Written by Nate Kostar, Staff Writer. Reviewed by Robert Lakin, Staff Editor. Written by Nate Kostar, Staff Writer. Reviewed by Robert Lakin, Staff Editor. MARA accelerates mining-to-AI pivot with $1.5B Ohio power plant deal
Latest NewsPublishedApr 30, 2026MARA's shares jumped as it added a 505-MW power plant and data center site to expand into AI infrastructure.
Bitcoin miner MARA said it agreed to acquire Long Ridge Energy & Power for about $1.5 billion, adding a 505-megawatt gas-fired power plant and a co-located data center site in Ohio.
The company's Nasdaq-traded shares surged more than 12% following Thursday's announcement, extending a broader rally that has seen the stock gain about 55% over the past month, according to Yahoo Finance data.
Source: Yahoo Finance
The deal is expected to contribute about $144 million in annualized adjusted EBITDA and increase MARA’s owned and operated power capacity by roughly 65%, bringing total potential capacity at the site to more than 1 gigawatt, including 200 MW of existing capacity and room to scale compute operations to as much as 600 MW.
Located on 1,600 acres in Hannibal, Ohio, the site provides access to power, land, water and fiber and has drawn interest from AI and data center tenants.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals, and includes the assumption of roughly $785 million in debt backed by a bridge loan from Barclays. MARA said it hopes to begin construction on an initial buildout in the first half of 2027, with operations targeted for mid-2028.
The site includes a combined-cycle gas plant with all-in operating costs below $15 per megawatt-hour, and the company plans to pair future compute demand with additional on-site power generation.
The move comes after MARA acquired a majority stake in French computing infrastructure operator Exaion in February, taking a 64% interest in the company as part of its expansion into AI and cloud services.
Related: Ex-OpenAI researcher’s hedge fund reveals big Bitcoin miner bets in new SEC filing
Shift to AI accelerates across Bitcoin mining sector
MARA’s acquisition comes as Bitcoin miners accelerate their expansion into AI and high-performance computing (HPC).
In January, CleanSpark agreed to acquire 447 acres in Texas for a 300-MW AI-focused data center. In March, Core Scientific secured a $500 million loan facility from Morgan Stanley to fund data center expansion, equipment purchases and additional power capacity.
Earlier this month, AI cloud infrastructure company CoreWeave, an early Bitcoin miner to pivot to high-performance computing, signed a multi-year agreement with Anthropic to support workloads for its Claude model. HIVE Digital Technologies also said it plans to raise $75 million through a private offering to fund GPU purchases and data center expansion.
The pivot by Bitcoin miners into AI and HPC has sparked debate over whether reduced mining activity could weaken network security, as both industries compete for the same power resources.
Some companies, however, continue to emphasize support for the Bitcoin network. On Tuesday, MARA said it launched the MARA Foundation to focus on network security, including research into quantum threats, while expanding self-custody access and education.
Top 10 Bitcoin mining stocks. Source: Bitcoinminingstock.io
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