Hut 8 Corp. has recently announced a significant milestone with the signing of a 15-year, $7.0 billion lease with FluidStack for 245 megawatts (MW) of IT capacity at its River Bend data center campus in Louisiana. The agreement includes a right of first offer for up to an additional 1,000 MW of IT capacity at future expansion phases, subject to the expansion of power at the site.
The transaction highlights include a triple net lease structure with a total contract value of $7.0 billion over a 15-year base lease term, with a 3.0% annual base rent escalator. Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., is providing a financial backstop covering the lease payments and related pass-through obligations. The expected cumulative net operating income (NOI) contribution is $6.9 billion over the base lease term, translating to an expected average annual NOI contribution of $454 million.
Furthermore, the agreement grants FluidStack a right of first offer for up to an additional 1,000 MW of IT capacity at future expansion phases of the campus. The delivery timeline indicates that the initial data hall at River Bend is scheduled for completion and commissioning in Q2 2027, with additional data halls scheduled to come online over the balance of 2027.
Hut 8 has also introduced a new category to its development framework, "energy capacity under construction," which applies to sites where it has executed a definitive offtake agreement and commenced construction activities. This designation advances 330 MW of utility capacity from River Bend to energy capacity under construction.
The company anticipates a peak of approximately 1,000 construction workers on-site during the construction phase, with the campus expected to create 75 or more direct new jobs in West Feliciana Parish and 190 or more indirect and induced jobs, for a total of 265 or more potential new jobs across the capital region.
The development of River Bend is in collaboration with key Louisiana stakeholders, and it is expected to bring thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of investment into the economy, positioning Louisiana at the forefront of an industry that will define the decades ahead.
Hut 8 will host a conference call to discuss the transaction, and for further details, an investor presentation is available on its website.
Today the company's shares have moved 8.68% to a price of $40.05. For the full picture, make sure to review Hut 8's 8-K report.
