China's 111 Inc. Gets Buyout Proposal From Co-Founders in Going-Private Push

111 Inc. (NASDAQ:YI), a China-based tech-enabled healthcare platform, reported second-quarter 2026 results Thursday, sending its shares higher in premarket trading.

Investors also weighed an unsolicited going-private proposal valuing the company at $4.52 per American depositary share, above Wednesday’s closing price of $3.38.

Quarterly sales fell to $338.995 million from $447.507 million a year earlier. Net revenue declined 28.3% to 2.3 billion Chinese yuan as the company continued its shift toward an asset-light model following earlier divestitures.

Losses Widen As Revenue Falls

Adjusted loss per ADS widened to 60 cents from 40 cents a year earlier. GAAP loss widened to 4.40 Chinese yuan per ADS from 2.20 Chinese yuan.

Net loss increased to 31.7 million Chinese yuan from 7.3 million Chinese yuan. Non-GAAP net loss widened to 28.9 million Chinese yuan from 4.4 million Chinese yuan.

Operating loss totaled 23.2 million Chinese yuan, compared with operating income of 0.1 million Chinese yuan a year earlier.

Marketplace, Promotional Products Gain

Marketplace service revenue rose 18.2% year over year during the first half of 2026. Promotional-product revenue surged 121% to 60.7 million Chinese yuan, while gross profit from the business climbed 120%.

Quarterly sales volume for Cravit jumped to 1.041 million boxes from 364,000 boxes. Revenue from the product increased 157% to 28.1 million Chinese yuan.

B2B net revenue fell 28.7% to 2.24 billion Chinese yuan, while segment margin narrowed to 5.4% from 5.5%.

B2C net revenue declined 7.8% to 57.9 million Chinese yuan. Segment margin fell to 18.6% from 20.7%.

Costs Fall, Cash Position Shrinks

Fulfillment expenses declined 29.5% to 63.6 million Chinese yuan. They represented 2.76% of net revenue, down from 2.81% a year earlier.

Technology expenses increased 28% to 19 million Chinese yuan. The company also recorded severance costs tied to workforce streamlining and increased adoption of AI agents.

Operating activities used 11.4 million Chinese yuan during the quarter.

Cash, restricted cash and short-term investments totaled 381.1 million Chinese yuan as of June 30, down from 611.3 million Chinese yuan at the end of 2025.

Founders Offer $4.52 Per ADS

111’s board received an unsolicited, preliminary and non-binding proposal dated Sept. 16 from its co-founders and Huadeng Tech BioArray Ventures Ltd.

The buyer group offered to acquire the outstanding shares it does not already own for $0.226 per Class A ordinary share, or $4.52 per ADS, in cash.

The board said it has not evaluated the proposal or made any decision on its response. The company also cautioned that there is no assurance a transaction will be completed.

YI Price Action: 111 shares were trading 7.27% higher at $3.54 in Thursday’s premarket session, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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