Forward Industries proposes all-stock acquisitions of Solana treasuries HSDT and SkyAI

• Forward Industries announced letters of intent for all-stock acquisitions of Solana Company and SkyAI.
• The proposed deal offers HSDT and SKYA  shareholders a 10% and 20% premium, respectively, via newly issued FWDI shares.
• HSDT’s board rejected the offer without discussion, while SkyAI did not respond by the deadline.

Forward Industries (FWDI), the largest Solana treasury company, has proposed acquiring two smaller Solana-focused public companies in separate all-stock transactions, according to statements released Monday.

The firm stated that it sent letters of intent to acquire Solana Company (HSDT) and SkyAI (SKYA), offering shareholders of both firms newly issued shares in exchange for their stock.

Under the proposed terms, HSDT shareholders would receive 0.386 shares of Forward common stock for each HSDT share. This represents a roughly 10% premium to HSDT's closing price of $1.48 on the trading day prior to the proposal. On the other hand, SkyAI shareholders would receive 0.367 Forward shares, equivalent to an approximately 20% premium over SKYA's closing price of $1.29.

HSDT rejects proposal as SkyAI misses response deadline

Forward said the transactions would allow shareholders of both companies to maintain exposure to the Solana (SOL) ecosystem through a larger and potentially more liquid public vehicle. The company also noted that its shares are expected to be added to the Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 indexes.

However, the proposals have received negative responses. Forward stated that HSDT's board formally rejected the offer on June 12 without entering into discussions.

"We are disappointed and surprised that the HSDT board has chosen to reject Forward's offer without any discussion or communication," Forward wrote.

SkyAI did not respond to the proposal before the company's stated deadline. Forward Industries expressed similar frustration, stating that it was "disappointed and surprised" by the lack of response and believes discussions would be beneficial to both SkyAI and its shareholders.

Ryan Navi, chief investment officer (CIO) of Forward Industries, said a combination with HSDT could strengthen both companies' positions within the Solana ecosystem.

"We believe that combining our efforts with HSDT's would be mutually beneficial for both companies, their stockholders and the broader Solana community."

Commenting on SkyAI, Navi argued that the company's market valuation does not fully reflect the value of its treasury holdings. He added that Forward's balance sheet and access to capital could help unlock shareholder value.

Forward operates Solana validators, maintains a SOL treasury with 6,979,967 SOL and supports fwdSOL, a liquid staking token built on the network.

The firm shared that the proposed combinations would create a larger, better-capitalized platform capable of accelerating development of the Solana ecosystem while generating long-term value for shareholders.

​SOL is trading at $75.13, up more than 11% over the past 24 hours at the time of writing.