NYB Obtained Notice of Effectiveness from SEC for Its Form F-4 Registration Statement

The9 expects to own 15% to 16% of the combined company following NYB listing

HONG KONG, Aug. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The9 Limited (Nasdaq: NCTY) ("The9" or the "Company"), a global diversified high-tech company, today announced that its Singapore investee Nanyang Biologics Pte. Ltd. ("NYB") obtained the notice of effectiveness from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its Form F-4 registration statement filed in connection with the previously announced business combination, a key milestone toward NYB's planned listing on Nasdaq under the reserved ticker symbol "NYB."

The business combination assigns NYB a pre-transaction valuation of approximately US$1.5 billion. The9, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Gamenow.net (Hong Kong) Limited ("Gamenow"), is an existing shareholder in NYB. As disclosed in the prospectus included in the registration statement, Gamenow is expected to own 15% to 16% of the combined company following closing. The Nasdaq listing is subject to the result of the SPAC company extraordinary general meeting to be held on August 19, 2026 and Nasdaq approval.

NYB is a Singapore-headquartered, AI-first drug discovery company focused on natural compounds. At the center of its platform is a library cataloging over one million natural compounds, and DTIGN, a Drug-Target Interaction Graph Neural Network that predicts how natural compounds bind to disease targets. Based on this proprietary library and fully operational predictive model, NYB has designed the Vecura™ AI platform for AI-driven discovery of novel bioactive candidates and mechanisms that are currently underexplored by conventional synthetic-first approaches.

In August 2025, NYB entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with NVIDIA, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Equinix focusing on building the largest natural compound library in the world, developing scalable AI platforms for drug discovery, and creating secure, enterprise-grade infrastructure for healthcare innovation. In addition, NYB joined the Ignition AI Accelerator with NVIDIA and Tribe in September 2024 and maintains a presence at Johnson & Johnson Innovation's JLABS, working with leading partners to drive innovation and support the platform's compute requirements.

About The9 Limited

The9 Limited (Nasdaq: NCTY) is a global, diversified high-tech company redefining how games are created, played, and monetized. Founded in 1999 and Nasdaq-listed since 2004, The9 brings over two decades of gaming heritage to its flagship platform the9bit, an AI-powered digital asset ecosystem built around AI game creation and the $9BIT token economy, where every participant can play, create, earn, and own a stake in its growth. Beyond the9bit, The9 continues to explore emerging opportunities across AI-empowered industries and the broader digital ecosystem, including an equity stake in AI-driven drug discovery company NYB, building a multi-engine business positioned at the frontier of AI and the new economy, reshaping how value is created and shared.

No Offer or Solicitation

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains statements that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements, which are based on management's beliefs and expectations as well as on assumptions made by and data currently available to management, appear in a number of places throughout this document and include statements regarding, among other things, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the industry in which we operate. The use of the words "will," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimates," "predicts," "believes," "should," "potential," "may," "preliminary," "forecast," "objective," "plan," or "target," and other similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited to statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies, future market conditions or economic performance, developments in the capital and credit markets, expected future financial performance, and the markets in which we operate. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement, see The9's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The9 undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by applicable law.

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SOURCE The9 Limited