Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc. ("REFI") (NASDAQ:REFI), a commercial mortgage real estate investment trust, and Chicago Atlantic BDC, Inc. (the "LIEN") (NASDAQ:LIEN), a specialty finance company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company ("BDC"), today announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement (the "Merger Agreement") under which REFI will elect to be regulated as a BDC, and merge with and into LIEN in an all-stock, strategic combination (the "Merger"). Upon closing of the Merger, LIEN will be the surviving public entity and will continue to operate as a BDC and trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "LIEN."