logo
SINOVAC Board of Directors Provides Update on Special Dividend Payment and Commitment to Delivering Value to All Shareholders

SINOVAC Board of Directors Provides Update on Special Dividend Payment and Commitment to Delivering Value to All Shareholders

Business Wire4 days ago

BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Board of Directors of SINOVAC Biotech Ltd. (NASDAQ: SVA) (' SINOVAC ' or the ' Company '), a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, today announced several important decisions to deliver sustainable value to shareholders and strengthen the Company's governance framework.
Currently, a dissenting investor group led by Advantech/Prime Success and Vivo Capital (together known as the 'Dissenting Investor Group') and certain former illegitimate board (the 'Imposter Board') members are attempting to distract SINOVAC shareholders with lawsuits, false claims and empty promises as part of a hostile attempt to remove the SINOVAC Board – which was recently installed by the Privy Council order and in accordance with Antiguan law – with the goal to move SINOVAC backward and continue to entrench themselves. In contrast, the SINOVAC Board is taking clear actions to restore fairness and deliver value to ALL SINOVAC shareholders.
Key Updates and Commitments
Acceleration of Special Dividend Payment:
The SINOVAC Board has authorized Audit Committee Chair Sven H. Borho to accelerate the payment of the previously announced special dividend of US$55.00 per common share, which it now expects to be paid on or about July 7, 2025, in advance of the Special Shareholder Meeting ('SSM'), subject to compliance with and approval by NASDAQ and the outcome of the Advantech/Prime Success lawsuit recently filed in New York.
Contrary to claims by the Dissenting Investor Group, the date of the SSM on July 8 was driven by when SAIF filed the requisition for the meeting, and per Antiguan law, the SSM has to be held by July 8 unless SAIF agrees to resend their request. The SINOVAC Board has asked SAIF to reissue the request so that the SSM can be delayed until after July 9, but received no reply. Nevertheless, since establishing the date for the SSM, the Board has been working to accelerate the payment of the special dividend, demonstrating our commitment to restoring fairness. Yet the SINOVAC Board has encountered frequent interference by the Dissenting Investor Group, including the new lawsuit filed by Advantech/Prime Success on June 12.
The SINOVAC Board's acceleration of this payment is to ensure that, regardless of the outcome of the SSM, all valid shareholders will receive the special dividend payment as an initial corrective step in ensuring fair and equitable distributions of dividends to all SINOVAC shareholders.
Decision to Declare an Additional Dividend:
In its April 1 announcement, the SINOVAC Board stated its intention to make additional distributions to shareholders as part of its effort to catch up common shareholders with distributions that were paid out to subsidiary shareholders (primarily the Dissenting Investor Group). The SINOVAC Board has since learned that the Company's operating subsidiary, Sinovac Life Sciences Co., Ltd. ('SLS'), continued issuing additional dividends to its minority shareholders in the second half of 2024 while the Company was still under the control of the Imposter Board, with SINOVAC's valid shareholders receiving nothing. Thus, the current SINOVAC Board has decided to declare a second special cash dividend after the SSM of US$19.00 per common share. If the legal proceedings on PIPE shares conclude with cancellation of PIPE shares, the valid SINOVAC shareholders will receive an additional US$3.73 per common share.
Adoption of a New Dividend Policy:
The SINOVAC Board has adopted a policy regarding the regular payment of dividends out of surplus cash above the amount needed to properly capitalize the Company and fund its operations. Based on a preliminary analysis, the SINOVAC Board believes this amount is between US$20.00 – US$50.00 per common share that could be distributed to SINOVAC shareholders in the future.
This policy is another step the SINOVAC Board is taking to make common shareholders whole and restore fairness and equity for all valid shareholders who were previously excluded from distributions. The Imposter Board allowed SLS to distribute over US$2 billion in dividends to minority shareholders but determined not to distribute a fair share to the valid common shareholders of SINOVAC. Under the current SINOVAC Board, this practice will stop – if there are distributions made at the subsidiary level, we will ensure they will be fairly distributed to all SINOVAC shareholders.
Commitment to an Annual Meeting in Q2 of 2026:
The current SINOVAC Board directors are focused on completing the SSM and fighting for fairness for ALL shareholders, in furtherance of the Company's best interests. Following the SSM, the SINOVAC Board will immediately turn towards improving SINOVAC's corporate governance. To that end, the SINOVAC Board is committed to holding an annual meeting of shareholders in the second quarter of 2026. Ahead of this meeting, the SINOVAC Board will introduce additional director nominees for election, ensuring the full slate has the combined skills, qualifications, and experience to best serve and oversee the Company's strategy and operations, with the integrity and fiduciary commitment to fairly represent and make decisions in the best interests of the Company, while duly considering the interests of all SINOVAC shareholders. The slate is expected to include one or more representatives from SINOVAC's management team, ensuring that the SINOVAC Board and management remain aligned on the Company's long-term strategic goals.
