Strive, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASST), the investment firm co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, announced on Sep. 22 that it is acquiring Semler Scientific (Nasdaq: SMLR), a Bitcoin treasury firm, in an all-stock transaction.
Ramaswamy is an entrepreneur and politician who entered U.S. politics as the youngest presidential candidate in the 2024 Republican primaries. However, he withdrew his bid and endorsed Donald Trump who later became the president. He is now campaigning to contest the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial election, receiving endorsements from Trump and Sen. Cynthia Lummis.
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As per the merger deal, Strive will buy Semler shares at approximately $90.52 per share at around a 210% premium to its Sep. 19 closing price of $29.18. Each SMLR share will be exchanged for 21.05 ASST shares.
The post-merger company would own over 10,900 BTC prior to any additional purchases raised from future financings. The firm would also hold sufficient cash in reserve to support future perpetual preferred offerings.
The company aims to operate with a “preferred equity only” leverage model and avoid debt maturity risks associated with traditional leveraged Bitcoin strategies.
The combined company plans to explore monetizing or distributing Semler Scientific’s historically profitable diagnostics business at a future date.
“We are proud to announce this exciting strategic merger combining two pioneering Bitcoin treasury companies to form a scaled, innovative and accretive Bitcoin acquisition platform,” said Matt Cole, Chairman & CEO of Strive.
“We believe this merger creates significant value for our stockholders by delivering a substantial premium and direct participation in one of the most innovative Bitcoin strategies in the public markets,” said Eric Semler, Executive Chairman of Semler Scientific.
In addition to the acquisition, Strive has also purchased 5,816 BTC for $675 million. The firm’s total holdings stood at 5,886 BTC.
The shares of Semler Scientific rose 7.64% on Sep. 22 to trade at $31.41 at press time.
