Author: Ravi Shankar

Company underscores substantial digital asset holdings, potential $225 million in additional cash capitalization, AI commercialization opportunities targeting over 20,000 retail locations, and an expanding intellectual property enforcement strategy with multibillion-dollar potential

CORNELIUS, N.C., Oct. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Alpha Modus Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMOD) (“Alpha Modus” or “the Company”) today provided an update on its digital asset holdings, ARIA, the Adaptive Retail Intelligence Architecture , patent enforcement program and Alpha Cash fintech platform.

The Company’s subsidiary, AMOD Tech Pte. Ltd., a Singapore private company limited by shares, holds Bitcoin valued at more than $250 million.* The Company’s subsidiary, Alpha Modus, Corp., is advancing ARIA and a patent enforcement program, while subsidiary Alpha Modus Financial Services, LLC oversees Alpha Cash. Management believes each business offers its own opportunity for long-term value creation.

“Alpha Modus today is fundamentally different from the company investors were evaluating just a few months ago,” said William Alessi, Chief Executive Officer of Alpha Modus. “Alpha Modus has substantially transformed its asset base. Separately, Alpha Modus, Corp. has successfully cleared important federal patent litigation hurdles and is advancing ARIA commercialization. These are tangible developments, each with its own potential to contribute to long-term enterprise value.”

Bitcoin Holdings Exceed $250 Million in Value,* With Warrants That Could Add $225 Million in Cash

On September 30, 2026, Alpha Modus completed a strategic transaction through which its wholly owned subsidiary, AMOD Tech Pte. Ltd., acquired 3,170 Bitcoin in connection with the issuance of approximately 51.6 million shares of common stock and accompanying warrants.

Based on Bitcoin’s market price as of October 20, 2026, the holdings represent more than $250 million in gross digital asset value, compared with an original agreed transaction valuation of approximately $225 million.

The transaction also included warrants to purchase an additional 51,621,560 shares, exercisable at $4.36 per share. The warrants are not exercisable on a cashless basis, and if exercised in full for cash under their existing terms, the warrants could provide approximately $225 million in additional gross proceeds to the Company.

“The Company’s Bitcoin transaction substantially expanded our asset base. It also established the potential to receive approximately $225 million in additional cash proceeds through warrant exercises. We believe these two components are important to understanding the scale of the transaction and the financial flexibility they could provide,” said Alessi.

ARIA Grocery Beta Moves Ahead With Greer’s Markets

Alpha Modus, Corp. is advancing ARIA, its artificial intelligence retail platform, through its strategic relationship with Circle the Wagons.

Circle the Wagons has identified a targeted pipeline of several hundred independent grocery retailers representing at least 20,000 retail locations, or roughly two-thirds of the U.S. independent grocery market.

Management believes the network represents a substantial opportunity for ARIA in one of the nation’s most fragmented retail sectors.

The recently announced beta testing agreement with Greer’s Markets, a 29-location grocer, is the first formal milestone in this initiative. Beta setup and baseline data collection is underway and progressing on schedule.

Over the next 9 months, Circle the Wagons intends to engage its identified retail prospects and pursue additional commercial agreements.

“Through Circle the Wagons, Alpha Modus, Corp. is addressing a substantial market with a defined strategy and an established network of prospective retail partners,” said Alessi. “Greer’s represents our first beta engagement, with a focus on translating this market opportunity into commercial adoption. We believe ARIA has the potential to become an important AI platform for independent retailers, materially improving operational efficiency and enhancing the customer experience.

Patent Cases Advance After Federal Court Rulings

On September 29 and 30, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas adopted recommendations denying motions to dismiss filed by 7-Eleven, Johnson Controls and Sensormatic Electronics, Lowe’s, The Kroger Co. and Creative Realities in patent infringement cases brought by Alpha Modus, Corp. On August 21, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas denied MNTN’s motion to dismiss under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The rulings allow the affected cases to advance.

Alpha Modus, Corp. has also identified dozens of additional potential infringement claims that have not yet been filed. Management intends to evaluate them through a phased enforcement strategy that could include licensing arrangements, negotiated resolutions and judicial remedies.

“The approach is deliberate: advance the existing cases and pursue additional opportunities where the facts and economics support doing so. The favorable federal court rulings have reinforced our confidence in the strength of our intellectual property enforcement strategy and our commitment to protecting the technologies we have developed. Management believes the potential scope of the intellectual property portfolio extends well beyond the litigation currently underway,” said Alessi.

Alpha Cash Builds Out Its Partner Program

Alpha Modus Financial Services, LLC oversees Alpha Cash, a financial technology platform focused on improving access to modern financial services for underserved and underbanked consumers. The first phase of the Alpha Cash partner portal is complete, and affiliate and reseller agreements are in place.

The portal is designed to give partners a dashboard for commissions and referrals, downloadable QR codes, payout requests and ready-made marketing materials. The team is also developing training programs for corporate and retail partners. Alpha Cash could begin onboarding affiliate partners in the coming weeks, subject to completion of testing and compliance reviews.

Three Businesses, Three Distinct Paths to Value

“AMOD Tech Pte. Ltd., Alpha Modus, Corp., and Alpha Modus Financial Services, LLC each represent distinct businesses with significant opportunities for long-term value creation,” concluded Alessi. “AMOD Tech Pte. Ltd. has established a substantial digital asset position with the potential for meaningful additional cash capitalization. Alpha Modus, Corp. continues to advance its AI commercialization strategy and an intellectual property enforcement program with opportunities extending well beyond its current litigation. Alpha Modus Financial Services, LLC is building a financial technology business addressing the needs of underserved consumers. Each business has its own assets, strategy, and potential to stand independently. We believe the public markets have yet to recognize the substantial underlying value of these businesses and the assets we have assembled. Our focus is on executing against these opportunities and demonstrating the value we believe we have created for our shareholders.”

* Based on 3,170 Bitcoin and market price of $82,525.80/BTC on October 20, 2026.

About Alpha Modus Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMOD)

Alpha Modus Holdings, Inc. (“Alpha Modus” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: AMOD) is a vertical AI company focused on real-time, in-store shopper engagement and attribution. Its patented “closed-loop” retail AI framework, Sense → Decide → Deliver → Attribute, enables brands and retailers to measure the full impact of digital content, physical interactions, and transaction outcomes. Through subsidiaries like Alpha Modus Corp. and Alpha Modus Financial Services, LLC, the company is actively deploying technologies that merge artificial intelligence, retail media, and financial access across the physical retail landscape.

For more information, visit: www.alphamodus.com

Alpha Modus maintains a comprehensive overview of its patent portfolio on its website: https://amc.alphamodus.com/

For more information and to access Alpha Modus’ press room, visit: https://alphamodus.com/press-room/

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Alpha Modus’s actual results may differ from their expectations, estimates, and projections, and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying these statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, Alpha Modus’s expectations with respect to future performance.

Alpha Modus Holdings, Inc. (“Alpha Modus”) cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Alpha Modus does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Contact Information

Investor Relations
Alpha Modus Holdings, Inc.
Email: ir@alphamodus.com
Website: www.alphamodus.com

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TORONTO, Oct. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Belo Sun Mining Corp. (TSX: BSX) (OTCQX: BSXGF) (the “Company” or “Belo Sun”) announces that the Brazilian Supreme Court (“STF”) issued a decision on the request for suspension of provisional relief (Suspensão de Tutela Provisória) filed by Brazil’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (“MPF”) concerning the Installation License (“LI”) for the Company’s Volta Grande Gold Project (the “Project”) in Pará, Brazil. The STF partially granted the MPF’s request, temporarily suspending the court ruling that had reinstated the effectiveness of the Project’s LI.

Clovis Torres, Chief Executive Officer of Belo Sun, commented: “The STF’s recognition of the relevance of the settlement hearing established by the TRF-1 is welcomed. We are advanced in our discussions with FUNAI with the settlement agreement submitted to TRF-1 and are confident that the parties will reach an agreement in the best interests of all stakeholders.”

