Ant International Wins Champion of NeurIPS Competition of Fairness in AI Face Detection




Ant International Wins Champion of NeurIPS Competition of Fairness in AI Face Detection

• The Challenge: Deepfakes undermine both the accuracy and fairness of AI face detection due to variations in human features.
• The Technology: Ant International’s AI model uses a novel ‘Mixture of Experts’-based Adversarial Debiasing approach to achieve superior fairness and accuracy across diverse demographics.
• The Impact: This advancement strengthens payment security, offering robust protection against deepfake fraud and enhancing eKYC compliance globally.

SINGAPORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ant International, a leading global digital payment, digitisation, and financial technology provider, has won first place at the NeurIPS Competition of Fairness in AI Face Detection.

AI Fairness enhances Financial Security

Studies by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) show that many commercial facial recognition algorithms have significantly higher error rates for women and people of colour largely due to underrepresentation in datasets AI algorithms are trained on. Biased algorithms lead to unfair denials of service and create security vulnerabilities.

The competition at the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, among the world’s most prestigious AI conferences, challenged participants to develop AI models that not only achieve high-utility performance but also demonstrate fairness across demographic subgroups such as gender, age, and skin tone. Ant International emerged first among over 2,100 submissions from 162 teams across the world at the competition. These teams were tasked to detect 1.2 million AI-generated face pictures of humans from different demographic groups.

By combining a Mixture of Experts (MoE) architecture with an internal “bias-detection” mechanism, Ant International’s winning AI model trains competing neural sub-networks – one focused on spotting deepfakes, the other actively challenging it to ignore sensitive traits. This dynamic ensures the system learns to detect only genuine signs of manipulation, not demographic patterns. Trained on globally representative data including real-world payment fraud scenarios, the model delivers robust and equitable performance at scale.

“A biased AI is an insecure AI,” said Dr. Tianyi Zhang, General Manager of Risk Management and Cybersecurity at Ant International. “Our model’s fairness prevents exploitation from deepfakes and ensures reliable identity verification for all users, supporting our mission to deliver secure and inclusive financial services worldwide.”

Applications in Financial Services

Ant International is integrating the NeurIPS-winning technology directly into its payment and financial services to counter deepfake threats and ensure consistent customer experience globally.

• Account protection against deepfake attacks: Ant International’s AI-powered anti-deepfake measures have achieved a detection rate exceeding 99.8%. By prioritising fairness, this ensures robust and consistent protection against sophisticated threats like account takeovers for all demographics across 200 markets worldwide.

• Enhanced compliance for eKYC processes: The company, as well as its financial institution and merchant partners, can leverage the technology to meet stringent global Electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) standards in customer onboarding across different markets, without introducing algorithmic bias.

• Advancing financial inclusion in emerging markets: The development of equitable and accurate AI helps ensure that Ant International can extend services to a broader, more diverse market globally, fostering greater financial inclusion.

Full-cycle security strategy to protect financial transactions

Ant International alongside its partners serve over 150 million merchants and 1.8 billion user accounts worldwide. These services include global wallet gateway Alipay+, merchant payment services Antom, inclusive finance and credit tech services Bettr and global account services WorldFirst.

Ant International has positioned AI security at the core of its operations. It has introduced the AI SHIELD, as a comprehensive, full-lifecycle foundational framework for risk management. Built on the AI Security Docker, this solution reduces risk of AI service vulnerabilities such as unauthorised access and data leakage by 90% through advanced assessment methods and running safeguards.

Risk-management solutions secured by AI SHIELD provide full-lifecycle protection of transactions at Ant International. These solutions protect businesses and users from deepfake attacks, frauds and scams. For instance, account protection solution Alipay+ EasySafePay 360 can reduce account takeover incidence for digital wallet payments by 90%.

About Ant International

With headquarters in Singapore and main operations across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, Ant International is a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider. Through collaboration across the private and public sectors, our unified techfin platform supports financial institutions and merchants of all sizes to achieve inclusive growth through a comprehensive range of cutting-edge digital payment and financial services solutions. To learn more, please visit https://www.ant-intl.com/

Contacts

For media enquiries, please contact
Ant International Global Communications

pr@ant-intl.com

Ant International Wins Champion of NeurIPS Competition of Fairness in AI Face Detection




Ant International Wins Champion of NeurIPS Competition of Fairness in AI Face Detection

• The Challenge: Deepfakes undermine both the accuracy and fairness of AI face detection due to variations in human features.
• The Technology: Ant International’s AI model uses a novel ‘Mixture of Experts’-based Adversarial Debiasing approach to achieve superior fairness and accuracy across diverse demographics.
• The Impact: This advancement strengthens payment security, offering robust protection against deepfake fraud and enhancing eKYC compliance globally.

SINGAPORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ant International, a leading global digital payment, digitisation, and financial technology provider, has won first place at the NeurIPS Competition of Fairness in AI Face Detection.

AI Fairness enhances Financial Security

Studies by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) show that many commercial facial recognition algorithms have significantly higher error rates for women and people of colour largely due to underrepresentation in datasets AI algorithms are trained on. Biased algorithms lead to unfair denials of service and create security vulnerabilities.

The competition at the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, among the world’s most prestigious AI conferences, challenged participants to develop AI models that not only achieve high-utility performance but also demonstrate fairness across demographic subgroups such as gender, age, and skin tone. Ant International emerged first among over 2,100 submissions from 162 teams across the world at the competition. These teams were tasked to detect 1.2 million AI-generated face pictures of humans from different demographic groups.

