As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 12, 2024.
Registration No. 333-______
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM F-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Not Applicable
(Translation of Registrants name into English)
Cayman Islands | 7372 | Not Applicable | ||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
Room 501-502, No. 78 East Jinshan Road
Huqiu District, Suzhou
Jiangsu, 215011, Peoples Republic of China
+86 (512) 6689 9881
(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrants Principal Executive Offices)
Cogency Global Inc.
122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10168
(212) 947-7200
(Name,
address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to: | ||||
Li He, Esq. James C. Lin, Esq. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP c/o 18th Floor, The Hong Kong Club Building 3A Chater Road, Central Hong Kong +852 2533-3300 |
Ran Li, Esq. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP c/o 2201 China World Office 2, 1 Jian Guo Men Wai Avenue Chaoyang District Beijing 100004 China +86 10 8567 5000 |
Yi Gao, Esq. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP c/o 35th Floor, ICBC Tower 3 Garden Road Central, Hong Kong +852-2514-7600 |
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. ☐
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933.
Emerging growth company ☒
If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
The term new or revised financial accounting standard refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.
The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to such Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to Completion
Preliminary Prospectus Dated , 2024
American Depositary Shares
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
Representing Class A Ordinary Shares
This is an initial public offering of American depositary shares, or ADSs, representing Class A ordinary shares of YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED. We are offering a total of ADSs, each representing three of our Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share. The underwriters may also purchase up to Class A ordinary shares within 30 days to cover over-allotments, if any.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for the ADSs. We expect the initial public offering price will be between US$ and US$ per ADS. We intend to apply to list the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares on the [Nasdaq Stock Market (the Nasdaq) /NYSE Group (NYSE)] under the symbol YXT.
Following the completion of this offering, our issued and outstanding share capital will consist of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Mr. Xiaoyan Lu, our director, founder and chairman of the board will beneficially own all of our issued Class B ordinary shares and will collectively be able to exercise % of the total voting power of our issued and outstanding share capital immediately following the completion of this offering, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs. Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights. Each Class A ordinary share is entitled to one vote, and each Class B ordinary share is entitled to 20 votes. Each Class B ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof, while Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. Upon any sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of any Class B ordinary share by a holder thereof to any non-affiliate to such holder, each of such Class B ordinary share will be automatically and immediately converted into one Class A ordinary share. See Description of Share Capital. As a result, Mr. Xiaoyan Lu has the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted to the shareholders for approval. Immediately following the completion of this offering, we will be a controlled company within the meaning of the [Nasdaq/NYSE] rules. See Principal Shareholders.
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED is a Cayman Islands holding company with no business operations. It conducts its operations in China through its PRC subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entities, or the VIEs. However, we and our shareholders do not and are not legally permitted to have any equity interests in the VIEs as current PRC laws and regulations restrict foreign investment in companies that engage in certain services, such as the value-added telecommunication services. As a result, we operate businesses in China through certain contractual arrangements with the VIEs. This structure allows us to be considered the primary beneficiary of the VIEs for accounting purposes, which serves the purpose of consolidating the VIEs operating results in our financial statements under the U.S. GAAP. This structure also provides contractual exposure to foreign investment in such companies. As of the date of this prospectus, to the best knowledge of our company, our directors and management, our VIE agreements have not been tested in a court of law in the PRC. The VIEs are owned by certain nominee shareholders, not us. Most of the nominee shareholders are also shareholders of the Company. For a summary of such contractual arrangements, see Our History and Corporate StructureContractual Arrangements with the VIEs and Their Shareholders. Investors in the ADSs are purchasing equity securities of a Cayman Islands holding company rather than equity securities of our subsidiaries and the VIEs. Investors who are non-PRC residents may never directly hold equity interest in the VIEs under the current PRC laws and regulations. As used in this prospectus, we, us, our company, our, or Yunxuetang refers to YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED and its subsidiaries, and, in the context of describing our consolidated financial information, business operations and operating data, our consolidated VIEs. We refer to Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai China Europe International Culture Communication Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Fenghe Culture Communication Co., Ltd. as the VIEs before January 15, 2024, and refer to Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. as the VIE after January 15, 2024, in the context of describing their activities and contractual arrangements with us. This is because CEIBS PG has been deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements from January 15, 2024 and the VIEs controlled by CEIBS PG have been deconsolidated as well. For details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment.
Our corporate structure involves unique risks to investors in the ADSs. In 2022 and 2023, all of our revenues were derived from the VIEs. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, total assets of the VIEs, excluding amounts due from the group companies, equaled to 36.2% and 56.1% of our consolidated total assets as of the same dates, respectively. For details, see Our Summary Consolidated Financial Data and Operating DataVIE Consolidating Schedule (Unaudited). If the PRC government deems that our contractual arrangements with the VIEs do not comply with PRC regulatory restrictions on foreign investment in the relevant industries, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to material penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations or otherwise significantly change our corporate structure. We and our investors face significant uncertainty about potential future actions by the PRC government that could affect the legality and enforceability of the contractual arrangements with the VIEs and, consequently, significantly affect our ability to consolidate the financial results of the VIEs and the financial performance of our company as a whole. The ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares may decline in value or become worthless, if we are unable to claim our contractual rights over the assets of the VIEs that conduct substantially all of our operations in China. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Corporate Structure for detailed discussion.
As of December 31, 2023, YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED had made cumulative capital contributions of US$245.0 million to our PRC subsidiaries through intermediate holding companies. Furthermore, funds equivalent to US$37.0 million were directly injected in the VIEs by certain shareholders issued by YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED in the history. These funds have been used by the VIEs for their operations, and were accounted for as long-term investments of YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED. Under relevant PRC laws and regulations, we are permitted to remit funds to the VIEs through loans rather than capital contributions. In 2022 and 2023, we made loans to the VIEs amounted to RMB20.0 million and nil, respectively. In 2022 and 2023, the VIEs repaid us at an amount of nil and RMB60.0 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, the outstanding balance of the loans from us to the VIEs was RMB60.0 million and nil, respectively. In 2022 and 2023, the VIEs transferred RMB86.5 million and RMB137.4 million, respectively, to our PRC subsidiaries as service fees. YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED has not previously declared or paid any cash dividend or dividend in kind, and has no plan to declare or pay any dividends in the near future on our shares or the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares. We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business. See Prospectus SummaryHolding Company StructureTransfer of Funds and Other Assets. As of the date of this prospectus, we do not have cash management policies and procedures in place that dictate how funds are transferred through our organization. Rather, the funds can be transferred in accordance with the applicable PRC laws and regulations without limitations, subject to satisfaction of applicable government registration and approval requirements. See Prospectus SummaryHolding Company StructureRestrictions on Foreign Exchange and the Ability to Transfer Cash Between Entities, Across Borders and to U.S. Investors.
We face various legal and operational risks and uncertainties as a company based in and primarily operating in China. Such legal and operational risks associated with being based in China could result in a material change in the operations of us and the VIEs, and/or the value of the securities we are registering for sale, or could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless. The PRC government has significant authority to exert influence on the ability of a China-based company, like us, to conduct its business, accept foreign investments or list on a U.S. stock exchange. For example, recently the PRC government initiated a series of regulatory actions and statements to regulate business operations in China, including cracking down on illegal activities in the securities market, strengthened supervision on overseas listings by China-based companies, including companies with a VIE structure, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews and data security protection, and expanding the efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. The PRC government may also intervene with or influence our operations at any time by adopting new laws and regulations as the government deems appropriate to further regulatory, political and societal goals. Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system, including uncertainties regarding the enforcement of laws, and sudden or unexpected changes in policies, laws and regulations with little advance notice in China, could adversely affect us. The PRC government has published new policies that significantly affected certain industries such as the education and internet industries, and we cannot rule out the possibility that it will in the future release regulations or policies regarding our industry that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, the PRC government has recently indicated an intent to exert more oversight and control over overseas securities offerings and other capital markets activities and foreign investment in China-based companies like us. Any such action, once taken by the PRC government, could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or in extreme cases, become worthless. You should carefully consider all of the information in this prospectus before making an investment in the ADSs. Below please find a summary of the principal risks and uncertainties we face, organized under relevant headings. In particular, as we are a China-based company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, you should pay special attention to subsections headed Risk FactorsRisks Related to Doing Business in China and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Corporate Structure.
The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCAA, was enacted on December 18, 2020 and amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 enacted on December 29, 2022. The amended HFCAA states if the SEC determines that we have filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection by the PCAOB for two consecutive years, the SEC shall prohibit our shares or ADSs from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 reduced the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA from three years to two years.
On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB released a statement confirming it has secured complete access to inspect and investigate PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong completely in 2022. Our auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP, is an independent registered accounting firm based in mainland China. The PCAOB issued the 2022 HFCAA Determination Report, which vacated its previous 2021 determinations to the contrary. Accordingly, our auditor is no longer identified as one of the registered public accounting firms that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely. However, whether the PCAOB will continue to conduct inspections and investigations completely to its satisfaction of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong is subject to uncertainty and depends on a number of factors out of our, and our auditors, control, including positions taken by authorities of the PRC. Therefore, there is no guarantee that our auditor would not be identified again by the PCAOB in the future as a registered public accounting firm that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely. In such event, we would again be subject to the trading prohibition under the HFCAA if we are identified as a commission identified issuer for two consecutive years.
The PCAOB has also indicated that it will act immediately to consider the need to issue new determinations with the HFCAA if needed. If the PCAOB again concludes that it is unable to inspect and investigate completely registered public accounting firms, and if we are identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer for two consecutive years after we file our annual report on Form 20-F after becoming a public company, we would be subject to the delisting and prohibition of trading requirements of the HFCAA. The delisting of the ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted, may cause the value of the ADSs to significantly decline or be worthless. Additionally, the inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of our auditors in the past deprives investors with the benefits of such inspections. For details, see Risk FactorsRisks Related to Doing Business in ChinaThe ADSs will be prohibited from trading in the United States under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCAA, if in the future the PCAOB is unable to inspect and investigate completely auditors located in China. The delisting of and prohibition from trading the ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted and prohibited from trading, may cause the value of the ADSs to significantly decline or be worthless on page 61 of this prospectus.
On February 17, 2023, the CSRC released the Trial Administrative Measures of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (the Trial Measures), effective on March 31, 2023. As advised by Global Law Office, our PRC legal counsel, we are required to perform the filing procedures for this offering under the Trial Measures. We have submitted the relevant filing documents with the CSRC in connection with this offering, and the CSRC published the notification on our completion of the required filing procedures for this offering on February 7, 2024.
Neither the United States Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
We are an emerging growth company under the U.S. federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in the ADSs involves risks. See Risk Factors beginning on page 31 of this prospectus.
Per ADS |
Total |
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Public offering price |
US$ | US$ | ||||||
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1) |
US$ | US$ | ||||||
Proceeds, before expenses, to us |
US$ | US$ |
(1) | For a description of the compensation payable to the underwriters, see Underwriting. |
The underwriters expect to deliver the ADSs against payment in U.S. dollars in New York, New York on , 2024.
EF HUTTON LLC | ||||
Tiger Brokers | CMB International |
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F-1 |
We have not authorized anyone to provide any information other than that contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we may have referred you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We and the underwriters have not authorized any other person to provide you with different or additional information. Neither we nor the underwriters are making an offer to sell the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. This offering is being made in the United States and elsewhere solely on the basis of the information contained in this prospectus. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since the date on the front cover of this prospectus.