The STF decision provides that the LI will remain suspended until the agreement reached between Belo Sun and Brazil’s National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (“FUNAI“) during the conciliation proceedings receives judicial approval from Brazil’s Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (the “TRF-1“). The agreement has already been submitted to the TRF-1 for approval, which remains pending.

The Company notes that, notwithstanding the pending judicial approval of the agreement, the parties have already been complying with their respective obligations under the agreement, including Belo Sun’s commitment to refrain from carrying out any physical interventions at the Project site. Belo Sun remains committed to the ongoing conciliation process and will continue its discussions with FUNAI and the Indigenous communities.

About the Company

Belo Sun is a Canadian-based mining company with a portfolio of gold-focused properties in Brazil. The Company is currently focused on the development of the Volta Grande Gold Project. Belo Sun trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “BSX” and on the OTCQX under the symbol “BSXGF”.

For more information, please visit www.belosun.com or contact Investor Relations at info@belosun.com or 1-888-516-4171.

Caution regarding forward-looking information:

This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, the continued advancement of the Project, the conciliation process with FUNAI and the ongoing review and update of the Project’s studies. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. These factors include, without limitation, actions by the MPF and other parties, rulings or orders of the STF or other courts, changes in the regulatory environment, risks related to the ability of the Company to attract and retain qualified personnel, the ability of the Company to advance the Project to the construction phase, and other risks described in the Company’s filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the Company’s most recent Annual Information Form. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management’s estimates or opinions should change, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Patient-derived liver and intestinal disease models are designed to help drug developers test whether a candidate reduces human disease in tissue before it reaches clinical trials

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — VivoSim Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIVS) (the “Company” or “VivoSim”), a provider of next-generation New Approach Methodologies (NAM) 3d human cellular models for preclinical safety and efficacy, today announced that it is extending its human tissue platform beyond toxicology, the core of its business today, with efficacy testing services built on NAMkind™ disease models of the liver and intestine. The disease models are built with cells from patient donors, so they carry features of the disease itself. Drug developers can measure whether a candidate acts on those disease features in human tissue before it enters clinical trials. VivoSim offers efficacy testing alongside toxicology on its liver and gastrointestinal (GI) models.

The move builds on demonstrated disease model excellence already demonstrated. Its intestinal efficacy platform, built in part from cells of patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, received a “Poster of Distinction” award at Digestive Disease Week in May 2025, in work showing that the platform responds to clinically used therapeutics. VivoSim has also used its human disease models to identify new molecular targets that drive inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and to explore how known drugs act.

Lack of efficacy is the most common reason drug candidates fail in clinical trials. In an analysis of more than 28,000 clinical trials stopped before reaching their endpoints, more than twice as many were stopped for negative results or lack of efficacy as for safety (Razuvayevskaya et al., Nature Genetics, 2024).

“Toxicology is the core of our business today, and it will remain a core service,” said Keith Murphy, Executive Chairman of VivoSim Labs. “Our customers often need help with whether a candidate is likely to work, because that is where many drugs fall short in the clinic. Disease models let us address that question on the same human tissue platform we already use for safety, but leveraging patient-derived diseased cell sources so a customer can learn more before committing a program to clinical trials. We believe disease models could more than double our addressable market.”

NAMkind™ Disease Models

• Liver (MASH): The NAMkind™ MASH disease model co-cultures healthy human liver cells with stellate, Kupffer, and endothelial cells from a donor with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), producing steatotic tissue with fibrosis. Compounds are dosed repeatedly over 14 or 21 days, with readouts for fibrosis and liver function. Cell-health markers measured in the same study separate an anti-fibrotic effect from cell damage.
• Intestine (IBD): The NAMkind™ IBD disease model is built from colon and small-intestine organoids derived from donors with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, with twelve donors currently available. It measures barrier integrity, inflammation, and fibrosis in the same well and reports results donor by donor. A healthy tissue comparator arm is available.
• Pharmacodynamic (PD) & Target Biomarker Profiling: The platform evaluates target engagement, gene expression panels, cytokine profiling, extracellular matrix turnover markers, and other relevant biomarkers across donor tissues, enabling sponsors to map mechanism-of-action and dose-response relationships alongside functional efficacy readouts.

In both models, each study runs the client’s compound alongside an approved or clinically validated reference compound in the same donor tissue, such as resmetirom in the MASH model or tofacitinib or upadacitinib in the IBD model. In results VivoSim has published for the IBD model, JAK inhibitors that look alike on paper had different effects on fibrosis, barrier function and inflammation, and methotrexate, a clinically used anti-inflammatory, reduced a fibrosis marker in a dose-dependent way in both Crohn’s patient models tested.

“By leveraging patient-derived donor tissues, our disease platforms preserve the complex multiomic signatures and heterogeneous phenotypes seen in real-world clinical populations,” said Amar Sethi, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of VivoSim Labs. “Crucially, we can now evaluate candidate compounds not only for primary disease endpoints like fibrosis and barrier repair, but also for target-specific pharmacodynamic biomarkers. This dual capability allows drug developers to confirm both functional human efficacy and underlying drug mechanism on the exact same platform before entering clinical trials.”

About VivoSim Labs

VivoSim Labs, Inc. (“VivoSim” and the “Company”), is a pharmaceutical and biotechnology services company that is focused on providing testing of drugs and drug candidates in three-dimensional (“3D”) human tissue models of liver and intestine. The Company offers partners liver and intestinal toxicology insights using its new approach methodologies (“NAM”) models. The Company anticipates accelerated adoption of human tissue models following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) Roadmap to refine animal testing requirements in favor of these non-animal NAM methods. VivoSim Labs operates from San Diego, CA. Visit www.vivosim.ai.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on current expectations but are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the Company’s cash on hand, revenue growth guidance and the Company’s progress in marketing contract research services using NAMs models to pharmaceutical companies. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and actual actions or events could differ materially from those contained in such statements. These risks and uncertainties and other factors are identified and described in more detail in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on July 14, 2026, as such risk factors are updated in its most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 12, 2026. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should be considered with any written or oral forward-looking statements that the Company may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, the Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect actual results, later events, or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. 

Contact(s):
Investor Relations
info@vivosim.ai
VivoSim Labs, Inc.

TORONTO, Oct. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Constellation Software Inc. (TSX:CSU) (“Constellation” or the “Company”) announced today the appointment of Daan Dijkhuizen as its Chief AI Officer and a member of Constellation’s leadership team.

Mr. Dijkhuizen is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Topicus Operating Group within Topicus.com Inc., and Managing Partner of VMS Ventures, Constellation’s venture arm. Mr. Dijkhuizen will continue in both of those roles alongside his new position as Chief AI Officer.

As the Chief AI Officer for Constellation, Mr. Dijkhuizen will focus primarily on expanding the role of VMS Ventures as Constellation’s vehicle for investing in AI-native vertical market software businesses. The role also includes supporting business units across the Constellation group of companies, as those businesses apply AI in their products and internal operations, with appropriate controls for quality, safety and compliance. Mr. Dijkhuizen will also support and encourage the sharing of best practices across Constellation’s operating groups.

About Constellation Software Inc.

Constellation’s common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “CSU”. Constellation acquires, manages and builds vertical market software businesses.

For further information:

Jamal Baksh

Chief Financial Officer

(416) 861-9677

info@csisoftware.com www.csisoftware.com

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FTC Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FTCI), a leading provider of solar tracker systems, software, and engineering services, today announced it will report its third quarter 2026 financial results before market open on Wednesday, November 4, 2026.

A conference call for members of the investment community will be held at 8:30 a.m. E.T. that same day, during which the Company will discuss its third quarter 2026 results, its outlook and other business items. This call will be webcast and can be accessed within the Investor Relations section of the FTC Solar corporate website at investor.ftcsolar.com. A replay of the conference call will also be available on the website for 30 days following the webcast.

About FTC Solar, Inc.
Founded in 2017 by a group of renewable energy industry veterans, FTC Solar is a leading provider of solar tracker systems, technology, software, and engineering services. Solar trackers significantly increase energy production at solar power installations by dynamically optimizing solar panel orientation to the sun. FTC Solar’s innovative tracker designs provide compelling performance and reliability, with an industry-leading installation cost-per-watt advantage. 

