The Blockchain Group, Europe’s first publicly listed bitcoin treasury company, has received the green light from its shareholders to raise more than €10 billion (approximately $11 billion) to buy more bitcoin.
This is one of the biggest bitcoin treasury plays in Europe as the company wants to speed up its bitcoin accumulation and become a major institutional buyer.
At the Annual General Meeting held on June 10, 39% of the voting rights represented by shareholders voted in favor of the financing plan, with over 95% of the votes cast in favor.
The approval gives the board of directors broad financial powers to issue shares and other securities to raise capital, either with or without preferential subscription rights.
This will allow the company to raise funds quickly in public or private markets to buy bitcoin when the time is right.
CEO Jean-Philippe Casadepax-Soulet said:
“I would like to thank our shareholders for the trust they have placed in us with the approval of these new financial authorizations, that will enable us to accelerate our Bitcoin Treasury strategy, focused on increasing the number of bitcoins per share on a fully diluted basis over time.”
The Blockchain Group’s strategy is to increase the number of bitcoin per share. This means that the company aims to buy more bitcoin without diluting existing shareholders’ ownership, and provide exposure to a growing hard-asset reserve within the company’s equity.
According to Bitcoin Treasuries, the company already holds 1,471 BTC, worth around €160 million.
Earlier this month, it added 624 BTC, worth around €69 million, to its treasury. These are just the beginning of a much bigger accumulation effort funded by the recent shareholder-approved capital increase.
Alongside ordinary shares, the financial powers granted to the board include the ability to issue preferred shares, warrants and convertible bonds. This gives the company the tools to optimize funding costs and respond to market demand.
This is on top of the €300 million at-the-market (ATM) facility announced earlier with asset manager TOBAM, where the company can issue new shares at market price. TOBAM is the sole subscriber under this ATM and can buy up to 39% of the company if the facility is fully used.
In addition to the capital raise, shareholders elected Alexandre Laizet as a board member and appointed him Deputy CEO in charge of the Bitcoin strategy. Laizet’s 6-year term will end in 2030, which shows the long-term vision for digital assets.
The appointment highlights the importance of bitcoin within the company’s overall structure which also includes subsidiaries in data intelligence, AI consulting and decentralized technology.
