Digi International (Nasdaq: DGII), a global provider of IoT connectivity products and solutions, announced Thursday it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Disruptive Technologies, a sensing technology company, for $130 million in cash. The deal will be funded through Digi’s existing revolving credit facility, which the company expanded to $350 million in borrowing capacity just last month. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2026, pending regulatory approval.
Disruptive Technologies brings a notable technical profile to the deal. The company has deployed more than 250,000 proprietary edge sensors globally, each smaller than a postage stamp, with battery life extending up to 15 years, meaningfully longer than most competing sensors on the market. In calendar 2025, the company generated $15 million in revenue with $4 million in annualized recurring revenue. Digi expects the combination to contribute approximately $9 million in additional adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow by fiscal 2028.
The strategic rationale centers on Digi’s SmartSense platform, which is built around a three-part framework the company describes as Sense, Understand, and Act: capturing physical signals from the real world, applying AI and analytics to interpret them, and using generative AI and digital workflows to recommend the next best action. Disruptive Technologies strengthens the foundational Sense layer specifically, and its sensing technology extends SmartSense’s existing reach in food safety and healthcare monitoring into new verticals including building automation and occupancy tracking.
Equally significant is the geographic expansion the deal provides. Disruptive Technologies has established customer relationships and infrastructure across more than 25 countries, giving SmartSense its first meaningful commercial presence in Europe. Digi’s leadership framed the acquisition as establishing a foundational layer for enterprise AI, positioning the combined platform to help multinational customers standardize IoT monitoring across regions on a single system rather than piecing together region-specific vendors. Disruptive Technologies’ own leadership pointed to SmartSense’s market scale and execution as the platform needed to turn its sensing technology into broader commercial value.
The deal arrives on the heels of a strong recent stretch for Digi. The company reported third fiscal quarter 2026 revenue of $139 million, up 29% year over year, with gross margin expanding 130 basis points to 64.8%.
For investors tracking the small cap industrial technology and IoT space, this acquisition is a clean example of a profitable, growing small cap company using its balance sheet strength to acquire differentiated technology and immediate geographic expansion in a single transaction, rather than building European distribution organically over several years. At $130 million against Digi’s own roughly $139 million in quarterly revenue, the deal is sized meaningfully relative to Digi’s business, underscoring real conviction in the physical-world intelligence category as a growth driver for enterprise AI adoption going forward.
Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Equity Research Analyst, Digital, Media & Technology , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Jacob Mutchler, Research Analyst, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.
Portfolio simplification. FLWS agreed to sell PersonalizationMall and Things Remembered to PlanetArt for approximately $45 million. We believe the transaction advances management’s strategy to simplify the business and concentrate resources behind its core brands and higher-return growth opportunities. The transaction is expected to close within the next several weeks.
Debt amendment increases flexibility. Importantly, a recent amendment to the credit agreement allows FLWS to retain a portion of the sale proceeds rather than directing the entire amount toward debt reduction. We estimate that roughly $22.5 million will reduce term debt, while approximately $22.5 million will be available to reinvest in the business.
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*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision.
Peoples Bancorp (Nasdaq: PEBO) and Capital Bancorp (Nasdaq: CBNK) announced Tuesday they have signed a definitive merger agreement under which Peoples will acquire Capital in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $728.1 million. Under the terms of the deal, Capital shareholders will receive 1.11 shares of Peoples common stock for each share they hold, implying a value of $43.75 per Capital share based on Peoples’ 20-day volume-weighted average price of $39.41 as of September 29. The transaction is structured to qualify as a tax-free reorganization and has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards.
Once completed, the combined institution is expected to hold approximately $14 billion in total assets, $10 billion in total loans, and $11 billion in total deposits, with more than 150 banking locations spanning eight states and Washington, D.C., alongside nationwide specialty financial services platforms. Peoples currently operates with $9.5 billion in assets and 144 locations concentrated across Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland. Capital brings $3.9 billion in assets built across four distinct business segments: commercial banking concentrated in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore markets, consumer credit platform OpenSky, government-guaranteed lending servicer Windsor Advantage, and Capital Bank Home Loans. Fee-based revenue made up roughly 22% of Capital’s total revenue in the second quarter of 2026, and Windsor Advantage’s loan servicing portfolio alone totals approximately $3.4 billion.
Peoples’ leadership framed the deal as a deliberate move to diversify well beyond simple scale, pairing Capital’s commercial banking presence in two attractive Mid-Atlantic markets with nationwide specialty businesses that broaden Peoples’ revenue mix beyond traditional community banking. Capital’s leadership, in turn, pointed to the added balance sheet strength, broader product capabilities, and improved share liquidity the combination gives their shareholders and customers, while both sides emphasized a shared relationship-driven, entrepreneurial culture as a key factor in choosing this particular partner.
Financially, Peoples expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to earnings in 2027 before one-time costs, with a tangible book value earnback period of under three years and a pro forma return on average tangible common equity of approximately 20%. Former Capital shareholders are expected to own roughly 32% of the combined company, and three members of Capital’s board will join Peoples’ board following closing. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals. Raymond James advised Peoples on the transaction, while Stephens Inc. advised Capital.
