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Securitize and Cantor Equity Partners II Business Combination Expected to Raise Approximately $400 million in Gross Proceeds and Announce Expected Closing of Business Combination and NYSE Listing

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Retained 71.5% of CEPT Trust; Business Combination Expected to Raise Approximately $400 million in Gross Proceeds; Expected Closing July 1, 2026, subject to CEPT shareholder approval; Combined Company Expected to Begin Trading on NYSE Under Ticker “SECZ” on July 2, 2026

MIAMI and NEW YORK, June 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Securitize, Inc. (“Securitize” or the “Company”), and Cantor Equity Partners II, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEPT) (“CEPT”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald, today announced that, based on the final redemption results, holders of less than 30% of CEPT Class A ordinary shares elected to redeem. Given these results, Securitize expects to receive approximately $400 million in gross proceeds from the proposed business combination between the parties (the “Business Combination”), including related PIPE financings and excluding all transaction-related expenses. Additionally, subject to the CEPT shareholder approval at the Special Meeting of CEPT shareholders on June 29, 2026, and subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions, the proposed business combination and related PIPE financings are expected to be consummated on July 1, 2026.

Following the consummation of the Business Combination, the combined company will operate as Securitize Corp., and its common stock is expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) on July 2, 2026, under the ticker symbol “SECZ.”

“Reaching the public markets is a significant milestone for Securitize and a reflection of the growing momentum behind tokenization,” said Carlos Domingo, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Securitize. “When we started more than eight years ago, the idea that major institutions would embrace tokenized securities was still largely theoretical. Today, tokenization is moving into the mainstream, and we believe becoming a public company gives us the visibility, credibility, and capital to lead that next phase of growth.”

About Securitize
Securitize, the world’s leader in tokenizing real-world assets with $4B+ AUM (as of June 2026), is bringing the world onchain through tokenized funds in partnership with top-tier asset managers, such as Apollo, BlackRock, BNY, Hamilton Lane, KKR, VanEck and others.

In the U.S., Securitize operates through its affiliates, including Securitize Markets, LLC, an SEC-registered broker-dealer that operates an SEC-regulated Alternative Trading System (ATS); Securitize Transfer Agent, LLC, an SEC-registered transfer agent; Securitize Capital, LLC, an Exempt Reporting Adviser; and Securitize Fund Services, LLC, which provides fund administration services. In Europe, Securitize operates through its affiliate Securitize Europe Brokerage and Markets, S.A., which is fully authorized as an Investment Firm and operates a Trading & Settlement System (TSS) under the EU DLT Pilot Regime, making Securitize the only company licensed to operate regulated digital-securities infrastructure across both the U.S. and EU. Securitize has also been recognized as a 2026 Forbes Top 50 Fintech company.

For more information, please visit:
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Advisors

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“Citi”) is acting as financial and capital markets advisor to Securitize. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor”) is acting as financial and capital markets advisor to CEPT. Citi and Cantor. are acting as co-placement agents for the PIPE.

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is serving as legal advisor to Securitize. Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP is serving as legal advisor to CEPT. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as legal advisor to Citi and Cantor in connection with their roles as co-placement agents.

Background Information on Securitize’s Business Combination

On October 28, 2025, Securitize, Inc. (“Securitize”) and Cantor Equity Partners II, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEPT) (“CEPT”), a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald, announced that they entered into a definitive business combination agreement for a proposed business combination (the “Proposed Business Combination”). Upon closing of the Proposed Business Combination, the combined company, Securitize Corp., is expected to become publicly listed on NYSE under the ticker symbol “SECZ”.

The special meeting of CEPT Shareholders to approve the Business Combination has been scheduled for June 29, 2026, and, if approved, the Business Combination is expected to close shortly thereafter, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Additional information about the Proposed Business Combination, including a copy of the business combination agreement, is available in the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by CEPT, and in the registration statement on Form S-4 filed by Securitize and Securitize Holdings, Inc. (“Pubco”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and available at www.sec.gov.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws, including statements regarding the proposed business combination involving Securitize, CEPT and Pubco, the anticipated listing of Pubco on NYSE under the ticker symbol “SECZ,” the expected timing and completion of the Proposed Business Combination, the anticipated benefits of the Proposed Business Combination, Securitize’s growth strategy and expansion plans, market opportunity in tokenization and digital assets, regulatory developments, and future financial performance.

Forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “potential,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties.

Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: the risk that the Proposed Business Combination may not be completed in a timely manner or at all; the failure to satisfy closing conditions, including CEPT shareholder approval; the ability of Pubco to meet the requisite NYSE listing standards; regulatory developments relating to digital assets and tokenization; market volatility; competition; and those risks factors described in the filings of Securitize, CEPT and/or Pubco with the SEC.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. None of Securitize, CEPT or Pubco undertakes any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Important Information and Where to Find It

In connection with the Proposed Business Combination, Securitize and Pubco have filed a registration statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”) with the SEC, which has been declared effective. Securitize and Pubco has filed a final prospectus with respect to the securities to be issued in connection with the Proposed Business Combination and CEPT has filed and mailed a definitive proxy statement with respect to the shareholder meeting of CEPT to vote on the Proposed Business Combination. CEPT shareholders and other interested persons are urged to read the definitive proxy statement/final prospectus, along with other documents filed with the SEC by Securitize, CEPT and/or Pubco, because these documents contain important information about Securitize, CEPT, Pubco and the Proposed Business Combination. Copies of these documents may be obtained free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

NEITHER THE SEC NOR ANY STATE SECURITIES REGULATORY AGENCY HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THE TRANSACTIONS DESCRIBED IN THIS DOCUMENT, PASSED UPON THE MERITS OR FAIRNESS OF THE PROPOSED BUSINESS COMBINATION OR RELATED TRANSACTIONS OR PASSED UPON THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE DISCLOSURE IN THIS DOCUMENT. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY CONSTITUTES A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

Participants in the Solicitation

Securitize, CEPT, Pubco and their respective directors, executive officers and certain other members of management and employees may be deemed under SEC rules to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from CEPT’s shareholders in connection with the Proposed Business Combination. Information regarding the names and interests of such persons is, or will be, contained in the filings of Securitize, CEPT and/or Pubco with the SEC, including the Registration Statement and the proxy statement/prospectus.

No Offer or Solicitation

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a proxy statement or the solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the Proposed Business Combination, nor shall it constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or an exemption therefrom.

Securitize Media Contact:
Tom Murphy
press@securitize.io

Investor Relations
Sam Ross
Investor.Relations@securitize.io

 

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SOURCE Securitize

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Miami Startup BOB Raises $5.5M To Build An AI-Powered Banking Platform

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The Miami-based company is building the most useful small business finance agent and banking platform in the world, with participation from Codie Sanchez, Mark Pincus,  and others.

MIAMI, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — BOB AI Holdings Corp. (“BOB”), the AI finance employee for small business, today announced it has raised $5.5 million in seed funding. The round was led by Mischief (founder of Plaid, Zak Perret), with funding from Peter Thiel and participation from Codie Sanchez, Mark Pincus, Karman Ventures, and a group of additional investors and operators. BOB will use the capital to expand its product, grow its team in Miami, and bring a free AI finance agent to more of the small business owners who keep the American economy running.

The seed round brings together investors who share a conviction that small businesses deserve the same caliber finance department g that large companies take for granted. Mischief led the round, and Peter Thiel joined as a backer alongside Codie Sanchez, the investor and operator known for championing Main Street business ownership.

The funding follows BOB’s private beta launch in September 2026 and will support three priorities: deepening the product’s financial capabilities, scaling customer onboarding, and growing BOB’s team in Miami.

BOB is an AI finance employee that works alongside small business owners to handle the annoying but necessary financial work that usually eats their nights and weekends. Owners talk to BOB the way they would talk to a trusted bookkeeper or CFO, over WhatsApp, text message, Slack, Microsoft Teams, email, or the BOB app. BOB keeps the books, sends invoices, accepts payments, holds funds in a deposit account, and helps owners see where their cash is headed so they can make decisions with confidence.