By combining a Mixture of Experts (MoE) architecture with an internal “bias-detection” mechanism, Ant International’s winning AI model trains competing neural sub-networks – one focused on spotting deepfakes, the other actively challenging it to ignore sensitive traits. This dynamic ensures the system learns to detect only genuine signs of manipulation, not demographic patterns. Trained on globally representative data including real-world payment fraud scenarios, the model delivers robust and equitable performance at scale.

“A biased AI is an insecure AI,” said Dr. Tianyi Zhang, General Manager of Risk Management and Cybersecurity at Ant International. “Our model’s fairness prevents exploitation from deepfakes and ensures reliable identity verification for all users, supporting our mission to deliver secure and inclusive financial services worldwide.”

Applications in Financial Services

Ant International is integrating the NeurIPS-winning technology directly into its payment and financial services to counter deepfake threats and ensure consistent customer experience globally.

• Account protection against deepfake attacks: Ant International’s AI-powered anti-deepfake measures have achieved a detection rate exceeding 99.8%. By prioritising fairness, this ensures robust and consistent protection against sophisticated threats like account takeovers for all demographics across 200 markets worldwide.

• Enhanced compliance for eKYC processes: The company, as well as its financial institution and merchant partners, can leverage the technology to meet stringent global Electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) standards in customer onboarding across different markets, without introducing algorithmic bias.

• Advancing financial inclusion in emerging markets: The development of equitable and accurate AI helps ensure that Ant International can extend services to a broader, more diverse market globally, fostering greater financial inclusion.

Full-cycle security strategy to protect financial transactions

Ant International alongside its partners serve over 150 million merchants and 1.8 billion user accounts worldwide. These services include global wallet gateway Alipay+, merchant payment services Antom, inclusive finance and credit tech services Bettr and global account services WorldFirst.

Ant International has positioned AI security at the core of its operations. It has introduced the AI SHIELD, as a comprehensive, full-lifecycle foundational framework for risk management. Built on the AI Security Docker, this solution reduces risk of AI service vulnerabilities such as unauthorised access and data leakage by 90% through advanced assessment methods and running safeguards.

Risk-management solutions secured by AI SHIELD provide full-lifecycle protection of transactions at Ant International. These solutions protect businesses and users from deepfake attacks, frauds and scams. For instance, account protection solution Alipay+ EasySafePay 360 can reduce account takeover incidence for digital wallet payments by 90%.

About Ant International

With headquarters in Singapore and main operations across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, Ant International is a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider. Through collaboration across the private and public sectors, our unified techfin platform supports financial institutions and merchants of all sizes to achieve inclusive growth through a comprehensive range of cutting-edge digital payment and financial services solutions. To learn more, please visit https://www.ant-intl.com/

Contacts

For media enquiries, please contact
Ant International Global Communications

pr@ant-intl.com

FPT Strengthens South Korea Footprint with Strategic Partnership and Investment in Blueward




FPT Strengthens South Korea Footprint with Strategic Partnership and Investment in Blueward

HANOI, Vietnam–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$FPT #FPT–Global IT corporation FPT and Blueward, formerly ISTN and South Korea’s leading independent SAP consulting and IT services firm, specializing in SAP ERP, announced the signing of a Strategic Investment Agreement and a Master Service Agreement. Through its subsidiary in South Korea, FPT will make a strategic investment to secure up to a 10% equity stake in Blueward. The investment is planned to be completed before Blueward’s IPO in 2028. Both sides aim to strengthen SAP ERP delivery capabilities, deepen consulting expertise, and enhance competitiveness in the Korean enterprise market.

FPT and Blueward will leverage complementary strengths to support large-scale digital transformation programs for South Korea’s leading enterprises. Blueward will contribute deep SAP ERP consulting expertise, established client relationships, and extensive knowledge of the enterprise landscape, while FPT will augment this foundation with nearly 2,000 SAP experts and extensive international experience leading large-scale digital and business transformation initiatives. Together, they will implement co-selling and co-delivery models designed to accelerate execution, optimize costs and enhance service quality for enterprise customers.

The partnership will enable FPT to expand its strategic SAP ERP projects and services across consulting, S/4HANA implementation, SAP BTP extensions, SAP AI use cases, and application management. Beyond SAP ERP, the collaboration will extend into finance and capital markets, leveraging Blueward’s financial consulting expertise and FPT’s capabilities in data, AI, and cloud to deliver integrated solutions for brokerage operations, clearing and settlement, risk management, market surveillance, IFRS reporting, and SAP FI/CO integration.

“Across South Korea and the broader APAC region, demand for integrated SAP solutions continues to rise, especially as more companies accelerate their migration to the next-generation ERP platform, SAP S/4HANA. Leveraging Blueward’s deep local expertise and FPT’s global capabilities in SAP and large-scale digital transformation, we can accompany enterprises in building more agile, intelligent, and competitive operations for the future,” said Nguyen Khai Hoan, FPT Software Senior Executive Vice President, FPT Corporation.

Blueward CEO Kim Jong-do stated: “This investment will provide optimal cost efficiency and trust to our customers, while also marking a significant milestone in Blueward’s leap forward as an AI and cloud-native company. Combining FPT’s global resources with our on-site expertise, we will innovate the development paradigm and demonstrate our strong commitment to supporting our customers to secure a competitive edge in the new digital environment.”

With over two decades of partnership with SAP, FPT has become a key Regional Strategic Partner in APJ, recognized for its excellence in digital transformation and regional delivery. In South Korea, FPT has built a strong presence over nearly a decade, delivering end-to-end SAP business services including SAP Cloud Transformation, SAP AI and ERP offerings through a workforce of more than 300 local professionals and over 2,500 offshore engineers.

