Notes: October 20, 2023 -- Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE: EFC) (“Ellington Financial”), a real estate investment trust investing in a diverse array of financial assets including residential and commercial mortgage loans, and Great Ajax Corp. (NYSE: AJX) (“Great Ajax”), a real estate investment trust that invests primarily in residential mortgage loans, jointly announced today they have agreed to terminate the merger agreement announced on July 3, 2023, effective immediately. <p> July 3, 2023 -- Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE: EFC) (“Ellington Financial”), a real estate investment trust investing in a diverse array of financial assets including residential and commercial mortgage loans, and Great Ajax Corp. (NYSE: AJX) (“Great Ajax”), a real estate investment trust that invests primarily in residential mortgage loans, announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Ellington Financial will acquire Great Ajax. The transaction is expected to close by year-end 2023. Pursuant to the merger agreement terms, each share of Great Ajax common stock will be converted into 0.5308 shares of Ellington Financial common stock, or approximately 12.5 million shares of Ellington Financial common stock in the aggregate. Ellington Financial’s common stock closing price on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") on June 30, 2023 implies an offer price of $7.33 per share of Great Ajax common stock, representing an approximate 19% premium to the Great Ajax common stock closing price on the NYSE on June 30, 2023.