Strive upsized SATS preferred stock sale to 7 million shares

What happened

Strive (ASST), a Bitcoin treasury firm, raised its preferred stock sale to 7 million shares, with gross proceeds of around $630 million. On October 15, it sold 15% Series A Perpetual SATS Preferred Stock at $90 per share. That is an increase of 2 million shares over the original offering.

The deal is expected to close Oct. 20 on the usual terms. Strive expects to receive approximately $630 million before underwriting fees, commissions and other offering costs. The announced sale equals $700 million, but the headline figure is based on gross proceeds at a higher valuation of the shares.

The newly offered SATS shares pay a 15% dividend per year based on a stated value of $100 per share. The first scheduled dividend date is Nov. 9, 2026. Strive will pay $22.50 per share in the first 18 months and set that aside as a fund for future payouts. The preferred stock pays an initial liquidation preference of $100 per share.

Barclays and Cantor are joint book running managers, and Clear Street is the lead manager.

Why it matters

Strive plans to use the proceeds for several corporate needs, including adding to its Bitcoin buying with 35,595 BTC in treasury. It will also consider income-generating investments, business expansion, working capital and other capital expenditures. It is considering repurchasing Class A common stock and/or its current SATA preferred stock, and may pursue acquisitions of companies, assets or technologies complementary to its operations.

The offering follows a previously announced $500 million Series A IPO that would have sold 5 million shares at $100 each. Strive has since announced it is selling 7,000,000 shares at $90 per share, an increase of $130 million. The stock's 15% fixed-rate cumulative dividend remains at 15% of $100 per share.

Strive's Bitcoin treasury activity has continued alongside the raise. CEO Matt Cole announced last Wednesday that the firm spent $235 million to purchase 2,822 BTC. It exercised 273 million traditional warrants to purchase 13.6 million Class A common stock shares, netting it $369.2 million.

Strive, through its asset management subsidiary, manages over $2.8 billion in assets and now holds 35,595 BTC, worth $2.9 billion at the prices cited in the report.

Background

In March, Strive swapped a third of its cash holdings, worth $50 million, to purchase shares in Michael Saylor's BTC firm Strategy. Paper losses from the STRC purchase stood at $6.3 million by July. Despite this, the price of Strive shares has since risen 125% from July.

What is still unclear

• The reports do not state how many Bitcoin Strive will ultimately buy with the proceeds or when any purchases would occur.
• The reports do not state whether the board will declare the first dividend in full or how the dividend reserve will be invested.

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