BOB’s long-term goal is to be the most useful banking product in the world, and a banking product specifically built for this new world of AI agents, robots, and drones. But they are getting started by building the most useful and safe financial agent for small business owners. And instead of handing owners another dashboard to learn, BOB just does the work for them and communicates in plain language.

BOB’s wedge has been particularly effective because the company is laser-focused on small business owners who have largely been underserved by the wave of financial technology built over the last five to ten years. Many of those products were designed for the general market or for enterprise finance teams, and they assume the owner has time, training, or staff to run them. BOB starts from the opposite assumption. The owner of a roofing company, a restaurant, or a local services firm should be able to get real financial help without hiring a department to get it.

“Small business owners have been an afterthought for most of the financial technology built over the last decade,” said Adam Wininger, CEO of BOB. “They are running the business, doing the work, and then staying up late trying to make sense of their books. We built BOB to take that work off their plate entirely. Our goal is simple: to be the most useful banking platform in the world, and this funding lets us put our free CFO agent, BOB, in the hands of many more owners.”

“We invest in infrastructure that becomes indispensable, and a financial layer for autonomous agents is one of the clearest examples we’ve seen,” said Dustin Moring, General Partner at Mischief. “BOB is attacking an immense market at the exact moment AI is moving from advising on transactions to executing them. We’re proud to lead this round and back Adam and the team as they build the foundation agent banking will run on.”

About BOB

BOB AI Holdings Corp. is a Miami-based company building BOB, the AI finance employee and banking platform for small business. BOB handles bookkeeping, invoicing, payments, and cash flow for small business owners through the channels they already use, including WhatsApp, text message, Slack, and Microsoft Teams. BOB’s mission is to build the world’s most useful banking product in the world. Learn more at joinbob.ai. Disclaimer: BOB AI Holdings Corp is a financial technology company, not a bank.

Media contact

Joel Strauss – joel@strausscomms.com 

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SOURCE BOB AI Holdings Corp

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Union Home Mortgage unveils AI and automation advancements during 2026 Annual Partner Celebration

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The mortgage lender continues to make major technology investments going into 2027

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Union Home Mortgage (UHM), a high-growth independent mortgage banking company with a world-class culture, recently unveiled an array of AI and automation-driven technological achievements during the company’s 2026 Annual Partner Celebration held Oct. 16-17 in Cleveland, Ohio. This world-class event brought over 850 UHM employees, known internally as Partners, together to highlight the lender’s year-to-date business results, set goals to multiply business success, and foster connection between colleagues. Most notably, technology took center stage, highlighting advancements made in 2026 and a sneak peek at what is coming next.

Attendees were given an inside look at the next phase of technology shaping the business, with demonstrations of both newly implemented tools and future-focused prototypes. These innovations, ranging from conversational voice agents for enhanced customer support to the elimination of tedious manual document review, showcased the transformative potential of technology and underscored the lender’s ongoing investment in smarter, more efficient workflows.

“What makes this event so meaningful is the chance to celebrate our Partners and the impact they have on our business and culture,” said Bill Cosgrove, CEO of Union Home Mortgage. “By creating opportunities for open dialogue and idea-sharing, we’re able to strengthen our culture and identify new ways to move our business forward. As we look ahead to 2027, we remain focused on our 3X initiative, empowering our Partners with the resources, technology, and support they need to achieve more while continuing to deliver a world-class experience for our borrowers. Technology will be the key to UHM’s future, and I can’t wait to see what new solutions are developed in time for our next Annual Partner Celebration.”

While this year’s Annual Partner Celebration was heavily focused on technology, the event also featured senior leadership across all departments and business channels taking the stage to share updates on critical areas such as sales performance, servicing, benefits, employee recognition, and more. UHM Partners also took part in a panel discussion and Q&A with CEO Bill Cosgrove and Sr. Vice President of Business Development Al Blank. In addition to those attending in-person, the rest of the mortgage lender’s 2,300 Partners streamed the event virtually across the country. Following the event, attendees were invited to attend a celebratory carnival featuring casino-style games, a golf simulator, Family Feud, a custom t-shirt press, and more – earning raffle tickets to win high-value prizes. The lender also raffled off tickets to the MLB American League Championship Series being played at Progressive Field, as Union Home Mortgage is the Official Mortgage Partner of both teams that played in the series – the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Guardians.

