SHANGHAI, Oct. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ --
E-House (China) Holdings Limited
("E-House" or the "Company") (NYSE: EJ), a leading real estate
services company in China, today
announced it has submitted a non-binding proposal to the board of
directors of China Real Estate Information Corporation ("CRIC")
(NASDAQ: CRIC) to acquire through a merger all the outstanding
shares of CRIC that are not owned by E-House. E-House has
proposed a fixed consideration consisting of $1.60 cash and 0.6 E-House shares for each CRIC
share. E-House is the majority shareholder of CRIC owning 54.1% of
CRIC's total outstanding shares. Assuming the successful
consummation of the transaction, CRIC would become a wholly-owned
subsidiary of E-House.
"The proposed merger between E-House and CRIC is a key strategic
step for both companies," said Mr. Xin
Zhou, E-House's executive chairman. "In today's real estate
industry in China, developers
increasingly demand more than traditional sales agency service.
Instead, they favor a truly comprehensive and integrated one-stop
solution, including offline agency and consulting, online
advertising and promotion, and an e-commerce transaction platform.
E-House has already developed a comprehensive online-to-offline
("O2O") service platform. In order to successfully operate the
platform and provide seamless service to our clients, we need to
deepen the integration of our management and professional team,
coordinate our marketing efforts across all our business segments,
and improve our management efficiency. Merging E-House and CRIC
would enable us to provide clients with a comprehensive suite of
high-quality services, as we continue to innovate and lead
China's real estate service
industry."
Mr. Li-Lan Cheng, E-House's chief
financial officer, added, "We believe the proposed merger would be
beneficial to the shareholders of both companies. It would provide
attractive returns to CRIC shareholders and improve the liquidity
of CRIC shareholders' investments. For E-House, the transaction
utilizes our cash balance and is also earnings-accretive for
E-House shareholders. Furthermore, merging the two companies would
improve management efficiency."
Assuming the successful consummation of the proposed merger,
SINA Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA) would become E-House's largest
shareholder with approximately 25% of E-House's total outstanding
shares. Mr. Xin Zhou and E-House's
senior management team would own approximately 20% of E-House's
total outstanding shares.
To the knowledge of E-House, no decisions have been made by
CRIC's board of directors with respect to its response to E-House's
proposal. There can be no assurance that any agreement will be
executed or that this or any other transaction will receive
necessary approvals or be consummated.
About E-House
E-House (China) Holdings
Limited ("E-House") (NYSE: EJ) is China's leading real estate services company
with a nationwide network covering more than 160 cities. E-House
offers a wide range of services to the real estate industry,
including primary sales agency, secondary brokerage, information
and consulting, online, advertising, promotional events and
investment management services. The real estate information and
consulting, online, advertising and promotional events services are
offered through E-House's majority owned subsidiary, China Real
Estate Information Corporation (NASDAQ: CRIC). E-House has received
numerous awards for its innovative and high-quality services,
including "China's Best Company"
from the National Association of Real Estate Brokerage and
Appraisal Companies and "China Enterprises with the Best Potential"
from Forbes. For more information about E-House, please visit
http://www.ehousechina.com.
Safe Harbor: Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These
statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These
forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as
"will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans,"
"believes," "estimates," "may," "intend," "confident," "is
currently reviewing," "it is possible," "subject to" and similar
statements. Among other things, the quotations from management in
this press release contain forward-looking statements. E-House may
also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports
filed or furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, including on Forms 20-F and 6-K, in its annual report
to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and
in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to
third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including
statements about E-House's beliefs and expectations, are
forward-looking statements and are subject to change.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and
uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained, either expressly
or impliedly, in any of the forward-looking statements in this
press release. These factors include the risk factors detailed in
E-House's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
All information provided in this press release is current as of the
date of this press release, and E-House does not undertake any
obligation to update any such information, except as required under
applicable law.
For investor and media inquiries please contact:
In China
Kelly Qian
Manager, Investor Relations
E-House (China) Holdings
Limited
Phone: +86 (21) 6133-0730
E-mail: ir@ehousechina.com
Derek Mitchell
Ogilvy Financial, Beijing
Phone: +86 (10) 8520-6284
E-mail: ej@ogilvy.com
In the U.S.
Jessica Barist Cohen
Ogilvy Financial, New York
Phone: +1 (646) 460-9989
E-mail: ej@ogilvy.com
SOURCE E-House (China) Holdings
Limited