Until , 2024 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade the ADSs, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the obligation of dealers to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
i
The following summary is qualified in its entirety by, and should be read in conjunction with, the more detailed information and financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. In addition to this summary, we urge you to read the entire prospectus carefully, especially the risks of investing in the ADSs discussed under Risk Factors, Business, and information contained in Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations before deciding whether to buy the ADSs. This prospectus contains certain information from an industry report dated May 20, 2024 commissioned by us and prepared by Frost & Sullivan, Inc., Shanghai Branch Co., or Frost & Sullivan, a third-party industry research firm.
Our Mission
To empower talent development and corporate success with technology.
Our Company
We are a leader and disruptor of the digital corporate learning industry in China, a market with massive rigid-demand and a total size of RMB126.0 billion in 2023, according to Frost & Sullivan. We have innovated a SaaS model that integrates software and content, effectively assisting customers in the digital transformation of corporate learning. According to Frost & Sullivan, we are the largest digital corporate learning solution provider in China in terms of total revenue, subscription revenue and number of subscription customers in 2023.
With our software, we help customers efficiently deploy cloud-based learning platforms at scale. We also offer a broad range of high-quality content, covering the entire corporate learning process of our customers. Such content offerings bring additional monetization opportunities and encourage subscription renewals and upsells. Our comprehensive and highly scalable solutions are suitable for various corporate learning scenarios and can be broadly applied among corporate customers across different industries, scales, and development stages.
We develop our software based on the advanced underlying architecture. Our software can be modularized and customized. We help customers rapidly deploy the intelligent learning platform in a plug-and-play manner. Our highly flexible and configurable software products allow our customers to match the use of our software with their specific business needs. Our software is accessible on both mobile and desktop. In addition, users can also access our software on third-party platforms that we collaborate with, such as Tencent WeCom, Ali DingTalk and Lark.
We believe that the well-designed learning paths and targeted content with traceable and quantifiable training results are the core of successful corporate learning solutions and the reason why customers choose us. Our advanced and efficient content development system enables us to deliver stackable content with continuous iteration and optimization. Through the combination of in-house development and external collaboration, as of March 31, 2024, we were offering over 8,200 courses covering approximately 20 industries, with a total of over 20,500 learning hours, including over 6,800 hours of proprietary courses. Being customer-centric and result-oriented, we spot the common needs of various enterprises through our domain expertise and insights, and developed modular, systematic and scenario-based professional content.
Adoption of technology underpins our success. Leveraging our coverage of 2,434 subscription customers as of March 31, 2024, who are customers with revenues from subscription based corporate learning solutions, in approximately 20 industries, we have accumulated domain expertise and insights across different industries and business scenarios, and constructed systematic labels and knowledge maps. Based on our industry insights and extensive experiences, our personalized recommendation engine then designs suitable learning paths for employees based on their positions and required skills. As a result, our solutions are capable of accurately
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matching personnel, positions, and courses through personalized recommendation. Our solutions embed key functions such as speech recognition, adaptive learning, intelligent practice partner, anti-cheating for exams and simulation training, making corporate learning more intelligent and effective. Our domain expertise and insights also fully empower all aspects of customer service and marketing. Through the modeling of customer portraits, market conversion and sales strategy, we have continuously discovered new sales opportunities, expanded corporate customer life cycles and improved marketing efficiency.
We believe focusing on our customers success leads to our own success. Our digital and configurable solutions as well as satisfying customer services allow us to establish an excellent reputation in the market and accumulate a large, high-quality and loyal customer base. Our high-quality customer base includes leading players across many large-scale and high-growth industries, on average covering more than ten of the top 20 players in electric vehicles, healthcare and catering, according to Frost & Sullivan. The number of our subscription customers was 3,439 and 3,230 as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. The net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 118.1% and 101.4% as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. CEIBS PG has been deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements from January 15, 2024. For details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment. The number of our subscription customers was 3,433 and 2,434 as of March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively, among which CEIBS PG had 727 subscription customers as of March 31, 2023. The net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 111.1% and 106.1%, respectively, as of March 31, 2023 and 2024. Such decreases in the number of subscription customers and net revenue retention rate of subscription customers were mainly due to our business expansion strategy to focus on large enterprises with strong and steady demand for corporate learning solutions, leading to the deselection of some small and medium-sized customers.
In 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our revenues amounted to RMB430.6 million, RMB424.0 million (US$58.7 million), RMB122.2 million and RMB83.2 million (US$11.5 million), respectively. On the pro forma basis as if the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG occured as of the beginning of 2022, our pro forma revenues amounted to RMB346.1 million, RMB324.6 million (US$45.0 million), RMB98.3 million and RMB79.9 million (US$11.1 million) in the same periods, respectively. In 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our (loss)/income before income tax benefit amounted to RMB645.7 million, RMB239.7 million (US$33.2 million), RMB66.5 million and RMB35.0 million (US$4.9 million), respectively. On the pro forma basis as if the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG occured as of the beginning of 2022, our pro forma loss before income tax benefit amounted to RMB541.9 million, RMB190.2 million (US$26.3 million), RMB57.9 million and RMB43.0 million (US$6.0 million) in the same periods, respectively. For details, see Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsRecent Development. In 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our subscription revenues amounted to RMB368.2 million, RMB347.8 million (US$48.2 million), RMB99.5 million and RMB77.0 million (US$10.7 million), respectively, representing 85.5%, 82.0%, 81.4% and 92.5% of our total revenues, respectively. Our gross profit margin was 54.0%, 54.1%, 63.5% and 62.6% in 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively. The slight decrease in gross margin from the three months ended March 31, 2023 to the same period in 2024 was mainly due to the change in product mix with different gross margins in the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023 as a result of our strategic focus on corporate learning solution. Nonetheless, we believe that our overall gross margin will increase in the long run, primarily driven by (i) economies of scale and increase of operating efficiency, and (ii) our continuous focus on providing subscription based corporate learning solutions with self-developed content. We recorded net loss of RMB640.3 million, RMB229.8 million (US$31.8 million) and RMB65.2 million, and net income of RMB35.0 million (US$4.9 million) in 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively. We recorded adjusted net loss of RMB522.6 million, RMB277.6 million
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(US$38.5 million), RMB47.5 million and RMB41.9 million (US$5.8 million) in the same periods, respectively. Our net cash used in operating activities was RMB456.8 million, RMB257.0 million (US$35.6 million), RMB161.5 million and RMB58.5 million (US$8.1 million) in 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Industry Background
According to Frost & Sullivan, Chinas corporate learning market is one of the largest corporate learning markets in the world, with a market size of RMB641.6 billion in 2023. It is expected to grow to RMB1,289.4 billion in 2028, representing a CAGR of 15.0% from 2023 to 2028.
While the corporate learning market is huge, there are still significant unmet needs that cannot be fully addressed by traditional players. These players face a number of inherent challenges.
| Poor training effectiveness. The old-school short-term, spoon-feeding and large-class courses fail to provide continuous and targeted trainings, which leads to low learning efficiency, unsatisfying experience, limited interest, and ultimately poor training effectiveness. |
| Low content quality. Traditional corporate learning providers do not possess sufficient content resources. Content offered by the traditional providers is unspecialized, untargeted and untimely, which is insufficient for new business scenarios and unable to meet the development needs of enterprises. This is primarily attributable to the lack of sufficient customer base and lack of understanding of customers core development needs. |
| Lack of teaching system and tools. Traditional corporate learning players lack comprehensive teaching system and tools for assessment, learning, practicing, examining and evaluating, and thus is unable to design targeted learning paths for employees and evaluate their learning results. |
| Non-scalable. Unlike cloud-based solutions, it is difficult for traditional in-person corporate learning solutions that are not scalable through a large or distributed business to reach all employees. In addition, the traditional corporate learning is highly dependent on high-quality lecturers, which also limits their scalability. |
| High training cost. Traditional corporate learning is mainly delivered in-person, which burdens corporates with high costs in management, travel, venue, equipment, and lecturers. |
The accelerating digital economy has sharply increased the needs for digital corporate learning solutions, which primarily deliver corporate learning content online. According to Frost & Sullivan, the market size of Chinas digital corporate learning solutions has reached RMB126.0 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to RMB300.0 billion in 2028, representing a CAGR of 18.9% from 2023 to 2028. In addition, according to Frost & Sullivan, the market size of Chinas digital corporate learning solutions for large enterprises has reached RMB53.2 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to RMB135.0 billion in 2028, representing a CAGR of 20.5% from 2023 to 2028.
During the paradigm shift, the integrated SaaS business model with the combination of software and content is expected to reshape the corporate learning market and become the mainstream business model for digital corporate learning.
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Our Business Model and Solution
Our Strengths
We believe the following competitive strengths are essential for our continued leadership and differentiate us from our competitors:
| Leader in Chinas digital corporate learning market; |
| Innovative business model integrating software and content; |
| Advanced technology capabilities; |
| Efficient marketing strategy; |
| Strong and high-profile customer base; and |
| Entrepreneurial and experienced management team. |
Our Strategies
The key elements of our growth strategy include the followings, which we believe would empower us to further achieve superior growth and strengthen our market position:
| Solidify existing leadership among digital corporate learning market for large enterprises and further expand customer base; |
| Upsell among existing customers and continuously improve customer lifetime value; |
| Enhance content quality and brand awareness; |
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| Continuously invest in technology to upgrade solutions and enhance operation efficiency; and |
| Take opportunities in selected strategic cooperation, investment and acquisitions. |
Contractual Arrangements and Corporate Structure
We are a Cayman Islands company and currently conduct substantially all of our business operations in the PRC through our subsidiaries incorporated in the PRC and the VIE(s). It is the VIE(s) that hold our key operating licenses, provide services to our customers, enter into contracts with our suppliers, and employ our workforce. Our subsidiary Yunxuetang Information controls Yunxuetang Network through a series of contractual arrangements. Before January 15, 2024, our subsidiary Fenghe Consulting controlled the VIEs Shanghai China Europe and Shanghai Fenghe, respectively, in each case through a series of contractual arrangements. CEIBS PG has been deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements from January 15, 2024 and the subsidiaries and the VIEs controlled by CEIBS PG, namely Fenghe Consulting, Shanghai China Europe and Shanghai Fenghe, have been deconsolidated as well. Thus, we refer to Yunxuetang Network, Shanghai China Europe and Sanghai Fenghe as the VIEs before January 15, 2024, and refer to Yunxuetang Network as the VIE after January 15, 2024. For details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment. As of March 31 2024, the number of subscription customers served by the VIE, Yunxuetang Network, amounted to 2,434, representing all of our subscription customers. As of the same date, the number of employees of the VIE amounted to 281, representing 37.8% of the total number of our employees.
We operate our businesses this way because PRC laws and regulations restrict foreign investment in companies that engage in the value-added telecommunication services. These contractual arrangements entered into with the VIEs allow us to be considered the primary beneficiary of the VIEs for accounting purposes, and to consolidate their operating results in our financial statements under U.S. GAAP. These contractual arrangements include exclusive technology and consulting service agreements, equity interest pledge agreements, exclusive option agreements, power of attorney agreements and spousal consents, as the case may be. For a summary of these contractual arrangements, see Our History and Corporate StructureContractual Arrangements with the VIEs and Their Shareholders. As of the date of this prospectus, to the best knowledge of our company, our directors and management, our VIE agreements have not been tested in a court of law in the PRC.