Exploration of Other Listing Venues:
The SINOVAC Board also authorized the formal exploration of a future listing of SINOVAC shares on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and potentially other exchanges in order to stimulate liquidity, mitigate geopolitical risk, and maximize long term shareholder value.
Your Vote Will be Important
As previously announced, the Company intends to imminently file its definitive proxy materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the Special Meeting of Shareholders to be held on Wednesday, July 9, 2025 at 8:00 a.m. China Standard Time (Tuesday, July 8, 2025 at 8:00 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time). Valid shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 19, 2025 are entitled to vote at the meeting.
Your vote on or before July 9 will be about the future of SINOVAC, your receipt of your make-whole dividend payments in the near-term, and the long-term value of your investment.
Your vote will be critical to ensuring that SINOVAC remains on the path to stability, growth, and value creation for all shareholders.
About SINOVAC
Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (SINOVAC) is a China-based biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the R&D, manufacturing, and commercialization of vaccines that protect against human infectious diseases.
SINOVAC's product portfolio includes vaccines against COVID-19, enterovirus 71 (EV71) infected Hand-Foot-Mouth disease (HFMD), hepatitis A, varicella, influenza, poliomyelitis, pneumococcal disease, etc.
The COVID-19 vaccine, CoronaVac®, has been approved for use in more than 60 countries and regions worldwide. The hepatitis A vaccine, Healive®, passed WHO prequalification requirements in 2017. The EV71 vaccine, Inlive®, is an innovative vaccine under "Category 1 Preventative Biological Products" and commercialized in China in 2016. In 2022, SINOVAC's Sabin-strain inactivated polio vaccine (sIPV) and varicella vaccine were prequalified by the WHO.
SINOVAC was the first company to be granted approval for its H1N1 influenza vaccine Panflu.1®, which has supplied the Chinese government's vaccination campaign and stockpiling program. The Company is also the only supplier of the H5N1 pandemic influenza vaccine, Panflu®, to the Chinese government stockpiling program.
SINOVAC continually dedicates itself to new vaccine R&D, with more combination vaccine products in its pipeline, and constantly explores global market opportunities. SINOVAC plans to conduct more extensive and in-depth trade and cooperation with additional countries, and business and industry organizations.
Important Additional Information and Where to Find It
In connection with SINOVAC's Special Meeting, SINOVAC will file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC') and mail to shareholders of record entitled to vote at the Special Meeting a proxy statement and other documents, including a WHITE proxy card. SHAREHOLDERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS WHEN FILED WITH THE SEC AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THOSE DOCUMENTS WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. When filed with the SEC, the proxy statement and WHITE proxy card will also be mailed to shareholders of record. Investors and other interested parties will be able to obtain the documents free of charge at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, or from SINOVAC at its website: https://www.sinovac.com/en-us/Investors/sec_filings. You may also obtain copies of SINOVAC's proxy statement and other documents, free of charge, by contacting SINOVAC's Investor Relations Department at ir@sinovac.com. Other information regarding potential participants in any such proxy solicitation will be filed by SINOVAC.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains 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 'may,' 'will,' 'expect,' 'anticipate,' 'aim,' 'estimate,' 'intend,' 'plan,' 'believe,' 'potential,' 'continue,' 'is/are likely to' or other similar expressions, including the Company's statements related to the Compliance Plan, and timing and actions taken to regain compliance with Nasdaq listing rules. Such statements are based upon the Company's current expectations and current market and operating conditions and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including without limitation risks, uncertainties and factors related to the timing of engaging independent auditors and completion of the audits of required fiscal periods, completion and filing of the 2024 Annual Report, the Compliance Plan, and actions taken to regain compliance with the Nasdaq listing rules, 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 under law.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The Israel-Iran conflict and the other big thing that drove the stock market this week
The Israel-Iran conflict and the other big thing that drove the stock market this week

