BEIJING, Aug. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- eLong, Inc.
(Nasdaq: LONG), a leading mobile and online travel service provider
in China, today announced the
appointment of Mr. Hao Jiang, the current eLong, Inc. (the
"Company") Chief Executive Officer, as a director and Mr.
Adam J. Zhao as an independent
director, effective August 10, 2015 and August 13, 2015, respectively.
Mr. Adam J. Zhao has been the
chief financial officer and board secretary of PapayaMobile since
December 2014. Prior to joining
PapayaMobile, Mr. Zhao was the CFO and board secretary of
Country Style Cooking Restaurant Chain (NYSE: CCSC), beginning in
January 2012. Prior to that, he was
the corporate vice president of Ninetowns Internet Technology Group
(Nasdaq: NINE), beginning in August
2007. From 2004 to 2007, he was the CFO of Digital Media
Group acquired by VisionChina (Nasdaq: VISN). Mr. Zhao's earlier
experiences include investment management positions at New Hope
Capital and serving as an investment director at a Hong Kong investment company. Mr. Zhao
received his bachelor's degree in economics from Beijing
International Study University in 1989 and his MBA from the
University of Illinois in Chicago in
2003.
The Company also announced that its board of directors (the
"Board") has formed a special committee consisting of three
independent and disinterested directors, Ms. May Wu, Mr. Shengli
Wang and Mr. Adam J. Zhao, to
consider the previously-announced non-binding "going private"
proposal from Tencent Holdings
Limited ("Tencent") that the Board
received on August 3, 2015 (the
"Transaction"). Ms. May Wu will be
the chairman of the special committee. The special committee
intends to retain independent legal and financial advisors in due
course, to assist it in this process.
The Board cautions the Company's shareholders and others
considering trading in its securities that the Board has just
received the non-binding proposal letter from Tencent and no decisions have been made with
respect to the Company's response to the Transaction. There can be
no assurance that any definitive offer will be made by Tencent, that any agreement will be executed or
that the Transaction or any other transaction will be approved or
consummated. The Company does not undertake any obligation to
provide any updates with respect to this or any other transaction,
except as required under applicable law.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release may contain statements that are
"forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as
"anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast,"
"intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "future," "is/are
likely to," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they
relate to eLong are intended to identify such forward-looking
statements, but are not the exclusive means of doing so. We caution
you that there are risks associated with such forward-looking
statements, including the risk that neither a transaction based on
Tencent's non-binding proposal nor any comparable transaction will
be completed.
Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update
or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise. All
forward-looking statements contained in this press release are
qualified by reference to this cautionary statement.
About eLong, Inc.
eLong, Inc. (Nasdaq: LONG) is a leader in mobile and
online accomodations reservations in China. eLong technology enables travelers to
book hotels, guesthouses, apartments and other accommodations, as
well as air and train tickets, through convenient mobile and tablet
applications (m.eLong.com), websites (www.eLong.com), 24 hour
customer service, and easy to use tools such as destination guides,
maps and user reviews. eLong's largest shareholders are Ctrip.com
International, Ltd. (Nasdaq: CTRP); Keystone Lodging Holdings
Limited and Plateno Group Limited together; and Tencent Holdings Ltd. (HKSE: 0700).
For further information, please contact:
eLong, Inc.
Investor Relations
ir@corp.elong.com
+86-10-6436-7570
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SOURCE eLong, Inc.