About FPT

FPT Corporation (FPT) is a globally leading technology and IT services provider headquartered in Vietnam and operates in three core sectors: Technology, Telecommunications, and Education. Over more than three decades, FPT has consistently delivered impactful solutions to millions of individuals and tens of thousands of organizations worldwide. As an AI-first company, FPT is committed to elevating Vietnam’s position on the global tech map and delivering world-class AI-enabled solutions for global enterprises. FPT focuses on three critical transformations: Digital Transformation, Intelligence Transformation, and Green Transformation. In 2024, FPT reported a total revenue of USD 2.47 billion and a workforce of over 54,000 employees across its core businesses. For more information about FPT’s global IT services, please visit https://fptsoftware.com.

About Blueward

Blueward, formerly ISTN, is South Korea’s leading independent SAP consulting and IT services company, delivering end-to-end SAP ERP capabilities across consulting, implementation, cloud transformation, solution delivery, and application management. With more than 15 years of continuous growth, the company combines deep SAP expertise with advanced cloud and AI capabilities to support digital transformation for major enterprises. Blueward also operates a dedicated financial and capital-markets technology division, providing digital finance solutions such as STO and ATS, along with specialized financial IT consulting services. The company continues to expand its vision as an AI- and cloud-native enterprise, offering SAP-linked solutions, AI-driven platforms, and integrated digital transformation services that help customers build intelligent, resilient, and future-ready operations.

Contacts

Media Contact:
Mai Duong (Ms.)

FPT Corporation

FPT Software PR Manager

MCP.PR@fpt.com

FPT Strengthens South Korea Footprint with Strategic Partnership and Investment in Blueward




FPT Strengthens South Korea Footprint with Strategic Partnership and Investment in Blueward

HANOI, Vietnam–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$FPT #FPT–Global IT corporation FPT and Blueward, formerly ISTN and South Korea’s leading independent SAP consulting and IT services firm, specializing in SAP ERP, announced the signing of a Strategic Investment Agreement and a Master Service Agreement. Through its subsidiary in South Korea, FPT will make a strategic investment to secure up to a 10% equity stake in Blueward. The investment is planned to be completed before Blueward’s IPO in 2028. Both sides aim to strengthen SAP ERP delivery capabilities, deepen consulting expertise, and enhance competitiveness in the Korean enterprise market.

FPT and Blueward will leverage complementary strengths to support large-scale digital transformation programs for South Korea’s leading enterprises. Blueward will contribute deep SAP ERP consulting expertise, established client relationships, and extensive knowledge of the enterprise landscape, while FPT will augment this foundation with nearly 2,000 SAP experts and extensive international experience leading large-scale digital and business transformation initiatives. Together, they will implement co-selling and co-delivery models designed to accelerate execution, optimize costs and enhance service quality for enterprise customers.

The partnership will enable FPT to expand its strategic SAP ERP projects and services across consulting, S/4HANA implementation, SAP BTP extensions, SAP AI use cases, and application management. Beyond SAP ERP, the collaboration will extend into finance and capital markets, leveraging Blueward’s financial consulting expertise and FPT’s capabilities in data, AI, and cloud to deliver integrated solutions for brokerage operations, clearing and settlement, risk management, market surveillance, IFRS reporting, and SAP FI/CO integration.

“Across South Korea and the broader APAC region, demand for integrated SAP solutions continues to rise, especially as more companies accelerate their migration to the next-generation ERP platform, SAP S/4HANA. Leveraging Blueward’s deep local expertise and FPT’s global capabilities in SAP and large-scale digital transformation, we can accompany enterprises in building more agile, intelligent, and competitive operations for the future,” said Nguyen Khai Hoan, FPT Software Senior Executive Vice President, FPT Corporation.

Blueward CEO Kim Jong-do stated: “This investment will provide optimal cost efficiency and trust to our customers, while also marking a significant milestone in Blueward’s leap forward as an AI and cloud-native company. Combining FPT’s global resources with our on-site expertise, we will innovate the development paradigm and demonstrate our strong commitment to supporting our customers to secure a competitive edge in the new digital environment.”

With over two decades of partnership with SAP, FPT has become a key Regional Strategic Partner in APJ, recognized for its excellence in digital transformation and regional delivery. In South Korea, FPT has built a strong presence over nearly a decade, delivering end-to-end SAP business services including SAP Cloud Transformation, SAP AI and ERP offerings through a workforce of more than 300 local professionals and over 2,500 offshore engineers.

About FPT

FPT Corporation (FPT) is a globally leading technology and IT services provider headquartered in Vietnam and operates in three core sectors: Technology, Telecommunications, and Education. Over more than three decades, FPT has consistently delivered impactful solutions to millions of individuals and tens of thousands of organizations worldwide. As an AI-first company, FPT is committed to elevating Vietnam’s position on the global tech map and delivering world-class AI-enabled solutions for global enterprises. FPT focuses on three critical transformations: Digital Transformation, Intelligence Transformation, and Green Transformation. In 2024, FPT reported a total revenue of USD 2.47 billion and a workforce of over 54,000 employees across its core businesses. For more information about FPT’s global IT services, please visit https://fptsoftware.com.

About Blueward

Blueward, formerly ISTN, is South Korea’s leading independent SAP consulting and IT services company, delivering end-to-end SAP ERP capabilities across consulting, implementation, cloud transformation, solution delivery, and application management. With more than 15 years of continuous growth, the company combines deep SAP expertise with advanced cloud and AI capabilities to support digital transformation for major enterprises. Blueward also operates a dedicated financial and capital-markets technology division, providing digital finance solutions such as STO and ATS, along with specialized financial IT consulting services. The company continues to expand its vision as an AI- and cloud-native enterprise, offering SAP-linked solutions, AI-driven platforms, and integrated digital transformation services that help customers build intelligent, resilient, and future-ready operations.