For investors tracking community and regional banking in the small and microcap space, this deal continues a consolidation pattern we detailed closely when covering First Hawaiian’s acquisition of TriCo Bancshares earlier this year. Both Peoples and Capital sit squarely in the small cap universe, and their combination reflects the same underlying pressure driving bank M&A broadly right now: rising funding costs, mounting regulatory compliance burden, and intensifying competition from larger institutions and fintech platforms are pushing smaller banks to pursue scale and revenue diversification through combination rather than organic growth alone. As that pressure persists, transactions structured around complementary business lines rather than simple market overlap, as this one is, are likely to remain the preferred template for community banks choosing their next move.
Scholastic Corporation (Nasdaq: SCHL) announced Tuesday it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cottage Door Press, an independent publisher of early childhood books, for approximately $71 million before customary purchase price adjustments. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2026, pending shareholder approval from one of the sellers, third-party consents, new licensing agreements with certain key licensors, and the completion of a pre-closing separation of Cottage Door’s Luna StoryTime interactive toy line, which will be spun off and is not part of the transaction. Scholastic plans to fund the purchase with cash on hand and borrowings under its existing revolving credit facility.
Founded in 2014, Cottage Door Press has grown into the largest independent children’s publisher in the United States and one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry. It built its business around board books and novelty formats designed for interaction and discovery, an early childhood category Scholastic has identified as a key area for growth. Cottage Door generated approximately $45 million in net revenue and was solidly profitable over the twelve months ended May 31, 2026, implying a purchase price of roughly 1.6 times trailing revenue.
Scholastic executives framed the deal as a strategic fit that pairs Cottage Door’s product innovation and retailer relationships with Scholastic’s distribution scale, including its school-based book clubs and book fairs, classroom libraries, and retail and online channels reaching more than 135 countries. The publisher will operate inside Scholastic’s Children’s Book Group and is expected to keep its existing team and entrepreneurial structure intact following the close, rather than being folded entirely into Scholastic’s operations. Greenhill, a Mizuho affiliate, advised Cottage Door on the transaction.
Financially, Scholastic expects the deal to contribute to both revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2027, and to become accretive, including anticipated synergies, in its second year following closing. Management pointed to further benefits over time as Cottage Door’s titles move through Scholastic’s broader distribution network and as manufacturing and operating efficiencies are realized.
For a company the size of Scholastic, a $71 million acquisition is a relatively contained bet, but it reflects a broader pattern playing out across consumer publishing and media right now: established players with strong distribution networks acquiring smaller, faster-growing, founder-led brands rather than attempting to build the same creative momentum internally. That dynamic is worth watching for investors tracking small and microcap consumer products and publishing companies more broadly. A profitable, founder-built niche publisher generating $45 million in revenue was able to command a meaningful acquisition premium by building genuine category leadership in a specific format, a reminder that scale is not the only path to an attractive exit in consumer media. Smaller companies with differentiated products, loyal retailer relationships, and disciplined profitability continue to be exactly the kind of targets larger, cash-generative acquirers are actively seeking out.
Global bond markets are sending investors a message that has become increasingly difficult to ignore: elevated interest rates may be sticking around longer than markets once expected.
U.S. Treasury yields moved higher again Monday as investors weighed persistent inflation pressures, geopolitical uncertainty, rising energy prices and the prospect of additional Federal Reserve tightening. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed above 5.2%, extending a sharp move that recently pushed it to levels not seen since 2007.
The shift marks a significant reversal from expectations earlier in the year, when investors were anticipating rate cuts in 2026. Instead, resilient economic activity and renewed inflation concerns have forced markets to reconsider the path of monetary policy.
Energy prices remain one of the biggest variables. Brent crude has climbed sharply amid uncertainty surrounding the conflict with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns that elevated energy costs could keep inflation above the Federal Reserve’s comfort zone. Higher oil prices can filter through the economy through transportation, manufacturing and consumer costs, complicating the Fed’s effort to bring inflation under control.
At the same time, the U.S. economy has continued to show resilience. Recent manufacturing and services data have been stronger than expected, reducing the urgency for policymakers to ease monetary conditions. The combination of firm growth and persistent inflation has increased expectations that the Fed could maintain restrictive policy — or tighten further — rather than quickly pivot toward lower rates.
That repricing has been particularly visible in shorter-term Treasurys. The two-year yield, which tends to be highly sensitive to expectations for Federal Reserve policy, has risen sharply during September. Markets are now assigning a significant probability to another Fed rate increase in October, with additional tightening priced into the coming year.
Higher Treasury yields have implications well beyond the bond market.
Government bond yields serve as important benchmarks for borrowing costs across the economy, influencing everything from mortgages and corporate debt to business investment. Thirty-year mortgage rates have already climbed to around 7.5%, adding another challenge for an already affordability-constrained housing market.
Equity investors are also paying close attention. Higher yields increase the discount rate applied to future corporate earnings, which can put particular pressure on growth-oriented companies whose valuations depend heavily on profits expected further into the future. The relationship between stocks and bonds has become increasingly sensitive to inflation expectations, with rising yields recently acting as a headwind for equities.
