Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
Waiver Agreement
On April 8, 2022, Cipher Mining Inc., as successor-in-interest to Good Works Acquisition Corp., and Cipher Mining Technologies Inc., with respect to certain sections (collectively, the “Company”), entered into a Waiver Agreement, with Bitfury Top HoldCo B.V. (“Bitfury”) (the “Waiver Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company waived certain restrictions on transfer of shares under (a) that certain Lock-up Agreement, dated as of August 26, 2021, by and between Good Works Acquisition Corp. and Bitfury and (b) those certain Lock-up Agreements, dated as of August 26, 2021, by and between Good Works Acquisition Corp. and each of (i) I-B Goodworks, LLC, (ii) Magnetar Financial LLC, (iii) Mint Tower Capital Management B.V., (iv) Periscope Capital, Inc. and (v) Polar Asset Management Partners Inc., respectively (the stockholders contemplated by clauses (a)-(b), the “Stockholders”) imposing similar restrictions on the Stockholders (collectively, the “Lock-up Agreements” and each a “Lock-up Agreement”). The Waiver Agreement was negotiated and approved by an independent committee of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”). The Waiver Agreement permits each Stockholder to pledge or otherwise hypothecate up to one hundred percent (100%) of the Lock-up Shares (as defined in the Lock-Up Agreements) held by such Stockholder as of the date of the Waiver Agreement (the shares that are actually pledged or otherwise hypothecated, the “Pledged Shares”) as collateral or security in connection with any loan meeting certain criteria set forth in the Waiver Agreement and (ii) transfer the Pledged Shares upon foreclosure by such pledgee in accordance with the terms of the applicable pledge or hypothecation; provided that the Waiver will only apply and be effective if the following conditions are satisfied or waived: (i) any pledgee executes a joinder to the Lock-up Agreements and therefore be bound by the Transfer Restrictions as defined in the Lock-up Agreements, (ii) the pledgee in receipt of any pledged shares be in compliance with all Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer laws and regulations in effect in the United States of America and be a nationally, internationally or regionally recognized bank or bona fide financial institution, private equity fund or other lender, (iii) any pledgee not be a competitor of the Company, and (iv) any loan for pledged shares be a bona fide loan containing customary market terms and have an initial 25% maximum loan-to-value ratio. Additionally, effective as of the date of consummation of any pledge or hypothecation, and solely in regard to any Pledged Shares, the Lock-Up Period, as defined in the applicable Lock-up Agreement, shall be extended an additional three months to November 26, 2023. Furthermore, the Waiver Agreement includes the cancellation of 2,890,173 shares held by Bitfury and subject to the Lock-up Agreements (the “Cancelled Shares”) in full satisfaction of certain of Bitfury’s obligations to Cipher Mining. The Cancelled Shares were part of the tranche of Lock-Up Shares with a Lock-Up Period during the period beginning on the date that is eighteen months after the Closing Date and ending on the date that is two years after the Closing Date.
Board Observer Agreement
On April 8, 2022, the Company entered into an Observer Agreement (the “Board Observer Agreement”) with Bitfury Holding B.V. (“Bitfury Holding”) and Bitfury (together with “Bitfury Holding,” the “Investors”), which provides that the Investors have the right to designate a representative to serve as an observer (the “Observer”) of our Board and any committees thereof (subject to exceptions specified therein) The Observer has the right to attend and observe meetings of the Board, including any meetings of the committees of the Board, and to participate in discussions of matters brought to the Board or any committee thereof, in each case, subject to certain exceptions specified in the Board Observer Agreement. The Investors’ rights under the Board Observer Agreement will terminate upon the date that the Investors no longer beneficially own at least 10% of the outstanding shares of our common stock of the Company. As of the date of this Current Report on Form 8-K, the Investors have not designated an Observer pursuant to the Board Observer Agreement.
The Board Observer Agreement was negotiated and approved by an independent committee of the Company’s Board of Directors.