BEIJING and CHANGGE,
China, April 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ --
Zhongpin Inc. ("Zhongpin" or the "Company," NASDAQ: HOGS), a
leading meat and food processing company in the People's Republic of China, today
announced that it has established a special committee of its board
of directors (the "Special Committee") to consider the preliminary,
non-binding proposal received from Zhongpin's Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, Mr. Xianfu Zhu,
on March 27, 2012 to acquire all of
the outstanding shares of the Company's common stock not currently
owned by him in a going private transaction (the "Zhu
Proposal").
The Special Committee is composed of the following independent
directors of the Company: Mr. Raymond
Leal, Mr. Xiaosong Hu, and
Mr. Yaoguo Pan. The Special
Committee has retained Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as
its legal advisor and intends to retain independent financial
advisors to assist it in its evaluation of the Zhu Proposal and any
additional proposal that may be made by Mr. Zhu and his affiliates,
if any.
No decisions have been made by the Special Committee with
respect to the Company's response to the Zhu Proposal and there can
be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any
agreement will be executed, or that the Zhu Proposal or any other
transaction will be approved or consummated.
About Zhongpin
Zhongpin Inc. is a leading meat and food processing company that
specializes in pork and pork products, vegetables, and fruits in
China. Its distribution network in
China covers 20 provinces plus
Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Chongqing and includes 3,428 retail outlets as
of December 31, 2011. Zhongpin's
export markets include Europe,
Hong Kong, and other countries in
Asia. For more information about
Zhongpin, please visit Zhongpin's website at
http://www.zpfood.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This news release contains certain statements that may include
"forward looking statements." All statements other than statements
of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking
statements." These forward looking statements are often identified
by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes,"
"expects," or similar expressions. Although the Company believes
that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements
are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks, and
uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect.
You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release.
The Company's actual results could differ materially from those
anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a
variety of factors, including those discussed in the Company's
periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and available on its website (http://www.sec.gov). All
forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons
acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by
these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws,
the Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking
statements.
For more information, please contact:
Zhongpin Inc.
Mr. Sterling Song (English and
Chinese)
Director of Investor Relations
Telephone +86 10 8455 4188, extension 106 in Beijing
ir@zhongpin.com
Mr. Warren (Feng) Wang (English
and Chinese)
Chief Financial Officer
Telephone +86 10 8455 4388 in Beijing
warren.wang@zhongpin.com
Christensen
Mr. Julian (Yujia) Zhao (English
and Chinese)
Telephone +86 10 5826 4727 in Beijing
yzhao@christensenir.com
Mr. Tom Myers (English)
tmyers@christensenir.com
SOURCE Zhongpin Inc.