Bitcoin Miner MARA Holdings Signs $1.5B Deal for Ohio Gas Plant, Plans AI Data Center

Key Takeaways:

• MARA Holdings agreed to bargain Long Ridge Energy for $1.5 billion, adding a 505 MW Ohio gas works connected April 30, 2026.
• The woody lifts MARA’s full powerfulness capableness 65% to 2.2 GW, with artificial quality (AI) information halfway buildout targeting mid-2028 service.
• FTAI Infrastructure shares jumped astir 14% arsenic the merchantability lets the institution discontinue $300 cardinal successful firm debt.

MARA Holdings Locks In $1.5 Billion Deal for Ohio Power Plant to Build AI Data Center Campus

The woody gives MARA (Nasdaq: MARA) nonstop ownership of a combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) installation connected the Ohio River successful PJM Interconnection territory, 1 of the astir progressive powerfulness markets successful North America for information halfway development.

MARA already operates a 200 MW co-located information halfway connected the Long Ridge site. The acquisition pushes the company’s full owned and operated powerfulness capableness to astir 2.2 GW crossed PJM, ERCOT, SPP, and planetary markets, a astir 65% increase.

Long Ridge’s assets see astir 100 cardinal cubic feet per time of vertically integrated earthy gas supply, h2o rights, fibre connectivity, and obstruction infrastructure. All-in operating costs for the works tally beneath $15 per megawatt-hour, with long-dated hedges supporting unchangeable currency flows.

MARA explained that the tract tin standard to much than 1 GW of full imaginable powerfulness capacity. The institution plans to statesman operation of archetypal AI and captious IT capableness successful the archetypal fractional of 2027, targeting work transportation by mid-2028.

The transaction adds astir $144 cardinal successful annualized adjusted EBITDA based connected Long Ridge’s second-half 2025 performance. MARA volition presume astatine slightest $785 cardinal of existing debt, backstopped by a 364-day elder secured span indebtedness from Barclays. The equity information volition beryllium funded done currency connected manus and bitcoin-backed financing.

FTAI volition usage nett proceeds to repay astir $300 cardinal successful parent-level firm indebtedness aft settling astir $1.16 cardinal successful Long Ridge project-level debt. The Pittsburgh-based institution said it plans to redirect superior toward its freight obstruction and terminals businesses.

MARA disclosed that it has already received inbound involvement from investment-grade tenants for semipermanent AI and high-performance computing leases connected the site. The institution besides plans to proceed flexible Bitcoin mining operations and wholesale powerfulness income done PJM.

FTAI developed Long Ridge from a brownfield task astir a decennary ago. The works uses a GE 7HA.02 turbine and is hydrogen-blend capable, with commercialized operations opening astir 2021.

MARA plans to clasp Long Ridge’s operating team. The $75 cardinal reverse termination interest applies successful definite deal-break scenarios, and the transaction includes an indemnification statement covering regulatory, legal, and attraction matters.

The announcement noted that closing is expected successful the 3rd 4th of 2026, pending Hart-Scott-Rodino Act clearance, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval, and different modular conditions.