SkyAI, Inc. (Nasdaq: SKYA) has sold roughly half of its Solana holdings. It now plans to use that cash to buy back nearly the entire company from its own investors.
The Nasdaq-listed firm announced a cash tender offer of $3.00 per security. It covers up to 95% of its outstanding common shares and three classes of warrants, for a total of approximately $201 million.
The details of the offer
The tender offer is set to commence around October 15, 2026. It will run for 10 business days, and the company may extend it or end it early.
The offer comes with conditions. At least 50% of each eligible class of securities must be tendered for the deal to move forward. If holders of any one class do not show up in sufficient numbers, the offer for that class does not proceed.
The offer is expected to require that SOL’s closing price stays above $100 for the duration of the offer period.
Funding comes from two sources: SkyAI’s existing cash reserves and proceeds from its recent SOL sales. The company sold approximately 1 million SOL, cutting its prior holdings of around 2 million SOL in half. Its cumulative SOL activity totals about 1.25 million SOL, valued at nearly $138 million.
SkyAI shares jumped 24.68% in pre-market trading to approximately $2.26 after the announcement, representing a 65% premium over the October 9 close. Even after that pop, the stock still traded below the $3.00 tender price.
A rejected suitor and a strategic pivot
The buyback is not the only news out of SkyAI’s boardroom. The board also rejected a non-binding acquisition proposal from Forward Industries.
Forward had offered an exchange ratio of 0.306 FWDI shares for each SKYA share. SkyAI’s board said the proposal significantly undervalued the company.
The moves also fit a broader shift in SkyAI’s identity. The company is pivoting away from being mainly a crypto treasury firm and toward becoming an AI-driven financial services provider. Selling half the SOL stack and shrinking the share count are two sides of that same pivot.
What this means for investors and SOL
For SKYA holders, the $3.00 offer sits above where the stock traded even after its pre-market surge. Holders who tender get a fixed cash exit, assuming the conditions are met.
The risks sit in the fine print. If SOL closes below $100 during the offer window, the expected price condition could derail the deal. If fewer than 50% of any class is tendered, that portion falls apart too.
SkyAI is selling SOL to fund the buyback, and the buyback depends on SOL staying above a set price. Other treasury firms selling SOL at the same time only adds to the pressure on SOL liquidity.
A 95% buyback would leave a much smaller public float. For Forward Industries, the rejection closes one door, at least for now. Its 0.306 exchange ratio was tied to its own share price, while SkyAI is offering holders cash at a fixed $3.00.
Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.