CNBC

time18 minutes ago

  • CNBC

The Israel-Iran conflict and the other big thing that drove the stock market this week

It's been a tense and dynamic week for the world at large. The market action on Wall Street over the past four sessions was been anything but that. For the week, the S & P 500 lost 0.15%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq ticked up 0.21%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was basically flat, up a mere 0.02%. Beneath the surface, though, there was plenty of news for investors to digest. Here's a closer look at the biggest market themes during the holiday-shortened trading week. 1. Geopolitics: The major news story was — and still is — the intensifying war between Israel and Iran. The big question on everyone's mind is whether the U.S. will get involved. As of Friday, reports indicate that while President Donald Trump is actively reviewing options to attack Iran, nothing has been authorized. The White House has said Trump he will make a decision in the "next two weeks". As a result of the Israel-Iran conflict, investors spent the week keeping an extra close eye on the movement in safe-haven assets like gold and the dollar, as well as risk assets such as oil. Gold prices pulled back this week after their initial spike last Friday, which is when Israel's first attack on Iranian nuclear infrastructure jolted markets. The U.S. dollar index , meanwhile, strengthened this week but still remains near multiyear lows. Oil rose again for the week, with international benchmark Brent crude climbing nearly 4%. For those looking to gauge what the market thinks will happen with Iran, look to oil. The commodity is currently acting as something of proxy on the odds of the conflict intensifying and America directly entering the fray. 2. Fed updates: The other big theme of the week centered on the health of the U.S. economy in the lead up to Wednesday afternoon, when we got the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision and revised economic projections. Ultimately, the Fed kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged on Wednesday following its two-day policy meeting. The decision followed lackluster updates on the state of the consumer and the housing market , along with lower-than-expected inflation readings the week prior. As we outlined earlier this week , the Fed is in a tough spot when it comes to abiding by its dual mandate of ensuring price stability and low unemployment. The state of play requires nuance. On the one hand, there is evidence in support of rate cuts, namely some cracks in the consumer — even if the consumer has remained largely and impressively resilient — and the Fed's own updated outlook for lower real GDP growth and higher unemployment this year. On the other hand, the Fed is now expecting higher inflation this year than it did in March, which would support the need for higher interest rates. Given these dueling dynamics and the uncertainty around tariff impacts, the central bank's decision to keep interest rates steady makes sense. While the Fed certainly doesn't want to wait too long and make the same mistake we saw coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, we must acknowledge that the causes of a potential rebound in inflation are different this time around. Tariffs will likely push up prices, but that may be a one-time increase, as opposed to the sustained inflation we saw exiting the pandemic, which was driven by massive supply chain disruptions and shifts in consumer behavior. As a result, we believe the apparent bias to be more worried about the job market and overall economic growth — and therefore cut rates later this year — makes sense, too. Indeed, the Fed's updated projections still pencil in two rate cuts in 2025, the same as in March despite the aforementioned revisions to its inflation and growth outlook. Fed Governor Christopher Waller made the case Friday that the cuts should start as early as July, arguing that the inflation risk posed by tariffs is not significant and ensuring resiliency in the labor market should be a higher priority. Waller's argument is basically that it's better to move now than wait for a jump in unemployment. Our biggest focus at the Club is staying nimble, given the highly volatile nature of geopolitics at the moment. No doubt, rate decisions are important to think about, but they're only one small part of the investing puzzle to navigate each day. For this reason, we continue to focus more on individual company fundamentals and industry trends rather than higher-level dynamics, important as they are to shaping our worldview. Cybersecurity stocks are one example that we highlighted this week. Another example would be the news we got from Club names Meta Platforms and Amazon this week on their artificial intelligence efforts. We think the implications that AI will have on the cost structures, revenue opportunities and efficiency gains should weigh far more heavily in the minds' of long-term investors than whether the Fed will cut in July or September. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long META, AMZN. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

1 Soaring Growth Stock to Buy Hand Over Fist Before It Is Too Late
1 Soaring Growth Stock to Buy Hand Over Fist Before It Is Too Late