There is also a longer-term issue facing the Treasury market: supply. Rising government borrowing requirements are increasing the amount of debt investors must absorb, while corporations are simultaneously raising significant amounts of capital for artificial intelligence, data centers and other large infrastructure investments. That competition for capital could help keep longer-term borrowing costs elevated even if inflation eventually moderates.
For investors, the question is increasingly shifting from when rates will fall to how long elevated yields can persist.
A meaningful decline in oil prices, softer economic data or easing geopolitical tensions could take some pressure off the bond market. Until then, Treasury yields above 5% may remain an important force shaping valuations, borrowing costs and investor sentiment across financial markets.
American consumers are getting more nervous, and this morning’s data shows exactly why. The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 48.1 in September, down from 51.7 in August — a four-month low. Consumers’ expectations for their own personal finances weakened by roughly 10% month over month. The reading came in slightly above the Street’s estimate of 47.5, but that’s cold comfort against a backdrop of rising grocery bills and gas prices squeezing household budgets nationwide.
Inflation is the headline culprit. Consumers’ outlook for inflation over the next year jumped to 4.6% in September, up from 4% in August — the highest reading since June and well above the 3.4% expectation seen in February. Long-term inflation expectations climbed to 3.4%, breaking a three-month streak at 3.3% and staying above the 2.8%–3.2% range that held throughout 2024.
Gas is the clearest pain point. Prices have risen more than $1.50 a gallon on average since the war with Iran began, with the national average creeping toward $5 and California above $6, according to AAA. Trade policy is adding pressure too: talks between the US and Canada collapsed in late August, and President Trump responded with 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods. On the other side of the ledger, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week confirmed the US and China will extend their trade truce into early 2027, which offers some stability but hasn’t been enough to offset the broader mood.
Joanne Hsu, the survey’s director, said near-term business expectations dropped sharply on fresh fears that high fuel costs and escalating trade fights could ripple through the broader economy. She also noted the pessimism is showing up across the political spectrum, not just in one voter bloc.
Large-cap consumer names have pricing power, scale, and diversified revenue to absorb a soft-sentiment quarter. Small and microcap consumer companies don’t have that cushion. Thinner margins, less inventory flexibility, and heavier reliance on discretionary spend mean a pullback in consumer confidence shows up faster in same-store sales, traffic, and guidance revisions — and it shows up faster in the stock price too, since these names already trade on lower liquidity and less analyst coverage.
The flip side: this is exactly the environment where differentiated research matters most. More than half of US companies with market caps under $250 million carry no analyst coverage at all, which means sentiment-driven selloffs in this space are often indiscriminate — good operators get punished alongside weak ones simply because nobody’s publishing a view. For investors willing to do the work, that disconnect is where the opportunity sits.
A few consumer-facing companies in Noble Capital Markets’ equity research coverage sit directly in the path of this sentiment shift. Vince Holding Corp. (NYSE: VNCE), a contemporary apparel retailer that Noble rates Outperform, operates in a premium-price category that’s typically first to feel a discretionary pullback. Lands’ End (NASDAQ: LE), another Noble-covered apparel name, sits in the same discretionary-spending cycle as the rest of this group. Full reports on each are available at no cost on Channelchek, Noble’s research platform.
Sentiment at 48.1 is a four-month low, and the drivers — inflation expectations at their highest since June, gas prices pushing toward $5-$6 a gallon, and fresh tariff friction — aren’t showing signs of easing this quarter. For small and microcap consumer names, that means tighter scrutiny on Q3 guidance and same-store sales commentary in the weeks ahead.
Homebuyers hoping to catch a break before the year winds down are getting the opposite. The average 30-year mortgage rate jumped to 7.37% on Thursday, the highest level since May 2024, and it’s part of a broader climb that’s been building for weeks. Other trackers, which move a bit slower day to day, confirm the trend: Freddie Mac put the weekly average at 7.03%, while the Mortgage Bankers Association calculated it at 7.12% — both the highest readings since May 2024. As of today, purchase rates on a 30-year fixed sit around 7.20%, with 15-year fixed loans closer to 6.69%. Refinance rates are running similarly, at roughly 7.13% for a 30-year fixed and 6.59% for a 15-year.
The reason rates keep climbing comes down to the bond market. Mortgage rates track the 10-year Treasury yield closely, and that yield has been on a tear, topping 5.1% this week for the first time in 19 years. Investors are demanding more return on that debt because of rising concern over oil prices, persistent inflation, and expectations that the Federal Reserve may need to hike rates further rather than ease up. When bond investors get spooked about inflation eating into their returns, they sell, yields rise to compensate, and mortgage rates follow right along. The timing is especially rough for buyers hoping to close before the 2026 season wraps and everyone shifts attention to the holidays.
