Strive lists 15% SATS preferred after $630M IPO, funding push to No. 2 corporate bitcoin holder

Strive, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASST) has raised about $630 million by selling a new preferred stock that pays a 15% yield, 

The company has shared that it plans to use some of the money to buy bitcoin as it pushes to become the second-largest corporate holder of the asset. 

How much does SATS pay?

Strive has filed a statement with the SEC stating that it sold 7 million shares of its 15.00% Series A Perpetual SATS Preferred Stock at $90 each, adding up to about $630 million. 

The company first planned to sell 5 million shares but made the deal bigger, raising the total face value to $700 million. The $630 million is the gross cash raised, but after a $3-per-share fee for the banks and other costs, Strive only gets to keep about $609 million. 

SATS was expected to start trading on the Nasdaq Global Market on or around Tuesday, with each share having a stated value of $100, so the 15% rate pays $15 a year. 

Buyers paid only $90, which makes the effective yield 16.7%, beating every bitcoin-backed preferred stock from Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR). According to an October 15 filing, Strategy’s STRC pays 12%, while its STRF, STRK and STRD pay 10%, 8% and 10%.

SATS is a cumulative perpetual preferred stock. This means that if Strive misses a payment, the amount adds up and is still owed. The stock also has no maturity date. Once Strive’s board declares dividends, they are paid every business day, starting November 9. The first payment will cover everything that has been earned since the sale closed.

To help protect these payments, Strive will add $22.50 per share to its dividend reserve. That equals the first 18 months of dividends and comes from cash and securities the company already holds. Across 7 million shares, the added reserve is about $157.5 million

Chief Risk Officer Jeff Walton said holders of SATS and SATA can watch the bitcoin on Strive’s balance sheet in real time. Its price updates all day, not just four times a year. The company has also stated that it has no debt and no loans coming due.

SATS ranks below SATA, Strive’s existing preferred stock with a variable rate. Chief Investment Officer Ben Werkman described SATA as built for stable prices while SATS was built for stable income. 

Barclays (NYSE: BCS) and Cantor ran the books for the sale. Clear Street was the lead manager. B. Riley (Nasdaq: RILY), H.C. Wainwright, Maxim and StoneX (Nasdaq: SNEX) were co-managers.

How will Strive use the money to climb the bitcoin rankings?

As of October 16, Strive held 36,818 bitcoin after it purchased 1,223 coins for about $100 million between October 14 and 16, according to an 8-K filing. 

The count keeps Strive in fourth place. Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) leads with 848,517 bitcoin. Metaplanet (TSE: 3350) is next with 44,000, followed by Twenty One (NYSE: XXI) with 43,514. Strive sits just ahead of MARA Holdings (Nasdaq: MARA), which holds 35,577.

Chairman and CEO Matt Cole has said he wants Strive to take the No. 2 spot by the end of 2026. Cryptopolitan has followed that goal through weeks of large purchases, some of which at times outpaced Strategy. Strive would reportedly need to buy about 700 bitcoin a week to pass Metaplanet.

Cole called the stock sale a key step in the company’s plan to maximize long-term returns for its common stock investors. Strive says the money will go toward general business purposes like buying bitcoin and bitcoin-related products, working capital, assets that produce income, capital spending, and buying back its Class A stock or SATA shares.

The company has not said how much of the $630 million will be turned into bitcoin, but estimates show that at a price near $82,000, the full amount could buy around 7,700 bitcoin before fees. 

Strive ended October 16 with $317.5 million in cash. Meanwhile, its advisory arm, Strive Asset Management, is registered with the SEC and oversees more than $2.8 billion.