Armada Acquisition Corp. II surged about 273% last week as investors piled into the thinly traded SPAC ahead of its planned merger with XRP treasury company Evernorth.

Armada (XRPN) ended Friday at $39.42, gaining 68% in a single session and taking its weekly advance to roughly 273%, according to StockAnalysis data. The stock briefly hit $53, up from $10.58 a week earlier, and was another 9.5% higher in Monday’s premarket session.

Evernorth said it expects the transaction to close Wednesday, Oct. 7, assuming the remaining conditions are met.

As a SPAC, Armada raised capital and placed the proceeds in a trust while preparing to merge with a private company. Public shareholders can redeem their shares for cash before the transaction rather than become shareholders of the combined business.

Armada had $241.2 million in its trust at the end of June, with a redemption value of about $10.49 per public share, according to its quarterly filing. Evernorth said Oct. 1 that approximately $48 million of the trust proceeds would be used in the transaction.

The difference suggests that about 80% of the trust funds could be returned to shareholders, based on CoinDesk’s calculations. The companies have yet to disclose the final number of redeemed shares.

Such redemptions can dramatically shrink the number of shares available for trading, increasing volatility because relatively small orders can have an outsized impact on the stock price.

Evernorth’s XRP Treasury

Evernorth expects to hold about 473 million XRP when the merger closes. At Monday’s price of roughly $1.51, the position would have a market value of approximately $714 million.

The company’s financing package also includes around $300 million in gross cash proceeds before expenses. That consists of $225 million from private placements, $30 million in convertible notes and $48 million from Armada’s trust. Investors have separately contributed XRP to the company.

Some of Evernorth’s XRP purchases, however, were made at prices well above current levels.

The company purchased 84.4 million XRP for $214.1 million through the end of 2025, putting the average cost at about $2.54 per token, according to CoinDesk’s March report. At around $1.51, those tokens would be worth approximately $127 million.

The deal comes as investors reassess the performance of other crypto treasury companies that entered public markets through mergers.

Tether-backed Twenty One fell 25% during its NYSE debut in December, approaching the $10 price paid by private-placement investors. ProCap BTC had fallen more than 60% from its merger level by that point.

Evernorth’s closing filings are expected to provide the final post-redemption share count and remaining cash balance. The combined company is scheduled to begin trading Thursday, Oct. 8.