What this actually means depends on where you sit. For buyers, every fraction of a percentage point compounds over 30 years — on a $400,000 loan, the gap between a 6.5% and 7.4% rate works out to roughly $230 more per month, or over $80,000 across the life of the loan. That’s exactly why locking your rate once you’ve found the house matters so much in a volatile stretch like this. For anyone considering a refinance, the math is less about whether now is universally “good” and more about your personal break-even point — the common rule of thumb is that it’s worth it if you can drop your rate by one to two percentage points, but you have to weigh that against closing costs, which typically run 2% to 6% of the loan amount, and how long you actually plan to stay in the home. And regardless of which side you’re on, the things you can control still move the needle: credit score, debt-to-income ratio, and down payment size all directly affect the rate a lender offers, so shopping around across banks, credit unions, and mortgage-specific lenders is worth the effort even when the overall market is expensive.
Zoomed out, today’s rates sting compared to the pandemic-era lows everyone remembers — the lowest 30-year rate on record was 2.65% back in January 2021, and it’s extremely unlikely we see anything close to that again soon. But rates near 7.4% are still within a historically normal range once you look back further than the last five years. That’s not much comfort if you’re staring down a monthly payment, but it’s useful context for understanding where we actually are, versus where we got used to being.
Shares of several US-listed companies with exposure to Greenland exploded higher Monday after the United States, Denmark, and Greenland reached an agreement on expanded American security arrangements on the Arctic territory. Greenland Energy surged more than 165% in premarket trading, Greenland Mines climbed over 110%, and Critical Metals Corp rose nearly 30%. The moves reflect genuine excitement about what this agreement could eventually unlock, though the timeline and feasibility of actually extracting Greenland’s mineral wealth remain far less certain than the stock charts suggest.
The framework, announced September 18 and expected to be formally signed this week during the United Nations General Assembly, expands US defense construction rights on the island, granting Washington unilateral authority to build and expand military infrastructure without case-by-case approval from Copenhagen or Nuuk. It also guarantees permanent basing, transit, and overflight rights, while formally restricting adversary nations, specifically China and Russia, from establishing military positions or making what the agreement calls sensitive investments, a provision that appears squarely aimed at critical minerals and mining. Importantly, Greenland’s sovereignty remains fully with the Kingdom of Denmark under the deal, and the agreement still requires parliamentary approval before taking effect, meaning this is a framework, not yet a finalized, binding arrangement.
The strategic logic is straightforward on paper. Greenland sits on substantial untapped reserves of rare earth elements, the materials essential to defense systems, electric vehicles, and advanced electronics, and a security agreement that locks out Chinese and Russian involvement positions the island as a potential Western alternative to China’s current dominance of the global rare earth supply chain, a theme we detailed closely when covering Energy Fuels’ recent mine-to-magnet acquisition earlier this year.
The three companies driving today’s rally each have a distinct claim to that opportunity. Critical Metals Corp is developing the Tanbreez rare earths mine in southern Greenland and already holds a 15-year offtake partnership with magnet manufacturer REalloys covering up to 15% of the project’s future production. Greenland Mines is advancing the Skaergaard project, one of the world’s largest undeveloped palladium, gold, and platinum deposits, alongside a separate neodymium-praseodymium rare earths project. Greenland Energy is pursuing oil and gas exploration rather than rare earths specifically, though it recently delayed its own drilling plans after Greenland’s government issued a formal warning to its joint venture partner over bringing equipment ashore without proper authorization, a reminder that operating in Greenland carries real regulatory friction even with Washington’s backing.
Independent industry analysts have raised serious and specific concerns about how quickly, or whether, any of this translates into actual production. Multiple recent assessments from mining and metals consultancies note that Greenland’s rare earth deposits face unresolved processing economics, significant Arctic infrastructure deficits, no existing non-Chinese separation capacity anywhere on the island, and in some cases genuine radioactive waste concerns tied to the specific mineralogy of these deposits. Outside the capital city of Nuuk, much of Greenland depends on ships, aircraft, and dog sleds for basic transport, and its harsh climate and remoteness substantially raise the cost of any extraction effort. As several analysts have put it, security guarantees may attract Western capital, but they cannot substitute for proven metallurgy, functioning ports, reliable power, skilled labor, and an actual mine-to-magnet supply chain, all of which still need to be built essentially from scratch.
Greenland is not the only place this strategic push is playing out, and investors don’t need direct exposure to the island itself to participate in the broader theme. A wider push toward allied, non-Chinese critical mineral development has been building across North America for the past several years, with junior mining companies in the United States and Canada working to establish domestic and allied supply chains for materials the world currently sources overwhelmingly from China. Companies like Century Lithium Corp and Tectonic Metals Inc, both developing projects in North American jurisdictions, are not connected to today’s Greenland agreement in any way, but they operate in the same strategic category, positioning allied-nation mineral resources as an alternative to Chinese dominance, that is fueling investor enthusiasm for Greenland right now.
For investors, today’s moves are a clear example of a security and geopolitical catalyst driving share prices far ahead of underlying commercial reality. That doesn’t mean the opportunity isn’t real, both the Trump administration’s strategic interest and the individual companies’ project economics could genuinely develop over time. But the gap between a triple-digit percentage stock move today and a functioning rare earth supply chain years from now is substantial, and investors should weigh the extraction and infrastructure challenges just as carefully as the geopolitical tailwind.
