Commitments and Contingencies |
6 Months Ended |
|---|---|
Jun. 30, 2026 | |
| Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract] | |
| Commitments and Contingencies | 19. Commitments and Contingencies
The Company has non-cancelable contractual commitments of approximately $253 million as of June 30, 2026, which are primarily related to programming and content, leases, capital expenditures and other data center–related costs, and other service arrangements. The majority of these commitments will be paid over five years, commencing in 2026.
Legal Proceedings
In the normal course of business, to facilitate transactions in services and products, the Company indemnifies certain parties. The Company has agreed to hold certain parties harmless against losses arising from a breach of representations or covenants, or out of intellectual property infringement or other claims made against certain parties. Several of these agreements limit the time within which an indemnification claim can be made and the amount of the claim. In addition, the Company has entered into indemnification agreements with its officers and directors, and its bylaws contain similar indemnification obligations to its agents.
Furthermore, many of the Company’s agreements with its customers and partners require the Company to indemnify them for certain intellectual property infringement claims against them, which would increase costs as a result of defending such claims, and may require that we pay significant damages if there were an adverse ruling in any such claims. Customers and partners may discontinue the use of the Company’s services and technologies as a result of injunctions or otherwise, which could result in loss of revenues and adversely impact the business.
It is not possible to make a reasonable estimate of the maximum potential amount under these indemnification agreements due to the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement. As of June 30, 2026, there were material indemnification claims that were probable or reasonably possible.
In September 2025, Decentric Europe B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Northern Data (“Decentric”), received a proposed decision from the Swedish Tax Agency (“STA”) concerning the deduction of input VAT claimed for the period January 2021 to June 2024. In the proposed decision, the STA asserted that certain activities performed at the Boden site constituted cryptocurrency mining activities that it considers to be outside the scope of VAT, and therefore proposed to deny the deduction of input VAT previously claimed. The proposed assessment amounted to approximately SEK 300 million (approximately USD 31 million), including any potential penalties and excluding interest.
Northern Data has formally disputed the proposed decision and submitted a comprehensive response to the STA on December 1, 2025, supported by external tax, accounting and legal advisors. Northern Data’s position is that the relevant activities involved the provision of infrastructure and related services to third parties, which Northern Data management considers to constitute taxable supplies under Swedish VAT legislation. Northern Data management also considers that certain conclusions reflected in the proposed decision may have been drawn from incomplete operational data and assumptions that do not fully reflect the underlying commercial arrangements.
On March 30, 2026, the STA issued its final decision to Decentric, claiming a total amount of SEK 335,579,057 (approximately USD 35 million); this amount is divided into VAT (SEK 250 million), surcharge (SEK 50 million), and interest (SEK 35 million). This is the same amount stated in the proposed decision, to which interest of SEK 29,480,221 (approximately USD 3 million) for FY21 and SEK 5,730,112 (approximately USD 1 million) for FY22 were added. Payment of the tax and surcharge was due and was paid on May 12, 2026. In substance, the final decision was in large parts the same as the proposed decision.
In its response on May 13, 2026, the STA stated that it will still consider Decentric’s request for deferral, and hold off on its mandatory reassessment of its final decision if Decentric files an appeal no later than May 19, 2026. Decentric filed an appeal within this deadline. The STA subsequently confirmed that Decentric may supplement its appeal by July 31, 2026. It further confirmed that until then it would hold off on its mandatory reassessment of the final decision. A deferral of payment was received on May 21, 2026 and the previous tax payment is in process of being repaid by the STA.
In March 2026, Hydro66 Svenska AB (“Hydro Svenska”), a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Northern Data, received a separate proposed decision covering the period January 2021 to September 2024 concerning the deduction of input VAT. The STA asserts that certain activities constituted cryptocurrency mining activities outside the scope of VAT and that Hydro66 Svenska had not supplied a taxable colocation service but instead a VAT exempt letting of premises. The STA therefore proposed to deny the deduction of input VAT previously claimed. The proposed assessment amounted to approximately SEK 218 million (approximately USD 22 million), including any potential penalties and excluding interest. Hydro66 Svenska’s response to the STA proposed decision was submitted on April 17, 2026. The STA issued a final decision on June 22, 2026. The STA upheld its previous proposed decision. Hydro66 Svenska was to pay SEK 208,828,368 (approximately USD 21 million) by July 27, 2026. This amount is divided into VAT (SEK 165 million), surcharge (SEK 25 million), and interest (SEK 19 million). On July 13, 2026, Hydro66 Svenska filed an appeal and an application for a deferral of payment. The STA granted the payment deferral on July 29, 2026. Hydro66 Svenska is currently in the process of preparing the grounds for appeal.
As to each of the above matters, the Company believes it has meritorious defenses to the claims asserted and intends to defend itself vigorously. However, litigation is inherently unpredictable, and we cannot predict the outcome of these matters. At this time, we cannot reasonably estimate the possible loss or range of loss, if any, and accordingly no liability has been recorded, nor can the Company reliably determine the fair value of any asset or liability that may ultimately arise from these matters under the business combination accounting guidance. Accordingly, no additional liability has been recorded in the condense consolidated interim financial statements. |