Wes Cummins made moves this week with two of his Dallas-based companies.
First he sold his investment advisory business 272 Capital to L.A.-based B. Riley Financial, an investment firm for which he earlier had served as president for several years. Terms were not disclosed.
Cummins launched 272 just last year. With its sale to B. Riley, Cummins will continue to manage 272 while taking on the role of president of B. Riley Asset Management. As part of that role, he’ll help B. Riley oversee the investment strategy for its private BRC Partners Opportunity Fund.
Altogether, 272 Capital will now manage over $270 million in assets.
“Expanding our asset management base remains one of our highest priorities,” said Bryant Riley, chairman and co-CEO of B. Riley. “Wes and the talented team at 272 Capital have established a successful small cap investment strategy that has yielded strong returns in its first year. We’ve known and worked closely with Wes for over 20 years and could not be more pleased to welcome him back to the firm.”
Cummins sees mutual advantage in the deal.
“This combination reflects the core focus of both our firms: fundamental research and small-cap value,” he said in the statement. “Joining B. Riley allows 272 Capital to benefit from an expanded capital base and additional resources offered by a broader platform. I look forward to working closely with Bryant in growing our asset management business and in contributing to B. Riley’s continued success.”
From capital moves to crypto hosting
Meanwhile, Cummins’ Applied Blockchain Inc. announced today it has struck an Energy Service Agreement with a utility partner in the upper Midwest to support its newly launched crypto hosting operation. The operation’s location has not yet been disclosed.
“Having just announced the launch of our crypto hosting business in conjunction with a $32.5 million capital raise, we moved quickly to secure a low-cost, long-term power source for the hosting operation,” Cummins, Applied Blockchain’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
The agreement provides up to 100 megawatts of power for five years, subject to regulatory approval.
“The service agreement is in place for our first site and orders have been placed for long lead-time equipment to support our rapid growth,” Cummins added. “We continue to expect our first 50 megawatts of capacity to be operational before year end, and the next 50 megawatts in Q1 2022, with plans to ultimately scale to more than 500 megawatts.”
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