CHICAGO, Sept. 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MAIA Biotechnology, Inc. (NYSE American: MAIA) (“MAIA”, the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing immunotherapies for cancer, today announced that Board member Ramiro Guerrero, JD, LL.M. has increased his ownership stake in the Company through open market purchases totaling approximately $252,284. A total of 185,078 shares of MAIA common stock were acquired by Mr. Guerrero between August 20, 2026, and September 10, 2026, at an average common stock price of $1.36. MAIA also announced that 73,000 shares of MAIA common stock were acquired by Founder and CEO Vlad Vitoc, M.D. on September 14, 2026, at an average common stock price of $1.37.
“Our increased investments reflect the confidence we share across our leadership team in MAIA’s science, clinical strategy and long-term commercial potential,” said Dr. Vitoc. “With a growing body of clinical evidence supporting the ateganosine program, we believe MAIA is entering an increasingly important period in its development.”
“As MAIA has stated previously, its ongoing pivotal Phase 3 trial offers a statistically high probability of technical success,” Mr. Guerrero added. “I continue to believe MAIA is well positioned to create a great deal of value for its shareholders over time.”
MAIA’s ongoing pivotal Phase 3 trial THIO-104 evaluates ateganosine sequenced with checkpoint inhibitor cemiplimab versus investigator’s choice in third-line non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Statistical assessments of ateganosine suggest a high probability of technical success and potential early full commercial approval if Phase 3 interim data is consistent with Phase 2 THIO-101 trial results. MAIA recently announced positive initial efficacy data from the ongoing Phase 2 THIO-101 clinical trial expansion, Part C, with third-line studies showing a disease control rate (DCR) of 90.5%1 in the efficacy evaluable population who had at least one tumor scan after starting treatment.
As of September 14, 2026, MAIA’s directors and officers hold a 21.34% stake in the Company.
About Ateganosine
Ateganosine (THIO, 6-thio-dG or 6-thio-2’-deoxyguanosine) is a first-in-class investigational telomere-targeting agent currently in clinical development to evaluate its activity in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Telomeres, along with the enzyme telomerase, play a fundamental role in the survival of cancer cells and their resistance to current therapies. The modified nucleotide 6-thio-2’-deoxyguanosine induces telomerase-dependent telomeric DNA modification, DNA damage responses, and selective cancer cell death. Ateganosine-damaged telomeric fragments accumulate in cytosolic micronuclei and activates both innate (cGAS/STING) and adaptive (T-cell) immune responses. The sequential treatment of ateganosine followed by PD-(L)1 inhibitors resulted in profound and persistent tumor regression in advanced, in vivo cancer models by induction of cancer type–specific immune memory. Ateganosine is presently developed as a second or later line of treatment for NSCLC for patients that have progressed beyond the standard-of-care regimen of existing checkpoint inhibitors.
About MAIA Biotechnology, Inc.
MAIA is a targeted therapy, immuno-oncology company focused on the development and commercialization of potential first-in-class drugs with novel mechanisms of action that are intended to meaningfully improve and extend the lives of people with cancer. Our lead program is ateganosine (THIO), a potential first-in-class cancer telomere targeting agent in clinical development for the treatment of NSCLC patients with telomerase-positive cancer cells. For more information, please visit www.maiabiotech.com.
Forward Looking Statements
MAIA cautions that all statements, other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels or activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those anticipated by such statements. The use of words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “future,” “potential,” or “continue,” and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements. However, the absence of these words does not mean that statements are not forward-looking. For example, all statements we make regarding (i) the initiation, timing, cost, progress and results of our preclinical and clinical studies and our research and development programs, (ii) our ability to advance product candidates into, and successfully complete, clinical studies, (iii) the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals, (iv) our ability to develop, manufacture and commercialize our product candidates and to improve the manufacturing process, (v) the rate and degree of market acceptance of our product candidates, (vi) the size and growth potential of the markets for our product candidates and our ability to serve those markets, and (vii) our expectations regarding our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our product candidates, are forward looking. All forward-looking statements are based on current estimates, assumptions and expectations by our management that, although we believe to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain. Any forward-looking statement expressing an expectation or belief as to future events is expressed in good faith and believed to be reasonable at the time such forward-looking statement is made. However, these statements are not guarantees of future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties and other factors beyond our control that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it was made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In this release, unless the context requires otherwise, “MAIA,” “Company,” “we,” “our,” and “us” refers to MAIA Biotechnology, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
September 9, 2026 – Vancouver, Canada – Century Lithium Corp. (TSXV: LCE) (OTCQX: CYDVF) (Frankfurt: C1Z) (“Century Lithium” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce that it has submitted the Mine Plan of Operations (“PoO” or “Plan”) and Nevada Reclamation Permit Application for the Company’s 100%-owned Angel Island Mine Project (“Angel Island” or the “Project”) in Esmeralda County, Nevada, USA. The PoO was submitted on September 3, 2026, to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”), Battle Mountain District, Tonopah Field Office. The PoO is the proposed action for the Project and is the document upon which the BLM will base its environmental analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). It was prepared in accordance with BLM surface management regulations at 43 CFR Subpart 3809 and Nevada reclamation regulations at NAC 519A.
