coindesk.com
Shares of the shell company taking $XRP treasury firm Evernorth public nearly quadrupled last week, ahead of a merger that would bring hundreds of millions of tokens and new shareholders into the listed business.
Armada Acquisition Corp. II (XRPN) closed at $39.42 on Friday, up 68% that day and about 273% for the week, according to StockAnalysis data. The shares briefly touched $53, compared with $10.58 a week earlier. Shares are higher by another 9.5% in pre-market trading Monday.
Evernorth told CoinDesk in an email that it expects the merger to close on Wednesday, Oct. 7, subject to remaining conditions.
Armada is a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. It raised money, holds it in a trust and later merges with a private business. Public shareholders can request their money back before the deal closes, rather than keep their shares in the combined company.
Armada’s trust held $241.2 million at the end of June, with a redemption value of about $10.49 per public share, according to its quarterly filing. Evernorth’s Oct. 1 announcement indicates that approximately $48 million in trust proceeds will remain for the transaction.
Comparing those figures suggests roughly 80% of the trust money would be returned to shareholders, according to CoinDesk calculations. The announcement did not provide a final count of redeemed shares.
Redemptions can leave fewer public shares available to trade, allowing relatively small orders to move the price sharply.
Read More: An $XRP treasury company backed by Ripple is a shareholder vote away from Nasdaq
A $714 million $XRP bet
Evernorth expects to hold approximately 473 million $XRP at closing. At Monday’s price of roughly $1.51, that would be worth about $714 million. Its announced financing also includes approximately $300 million in gross cash proceeds before expenses, comprising $225 million from private placements, $30 million in convertible notes and $48 million from Armada’s trust. Backers have also contributed $XRP directly.
Some of the $XRP purchased with cash is already worth substantially less than Evernorth paid.
The company spent $214.1 million buying 84.4 million $XRP through the end of 2025, an average of about $2.54, CoinDesk reported in March. That tranche would now be worth roughly $127 million.
The deal comes as other cryptocurrency treasury listings have struggled after their mergers.
Tether-backed Twenty One fell 25% in early trading on its NYSE debut in December, approaching the $10 price paid by its private-placement investors. ProCap BTC had lost more than 60% since its own merger by then.
