BEIJING, March 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. ("New Oriental" or the "Company") (NYSE: EDU and SEHK: 9901), a provider of private educational services in China, today announced that it plans to change the ratio of its American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") to its common shares (the "ADS Ratio"), par value US$0.001 per share, from the current ADS Ratio of one (1) ADS to one (1) common share to a new ADS Ratio of one (1) ADS to ten (10) common shares. A post-effective amendment to the ADS Registration Statement on Form F-6 will be filed with the SEC to reflect the change in the ADS Ratio. The Company anticipates that the change in the ADS Ratio will be effective on or about April 8, 2022, subject to the effectiveness of the post-effective amendment to the ADS Registration Statement on Form F-6 on or before that date.
For New Oriental's ADS holders, the change in the ADS Ratio will have the same effect as a one-for-ten reverse ADS split. Each ADS holder of record at the close of business on the date when the change in ADS Ratio is effective will be required to surrender and exchange every ten (10) existing ADSs then held for one (1) new ADS. Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as the depositary bank for New Oriental's ADS program, will arrange for the exchange of the current ADSs for the new ones. New Oriental's ADSs will continue to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "EDU."
No fractional new ADSs will be issued in connection with the change in the ADS Ratio. Instead, fractional entitlements to new ADSs will be aggregated and sold by the depositary bank and the net cash proceeds from the sale of the fractional ADS entitlements (after deduction of fees, taxes and expenses) will be distributed to the applicable ADS holders by the depositary bank. The change in the ADS Ratio will have no impact on New Oriental's underlying common shares, and no common shares will be issued or cancelled in connection with the change in the ADS Ratio.
As a result of the change in the ADS Ratio, the ADS trading price is expected to increase proportionally, although the Company can give no assurance that the ADS trading price after the change in the ADS Ratio will be equal to or greater than ten times the ADS trading price before the change.
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. New Oriental may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual reports 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 New Oriental'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: our ability to attract students without a significant decrease in course fees; our ability to continue to hire, train and retain qualified teachers; our ability to maintain and enhance our "New Oriental" brand; our ability to effectively and efficiently manage the changes of our school network and successfully execute our strategy; the outcome of ongoing, or any future, litigation or arbitration, including those relating to copyright and other intellectual property rights; competition in the private education sector in China; changes in our revenues and certain cost or expense items as a percentage of our revenues; the expected changes of the Chinese private education market; Chinese governmental policies relating to private educational services and providers of such services; health epidemics and other outbreaks in China; and general economic conditions in China. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in our annual report on Form 20-F and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New Oriental does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and New Oriental undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
About New Oriental
New Oriental is a provider of private educational services in China offering a wide range of educational programs, services and products to a varied student population throughout China. New Oriental's program, service and product offerings mainly consist of test preparation, language training for adults, education materials and distribution, online education, and other services. New Oriental is listed on NYSE (NYSE: EDU) and SEHK (9901.SEHK), respectively. New Oriental's ADSs, each of which represents one common share. The Hong Kong-listed shares are fully fungible with the ADSs listed on NYSE.
For more information about New Oriental, please visit http://www.neworiental.org/english/.
Contacts
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
Ms. Sisi Zhao
New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc.
Tel: +86-10-6260-5568
Email: zhaosisi@xdf.cn
Ms. Rita Fong / Mr. Michael Luk
FTI Consulting
Tel: +852 3768 4548 / +852 3768 4569
Email: rita.fong@fticonsulting.com / michael.luk@fticonsulting.com
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