Armada Acquisition Corp. II Shares Surge 273% Ahead of Evernorth Merger

Shares of Armada Acquisition Corp. II, the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) set to merge with XRP treasury firm Evernorth, surged nearly 273% last week ahead of the expected Oct. 7 closing. The shell company's stock closed at $39.42 on Friday, up 68% in a single day, and briefly touched $53 during the week. This sharp rise came as investors anticipated the merger, which would bring approximately 473 million XRP tokens into the publicly traded entity.

Evernorth's XRP holdings, valued at roughly $714 million at Monday’s price of $1.51 per token, represent a significant bet on the cryptocurrency. However, the company's earlier purchases of XRP have already depreciated. Evernorth spent $214.1 million acquiring 84.4 million XRP through 2025, which are now worth about $127 million, highlighting the volatility in cryptocurrency markets.

About 80% of Armada’s trust funds appear set to be returned to shareholders, potentially reducing the number of publicly traded shares and contributing to sharp price swings. Armada’s trust held $241.2 million at the end of June, with a redemption value of about $10.49 per public share. Evernorth’s announcement indicated that approximately $48 million in trust proceeds will remain for the transaction, suggesting that a significant portion of the trust money would be returned to shareholders.

The merger comes amid challenges faced by other cryptocurrency treasury listings. For instance, Tether-backed Twenty One fell 25% in early trading on its NYSE debut in December, while ProCap BTC had lost more than 60% since its own merger. Despite these cautionary tales, Evernorth’s backers remain optimistic about the potential of the XRP treasury firm.