Perpetuals is in preliminary talks to buy Alt5, a unit of AI Financial Corp. (a publicly traded company with the ticker AIFC). The two companies signed a non-binding term sheet — that's a document that says "we want to explore this deal" but does not legally bind either side to complete it. Neither company has revealed the price, how the deal would be structured, or when it might close.

AI Financial Corp. trades on Nasdaq and adopted the ticker AIFC on April 29, 2026. Before that, it operated under the name ALT5 Sigma. The company is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. A Reuters investigation published in June 2026 reported that this company, under its previous identity, had generated profits for the Trump family while outside investors lost money.

AI Financial has been busy with corporate moves throughout 2026. In late April, the company changed its name and ticker. One day later, on April 30, it closed a deal to acquire another company called Block Street. So within 48 hours, the company had a new name, a new ticker, and a completed acquisition. Then on June 22, the company announced it had bought back 1.43 million of its own shares — a common way companies return cash to shareholders while reducing the total number of shares outstanding. Now, in early July, the company is exploring the sale of Alt5.

The timing raises an obvious question: if the company just bought back its own shares in June, why is it now selling off a business unit? These two moves seem to pull in opposite directions. The documents the company filed with the SEC do not explain this contradiction.

A non-binding term sheet is a preliminary step. It is not a binding contract. Think of it as a handshake and a conversation — both sides are saying they want to talk, but nothing is guaranteed. Either company can walk away at any moment before a final deal is signed. Because no financial terms have been disclosed, investors cannot yet know whether selling Alt5 would help or hurt AI Financial's shareholders. That depends on the price, how the deal is structured, and how Perpetuals plans to pay for it — all unknown at this stage.

When a company buys back its own shares, it mechanically reduces the number of shares outstanding. That can increase earnings per share for the remaining shareholders, even if the company's total earnings stay the same. But whether or not that helps shareholders depends on whether the company is buying its own stock at a reasonable price.

What we know is the chain of events. AI Financial changed its name in late April, closed an acquisition days later, filed paperwork with the SEC in mid-June, announced a share buyback on June 22, and on July 7 announced it was exploring the sale of Alt5. Each of these steps is documented in official filings. What they add up to — whether this signals a company reshaping its business, or something else — is not yet clear from the documents available.