Yahoo

time42 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

1 Soaring Growth Stock to Buy Hand Over Fist Before It Is Too Late

Applied Materials stock is in rebound mode. Even better, it still trades at an attractive valuation. The semiconductor equipment supplier expects stronger growth in the future due to increased spending by chipmakers and foundries. Applied Materials stock could deliver terrific gains going forward thanks to favorable end-market developments. 10 stocks we like better than Applied Materials › Share prices of Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) have jumped impressively from the 52-week lows they hit just over two months ago, gaining 31% in a short time on the back of the broader rally in the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite index that has clocked solid gains of 25% during the same period. What's worth noting is that investors shrugged off Applied Materials' mixed fiscal 2025 second-quarter results (for the three months ended April 27), which were released on May 15. The semiconductor equipment supplier reported robust growth in sales and earnings for the quarter, but its top line was a tad lighter than expected. The company's outlook for the current quarter followed a similar pattern. However, savvy investors would do well to note that Applied Materials' results and guidance were resilient at a time when the tariff-fueled turmoil and the restrictions on sales of semiconductor equipment to China are turning out to be headwinds for the company. Let's take a look at the factors that could help Applied Materials stock maintain its momentum on the market. Applied Materials reported year-over-year growth of 7% in its revenue in the previous quarter, while its non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) increased at a faster pace of 14%. A quarter of its revenue came from sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China. For comparison, Applied Materials' top-line growth was flat in the same quarter last year, while its adjusted earnings increased at a much slower pace of 5%. Applied Materials got 43% of its revenue from Chinese customers in the year-ago period. So, the company's growth accelerated even though restrictions on sales of advanced chipmaking equipment to Chinese customers hurt its business in its largest market abroad. This can be attributed to the global growth in semiconductor demand owing to catalysts such as artificial intelligence (AI). Equity research firm Summit Insights Group predicts that the improvement in demand for advanced chips in the second half of 2025 and next year should allow Applied Materials to continue doing well even if its Chinese business remains negatively impacted. Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson's remarks on last month's earnings conference call suggest something similar: The impact of AI datacenter innovation and investments is apparent in the wafer fab equipment market, where there are significant shifts in the spending mix this year. We see investment in leading edge foundry-logic growing substantially in 2025, and we also expect spending for leading-edge DRAM to be up significantly. Large-scale AI infrastructure investments such as the $500 billion Stargate project and the multibillion-dollar investments by cloud-computing giants to bolster their AI capabilities are the reasons why foundries and chipmakers are focused on enhancing their manufacturing capacities. Foundry giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), for instance, is set to increase its capital expenditures (capex) by 38% at the midpoint of its forecast to $40 billion in 2025. The Taiwan-based company is on track to build nine fabrication plants this year. TSMC further points out that it will spend 70% of its capital spending on advanced process nodes. That's not surprising as almost three-fourths of the company's revenue comes from selling chips manufactured using advanced nodes that are 7-nanometer (nm) or smaller in size. Looking ahead, TSMC estimates that its revenue from sales of AI chips is likely to increase at an annual rate of mid-40% through 2029. So, it won't be surprising to see the company spending more money on shoring up the production capacity of advanced chips to meet the AI-fueled demand. The increase in capex by the likes of TSMC is expected to drive a 2% increase in global semiconductor equipment spending this year to $110 billion, followed by a much stronger increase of 18% in 2026. This should ideally lead to an acceleration in Applied Materials' growth as well, paving the way for more stock price upside. Analysts are forecasting a 10% increase in Applied Materials' earnings this fiscal year to $9.49 per share. This is expected to be followed by a smaller jump in fiscal 2026 before another year of double-digit growth in fiscal 2027. However, the sharp acceleration in global semiconductor equipment spending could allow Applied Materials to grow at a faster rate over the next couple of years. But even if the company's bottom line grows in line with consensus expectations and its earnings hit $11.17 per share after a couple of fiscal years (as per the chart above), its stock price could jump to $329 (based on the tech-laden Nasdaq-100 index's forward earnings multiple of 29). That points toward an 88% gain from current levels in the next three years. Applied Materials stock is now trading at just 18 times forward earnings, which is a nice discount to the Nasdaq-100 index, which serves as a proxy for tech stocks. However, the market could reward Applied Materials with a richer earnings multiple in the future if it can deliver stronger-than-expected earnings growth. That's why savvy investors may want to buy this semiconductor stock while it is still trading at an incredibly cheap valuation, as it has the ability to go on a terrific bull run going forward. Before you buy stock in Applied Materials, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Applied Materials wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $659,171!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $891,722!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 995% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Applied Materials and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Soaring Growth Stock to Buy Hand Over Fist Before It Is Too Late was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio

Wells Fargo Upgrades Zscaler (ZS) Stock, Lifts PT
Wells Fargo Upgrades Zscaler (ZS) Stock, Lifts PT

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Wells Fargo Upgrades Zscaler (ZS) Stock, Lifts PT

Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) is one of the 10 software stocks analysts are upgrading. On June 13, Wells Fargo upgraded the company's stock to 'Overweight' from 'Equal Weight,' lifting the price objective to $385 from the previous target of $260. As per the firm, software infrastructure spending in H2 2025 is expected to be driven by the adoption of agentic AI, which tends to benefit several software companies, including Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS). An employee standing in front of a large data center, looking toward the future of cloud security. The research firm cited Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS)'s potential to reach $5 billion in annual recurring revenue by fiscal 2027 as one of the measures of the upgrade. Despite the increase in the stock price YTD, the firm believes it still possesses significant room for multiple expansion. Well Fargo expects more than 20% billings growth in FY 2026 and continues to see margin expansion continuing, together with revenue growth. Notably, the company's stock has increased by ~66% on a YTD basis. In May 2025, Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) signed a definitive agreement to acquire Red Canary, which is a leading managed detection and response (MDR) vendor. Through the combination of Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS)'s high-volume and high-quality data with Red Canary's domain expertise in MDR, Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) plans to ramp up its vision to deliver AI-powered security operations. While we acknowledge the potential of ZS to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ZS and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 13 Cheap AI Stocks to Buy According to Analysts and 11 Unstoppable Growth Stocks to Invest in Now Disclosure: None. Sign in to access your portfolio

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store