Breaking News

111 Inc. announced that its board has received an unsolicited preliminary non-binding proposal letter jointly submitted by Gang Yu, co-founder and co-chairman of the company, Junling Liu, cofounder, co-chairman and chief executive officer of the company and Shanghai Guosheng Capital, proposing to acquire all of outstanding Class A ordinary shares of the Company, including Class A Shares represented by American depositary shares, that are not currently owned by the Buyer Group in a going-private transaction at a proposed purchase price of $1.83 per Class A share or US$3.66 per ADS in cash. According to the proposal, the buyer group intends to fund the consideration payable to consummate the transactions contemplated in the proposal with equity capital. Equity financing is expected to be provided in the form of rollover equity in the company and cash contributions from the Sponsor or its affiliates.

111 Inc. announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission provisionally listed the company as a "Commission-Identified Issuer" under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act of the United States. This identification was expected by the company as a routine application procedure following the company's filing of its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 on April 29. This identification indicates that the SEC has determined the company used an auditor whose working paper cannot be inspected or investigated completely by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of the United States, or PCAOB, to issue the audit opinion for the company's financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. The HFCAA requires the SEC to prohibit the securities of a "Commission-Identified Issuer" from being traded on any of the U.S. securities exchanges if the auditor of the covered issuer's financial statements is not subject to inspection by the PCAOB for three consecutive years, beginning in 2021. 111 will continue to monitor developments and has been proactively exploring available options to protect the interest of its shareholders. 111 will continue to comply with applicable laws and regulations in all jurisdictions, including the HFCAA, and strive to maintain its listing status on Nasdaq.

On March 14, 111, Inc. signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Shenzhen BGI Co. under which BGI will supply its SARS-CoV-2 Virus Antigen Detection Kits across China via 111's online pharmacy, 1 Pharmacy, in an effort to boost epidemic prevention and control nationwide. 1 Pharmacy will become the first online retail platform for BGI's SARS-CoV-2 Virus Antigen Detection Kits. According to 111, pre-sale of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus Antigen Detection Kits will start this week. Consumers can place orders via 1 Pharmacy's app.

111 signed a strategic cooperation agreement on direct supply with Xi'an Beilin Pharmaceutical. The cooperation agreement will allow the two sides to fully leverage their respective advantages, explore the digital marketing of Chinese patent medicines, and tap into the resources and broad potential of the market. 111 and Beilin Pharmaceutical will work together to capitalize on the digital, intelligent and efficient capabilities of the Internet to expand the market coverage of Chinese patent medicines and enhance their accessibility to benefit more users. The cooperation will see 111 proactively integrate its resources and combine them with Beilin Pharmaceutical's strengths to assist in quickly bringing its high-quality products to the broader market beyond hospitals. The two sides will also engage in the digital marketing of Chinese patent medicines, big data application and brand co-building.