Alliance Entertainment Completes Acquisition of Endstate, Launches Endstate Authentic LLC

PLANTATION, Fla., Jan. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alliance Entertainment Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:AENT), a leading global distributor and creator of entertainment and collectible products, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Endstate. The transaction, effective December 31, 2025, includes the acquisition of all Endstate assets and the formation of a new wholly owned subsidiary, Endstate Authentic LLC.

Endstate Authentic serves as Alliance's dedicated authentication and resale platform, using its patented technology to power next-generation, NFC-enabled collectibles, authenticated resale marketplaces, and digital product identity solutions across Alliance's expansive catalog and partner ecosystem.

As part of the transaction, Endstate co-founders Bennett Collen and Stephanie Howard have joined Alliance Entertainment. Mr. Collen has been appointed President of Endstate Authentic, and Ms. Howard will serve as Senior Vice President of Operations, Endstate Authentic.

"This acquisition is a major strategic milestone for Alliance," said Jeff Walker, Chief Executive Officer of Alliance Entertainment. "By combining Alliance's unmatched global distribution platform and deep relationships across music, video, gaming, and collectibles with Endstate's patented NFC authentication and marketplace technology, we believe digitally verifiable authentication will become foundational to the future of premium physical goods, generating value across the entire product lifecycle—from initial sale to authenticated resale. Endstate Authentic positions Alliance to help define that standard at global scale."

A New Platform for Authenticated Physical Products

Designed for scale, Endstate Authentic is purpose-built to serve the needs of leading brands, licensors, marketplaces, and platforms facilitating primary sales, secondary resale, grading, and authentication. The platform enables frictionless authentication, real-time ownership verification, and counterfeit prevention—without requiring custom scanning hardware, proprietary applications, or changes to existing fulfillment and commerce workflows.

As the collectibles and premium goods markets continue to mature, physical-only authentication alone is no longer sufficient. Persistent, digitally verifiable product authentication—maintained across ownership changes, marketplaces, and geographies—is rapidly emerging as the industry standard.

Through Endstate Authentic, Alliance expects to:

• Enable the creation of new classes of encapsulated, uncirculated, and authenticated collectibles with embedded NFC chips linked to blockchain-based digital identifiers, enabling full lifecycle authentication from initial sale through verified resale.
• Enable authenticated peer-to-peer resale of chipped items, creating recurring, high-margin revenue streams and capturing secondary-market royalties
• Offer NFC-enabled authentication, engagement, compliance, and marketplace services to third-party brands, licensors, and ecosystem partners
• Expand Alliance's technology moat through a growing portfolio of issued and pending patents, proprietary software, and marketplace infrastructure

With the backing of Alliance Entertainment's scale, capital resources, and global partner network, Endstate Authentic is uniquely positioned to become a leading authentication and digital identity platform for physical collectibles worldwide.

"This combination transforms Alliance from a traditional distributor into a technology-enabled platform company," Walker added. "Endstate Authentic strengthens our competitive differentiation, expands margins, and positions Alliance at the center of the future of authenticated physical collectibles."

Continued Focus on Serving External Customers and the Broader Collectibles Ecosystem

Endstate Authentic will support Alliance's internal collectible and authentication initiatives while expanding Alliance's third-party authentication and collectibles services offered through the Endstate Authentic brand.

Endstate Authentic remains committed to providing authentication, NFC enablement, digital identity, and authenticated resale solutions to collectible brands, licensors, teams, creators, manufacturers, marketplaces, and institutions seeking to protect product integrity, enhance customer engagement, and participate in authenticated secondary markets.

As EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) timelines move closer to requiring scannable Digital Product Passports on consumer products, Endstate is also uniquely positioned to help global brands achieve compliance through its integrated NFC chips and software suite.

"Endstate Authentic is not simply an internal solution for Alliance—it is a scalable, enterprise-grade platform built to serve the entire collectibles, resale, and premium product authentication ecosystem," said Walker.

As adoption accelerates, Alliance expects Endstate Authentic to become a trusted infrastructure layer for brands, marketplaces, and rights holders seeking secure, future-proof authentication and resale solutions.

Proven Leadership Joins Alliance

Bennett Collen, President of Endstate Authentic, is a recognized leader in blockchain for pioneering use of the technology in digital authentication, having previously founded Cognate, a blockchain-based trademark protection company acquired by GoDaddy. He is named inventor on Endstate's patented and patent pending technologies and has advised the European Union Intellectual Property Office in its adoption of blockchain technology and served as an Adjunct Professor at Boston College, teaching Business Applications of Blockchain Technology in the graduate business school.

