SkyAI Merger Proposal
Forward Industries proposes all-stock business combination with SkyAI, offering 20% premium.
Forward Industries (NASDAQ: FWDI) has gone public with an unanswered takeover bid for SkyAI, Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYA), proposing an all-stock deal that would give SKYA shareholders 0.367 new FWDI shares for each share they own — a 20% premium over SKYA's closing price of $1.29, according to Quiver Quant. The deadline for a response passed on June 12, 2026, with no word from the SkyAI board.
Forward Industries bills itself as the world's largest Solana treasury, holding over 7 million SOL tokens. The company has been on an acquisition spree, pitching itself as the "Berkshire Hathaway of Solana" — a giant that rolls up smaller crypto-focused companies trading below what their assets are worth. The SkyAI snub is its second rejection in days, Investing.com reported.
SkyAI Went Silent as Deadline Expired
Forward submitted its non-binding proposal to SkyAI in early June 2026. The offer valued SKYA shares at roughly $1.55 each — a 20% premium to the stock's market price. Forward set June 12 as the response deadline. The SkyAI board never replied, according to Quiver Quant.
Forward expressed "surprise and disappointment" at the silence. The company then did something aggressive: it went public with the details. This tactic — sometimes called a "bear hug" — is designed to pressure a board by going directly to shareholders. As of June 15, SkyAI had still not issued any public statement explaining its silence.
Forward Argues SkyAI's AI Pivot Has Only Hurt Shareholders
SkyAI was formerly known as Sharps Technology. It recently rebranded and shifted its focus toward artificial intelligence tools for developing markets, combining AI with stablecoin payment systems. Forward's Chief Investment Officer Ryan Navi publicly criticized this move, saying the AI pivot "failed to close the valuation discount" and confused shareholders, according to Investing.com.
Forward's argument is straightforward: SkyAI's stock trades well below the value of its own assets — what analysts call a "NAV discount." Most Solana treasury companies trade between 34 and 76 cents for every dollar of assets they hold. Forward says a merger would fix that by giving SKYA shareholders access to a bigger, better-funded company with stronger institutional backing.
FWDI Stock Jumped 12% as Rejection Count Climbed
Forward Industries shares rose 12.62% on June 15, trading near $4.82, after the company disclosed both the unanswered SkyAI bid and a separate rejection by Solana Company (NASDAQ: HSDT), according to Investing.com. The HSDT board formally turned down Forward's all-stock offer with no discussion. That made two failed bids in rapid succession.
Despite the deal setbacks, Forward holds a strong hand. The company raised $1.65 billion in a private investment round in September 2025, backed by Galaxy Digital and Jump Crypto. It is also set to join the Russell 2000 and 3000 indexes by late June 2026. That index inclusion will force passive funds to buy FWDI shares automatically, giving Forward more firepower for future deals.
A Paper Loss of $1 Billion Looms Behind the Deal Push
Forward's aggressive buying spree comes with real risk. The company paid an average of $232 per SOL token for its initial holdings. SOL currently trades between $74 and $85. That means Forward is sitting on a paper loss of over $1 billion on its core treasury, according to Investing.com. The company holds 7,044,079 SOL, valued at roughly $585 million as of March 2026 pricing.
InvestingPro data also flagged Forward's own stock as potentially overvalued, even after a 32.6% price drop over the past six months, according to Investing.com. That creates a strange situation: Forward is using its stock as currency to buy companies — but both the buyer and the targets may be trading above fair value. Whether SkyAI shareholders would see that as a reason to accept or reject the deal remains an open question.
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