We do not have any equity interests in the VIEs who are owned by certain nominee shareholders. As a result, these contractual arrangements may be less effective than direct ownership, and we could face heightened risks and costs in enforcing these contractual arrangements, because there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations, and rules relating to the legality and enforceability of these contractual arrangements. If the PRC government finds such agreements to be illegal, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in the VIEs. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Corporate Structure.
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The following chart illustrates our corporate structure, including our significant subsidiaries as that term is defined under Section 1-02 of Regulation S-X under the Securities Act, the VIE and certain other subsidiaries as of the date of this prospectus:
Note: (1) | Shareholders of Yunxuetang Network are Xiaoyan Lu (our director, founder and chairman of the Board), Suzhou Xinzhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (LLP), Suzhou Dazhiqihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (LLP), Shanghai Ximalaya Technology Co., Ltd., Jie Ding (our director and co-founder), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., and certain other nominee shareholders, each holding approximately 66.8%, 9.8%, 5.8%, 4.2%, 4.2%, 1.0% and 8.1%, respectively, of Yunxuetang Networks equity interests. Most of the nominee shareholders are also shareholders of our company. |
Licenses and Approvals
Business Operation
As advised by Global Law Office, our PRC legal counsel, our PRC subsidiaries and the VIEs have obtained all material licenses and approvals required for our operations in China as of the date of this prospectus. Given the uncertainties of interpretation and implementation of relevant laws and regulations and the enforcement practice by relevant government authorities, we and the VIEs may be required to obtain additional licenses, permits, filings, or approvals for our business operations in the future. If we or the VIEs are found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, or fail to obtain or maintain any of the required permits, approvals or filings, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities would take action in dealing with such violations or failures. In addition, if we had inadvertently concluded that such approvals, permits, registrations or filings were not required, or if applicable laws, regulations or interpretations change in a way that requires us to obtain such approval, permits, registrations or filings in the future, we and the VIEs may be unable to obtain such necessary approvals, permits, registrations or filings in a timely manner, or at all, and such approvals, permits, registrations or filings may be rescinded even if obtained. Any such circumstance may subject us and the VIEs to
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fines and other regulatory, civil or criminal liabilities, and we and the VIEs may be ordered by the competent government authorities to suspend relevant operations, which will materially and adversely affect our business operation. In addition, there can be no assurance that we and the VIEs will be able to maintain our existing licenses, approvals, registrations, permits or filings necessary to operate current business in China, renew any of them when their current term expires, or update existing licenses or obtain additional licenses, approvals, permits, registrations or filings necessary for business expansion from time to time. If we or the VIEs fail to do so, our business, financial condition and operational results may be materially and adversely affected. For a list of licenses and approvals that our PRC subsidiaries and VIEs are required to obtain to carry out our operations in China as of the date of this prospectus, see BusinessLicenses and Approvals. For risks relating to licenses and approvals required for our operations in China, see Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryOur business is subject to extensive and evolving regulations governing the industry. If we fail to obtain and maintain required licenses and permits, we could face government enforcement actions, fines and possibly restrictions on our ability to operate or offer certain of our solutions.
Securities Offering
Cybersecurity Review Measures
On December 28, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China, or the CAC, and 12 other relevant PRC government authorities published the amended Cybersecurity Review Measures, which came into effect on February 15, 2022. The Cybersecurity Review Measures, or the Measures, provide that a network platform operator that possesses personal information of more than one million users and seeks a listing in a foreign country must apply for a cybersecurity review. Further, the relevant PRC governmental authorities may initiate a cybersecurity review against any company if they determine certain network products, services, or data processing activities of such company affect or may affect national security. On July 7, 2022, the CAC promulgated the Security Assessment Measures for Outbound Data Transfers which came into effect on September 1, 2022. The Security Assessment Measures for Outbound Data Transfers provides four circumstances, under any of which data processors shall, through the local cyberspace administration at the provincial level, apply to the national cyberspace administration for security assessment of cross border data transfer. These circumstances include: (i) where a data processor transfers important data to overseas recipients; (ii) where a critical information infrastructure operator (the CIIO), or a data processor processing the personal information of more than one million individuals, who, in either case, transfers personal information to overseas recipients; (iii) where a data processor who has transferred the personal information of more than 100,000 individuals, or the sensitive personal information of more than 10,000 individuals to overseas recipients, since January 1 of the previous year cumulatively; or (iv) other circumstances under which security assessment of data cross-border transfer is required as prescribed by the national cyberspace administration. However, uncertainties with respect to applications to the such rules still exist. We will continue to comply with the latest applicable regulations. See RegulationRegulation Relating to Internet Information Security and Privacy Protection for detailed discussion.
Currently, the Measures have not materially affected our business and operations, but in anticipation of the strengthened implementation of cybersecurity laws and regulations and the continued expansion of our business, we face potential risks if we are deemed as a critical information infrastructure operator or data processing operator under the PRC cybersecurity laws and regulations, and would be required to follow cybersecurity review procedures. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryComplying with evolving laws and regulations regarding cybersecurity, information security, privacy and data protection and other related laws and requirements may be expensive and force us to make adverse changes to our business. Many of these laws and regulations are subject to change and uncertain interpretation, and any failure or perceived failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in negative publicity, legal proceedings, suspension or disruption to operations, increased cost of operations, or otherwise harm our business.
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As of the date of this prospectus, as advised by Global Law Office, our PRC legal counsel, and as confirmed by the relevant regulatory authority, a cybersecurity review is not required for this offering and listing. As of the date of this prospectus, save as the above-mentioned confirmation, we have not been involved in any investigations or become subject to a cybersecurity review initiated by any regulatory authorities based on the Measures, and we have not received any warning or sanctions in such respect or any regulatory objections to this offering from any regulatory authorities.
CSRC Filing Requirements
On February 17, 2023, the CSRC released the Trial Administrative Measures of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (the Trial Measures), effective on March 31, 2023. The CSRC also released Supporting Guidance Rules No. 1 through No. 5, Notes on the Trial Measures, Notice on Administration Arrangements for the Filing of Overseas Listings by Domestic Enterprises, and the relevant CSRC Answers to Reporter Questions. Pursuant to the Trial Measures, domestic companies that seek overseas listing and public offering, both directly and indirectly, should perform the filing procedures and report relevant information to the CSRC. If a domestic company fails to complete the filing procedures or conceals any material fact or falsifies any major content in its filing documents, such domestic company may be subject to administrative penalties, such as order to rectify, warnings, fines, and its controlling shareholders, de facto controllers, the persons directly in charge and other directly liable persons may also be subject to administrative penalties, such as warnings and fines.
As advised by Global Law Office, our PRC legal counsel, we are required to perform the filing procedures for this offering under the Trial Measures. We have submitted the relevant filing documents with the CSRC in connection with this offering, and the CSRC published the notification on our completion of the required filing procedures for this offering on February 7, 2024. However, the PRC government may take measures to adopt additional laws and regulations or new interpretation and implementation of existing laws and regulations relating to the permission or approval for this offering. We will continue to perform the filing procedure and other required procedures in accordance with the Trial Measures, and continuously monitor our compliance status in accordance with the latest changes in applicable regulatory requirements.
Holding Company Structure
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED is a holding company with no material operations of its own. We conduct our operations primarily through our PRC subsidiaries and the VIEs. As a result, our ability to pay dividends depends upon dividends paid by our subsidiaries which, in turn, depends on the payment of the service fees to our PRC subsidiaries by the VIEs pursuant to certain contractual arrangements. As we have incurred net losses and negative cash flow from operations historically, none of the VIEs or PRC subsidiaries have declared or paid any dividends or distributions to their respective holding companies, including YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, or any investors as of the date of this prospectus.
Historically, we primarily relied on cash proceeds received from the issuances of our preferred shares to fund the business operations of our PRC subsidiaries and VIEs. We are permitted to remit funds to our PRC subsidiaries through capital contributions or loans, and to the VIEs only through loans, subject to satisfaction of applicable government registration and approval requirements.
In addition, our PRC subsidiaries are permitted to pay dividends to us only out of their retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with the Accounting Standards for Business Enterprise as promulgated by the Ministry of Finance, or PRC GAAP. Our PRC subsidiaries enjoy the economic interest in the operations of the VIEs in the form of service fees under the contractual arrangements. For risks relating to our ability to transfer funds within our group across border, see Risk FactorsRisks Related to Doing Business in ChinaPRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental
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control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans to or make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated entities, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Doing Business in ChinaWe may rely on dividends paid by our PRC subsidiaries to fund cash and financing requirements. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business and to pay dividends to holders of our ordinary shares, including those represented by the ADSs.
Transfer of Funds and Other Assets
The following diagram summarizes how funds were transferred among YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, our subsidiaries, and the VIEs in 2022 and 2023.
Note: (1) | Under relevant PRC laws and regulations, we are permitted to remit funds to the VIEs through loans rather than capital contributions. In 2022 and 2023, the loans we made to the VIEs amounted to RMB20.0 million and nil, respectively. In 2022 and 2023, the VIEs repaid us at an amount of nil and RMB60.0 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, the outstanding balance of the loans from us to the VIEs was RMB60.0 million and nil, respectively. The VIEs fund their operations primarily using cash generated from operating and financing activities. |
As of December 31, 2023, YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED had made cumulative capital contributions of US$245.0 million to our PRC subsidiaries through intermediate holding companies. Furthermore, funds equivalent to US$37.0 million were directly injected in the VIEs by certain shareholders issued by YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED in the history. These funds have been used by the VIEs for their operations, and were accounted for as long-term investments of YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, the receivables held by the VIEs from our PRC subsidiaries amounted to RMB7.3 million and RMB25.0 million, respectively, representing the amount paid by Yunxuetang Network, the VIE in the
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ordinary course of business on behalf of Yunxuetang Information, our PRC subsidiary. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, the receivables held by our PRC subsidiaries from the VIEs amounted to RMB19.5 million and RMB2.2 million, respectively, representing the amount paid by Fenghe Consulting, our PRC subsidiary, in the ordinary course of business on behalf of Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai China Europe, the VIEs, before our acquisition of CEIBS PG and service fees payable under the VIE agreements. There is no transfer of other assets between VIEs and non-VIEs in 2022 and 2023.
As advised by our PRC counsel, for any amounts owed by the VIEs to our PRC subsidiaries under the VIE agreements, unless otherwise required by PRC tax authorities, we are able to settle such amounts without limitations under the current effective PRC laws and regulations, provided that the VIEs have sufficient funds to do so. YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED has not previously declared or paid any cash dividend or dividend in kind, and has no plan to declare or pay any dividends in the near future on our shares or the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares. We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business. See Dividend Policy.
Restrictions on Foreign Exchange and the Ability to Transfer Cash Between Entities, Across Borders and to U.S. Investors
As of the date of this prospectus, we do not have cash management policies and procedures in place that dictate how funds are transferred through our organization. Rather, the funds can be transferred in accordance with the applicable PRC laws and regulations without limitations, subject to satisfaction of applicable government registration and approval requirements.
