Marathon Patent Group Withdraws Offer to Acquire Fastblock Mining; Companies Unable to Reach  Long-Term Power Agreement at Acceptable Rates

Rhea-AI Summary

On September 17, 2020, Marathon Patent Group (NASDAQ:MARA) announced its decision to withdraw the offer to acquire Fastblock Mining due to a short-term power agreement. The firm could not extend the agreement with Fastblock, which would not meet their long-term needs for economic feasibility. Instead, Marathon has signed a term sheet with a different power provider for a longer duration and favorable rates, pending due diligence.

Positive

• Executed a term sheet with an alternate power provider for 104MwH at $0.028KwH for 11 years.

Negative

• Withdrawal from the acquisition of Fastblock Mining due to inability to secure a long-term power agreement.

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marathon Patent Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) ("Marathon" or "Company"), today announced that as of September 11^th, 2020, the Company has withdrawn its offer to acquire Fastblock Mining.

During its due diligence process, the Company discovered that the Power Agreement pursuant to which Fastblock would provide power at a subsidized rate of $0.0285KwH, would expire in three years. The Company and Fastblock were unsuccessful in attempts to extend the term of that agreement with the power provider to the 7-10 year Window which the Company would need for this acquisition to be economically feasible.

The Company has executed a term sheet with an alternate power company to provide 104MwH of power at $0.028KwH for 11 years, for which terms will be announced upon completion of due diligence and execution of definitive documentation.

Investor Notice

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and forward-looking statements described under "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019. If any of these risks were to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations would likely suffer. In that event, the value of our securities could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties we describe are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. In addition, our past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results in the future. Future changes in the network-wide mining difficulty rate or Bitcoin hashrate may also materially affect the future performance of Marathon's production of Bitcoin. See "Safe Harbor" below.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made in this press release include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “plan,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and are advised to consider the factors listed above together with the additional factors under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company's Annual Reports on Form 10-K, as may be supplemented or amended by the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise.

Name: Jason Assad
Phone: 678-570-6791
Email: Jason@marathonpg.com

FAQ

Why did Marathon Patent Group withdraw its offer to acquire Fastblock Mining?

Marathon withdrew its offer because it could not extend the short-term power agreement with Fastblock, which was required for the acquisition to be economically feasible.

What is the new power agreement Marathon has signed?

Marathon signed a term sheet with an alternate power company to provide 104MwH of power at $0.028KwH for 11 years.

What could be the impact of withdrawing from the Fastblock acquisition on Marathon's business?

The withdrawal indicates potential challenges in securing long-term agreements necessary for acquisitions, but the new power deal could still support future operations.