Evernorth Holdings, which expects to hold about 473 million XRP (XRP), has pushed its Nasdaq debut to Oct. 12 after an administrative delay slowed its merger closing.
Key Points:
- Evernorth now expects its merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II to close on or about Oct. 9.
- Shares are expected to begin trading under the ticker XRPN on or about Oct. 12.
- The company called the delay administrative and said it should not affect the closing.
Evernorth Nasdaq Delay
The San Francisco company disclosed the new timetable in an Oct. 6 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, signed by Chief Executive Asheesh Birla.
The filing says its business combination with Armada Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company, should close on or about Oct. 9, subject to customary closing conditions. Trading in the Class A shares under the ticker XRPN is expected to begin on or about Oct. 12.
Evernorth had planned to close on Oct. 7 and list a day later. Armada II shareholders approved the merger on Sept. 30, and the company attributed the new schedule to "an administrative delay that is not expected to affect the closing."
It has not reported any change to the deal's terms.
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XRP Treasury
At closing, Evernorth expects to hold about 473 million XRP, which it says would make it the largest publicly traded company devoted solely to the token. The deal should also bring in roughly $300 million in gross cash, including $225 million from private placements, $30 million from convertible notes and about $48 million from Armada II's trust account. Backers include Ripple, SBI Group, Pantera Capital, Kraken, GSR and Arrington Capital.
Armada II shares, which already trade under the XRPN ticker, fell 50.32% on Oct. 6 to close at $19.20, reversing a rally that built ahead of the merger. That price reflects the shell company before closing, not Evernorth after it.
Market analysts have noted that the debut by itself does not add demand for XRP, since investors and partners supplied most of the treasury before the listing.
Birla has pitched the stock as another route into the token. He said in an Oct. 1 statement that going public would give investors "a regulated, transparent way to own XRP exposure."
XRP Price Swings
The debut comes during a volatile stretch for XRP, which finished the third quarter more than 40% higher and then slid from about $1.53 to $1.39 by Oct. 8 during a broad crypto sell-off. The pseudonymous analyst EGRAG Crypto said buyers need to reclaim the $1.55 to $1.60 zone to change the short-term bearish picture, and named $1.37 as a possible retest level.
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