MARA Holdings gets FERC approval for US$1.5B Long Ridge acquisition
The buyer expects closing in the coming weeks and says future computing demand would be supported by additional generation.
Ines Halvorsen
A Nov. 4 FERC authorization cleared a regulatory condition for the US$1.5 billion Long Ridge acquisition by MARA Holdings, Inc. NASDAQMARA, which announced the decision on Nov. 5. The April 30 agreement includes the assumption of at least US$785 million of debt, with a bridge-loan backstop.
MARA now expects the acquisition to close in the coming weeks. The transaction would add a 505-megawatt nameplate combined-cycle natural gas plant in Hannibal, Ohio, alongside more than 1,600 contiguous acres for potential digital infrastructure development.
The company, which operates energy and computing infrastructure with Bitcoin mining as its operating foundation, says contracted generation cash flows would strengthen its finances upon closing. Its Nov. 5 release still identifies the ability to finance the transaction on acceptable terms as a risk.
MARA shares closed at US$6.87 on Nasdaq on Nov. 4, according to the NASDAQMARA quote, timestamped 4:00 p.m. EST. That close preceded the company's Nov. 5 announcement.
The April announcement put Long Ridge's annualized adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization at approximately US$144 million, based on second-half 2025 performance. That historical, adjusted measure is separate from the contracted cash flows cited in the approval announcement.
MARA's April 30 release also reported all-in operating costs below US$15 per megawatt-hour and long-dated hedges. That operating-cost figure is not a disclosed electricity sales tariff; the Nov. 5 announcement gives neither a sales price nor the duration of the generation contracts.
PJM Supply Remains Part Of The Plan
FERC's official record dates the order authorizing disposition of jurisdictional facilities to Nov. 4 under docket EC26-92-000. The order text itself was not read; MARA's release says the commission found the transaction consistent with the public interest.
"Future compute demand created at the site, including potential future behind-the-meter compute, is expected to be supported by incremental generation developed over time," MARA said in its Nov. 5 release.
MARA says it does not expect to reduce Long Ridge's current supply of capacity to the PJM grid or adversely affect consumers. The FERC authorization clears an acquisition condition; the company's description of future generation remains a development expectation.
The Nov. 5 release says Long Ridge is authorized to sell 485 megawatts and expects authorization for the full nameplate capacity in the first half of 2027. Its description of more than one gigawatt of total potential capacity combines Long Ridge with MARA's existing operations at the site.
The earlier April 30 plan targeted the start of an initial AI and critical-IT buildout in the first half of 2027, with initial service in mid-2028. Those dates describe computing development beyond the pending power-asset purchase.
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The Nov. 5 announcement provides no fixed closing date beyond the coming weeks. The next calendar milestone it identifies is the expected increase in authorized power sales to 505 megawatts in the first half of 2027.
