CoreWeave’s CEO, Michael Intrator, has addressed the debate surrounding the company’s planned acquisition of Core Scientific.

In a conversation with CNBC, Intrator said that the proposed acquisition of data center provider Core Scientific would be a “nice to have” but is not a necessity, in response to ongoing opposition from Core Scientific shareholders.

The opposition to the acquisition is being led by Core Scientific’s largest shareholder – Two Seas Capital LP – which filed a proxy statement against the deal in September 2025.

The deal was agreed on July 7, and would see AI cloud firm CoreWeave acquiring Core Scientific and its 1.3GW of data center capacity for $9bn in an all-stock transaction.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Core Scientific stockholders will receive 0.1235 newly issued shares of CoreWeave Class A common stock for each share of Core Scientific common stock. Upon close, CoreWeave expects Core Scientific’s stockholders’ ownership of the combined company will be less than 10 percent.

Two Seas has maintained that this undervalues CoreScientific since it first voiced its disapproval in August, and has described the deal as “poorly structured.”

CoreWeave has previously declined to comment to DCD on Two Seas’ efforts to prevent the acquisition.

However, while Two Seas has been calling other shareholders to join its efforts, the company’s stance on the merger was backed up by an independent proxy advisory firm, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS).

ISS stated in its report: “The board conducted an exclusive process on a short timeline, and it did not obtain downside protection against the volatility of the acquisition currency, which was still subject to a lockup. Thus, it is difficult to conclude that the process was run in a manner that maximized the likelihood of securing the best available terms for shareholders, or that the process in fact did so.”

Speaking with CNBC, CoreWeave’s CEO said that he was “disappointed” by the report, and he continues to believe that the deal would be “in the long-term interest of Core Scientific shareholders.”

“We think that the bid that we put out there for is a fair representation of the relative value of the two companies as an all-stock deal. We are going to just kind of proceed as we have, in the event that the transaction does not go through. It is a nice to have, not a need to have for us.”

He added: “Everything has a value, and the number we put out is the value we’re willing to pay for them under all circumstances.”

CoreWeave previously made a bid for Core Scientific in 2024, offering $1bn for the company. This was swiftly rejected by Core Scientific, which said the bid “significantly undervalued” the company. Intrator’s latest statements suggest CoreWeave is unwilling to increase the offer further.