Forward Rebuffed in Bid to Consolidate Solana Treasury Firms

Forward Industries, a publicly traded company with large Solana holdings, has been rebuffed in a series of takeover approaches to other listed Solana treasury firms, Cointelegraph reported on June 16. The failed bids come as a drop in Solana's price adds to financial pressure across the sector and hampers efforts to consolidate the industry.

Forward made acquisition proposals to Solana Company, which trades under the ticker HSDT, as well as SkyAI and Brera Holdings, the report said.

Solana treasury firms are listed companies that buy and hold Solana as a corporate asset. The model mirrors Strategy's Bitcoin accumulation playbook, but applies it to Solana. That structure also leaves the companies exposed when the token's price falls.

Forward proposed a share-swap deal for HSDT under which shareholders would receive 0.386 newly issued Forward shares for each HSDT share they own. Forward said the offer valued HSDT at $1.63 a share.

HSDT's board rejected the proposal. Forward said it was disappointed the board declined the offer without further discussion.

SkyAI also did not respond to Forward's proposal, which expired on June 13. Brera Holdings separately rejected Forward's stock-for-stock acquisition proposal on June 9.

Forward has argued that listed Solana-related companies would gain scale and liquidity by combining rather than operating separately. But with target companies refusing the offers, consolidation efforts face an uphill battle for now.

Forward says it is currently the largest Solana treasury company. It holds about 7 million SOL, acquired at a cost of about $1.6 billion, according to CoinGecko. The current value of those holdings has fallen to about $525 million, leaving the company with an unrealized loss of more than $1 billion.

Weakening investor appetite for Solana treasury companies is adding to the strain. August Widmer, a partner at investment firm EcoBase, said investors have lost interest in treasury companies over the past year. Those companies came to look riskier and less efficient than dedicated structured products, he said.

Widmer added that companies in the sector are pursuing consolidation to survive, but the latest rejections show some are still unwilling to abandon a standalone path.

A prolonged slump in Solana could increase pressure for mergers and restructuring among Solana treasury firms. Still, if potential targets remain reluctant to sell at depressed valuations, the industry's reshaping may move slowly.