“The submission of the Mine Plan of Operations for Angel Island is a substantial milestone for Century Lithium,” said Bill Willoughby, President and CEO of Century Lithium. “It defines the Project the BLM will analyze, starts the clock on the environmental review, and reflects multiple years of baseline data collection, engineering, and coordination with the agencies. With the PoO completed, our focus turns to supporting the BLM and the third-party NEPA contractor toward a final Project approval through a Record of Decision.”
The PoO describes the mine, the processing plant, and the supporting infrastructure, and defines the process for reclamation of the land when mining is complete, and was submitted by the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Cypress Holdings (Nevada), Ltd., the operator of record for the Project.
The Angel Island Lithium Project
Angel Island is an advanced-stage, sedimentary lithium project located in Clayton Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada, approximately six miles east of Silver Peak and 41 road-miles southwest of Tonopah. The Project Area covers 5,379 acres of BLM-administered public land held under federal mining claims. As described in the PoO, the proposed operation would result in approximately 2,364 acres of disturbance.
Key elements of the proposed operation, as set out in the PoO, include (see 2026FS):
Shallow Surface Mine. Lithium-bearing claystones allow mining in six pit phases with minimal overburden and low strip ratio. No drilling or blasting is anticipated; the ore will be ripped, loaded, and hauled to the processing facility.
Staged Growth. A two-phase development, with an initial production rate of approximately 8,300 tons per day (“tpd”) for the first four years of operation, increasing to a maximum of up to 16,500 tpd in years five through 40.
On-site Processing to Battery-grade Lithium Carbonate. Processing by agitated tank leaching, solid/liquid separation, Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”), and crystallization to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate. The process circuit is closed-loop and designed to operate with recycled water.
Salt-based Reagents. A chlor-alkali plant will produce hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide, both required by the process circuit, with surplus sodium hydroxide to be sold into the open market. Sodium hydroxide is a product of the processing circuit and is not derived from material mined from the Project.
Support Facilities. Included are two waste rock storage facilities, two low-grade ore stockpiles, a dry-stack tailings storage facility, heavy- and light-vehicle roads, and a warehouse, office, shop, and laboratory.
Grid Power. 53 MW in Phase 1 and 106 MW in Phase 2 are to be supplied by a transmission-voltage connection, with the Company’s preferred route tying into the new Esmeralda substation on the NV Energy Greenlink West corridor.
Water Supply. Process make-up water is to be obtained under the Company’s existing water rights from a well approximately 11 miles south of the Project and delivered to site via a buried 12-inch pipeline on BLM land, for which biological and cultural baseline surveys were completed.
Workforce. A workforce of approximately 275 full-time personnel is anticipated during operations, with a temporary peak of approximately 450 during construction.
Next Steps and Permitting Schedule
Angel Island is a Transparency Project under the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council’s FAST-41 program, with the BLM as lead agency. FAST-41 status provides coordinated federal oversight, publicly tracked milestones, and schedule transparency through the Permitting Dashboard for Federal Infrastructure Projects. The Permitting Dashboard currently shows an estimated completion date for environmental review and permitting of February 4, 2028. As with any federal schedule, the timetable may be adjusted as the review proceeds, and updates are posted on the Permitting Dashboard.
With the PoO submitted, the BLM will complete a 30-day regulatory review of the Plan for completeness and adequacy. Once the Plan is deemed complete, the third-party NEPA contractor will begin environmental analysis of the Project and will develop the Supplemental Information Report (“SIR”) and the Supplemental Environmental Reports (“SERs”) to support the NEPA document. Once the SIR and SERs are completed, the Administrative Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) can be prepared, after which the BLM is expected to publish a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register and initiate public scoping, ultimately leading to a Record of Decision (“ROD”). The anticipated sequence of milestones is summarized below.
Milestone
Target
Status / Notes
PoO and Nevada Reclamation Permit Application submitted
September 3, 2026
Completed
BLM completeness review
Q4 2026
In Progress
Notice of Intent published in Federal Register initiating public scoping period
Q2 2027
Estimated
Additional baseline data collection
Q2 2027
If required
Notice of Availability for EIS, ROD, and PoO published in Federal Register
Q1 2028
Anticipated
Note: Target dates are anticipated dates based on the schedule prepared for the Project by the Company, BLM, and the third-party contractor.
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In parallel with the federal process, the Company continues to advance state and local permitting in Nevada and prepare the Water Pollution Control Permit application package, which includes detailed engineering of Project components and facilities. Ongoing metallurgical test work continues in support of the Angel Island flowsheet, including definition of supporting project infrastructure, including power and water delivery.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information in this news release was reviewed and approved by William Willoughby, PhD, PE, President and Chief Executive Officer of Century Lithium Corp., who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
ABOUT CENTURY LITHIUM CORP.
Century Lithium Corp. is an advanced-stage lithium development company focused on its 100%-owned Angel Island lithium project in Esmeralda County, Nevada. Angel Island hosts one of the largest known sedimentary lithium deposits in the United States and is designed with an integrated, end-to-end process for the on-site production of battery-grade lithium carbonate to support the electric vehicle and battery storage markets.
