of our business, as well as the growing confidence in our long-term strategy from premier financial institutions.”
Morgan Stanley serves as administrative agent, lead arranger, and lead bookrunner, with Banco Santander, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Wells Fargo also joining in the syndicate.
The company rebranded from Cipher Mining in February, saying that it was expanding beyond its original Bitcoin mining focus to serve broader high-performance computing demand. Cipher Digital also sold off an interest in three joint mining sites in February, along with mining rigs housed at one of its sites.
“While Bitcoin mining played a foundational role in building Cipher’s power origination expertise and large-scale development capabilities, the company’s identity has evolved to focus on enabling next-generation compute at industrial scale,” it said last month, adding that it would “maintain optimized exposure to the Bitcoin mining industry in a capital-light manner.”
Cipher is one of several Bitcoin mining firms that have made either full or partial moves away from their original core business towards powering AI and other high-performance computing needs, including Core Scientific, Cango, and Bitfarms (now Keel Infrastructure).