Moving forward, if and when we become profitable, YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITEDs ability to pay dividends, if any, to the shareholders and ADSs investors and to service any debt it may incur will depend upon dividends paid by our PRC subsidiaries. Under PRC laws and regulations, our PRC subsidiaries subject to certain restrictions with respect to paying dividends or otherwise transferring any of their net assets offshore to YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED. In particular, under the current effective PRC laws and regulations, dividends may be paid only out of distributable profits. Distributable profits are the net profit as determined under PRC GAAP, less any recovery of accumulated losses and appropriations to statutory and other reserves required to be made. Each of our PRC subsidiaries is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, after making up previous years accumulated losses, if any, to fund certain statutory reserve funds, until the aggregate amount of such a fund reaches 50% of its registered capital. As a result, our PRC subsidiaries may not have sufficient distributable profits to pay dividends to us in the near future.
Furthermore, if certain procedural requirements are satisfied, the payment of current account items, including profit distributions and trade and service related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from State Administration of Foreign Exchange (the SAFE) or its local branches. However, where RMB is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses, such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies, approval from or registration with competent government authorities or its authorized banks is required. The PRC government may take measures at its discretion from time to time to restrict access to foreign currencies for current account or capital account transactions. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currencies to satisfy our foreign currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our offshore intermediary holding companies or ultimate parent company, and therefore, our shareholders or investors in the ADSs. Further, we cannot assure you that new regulations or policies will not be promulgated in the future, which may further restrict the remittance of RMB into or out of the PRC. We cannot assure you, in light of the restrictions in place, or any amendment to be made from time to time, that our current or future PRC subsidiaries will be able to satisfy their respective payment obligations that are denominated in foreign currencies, including the remittance of dividends outside of the PRC. See RegulationRegulation Relating to Foreign Exchange for a detailed discussion.
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If any of our subsidiaries incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing such debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends to YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED. In addition, our PRC subsidiaries are required to make appropriations to certain statutory reserve funds, which are not distributable as cash dividends except in the event of a solvent liquidation of the companies.
For PRC and United States federal income tax considerations of an investment in the ADSs, see Taxation.
Summary of Risk Factors
Investors are purchasing equity securities of a Cayman Islands holding company rather than equity securities of our subsidiaries and the VIEs, that have substantive business operations in the PRC. YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED is a Cayman Islands holding company with no business operations. It conducts its operations in China through its PRC subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entities, or the VIEs. However, it does not and is not legally permitted to have any equity interests in the VIEs as PRC laws and regulations restrict foreign investment in companies that engage in the value-added telecommunication services. As a result, it operates its businesses in China through certain contractual arrangements with the VIEs. The VIEs are owned by certain nominee shareholders, not us. Such corporate structure involves unique risks to investors in the ADSs. You should carefully consider all of the information in this prospectus before making an investment in the ADSs. Below please find a summary of the principal risks and uncertainties we face, organized under relevant headings. These risks are discussed more fully in the section titled Risk Factors. In particular, as we are a China-based company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, you should pay special attention to subsections headed Risks Related to Doing Business in China and Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
| We operate under the new business model of digital corporate learning solutions. Our future business growth and expansion is dependent on the market adoption of our business model as well as the continued development of our solutions and the markets our solutions target. |
| While we have seen rapid business growth since our inception, we have experienced historical revenue decline and we may not be able to sustain our revenue growth in the future. |
| We have incurred net losses and negative cash flows in the past and may incur operating losses in the future. |
| If we fail to enhance or upgrade our existing solutions and introduce new ones that are broadly accepted by the market and meet our customers evolving demands in a timely and cost-effective manner, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. |
| Unfavorable industry-specific economic and market conditions, or reductions in corporate learning spending, could limit our ability to grow our business and negatively affect our operating results. |
| We operate in a highly competitive market. If we fail to compete effectively, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. |
| If we fail to constantly respond to evolving needs of our existing and prospective customers by enhancing the training content and functionality of our solutions, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. |
| Failure to effectively develop and expand our sales and marketing capabilities could harm our ability to increase our customer base and achieve broader market acceptance of our solutions. |
| From time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment. |
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| Complying with evolving laws and regulations regarding cybersecurity, information security, privacy and data protection and other data related laws and requirements may be expensive and force us to make adverse changes to our business. Many of these laws and regulations are subject to change and uncertain interpretation, and any failure or perceived failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in negative publicity, legal proceedings, suspension or disruption to operations, increased cost of operations, or otherwise harm our business. |
Risks Related to Doing Business in China
| The approval, filing or other requirements of the China Securities Regulatory Commission or other PRC government authorities are required in connection with this offering under PRC law. Furthermore, the PRC government has exerted more oversight and control over overseas securities offerings and other capital markets activities and foreign investment in China-based companies like us. Any such action, once taken by the PRC government, could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or in extreme cases, become worthless. For details, see page 58 of this prospectus. |
| Changes in Chinas economic, political or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. For details, see page 59 of this prospectus. |
| The PRC government may intervene with or influence our operation at any time by adopting new laws and regulations. For example, the PRC government has recently published new policies that significantly affected certain industries such as the education and internet industries, and we cannot rule out the possibility that it will in the future release regulations or policies regarding our industry that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system, including uncertainties regarding the enforcement of laws, and sudden or unexpected changes in policies, laws and regulations with little advance notice in China, could adversely affect us. For details, see page 60 of this prospectus. |
| The PCAOB had historically been unable to inspect our auditor in relation to their audit work performed for our financial statements. Additionally, the inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of our auditor in the past has deprived our investors with the benefits of such inspections. For details, see page 61 of this prospectus. |
| The ADSs will be prohibited from trading in the United States under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCAA, if in the future the PCAOB is unable to inspect and investigate completely auditors located in China. The delisting of and prohibition from trading the ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted and prohibited from trading, may cause the value of the ADSs to significantly decline or be worthless. For details, see page 61 of this prospectus. |
| It may be difficult for overseas regulators to conduct investigation or collect evidence within China. For details, see page 62 of this prospectus. |
Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure
| There are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations, and rules relating to the agreements that establish the VIE structure for our operations in China, including potential future actions by the PRC government, which could affect the enforceability of our contractual arrangements with the VIEs and, consequently, significantly affect the financial condition and results of operations performance of Yunxuetang. If the PRC government finds such agreements non-compliant with relevant PRC laws, regulations, and rules, or if these laws, regulations, and rules or the interpretation thereof change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in the VIEs. |
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| Any failure by the VIEs or their shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material adverse effect on our business. |
| The shareholders of the VIEs may have actual or potential conflicts of interest with us, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. |
Risks Related to Corporate Governance
| Our proposed dual-class share structure with different voting rights, as well as the concentration of our share ownership among executive officers, directors and principal shareholders, may limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A ordinary shares and the ADSs may view as beneficial. |
| As an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices for corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the [Nasdaq/NYSE] corporate governance listing standards; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with the corporate governance listing standards. |
| We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to U.S. domestic public companies. |
| We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act and may take advantage of certain reduced reporting requirements. |
Risks Related to the ADS and this Offering
| An active trading market for our ordinary shares or the ADSs may not develop and the trading price for the ADSs may fluctuate significantly. |
| The trading price of the ADSs is likely to be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors. |
| Techniques employed by short sellers may drive down the market price of the ADSs. |
Our Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at Room 501-502, No. 78 East Jinshan Road Huqiu District, Suzhou Jiangsu, 215011, Peoples Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is +86 (512) 6689 9881. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at the Office of Sertus Incorporations (Cayman) Limited, Sertus Chambers, Governors Square, Suite # 5-204, 23 Lime Tree Bay Avenue, P.O. Box 2547, Grand Cayman, KYI-1104, Cayman Islands. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Cogency Global Inc. located at 122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10168.
Investors should contact us for any inquiries through the address and telephone number of our principal executive office. Our principal website is www.yxt.com. The information contained on our website is not a part of this prospectus.
Implication of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCAA, was enacted on December 18, 2020 and amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 signed into law on December 29, 2022. The amended HFCAA states if the SEC determines that we have filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection by the PCAOB for two consecutive years, the SEC shall prohibit our shares or ADSs from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 reduced the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA from three years to two years.
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Our auditor, the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included elsewhere in this prospectus, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable professional standards. Since our auditor is located in mainland China, our auditor was historically not inspected by the PCAOB. On December 16, 2021, PCAOB issued the HFCAA Determination Report to notify the SEC of its determination that the PCAOB was unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong, and our auditor was subject to this determination.
On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB issued a report that vacated its December 16, 2021 determination and removed mainland China and Hong Kong from the list of jurisdictions where it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms. Accordingly, we do not expect to be identified as a Commission Identified Issuer under the HFCAA after we file our annual report on Form 20-F after becoming a public company.
However, whether the PCAOB will continue to conduct inspections and investigations completely to its satisfaction of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong is subject to uncertainty and depends on a number of factors out of our, and our auditors, control, including positions taken by authorities of the PRC. Therefore, there is no guarantee that our auditor would not be identified again by the PCAOB in the future as a registered public accounting firm that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely. If the PCAOB again concludes that it is unable to inspect and investigate completely registered public accounting firms, and if we are identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer for two consecutive years after we file our annual report on Form 20-F after becoming a public company, we would be subject to the delisting and prohibition of trading requirements of the HFCAA. The delisting of the ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted, may cause the value of the ADSs to significantly decline or be worthless. Additionally, the inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of our auditors in the past deprives investors with the benefits of such inspections. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Doing Business in ChinaThe ADSs will be prohibited from trading in the United States under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCAA, if in the future the PCAOB is unable to inspect and investigate completely auditors located in China. The delisting of and prohibition from trading the ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted and prohibited from trading, may cause the value of the ADSs to significantly decline or be worthless.
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company
As a company with less than US$1.235 billion in revenue for the last fiscal year, we qualify as an emerging growth company pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (as amended by the Fixing Americas Surface Transportation Act of 2015), or the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, in the assessment of the emerging growth companys internal control over financial reporting. The JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until such date that a private company is otherwise required to comply with such new or revised accounting standards.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (i) the last day of our fiscal year during which we have total annual gross revenues of at least US$1.235 billion; (ii) the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering; (iii) the date on which we have, during the previous three-year period, issued more than US$1.0 billion in non-convertible debt; or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of the ADSs that are held by non-affiliates exceeds US$700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter. Once we cease
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to be an emerging growth company, we will not be entitled to the exemptions provided in the JOBS Act discussed above. We have elected to take advantage of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards and acknowledge such election is irrevocable pursuant to Section 107 of the JOBS Act. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Corporate GovernanceWe will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company, particularly after we cease to qualify as an emerging growth company.
Implications of Being a Controlled Company
Upon the completion of this offering, Mr. Xiaoyan Lu, our director, founder and chairman of the board will beneficially own all of our issued Class B ordinary shares and will collectively be able to exercise % of the total voting power of our issued and outstanding share capital immediately following the completion of this offering, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs. As a result, we will be a controlled company as defined under the [Nasdaq/NYSE] rules because Mr. Xiaoyan Lu will hold more than 50% of the voting power for the election of directors. As a controlled company, we are permitted to elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements. If we rely on these exemptions, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these corporate governance requirements.
