UPDATE 1-Bitcoin miner Griid Infrastructure to go public via $3.3 bln SPAC deal
(Adds details on deal, background on sector)
Nov 30 (Reuters) - Bitcoin miner Griid Infrastructure said on Tuesday it would go public by merging with blank-check firm Adit EdTech Acquisition Corp in a deal valuing the combined company at about $3.3 billion, including debt.
Ohio-based Griid, the latest bitcoin mining startup to take the blank-check route, will receive $246 million in cash from Adit EdTech's trust account after the deal closes.
A surge in digital currencies this year and increasing backing from major companies have propelled startups in the sector to sky-high valuations in recent months, even as the industry faces scrutiny from regulators.
Earlier this month, cryptocurrency miner Bitdeer Technologies agreed to merge with special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Blue Safari Group Acquisition in a deal valued at $4 billion.
That deal followed another cryptocurrency miner Core Scientific Holding Co's announcement in July of a merger with a SPAC backed by BlackRock Inc.
A SPAC is a listed firm with no business operations but a pool of capital that it uses to merge with a private company. The deal then takes the private company public.
Griid Infrastructure will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol "GRDI".
(Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin and Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