Contacts

Media Contact:
Mai Duong (Ms.)

FPT Corporation

FPT Software PR Manager

MCP.PR@fpt.com

Edgewater Wireless Announces Completion of Eleventh and Twelfth Payments of Debenture Interest




Edgewater Wireless Announces Completion of Eleventh and Twelfth Payments of Debenture Interest

OTTAWA, Ontario–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Edgewater Wireless Systems Inc. (TSX-V: YFI) (OTC: KPIFF) (the “Company” or “Edgewater Wireless”) announces that it has settled its obligation to pay an aggregate of $18,047.12 in interest as of June 1, 2025 and $17,948.49 in interest as of September 1, 2025 to the holders of its unsecured debentures issued September 1, 2022 (the “Debentures”) through the issuance of an aggregate of 360,936 common shares of the Company at a deemed price of $0.05 per share and 276,124 common shares of the Company at a deemed price of $0.065 per share (the “Shares”). The Shares are issued in full satisfaction of the June 1, 2025 and September 1, 2025 interest payment obligations in accordance with the terms of the Debentures. The debt settlement has been approved by the TSX Venture Exchange.

Certain directors of the Company received an aggregate of 121,559 Shares and therefore the share issuance constitutes a “related party transaction” as that term is defined in Multilateral Instrument 61-101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (“MI 61-101”). The Company will rely on the exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 as neither the fair market value of the Shares nor the debt exceeds 25% of the Company’s market capitalization.

About Edgewater Wireless

We make Wi-Fi. Better.

Edgewater Wireless delivers unmatched Wi-Fi QoS—bar none—by intelligently mitigating congestion, managing spectrum allocation in real-time, and autonomously reconfiguring channel and link density—driving economic gains for service providers and their customers through reduced churn, improved efficiency, and high-performance connectivity in dense environments.

Redefining Wi-Fi from the silicon up, Edgewater’s patented, AI-powered Spectrum Slicing platform—delivered through the PrismIQ™ product family—breaks the limits of legacy Wi-Fi by enabling multiple concurrent channels in a single band. Wi-Fi Spectrum Slicing delivers 10x performance and up to 50% lower latency, even for legacy devices. With 26 patents and a fabless model, Edgewater is transforming the economics of Wi-Fi for service providers, OEMs, and enterprises—powering scalable, standards-aligned/leading connectivity across residential, enterprise, and Industrial IoT markets. A Silicon Catalyst portfolio company, Edgewater is building the intelligent wireless foundation for the next era of global connectivity.

Visit https://edgewaterwireless.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts

Edgewater Wireless:

Andrew Skafel, President and CEO

E: andrews@edgewaterwireless.com

Bill Mitoulas, Investor Relations

E: ir@edgewaterwireless.com
T: +1.416.479.9547

Edgewater Wireless Announces Completion of Eleventh and Twelfth Payments of Debenture Interest




Edgewater Wireless Announces Completion of Eleventh and Twelfth Payments of Debenture Interest

OTTAWA, Ontario–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Edgewater Wireless Systems Inc. (TSX-V: YFI) (OTC: KPIFF) (the “Company” or “Edgewater Wireless”) announces that it has settled its obligation to pay an aggregate of $18,047.12 in interest as of June 1, 2025 and $17,948.49 in interest as of September 1, 2025 to the holders of its unsecured debentures issued September 1, 2022 (the “Debentures”) through the issuance of an aggregate of 360,936 common shares of the Company at a deemed price of $0.05 per share and 276,124 common shares of the Company at a deemed price of $0.065 per share (the “Shares”). The Shares are issued in full satisfaction of the June 1, 2025 and September 1, 2025 interest payment obligations in accordance with the terms of the Debentures. The debt settlement has been approved by the TSX Venture Exchange.

Certain directors of the Company received an aggregate of 121,559 Shares and therefore the share issuance constitutes a “related party transaction” as that term is defined in Multilateral Instrument 61-101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (“MI 61-101”). The Company will rely on the exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 as neither the fair market value of the Shares nor the debt exceeds 25% of the Company’s market capitalization.

About Edgewater Wireless

We make Wi-Fi. Better.

Edgewater Wireless delivers unmatched Wi-Fi QoS—bar none—by intelligently mitigating congestion, managing spectrum allocation in real-time, and autonomously reconfiguring channel and link density—driving economic gains for service providers and their customers through reduced churn, improved efficiency, and high-performance connectivity in dense environments.

Redefining Wi-Fi from the silicon up, Edgewater’s patented, AI-powered Spectrum Slicing platform—delivered through the PrismIQ™ product family—breaks the limits of legacy Wi-Fi by enabling multiple concurrent channels in a single band. Wi-Fi Spectrum Slicing delivers 10x performance and up to 50% lower latency, even for legacy devices. With 26 patents and a fabless model, Edgewater is transforming the economics of Wi-Fi for service providers, OEMs, and enterprises—powering scalable, standards-aligned/leading connectivity across residential, enterprise, and Industrial IoT markets. A Silicon Catalyst portfolio company, Edgewater is building the intelligent wireless foundation for the next era of global connectivity.

