• River Bend project finance now expected at S+ 240bps, 90% LTC
• Has 1 GW expansion opportunity at River Bend with Entergy

Hut 8 said it has modified financing terms for its River Bend AI data center project, increasing loan-to-cost to 90% and adjusting pricing to SOFR plus 240 basis points, as it advances negotiations with lenders JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.

The company had previously targeted an 85% loan-to-cost at SOFR plus 225 basis points. Executives said the increase in spread accounts for the higher 90% leverage.

River Bend, located in Louisiana, anchors Hut 8’s shift toward long-duration AI infrastructure. In late 2025, the company signed a 15-year, 245 MW lease with Fluidstack valued at USD 7bn over the base term, with lease payments financially backstopped by Google. The agreement also grants Fluidstack a right of first offer on up to an additional 1,000 MW of IT capacity at River Bend, subject to expansion of power at the site.

“The 1 GW expansion plan at Riverbend, the power is there,” CEO Asher Genoot said February 25 on the company’s 4Q25 earnings call. “It’s not about if, it’s about when. Now we’re optimizing on delivery timelines and cost scenarios in terms of collateral upfront to make sure the rate base doesn’t get impacted.”

He added: “We’re working through different structuring paths to maximize efficiency and speed, meanwhile, solving for what we’re looking for and also what Entergy is trying to solve for their constituents.”

Genoot said construction is progressing on schedule, with the first data hall expected online in early second quarter 2027 and subsequent halls energizing roughly every 60 days.

Beyond River Bend, Hut 8 reported an 8,500 MW development pipeline as of December 31, 2025, spanning 5,185 MW under diligence, 1,755 MW under exclusivity, 1,230 MW under development and 330 MW under construction. The pipeline excludes the additional 1,000 MW of potential River Bend expansion capacity tied to Fluidstack’s ROFO.

The company said its strategy prioritizes AI data center development over bitcoin mining, though bitcoin remains an alternative use case that supports early-stage power origination. Hut 8 also completed the sale of a 310 MW portfolio of natural gas plants to TransAlta in February 2026, redeploying capital toward its AI-focused pipeline.

For the fourth quarter, Hut 8 reported revenue of USD 88.5m, up from USD 31.7m a year earlier. Full-year 2025 revenue rose 45% to USD 235.1m.

*This story was originally published exclusively for NPM subscribers.