SHANGHAI, March 5,
2024 /PRNewswire/ --
The9 Limited (Nasdaq: NCTY) ("The9"), an
established Internet company, today announced that it signed a
legally binding term sheet (the "Term Sheet") with Shenma Limited
("Shenma") to purchase 51% shares
of Shenma by cash and issuance of The9's restricted shares.
Pursuant to the Term Sheet, The9 will pay cash consideration of
US$1 million and will issue
restricted Class A ordinary shares to Shenma or its shareholders
with the value of US$14.3 million.
The value of each share will be determined by the average closing
price of The9's American depositary shares
("ADS"), each representing 300 Class A ordinary shares of The9, for
a period of 20 trading days prior to the signing of the
definitive agreement. The restricted Class
A ordinary shares to be issued
to Shenma will be subject to
lock-up conditions and will only be released according to
the following schedule: (i) when the market capitalization of The9
reaches US$200 million, 33,938,400 Class A ordinary shares (equivalent to 113,128 ADSs)
of The9 will be released from the lock-up; (ii) when the market
capitalization of The9 reaches US$500
million, 13,575,300 Class A ordinary shares (equivalent to
45,251 ADSs) of The9 will be
released from the lock-up, and (iii) when the market capitalization
of The9 reaches US$1 billion,
6,787,800 Class A Ordinary shares
(equivalent to 22,626 ADSs) of The9 will be released from the
lock-up. The rest of the restricted Class A ordinary shares will be
released from the lock-up when Shenma completes a qualified IPO and
its shares owned by The9 become freely tradable in the open
market.
Shenma developed and operates Shenma.io, a leading digital human
SaaS platform driven by artificial intelligence-generated content
(AIGC). The platform has 350,000 registered users, 150,000 short
video scripts model library, 9,000 digital human creators and
different brand customers. Using
Shenma's proprietary cloning technology, users can create 1:1
digital human clone character with image and voice. Together with
different contents supported by AIGC, each user can manage a large
number of accounts efficiently. The digital human creators using
Shenma platform can monetize their products on different social
platforms 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with much lower cost
compared to real people. Shenma platform also offers video, audio
and text automatic replies to enhance the monetization of
products.
"With the continuous breakthroughs in technology, AI generates
content and digital humans express content. The combination of
these two new technologies will become a new form of media
interaction in the future.
Traditional advertising industries will be disrupted by these two
new technologies and social media. We have already obtained
multiple intellectual properties in China. Our proprietary digital human SaaS
platform can assist our users in many application scenarios
including digital human key opinion leader creation, live
streaming, information flow advertising, training courses, etc.
Users just need to enter text or import audio, and then we can
quickly generate digital human broadcast video with precise mouth
shapes and rich expressions," said Mr. Jianjun Ma, founder of Shenma.
"While we are continuing our
cryptocurrency mining business and benefiting from the
recent increase in value of the 300
Bitcoins that we hold as of today,
we believe AIGC will bring revolutionary changes to almost every
industry. In 2023, China's AIGC
market exceeded RMB10 billion. After
the proposed investment in a
leading AI SaaS legal service platform 365LAWHELP.COM, this time we
plan to directly acquire a leading
AIGC driven digital human SaaS platform ShenMa. We will continue to
participate in the explosive growth of AI application opportunities
through investments and acquisitions in specific industries and
markets," said Mr. George Lai, CFO
and Director of The9.
Safe Harbor Statement
This current report contains forward-looking statements. These
statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology
such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends,"
"plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Such
statements are based upon management's current expectations and
current market and operating conditions and relate to events that
involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors,
all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond
The9's control. The9 may also make written or oral forward-looking
statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC"), in its annual report to shareholders,
in press releases and other written materials and in oral
statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third
parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including
statements about The9's beliefs and expectations, are
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve
inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause
actual results to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the
following: The9's goal and strategies; The9's expansion plans;
The9's future business development, financial condition and results
of operations; The9's expectations regarding demand for, and market
acceptance of, its products and services; The9's expectations
regarding keeping and strengthening its relationships with business
partners it collaborates with; general economic and business
conditions; and assumptions underlying or related to any of the
foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is
included in The9's filings with the SEC. All information provided
in this announcement is as of the
date hereof, and The9 does not undertake any obligation to update
any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable
law.
The9 Limited
17 Floor,
No. 130, Wu Song Road,
Hong Kou District,
Shanghai 200080, PRC
About The9 Limited
The9 Limited (The9) is an Internet company listed on Nasdaq in
2004. The9 aims to become a global diversified high-tech Internet
company, and is engaged in blockchain business including the
operation of cryptocurrency mining. The9 is also
stepping into AI application business in different industries.
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SOURCE The9 Limited