Throughout the week, Partners also attended individualized leadership summits specific to their department or role within the company, as well as a Hard Stops Summit aimed at examining existing hard stops in the loan process to streamline operational efficiency.

Internal loan officer coaching program Partners Coaching Partners (PCP), which pairs each participating loan officer with a high-performing mentor and an accountability partner at their production level, also held their Fall PCP Impact event on October 14-15. The group aims to equip members with the skills and knowledge to increase productivity, generate leads, finetune the origination process, improve teambuilding, and increase profit margins. Next year, the PCP program will celebrate its twentieth consecutive PCP Impact event, cementing its status as a pillar of Partner development at UHM.

About Union Home Mortgage
Union Home Mortgage Corp. (UHM) is a high-growth, full-service retail, wholesale, and consumer direct independent mortgage banking company with branches across the U.S. in 49 states + D.C. UHM is an in-house loan servicer offering world-class customer service through high touch communication & technology. A privately held family business, with a collaborative culture that stands out in the mortgage industry, UHM Partners (employees) are guided by a Code of Conduct that emphasizes respect, open communication, and accountability. All these principles translate to industry-leading customer retention and satisfaction. Some honors include being a Six-Year USA TODAY Top Workplace and a Twelve-Year Northeast Ohio Top Workplace. Learn more at www.uhm.com.

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SOURCE Union Home Mortgage

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Pew Funds 4 Biomedical Research Partnerships in Latin America

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Scientists will team up on interdisciplinary explorations

WASHINGTON, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today that four pairs of researchers from Latin America will receive funding to pursue collaborative biomedical research projects.

These eight esteemed scientists, all independent investigators in Latin America, will team up on interdisciplinary explorations that span plant biology, genetics, immunology, and more. Recipients will receive a combined $180,000 per pair—$90,000 annually over two years.

The Partnership Award was created to help advance scientific collaboration and networking among the biomedical research community in Latin America. Recipients include four alumni of Pew’s Latin American Fellows Program in the Biomedical Sciences, which has funded nearly 350 scientists from across the region since 1991. The Partnership awards were made possible by a grant from Biohub.

“Pew is proud to support these exceptional scientists from Argentina, Brazil, and Chile,” said Donna Frisby-Greenwood, Pew’s senior vice president for Philadelphia and scientific advancement. “Their creative ideas and pioneering approaches will undoubtedly lead to important discoveries that advance biomedical research across Latin America and the world.”

Recipients of this year’s Partnership Award are:

Luis F. Larrondo, Ph.D., Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 2004 Pew Latin American Fellow

Gerardo Cárcamo-Oyarce, Ph.D., Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Larrondo and Cárcamo-Oyarce will establish a new, light-based platform for studying the formation of biofilms by the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Priscilla Olsen, Ph.D., Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), 2016 Pew Latin American Fellow

Beatriz Patricio, Ph.D., Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO)

Olsen and Patricio will develop and test a new strategy to overcome antimicrobial drug resistance.

Paulo José P. L. Teixeira, Ph.D., Universidade de São Paulo, Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, 2013 Pew Latin American Fellow

Antonio Camargo, Ph.D., Universidade de São Paulo

Teixeira and Camargo will examine plant immune receptor specificity.

Marcelo Yanovsky, Ph.D., Fundación Instituto Leloir – CONICET, 2000 Pew Latin American Fellow

Esteban Beckwith, Ph.D., Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires – CONICET – Partner Institute of the Max Plank Society

Yanovsky and Beckwith will study how organisms regulate gene expression in response to environmental stress.

Founded in 1948, The Pew Charitable Trusts uses data to make a difference. Pew addresses the challenges of a changing world by illuminating issues, creating common ground, and advancing ambitious projects that lead to tangible progress. Learn more at pew.org.

Press contact: Liz Lowe, 215-575-4812, elowe@pewtrusts.org

https://www.pew.org/en/about/news-room/press-releases-and-statements/2026/10/22/pew-funds-4-biomedical-research-partnerships-in-latin-america

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SOURCE The Pew Charitable Trusts

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