Recent Development
On January 15, 2024, pursuant to a partial final award issued by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (the HKIAC), the transfer of 21% equity interest in CEIBS PG to us was declared invalid at the time of the transfer and our Groups appointment of one director of CEIBS PG was invalid. We subsequently applied to set aside the arbitration award in April 2024 with the High Court of Hong Kong and CEIBS also filed an application to the High Court of Hong Kong to enforce the arbitration award in April 2024. In May 2024, the High Court of Hong Kong held a hearing, and the set aside application and the enforcement application were adjourned for substantive arguments before a judge in August 2024. For details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment. Given that Hong Kong courts have adopted a very pro-arbitration approach, we determined that we have lost control over CEIBS PG since the partial final award was declared on January 15, 2024 even though our application to set aside the partial final award is still pending adjudication. As a result, CEIBS PG has been deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements from January 15, 2024.
Conventions which Apply to This Prospectus
Unless we indicate otherwise, all information in this prospectus reflects the following:
| no exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option to purchase up to additional ADSs representing Class A ordinary shares from us; and |
Except where the context otherwise requires and for purposes of this prospectus only:
| ADSs refers to the American depositary shares, each representing three Class A ordinary shares; |
| CEIBS PG refers to CEIBS Publishing Group Limited, a Hong Kong company and its subsidiaries and, in the context of describing its consolidated financial information, business operations and operating data, its consolidated variable interest entities, or VIEs |
| China or PRC refers to the Peoples Republic of China, and only in the context of describing PRC laws, regulations and other legal or tax matters in this prospectus, excludes Taiwan, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR; |
| Class A ordinary shares refers to our Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, which will be outstanding immediately prior to the completion of this offering; |
15
| Class B ordinary shares refers to our Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, which will be outstanding immediately prior to the completion of this offering; |
| Fenghe Consulting refers to Fenghe Enterprise Management Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.; |
| large enterprises refers to enterprises with 1,000 to 10,000 employees; |
| learning hours refers to the cumulative length of the content we offered; |
| medium-sized enterprises refers to enterprises with 300 to 1,000 employees; |
| net revenue retention rate as of the end of a given period is a percentage calculated by specifying a measurement period consisting of the trailing twenty-four months from the given period end, and using (i) the total subscription revenue for the first twelve months of the measurement period from the group of customers as of the end of the first twelve months as the denominator, and (ii) the total subscription revenue for the second twelve months of the measurement period from the same group of customers as the numerator. |
| ordinary share or shares refers to our ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, and immediately prior to the completion of this offering, to our Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share; |
| our WFOEs refers to Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. and Fenghe Enterprise Management Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.; |
| PaaS refers to platform-as-a-service; |
| preferred shares refers to our Series A preferred shares, Series B preferred shares, Series C preferred shares, Series D preferred shares, Series E preferred shares, and Series E2 preferred shares, par value US$0.0001 per share; |
| RMB or Renminbi refers to the legal currency of the Peoples Republic of China; |
| Shanghai China Europe refers to Shanghai China Europe International Culture Communication Co., Ltd.; |
| SaaS refers to software-as-a-service; |
| Shanghai Fenghe refers to Shanghai Fenghe Culture Communication Co., Ltd.; |
| small enterprises refers to enterprises with less than 300 employees; |
| subscription customer refers to customers with subscription revenues; |
| subscription revenues refers to digital corporate learning solution revenues derived from the subscription based model, which does not include revenues from on-premise software and offline courses; |
| US$, dollars or U.S. dollars refers to the legal currency of the United States; |
| VIE(s) refers to Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai China Europe International Culture Communication Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Fenghe Culture Communication Co., Ltd. before January 15, 2024, and refers to Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. after January 15, 2024, because CEIBS PG has been deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements from January 15, 2024 and the VIEs controlled by CEIBS PG have been deconsolidated as well (for details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment); |
16
| Yunxuetang, we, us, our company, and our refer to YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, a Cayman Islands company and its subsidiaries and, in the context of describing our consolidated financial information, business operations and operating data, its consolidated variable interest entities, or VIEs; |
| Yunxuetang Information refers to Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.; and |
| Yunxuetang Network refers to Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. |
Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to Renminbi in this prospectus are made at RMB7.2203 to US$1.00, the exchange rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board on March 29, 2024. We make no representation that any Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars or Renminbi, as the case may be, at any particular rate, the rates stated below, or at all.
This prospectus contains information derived from various public sources and certain information from an industry report dated May 20, 2024 commissioned by us and prepared by Frost & Sullivan, a third-party industry research firm, to provide information regarding our industry and market position. Such information involves a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to these estimates. The industry in which we operate is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to variety of factors, including those described in the Risk Factors section. These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in these publications and reports.
17
Offering price range |
We currently estimate that the initial public offering price will be between US$ and US$ per ADS. | |
ADSs offered by us |
ADSs (or ADSs if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full). | |
The ADSs |
Each ADS represents three Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share. The depositary will hold the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs. You will have rights as provided in the deposit agreement. | |
We do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. If, however, we declare dividends on our Class A ordinary shares, the depositary will pay you the cash dividends and other distributions it receives on our Class A ordinary shares, after deducting its fees and expenses in accordance with the terms set forth in the deposit agreement. | ||
You may turn in the ADSs to the depositary in exchange for our Class A ordinary shares. The depositary will charge you fees for any exchange. | ||
We may amend or terminate the deposit agreement without your consent. If you continue to hold the ADSs after an amendment to the deposit agreement, you agree to be bound by the deposit agreement as amended. | ||
To better understand the terms of the ADSs, you should carefully read the Description of American Depositary Shares section of this prospectus. You should also read the deposit agreement, which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes this prospectus. | ||
Ordinary shares |
We will issue Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs in this offering. | |
Our ordinary shares will be divided into Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the completion of this offering. Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights. Each Class |
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A ordinary share is entitled to one vote and each Class B ordinary share is entitled to 20 votes. Each Class B ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof, while Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. Upon any sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of any Class B ordinary share by a holder thereof to any non-affiliate of such holder, each of such Class B ordinary share will be automatically and immediately converted into one Class A ordinary share. | ||
All options, regardless of grant dates, will entitle holders to the equivalent number of Class A ordinary shares once the vesting and exercising conditions on such share-based compensation awards are met. | ||
See Description of Share Capital. | ||
Ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this |
Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share (or Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs in full), and 16,931,824 Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share. | |
Over-allotment option |
We have granted the underwriters the right to purchase up to an additional Class A ordinary shares from us within 30 days of the date of this prospectus, to cover over-allotments, if any, in connection with the offering. | |
Listing |
We intend to apply to list the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares on the [Nasdaq/NYSE] under the symbol YXT. | |
Use of proceeds |
We estimate that the net proceeds to us from the offering will be approximately US$ . We intend to use the net proceeds from the offering for investment in research and development to enhance and expand our solution offerings, investment in technology system and infrastructure to improve our operational efficiency, marketing and brand promotions, strategic investments and acquisitions complementary to our business, and other general corporate purposes and for general corporate purposes. See Use of Proceeds. |
19
Lock-up |
We[, our directors, executive officers and existing shareholders] have agreed with the underwriters, subject to certain exceptions, not to offer, sell, or dispose of any shares of our share capital or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any shares of our share capital during the 180-day period following the date of this prospectus. See Shares Eligible for Future Sale and Underwriting for more information. | |
Payment and settlement |
The underwriters expect to deliver the ADSs against payment therefor through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company on , 2024. | |
Depositary |
The Bank of New York Mellon | |
Taxation |
For Cayman, PRC and U.S. federal income tax considerations with respect to the ownership and disposition of the ADSs, see Taxation. | |
Risk Factors |
See Risk Factors and other information included in this prospectus for discussions of the risks relating to investing in the ADSs. You should carefully consider these risks before deciding to invest in the ADSs. |
Unless otherwise indicated, all information contained in this prospectus assumes no exercise of the option granted to the underwriters to purchase up to additional Class A ordinary shares to cover over-allotments, if any, in connection with the offering.
20
OUR SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA AND OPERATING DATA
The following summary consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, summary consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2022 and 2023 and summary consolidated cash flow data for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023 have been derived from audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The following summary consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, summary consolidated balance sheet data as of March 31, 2024 and summary consolidated cash flow data for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024 have been derived from unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited financial statements and include all adjustments of a normal recurring nature as necessary for the fair statement of our financial position as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024, and our results of operations and cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024. CEIBS PG has been deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements from January 15, 2024. For details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment. For certain of our financial data on the pro forma basis as if the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG occurred as of the beginning of 2022, see Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsRecent Development. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or U.S. GAAP. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of results expected for future periods. You should read this section together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included elsewhere in this prospectus.
The following table presents our summary consolidated statements of operations for the periods presented.
For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except for percentages, shares and per share data) |
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(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Revenues |
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Corporate learning solutions(1) |
424,275 | 98.5 | 411,822 | 57,037 | 97.1 | 114,634 | 93.8 | 82,031 | 11,361 | 98.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Others |
6,361 | 1.5 | 12,194 | 1,689 | 2.9 | 7,533 | 6.2 | 1,185 | 164 | 1.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total revenues |
430,636 | 100.0 | 424,016 | 58,726 | 100.0 | 122,167 | 100.0 | 83,216 | 11,525 | 100.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of revenues |
(197,899 | ) | (46.0 | ) | (194,474 | ) | (26,935) | (45.9 | ) | (44,541) | (36.5 | ) | (31,147 | ) | (4,313) | (37.4 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gross profit |
232,737 | 54.0 | 229,542 | 31,791 | 54.1 | 77,626 | 63.5 | 52,069 | 7,212 | 62.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Operating expenses |
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Sales and marketing expenses |
(344,729 | ) | (80.1 | ) | |
(244,379 |
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(33,846) | (57.6 | ) | (53,588) | (43.9 | ) | (36,953 | ) | (5,118) | (44.4 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Research and development expenses |
(312,093 | ) | (72.5 | ) | (176,537 | ) | (24,450) | (41.6 | ) | (48,623) | (39.8 | ) | (30,052 | ) | (4,162) | (36.1 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
General and administrative expenses |
(206,254 | ) | (47.9 | ) | (142,852 | ) | (19,785) | (33.7 | ) | (38,394) | (31.4 | ) | (28,215 | ) | (3,908) | (33.9 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total operating expenses |
(863,076 | ) | (200.4 | ) | (563,768 | ) | (78,081) | (132.9 | ) | (140,605) | (115.1 | ) | (95,220 | ) | (13,188) | (114.4 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Other operating income |
9,507 | 2.2 | 5,629 | 780 | 1.3 | 1,939 | 1.6 | 513 | 70 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Loss from operations |
(620,832 | ) | (144.2 | ) | (328,597 | ) | (45,510) | (77.5 | ) | (61,040) | (50.0 | ) | (42,638 | ) | (5,906) | (51.2 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except for percentages, shares and per share data) |
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(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interest and investment income |
5,682 | 1.3 | 4,613 | 639 | 1.1 | 1,696 | 1.4 | 2,431 | 337 | 2.9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interest expense |
(497 | ) | (0.1 | ) | (4,650 | ) | (644 | ) | (1.1 | ) | (914) | (0.7 | ) | (2,484 | ) | (344) | (3.0 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Investment losses |
| | (13,144 | ) | (1,820 | ) | (3.1 | ) | (1,406) | (1.2 | ) | (1,841 | ) | (255) | (2.2 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG |
| | | | | | | 78,760 | 10,908 | 94.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange gain/(loss), net |
2,151 | 0.5 | (350 | ) | (49) | (0.1 | ) | (512) | (0.4 | ) | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities |
(32,190 | ) | (7.5 | ) | 102,419 | 14,185 | 24.2 | (4,305) | (3.5 | ) | 808 | 112 | 1.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(Loss)/income before income tax benefit |
(645,686 | ) | (149.9 | ) | (239,709 | ) | (33,199) | (56.5 | ) | (66,481) | (54.4 | ) | 35,039 | 4,853 | 42.1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Income tax benefit |
5,391 | 1.3 | 9,871 | 1,367 | 2.3 | 1,233 | 1.0 | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Net (loss)/income |
(640,295 | ) | (148.7 | ) | (229,838 | ) | (31,832) | (54.2 | ) | (65,248) | (53.4 | ) | 35,039 | 4,853 | 42.1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of nil tax |
47,034 | 10.9 | 2,385 | 330 | 0.6 | (3,970) | (3.2) | 341 | 47 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Change in unrealized (loss)/gain on investments in available-for-sale debt securities |
(1,650 | ) | (0.4 | ) | 6,988 | 968 | 1.6 | 2,879 | 2.4 | (2,760) | (382) | (3.3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total comprehensive (loss)/income |
(594,911 | ) | (138.1 | ) | (220,465 | ) | (30,534) | (52.0 | ) | (66,339) | (54.2) | 32,620 | 4,518 | 39.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total comprehensive loss attributable to non-controlling interests shareholders |
25,520 | 5.9 | 9,383 | 1,300 | 2.2 | 2,454 | 2.0 | 300 | 41 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total comprehensive (loss)/gain attributable to YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(569,391 | ) | (132.2 | ) | (211,082 | ) | (29,234) | (49.8 | ) | (63,885) | (52.2) | 32,920 | 4,559 | 39.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(1,011,491 | ) | (234.9 | ) | (229,907 | ) | (31,843 | ) | (54.2 | ) | (137,186) | (112.3) | (51,510) | (7,134) | (61.9) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weighted average number of ordinary sharesBasic and diluted |
47,315,140 | 48,781,392 | 48,781,392 | 48,259,381 | 49,232,594 | 49,232,594 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders of YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(21.38 | ) | (4.71 | ) | (0.66 | ) | (2.84) | (1.05) | (0.14) |
Note: (1) | Corporate learning solution revenue includes subscription revenue and non-subscription revenue. |
Pro forma basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share was computed to give effect to the automatic conversion and the re-designation, as applicable, of all of our outstanding convertible redeemable preferred shares into ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis as if the conversion and reclassification had occurred as of the beginning of the period. The following table presents the reconciliations (i) from net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders to pro forma net (loss)/income per share attributable to ordinary shareholders, and (ii) from weighted average ordinary shares outstanding to pro forma weighted average ordinary shares outstanding. This table does not take into consideration any anti-dilution adjustment based on the initial public offering price as the initial public offering price is not available yet.
