Armada shareholders approve Evernorth's $1 billion XRP treasury deal

Armada Acquisition Corp. II shareholders approved its business combination with Evernorth, clearing a step toward the XRP treasury company's Nasdaq debut. Evernorth filed its S-4 registration for the $1 billion special purpose acquisition company deal in March. The registration became effective in August. The transaction is expected to raise about $300 million in gross cash proceeds. Investors have contributed XRP in kind, leaving Evernorth expected to hold roughly 473 million XRP at closing. The deal is expected to close on October 7. The combined company is set to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN beginning October 8. Evernorth's planned listing would join spot XRP exchange-traded funds as a regulated route to XRP exposure. Evernorth CEO Asheesh Birla said going public would give investors a regulated, transparent way to gain XRP exposure and participate in the blockchain economy's growth. Evernorth's investors include Arrington Capital, SBI Group, Ripple, Pantera Capital, Kraken and GSR. Evernorth Chief Business Officer Sagar Shah said in August that a new proposal could give the XRP Ledger native lending functionality while reducing smart contract risks. Evernorth currently holds approximately 347 million XRP tokens, according to BitcoinTreasuries data, ahead of in-kind contributions expected at closing. Those holdings are worth about $512 million at current prices. XRP traded around $1.48 at publication time, giving it a market capitalization above $93 billion. XRP finished the third quarter more than 40% higher.