BEIJING, Sept. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – eLong, Inc.
(NASDAQ: LONG), today announced grants of approximately 6.3 million
restricted share units (currently equivalent to approximately 3.15
million eLong American Depository Shares) to its chief executive
officer and other members of its senior management. The grants are
intended to further increase the alignment of eLong's senior
management team with eLong's shareholders while they continue to
drive eLong's performance as a leader in China's mobile and online travel market.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20041118/ELONGLOGO
)
Guangfu Cui, eLong's Chief
Executive Officer and Board member, will receive approximately 4
million restricted share units, with other members of eLong's
senior management receiving the balance. In both cases, half of the
restricted share units will vest in equal annual increments over a
five-year period, and half will vest in three equal increments if
eLong achieves certain operational and financial performance
targets. Vesting for each recipient is also subject to continued
employment with eLong through each applicable vesting date. Upon
vesting, eLong will deliver one ordinary share for each restricted
share unit. Currently, each eLong American Depository Share
represents two ordinary shares.
"We consider Guangfu and his team true partners in building the
eLong brand in the highly competitive Chinese travel
sector. This is a team that has delivered by gaining share
versus its biggest competitor since the first quarter of 2010, and
remains on track to continue growing and gaining share going
forward," said Dara Khosrowshahi,
Chief Executive Officer of Expedia, Inc. "These grants reflect our
partnership and help us ensure the team remains aligned with
shareholders and focused on the enormous long-term opportunity that
China represents."
In connection with the grants, eLong's Board of Directors also
amended the 2009 Share and Annual Incentive Plan increasing the
total number of authorized shares from 12 million to 17
million.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this press release concerning eLong's future
business, operating results and financial condition 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. These
forward-looking statements are based upon current views and
expectations with respect to future events and are not a guarantee
of future performance. Forward-looking statements include, but are
not limited to, statements about our anticipated growth strategies,
our future business development, results of operations and
financial condition, our ability to control costs and/or maintain
profitability, our ability to attract customers and leverage our
brand, and trends and competition in the travel industry in
China and globally. Furthermore,
these statements are, by their nature, subject to a number of risks
and uncertainties that could cause our actual performance and
results to differ materially from those discussed in the
forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect our actual
results and cause our actual results to differ materially from
those referred in any forward-looking statement include, but are
not limited to, declines or disruptions in the travel industry,
international financial, political or economic crises, a slowdown
in the PRC economy, an outbreak of bird flu or other disease,
eLong's reliance on maintaining good relationships with, and stable
air and hotel inventory from, hotel suppliers and airline ticket
suppliers, and on establishing new relationships with suppliers on
similar terms, our reliance on the TravelSky GDS system for our air
business and Baidu (and its subsidiary Qunar) and Qihoo for our
search engine marketing, the risk that eLong will not be able to
increase its brand recognition, the possibility that eLong will be
unable to continue timely compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act or
other regulatory requirements, the risk that eLong will not be
successful in competing against new and existing competitors, the
risk that our infrastructure and technology are damaged, fail or
become obsolete, risks associated with Expedia, Inc.'s majority
ownership interest and Tencent's shareholding in eLong, risks
relating to eLong's investment in other businesses and assets,
fluctuations in the value of the Renminbi, inflation in
China, changes in eLong's
management team and other personnel, risks relating to
uncertainties in the PRC legal system, including but not limited
to, risks relating to our affiliated Chinese operating entities and
risks relating to the application of preferential tax policies, and
other risks mentioned in eLong's filings with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission, including eLong's Annual Report on Form
20-F.
If one or more of these risks or uncertainties occur, or if our
underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual events or
results may vary significantly from those implied or projected by
the forward looking-statements. Investors should not rely upon
forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. 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. is a leader in mobile and online hotel reservations
in China offering consumers a
leading hotel network of approximately 220,000 bookable domestic
and international properties in 200 countries worldwide. eLong uses
innovative technology to enable travelers to make informed hotel
and air ticket booking decisions through its convenient website and
mobile (iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows Phone) applications and
easy to use tools such as destination guides, photos, virtual
tours, maps and user reviews. eLong provides 24-hour customer
support and the ability to fulfill domestic and international air
ticket reservations across China.
eLong's largest shareholders are Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) and
Tencent Holdings Ltd. (HKSE: 0700).
eLong operates websites including www.elong.com and
www.elong.net.
For further information, please contact:
eLong, Inc.
Investor Relations
ir@corp.elong.com
+86-10-6436-7570
SOURCE eLong, Inc.