YY Inc. Announces Management Changes
August 17 2016 - 4:05PM
YY Inc. (NASDAQ:YY) ("YY" or the "Company"), a live streaming
platform, today announced that Mr. Jun Lei has tendered his
resignation as the Chairman and a member of the Company’s Board of
Directors (the “Board”), effective immediately, in order to focus
his energy on Xiaomi, where he is currently Chairman and CEO. Mr.
Lei will remain a major investor, strategic partner and advisor for
YY going forward.
Mr. David Xueling Li, will succeed Mr. Lei as
the Company’s Chairman and resign as CEO. Additionally, Mr. David
Xueling Li will be delegated all voting rights for Mr. Jun Lei’s
respective ownership. This shift will enable Mr. Li to focus more
on YY’s broader corporate strategy and the development of new and
emerging applications and products based upon YY’s core technology
platform for interactive and live streaming applications.
Mr. Zhou Chen, who joined YY in 2007 and has
served as the head of YY’s music and entertainment business since
2011 and has been hugely successful in growing the business during
his tenure, will succeed Mr. Li as the Company’s CEO. Under
Mr. Chen’s leadership, YY music and entertainment has grown from
RMB52 million in 2011 revenues to more than RMB3.3 billion in 2015,
which represents a more than 60 fold increase from purely organic
growth within five years, and now accounts for approximately 55% of
the Company’s business. This significant growth is a testament to
Mr. Chen’s solid strategic thinking, strong execution capabilities,
and ability to quickly adapt to the rapidly evolving market.
Mr. Rongjie Dong, who has served as Executive
Vice President of YY since 2006, will be promoted to CEO of Huya
broadcasting, YY’s independent online game broadcasting
subsidiary. Mr. Dong successfully led online game business
which contributed to over 70% of total revenues for YY during 2008
to 2010. He has a deep understanding of the industry and brings
over 15 years of experience to his new role as CEO of one of the
fastest growing businesses on YY’s interactive, live streaming
platform. His expertise will further deepen and strengthen the
Company’s management capabilities.
Mr. Jun Lei stated, “It has been a great honor
to serve as YY’s Chairman over the past 11 years. The Company is
well positioned to leverage the many great opportunities lying
ahead of it and I look forward to seeing YY’s growth in the future.
During my tenure, I have established a deep trust in David’s
business acumen and strategic direction, sharing the same
management philosophy and development perspective for YY. I firmly
believe that David will make even more significant contributions as
the Chairman with his two decades of experience and outstanding
leadership capabilities. I am confident that the management changes
we announced today will position the Company extremely well to
continue to maximize shareholder value going forward.”
Mr. David Xueling Li stated, “I would like to
thank everyone who has contributed in making YY the leading
interactive, live streaming platform in China, and congratulate Mr.
Zhou Chen and Mr. Rongjie Dong on their well-deserved promotions.
They are known as respected and down-to-earth leaders with solid
experience, creative genius and strong leadership. I am confident
that they have all the qualities it takes to lead YY through the
next phase of growth and look forward to continuing to work closely
with them as Chairman of the Board.”
About YY Inc.
YY Inc. (“YY” or the “Company”) is a live
streaming platform that enables users to interact in live online
group activities through voice, text and video. Launched in July
2008, YY Client, the Company’s core product, empowers users to
create and organize groups of varying sizes to discover and
participate in a wide range of activities, including online music
and entertainment, online games, online dating, live game
broadcasting and education. YY Inc. was listed on NASDAQ in
November 2012 and generated revenues of US$910 million in the
fiscal year 2015.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking
statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor”
provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by
terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,”
“intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar statements.
Among other things, the business outlook and quotations from
management in this announcement, as well as YY's strategic and
operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. YY may also
make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic
reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), 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 YY’s beliefs and
expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of
factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those
contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not
limited to the following: YY’s goals and strategies; YY's future
business development, results of operations and financial
condition; the expected growth of the online communication social
platform market in China; the expectation regarding the rate at
which to gain registered user accounts, active users, especially
paying users; YY’s ability to monetize the user base; YY’s ability
to continue attracting advertisers and offering popular online
games; fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in
China and assumptions underlying or related to any of the
foregoing, as well as uncertainties relating to the proposed
“going-private” transaction. Further information regarding these
and other risks is included in YY’s filings with the SEC. All
information provided in this press release and in the attachments
is as of the date of this press release, and YY does not undertake
any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as
required under applicable law.
Investor Relations Contact
YY Inc.
Yuffie Fu
Tel: +86 (20) 2916-2000
Email:IR@YY.com
ICR, Inc.
Jessie Fan
Tel: +1 (646) 915-1611
Email:IR@YY.com
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