US Ripple to buy back more than 40 billion yen of stock

10 months ago 71

Repurchased shares worth 41.5 billion yen

Ripple plans to buy back approximately 41.5 billion yen ($285 million) worth of company stock from early investors and employees. Reuters reported on the 11th.

This will value the company at about 1.6 trillion yen ($11.3 billion), according to sources familiar with the matter. Investors are limited to selling up to 6% of their holdings.

Ripple confirmed the move, saying it plans to spend a total of about 72.8 billion yen ($500 million) on the stock buyback process to cover the costs and taxes of converting restricted stock units (RSUs) into stock. Ta.

RSUs are generally provided as compensation or rewards to employees for conditions such as continued service, and can be exchanged for actual stock or cash once the conditions are met.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that the company has more than 145 billion yen ($1 billion) in cash and about 3.6 trillion yen ($25 billion) in crypto assets, mainly XRP, on its balance sheet. He explained that he owns more than that. The company plans to continue to buy back its own shares on a regular basis.

connection: Grayscale’s virtual currency basket investment trust adds XRP for the first time in three years

CEO Garlinghouse also commented that the company has no immediate plans to list its stock in the U.S. due to regulatory uncertainty. Ripple is expanding its operations in places with clearer regulations, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Dubai.

connection: Ripple CEO shares his views on SEC virtual currency regulations and securities lawsuits

SEC vs. Ripple Inc. case

In July of last year, a U.S. district court ruled in favor of Ripple in a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Ripple for offering “unregistered securities.” .

The judge recognized that the virtual currency XRP itself is not a security. He also concluded that while selling to institutional investors violates securities laws, selling to retail investors on public exchanges does not.

The SEC also dismissed charges against Garlinghouse CEO and others in October last year. However, the lawsuit regarding the direct sale of XRP to institutional investors has not been dismissed.

The next date in the trial is a Remedies briefing scheduled for February 12th.

As for the subsequent schedule, the SEC will submit a preliminary statement by March 13th. Ripple filed an objection by April 12th. Additionally, the SEC is expected to respond to Ripple’s complaint by April 29th.

Legal expert Fred Rispoli said there was a possibility that the case could be settled quickly, or that the legal battle could drag on and a verdict could not be reached until early summer.It pointed out.

What is the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)?

Established in 1934. The purpose is to ensure fair trade and protect investors, and prevents insider trading, corporate accounting fraud, market manipulation, etc. It also determines whether virtual currency falls under the category of securities.

Virtual currency glossary