HARBIN, China, May 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- China XD Plastics
Company Limited (NASDAQ: CXDC) ("China XD Plastics" or the
"Company"), one of China's leading
specialty chemical companies engaged in the development,
manufacture and sale of polymer composite materials primarily for
automotive applications, today announced that Lawrence W. Leighton, one of the Company's
independent directors and chair of its Audit Committee, tendered
his resignation from the Company's Board
of Directors on May 15, 2017
for personal reasons, effective
immediately. Upon his resignation, Mr. Leighton also ceased to be a
member of each of the Company's Audit Committee, Compensation
Committee, Nominating Committee, and the Special Committee that was
established to evaluate the proposed going-private transaction of
the Company.
Jie Han, Chairman and CEO of
China XD Plastics, said, "Larry has been a trusted member of our
Board since 2009; we thank him for
his many contributions and wish him every success in his future
endeavors."
On February 17, 2017, the Company
announced the formation of a special committee of the Board of
Directors (the "Special Committee") comprised solely of independent
directors, which includes Mr. Leighton, to consider the preliminary
non-binding proposal letter dated February
16, 2017 from its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Jie Han ("Mr. Han"), XD.
Engineering Plastics Company Limited,
a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and wholly owned by Mr.
Han, and MSPEA Modified Plastics Holding Limited, an affiliate of
Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia III, Inc. (collectively, the
"Buyer Consortium"), to acquire all of the outstanding shares of
common stock of the Company not already beneficially owned by the
Buyer Consortium in a "going-private" transaction for $5.21 per
share of common stock in cash. In light of Mr. Leighton's
resignation, the Special Committee will now consist of two members,
Feng Li and Linyuan Zhai, with Mr. Li acting as the
Chairman. The Company's Board met to discuss Mr. Leighton's
resignation and subsequently confirmed the composition of the
Special Committee and approved the appointment of Mr. Li as the
Chairman, as recommended by the Special Committee.
About China XD Plastics Company Limited
China XD Plastics Company Limited, through its wholly-owned
subsidiaries, develops, manufactures and sells polymer composites
materials, primarily for automotive applications. The Company's
products are used in the exterior and interior trim and in the
functional components of 29 automobile brands manufactured in
China, including without
limitation, AUDI, Mercedes Benz,
BMW, Toyota, Buick, Chevrolet, Mazda, Volvo, Ford, Citroen, Jinbei
and VW Passat, Golf, Jetta, etc. The Company's wholly-owned
research center is dedicated to the research and development of
polymer composites materials and benefits from its cooperation with
well-known scientists from prestigious universities in China. As of March 31,
2017, 410 of the Company's products have been certified for
use by one or more of the automobile manufacturers in China. For more information, please visit the
Company's English website at http://www.chinaxd.net, and the
Chinese website at http://www.xdholding.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements
of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking
statements, including but not limited to, the Company's growth
potential in international markets; the effectiveness and
profitability of the Company's product diversification strategy;
the impact of the Company's product mix shift to more advanced
products and related pricing policies; the effectiveness,
profitability, and the marketability of its the ongoing mix shift
to more advanced products; and the prospect of the Company's
Southwest China facility, and its
penetration into Southwest China.
These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology
such as "will," "expect," "project," "anticipate," "forecast,"
"plan," "believe," "estimate" and similar statements.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties
and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and
projections about the Company and the industry. A number of
important factors could cause actual results to differ materially
from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential
risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the global
economic uncertainty could further impair the automotive industry
and limit demand for our products; fluctuations in automotive sales
and production could have a material adverse effect on our results
of operations and liquidity; our financial performance may be
affected by the prospect of our Dubai facility and the associated expansion
into Middle East, Europe and other parts of Asia; the withdrawal of preferential
government policies and the tightening control over the Chinese
automotive industry and automobile purchase restrictions imposed in
certain major cities may limit market demand for our products; the
slowing of Chinese automotive industry's growth; the concentration
of our distributors, customers and suppliers; and other risks
detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and available on its website at http://www.sec.gov. The
Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking
statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances,
or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by
law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed
in these forward looking statements are reasonable, it cannot
assure you that its expectations will turn out to be correct, and
investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially
from the anticipated results.
Contacts:
China XD Plastics
Mr. Taylor Zhang, CFO
(New York)
Phone: +1 (212) 747-1118
Email: cxdc@chinaxd.net
Investor Relations: Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Ms. Vivian Chen, Managing
Director
US: +1 (347) 481-3711
Email: Vivian.chen@citigatedr.com
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SOURCE China XD Plastics Company Limited