Bullish indicating open at $55-$60, IPO prices at $37
Heritage Distilling Holding Company Inc. (CASK) announced the pricing of a $220 million private placement offering to establish what it calls a digital asset treasury strategy focused on $IP tokens, the native cryptocurrency of the Story blockchain network.
The transaction includes $100 million in cash and $120 million in $IP tokens. Heritage plans to allocate $82 million from the financing to purchase $IP tokens from Story Foundation at a fixed price of $3.40 per token. The company expects to hold approximately 52.5 million $IP tokens valued at roughly $361 million based on the token’s price of $6.8785 as of August 10, according to CoinMarketCap.
Story Foundation stated it will use proceeds from its token sale to Heritage to repurchase $IP tokens in the open market within 90 days. The foundation describes Story as blockchain infrastructure designed for intellectual property registration and licensing through smart contracts.
Investors in the private placement include a16z crypto, Amber Group, Arrington Capital, dao5, Hashed, Mirana Ventures, Neoclassic Capital, Open World, Polychain Capital, Selini Capital, Stix, and Syncracy Capital. Cantor Fitzgerald and Roth Capital Partners serve as joint placement agents.
The transaction is structured as a Private Investment in Public Equity offering with a token exchange component. Heritage will issue common stock and pre-funded warrants in exchange for both cash and $IP token contributions.
Heritage CEO Justin Stiefel said the company views $IP tokens as "a new category of strategic reserve." Story Foundation Director Matt Shaw stated that "100% of the Foundation’s net cash proceeds from this $IP token sale will be used to repurchase $IP in the open market."
The transaction is expected to close around August 13, subject to customary closing conditions. Story launched its mainnet in February 2025 and has raised $136 million from investors including a16z crypto, Polychain, and Samsung Ventures.