The Company has developed a patent-pending process that incorporates hydrochloric acid leaching combined with direct lithium extraction to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate. As part of the integrated chlor-alkali process, Angel Island is designed to produce sodium hydroxide as a co-product, with planned surplus sales expected to lower operating costs, reduce reliance on externally sourced reagents, and minimize environmental impacts.
Century Lithium is currently advancing Angel Island through the permitting process.
All inferences to mining, processing and economics for Angel Island herein are from the Updated NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Feasibility of the Clayton Valley Lithium Project, Esmeralda County, Nevada, USA, January 3, 2026 (“2026FS”), which is available on SEDAR+ and the Company’s website.
Century Lithium trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “LCE” the OTCQX under the symbol “CYDVF” and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol “C1Z”.
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.
This release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved” and similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook.
Forward-looking statements relate to any matters that are not historical facts and statements of our beliefs, intentions and expectations about developments, results and events which will or may occur in the future, without limitation, statements with respect to the potential development and value of the Project and benefits associated therewith, statements with respect to the expected project economics for the Project, such as estimates of life of mine, lithium prices, production and recoveries, capital and operating costs, IRR, NPV and cash flows, any projections outlined in the Feasibility Study in respect of the Project, the permitting status of the Project and the Company’s future development plans.
These and other forward-looking statements and information are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the ability of the Company to control or predict, that may cause their actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, and are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein.These risks include those described under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s most recent annual information form and its other public filings, copies of which can be under the Company’s profile at www.sedarplus.ca. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update-forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Furthermore, Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Enbridge announced Wednesday it has agreed to acquire Salt Creek Midstream’s crude oil gathering business for $600 million in cash, extending its footprint deeper into the Permian Basin’s Delaware sub-basin, one of the most productive and competitive crude-producing regions in North America. The deal gives Enbridge full ownership of the Orla and Wink North gathering systems, along with a 50% interest in the Delaware Crossing system, a joint venture it will now share with Chevron. Together, the acquired infrastructure spans roughly 500 miles of crude gathering pipeline, serving more than 20 producers across approximately 320,000 net dedicated acres under long-term agreements averaging about 10 years remaining. The transaction is expected to close later in 2026 and Enbridge says it will be immediately accretive to both distributable cash flow and earnings per share, with the company’s full-year 2026 guidance left unchanged.
While $600 million is a relatively modest transaction for a company with more than $7 billion in annual growth capital capacity, the strategic logic behind it is worth understanding, because it reflects a broader pattern reshaping the entire energy value chain right now, not just Enbridge’s balance sheet. These gathering systems connect directly into several major Permian takeaway pipelines, including Enbridge’s own majority-owned Gray Oak Pipeline, and ultimately feed into the company’s Ingleside Energy Center, the largest crude export terminal in North America. In other words, Enbridge isn’t just buying pipe in the ground, it’s buying the wellhead connections that feed its existing export infrastructure, capturing more of the value chain from the point oil is produced all the way to the point it leaves the country.
That wellhead-to-water strategy matters for a specific reason tied to where Permian production is heading. Output from the Delaware Basin has continued climbing even as producers maintain tighter capital discipline elsewhere, and long-haul export capacity out of the region has been tightening as a result. Owning the gathering systems that feed into export terminals, rather than just the long-haul pipelines themselves, positions Enbridge to capture additional volumes if and when the next wave of Permian takeaway constraints materializes, a bet on the structural trajectory of US shale production rather than a short-term volume play.
For investors tracking the small and microcap energy space, this deal is a useful signal of where consolidation pressure continues to build. Midstream infrastructure, the pipelines, storage, and gathering systems that move crude and natural gas from wellhead to market, has become one of the more actively contested corners of the energy sector this year, as both large integrated players and smaller specialized operators compete for scarce, strategically located assets. Companies like Summit Midstream Corporation, which operates gathering and processing infrastructure across multiple US shale basins, sit in exactly this part of the value chain, and deals of this size and structure offer a useful read on the kind of asset characteristics, long-term contracts, direct export connectivity, and diversified producer bases, that strategic buyers are willing to pay a premium for right now. On the upstream side, smaller independent producers such as InPlay Oil continue benefiting from the same underlying dynamic driving this transaction, sustained demand for Permian and broader shale production that keeps pressure on the infrastructure required to move it to market.
The Enbridge-Salt Creek deal is not a headline-grabbing transaction on its own. But it is a clean, concrete example of the consolidation logic playing out across the entire energy infrastructure landscape, one that smaller midstream and upstream companies operating in the same basins are positioned to benefit from as that trend continues.
Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) announced Monday it has agreed to acquire privately held Merida Biosciences in an all-cash deal worth up to $2.875 billion, adding a genuinely distinct approach to autoimmune and allergic disease treatment to its growing immunology pipeline. The transaction includes an upfront cash payment plus additional milestone payments tied to future development and regulatory progress, though Lilly has not disclosed the specific breakdown between the two. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.