FTC Solar Investor Contact:
Bill Michalek 
Vice President, Investor Relations 
FTC Solar
T: (737) 241-8618 
E: IR@FTCSolar.com

PLAINVIEW, N.Y., Oct. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) plans to release its third quarter 2026 financial results after the market closes on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. The company will host a conference call to review these results starting at 5:00 PM ET that day.

To join the call, dial (+1) 888-396-8049 (toll-free) or (+1) 416-764-8646. Participants may also access a live webcast of the call by visiting Veeco’s investor relations website at ir.veeco.com. A replay of the webcast will be made available on the Veeco website beginning at 8:00 PM ET that same evening.

About Veeco
Veeco (NASDAQ: VECO) is an innovative manufacturer of semiconductor process equipment. Our laser annealing, ion beam, metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), single wafer etch & clean and lithography technologies play an integral role in the fabrication and packaging of advanced semiconductor devices. With equipment designed to optimize performance, yield and cost of ownership, Veeco holds leading technology positions in the markets we serve. To learn more about Veeco’s systems and service offerings, visit www.veeco.com.

To the extent that this news release discusses expectations or otherwise makes statements about the future, such statements are forward-looking and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include the risks discussed in the Business Description and Management’s Discussion and Analysis sections of Veeco’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and in our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and press releases. Veeco does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

Veeco Contacts:
Investor Relations: Alex Delacroix | (516) 528-1020 | adelacroix@veeco.com
Media: Brenden Wright | (410) 984-2610 | bwright@veeco.com        

– Robin Swartz, Voyager’s Chief Business and Operating Officer, appointed President, effective immediately; expected to succeed Alfred W. Sandrock, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., as CEO in Q1 2027 –

– Dr. Sandrock expected to remain CEO through initial acute safety data with VY1706, anticipated in Q1 2027 pending enrollment, and to subsequently continue as a member of Voyager’s Board of Directors –

LEXINGTON, Mass., Oct. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VYGR), a biotechnology company dedicated to leveraging genetics to treat neurological diseases, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Robin Swartz, currently Chief Business Officer and Chief Operating Officer, as President, effective October 20, 2026. Swartz is expected to succeed Alfred W. Sandrock, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in Q1 2027, following the receipt of initial acute safety data from a clinical trial of Voyager’s investigational tau silencing gene therapy VY1706 in adults with early Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Dr. Sandrock will subsequently continue to provide strategic guidance as a member of Voyager’s Board of Directors.

“Robin brings a deep understanding of Voyager as well as extensive experience spanning development, operations, business strategy, and commercialization,” said Michael Higgins, Chairman of Voyager’s Board of Directors. “Her strategic vision, commitment to patients, and proven ability to consistently deliver results are why the Board unanimously selected her as the most qualified candidate to lead Voyager’s advancement of its increasingly development-stage pipeline.”

“I am honored by the Board’s confidence in my ability to lead Voyager into its next chapter and to build on the foundation of a visionary like Al, who is widely regarded as a leading neurotherapeutics drug developer,” said Swartz. “Over the last five years, Voyager has established a differentiated platform and pipeline with the potential to unlock life-changing treatments for neurological diseases; our focus now is on translating that potential into medicines for patients and I am excited to lead Voyager as we advance to this next stage.”

Swartz joined Voyager in 2021 and has become a critical enterprise-wide strategic and operational leader, holding responsibility for a broad range of functions across the organization. In addition to her prior roles as Chief Business Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Swartz has led multiple functions within Voyager including clinical development, finance, legal, HR, portfolio strategy, and patient engagement. She has worked closely with Dr. Sandrock to shape and execute Voyager’s strategy as the company has advanced its pipeline and evolved into a clinical-stage organization. Prior to joining Voyager, Swartz spent 26 years at Genzyme Corporation and Sanofi Genzyme, where she held leadership roles across commercial, development, business operations, strategy, and finance.

“I joined Voyager because I believe its scientists have developed an unparallelled gene therapy approach to overcome one of the most significant challenges in neurotherapeutics – crossing the blood-brain barrier, and I could not be prouder of our progress on this front,” said Dr. Sandrock. “I am committed to seeing Voyager obtain acute safety data with our lead gene therapy product candidate, VY1706. I believe that milestone represents an important point in Voyager’s evolution and an ideal time for Robin to assume leadership. She has been my partner in driving corporate strategy for the past five years and is an exceptional and widely respected leader within our organization. I look forward to continuing to support Robin and Voyager from the Board.”

George Scangos, Ph.D., Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee for the Voyager Board of Directors, added, “On behalf of Voyager’s Board, we are deeply grateful to Al for his leadership and for the transformation of Voyager. During the past five years, he has prioritized and advanced programs that have the potential to benefit millions of patients with neurodegenerative diseases. He has entered into partnerships to help move those programs forward and to provide funding for Voyager’s internal programs. Importantly, he has shepherded Voyager’s signature capsid platform into the clinical stage with human acute safety data expected in early 2027. We are fortunate that Voyager will continue to benefit from his experience and perspective as a member of the Board.”

About Voyager Therapeutics
Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VYGR) is a biotechnology company dedicated to leveraging the power of human genetics to modify the course of – and ultimately cure – neurological diseases. Our pipeline includes programs for Alzheimer’s disease, Friedreich’s ataxia, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and multiple other diseases of the central nervous system. Many of our programs are derived from our TRACER™ AAV capsid discovery platform, which we have used to generate novel capsids and identify associated receptors to potentially enable high brain penetration with genetic medicines following intravenous dosing. Some of our programs are wholly owned, and some are advancing with partners including Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease; Novartis Pharma AG; and Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. For more information, visit http://www.voyagertherapeutics.com.

Voyager Therapeutics^® is a registered trademark, and TRACER™ and Voyager NeuroShuttle™ are trademarks, of Voyager Therapeutics, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws, including, without limitation, implied and express statements about Voyager’s plans, beliefs and expectations regarding the planned CEO transition from Dr. Alfred Sandrock to Ms. Robin Swartz and Dr. Sandrock’s continued service on the Voyager Board of Directors; the development of its product candidates and advancement of its preclinical and clinical development programs, including Voyager’s advancement of the tau silencing gene therapy program in AD, VY1706, including the timing of clinical development milestones such as Voyager’s intentions to initiate and enroll clinical trials, dosing of adults with early AD, and timing of expected initial acute safety data in early 2027 pending patient enrollment; the role of tau in the treatment of AD, including as a critical disease-modifying target; the therapeutic potential, safety, and pharmacological effect of Voyager’s current and future product candidates and overall gene therapy approach and platform; and the mission, goals and value drivers for Voyager’s business.. The use of words such as “may,” “will,” “might,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “view,” “potential,” “intend,” “seek,” “predict,” “estimate,” “project,” “target,” or “continue” and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.

