• Core Scientific shareholders may vote against the $9 billion all‑stock merger unless CoreWeave offers downside protection or better terms.
• The deal’s economics rest on the hope of cost savings and better capital structure, but rely heavily on CoreWeave’s share performance and stable financial footing.
What happened: Shareholder revolt brewing
Core Scientific shareholders—including hedge funds Two Seas Capital, Helix Partners Management, JAT Capital and Parsifal Capital—are considering opposing CoreWeave’s proposed $9 billion all‑stock takeover unless terms are improved. Shareholders are uneasy about receiving a fixed 0.1235 CoreWeave share per Core Scientific share, with no downside protection, prompting calls for a collar arrangement to limit losses if CoreWeave’s stock falls further.
Since the July 7 announcement of the transaction, CoreWeave’s stock has dropped by over 30 %, reducing the effective valuation of Core Scientific shares from roughly $20.25 to just over $13 per share—heightening investor concern.The shareholder vote has not yet been scheduled, but is expected in the autumn. Proxy advisers like ISS may play a pivotal role in influencing the outcome.
Also read: DOE identifies sites for AI data centres
Also read: Oklo and Vertiv join forces for AI data centres
Why it’s important
CoreWeave, a cloud provider specialising in AI compute infrastructure, leases much of its capacity from Core Scientific. The acquisition is intended to eliminate more than $10 billion in future lease obligations and reduce $5 billion in capex commitments. Analysts estimate a gross‑profit gain of $6.9 billion over 12 years if the deal goes through.
However, critics warn the move shifts CoreWeave toward a capital‑intensive data‑centre operator model, worrisome for a company grappling with nearly $8 billion in debt and an IPO valuation based on a limited customer base. Microsoft alone accounted for around 72 % of Q1 revenue.The dispute underscores growing tension in the AI infrastructure space, where firms pursue vertical integration amid financial fragility and investor scepticism.
