BEIJING, Dec. 31, 2010 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ --
Vimicro International Corporation (Nasdaq: VIMC) ("Vimicro" or the
"Company"), a leading multimedia semiconductor and solution
provider, today announced it has entered into definitive business
restructuring agreements to divest certain non-core business lines
and land use rights as part of its previously announced cost
control initiatives. The Company expects this divestiture of loss
generating businesses and undeveloped assets to improve its
operating performance and financial strength, further enabling
Vimicro to focus resources on its new growing surveillance
business.
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Under the terms of the agreement, Vimicro will divest the
non-core businesses and associated land use rights. Dr.
Xiaodong (Dave) Yang, a director and
the former Chief Technology Officer of the Company, will take over
the divested businesses and assets. The non-core businesses include
analog integrated circuit, MP4, advanced multimedia and Bluetooth
products. Based on an independent third-party valuation, Vimicro
will receive $1.6 million from
Vimicro Management Foundation ("VMF"), managed by Dr. Yang, for the
transfer of these non-core businesses. Additionally, Vimicro will
receive $11.1 million from VMF for
its land use rights in Jiangsu,
Shenzhen and Shanghai to recover the original cash use in
purchasing these rights. Vimico will hold 5% equity interest in the
new non-core business entity.
The Company's audit committee and a special independent committee,
each comprised entirely of independent directors, have approved the
transactions and transactional agreements. The board of directors
and its committees considered, among other things, the advice from
external advisors, including third party valuation and legal
counsels to assess the transactions for the best interests of
shareholders. In addition, the completion of the transactions will
be subject to the necessary approvals from local governmental
authorities in China.
About Vimicro International Corporation
Vimicro International Corporation is a leading multimedia
semiconductor and solution provider that designs, develops and
markets mixed-signal semiconductor products and system-level
solutions that enable multimedia capabilities in a variety of
products for the consumer electronics and communications markets.
Vimicro is also expanding business into the surveillance market
with system-level solutions and semiconductor products. Vimicro's
ADSs, each of which represents four ordinary shares, are currently
trading on the NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker symbol
"VIMC."
About Vimicro Management Foundation
("VMF")
VMF is a stand-alone entity established in Beijing ("Beijing Zhongxing Tianshi Investment
Center") in 2008 by Dr. Xiaodong (Dave)
Yang, Dr. Zhonghan (John)
Deng and Zhaowei (Kevin) Jin
as limited partners for investment, charity and consulting. Under
VMF, Beijing Zhongxing Tianshi Consulting Company, where Dr.
Xiaodong (Dave) Yang serves as
general manager and chairman, will conduct the business
restructuring agreements and work with local government authorities
in China.
Forward-Looking Statements
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," "confident" and similar statements. Among
other things, the quotations from management in this announcement,
as well as Vimicro's expectations and forecasts, contain
forward-looking statements. Vimicro may also make written or oral
forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission on forms 20-F and 6-K, etc., in
its annual report 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 Vimicro'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: the company's ability to develop and sell
new mobile multimedia products; the expected growth of the mobile
multimedia market; the company's ability to increase sales of
notebook camera multimedia processors; the company's ability to
retain existing customers and acquire new customers and respond to
competitive market conditions; the company's ability to respond in
a timely manner to the evolving multimedia market and changing
consumer preferences and industry standards and to stay abreast of
technological changes; the company's ability to secure sufficient
foundry capacity in a timely manner; the company's ability to
effectively protect its intellectual property and the risk that it
may infringe on the intellectual property of others; and
cyclicality of the semiconductor industry. Further information
regarding these and other risks is included in Vimicro's annual
report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Vimicro does not undertake any obligation to update any
forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.
All information provided in this press release is as of the date
hereof, and Vimicro undertakes no duty to update such information,
except as required under applicable law.
For further information about
Vimicro, please contact:
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Jack Guo
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Phone: +86-10-6894-8888 ext.
7379
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Email:
jackguo@vimicro.com
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Leanne K. Sievers
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Phone:
+1-949-224-3874
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Email:
lsievers@sheltongroup.com
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SOURCE Vimicro International Corporation