MARA Holdings Raises $1 Billion via Senior Note Offering to Buy Bitcoin

Marathon Holdings, a Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency mining and blockchain technology firm, has raised $1 billion through the sale of zero-coupon convertible senior notes that are due March 1, 2030. The firm plans to use most of the proceeds to buy Bitcoin.

According to a recent press release from MARA, the notes were sold in a private offering to qualified institutional investors, and the net proceeds of the sale were around $980 million after deducting initial purchasers’ discounts and commissions.

Around 20% of the net proceeds, or $199 million, are set to be allocated to repurchase $212 million in aggregate principal amount of existing convertible notes that were due 2026. The remainder of the funds will be used to buy Bitcoin and for “general corporate purposes.”

$1 Billion. 0% interest.

MARA has completed the largest convertible notes offering ever amongst BTC miners.

The mission, as always: Provide value. Acquire #bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/BIFckTaial

— MARA (@MARAHoldings) November 21, 2024

The notes include a conversion price significantly above MARA’s current stock price, and can be redeemed under favorable conditions from 2028. Its initial conversion price, per the press release, is equivalent to a 42.5% premium of the stock’s average trading price before the offering.

MARA’s Bitcoin accumulation

Notably Marathon Holdings first started buying Bitcoin back in 2020, when it moved into the cryptocurrency mining business. The firm made a major BTC investment in early 2021, when it allocated $150 million into the cryptocurrency.

Since then it has kept on accumulating the cryptocurrency and so far this year the firm bought 7,651 BTC at an average price of $64,700. Its total BTC holdings are at around 29,000 including “restricted and unrestricted BTC.” Tracker BitcoinTreasuries shows the firm has 27,562, or $2.68 billion, in BTC holdings.

The company has been benefitting from the recent BTC price action, with the cryptocurrency having moved up more than 9.5% over the past week to surpass the $97,000 mark. It briefly traded above $98,000 earlier before enduring a slight correction.

MARA’s BTC holdings make it the second-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, above cryptocurrency miner Riot Platforms, which holds 10,928 BTC, but behind MicroStrategy, which holds 331,200 BTC.