Helius Medical Technologies, listed on Nasdaq, is initiating a $500 million corporate treasury reserve centered around Solana, marking it as one of the most significant Solana-focused treasury projects to date.
The company announced on Monday that it priced an oversubscribed private investment in public equity (PIPE) offering of common stock at $6.88 per share, which includes stapled warrants exercisable at $10.12 for three years. The transaction comprises $500 million in equity and potentially up to $750 million in warrants, subject to full exercise.
Helius stated it will allocate the net proceeds from the offering to develop a crypto treasury strategy with Solana (SOL) as its principal reserve asset. The company plans to “significantly scale holdings over the next 12-24 months through a best-in-class capital markets program utilizing ATM sales and other established strategies.”
Moreover, Helius intends to investigate staking and lending options within the Solana ecosystem in order to boost revenue from the SOL treasury, while maintaining a “conservative” risk profile.
Directed by the crypto-focused US asset manager Pantera Capital alongside Asian fund manager Summer Capital, the offering is anticipated to close on Thursday. Other participants include Big Brain Holdings, Avenir, FalconX, Arrington Capital, Animoca Brands, and HashKey Capital.
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Solana as a “category-defining” blockchain
“We believe Solana represents a category-defining blockchain and serves as the foundation for a new financial system,” stated Dan Morehead, founder and managing partner of Pantera Capital.
“An effective treasury company, supporting the most cost-effective, swiftest, and most accessible network, is set to significantly enhance both institutional and retail access to the Solana ecosystem and promote its global adoption.”
Following the offering’s closure, the company’s management will be headed by incoming director and executive chairman Joseph Chee, who is currently the founder and chairman of Summer Capital and former head of Investment Banking across Asia at UBS.
The new crypto treasury initiative will focus on “maximizing SOL per share by leveraging the most commercially viable blockchain for decentralized finance and consumer applications,” according to Chee, who anticipates that capital market transactions will be “transitioning onto blockchain infrastructure,” encompassing payments and tokenization.
Helius described SOL as “financially productive by design,” offering approximately a 7% native staking yield, in contrast to Bitcoin (BTC), which it referred to as a “non-yield-bearing” asset.
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Growing institutional momentum for Solana adoption
Helius’ announcement arrives amid increasing institutional interest in Solana treasury strategies, following digital asset investment firm Galaxy Digital’s acquisition of $306 million in Solana on Sunday, in partnership with investment firm Multicoin Capital and trading firm Jump Crypto to establish a crypto treasury firm.
The emergence of more corporate crypto treasury firms may drive demand and contribute to the appreciation of the Solana token’s price, which has risen nearly 25% year-to-date, according to TradingView data.
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