Visit https://edgewaterwireless.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts

Edgewater Wireless:

Andrew Skafel, President and CEO

E: andrews@edgewaterwireless.com

Bill Mitoulas, Investor Relations

E: ir@edgewaterwireless.com
T: +1.416.479.9547

Panah Master Fund Counters M&A Capital Partners’ Rebuttal to its Previously Submitted Shareholder Proposals




Panah Master Fund Counters M&A Capital Partners’ Rebuttal to its Previously Submitted Shareholder Proposals

TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Panah Master Fund (“the Fund”) today has published its response to the Board of Directors of M&A Capital Partners Co., Ltd. (“MACP” or “the Company”) regarding their opposition to the shareholder proposals submitted by the Fund on 3 October 2025, which will be discussed at the Company’s upcoming 20th Annual General Meeting (“AGM”).

To recap, the Fund has proposed that the Company:

1. Pay a one-time special dividend of ¥940 per share (or ¥990 per share if the Company’s Board of Directors does not propose an appropriation of surplus at the AGM), in order to bring its cash-to-market capitalisation ratio in line with the median of its domestically-listed peers, as well as to improve the Company’s capital efficiency.
2. Implement a total shareholder return ratio of 50% or more relative to earnings per share each fiscal year, with 30% allocated to dividends from surplus and the remaining 20% implemented in the form of either share repurchases or additional dividends; and also establish a Special Committee, comprising all the Company’s outside directors and outside auditors, to provide recommendations to the Board of Directors for improving capital efficiency.

Unfortunately, MACP’s stated opposition to the submitted shareholder proposals is not grounded in any quantitative analysis or substantive business plan that allows investors to determine the Company’s surplus cash assets relative to its future capital investment needs. Instead, the Company continues to make vague qualitative statements regarding the need for “agility” and “flexibility” with respect to its future growth investments and shareholder returns policy, without providing shareholders with any detailed supporting plans. This lack of clarity is unacceptable.

As documented in the Fund’s original shareholder proposal and supporting reasons, the Company is hoarding cash assets well in excess of its ongoing working capital and capital investment needs. As stated in the Fund’s original proposal, this contradicts the basic principles of efficient capital management, lowers the Company’s return on equity (ROE) and return on invested capital (ROIC), and ultimately damages corporate value.

Below is a rebuttal to the Company’s main arguments against the Fund’s shareholder proposals:

1. MACP’s stated vision is to be “the world’s leading investment bank”. This is unrealistic, and raises concern among investors that the Company might seek to use its cash pile to pursue an undisciplined acquisition strategy, which might also include purchases of one or more foreign investment banking firms. The Fund’s strong view is that MACP should remain focused on the Japanese market, where it has already established a leading position. We urge the Company to clarify to all shareholders that any ambition to be “the world’s leading investment bank” merely refers to having a high M&A transaction volume in Japan (which places it at the top of global transaction tables for M&A activity), and that there are no plans to acquire any foreign investment banking firms. The board and management of MACP do not have sufficient foreign language or business experience to evaluate a foreign acquisition, and so any such development would be negatively received by shareholders. A meaningful reduction in the Company’s surplus cash assets, as proposed, would significantly lower the risk of a large-scale acquisition (foreign or otherwise), and likely lead to a positive rerating in the valuation of the Company’s shares.

2. While the Company envisions its acquisitions and investments to lead to further growth and enhance shareholder value, this is not supported by its historical track record. For example, as recently as 30 October 2025, MACP wrote down the value of its acquired company RECOF, demonstrating the fact that this has been a disastrous acquisition which did not, in contrast to MACP’s claims in its recent rebuttal, “[contribute] to the Company’s dramatic growth from 2017 onward”. Rather than making misleading statements of this sort, the Company should explain clearly to investors what mistakes were made before and after the acquisition of RECOF, as well as the key lessons learned. Similarly, the share price of Frontier Management has declined significantly since the date of MACP’s minority investment, and we understand that the Company did not conduct sufficient due diligence in advance of making this investment. MACP should communicate to all shareholders the rationale for the acquisition of this minority stake in Frontier Management, as well as how it will benefit the Company’s future growth strategy.

3. MACP states that paying a one-time special dividend of the amount proposed would “set our dividend payout ratio at approximately 571%”. This is a misleading metric in the context of a one-time special dividend payment. Since the Company’s establishment in October 2005, it has generated abundant cash flow while not paying out dividends for many years, ultimately only introducing a dividend policy (payout ratio of 30%) in the fiscal year ended September 2023. The proposed one-time special dividend should thus be viewed simply as a ‘catch up’ for dividends that the Company should have been paying to its shareholders over the majority of its corporate history. Even after such a large dividend payment, however, the key point to note is that the Company will still hold sufficient cash assets (in line with the median cash-to-market capitalisation ratio of its domestically-listed peers) and therefore retain ample capacity to pursue any reasonable growth strategy.

4. MACP further claims that the payment of a one-time special dividend of the amount proposed would “significantly restrict the agility of [its] growth investments”. It is unclear what the Company’s growth strategies entail, and we therefore encourage the Board of Directors to communicate clearly and in detail the Company’s capital needs to all shareholders. Otherwise, it makes no sense for a capital-light advisory business to hold such a large cash balance despite having no concrete and intelligent plans for its utilisation. This ‘lazy’ balance sheet further suggests that the Company has not paid heed to the most basic principles of efficient capital management, as continuing to hold large amounts of surplus cash lowers the Company’s ROE and ROIC, and ultimately damages corporate value. It also raises questions as to whether the current make-up of the Board of Directors is appropriate, or whether it would be appropriate to replace one or more of the existing Board members with independent candidates who have more relevant financial knowledge and experience.

