ZeroStack Corp. distributes pharmaceuticals through a German subsidiary and calls itself a decentralized AI asset manager. On Tuesday it agreed to accept $1 billion of a meme coin in exchange for new shares — and appointed a principal of that meme coin as company president.
The detail that stands out is the price. According to ZeroStack's August 19 announcement, the shares are being issued at $25.19 each. Before the deal was published, the stock had been trading at around $1.84. The company says the agreed price — more than twelve times the market rate — reflects the Memecore principals' conviction in ZeroStack's strategy. The release does not say why a buyer would pay that premium rather than buying shares in the open market.
Shares closed 169.55% higher at $4.9600 after the announcement, on dollar volume of about $203 million.
For existing holders this is mainly a question of how many new shares end up in circulation. ZeroStack has a free float of about 1.6 million shares. The 3.5 million shares being issued immediately are already more than double that. Warrants for about 36 million additional shares require shareholder approval under Nasdaq listing rules before a single one can be issued, and any shares that do come through carry a lock-up of up to ten years. The company has not said when that vote will be held.
The $1 billion comes in the form of about 926 million Memecore tokens — traded as $M — valued at their prevailing market price of $1.08 apiece, the company says. Memecore describes itself as a blockchain built to turn internet memes into long-term economic assets rather than short-term speculation.
Rudy Rong, identified in the release as a Memecore principal, is joining ZeroStack as president under the terms of the deal. CEO Daniel Reis-Faria stays in place.
The release does not say what happens to the transaction if shareholders vote down the warrants — which represent the bulk of the billion-dollar contribution.