Rich Sparkle Holdings completed its acquisition of Step Distinctive Limited, the operating company behind Khaby Lame, on January 11, 2026. The SEC filing values the deal at $975 million, paid entirely in stock through the issuance of 75 million shares.
The headline number deserves scrutiny. Rich Sparkle (NASDAQ: ANPA) is a Hong Kong-based financial printing company that went public in July 2025 at roughly $4 per share. Before this deal, it had no history in social media, AI, or retail. After the announcement, shares spiked to $150 before crashing back to around $50.
The math problem
At $150 per share, the deal looked like $975 million. At $50, it's closer to $325 million. Lame controls 49% of the target company, so his personal stake ranges from roughly $160 million to $475 million depending on the day's trading. The remaining 51% belongs to various vendors and strategic partners, including Anhui Xiaoheiyang Network Technology, a Chinese e-commerce operator.
This is paper wealth in its purest form. An all-stock acquisition from a thinly traded company with a market cap that's swung between $250 million and $1.8 billion in the span of weeks doesn't exactly feel like a $900 million liquidity event.
The AI twin angle
The more interesting piece isn't the price tag but what's being sold. The agreement grants Rich Sparkle rights to Lame's Face ID, Voice ID, and behavioral models for developing an "AI Digital Twin." The stated goal: a virtual Khaby that can livestream around the clock, produce content in multiple languages, and sell products while the real Khaby sleeps.
The company projects this integrated structure could generate $4 billion in annual sales. For context, MrBeast reportedly makes between $600 million and $700 million annually. The entire US TikTok operation is being acquired for roughly $14 billion with estimated revenues of $10 to $20 billion per year. A $4 billion projection for one creator's digital clone feels ambitious.
Who's actually running this?
Anhui Xiaoheiyang will hold exclusive global full-chain operating rights for 36 months. They'll handle everything: content planning, TikTok Shop operations, cross-border fulfillment, and AI avatar development. The commercial rollout targets the US, Middle East, and Southeast Asia first.
The strategy reads like a platform play rather than typical influencer management. Standardized processes, region-specific pricing, independent profit accounting per market. Rich Sparkle called it "a revolution in the global content e-commerce model," which is the kind of phrase companies use when they're either onto something or hoping investors won't look too closely.
What it means for creators
Khaby Lame built 160 million TikTok followers without saying a word. His silent reaction videos travel across languages and cultures effortlessly, which makes his likeness unusually valuable for global licensing. Most creators can't be replicated as easily.
The deal structure, where the creator becomes a controlling shareholder rather than just taking a payout, could become a template. Whether that template produces actual returns depends entirely on whether AI-powered commerce delivers anything close to the projections.
Nasdaq is currently reviewing the transaction as a potential change of control. The real test comes when Rich Sparkle starts reporting actual operating metrics instead of projections.
