BEIJING, CHINA, June 1 , 2004 - SOHU.COM Inc. (Nasdaq:
SOHU), China's leading online media, communications, commerce and mobile
value-added services company, today announced it has repurchased one million
shares of common stock between May 1 and May 31, 2004 and has closed the
acquisition of Beijing G. Feel Technology Co., Ltd. (‘Goodfeel') , a leading
Chinese provider of value-added mobile data services for Wireless Applications
Protocol (WAP) .
SOHU reports that in the period of May 1-31, 2004 it has purchased one
million shares at an average price per share of US$ 17.75, for total
consideration of US$ 17,752,000 including a brokerage commission of US$0.03 per
share. This follows the approval of the Board of Directors announced on April
29, 2004 for SOHU to buy back from time to time up to US$30 million worth of
outstanding shares of its common stock over a period of not less than six
months. As a result of the stock buy-back SOHU had, as of May 31, 2004,
approximately 35.5 million shares of common stock outstanding, and there
remained up to US$12,248,000 available for repurchases from time to time by
SOHU. Investors should be aware that the buy-back program could be discontinued
at any time, and that the company generally does not intend to make any
purchases during periods when its officers, directors, and key employees are
prohibited from trading pursuant to company policy.
"We decided that this share buy-back is an attractive investment for the
company and sends a positive message to our shareholders," said Charles Zhang,
Chairman and CEO of SOHU.
In addition, the company reports that it has closed the acquisition of
Goodfeel, involving the payment of half of theUS$18 million in cash for the
acquisition upon closing, with the second half payable subject to post-closing
contingencies. The acquired company, which is profitable, will not contribute
material revenues or profits to SOHU.COM in the second quarter of 2004. Goodfeel
is expected to make a positive contribution to SOHU's 2004 financial results .
“We expect Goodfeel to contribute to SOHU's strength in wireless value-added
services as it allows us to offer our consumers more compelling content and
further diversify our business across the various wireless platforms available
in the Chinese market,” said Victor Koo, P resident and COO of SOHU.COM.
Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains
forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including
statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements.
These statements are based on current plans, estimates and projections, and
therefore you should not place undue reliance on them.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We
caution you that the events described in this press release should not be
interpreted as having any material effect on SOHU's revenues or profitability.
We further caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking
statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
SOHU's historical and possible future losses, limited operating history,
uncertain regulatory landscape in the People's Republic of China, fluctuations
in quarterly operating results, and the company's reliance on online advertising
sales, e-subscriptions (most of which are collected from a few telecom
operators) and e-commerce for its revenues. Further information regarding these
and other risks is included in SOHU's Annual Report on Form 10K for the year
ended December 31, 2003, Quarterly Report on Form 10Q for the quarter ended
March 31, 2004 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About SOHU.com SOHU.com is the leading Internet portal in
Mainland China with current daily page views exceeding 12 million. It provides
navigation/search, news, sports, business and finance, real estate channel,
entertainment, chat, email and e-commerce activities for a solid and wide base
of visitors. Dr. Charles Zhang founded SOHU.com in 1997. Its investors include
Intel, Dow Jones, IDG, the Morningside China Group, PCCW, Legend and Hikari. Its
content partners include CNET, DOW Jones and dozens of local media organizations
in China.
For further information: Dahlia Wei SOHU Investor
Relations and Communications Tel: +86 10 6272 6598 E-mail:
ir@sohu-inc.com
http://www.sohu.com/about/English/ |