5. Regarding the implementation of a suggested total shareholder return ratio of 50% or more relative to earnings per share each fiscal year, the Fund is not requesting that the Company implement any near-term share repurchases. Rather, we are proposing that 30% of the shareholder return ratio is allocated to dividends from surplus, and the remaining 20% is allocated flexibly in the form of either share repurchases or additional dividends, depending on prevailing market conditions. This is a capital allocation decision which should be made by the Board of Directors. The Fund’s proposal ensures that shareholder returns will rise, and the Board has the flexibility to return capital to shareholders in the most efficient way possible. It is unclear why the Company is opposing a progressive, shareholder-friendly proposal of this sort.

6. Finally, the Company’s resistance to implementing a Special Committee, comprising all the Company’s outside directors and outside auditors, to provide recommendations to the Board of Directors for improving capital efficiency, suggests that the Board has been captured by the major shareholder of the Company, who is also the President & CEO. We are concerned that the Board has lost its ability to oversee the Company’s management on behalf of all shareholders and to hold them accountable. Otherwise, why would the Board of Directors not agree to implement this relatively straightforward and uncontroversial proposal to help improve governance and accountability to all shareholders.

Call to Action

In summary, the Company’s communication to date with shareholders has been insufficient and severely lacking in detail.

We further note that the 20th AGM to discuss the Fund’s shareholder proposals has been scheduled for 25 December 2025, which is later than usual. Holding the AGM on Christmas Day – a public holiday in many countries – is disrespectful to many of the Company’s foreign shareholders and reflects poorly on the Board of Directors. It seems highly likely that the Company decided to schedule the AGM on this day to suppress participation in the AGM by foreign shareholders, including the Fund.

We therefore urge shareholders to vote FOR the proposals to restore capital discipline at the Company and better align management’s interests with those of all shareholders.

Contacts

Media contact:

JLX Partners Law Office / Foreign Law Joint Enterprise

aiko.oue@jlxpartners.jp
+81-3-4588-4500

Panah Master Fund Counters M&A Capital Partners’ Rebuttal to its Previously Submitted Shareholder Proposals




Panah Master Fund Counters M&A Capital Partners’ Rebuttal to its Previously Submitted Shareholder Proposals

TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Panah Master Fund (“the Fund”) today has published its response to the Board of Directors of M&A Capital Partners Co., Ltd. (“MACP” or “the Company”) regarding their opposition to the shareholder proposals submitted by the Fund on 3 October 2025, which will be discussed at the Company’s upcoming 20th Annual General Meeting (“AGM”).

To recap, the Fund has proposed that the Company:

1. Pay a one-time special dividend of ¥940 per share (or ¥990 per share if the Company’s Board of Directors does not propose an appropriation of surplus at the AGM), in order to bring its cash-to-market capitalisation ratio in line with the median of its domestically-listed peers, as well as to improve the Company’s capital efficiency.
2. Implement a total shareholder return ratio of 50% or more relative to earnings per share each fiscal year, with 30% allocated to dividends from surplus and the remaining 20% implemented in the form of either share repurchases or additional dividends; and also establish a Special Committee, comprising all the Company’s outside directors and outside auditors, to provide recommendations to the Board of Directors for improving capital efficiency.

Unfortunately, MACP’s stated opposition to the submitted shareholder proposals is not grounded in any quantitative analysis or substantive business plan that allows investors to determine the Company’s surplus cash assets relative to its future capital investment needs. Instead, the Company continues to make vague qualitative statements regarding the need for “agility” and “flexibility” with respect to its future growth investments and shareholder returns policy, without providing shareholders with any detailed supporting plans. This lack of clarity is unacceptable.

As documented in the Fund’s original shareholder proposal and supporting reasons, the Company is hoarding cash assets well in excess of its ongoing working capital and capital investment needs. As stated in the Fund’s original proposal, this contradicts the basic principles of efficient capital management, lowers the Company’s return on equity (ROE) and return on invested capital (ROIC), and ultimately damages corporate value.

Below is a rebuttal to the Company’s main arguments against the Fund’s shareholder proposals:

1. MACP’s stated vision is to be “the world’s leading investment bank”. This is unrealistic, and raises concern among investors that the Company might seek to use its cash pile to pursue an undisciplined acquisition strategy, which might also include purchases of one or more foreign investment banking firms. The Fund’s strong view is that MACP should remain focused on the Japanese market, where it has already established a leading position. We urge the Company to clarify to all shareholders that any ambition to be “the world’s leading investment bank” merely refers to having a high M&A transaction volume in Japan (which places it at the top of global transaction tables for M&A activity), and that there are no plans to acquire any foreign investment banking firms. The board and management of MACP do not have sufficient foreign language or business experience to evaluate a foreign acquisition, and so any such development would be negatively received by shareholders. A meaningful reduction in the Company’s surplus cash assets, as proposed, would significantly lower the risk of a large-scale acquisition (foreign or otherwise), and likely lead to a positive rerating in the valuation of the Company’s shares.

2. While the Company envisions its acquisitions and investments to lead to further growth and enhance shareholder value, this is not supported by its historical track record. For example, as recently as 30 October 2025, MACP wrote down the value of its acquired company RECOF, demonstrating the fact that this has been a disastrous acquisition which did not, in contrast to MACP’s claims in its recent rebuttal, “[contribute] to the Company’s dramatic growth from 2017 onward”. Rather than making misleading statements of this sort, the Company should explain clearly to investors what mistakes were made before and after the acquisition of RECOF, as well as the key lessons learned. Similarly, the share price of Frontier Management has declined significantly since the date of MACP’s minority investment, and we understand that the Company did not conduct sufficient due diligence in advance of making this investment. MACP should communicate to all shareholders the rationale for the acquisition of this minority stake in Frontier Management, as well as how it will benefit the Company’s future growth strategy.

