SkyAI sells half its Solana to fund a $201M buyback and keep Forward Industries out

SkyAI plans to spend roughly $201 million buying back up to 95% of its shares and warrants at $3.00 each.

The company plans to sell half of the Solana treasury it spent the past year building to fund the buyback. The move essentially rejects a takeover bid from Forward Industries.

Will SkyAI buy back its shares?

SkyAI (Nasdaq: SKYA) has announced a $201 million tender offer to buy back about 95% of its shares. It’s offering $3.00 per share in cash, which is less than half of what early investors paid when the company’s crypto treasury was first set up.

A year ago, SkyAI was known as Sharps Technology and functioned as a medical device distributor. An SEC-filed press release shows that it raised more than $400 million in a private placement on August 28, 2025, selling units at $6.50 each.

Every unit included a share of common stock plus attached warrants, and the proceeds went into SOL, the native token of the Solana blockchain, in what the company referred to as the launch of one of the largest Solana treasuries. Investors were told the raise could reach $1 billion if all warrants were exercised.

SkyAI says the $3.00 price represents a 65% premium over its October 9 close and more than a 100% premium to its 60-day volume-weighted average, however both numbers measure against a stock that has fallen far from where the treasury started.

A September 2026 filing revealed that it held more than two million SOL with no debt; now, to fund the buyback, SkyAI is draining that treasury. The company said it has already sold about 1 million SOL, roughly half its holdings, and holds about 1 million SOL as of the announcement. It said it may keep selling depending on the market.

SkyAI controlled the fifth-largest publicly traded Solana treasury at 2,009,494 SOL, worth about $207 million in September. SkyAI also said it had booked more than $12 million in staking revenue through June 30, with its validator yielding 6.01% against a 5.57% network average.

What deal did SkyAI reject?

The buyback doubles as a defense for SkyAI after its board rejected Forward Industries’ latest unsolicited proposal, concluding the bid undervalues the company.

Forward, which calls itself the largest Solana treasury company and reported holding 8.5 million SOL at the end of September, has been pursuing SkyAI since June. Its first offer, on June 15, was 0.367 Forward shares for each SKYA share. That was about a 20% premium, or $1.55 per share, which SkyAI rejected.

On September 15, Forward improved the offer to 0.306 shares, valuing SkyAI at about $2.13 per share, roughly a 50% premium at the time.

SkyAI’s $3.00 cash offer is higher than that, and it’s paid in cash rather than Forward stock.

At SkyAI’s September 18 annual meeting, Forward attempted to win over shareholders. However, all five of SkyAI’s directors kept their seats, even though each got more withheld votes than votes in favor because the rules only require a plurality. Shareholders also voted down SkyAI’s proposed equity incentive plan, 22.5 million to 5 million.

SkyAI expects to commence its tender offer on or about October 15 and run it for 10 business days. It covers up to 46.37 million shares and up to 20.72 million pre-funded and strategic advisor warrants.

The offer comes with the condition that at least 50% of each class of shares must be tendered. Another condition is that the price of SOL must stay above $100 throughout the offer period. SOL traded near $111 on October 11.

SkyAI says the offer doesn’t depend on financing, since its cash and digital assets already exceed the maximum $201 million it could spend. It has hired MacKenzie Partners to handle shareholder information and collect tendered shares.

The official offer documents are due to be filed with the SEC by October 15.