GUANGZHOU, China, May 20 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- CNinsure
Inc., (Nasdaq: CISG) ("CNinsure"), a leading independent insurance
intermediary company operating in China, today announced that one of its
substantial shareholders, The Cathay Investment Fund, Limited
("CIF" or the "Fund"), has notified CNinsure that the board of
directors of CIF had approved the distribution of 6,477,579
American Depositary Shares, representing 129,551,580 ordinary
shares of CNinsure, to CIF's stockholders as dividends. These
shares represent CIF's entire holdings in CNinsure, or
approximately 14.2% of CNinsure's issued share capital as of
April 15, 2010. According to CIF,
this dividend was deemed distributed effective May 13, 2010.
Paul Wolansky, Chairman of New
China Investment Management, Inc., CIF's investment manager, said,
"CNinsure continues to be one of the best managed Chinese companies
that the Fund has ever invested in and one of the best investments
the Fund has ever completed. We remain extremely confident in
CISG's long-term growth prospects and in management's ability
consistently to increase shareholder value. CIF is the oldest of
our three private equity funds. Since the Fund has reached the
stage in its investment cycle where it is in the process of winding
down, the Board chose not to sell down the Fund's CISG position for
cash but instead to distribute CISG stock to the Fund's
shareholders, to provide shareholders the option to remain long
term holders of CISG beyond the lifetime of The Cathay Investment
Fund. The investment manager has also received its profit
allocation in CISG stock and intends to remain a long-term
shareholder of CISG."
About CNinsure Inc.
CNinsure is a leading independent intermediary company operating
in China. CNinsure's distribution
network reaches many of China's
most economically developed regions and affluent cities. CNinsure
distributes a wide variety of property and casualty and life
insurance products underwritten by domestic and foreign insurance
companies operating in China, and
provides insurance claims adjusting as well as other
insurance-related services.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains statements of a forward-looking
nature. These statements are made under the "safe harbor"
provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by
terminology such as "will," "expects," "believes," "anticipates,"
"intends," "estimates" and similar statements. These
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions,
estimates and projections about CNinsure and the industry.
Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
those relating to CNinsure's limited operating history, especially
its limited experience in selling life insurance products, its
ability to attract and retain productive agents, especially
entrepreneurial agents, its ability to maintain existing and
develop new business relationships with insurance companies, its
ability to execute its growth strategy, its ability to adapt to the
evolving regulatory environment in the Chinese insurance industry,
its ability to compete effectively against its competitors,
quarterly variations in its operating results caused by factors
beyond its control and macroeconomic conditions in China and their potential impact on the sales
of insurance products. All information provided in this press
release is as of May 20, 2010, and
CNinsure undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking
statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances,
or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by
law. Although CNinsure believes that the expectations expressed in
these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure
you that its expectations will turn out to be correct, and
investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially
from the anticipated results. Further information regarding risks
and uncertainties faced by CNinsure is included in CNinsure's
filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including
its annual report on Form 20-F.
SOURCE CNinsure Inc.