180 Life Sciences Corp. (ATNF) closed a private placement for $425 million to fund its Ethereum treasury strategy, according to the company's statement. The biotechnology company sold common stock and pre-paid warrants at a price of $2.65 per share through a private investment in public equity deal.
The company plans to use the proceeds primarily to purchase Ethereum (ETH), pay transaction fees, provide cash bonuses to management and board members, support existing iGaming operations, and monetize biotechnology intellectual assets. 180 Life Sciences intends to begin purchasing Ethereum in the coming weeks.
Electric Capital and Harbour Island led the placement, with participation from institutional and cryptocurrency investors, including Borderless Capital, Polychain Capital, and GSR. Among notable individual investors are Konstantin Lomashuk, co-founder of Lido, and Shriram Kannan, founder of Eigenlayer.
The company appointed McAndrew Rudisill as chairman of the board, while Crystal Heter and Andrew Sackling joined as independent directors. Blair Jordan continues to serve as CEO.
Electric Capital will act as an external asset manager and implement a yield generation program on the blockchain designed to outperform traditional ETH staking through staking, lending, providing liquidity, and private agreements.
180 Life Sciences plans to rebrand as ETHZilla Corporation and may sell fixed-income securities of up to $150 million after the placement is completed. The company stated it will regularly provide updates on its Ethereum assets.
Clear Street LLC acted as the financial advisor and exclusive placement agent for this offering. The Loev Law Firm and Reed Smith LLP served as the company's legal advisors.