3. MACP states that paying a one-time special dividend of the amount proposed would “set our dividend payout ratio at approximately 571%”. This is a misleading metric in the context of a one-time special dividend payment. Since the Company’s establishment in October 2005, it has generated abundant cash flow while not paying out dividends for many years, ultimately only introducing a dividend policy (payout ratio of 30%) in the fiscal year ended September 2023. The proposed one-time special dividend should thus be viewed simply as a ‘catch up’ for dividends that the Company should have been paying to its shareholders over the majority of its corporate history. Even after such a large dividend payment, however, the key point to note is that the Company will still hold sufficient cash assets (in line with the median cash-to-market capitalisation ratio of its domestically-listed peers) and therefore retain ample capacity to pursue any reasonable growth strategy.

4. MACP further claims that the payment of a one-time special dividend of the amount proposed would “significantly restrict the agility of [its] growth investments”. It is unclear what the Company’s growth strategies entail, and we therefore encourage the Board of Directors to communicate clearly and in detail the Company’s capital needs to all shareholders. Otherwise, it makes no sense for a capital-light advisory business to hold such a large cash balance despite having no concrete and intelligent plans for its utilisation. This ‘lazy’ balance sheet further suggests that the Company has not paid heed to the most basic principles of efficient capital management, as continuing to hold large amounts of surplus cash lowers the Company’s ROE and ROIC, and ultimately damages corporate value. It also raises questions as to whether the current make-up of the Board of Directors is appropriate, or whether it would be appropriate to replace one or more of the existing Board members with independent candidates who have more relevant financial knowledge and experience.

5. Regarding the implementation of a suggested total shareholder return ratio of 50% or more relative to earnings per share each fiscal year, the Fund is not requesting that the Company implement any near-term share repurchases. Rather, we are proposing that 30% of the shareholder return ratio is allocated to dividends from surplus, and the remaining 20% is allocated flexibly in the form of either share repurchases or additional dividends, depending on prevailing market conditions. This is a capital allocation decision which should be made by the Board of Directors. The Fund’s proposal ensures that shareholder returns will rise, and the Board has the flexibility to return capital to shareholders in the most efficient way possible. It is unclear why the Company is opposing a progressive, shareholder-friendly proposal of this sort.

6. Finally, the Company’s resistance to implementing a Special Committee, comprising all the Company’s outside directors and outside auditors, to provide recommendations to the Board of Directors for improving capital efficiency, suggests that the Board has been captured by the major shareholder of the Company, who is also the President & CEO. We are concerned that the Board has lost its ability to oversee the Company’s management on behalf of all shareholders and to hold them accountable. Otherwise, why would the Board of Directors not agree to implement this relatively straightforward and uncontroversial proposal to help improve governance and accountability to all shareholders.

Call to Action

In summary, the Company’s communication to date with shareholders has been insufficient and severely lacking in detail.

We further note that the 20th AGM to discuss the Fund’s shareholder proposals has been scheduled for 25 December 2025, which is later than usual. Holding the AGM on Christmas Day – a public holiday in many countries – is disrespectful to many of the Company’s foreign shareholders and reflects poorly on the Board of Directors. It seems highly likely that the Company decided to schedule the AGM on this day to suppress participation in the AGM by foreign shareholders, including the Fund.

We therefore urge shareholders to vote FOR the proposals to restore capital discipline at the Company and better align management’s interests with those of all shareholders.

Contacts

Media contact:

JLX Partners Law Office / Foreign Law Joint Enterprise

aiko.oue@jlxpartners.jp
+81-3-4588-4500

Gartner Announces Gartner Finance Symposium/Xpo 2026 in Sydney




Gartner Announces Gartner Finance Symposium/Xpo 2026 in Sydney

CFOs to Learn How AI is Reshaping Finance, from Predictive Analytics and Risk Assessment to Automation and Fraud Detection

–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Gartner (NYSE: IT):

Details:

Gartner experts will explore the theme “Autonomous Finance: Building Resilient, AI-Driven, and Value-Centric Enterprises” during the Gartner Finance Symposium/Xpo 2026. Sessions will explore how to build a finance organization where insights drive faster decisions, automation streamlines processes, and teams partner with the business.

The conference agenda covers the latest hot topics in finance including AI in finance and finance transformation. View the full agenda to learn more about the conference experience. Highlights of conference sessions include:

• The CFO’s Guide to Building a Finance AI Roadmap
• Smarter Models for AI Investment and Strategic Growth
• CFO Risk Watch: Bridging Awareness and Action on Top Emerging Risks
• How to Improve Data Storytelling
• 5 Data Science Skills Every Finance Professional Should Know

Keynote

• Gartner Opening Keynote: Finance at the Forefront: Winning When AI Is Changing (and Breaking) Everything with Tamara Shipley, Vice President Analyst at Gartner, and Clement Christensen, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner

Exhibitor Showcase

Attendees will get exclusive access to live demos and peers case studies from solution providers at the forefront of finance technology. They will have the opportunity to evaluate the solution providers and learn implementation best practices.

Registration

Early-bird registration expires on January 23, 2026. Additional details can be found on the registration page.

Members of the media can register for the conference by contacting Rob van der Meulen at rob.vandermeulen@gartner.com.

Social Media: Join the discussion on social media using #GartnerFinance.

About Gartner for Finance Leaders

The Gartner Finance practice helps senior finance executives meet their top priorities. Gartner offers a unique breadth and depth of insights to support clients’ individual success and deliver on key initiatives that cut across finance functions to drive business impact. Learn more at https://www.gartner.com/en/finance/finance-leaders.