All forward-looking statements are based on management’s current estimates and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements in this press release. Factors include, among others, the risks and uncertainties inherent in the development of product candidates, including the timing, initiation, and conduct of preclinical studies and clinical trials, including potential delays in timing as a result of slower than expected site initiation, slower than expected enrollment, the need or decision to expand the trials or other changes, which may impact Voyager’s ability to meet its expected timelines and may increase its costs; the expectations and decisions of regulatory authorities; the availability of data from and outcomes of Voyager’s preclinical studies and clinical trials and those conducted by its partners and collaborators, including that success in earlier preclinical studies may not be repeated or observed in ongoing or future preclinical studies or clinical trials, ongoing and future clinical trials may not meet their primary or key secondary endpoints, which may substantially impair development, timing for expected data may be delayed, and Voyager may encounter adverse events that could negatively impact further development; Voyager’s ability to demonstrate that current or future product candidates are safe and effective for their proposed indications; the availability, commercial potential and success of Voyager’s wholly owned candidates; the availability of data from and the outcomes of third-party preclinical studies and clinical trials and the potential impact on Voyager’s development plans; the continued development of Voyager’s technology platforms, including Voyager’s TRACER and nonviral discovery platforms; Voyager’s scientific approach and program development progress and the restricted supply and increased costs of critical research components; the development by third parties of capsid identification platforms that may be competitive to Voyager’s TRACER capsid and nonviral discovery platform and programs; Voyager’s ability to create and protect intellectual property rights associated with the TRACER capsid and nonviral discovery platforms, the capsids and ligands identified by the platforms, and the development of clinical candidates and related data from Voyager’s pipeline programs; the willingness and ability of Voyager’s collaboration partners to meet obligations under collaboration agreements with Voyager and their projections with respect to such programs; the need to align with its collaborators, which may hamper or delay its development efforts and timelines; the possibility or timing of Voyager’s receipt of program reimbursement, development or commercialization milestone payments, option exercise, and other payments under Voyager’s existing licensing or collaboration agreements; the success of programs controlled by third-party collaboration partners in which Voyager retains a financial interest, including that the anticipated benefits of these ongoing collaborations, including the receipt of payments or the successful development or commercialization of products and generation of revenue, may never be achieved at the levels or timing Voyager expect or at all; the adverse impact on Voyager’s business if any of its key collaborators fails to perform its obligations or terminates the collaboration; the ability of Voyager to negotiate and complete licensing or collaboration agreements with other parties on terms acceptable to Voyager and the third parties; additional funding may not be available on acceptable terms when needed, or at all, which could hamper Voyager’s development efforts; the ability to attract and retain talented directors, employees, and contractors and the resulting impact to Voyager’s business and ability to meet its goals and timelines; the sufficiency of Voyager’s cash resources to fund its operations and pursue its corporate objectives; any of the foregoing events could impair the drivers and value creation opportunities for Voyager’s business; and technical and other unexpected hurdles in the development, manufacture and supply of product candidates, may delay Voyager’s timing, change its plans, increase its costs, or otherwise negatively impact its business.

These risks and uncertainties are described in Voyager’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as updated by its subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in the press release is as of the date of this press release, and any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it was made. Voyager undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise this information or any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contacts
Company and Investors: Andrea Zuniga, investors@vygr.com
Media: Lisa Guiterman, voyagerpr@scientpr.com

QXL’s decoder leverages CUDA-Q QEC to manage to cutt logical errors by 12–13% on Google Quantum Hardware Data, in both standard and real-time streaming tests

TEL AVIV, Israel, Oct. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Quantum X Labs Inc. (NASDAQ: QXL) (“Quantum X Labs”, “QXL” or the “Company”), a quantum technology company developing advanced solutions across quantum computing, quantum error correction, quantum software, cybersecurity and quantum sensing, today announced a key milestone: its quantum error-correction (QEC) decoder is now deployed and running on NVIDIA CUDA-Q, the open platform for hybrid quantum-classical supercomputing. Leveraging the CUDA-Q QEC library, the decoder made 12–13% fewer logical errors than the platform’s standard matching decoder (PyMatching) on Google’s publicly released quantum hardware data.

Quantum computers are inherently prone to errors, and a decoder is the classical software that interprets error-correction measurements and determines how those errors should be corrected as the machine operates. Improved decoding may enable more reliable, logical operation from the same physical hardware.

Because the QXL decoder integrates with CUDA-Q QEC, QXL expects that quantum hardware teams building on the NVIDIA quantum platform will be able to select it alongside existing CUDA-Q decoders without requiring a separate workflow. QXL believe the integration represents an important step in its transition from decoder research and offline benchmarking toward accelerated and real time quantum error correction.

QXL tested the decoder on Google’s public surface-code dataset, recorded on Google’s superconducting quantum processor. The test used 10,000 held-out runs of five error-correction rounds at two code sizes (distance 3 and distance 5). Every decoder was run through the same CUDA-Q QEC interface on the same data, so the comparison is like-for-like.

The QXL decoder made 12.7% fewer logical errors than PyMatching at distance 3 and 12.1% fewer at distance 5. It was on par with BP+OSD, with about 2% fewer errors at distance 3 and 1.5% fewer at distance 5. In simulation, the decoder beat standard matching in all 108 code-size and noise-level settings tested.

“This milestone demonstrates that QXL’s decoder technology can operate within a leading quantum computing software environment and deliver encouraging results on real experimental data,” said Prof. Nir Sharon, Chief Scientist of Quantum X Labs. “It is an important step toward accelerated and adaptable decoding that can ultimately operate alongside quantum control systems.”

QXL has also turned the decoder into a streaming version that follows the real-time decoding interface in CUDA-Q QEC: it receives error data round by round as the quantum computer runs and returns corrections continuously.

In a separate 25-round streaming evaluation on held-out shots from the same Google public hardware dataset, the QXL streaming decoder achieved lower observed logical error rates than the CUDA-Q QEC sliding-window baseline and full-experiment PyMatching and performed comparably to BP+OSD. Compared with PyMatching, its observed logical error rate was approximately 6% lower at distance 3 and 9% lower at distance 5.

QXL plans, as a next step, to run the decoder in a real-time QEC pipeline on a system utilizing an NVIDIA NVQLink connection, with the goal of moving it closer to live operation alongside quantum hardware. QXL is also working with quantum control-system providers regarding potential integration of the decoder directly into their platforms.

The decoder tested with CUDA-Q QEC is one implementation within QXL’s broader adaptive quantum error correction platform. The Company’s roadmap is designed to support multiple decoder architectures, error correcting codes and quantum hardware technologies, allowing decoding solutions to be adapted to the requirements of different quantum systems.

About Quantum X Labs Inc.

 Quantum X Labs Inc. and its subsidiaries are focused on quantum technology, digital advertising and computing and enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. Quantum X Labs Ltd. is focused on developing and promoting quantum algorithms for the transportation, drug discovery and security segments as well as developing quantum- based GPS replacement and quantum atom accuracy solutions. Gix Media develops a variety of technological software solutions, which perform automation, optimization and monetization of internet campaigns, for the purposes of acquiring and routing internet user traffic to its customers. Metagramm is a developer of grammatical error correction software and offers tools for writing and reviewing, grammar, spelling, punctuation and style features, as well as translation and multilingual dictionaries, using artificial intelligence and machine learning technology.

For more information about Quantum X Labs, visit https://quantumxlabs.xyz/

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other Federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Quantum X Labs’ and its subsidiaries’ strategic and business plans, technology, relationships, objectives and expectations for its business, growth, the impact of trends on and interest in its business, intellectual property, products and its future results, operations and financial performance and condition and may be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “seek,” “will,” “consider,” “likely,” “assume,” “estimate,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “do not believe,” “aim,” “predict,” “plan,” “project,” “continue,” “potential,” “guidance,” “objective,” “outlook,” “trends,” “future,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “target,” “on track” or their negatives or variations, and similar terminology and words of similar import, generally involve future or forward-looking statements. For example, the Company is using forward-looking statements when it discusses the potential benefits and capabilities of its quantum error correction technology; the potential integration, adoption and use of its decoder with NVIDIA CUDA-Q QEC, NVIDIA NVQLink, quantum control systems and other quantum computing platforms and hardware; potential integration of its decoder directly into quantum control-system providers’ platforms; its plans to advance its decoder toward accelerated and real-time operation alongside quantum hardware; and the development and potential applications of its broader adaptive quantum error correction platform. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are based upon management’s current expectations, beliefs and projections, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain. Such expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith. However, there can be no assurance that management’s expectations, beliefs and projections will be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from what is expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. For a more detailed description of the risks and uncertainties affecting the Company, reference is made to the Company’s reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including, but not limited to, the risks detailed in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in subsequent filings with the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, subsequent events or circumstances, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. If the Company does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that the Company will make additional updates with respect thereto or with respect to other forward-looking statements. References and links to websites have been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this press release. Quantum X Labs is not responsible for the content of third-party websites.