22
For the Year Ended December 31, |
For the Three Months Ended March 31, |
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(in thousands, except for shares and per share data) | ||||||||||||||||
Numerator |
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Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders |
(1,011,491 | ) | (229,907 | ) | (137,186) | (51,510) | ||||||||||
Pro forma adjustment for conversion of preferred sharesnet accretion of convertible redeemable preferred shares |
396,716 | 9,452 | 74,392 | 86,849 | ||||||||||||
Pro forma adjustment for combined effects of 1) change in fair value of derivative liabilities and 2) automatic conversion of these preferred shares |
32,190 | (102,419 | ) | 4,305 | (808) | |||||||||||
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Numerator for pro forma basic and diluted (loss)/income per share |
(582,585 | ) | (322,874 | ) | (58,489) | 34,531 | ||||||||||
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Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing net income per share, basic |
47,315,140 | 48,781,392 | 48,259,381 | 49,232,594 | ||||||||||||
Pro forma effect of conversion of preferred shares |
109,481,969 | 109,481,969 | 109,481,969 | 109,481,969 | ||||||||||||
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Denominator for pro forma basic (loss)/income per share |
156,797,109 | 158,263,361 | 157,741,350 | 158,714,563 | ||||||||||||
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Dilutive effect of unvested restricted share units |
| | | 442,012 | ||||||||||||
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Denominator for pro forma diluted (loss)/income per share |
156,797,109 | 158,263,361 | 157,741,350 | 159,156,575 | ||||||||||||
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Pro forma net (loss)/income per share, basic |
(3.72 | ) | (2.04 | ) | (0.37) | 0.22 | ||||||||||
Pro forma net (loss)/income per share, diluted |
(3.72 | ) | (2.04 | ) | (0.37) | 0.22 |
The following table presents our summary consolidated balance sheet data as of the dates presented.
As of December 31, | As of March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
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(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Summary Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
432,007 | 320,489 | 44,387 | 218,870 | 30,313 | |||||||||||||||
Short-term investments |
102,478 | 58,128 | 8,051 | 56,245 | 7,790 | |||||||||||||||
Accounts receivable, net |
34,987 | 32,790 | 4,541 | 22,193 | 3,074 | |||||||||||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
28,798 | 12,028 | 1,666 | 8,982 | 1,244 | |||||||||||||||
Total current assets |
598,270 | 423,435 | 58,645 | 306,290 | 42,421 | |||||||||||||||
Total assets |
1,036,599 | 924,846 | 128,090 | 792,841 | 109,807 | |||||||||||||||
Total current liabilities |
599,200 | 473,949 | 65,641 | 361,811 | 50,108 | |||||||||||||||
Total liabilities |
689,569 | 772,158 | 106,943 | 639,484 | 88,566 | |||||||||||||||
Total mezzanine equity |
3,554,229 | 3,563,681 | 493,564 | 3,650,530 | 505,593 | |||||||||||||||
Total shareholders deficit |
(3,207,199 | ) | (3,410,993 | ) | (472,417 | ) | (3,497,173) | (484,352) | ||||||||||||
Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders deficit |
1,036,599 | 924,846 | 128,090 | 792,841 | 109,807 |
23
The following table presents our summary consolidated cash flow data for the periods presented.
For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | RMB | RMB | US$ | |||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net cash used in operating activities |
(456,835 | ) | (257,029 | ) | (35,598 | ) | (161,545) | (58,491) | (8,101) | |||||||||||||||
Net cash generated from/(used in) investing activities |
267,917 | (97,533 | ) | (13,508 | ) | 34,279 | (29,509) | (4,087) | ||||||||||||||||
Net cash generated from/(used in) financing activities |
9,575 | 241,904 | 33,503 | 9,851 | (13,400) | (1,856) | ||||||||||||||||||
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents |
20,809 | 1,140 | 158 | (4,026) | (219) | (30) | ||||||||||||||||||
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents |
(158,534 | ) | (111,518 | ) | (15,445 | ) | (121,441) | (101,619) | (14,074) | |||||||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year/period |
590,541 | 432,007 | 59,832 | 432,007 | 320,489 | 44,387 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year/period |
432,007 | 320,489 | 44,387 | 310,566 | 218,870 | 30,313 | ||||||||||||||||||
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24
VIE Consolidating Schedule
The following table presents the summary statements of operations for the VIEs and other entities for the years presented.
For the Year Ended December 31, 2022 | For the Year Ended December 31, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
YXT.COM | Other subsidiaries |
Primary Beneficiaries of VIEs(4) |
VIEs | Eliminating adjustments |
Consolidated | YXT.COM | Other subsidiaries |
Primary Beneficiaries of VIEs(4) |
VIEs | Eliminating adjustments |
Consolidated | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Third-party revenues |
| | | 430,636 | | 430,636 | | | | 424,016 | | 424,016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Inter-company revenue(1) |
| | 86,055 | | (86,055 | ) | | | | 111,792 | | (111,792 | ) | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of revenues |
| | (81,737 | ) | (116,162 | ) | | (197,899 | ) | | | (57,609 | ) | (136,865 | ) | | (194,474 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gross profit |
| | 4,318 | 314,474 | (86,055 | ) | 232,737 | | | 54,183 | 287,151 | (111,792 | ) | 229,542 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Operating expenses |
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Third-party sales and marketing expenses |
| | (212,590 | ) | (132,139 | ) | | (344,729 | ) | | | (130,706 | ) | (113,673 | ) | | (244,379 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Inter-company sales and marketing expenses(1) |
| | | (86,055 | ) | 86,055 | | | | | (111,792 | ) | 111,792 | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Research and development expenses |
| | (244,723 | ) | (67,370 | ) | | (312,093 | ) | | | (113,371 | ) | (63,166 | ) | | (176,537 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General and administrative expenses |
(9,050 | ) | (36 | ) | (159,322 | ) | (37,846 | ) | | (206,254 | ) | (27,856 | ) | (37 | ) | (84,033 | ) | (30,926 | ) | | (142,852 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total operating expenses |
(9,050 | ) | (36 | ) | (616,635 | ) | (323,410 | ) | 86,055 | (863,076 | ) | (27,856 | ) | (37 | ) | (328,110 | ) | (319,557 | ) | 111,792 | (563,768 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other operating income |
| | 880 | 8,627 | | 9,507 | | | 1,109 | 4,520 | | 5,629 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Loss of the VIEs(2) |
| | (1,952 | ) | | 1,952 | | | | (45,835 | ) | | 45,835 | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Equity in loss of the Groups entities(3) |
(575,930 | ) | (602,240 | ) | | | 1,178,170 | | (295,718 | ) | (308,046 | ) | | | 603,764 | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Loss from operations |
(584,980 | ) | (602,276 | ) | (613,389 | ) | (309 | ) | 1,180,122 | (620,832 | ) | (323,574 | ) | (308,083 | ) | (318,653 | ) | (27,886 | ) | 649,599 | (328,597 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Interest and investment income |
2,454 | 859 | 3,614 | 1,506 | (2,751 | ) | 5,682 | 756 | 3,013 | 1,102 | 781 | (1,039 | ) | 4,613 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interest expense |
(59 | ) | (33 | ) | (7 | ) | (3,149 | ) | 2,751 | (497 | ) | (56 | ) | (31 | ) | (16 | ) | (5,586 | ) | 1,039 | (4,650 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Investment losses |
| | | | | | | | | (13,144 | ) | | (13,144 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange gain/(loss), net |
| | 2,151 | | | 2,151 | | | (350 | ) | | | (350 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities |
(32,190 | ) | | | | | (32,190 | ) | 102,419 | | | | | 102,419 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Loss before income tax benefit |
(614,775 | ) | (601,450 | ) | (607,631 | ) | (1,952 | ) | 1,180,122 | (645,686 | ) | (220,455 | ) | (305,101 | ) | (317,917 | ) | (45,835 | ) | 649,599 | (239,709 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Income tax benefit |
| | 5,391 | | | 5,391 | | | 9,871 | | | 9,871 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Net loss |
(614,775 | ) | (601,450 | ) | (602,240 | ) | (1,952 | ) | 1,180,122 | (640,295 | ) | (220,455 | ) | (305,101 | ) | (308,046 | ) | (45,835 | ) | 649,599 | (229,838 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests shareholders(3) |
| | | | 25,520 | 25,520 | | | | | 9,383 | 9,383 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net loss attributable to YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(614,775 | ) | (601,450 | ) | (602,240 | ) | (1,952 | ) | 1,205,642 | (614,775 | ) | (220,455 | ) | (305,101 | ) | (308,046 | ) | (45,835 | ) | 658,982 | (220,455 | ) |
(1) | It represents the elimination of the intercompany transactions at the consolidation level. For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, the service fees of variable interest entities charged by the related primary beneficiaries were RMB86.1 million and RMB111.8 million, respectively. |
(2) | It represents the elimination of the investment among primary beneficiaries of variable interest entities and variable interest entities. |
(3) | It represents the elimination of the investment among our company and other subsidiaries. |
(4) | The primary beneficiaries of VIEs represent our WFOEs, i.e. Yunxuetang Information and Fenghe Consulting. |
25
The following table presents the summary balance sheet data for the VIEs and other entities as of the dates presented.
