ZHEJIANG, China, July 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SORL Auto Parts,
Inc. (SORL) ("SORL" or the "Company"), a leading manufacturer and
distributor of automotive brake systems as well as other key
safety-related auto parts in China, today announced that, on July 1, 2019, the Special Committee of
independent directors of the Company has engaged Duff & Phelps,
LLC as its independent financial advisor and engaged Gibson, Dunn
& Crutcher LLP Beijing Representative Office (USA) as its independent legal counsel on
June 18, 2019.
In May, in response to a preliminary non-binding proposal letter
(the "Proposal"), dated April 25,
2019, from Mr. Xiaoping
Zhang, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the
Company, Ms. Shuping Chi and Mr.
Xiaofeng Zhang, directors of the
Company, and Ruili Group Co., Ltd. to acquire all of the
outstanding shares of the Company not owned by them or their
affiliates, the Company increased the size of its board of
directors (the "Board") from seven (7) to nine (9) and appointed
Mr. Xiao Lin and Mr. Binghua Feng as independent directors to fill
newly created vacancies. Thereafter, the Board formed a special
committee of independent directors consisting of Mr. Xiao Lin and Mr. Binghua
Feng to review, evaluate and negotiate the Proposal and any
alternative thereto and to make a recommendation with respect to
the Proposal and any alternative thereto.
The Company cautions its shareholders and others considering
trading in its securities that neither the Special Committee nor
the Board has set a definitive timetable for the completion of its
evaluation of the Proposal or to make any decision with respect to
the Company's response to the Proposal. There can be no assurance
that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be
executed or that the Proposal or any other transaction will be
approved or consummated.
About SORL Auto Parts, Inc.
As a global tier one supplier of brake and control systems to
the commercial vehicle industry, SORL Auto Parts, Inc. is the
market leader for commercial vehicles brake systems, such as trucks
and buses in China. The Company
distributes products both within China and internationally under the SORL
trademark. SORL is listed among the top 100 auto component
suppliers in China, with a product
range that includes 65 categories with over 2000 specifications in
brake systems and others. The Company has four authorized
international sales centers in UAE, India, the United
States and Europe. SORL is
working to establish a broader global sales network. For more
information, please visit http://www.sorl.cn.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release may include certain statements that are not
descriptions of historical facts, but are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by
the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects,"
"anticipates," "believes," "targets," "goals," "projects,"
"intends," "plans," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should"
or similar expressions. For example, when the Company describes the
evaluation of the preliminary non-binding proposal letter, it is
using forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
may also include statements about the Company's proposed
discussions related to its business or growth strategy, which are
subject to change. Such information is based upon expectations of
the Company's management that were reasonable when made, but may
prove to be incorrect. All of such assumptions are inherently
subject to uncertainties and contingencies beyond the Company's
control and upon assumptions with respect to future business
decisions, which are subject to change. The Company does not
undertake to update the forward-looking statements contained in
this press release. These risks and uncertainties may include, but
are not limited to general political, economic and business
conditions which may impact the demand for commercial vehicles or
passenger vehicles in China and
the other significant markets where the Company's products are
sold, uncertainty regarding such political, economic and business
conditions, trends in consumer debt levels and bad debt write-offs,
general uncertainty related to possible recessions, natural
disasters, the political stability of China and the impact of any of those events on
demand for commercial or passenger vehicles, changes in consumer
confidence, new product development and introduction, competitive
products and pricing, seasonality, availability of alternative
sources of supply in the case of the loss of any significant
supplier or any supplier's inability to fulfill the Company's
orders, cost of labor and raw materials, the loss of or curtailed
sales to significant customers, the Company's dependence on key
employees and officers, the ability to secure and protect
trademarks, patents and other intellectual property rights,
potential effects of competition in the Company's business, the
dependency of the Company upon the normal operation of its sole
manufacturing facility, potential effect of the economic and
currency instability in China and
countries to which the Company sold its products, the ability of
the Company to successfully manage its expenses on a continuing
basis, the continued availability to the Company of financing and
credit on favorable terms, business disruptions, disease, general
risks associated with doing business in China or other countries including, without
limitation, foreign trade policies, import duties, tariffs, quotas,
political and economic stability, and the other factors discussed
in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. For additional information
regarding known material factors that could cause the Company's
results to differ from its projected results, please see its
filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K,
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K.
Copies of filings made with the SEC are available through the SEC's
electronic data gathering analysis retrieval system (EDGAR) at
http://www.sec.gov.
Contact Information
Phyllis Huang
+86.151.6770.5972
+86.577.6581.7721
phyllis@sorl.com.cn
Kevin Theiss
Awaken Advisors
(212) 521-4050
kevin@awakenlab.com
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SOURCE SORL Auto Parts, Inc.