Ripple to Buyback Shares Worth $285 Million from Early Investors

TL;DR

• Ripple has initiated a buyback of its shares worth $285 million from early investors.

• The move will value the company at $11.3 billion once completed.

Ripple to Buyback Shares to Increase Valuation

Crypto-payments firm Ripple Labs has revealed that it is planning to buy back $285 million worth of its shares from early investors. Once the move is complete, Ripple’s valuation will be $11.3 billion, a company spokesperson confirms. 

According to a Reuters report, early investors would be allowed to sell as much as 6% of their holdings. The blockchain company intends to spend $500 million to cover the costs of converting restricted stock units into shares and taxes, the report added.

The company’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, further revealed that Ripple intends to embark on more buybacks in a bid to provide liquidity for investors. However, there are no plans to make Ripple a publicly listed company due to the regulatory uncertainty in the United States.

Ripple, which is known for using the XRP coin, has been expanding its presence in Europe and Africa. Last October, the company celebrated the dismissal of all charges against its executives in an ongoing lawsuit brought by the US SEC. Garlinghouse said,

"Growing in the headwinds of the SEC lawsuit was certainly a challenge, but 95% of our customers are non-US financial institutions."

The CEO also revealed that Ripple has more than $1 billion in cash, with over $25 billion in crypto assets, made up mostly of XRP, on its balance sheet.