Stephanie Howard, Senior Vice President of Operations for Endstate Authentic, brings more than three decades of experience designing and scaling products for leading global brands, including Nike, New Balance, Reebok, and Seventh Generation. Her work has been recognized as modern design classics, and she is named inventor on multiple utility and design patents.

"Alliance's scale, relationships, and ambition create an extraordinary opportunity for Endstate's technology," said Collen. "Together, we can redefine how physical products are authenticated, experienced, and exchanged—at a global level."

"Endstate Authentic allows us to bring credibility, design excellence, and operational rigor to an entirely new class of collectible and consumer products," added Howard. "This is just the beginning of what we can build within Alliance."

Looking Ahead

Endstate Authentic has immediately begun supporting Alliance's growing Alliance Authentic initiatives while simultaneously accelerating its go-to-market efforts with new and existing external customers. The company expects the platform to become a foundational driver of margin expansion, recurring software revenue, and long-term strategic differentiation across Alliance and the broader premium brands and collectibles industries.

For more information about Endstate and its technology platform, visit www.endstate.io.

About Endstate Authentic

Endstate Authentic is Alliance Entertainment's dedicated authentication and resale platform, using its patented technology to deliver NFC-enabled product identity, brand protection, customer engagement, and authenticated resale solutions for physical collectibles and consumer products. By embedding NFC chips directly into items, Endstate Authentic links each product to a secure digital identifier that enables authentication, unlocks exclusive digital content and experiences, and provides brands with actionable insights into customer behavior. The platform's patented and patent-pending technologies support authenticated peer-to-peer resale, allowing brands and rights holders to participate in secondary markets while maintaining product integrity and establishing new customer relationships. As a scalable, enterprise-grade solution, Endstate Authentic serves Alliance's internal initiatives while continuing to support external brands, licensors, and ecosystem partners across the global collectibles and authentication landscape.

About Alliance Entertainment

Alliance Entertainment (NASDAQ:AENT) is a premier distributor and fulfillment partner for the entertainment and pop culture collectibles industry. With more than 340,000 unique in-stock SKUs — including over 57,300 exclusive titles across compact discs, vinyl LPs, DVDs, Blu-rays, and video games — Alliance offers the largest selection of physical media in the market. Our vast catalog also includes licensed merchandise, toys, retro gaming products, and collectibles, serving over 35,000 retail locations and powering e-commerce fulfillment for leading retailers. The company's growing collectibles portfolio includes Handmade by Robots™, a stylized vinyl figure line featuring licensed characters from leading entertainment franchises. Leveraging decades of operational expertise, exclusive licensing partnerships, and a capital-light, scalable infrastructure, Alliance is a trusted partner to the world's top entertainment brands and retailers. Our omnichannel platform connects collectors and fans to the products, franchises, and experiences they love — across formats and generations. For more information, visit www.aent.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this Press Release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should," "would," "plan," "predict," "potential," "seem," "seek," "future," "outlook," and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding estimates and forecasts of other financial and performance metrics and projections of market opportunity. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether identified in this Press Release, and on the current expectations of Alliance's management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as and must not be relied on by an investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Alliance. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including risks relating to the anticipated growth rates and market opportunities; changes in applicable laws or regulations; the ability of Alliance to execute its business model, including market acceptance of its systems and related services; Alliance's reliance on a concentration of suppliers for its products and services; increases in Alliance's costs, disruption of supply, or shortage of products and materials; Alliance's dependence on a concentration of customers, and failure to add new customers or expand sales to Alliance's existing customers; increased Alliance inventory and risk of obsolescence; Alliance's significant amount of indebtedness; our ability to refinance our existing indebtedness; our ability to continue as a going concern absent access to sources of liquidity; risks that a breach of the revolving credit facility could result in the lender declaring a default and that the full outstanding amount under the revolving credit facility could be immediately due in full, which would have severe adverse consequences for the Company; known or future litigation and regulatory enforcement risks, including the diversion of time and attention and the additional costs and demands on Alliance's resources; Alliance's business being adversely affected by increased inflation, uncertainty regarding tariffs, higher interest rates and other adverse economic, business, and/or competitive factors; geopolitical risk and changes in applicable laws or regulations; as well as our financial condition and results of operations; substantial regulations, which are evolving, and unfavorable changes or failure by Alliance to comply with these regulations; product liability claims, which could harm Alliance's financial condition and liquidity if Alliance is not able to successfully defend or insure against such claims; availability of additional capital to support business growth; and the inability of Alliance to develop and maintain effective internal controls.

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