Asset Entities Announces Merger with Strive Enterprises to Create $1.5 Billion Bitcoin Reserve
Shares of marketing company Asset Entities soared 52% in over-the-counter trading after shareholders approved a merger with Vivek Ramaswamy's Strive Enterprises. The new combined company plans to create a $1.5 billion Bitcoin reserve.
Deal details and new management
An “overwhelming majority” of Asset Entities shareholders voted to merge with Strive to raise $1.5 billion to buy Bitcoin. The combined company will be called Strive, Inc. and will continue to trade under the ticker ASST.
Shares of Asset Entities closed Tuesday's trading up 17.8% to $6.28, then jumped another 52% to $9.55 in over-the-counter trading after the merger announcement.
Matt Cole, CEO of subsidiary Strive Asset Management, will lead the combined entity. Asset Entities CEO Arshia Sarkhani will serve as chief marketing officer and join the board. Strive co-founder Ramaswamy's role in the new company has not yet been determined.
Reverse Merger Instead of SPAC
Strive chose a reverse merger structure, a way to go public by acquiring an already-traded company. This approach is considered a safer alternative to special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), shell companies created specifically to raise money from investors and then find acquisition targets. It relies less on speculative capital raising and share dilution.
The company plans to fund its $1.5 billion in bitcoin purchases through a $750 million private investment in public shares, plus another $750 million from the potential exercise of warrants — securities that give the right to buy shares at a fixed price. At current prices, that would buy about 13,450 bitcoins, putting the company in the top 10 of the largest corporate holders of the cryptocurrency.
Mt. Gox Plans and Current Positions
When the merger was announced in May, Strive said it would acquire 75,000 bitcoins from claims tied to the bankrupt exchange Mt. Gox. Such a strategy could improve the bitcoin-per-share ratio, a metric that is becoming increasingly important in the world of corporate bitcoin holdings.
Since its launch in 2022 by founders Anson Frericks and Ramaswamy, Strive has amassed $2 billion in assets. Asset Entities had no active involvement in the Bitcoin industry prior to the announced merger.
Bitcoin Corporate Adoption Reaches New Heights
Public companies now own a combined total of over 1 million bitcoins, representing 5.1% of the circulating supply.
The number of public companies reporting major Bitcoin purchases has risen to 186 from fewer than 100 at the start of the year, a trend that is fueling Bitcoin's rally to $124,450 as companies use a variety of financing vehicles, from equity to convertible bonds to mergers.
Completion of the Strive deal is subject to a number of conditions, including approval of the listing application by Nasdaq.
Source: cryptonews.net
