Bitcoin Miners, Core Scientific Drop Amid CoreWeave Buyout News; Jefferies Sees Deal Within Expected Price Range.

CoreWeave to Acquire Core Scientific in Strategic All-Stock Deal

AI infrastructure company CoreWeave (CRWV) has agreed to acquire bitcoin miner Core Scientific (CORZ) in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $20.40 per share based on recent closing prices.

The proposed acquisition price lands near the midpoint of investment bank Jefferies’ prior estimate of $16–$23 per share. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.

In response to the news, shares of Core Scientific fell 22%, trading around $14 at the time of publication. Other bitcoin miners and potential high-performance computing plays, including HUT 8 and Cleanspark (CLSK), also dropped over 7%, while IREN (IREN), another miner in a similar market space, rose 3%. Shares of CoreWeave were down 3.3%.

Jefferies analysts noted that CoreWeave’s strong post-IPO performance has positioned it well for significant mergers and acquisitions. They view the deal as a strategic move to vertically integrate CoreWeave’s operations, reduce reliance on long-term leases, and gain direct control over data center assets.

“CoreWeave’s relatively low cost of equity makes it well-suited to replace long-term lease obligations with owned infrastructure,” wrote analysts Jonathan Petersen and Jan Aygul.

The acquisition highlights the increasing wave of consolidation in the AI infrastructure and high-performance computing sectors, as companies aim to achieve greater scale and control to meet rising demand from AI and cloud-native enterprises.

For CoreWeave, acquiring Core Scientific’s data center capacity and platform strengthens its position as a full-stack infrastructure provider, enhancing its ability to manage future growth.

Core Scientific has also been negotiating new leases with hyperscale customers, and Jefferies analysts suggested CoreWeave may be moving swiftly to secure those opportunities ahead of any finalized agreements.

Jefferies maintains a buy rating on Core Scientific shares, with an $18 price target.