What makes Merida’s science genuinely interesting is the mechanism itself. Most existing treatments for autoimmune conditions work by broadly suppressing the immune system, which can control symptoms but often leaves patients more vulnerable to infection and other side effects. Merida is developing biologics engineered to do something more precise, selectively identifying and eliminating the specific malfunctioning antibodies, known as autoantibodies, that are actually causing a given disease, while leaving the rest of the immune system intact.
That broader shift toward precision, antibody-targeted immunology is playing out across the sector, not just at Lilly. Smaller clinical-stage companies like Eledon Pharmaceuticals are pursuing a related but distinct approach, targeting the CD40L signaling pathway that drives the immune system’s production of pathogenic antibodies in the first place, rather than eliminating those antibodies after they’ve formed. Eledon’s lead candidate is currently in development for organ transplant rejection and other immune-mediated conditions, illustrating how the industry is converging on more targeted immune intervention from multiple different angles simultaneously.
The company’s lead program, MER511, is currently in Phase 1 development for Graves’ disease and thyroid eye disease, two related conditions caused by autoantibodies that overactivate the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor. Graves’ disease affects an estimated 3 million people in the United States alone, causing an overactive thyroid, while thyroid eye disease can lead to inflammation, eye bulging, double vision, and in severe cases, permanent vision impairment. Early data has reportedly shown the drug substantially lowering the specific antibodies driving both conditions, alongside a favorable initial safety profile.
Beyond its lead asset, Merida’s pipeline includes MER769, an earlier-stage program targeting the antibody responsible for food allergy, asthma, and chronic spontaneous urticaria, along with additional early research in kidney conditions such as membranous nephropathy. That breadth is part of the appeal for Lilly, since a single validated approach to eliminating disease-causing antibodies could theoretically be applied across a range of otherwise unrelated conditions, giving the acquisition multiple potential paths to commercial value rather than resting on one single drug candidate.
This acquisition continues a pattern that has defined Lilly’s strategy through much of 2026. Flush with cash from the success of its weight-loss and diabetes franchise, the company has been unusually active on the acquisition front this year, using that financial strength to diversify its pipeline well beyond obesity and metabolic disease and into other high-value therapeutic categories, immunology chief among them.
For investors tracking the small and microcap biotech space, this deal reinforces a theme that has run through nearly every major pharma acquisition this year. Large, well-capitalized companies continue to pay significant premiums for clinical-stage biotechs with a genuinely differentiated mechanism of action, even when that science is still in early-stage trials with no approved product or meaningful revenue yet. What matters most to these acquirers is a validated, novel approach to a disease category with real unmet need, precisely what Merida’s precision antibody-elimination platform represents here. That pattern is worth watching closely, since it continues to set the valuation benchmark for smaller, independent biotechs pursuing similarly differentiated science across immunology and beyond.
DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng’s hedge fund, High-Flyer Quant, has built pre-IPO positions in several of China’s most closely watched technology listings this year, including memory chipmaker CXMT and humanoid robot maker Unitree Robotics.
Two High-Flyer affiliates, Zhejiang High-Flyer Asset Management and Ningbo High-Flyer Quantitative Investment Management, took positions across a range of sectors ahead of these companies’ public debuts, spanning chip packaging, electronic components, renewable energy, and semiconductor supply-chain businesses. Nearly half of the funds’ allocations this year went to semiconductors and related supply-chain companies.
CXMT was the largest single position, with the two funds holding a combined pre-IPO stake estimated at $26 million. The stock surged 466% on its Shanghai debut last month, briefly making it China’s most valuable listed company, and has gained an additional 20% since then.
The funds also held a pre-IPO stake in Unitree Robotics estimated at $5.8 million. Unitree closed 460% above its IPO price on its first day of trading in Shanghai last week, though the stock has since fallen back about 27% from that peak.
DeepSeek itself took a separate and distinct position in Unitree, acquiring a 2.31% strategic allocation and agreeing to a 36-month lock-up period, three times longer than the 12-month hold most other strategic investors accepted in the same deal. This reflects a different objective than High-Flyer’s approach: DeepSeek’s stake functions as a long-term strategic holding tied to its position in the broader AI supply chain, while High-Flyer’s stake was structured as a return-seeking investment.
These pre-IPO opportunities have emerged in part because Beijing has been encouraging strategically important technology companies to list domestically rather than overseas, creating an environment where funds positioned early in sectors aligned with state industrial priorities, such as semiconductors and robotics, have captured outsized returns.
The strategy has carried real risk. During a global AI-chip selloff in July, only one of High-Flyer’s nine investment products avoided losses that month, according to state-backed media reporting. Chinese quant funds broadly recovered those losses by August.
Separately, DeepSeek’s own capital needs have grown substantially and now diverge sharply from High-Flyer’s scale. DeepSeek opened itself to outside investors for the first time this year, raising 50 billion yuan in its initial funding round, an amount exceeding half of High-Flyer’s total assets under management of 80 billion yuan. DeepSeek is reportedly now in discussions to raise at least $7.4 billion more in a second funding round, which would value the company at $74 billion. High-Flyer and DeepSeek did not respond to requests for comment on these transactions.
