The move to merged mining increases the security of the EMC blockchain significantly. Before merged-mining anyone with a large amount of sha-256 hashpower could have attacked the EMC network (e.g. 51% attack), or just to get all the PoW rewards. I don't know if it will increase the price - but it improves the value

I am sure others have thoughts.
Prior to launching the merged mining, 51% attack was impossible due to the peculiarities of PoS & Pow. But now, we can take the next steps for real decentralization, getting rid of some hereditary features of Peercoin.