Investor Relations Contacts:

Michal Efraty
Investor Relations
michal@efraty.com 

Aspo Plc Stock Exchange Release October 21, 2026 at 15.00 EET

Invitation to the Extraordinary General Meeting of Aspo

The shareholders of Aspo Plc (the “Company” or “Aspo“) are invited to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting to be held on Monday, 7 December 2026, at 2.00 p.m. (Finnish time) at Finlandia Hall, Helsinki Hall at the address Mannerheimintie 13e, 00100 Helsinki, Finland. The reception of persons who have registered for the meeting and the distribution of voting tickets will commence at the meeting venue at 1.00 p.m. (Finnish time).

Shareholders may also exercise their voting rights by voting in advance. Instructions for advance voting are presented in this invitation under section C.

The Extraordinary General Meeting can be followed via a webcast on the website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026. It is not possible to ask questions, make counterproposals, otherwise address the meeting, or vote via webcast, and following the meeting via webcast is not considered participation in the Extraordinary General Meeting or exercise of the shareholder rights.

1. Matters on the agenda of the Extraordinary General Meeting

1                             Opening of the meeting

2                             Calling the meeting to order

3                             Election of persons to confirm the minutes and to supervise the counting of votes

4                             Recording the legality of the meeting

5                             Recording the attendance at the meeting and adopting the list of votes

6                             Approval of the Demerger Plan and resolving on the partial Demerger

The Board of Directors of Aspo proposes to the Extraordinary General Meeting that the General Meeting resolves on the partial demerger of Aspo in accordance with the demerger plan signed by the Board of Directors on 3 August 2026 (the “Demerger Plan“) and approves the Demerger Plan. As part of the demerger resolution, the Extraordinary General Meeting shall resolve as a whole on the matters presented below conditional upon the completion of the demerger. The resolution on the approval of the Demerger Plan and on the partial demerger shall be made by a qualified majority of two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast and the shares represented at the Extraordinary General Meeting. The Demerger Plan is available on the Company’s website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026.

Pursuant to the Demerger Plan, Aspo will demerge through a partial demerger so that all of Aspo’s shares in ESL Shipping Ltd (a subsidiary of Aspo) and related assets and liabilities will transfer without a liquidation procedure to ESL Shipping Group Plc (“ESL Shipping Group“), a company to be incorporated in the demerger (the “Demerger“).

In connection with the Demerger, the Company is proposed to be re-named Telko Group Plc.

The purpose of the Demerger is to implement the divestment of the shipping business carried out by ESL Shipping Ltd and its direct and indirect subsidiaries and related assets and liabilities from Aspo in order to form a new independent group of companies, with ESL Shipping Group as the parent company. The planned date of registration of the completion of the Demerger (the “Effective Date“) is 31 December 2026. The actual Effective Date may change from the aforesaid date, as set forth in Section 17 of the Demerger Plan.

Despite the resolution of the Extraordinary General Meeting, the Board of Directors of Aspo may, at any time prior to the completion of the Demerger, resolve not to complete the Demerger if, in the view of the Board of Directors of Aspo, there exist grounds due to which such non-completion would be justified.

In accordance with the Demerger Plan, the shareholders of Aspo shall receive as demerger consideration one (1) new share in ESL Shipping Group for each share owned in Aspo (the “Demerger Consideration“), i.e., the Demerger Consideration shall be issued to the shareholders of Aspo in proportion to their shareholdings with a ratio of 1:1. The Demerger Consideration shall be issued to the shareholders of Aspo on the Effective Date, or as soon as possible thereafter in accordance with the Demerger Plan. The Demerger Consideration shall be issued through the book-entry securities system maintained by Euroclear Nordics Ltd and will be distributed automatically, meaning that no action is required from the shareholders of Aspo in relation thereto. The allocation of the Demerger Consideration is in principle based on the shareholding in Aspo on the registration day (as defined in Euroclear Nordics Ltd’s rules in force at that time) immediately preceding the Effective Date, unless the Board of Directors of Aspo resolves otherwise.

Following the completion of the Demerger on the Effective Date or promptly thereafter, ESL Shipping Group shall carry out a share-for-share exchange with the minority shareholder of ESL Shipping Ltd whereby the minority shareholder transfers its shares in ESL Shipping Ltd to ESL Shipping Group in exchange for new shares issued by ESL Shipping Group (the “Share Exchange“). A maximum of 9,250,829 new shares shall be issued, and the final number of the shares to be issued shall correspond to approximately 21.4 per cent of the shares in ESL Shipping Group not held by it or its subsidiaries following the completion of the Share Exchange. Upon the Share Exchange, ESL Shipping Ltd shall become a wholly owned subsidiary of ESL Shipping Group.

ESL Shipping Group intends to apply for admitting its shares for trading on the official list of Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd (“Nasdaq Helsinki“). Trading in the shares of ESL Shipping Group on Nasdaq Helsinki is expected to begin on or about 4 January 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter.

As part of the resolution on the Demerger, the Extraordinary General Meeting shall decide on the following matters, conditional upon the completion of the Demerger:

1. The incorporation of ESL Shipping Group and approval of its Articles of Association

ESL Shipping Group will be incorporated in connection with the registration of the completion of the Demerger on the Effective Date. It has been proposed that the company name be ESL Shipping Group Oyj (in English: ESL Shipping Group Plc). The proposed Articles of Association of ESL Shipping Group are included in full as Appendix 1 to the Demerger Plan.

2. The number of members of the Board of Directors, election of the members of the Board of Directors and the auditor of ESL Shipping Group as well as their remuneration

According to the proposed Articles of Association of ESL Shipping Group, the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group shall comprise a minimum of four (4) and a maximum of eight (8) members.

The Board of Directors of the Company proposes that the number of members of the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group shall be four (4).

The Board of Directors of the Company proposes that Rolf Jansson be elected as Chair of the Board of Directors, and that Mikael Laine, Andreas Remmer and Kaarina Ståhlberg be elected as members of the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group. All candidates have given their consent to the election. The Board of Directors may elect a Vice Chair from among its members.

The term of the members of the Board of Directors shall commence on the Effective Date and shall expire at the end of the first Annual General Meeting of ESL Shipping Group following the Effective Date.

All proposed members of the Board of Directors will be independent from ESL Shipping Group and its significant shareholders, excluding Rolf Jansson and Mikael Laine, who have been determined to be independent of the major shareholders of ESL Shipping Group but not independent of ESL Shipping Group under the Finnish Corporate Governance Code 2026. Rolf Jansson currently acts as the CEO of Aspo. Mikael Laine has been assessed not to be independent of ESL Shipping Group based on an overall evaluation, taking into account that he has been a member of the Board of Directors of Aspo for a period of more than ten (10) consecutive years.

The proposed composition of the Board of Directors departs from Recommendation 10 of the Corporate Governance Code, according to which the majority of the members of the Board of Directors shall be independent of the company. This is due to the fact that five (5) members were originally planned to be proposed to the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group. However, at the end of the selection process one of the planned candidates was prevented from participating in the Board of Directors, and thus it is proposed that four (4) members be elected.

CVs and independence assessments of all persons proposed as members of the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group will be made available on Aspo’s website prior to the Extraordinary General Meeting.

On the recommendation of the Shareholders’ Nomination Board of the Company, the Board of Directors of the Company proposes that each member of the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group be paid a monthly fee, from the later of 1 January 2027 or the Effective Date, until the close of the first Annual General Meeting of ESL Shipping Group following the Effective Date, as follows:

• Members of the Board of Directors: EUR 3,000 per month
• Chair of the Board of Directors: EUR 6,000 per month

In addition to the monthly fees, from the later of 1 January 2027 or the Effective Date onwards, it is proposed that the members of the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group be paid a meeting fee for each meeting of any potential Board committee, as follows: a meeting fee of EUR 1,200 per meeting to the Chair of the committee and a meeting fee of EUR 500 per meeting to each member of the committee, or EUR 1,000 per meeting for each member of the committee in case the member travels to the meeting outside their country of residence.

