Evernorth to Raise Over $1 Billion in SPAC Deal with Armada II

By Connor Hart

Evernorth Holdings will go public through a business combination with Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company Armada Acquisition Corp II, in a deal expected to raise over $1 billion in gross proceeds.

The newly formed company is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN, subject to regulatory and listing approvals, the companies said Monday. The funding includes $200 million from SBI Holdings, with additional investments from firms including Ripple, Pantera Capital, Kraken, and GSR.

Net proceeds will be used primarily to acquire XRP, a digital asset developed by Ripple for global payments and cross-border transactions, for an institutional treasury. A portion will additionally be allocated to working capital, corporate purposes and transaction expenses.

Evernorth said it will provide investors with publicly traded, regulated exposure to XRP, and that it plans to actively grow XRP per share through institutional lending, liquidity provisioning and decentralized-finance yield strategies.

Asheesh Birla will continue serving as CEO, and Matthew Frymier as chief financial officer.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by both boards and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and shareholder approval.

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 20, 2025 10:45 ET (14:45 GMT)