As of December 31, 2022 | As of December 31, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
YXT.COM | Other subsidiaries |
Primary Beneficiaries of VIEs(4) |
VIEs | Eliminating adjustments |
Consolidated | YXT.COM | Other subsidiaries |
Primary Beneficiaries of VIEs(4) |
VIEs | Eliminating adjustments |
Consolidated | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Summary Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
213,558 | 3,185 | 93,997 | 121,267 | | 432,007 | 15,466 | 4,589 | 8,148 | 292,286 | | 320,489 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Short-term investments |
| 55,360 | 24,097 | 23,021 | | 102,478 | | 58,128 | | | | 58,128 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accounts receivable, net |
| | | 34,987 | | 34,987 | | | | 32,790 | | 32,790 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Intra-Group receivables due from the Groups entities(1) |
56,065 | 4,181 | 43,644 | 7,282 | (111,172 | ) | | 57,228 | 4,095 | 30,518 | 25,012 | (116,853 | ) | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
| | 3,659 | 25,139 | | 28,798 | | | 2,376 | 9,652 | | 12,028 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total current assets |
269,623 | 62,726 | 165,397 | 211,696 | (111,172 | ) | 598,270 | 72,694 | 66,812 | 41,042 | 359,740 | (116,853 | ) | 423,435 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Investments to the Groups entities(2) |
274,261 | 311,870 | | | (586,131 | ) | | 60,013 | 85,316 | | | (145,329 | ) | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Loan from the Groups entities(1) |
| | 60,000 | | (60,000 | ) | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Intra-Group receivables due from the Groups entities(1) |
| | | | | | 117,573 | | | | (117,573 | ) | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Long-term bank deposit |
| | | | | | | 117,573 | | | | 117,573 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total assets |
556,239 | 374,596 | 480,992 | 382,075 | (757,303 | ) | 1,036,599 | 266,533 | 269,701 | 224,643 | 543,724 | (379,755 | ) | 924,846 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Intra-Group payables due to the Groups entities(1) |
35,613 | 56,065 | | 19,494 | (111,172 | ) | | 35,613 | 174,801 | 17,730 | 6,282 | (234,426 | ) | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net liabilities of the VIEs(3) |
| | 33,653 | | (33,653 | ) | | | | 72,502 | | (72,502 | ) | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total current liabilities |
253,479 | 56,065 | 132,998 | 301,483 | (144,825 | ) | 599,200 | 148,732 | 174,801 | 139,327 | 318,017 | (306,928 | ) | 473,949 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Loan to the Groups entities(1) |
| | | 60,000 | (60,000 | ) | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total liabilities |
253,479 | 56,065 | 169,122 | 415,728 | (204,825 | ) | 689,569 | 148,732 | 174,801 | 139,327 | 616,226 | (306,928 | ) | 772,158 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total mezzanine equity |
3,554,229 | 29,893 | | | (29,893 | ) | 3,554,229 | 3,563,681 | 29,893 | | | (29,893 | ) | 3,563,681 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Additional paid-in capital(2)(3) |
| 2,129,478 | 2,222,589 | 201,940 | (4,554,007 | ) | | 16,671 | 2,203,276 | 2,297,098 | 201,940 | (4,702,314 | ) | 16,671 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Statutory reserve |
| | | 4,322 | | 4,322 | | | | 4,322 | | 4,322 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income(2)(3) |
11,260 | (1,283 | ) | (1,283 | ) | (1,283 | ) | 3,849 | 11,260 | 23,775 | 9,829 | 8,847 | 8,847 | (27,523 | ) | 23,775 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accumulated deficit(2)(3) |
(3,262,762 | ) | (1,839,557 | ) | (1,909,436 | ) | (238,632 | ) | 3,983,303 | (3,267,084 | ) | (3,486,359 | ) | (2,148,098 | ) | (2,220,629 | ) | (287,611 | ) | 4,652,016 | (3,490,681 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Non-controlling interests(2)(3) |
| | | | 44,270 | 44,270 | | | | | 34,887 | 34,887 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total shareholders deficit |
(3,251,469 | ) | 288,638 | 311,870 | (33,653 | ) | (522,585 | ) | (3,207,199 | ) | (3,445,880 | ) | 65,007 | 85,316 | (72,502 | ) | (42,934 | ) | (3,410,993 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders deficit |
556,239 | 374,596 | 480,992 | 382,075 | (757,303 | ) | 1,036,599 | 266,533 | 269,701 | 224,643 | 543,724 | (379,755 | ) | 924,846 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(1) | It represents the elimination of intercompany balances among our company, other subsidiaries, primary beneficiaries of variable interest entities, and variable interest entities for intercompany service charges and treasury cash management purposes. |
(2) | It represents the elimination of the investment among our company and other subsidiaries. |
(3) | It represents the elimination of the investment among primary beneficiaries of variable interest entities and variable interest entities. |
(4) | The primary beneficiaries of VIEs represent our WFOEs, i.e. Yunxuetang Information and Fenghe Consulting. |
26
The following table presents the summary cash flow data for the VIEs and other entities for the years presented.
For the Year Ended December 31, 2022 | For the Year Ended December 31, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
YXT.COM | Other subsidiaries |
Primary Beneficiaries of VIEs(4) |
VIEs | Eliminating adjustments |
Consolidated | YXT.COM | Other subsidiaries |
Primary Beneficiaries of VIEs(4) |
VIEs | Eliminating adjustments |
Consolidated | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net cash used in transactions with external parties |
(6,211 | ) | 1,204 | (585,711 | ) | 133,883 | | (456,835 | ) | (29,486 | ) | 3,029 | (363,914 | ) | 133,342 | | (257,029 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net cash used in transactions with the Groups entities(1) |
| | 86,511 | (86,511 | ) | | | | | 137,412 | (137,412 | ) | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Net cash used in operating activities |
(6,211 | ) | 1,204 | (499,200 | ) | 47,372 | | (456,835 | ) | (29,486 | ) | 3,029 | (226,502 | ) | (4,070 | ) | | (257,029 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cash paid for capital contributions to the Groups entities(2) |
(521,474 | ) | (521,474 | ) | | | 1,042,948 | | (48,380 | ) | (48,380 | ) | | | 96,760 | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fund to the Groups entities(3) |
| | (20,000 | ) | | 20,000 | | (118,736 | ) | | | (17,727 | ) | 136,463 | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Repayment from the Groups entities(3) |
159,392 | | | | (159,392 | ) | | | | 60,000 | | (60,000 | ) | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other investing activities |
211,626 | 78,924 | 5,589 | (28,222 | ) | | 267,917 | (5,740 | ) | (113,355 | ) | 14,546 | 7,016 | | (97,533 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Net cash generated from/ (used in) investing activities |
(150,456 | ) | (442,550 | ) | (14,411 | ) | (28,222 | ) | 903,556 | 267,917 | (172,856 | ) | (161,735 | ) | 74,546 | (10,711 | ) | 173,223 | (97,533 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Proceeds from capital contributions from the Groups entities(2) |
| 521,474 | 521,474 | | (1,042,948 | ) | | | 48,380 | 48,380 | | (96,760 | ) | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Repayment to the Groups entities(3) |
| (159,392 | ) | | | 159,392 | | | | | (60,000 | ) | 60,000 | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fund from the Groups entities(3) |
| | | 20,000 | (20,000 | ) | | | 118,736 | 17,727 | | (136,463 | ) | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other financing activities |
(2,425 | ) | | | 12,000 | | 9,575 | (3,896 | ) | | | 245,800 | | 241,904 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Net cash generated from financing activities |
(2,425 | ) | 362,082 | 521,474 | 32,000 | (903,556 | ) | 9,575 | (3,896 | ) | 167,116 | 66,107 | 185,800 | (173,223 | ) | 241,904 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents |
22,430 | (1,621 | ) | | | | 20,809 | 8,146 | (7,006 | ) | | | | 1,140 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents |
(136,662 | ) | (80,885 | ) | 7,863 | 51,150 | | (158,534 | ) | (198,092 | ) | 1,404 | (85,849 | ) | 171,019 | | (111,518 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(1) | It represents the cash flows between primary beneficiaries of variable interest entities and the variable interest entities for intercompany service charges. |
(2) | It represents the cash flows related to capital injections among our company, other subsidiaries and primary beneficiaries of variable interest entities. |
(3) | It represents the cashflow between our company, other subsidiaries, primary beneficiaries of VIEs and VIEs for treasury cash management purposes. |
(4) | The primary beneficiaries of VIEs represent our WFOEs, i.e. Yunxuetang Information and Fenghe Consulting. |
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In evaluating our business, we consider and use certain non-GAAP measures, including adjusted net loss, adjusted net (loss) margin, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin, as supplemental measures to review and assess our operating performance. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We present these non-GAAP financial measures because they are used by our management to evaluate our operating performance and formulate business plans. We also believe that the use of these non-GAAP measures facilitates investors assessment of our operating performance.
These non-GAAP financial measures are not defined under U.S. GAAP and are not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools. One of the key limitations of using these non-GAAP financial measures is that they do not reflect all items of income and expense that affect our operations. Further, these non-GAAP measures may differ from the non-GAAP information used by other companies, including peer companies, and therefore their comparability may be limited. We compensate for these limitations by reconciling these non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating our performance. We encourage you to review our financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure.
Adjusted Net Loss
We define adjusted net loss as net (loss)/income excluding amortization of incremental intangible assets resulting from business combination, impairment of intangible assets, gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG, share-based compensation, change in fair value of derivative liabilities and adjustments for income taxes. Adjusted net loss margin represents adjusted net loss as a percentage of total revenues.
The following tables reconcile our adjusted net loss and adjusted net loss margin for the periods indicated, to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which are net (loss)/income and net (loss)/income margin:
For the Year Ended December 31, |
For the Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | RMB | RMB | US$ | |||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands except for percentages) |
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(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net (loss)/income |
(640,295 | ) | (229,838 | ) | (31,832 | ) | (65,248 | ) | 35,039 | 4,853 | ||||||||||||||
Adjustments: |
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Amortization of incremental intangible assets resulting from business combination |
18,240 | 16,340 | 2,263 | 3,420 | | | ||||||||||||||||||
Impairment of intangible assets |
| 21,660 | 3,000 | | | | ||||||||||||||||||
Gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG |
| | | | (78,760 | ) | (10,908 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Share-based compensation |
71,815 | 26,123 | 3,618 | 10,887 | 2,636 | 365 | ||||||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities |
32,190 | (102,419 | ) | (14,185 | ) | 4,305 | (808 | ) | (112 | ) | ||||||||||||||
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Adjusted loss before income taxes |
(518,050 | ) | (268,134 | ) | (37,136 | ) | (46,636 | ) | (41,893 | ) | (5,802 | ) | ||||||||||||
Adjusted income taxes |
(4,560 | ) | (9,500 | ) | (1,316 | ) | (855 | ) | | | ||||||||||||||
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Adjusted net loss |
(522,610 | ) | (277,634 | ) | (38,452 | ) | (47,491 | ) | (41,893 | ) | (5,802 | ) | ||||||||||||
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Net (loss)/income margin |
(148.7 | )% | (54.2 | )% | (54.2 | )% | (53.4 | )% | 42.1 | % | 42.1 | % | ||||||||||||
Adjusted net loss margin |
(121.4 | )% | (65.5 | )% | (65.5 | )% | (38.9 | )% | (50.3 | )% | (50.3 | )% |
Adjusted EBITDA
We define adjusted EBITDA as net (loss)/income excluding interest income and expenses, income tax expense and benefit, depreciation and amortization, impairment of intangible assets, gain on deconsolidation of
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CEIBS PG, share-based compensation, and changes in fair value of derivative liabilities. Adjusted EBITDA margin represents adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of total revenues.