According to the proposed Articles of Association of ESL Shipping Group, ESL Shipping Group shall have one (1) auditor which must be an auditing firm authorized by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office.

The Board of Directors of the Company proposes that Deloitte Oy be elected as the auditor of ESL Shipping Group. Deloitte Oy has given notice that Aleksi Martamo will act as the principally responsible auditor, conditional upon the completion of the Demerger.

The Board of Directors of the Company proposes that the auditor of ESL Shipping Group be paid a fee pursuant to an invoice approved by ESL Shipping Group, conditional upon the completion of the Demerger.

3. Establishment of a Shareholders’ Nomination Board for ESL Shipping Group

The Board of Directors of the Company proposes that a Shareholders’ Nomination Board be established for ESL Shipping Group and that its charter be adopted.

The duty of the Shareholders’ Nomination Board is, among other things, to prepare proposals regarding the number and election of the members of the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group and remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors and potential committees of the Board of Directors to the Annual General Meeting of ESL Shipping Group.

The composition, tasks and activities of the Shareholders’ Nomination Board of ESL Shipping Group are defined in more detail in its proposed Charter that is available on Aspo’s website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026.

Notwithstanding the proposed charter, the Shareholders’ Nomination Board shall upon its establishment comprise members nominated by the four (4) largest shareholders of ESL Shipping Group, based on shareholdings of ESL Shipping Group as at the date falling one (1) month after the Effective Date (the “First Nomination Date“). In case the Effective Date occurs after 31 December 2026, the First Nomination Date shall be determined as prescribed in the Demerger Plan.

Notwithstanding the proposed charter of the Shareholders’ Nomination Board of ESL Shipping Group, the Shareholders’ Nomination Board formed in accordance with the First Nomination Date shall submit its proposals to the Annual General Meeting of ESL Shipping Group for the year 2027 no later than 1 March 2027. If the Effective Date is after 31 December 2026, the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group is authorized to resolve on the deadline for submitting the proposals.

4. Adoption of a remuneration policy for governing bodies of ESL Shipping Group

The Board of Directors of the Company proposes that the Extraordinary General Meeting adopts the Remuneration Policy for governing bodies of ESL Shipping Group. The resolution is an advisory resolution.

The Remuneration Policy will be available on Aspo’s website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026 no later than on 16 November 2026.

5. Authorization to decide on a share issue of treasury shares

As set out in detail in Section 16.1 of the Demerger Plan, the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group is proposed to be authorized to decide, following the completion of the Demerger, on a share issue of treasury shares through one or several instalments, under which an aggregate maximum of 2,500,000 shares may be conveyed, representing approximately 6.27 per cent of all shares in ESL Shipping Group, assuming that the total number of ESL Shipping Group’s shares to be issued as Demerger Consideration would be 31,338,722 shares, and taking into account the Share Exchange. The authorization is valid until the conclusion of the first Annual General Meeting held by ESL Shipping Group following the completion of the Demerger.

The authorization may be used for the financing or execution of possible corporate acquisitions or other transactions, for execution of ESL Shipping Group’s share-ownership programs or for other purposes determined by the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group, however, provided that as part of the share-based incentive programs, the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group may convey a maximum of 500,000 shares, representing approximately 1.25 per cent of all shares in the ESL Shipping Group, assuming that the total number of ESL Shipping Group’s shares to be issued as Demerger Consideration would be 31,338,722 shares, and taking into account the Share Exchange.

The authorization includes the right of the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group to decide on all the terms and conditions of the conveyance and thus also includes the right to convey shares otherwise than in proportion to the share ownership of the shareholders, in deviation from the shareholders’ pre-emptive right, if a compelling financial reason exists for ESL Shipping Group to do so.

6. Authorization to decide on a share issue of new shares

As set out in detail in Section 16.2 of the Demerger Plan, the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group is proposed to be authorized to decide, following the completion of the Demerger, on a share issue of new shares through one or several instalments, under which a maximum of 2,500,000 shares are offered for subscription, representing approximately 6.27 per cent of all shares in ESL Shipping Group, assuming that the total number of ESL Shipping Group’s shares to be issued as Demerger Consideration would be 31,338,722 shares, and taking into account the Share Exchange. The authorization is valid until the conclusion of the first Annual General Meeting held by ESL Shipping Group following the completion of the Demerger.

The authorization may be used for the financing or execution of possible corporate acquisitions or other transactions, for execution of ESL Shipping Group’s share-ownership programs or for other purposes determined by the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group, however, provided that as part of the share-based incentive programs, the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group may convey a maximum of 500,000 shares, representing approximately 1.25 per cent of all shares in the ESL Shipping Group, assuming that the total number of ESL Shipping Group’s shares to be issued as Demerger Consideration would be 31,338,722 shares, and taking into account the Share Exchange.

The authorization includes the right of the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group to decide on all the terms and conditions of the conveyance and thus also includes the right to decide on a directed share issue, in deviation from the shareholders’ pre-emptive right, if a compelling financial reason exists for ESL Shipping Group to do so.

7. Authorization to decide on a share issue

As set out in detail in Section 16.3 of the Demerger Plan, the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group is proposed to be authorized to issue and/or convey a maximum of 9,250,829 shares in ESL Shipping Group solely for the purpose of implementing the Share Exchange with the minority shareholder of ESL Shipping Ltd. The final number of shares to be issued in the Share Exchange shall correspond to approximately 21.4 per cent of the shares in ESL Shipping Group not held by ESL Shipping Group or its subsidiaries after the share issue. The authorization entitles the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group to decide on all terms and conditions of the share issue, including the right to issue shares also in a proportion other than that of the shareholders’ current shareholdings in ESL Shipping Group under the conditions provided in law. The authorization is valid until the conclusion of the first Annual General Meeting held by ESL Shipping Group following the completion of the Demerger.

8. Authorization to decide on the acquisition of ESL Shipping Group’s own shares and on the acceptance as pledge of ESL Shipping Group’s own shares

As set out in detail in Section 16.4 of the Demerger Plan, the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping Group is proposed to be authorized to decide, following the completion of the Demerger, on the acquisition of no more than 500,000 treasury shares using the unrestricted equity of ESL Shipping Group, representing approximately 1.25 per cent of all shares in ESL Shipping Group, assuming that the total number of ESL Shipping Group’s shares to be issued as Demerger Consideration would be 31,338,722 shares, and taking into account the Share Exchange. The authorization includes the right to accept treasury shares as a pledge. The shares may be repurchased at a price formed in trading on a regulated market on the date of the repurchase or otherwise at a price formed on the market. The shares may be repurchased otherwise than in proportion to the shares held by the shareholders (directed repurchase).

The authorization is valid until the conclusion of the first Annual General Meeting held by ESL Shipping Group following the completion of the Demerger, however for no longer than 18 months from the Effective Date.

7                             Amendment of the Articles of Association of the Company

The Board of Directors of the Company proposes that Articles 1 and 4 of the Articles of Association of the Company, i.e., the trade name and domicile, and the number of members of the Board of Directors of the Company be amended in connection with the Demerger. In their amended form, said provisions of the Articles of Association would read as follows:

1 § The trade name of the company is Telko Group Oyj, in English Telko Group Plc and in Swedish Telko Group Abp. The domicile of the company is Espoo.

4 § The Board of Directors shall consist of no fewer than four (4) and no more than eight (8) members. The members of the Board elect a Chair and may elect a Vice Chair from amongst themselves. The term of the Board will expire at the end of the ordinary annual shareholder’s meeting which next follows the election.

It is proposed that the Articles of Association of the Company remain unchanged in other respects. The amended Articles of Association of the Company shall enter into force in connection with the registration of the completion of the Demerger on the Effective Date.

