Helius Medical Technologies, listed on Nasdaq, is initiating a $500 million corporate treasury reserve centered around Solana, marking one of the largest treasury initiatives focused on Solana to date.
The company announced on Monday that it has priced an oversubscribed private investment in public equity (PIPE) offering of common stock at $6.88 per share, accompanied by stapled warrants exercisable at $10.12 for three years. The deal comprises $500 million in equity and up to $750 million in warrants, contingent on full exercise.
Helius stated that it will utilize the net proceeds from the offering to develop a crypto treasury strategy, with the Solana (SOL) token as its primary reserve asset. The company plans to “significantly scale holdings over the next 12-24 months through a best-in-class capital markets program that includes ATM sales and other effective strategies.”
Additionally, Helius will investigate staking and lending opportunities within the Solana ecosystem to generate extra revenue from the SOL treasury while adhering to a “conservative” risk profile, it mentioned.
Managed by crypto-focused US asset manager Pantera Capital and Asian fund manager Summer Capital, the offering is set to close on Thursday. Other participants include Big Brain Holdings, Avenir, FalconX, Arrington Capital, Animoca Brands, and HashKey Capital.
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Solana a “category-defining” blockchain
“We believe that Solana is a category-defining blockchain and the foundation for a new financial system,” stated Dan Morehead, founder and managing partner of Pantera Capital.
“A productive treasury company endorsing the industry’s most cost-effective, fastest, and most accessible network will greatly enhance institutional and retail access to the Solana ecosystem, fostering its global adoption.”
Post-offering closure, the company’s management will be led by incoming director and executive chairman Joseph Chee, who is currently the founder and chairman of Summer Capital and formerly led Investment Banking across Asia at UBS.
The new crypto treasury initiative will aim to “maximize SOL per share by utilizing the most commercially viable blockchain for decentralized finance and consumer applications,” said Chee, forecasting that capital markets transactions will be “transitioning onto blockchain rails,” encompassing payments and tokenization.
Helius labeled SOL as “financially productive by design” due to its approximately 7% native staking yield, contrasting it with Bitcoin (BTC), which it referred to as a “non-yield-bearing” asset.
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Solana adoption gains institutional momentum
Helius’ announcement occurs alongside 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 form a crypto treasury company.
The emergence of more corporate crypto treasury firms may heighten demand and facilitate the appreciation of the Solana token’s price, which has increased nearly 25% year-to-date, as TradingView data illustrates.
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