The special purpose acquisition company set to merge with XRP treasury firm Evernorth has seen its stock price explode in a wave of pre-merger speculation. Shares of Armada Acquisition Corp. II (Nasdaq: XRPN) rocketed roughly 273% last week, closing at $39.42 on Friday after briefly touching a high of $53, a stark contrast to its $10.58 price just a week prior.
This dramatic surge comes just days before the deal with Evernorth, led by CEO Asheesh Birla, is expected to close on October 7. Following shareholder approval on September 30, the transaction is poised to create the market’s largest publicly traded company focused purely on holding XRP.
The mechanics behind the massive stock surge
The combined entity plans to begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker “XRPN” on October 8, but the road ahead is complex, with the current XRP price outlook adding another layer of intrigue.
The spectacular price action in Armada’s stock is a textbook example of what can happen in the often-volatile world of SPACs, especially when crypto assets are involved. Armada is a special purpose acquisition company, a “blank check” firm that raises capital through an IPO with the sole purpose of finding and merging with a private company, thereby taking it public.
Typically, SPAC shares trade around their cash-in-trust value, which for Armada was about $10.49 per share at the end of June. However, the impending merger with Evernorth has thrown typical valuation models out the window. The surge to over $50 at its peak represents a massive premium driven by intense investor interest in a publicly listed vehicle for XRP exposure.
A critical factor fueling this volatility is a high rate of shareholder redemptions. Before a SPAC deal closes, public shareholders have the right to redeem their shares for their pro-rata portion of the trust. According to company filings, Armada’s trust of $241.2 million has dwindled to just $48 million remaining for the transaction.
This suggests approximately 80% of shareholders chose to take their money back rather than hold shares in the new company.
While that may sound like a vote of no confidence, it has a powerful side effect: it drastically reduces the public float, or the number of shares available for trading. With far fewer shares on the market, even relatively small buy orders can cause disproportionately large price swings, creating the perfect conditions for the speculative frenzy seen over the past week.
Evernorth’s planned XRP treasury and financials
Upon closing, Evernorth will command a substantial treasury, expecting to hold approximately 473 million XRP. At the current XRP price of around $1.51, this stockpile is valued at over $714 million, cementing its status as a significant new player in the digital asset space.
The company, backed by heavyweights like Ripple, Kraken, and Pantera Capital, is presenting itself as a regulated and transparent way for investors to gain exposure to XRP.
The merger is set to inject about $300 million in gross cash proceeds before expenses. This financing is a mix of $225 million from private placements, $30 million in convertible notes, and the $48 million left in Armada’s trust. Some investors, including sponsor Arrington Capital, have also contributed XRP directly to the company.
However, the company’s financial picture includes some notable headwinds. A significant portion of its existing XRP holdings is currently underwater. Evernorth previously spent $214.1 million to acquire 84.4 million XRP at an average price of $2.54 per token. With XRP now trading significantly lower, that specific tranche is worth only about $127 million, representing a substantial unrealized loss.
This highlights the inherent risk of a treasury strategy tied to a single, volatile asset. While the company aims to grow its holdings through various strategies, its success remains directly linked to the performance of XRP itself. The market dynamics surrounding digital assets can have a cascading effect on such treasury firms.
A high-stakes debut in a turbulent SPAC market
Evernorth is entering the public markets at a time when investor appetite for crypto-related SPAC mergers has been decidedly mixed. While the path to a Nasdaq listing offers a quicker route than a traditional IPO, the performance of newly-merged entities has been inconsistent, serving as a cautionary tale for the sector.
For instance, Ether Machine scrapped its planned merger with Dynamix in April 2026, citing unfavorable market conditions. Adam Back’s Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company and Cantor Equity Partners I also postponed a shareholder vote indefinitely, scrapping original merger terms in July 2026. These outcomes underscore the reality that initial speculative interest doesn’t always translate into sustained value.
Yet, some firms have navigated the process successfully. Tokenization platform Securitize and crypto asset manager CoinShares both completed their mergers and are now trading on major U.S. exchanges. Evernorth hopes to join this latter group, leveraging its unique focus on the XRP ecosystem to attract long-term investors beyond the initial speculative rush.
The road to going public and what comes next
The journey to this point has been methodical. Evernorth initially filed its Form S-4 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in March 2026. The SEC declared the filing effective in August, paving the way for the critical shareholder vote held on September 30, which ultimately approved the business combination.
“Going public will offer investors a regulated, transparent way to own XRP exposure and participate in the growth of the blockchain economy,” said Asheesh Birla, Evernorth’s founder and CEO, in a statement following the vote. “We’re grateful to our shareholders for their support as we complete this important transaction.”
Evernorth’s strategy extends beyond simply holding XRP. The company plans to actively manage its treasury to grow its XRP-per-share metric over time. This includes deploying yield strategies, participating directly in the XRP ecosystem, and engaging in capital markets activities to enhance its holdings, mirroring a broader trend of ecosystem expansion across the crypto landscape.
With the merger expected to finalize on October 7, all eyes will be on the Nasdaq opening on October 8 when “XRPN” begins trading. The key question is whether the stock can maintain its lofty valuation or if it will succumb to the post-SPAC gravity that has pulled down many of its predecessors.
The outcome will serve as a major bellwether for crypto-native companies seeking to tap the public markets.