8                             Resolution on the remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors and committees of the Company

The Shareholders’ Nomination Board proposes that, conditional upon the completion of the Demerger, from the later of 1 January 2027 or the Effective Date onwards the monthly fees to the Board members of the Company be paid as follows:

• Members of the Board of Directors: EUR 3,000 per month
• Chair of the Board of Directors: EUR 6,000 per month

The Shareholders’ Nomination Board further proposes that, conditional upon the completion of the Demerger, from the later of 1 January 2027 or the Effective Date onwards the meeting fees to members of the committees and Chairs of the committees be paid as follows: a meeting fee of EUR 1,200 per meeting to the Chair of the committee and a meeting fee of EUR 500 per meeting to each member of the committee, or EUR 1,000 per meeting for each member of the committee in case the member travels to the meeting outside their country of residence.

9                             Resolution on the number of members of the Board of Directors of the Company

The Shareholders’ Nomination Board proposes that the Board of Directors of the Company will have five (5) members, conditional upon the completion of the Demerger. Should any number of the candidates proposed by the Nomination Board not be available for election, the proposed number of Board members shall be decreased accordingly.

10                           Election of the members of the Board of Directors of the Company

The Shareholders’ Nomination Board proposes that Tapio Kolunsarka, Patricia Allam, Annika Ekman, Mikael Laine and Tatu Vehmas be elected as members of the Board of Directors of the Company for a term commencing on the later of 1 January 2027 or the Effective Date and expiring at the end of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company, conditional upon the completion of the Demerger. Further information on the proposed members of the Board of Directors is available on Aspo’s website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026.

Should any of the candidates proposed by the Nomination Board not be available for election, the remaining available candidates are proposed to be elected in accordance with the proposal by the Nomination Board.

All proposed members of the Board of Directors are independent from the Company and its significant shareholders, excluding Patricia Allam and Tatu Vehmas, who are not considered to be independent of the significant shareholders of the Company, and Mikael Laine, who is not considered to be independent of the Company. Patricia Allam and Tatu Vehmas are not independent of the significant shareholders of the Company due to their family relationships. Mikael Laine has been assessed not to be independent of the Company based on an overall evaluation, taking into account that he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Company for a period of more than ten (10) consecutive years. All proposed members of the Board of Directors have given their consent to their appointment. The Board of Directors will elect a Chair and may elect a Vice Chair from among its members. The proposed individuals have announced to the Company that if they are elected, they will elect Tapio Kolunsarka as the Chair of the Board of Directors.

With regard to the procedure for the selection of the members of the Board of Directors, the Shareholders’ Nomination Board recommends that the shareholders give their view on the proposal as a whole at the Extraordinary General Meeting. The Shareholders’ Nomination Board has estimated that in addition to the qualifications of the individual candidates for the Board of Directors, the proposed Board of Directors as a whole provides excellent competence and experience for the Company and that the composition of the Board of Directors also meets other requirements set for a listed company by the Corporate Governance Code.

11                           Resolution on the forfeiture of the shares in the joint account and the rights carried by the shares

The Board of Directors proposes that the Extraordinary General Meeting resolve, in accordance with Chapter 3, Section 14 a, Subsection 3 of the Finnish Companies Act (624/2006, as amended), that rights to the shares entered in the Company’s joint book-entry account and the rights attached to such shares be forfeited and that the Board of Directors be authorized to take any and all measures required by such resolution. On 30 September 2026, the number of shares in the joint book-entry account was 4,464 corresponding to approximately 0.01 per cent of the total number of shares in the Company.

The forfeiture of shareholder rights would concern shares that are in the joint book-entry account of the Company. However, the forfeiture of rights shall not apply to such shares in the joint account with regard to which the registration of shareholder rights in the shareholder’s book-entry account has been requested prior to the decision of the Extraordinary General Meeting on the forfeiture of rights, provided that the shares in question are entered in the shareholder’s book-entry account no later than by 23 December 2026. The forfeiture of rights would apply to all shares in the joint account thereafter.

12                           Closing of the meeting

2. Documents of the Extraordinary General Meeting

This invitation to the Extraordinary General Meeting, containing all the decision proposals on the matters on the agenda of the meeting, is available on Aspo’s website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026. The Finnish language version of this invitation will also be sent by mail to each shareholder whose address is known to the Company.

The Demerger Plan (including the proposal for the Articles of Association of ESL Shipping Group, the proposed charter of ESL Shipping Group’s Shareholders’ Nomination Board and a preliminary presentation of the balance sheets of Aspo and ESL Shipping Group), Aspo’s annual review for the financial year ended 31 December 2025 and annual reports for the financial years ended 31 December 2024 and 2023 (including the Financial Statements, the Reports of the Board of Directors, and the Auditor’s Reports), Aspo’s half-year financial report for the period ended 30 June 2026 as well as interim reports for the periods ended 31 March 2026 and 30 September 2026, the minutes of Aspo’s Annual General Meeting held on 17 April 2026, and all other documents which according to the Finnish Companies Act shall be kept available for the shareholders, will be available on the abovementioned website as of 7 November 2026 at the latest. The Remuneration Policy of ESL Shipping Group will be available on the abovementioned website as of 16 November 2026 at the latest. This invitation and other documents mentioned above are also available at the Extraordinary General Meeting.

The Company will draw up and publish a Finnish language demerger and listing prospectus and an English language translation thereof, which will contain more detailed information on the Demerger and on ESL Shipping Group. The demerger and listing prospectus will be made available on Aspo’s website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026 prior to the Extraordinary General Meeting.

The minutes of the Extraordinary General Meeting will be available on the aforementioned website no later than 21 December 2026.

3. Instructions for the participants in the Extraordinary General Meeting

1                             Shareholder registered in the shareholders’ register

Each shareholder, who on the record date of the Extraordinary General Meeting, 25 November 2026, is registered in the Company’s shareholders’ register maintained by Euroclear Nordics Ltd, has the right to participate in the Extraordinary General Meeting. A shareholder whose shares are registered on their personal Finnish book-entry account or equity savings account is registered in the Company’s shareholders’ register. The possibility of using a proxy representative is described below.

Registration for the meeting and advance voting will begin on 22 October 2026, at 10.00 a.m. (Finnish time). A shareholder who is registered in the Company’s shareholders’ register and who wishes to participate in the Extraordinary General Meeting must register for the meeting and, if applicable, vote in advance no later than by 30 November 2026, at 4.00 p.m. (Finnish time) by which time the registration and possible advance votes must be received. The instructions for advance voting are presented below.

The registration can be done in the following ways:

1. on Aspo’s website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026

Electronic registration through the website requires strong electronic authentication of the shareholder or the shareholder’s proxy representative or legal representative with a Finnish, Swedish or Danish bank ID or mobile certificate.

2. by regular mail to Innovatics Oy, Yhtiökokous / Aspo, Ratamestarinkatu 13 A, FI-00520 Helsinki, Finland.

Shareholders registering by mail shall submit the registration form and possible advance voting form available on the Company’s website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026 or corresponding information in the message.

3. by e-mail to egm@innovatics.fi

Shareholders registering by e-mail shall submit the registration form and possible advance voting form available on the Company’s website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026 or corresponding information in the message.

In connection with the registration, a shareholder is required to provide the requested information, such as their name, date of birth or business ID, address, telephone number or e-mail address as well as the name of a possible authorized proxy representative, legal representative or assistant, the date of birth of the authorized proxy representative or legal representative and their telephone number and/or e-mail address. The personal data given to Aspo or Innovatics Oy will be used only in connection with the Extraordinary General Meeting and the processing of related necessary registrations. More information on the processing of the personal data is available in the privacy policy of Aspo’s Extraordinary General Meeting, which is available on the website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026.

A shareholder and their possible authorized proxy representative, legal representative, or assistant must be able to prove their identity and/or right of representation upon request at the Extraordinary General Meeting.

Additional information regarding registration and advance voting is available by phone during the registration period for the General Meeting from Innovatics Oy’s phone number +358 10 2818 909 on weekdays between 9 a.m. to 12 noon and between 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Finnish time).

