SHANGHAI, Feb. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Acorn
International, Inc. (NYSE: ATV) ("Acorn" or the "Company") today
announced that the Company has filed a lawsuit with the Grand Court
of the Cayman Islands (the "Cayman
Court") on December 1, 2016 against
certain former directors of the Company, including Andrew Y. Yan and two others (collectively, the
"Defendants"), over alleged breaches of fiduciary duties and
misconduct and/or mismanagement.
The Company alleges that the Defendants breached their fiduciary
duties and engaged in mismanagement of the Company's business,
including but not limited to wrongfully removing Mr. Robert W. Roche as the chief executive officer
of the Company, exposing the Company to damages for breaches of
contractual obligations, refusing to pursue valuable business
opportunities and subjecting the Company to unnecessary severance
costs resulting from the wrongful termination of certain Company
employees. The relief sought by the Company in connection
with the lawsuit consists of (i) initial monetary damage claims
comprised of (x) US dollar denominated damages of approximately
US$26,326,389.76, and (y) Renminbi
denominated damages of approximately RMB
120,045,222 (equivalent to US$17,433,989.57utilizing a conversion rate of
0.1452 as of November 30, 2016)) (ii)
costs and (iii) such further or other relief as the Cayman Court
considers just.
Acorn's action against the Defendants arises out of the
previously disclosed dispute between two groups of the Company's
shareholders. Among other
things, the dispute involved the improper removal of Mr.
Robert W. Roche from his role as
executive Chairman by our then-board of directors. In connection
with various actions relating to the shareholder dispute, in
March 2015, the Cayman Court found in
favor of Acorn Composite Corporation (a company wholly owned by
Mr. Roche). Additional background and detail
regarding the action and related events are included in the
Company's submissions with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission
("SEC"), including Acorn's 2015 Annual Report on Form 20-F and a
Form 6-K to be submitted to the SEC and attaching a copy of this
press release as an exhibit thereto. Each of these
items are or will be located on the SEC's website at
www.sec.gov.
Safe Harbor
Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements. These
statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the
meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be
identified by terminology such as "anticipates," "believes,"
"estimates," "expects," "future," "going forward," "intends,"
"outlook," "plans," "target," "will," and similar statements. Such
statements are based on management's current expectations and
current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that
involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors,
all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond
the Company's control, which may cause the Company's actual
results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from
those in the forward-looking statements. Further information
regarding these and other risks, uncertainties, or factors is
included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any obligation
to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new
information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by
law.
About Acorn International, Inc.
Acorn is a marketing and branding company in China with a proven track record of
developing, promoting and selling a diverse portfolio of
proprietary-branded products, as well as well-established and
promising new products from third parties. Its business is
currently comprised of two main divisions, its direct sales
platforms and its nationwide distribution network. For more
information visit www.acorninternationalir.com.
Contact:
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Acorn International,
Inc.
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Compass Investor
Relations
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Ms. Naomi
Deng
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Ms. Elaine Ketchmere,
CFA
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Phone:
+86-21-5151-2944
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Phone:
+1-310-528-3031
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Email:
dengqi@chinadrtv.com
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Email: Eketchmere@compass-ir.com
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www.acorninternationalir.com
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www.compassinvestorrelations.com
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SOURCE Acorn International, Inc.