Follow Gartner for Finance on LinkedIn and X using #GartnerFinance to stay ahead of the latest expert insights and key trends shaping the finance function. Visit the Gartner Finance Newsroom for more information and insights.

Gartner is the World Authority on AI

Gartner is an indispensable partner to C-Level executives and technology providers as they implement AI strategies to achieve their mission-critical priorities. The independence and objectivity of Gartner insights provide clients with the confidence to make informed decisions and unlock the full potential of AI. Clients across the C-Level are using Gartner’s proprietary AskGartner AI tool to determine how to leverage AI in their business. With more than 2,500 business and technology experts, 6,000 written insights, as well as more than 1,000 AI use cases and case studies, Gartner is the world authority on AI. More information can be found here.

About Gartner

Gartner (NYSE: IT) delivers actionable, objective business and technology insights that drive smarter decisions and stronger performance on an organization’s mission-critical priorities. To learn more visit gartner.com.

Contacts

Rob van der Meulen

Gartner

Tel +44 1784 267 892

rob.vandermeulen@gartner.com

KBRA Releases Research – Private Credit: Business Development Company (BDC) Ratings Compendium: Third-Quarter 2025 and 2026 Outlook




KBRA Releases Research – Private Credit: Business Development Company (BDC) Ratings Compendium: Third-Quarter 2025 and 2026 Outlook

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#creditratingagency–KBRA releases its Business Development Company Ratings Compendium, which looks at results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, and 2026 Outlook.

In this quarter’s Compendium, KBRA reviews the financial performance of our rated business development companies (BDCs) in a landscape characterized by ongoing competitive pressures, declining but still high base interest rates, and distribution yield preservation. Credit performance across KBRA’s rated BDC universe remained generally solid in 3Q25, although signs of late-cycle softening have begun to emerge. While most BDCs continued to report stable credit metrics, dispersion widened across platforms—reflecting idiosyncratic pressures and selective borrower underperformance. During the quarter, we had no changes in ratings or Outlooks for the KBRA-rated BDC universe. Looking forward into 2026, KBRA’s rating outlooks are generally stable for our rated BDCs.

The broader operating environment during the quarter was marked by tight spreads, renewed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, and continued capital formation within the perpetual-life BDC channel. Favorable market conditions supported robust unsecured debt issuance, expansion of bank credit facilities, and increased middle market collateralized loan obligation (CLO) formation, which bolstered BDC liquidity and funding profiles. KBRA-rated BDCs are aided by strong access to bank credit facilities, reflecting considerable overall relationship depth between major banks and large BDC managers. These funding advantages enabled BDCs to proactively refinance near-term maturities, extend liability maturities, and maintain solid liquidity profiles heading into 2026. KBRA believes that its rated BDCs can navigate an uncertain environment effectively, driven by relatively low leverage and highly diversified investment portfolios with a high percentage of first lien senior secured loans to middle market companies generally within less cyclical industries.

Key Takeaways

Dividend Coverage Remains a Concern for Equity Investors

Competitive pressures, tightening spreads, and the potential for additional rate cuts have many KBRA-rated BDCs adjusting their dividend strategies to allow for more flexibility while providing a more stable base rate over the medium term. Perpetual-life BDCs continued to rely on fee waivers. Some non-perpetual life BDCs reduced or eliminated their supplemental and/or special distributions in line with declines in net investment income (NII). Several BDCs reduced their base dividends to align with base rate expectations. From a credit standpoint, interest expense coverage for rated debt is expected to remain quite solid.

Stable but Softening Asset Quality

Investments on non-accrual status remain low but increased year-over-year (YoY) to a median of 2.5% of total investments at cost (1.3% at fair value (FV)) for non-perpetual life BDCs. The vast majority of internal risk ratings remain in categories reflecting performance at or above expectations (93.7%), supported by strong portfolio diversification and a high mix of first lien senior secured loans in generally less cyclical sectors. KBRA-rated BDCs have low direct exposure to tariffs, given a focus on portfolio company, service-based businesses in the U.S.

Outlooks Remain Stable but Cautious

KBRA maintains Stable Outlooks for most of its rated universe of BDCs going into 2026, supported by solid liquidity, manageable leverage, and strong access to senior unsecured debt and bank credit facilities. However, elevated base rates, mixed macroeconomic signals, and geopolitical risk warrant caution. BDCs continue to focus on proactive risk management, measured leverage, and active engagement with portfolio companies.

Click here to view the report.

About KBRA

KBRA, one of the major credit rating agencies, is registered in the U.S., EU, and the UK. KBRA is recognized as a Qualified Rating Agency in Taiwan, and is also a Designated Rating Organization for structured finance ratings in Canada. As a full-service credit rating agency, investors can use KBRA ratings for regulatory capital purposes in multiple jurisdictions.

Doc ID: 1012573

Contacts

Teri Seelig, Managing Director

+1 646-731-2386

teri.seelig@kbra.com

Kevin Kent, Director

+1 301-960-7045

kevin.kent@kbra.com

Josh Mandelbaum, Director

+1 301-969-3186

josh.mandelbaum@kbra.com

Bain Rumohr, Managing Director

+1 312-680-4166

bain.rumohr@kbra.com

Jack Chadwick, Analyst

+1 301-960-7049

jack.chadwick@kbra.com

Joe Scott, Senior Managing Director

+1 646-731-2438

joe.scott@kbra.com

Business Development Contact

Constantine Schidlovsky, Senior Director

+1 646-731-1338

constantine.schidlovsky@kbra.com