2                             Holders of nominee-registered shares

A holder of nominee registered shares has the right to participate in the Extraordinary General Meeting by virtue of such shares, based on which they would be entitled to be registered in the shareholders’ register of the Company held by Euroclear Nordics Ltd on the record date of the meeting, 25 November 2026. In addition, the right to participate in the Extraordinary General Meeting requires that the shareholder, on the basis of such shares, has been temporarily registered into the shareholders’ register held by Euroclear Nordics Ltd at the latest by 2 December 2026, by 10.00 a.m. (Finnish time). For nominee registered shares, this constitutes due registration for the Extraordinary General Meeting.

A holder of nominee registered shares is advised to request well in advance the necessary instructions regarding the temporary registration in the Company’s shareholders’ register, the issuing of proxy documents and voting instructions, registration for the Extraordinary General Meeting and advance voting from his/her custodian bank. The account manager of the custodian bank shall register a holder of nominee registered shares, who wants to participate in the Extraordinary General Meeting, temporarily into the Company’s shareholders’ register at the latest by the time stated above and, if necessary, take care of advance voting on behalf of the nominee-registered shareholder prior to the expiry of the registration period for nominee-registered shareholders. Further information is also available on the Company’s website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026.

3                             Proxy representatives and powers of attorney

A shareholder may participate in the General Meeting and exercise their rights at the meeting by way of proxy representation. A proxy representative may also choose to vote in advance as described in this invitation. If the proxy representative registers electronically, the proxy representative must verify their identity in the electronic registration service with strong electronic identification, after which they can register on behalf of the shareholder they represent. The same applies to electronic advance voting.

If a shareholder participates in the Extraordinary General Meeting by means of several proxy representatives representing the shareholder with shares in different securities accounts, the shares by which each proxy representative represents the shareholder shall be identified in connection with the registration for the Extraordinary General Meeting.

The shareholder’s proxy representative must present a dated power of attorney or otherwise provide reliable evidence that they are entitled to represent the shareholder at the General Meeting. A template proxy is available on the Company’s website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026.

Any proxies are requested to be submitted primarily as an attachment in connection with the electronic registration or alternatively by mail to Innovatics Oy, Yhtiökokous / Aspo, Ratamestarinkatu 13 A, FI-00520 Helsinki, Finland or by email to egm@innovatics.fi before the end of the registration period. In addition to submitting the proxies, the shareholder or their proxy representative must ensure that they have registered for the General Meeting as described above in this invitation.

As an alternative to a traditional proxy, shareholders can use the electronic Suomi.fi proxy service to authorize a proxy representative. The proxy representative is named in the Suomi.fi service at www.suomi.fi/e-authorizations (authorization matter “Representation at the general meeting”). In the general meeting service, the proxy representative must verify their identity with strong electronic authentication when registering, after which the electronic authorization is automatically checked. Strong electronic authentication is done with bank ID or mobile certificate. More information about electronic authorization is available at www.suomi.fi/e-authorizations.

4                             Voting in advance

Shareholders with a Finnish book-entry account or equity savings account may also vote in advance on agenda items 6 to 11 of the Extraordinary General Meeting during the period between 22 October 2026, at 10.00 a.m. (Finnish time) – 30 November 2026, at 4.00 p.m. (Finnish time).

Advance voting can be done in the following ways:

1. on Aspo’s website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026

Advance voting requires that the shareholder or their legal representative or authorized proxy representative uses strong electronic authentication with bank ID or mobile certificate.

2. by submitting the advance voting form available on the Company’s website or corresponding information to Innovatics Oy by mail at the following address: Innovatics Oy, Yhtiökokous / Aspo, Ratamestarinkatu 13 A, FI-00520 Helsinki, Finland.
3. by submitting the advance voting form available on the Company’s website or corresponding information to Innovatics Oy by e-mail to egm@innovatics.fi.

The advance voting form is available on the Company’s website. A possible legal representative or authorized proxy representative of a shareholder must in connection with delivering the voting form provide a dated proxy or otherwise in a reliable manner demonstrate their right to represent the shareholder at the Extraordinary General Meeting.

Advance votes must be received before the end of the advance voting period. Submitting advance votes in this manner before the end of the registration and advance voting period is considered due registration for the General Meeting, if it contains the information required for registration mentioned in section C.1 above.

It is not possible for shareholders having voted in advance to use the right to request information, the right to request a vote or to vote on a possible counterproposal as stipulated in the Finnish Companies Act unless the shareholder participates in the Extraordinary General Meeting at the meeting venue in person or by way of proxy representation.

With respect to nominee registered shareholders, the advance voting takes place through their account manager. The account manager may vote in advance on behalf of the nominee registered shareholders represented by it in accordance with the provided voting instructions during the registration period for the nominee registered shares.

The agenda items subject to advance voting are deemed to have been presented unchanged at the general meeting. The terms related to the electronic advance voting and other instructions regarding the advance voting are available on the Company’s website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026.

5                             Other instructions and information

The Extraordinary General Meeting will be held in Finnish.

The Extraordinary General Meeting can be followed via a webcast on the website at www.aspo.com/egm-2026. It is not possible to ask questions, make counterproposals, otherwise address the meeting, or vote via webcast, and following the meeting via webcast is not considered participation in the Extraordinary General Meeting or exercise of the shareholder rights.

Pursuant to Chapter 5, Section 25 of the Finnish Companies Act, a shareholder who is present at the general meeting has the right to request information with respect to matters to be handled at the meeting.

Changes in the shareholding after the record date of the Extraordinary General Meeting do not affect the right to participate in the Extraordinary General Meeting or the number of voting rights held in the Extraordinary General Meeting.

Aspo has on the date of this invitation to the Extraordinary General Meeting, on 21 October 2026, a total of 31,419,779 shares and votes. The Company holds on the date hereof a total of 81,057 treasury shares, in respect of which voting rights cannot be exercised at the Extraordinary General Meeting.

Information about parking arrangements at Finlandia Hall is available on finlandiatalo.fi/en/finlandia-hall/location-transportation/. Aspo does not pay parking fees.

In Espoo, 21 October 2026

Aspo Plc
The Board of Directors

This document is not an offer for sale of securities. The ESL Shipping Group Plc shares referred to herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may only be offered or sold pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements thereof. This document shall not be published or disseminated, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in Australia, Canada, Hongkong, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa or Singapore or any other country where publication or dissemination would be unlawful. This document is not an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any such jurisdiction where such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration, exemption from registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

For more information, please contact:
Taru Uotila, Senior Vice President, Legal and Sustainability, Aspo Plc, tel. +358 40 8622 318, taru.uotila@aspo.com

DISTRIBUTION:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Key media
www.aspo.com

^{Aspo creates value by owning and developing business operations sustainably and in the long term. Aspo’s businesses – ESL Shipping and Telko – enable future-proof, sustainable choices for customers in various industries. Established in 1929, today we are together about 650 experts on land and at sea. While the Nordic region is our core market, we serve our customers with world-class solutions in 18 countries around Europe and parts of Asia.}

^{Aspo is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki and is headquartered in Finland.}

^{Aspo – Sustainable value creation}

Attachment

• Aspo-Plc-Invitation-to-Extraordinary-General-Meeting-2026

HOUSTON, Oct. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Westlake Corporation (NYSE: WLK) will release its third quarter 2026 earnings prior to the market opening on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. The company will host a conference call at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (10:00 a.m. Central Time) on the same day to discuss the earnings release.

To access the conference by phone, it is necessary to pre-register at https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BIb43f6e616a634ff28258b88359118d2b. Once registered, you will receive a phone number and unique PIN number. When you dial in, you will input the PIN number to be placed into the call.

The conference call and replay will be available via webcast at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/myjybcxp and the earnings release can be obtained via the company’s Web page at https://investors.westlake.com.

About Westlake:

Celebrating 40 years of operations in 2026, Westlake is a global manufacturer and supplier of materials and innovative products that enhance life every day. Headquartered in Houston, with operations in Asia, Europe and North America, we provide the building blocks for vital solutions — from housing and construction, to packaging and healthcare, to automotive and consumer goods. For more information, visit Westlake’s web site at www.westlake.com.

For Further Information Contact:
Media Relations – L. Ben Ederington – 713.960.9111
Investor Relations – Jonathan Baksht – 713.960.9111