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Ripple has announced a $700 million tender offer to repurchase shares from shareholders at $175 per share.
Investor Jeremy Raper highlighted this development in a post on X, sharing the email he received from Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse regarding the offer. According to the disclosure, the move reflects Ripple’s financial strength and growth ambitions.
The email stated that the offer opened on Tuesday, June 10, and will close on Wednesday, July 9. It extends it to holders of eligible vested stock options or shares and will be facilitated via the Nasdaq Private Market.
Massive Premium Over Private Market Prices
According to the email, the $175-per-share offer represents a 135% premium over Ripple’s most recent secondary market pricing on platforms like Hyve, where shares last traded at around $74 to $75.
Raper interpreted this as a strong sign of Ripple’s confidence in its growth trajectory. The company has significantly increased the price and size of the buyback compared to its previous tender offer in January. At the time, it was $125 per share.
Ripple’s Balance Sheet Strength
The internal communication also disclosed several financial details about Ripple Labs. Raper noted that Ripple possesses $3.7 billion in cash, carries no debt, and holds 41 billion XRP on its balance sheet.
This holding is worth approximately $94.6 billion at market value, or $47 billion if discounted by 50%. Notably, 36.2 billion XRP of Ripple’s holdings are in escrow, with the remainder in spendable balances.
Additionally, Ripple has $600 million in other investments and reportedly generated over $1 billion in EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) last year. This indicates strong operational profitability.
With 141 million shares outstanding, Raper estimates that Ripple’s balance sheet alone, even when heavily discounted, could justify a share price above $350. At $175 per share, Ripple’s implied valuation is around $25 billion.
Overall, this tender offer rewards existing shareholders and lays the groundwork for a future public listing but does not imply an imminent listing.
When Ripple IPO?
Notably, Ripple’s legal dispute with the SEC has largely resolved, and its ecosystem is expanding through acquisitions. Investors are now speculating about Ripple’s valuation if it were to go public. Many believe a public market valuation in the $35–50 billion range could be attainable because of its crypto asset reserves and growing ecosystem.
As for Ripple’s IPO plans, the company has previously stated that going public is not an immediate priority. It reaffirmed this stance during the January tender offer.
For context, tender offers like this often provide liquidity to early investors, employees, and insiders in place of a public listing. If an IPO were imminent, Ripple might hold off on such buybacks and instead let the public market determine its valuation.
Moreover, this marks Ripple’s second buyback in less than a year. It suggests that it is managing shareholder expectations and equity ownership internally while deferring any move to go public. At present, the company has indicated it is focusing more on acquisitions than on an IPO.