Evernorth Holdings Inc. has announced a definitive business combination agreement with Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Armada Acquisition Corp II (ticker: AACI). The deal is structured to raise over $1 billion in gross proceeds and, upon closing, will result in the combined entity listing on the Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol "XRPN" in Q1 2026. This transaction is designed to build the world's largest public XRP treasury.
The merger has attracted significant institutional backing. SBI Holdings committed $200 million, with additional participation from Ripple, Pantera Capital, Kraken, GSR, Rippleworks, and a personal investment from Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen.
Evernorth CEO Asheesh Birla, a former Ripple senior executive, outlined the company's active strategy. Net proceeds will be used primarily for open-market purchases of XRP. The firm also plans to engage in institutional lending, liquidity provisioning, and DeFi yield opportunities, utilizing Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin. Birla emphasized the goal is to "grow XRP per share over time, not just hold it."
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse endorsed the move, calling XRP a global asset for efficient settlement and expressing confidence in the team. Post-close, Garlinghouse, along with Ripple's Stuart Alderoty and David Schwartz, are expected to serve as strategic advisors. Evernorth also intends to run XRP validators to strengthen network decentralization and pursue market development in payments, capital markets, and tokenized assets.
The transaction has been unanimously approved by both companies' boards and is subject to shareholder approval and customary closing conditions. Citigroup Global Markets acted as the sole private placement agent.