The following tables reconcile our adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin for the periods indicated, to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which are net (loss)/income and net (loss)/income margin:
For the Year Ended December 31, |
For the Three Months Ended March 31, |
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Net (loss)/income |
(640,295 | ) | (229,838 | ) | (31,832 | ) | (65,248 | ) | 35,039 | 4,853 | ||||||||||||||
Adjustments: |
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Interest income |
(1,272 | ) | (2,071 | ) | (287 | ) | (1,274 | ) | (113 | ) | (16 | ) | ||||||||||||
Interest expenses |
497 | 4,650 | 644 | 914 | 2,484 | 344 | ||||||||||||||||||
Income tax benefit |
(5,391 | ) | (9,871 | ) | (1,367 | ) | (1,233 | ) | | | ||||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
31,461 | 31,353 | 4,342 | 8,027 | 3,307 | 458 | ||||||||||||||||||
Impairment of intangible assets |
| 21,660 | 3,000 | | | | ||||||||||||||||||
Gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG |
| | | | (78,760 | ) | (10,908 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Share-based compensation |
71,815 | 26,123 | 3,618 | 10,887 | 2,636 | 365 | ||||||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities |
32,190 | (102,419 | ) | (14,185 | ) | 4,305 | (808 | ) | (112 | ) | ||||||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA |
(510,995 | ) | (260,413 | ) | (36,067 | ) | (43,622 | ) | (36,215 | ) | (5,016 | ) | ||||||||||||
Net (loss)/income margin |
(148.7 | )% | (54.2 | )% | (54.2 | )% | (53.4 | )% | 42.1 | % | 42.1 | % | ||||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA margin |
(118.7 | )% | (61.4 | )% | (61.4 | )% | (35.7 | )% | (43.5 | )% | (43.5 | )% |
Key Operating Metrics
We manage our business using the following key operating metrics. We use these metrics to assess the progress of our business, make decisions on where to allocate capital, time and technology investments and assess the near-term and long-term performance of our business.
The following tables set forth the major operating metrics for the periods indicated:
As of December 31, |
As of March 31, |
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2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||
Number of subscription customers |
3,439 | 3,230 | 3,433 | 2,434 | ||||||||||||
Net revenue retention rates of subscription customers |
118.1 | % | 101.4 | % | 111.1 | % | 106.1 | % |
We are committed to expanding our customer base. The number of our subscription customers was 3,439 and 3,230 as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. The number of our subscription customers was 3,433 and 2,434 as of March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively, among which CEIBS PG had 727 subscription customers as of March 31, 2023. Such decrease was mainly due to (i) the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG, and (ii) our business expansion strategy to focus on large enterprises with strong and steady demand for corporate learning solutions, leading to the deselection of some small and medium-sized customers.
Our ability to maintain long-term revenue growth is in part dependent on our ability to expand customers usage of our solutions over time and grow revenue generated from existing customers. An important way for us to track our performance in this area is by measuring net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers. Net revenue retention rate helps track the changes in purchases made by a particular cohort of customers over time. A net revenue retention rate above 100% reflects that the customers are increasing their purchases of our
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solutions. The net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 118.1% and 101.4% as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. The net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 111.1% and 106.1%, respectively, as of March 31, 2023 and 2024. Such decrease was mainly due to our business expansion strategy to focus on large enterprises with strong and steady demand for corporate learning solutions, leading to the deselection of some small and medium-sized customers. As we continue to develop our content + software solutions, enrich our content offerings and improve our brand awareness, our existing customers willingness to repurchase and renewal will further increase.
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An investment in the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares involves significant risks. You are purchasing equity securities of a Cayman Islands holding company rather than equity securities of our subsidiaries and the VIEs, that have substantive business operations in the PRC. YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED is a Cayman Islands holding company with no equity ownership in its VIEs, and it conducts its operations in China through (i) its PRC subsidiaries, and (ii) its VIEs, with which it has maintained contractual arrangements. Such corporate structure involves unique risks to investors in the ADSs. You should consider carefully all the information in this prospectus, including the risks and uncertainties described below, before making an investment in the ADSs. Any of the following risks could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In any such case, the market price of the ADSs could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
We operate under the new business model of digital corporate learning solutions. Our future business growth and expansion is dependent on the market adoption of our business model as well as the continued development of our solutions and the markets our solutions target.
We believe our future success will largely depend on the growth, if any, in the demand for digital corporate learning solutions, particularly enterprise-grade solutions. The widespread adoption of our solutions depends not only on strong demand for new forms of corporate learning, but also for solutions delivered via a SaaS business model in particular. Digital corporate learning is relatively nascent in China, and our target customers may not fully recognize the need for, or the benefits of, our solutions. Moreover, many enterprises have invested substantial technical and financial resources and personnel in the implementation and integration of legacy in-person corporate learning systems and, therefore, may be reluctant or unwilling to incur the switching costs required to migrate to digital corporate learning solutions such as ours. As such, it is difficult to predict customer demand for our solutions, customer adoption and renewal, the rate at which existing customers expand their engagement with our solutions, and the size and growth rate of the market for our solutions. Furthermore, even if businesses want to adopt a digital corporate learning solution, the adoption may take them a long time or they could be delayed due to budget constraints, weakening economic conditions, or other factors. Some businesses may also have long-term contracts with existing vendors and cannot switch in the short term. Therefore, the penetration rate of digitalization in the corporate learning industry may grow slower than we expected. Even if market demand for digital corporate learning solutions generally increases, we cannot assure you that adoption of our solutions will also increase. If the market for digital corporate learning solutions does not grow as we expect or our solutions do not achieve widespread adoption, it could result in reduced customer spending, customer attrition, and decreased revenue, any of which would adversely affect our business and results of operations.
The growth of the addressable markets we target also depends on a number of other risks and uncertainties, including the cost, performance and perceived value associated with digital corporate learning solutions, as well as their ability to address security, stability, and privacy concerns. In order to grow our business and extend our market position, we intend to educate our existing and prospective customers about the benefits of our solutions and continuously enhance and innovate our solutions and features to increase market acceptance. However, if the digital corporate learning solutions fail to develop in a way that satisfies the growing demands of customers, or develop more slowly than we anticipate, it could significantly harm our business. In addition, the corporate learning industry may fail to grow significantly or at all, or there could be a reduction in demand as a result of a lack of public acceptance, technological challenges, competing products and services, decreases in corporate learning spending by current and prospective customers, weakening economic conditions and other causes. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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While we have seen rapid business growth since our inception, we have experienced historical revenue decline and we may not be able to sustain our revenue growth in the future.
Our revenues decreased by 1.5% from RMB430.6 million in 2022 to RMB424.0 million (US$58.7 million) in 2023. Our revenues decreased by 31.9% from RMB122.2 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to RMB83.2 million (US$11.5 million) in the same period of 2024, partially due to the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG from January 15, 2024. For details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment. While we have seen rapid business growth since our inception, we may not be able to sustain our revenue growth in the future. Further, as we operate in a new and rapidly changing industry, widespread acceptance and use of our solutions are critical to our future growth and success. We believe our revenue growth depends on a number of factors, including but not limited to our ability to:
| attract new customers; |
| retain our existing customers, expand usage of our solutions, and cross-sell and up-sell to our existing customers; |
| provide excellent customer experience; |
| introduce and grow adoption of enhancements and new solutions we develop; |
| achieve widespread acceptance and use of our solutions; |
| adequately expand our sales and marketing force and other sales channels; |
| maintain the flexibility, configurability and scalability of our solutions; |
| price our solutions effectively so that we are able to attract and retain customers without compromising our profitability; |
| successfully compete against established companies and new market entrants; |
| increase awareness of our brand; and |
| comply with existing and new applicable laws and regulations. |
If we are unable to accomplish any of these tasks, we may not be able to maintain the scale or growth of our revenues. We also expect our operating expenses to increase in absolute terms as we grow, and if our revenue growth does not increase to offset these anticipated increases in our operating expenses, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed, and we may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability. We have also encountered in the past, and expect to encounter in the future, risks and uncertainties frequently experienced by growing companies in rapidly evolving industries. If our assumptions regarding our projected growth and the associated risks and uncertainties, which we use to plan and operate our business, are incorrect or change, or if we do not address these risks and uncertainties successfully, our costs may rise, growth rates may slow, and our business would suffer. Further, our rapid growth may make it difficult to evaluate our future prospects.
We have incurred net losses and negative cash flows in the past and may incur operating losses in the future.
We have incurred substantial net losses in the past. In 2022 and 2023, our net loss was RMB640.3 million and RMB229.8 million (US$31.8 million), respectively, and our operating cash outflow was RMB456.8 million and RMB257.0 million (US$35.6 million), respectively. In the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, we recorded net loss of RMB65.2 million and net income of RMB35.0 million (US$4.9 million), respectively, and our operating cash outflow was RMB161.5 million and RMB58.5 million (US$8.1 million), respectively. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023 and March 31, 2024, we had RMB432.0 million, RMB320.5 million (US$44.4 million) and RMB218.9 million (US$30.3 million) in cash and cash equivalents, respectively. For details, see Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
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Liquidity and Capital ResourcesCash Flows and Working Capital. Over the past few years, we have spent considerable amounts of time and financial resources to enhance or upgrade our existing digital corporate learning solutions in order to position us favorably for future growth. In addition, we have expended significant resources upfront to market, promote and sell our solutions through various direct and indirect channels, and expect to continue to do so in the future. Our aggressive investments continue to drive our negative cash flows and decrease our cash balance and we expect to continue to invest in business operations, technological improvements, marketing campaigns and domestic and international expansion. Our status as a public company could also incur significant additional accounting, legal and other expenses.
Achieving profitability and maintaining an adequate cash balance will require us to increase revenues, manage our cost structure, and avoid significant liabilities and raise capital through equity or debt financing. We cannot guarantee, however, that we can achieve any of these goals as we continue to aggressively invest in the aspiration of continued revenue growth. Our failure to generate increased revenues to cover the expected increase in these various expenditures could prevent us from ever achieving profitability or positive cash flows from operating activities and maintaining an adequate cash balance, which may adversely affect our liquidity, increase our debt burden, and disrupt our operations.
If we fail to enhance or upgrade our existing solutions and introduce new ones that are broadly accepted by the market and meet our customers evolving demands in a timely and cost-effective manner, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
We offer a comprehensive portfolio of digital corporate learning solutions to enterprises of all sizes, from which we generate most of our revenues. Our ability to attract new customers and increase revenues from existing customers depends in part on our ability to enhance and improve our existing solutions and introduce new ones. The success of any enhancement or new solution depends on a number of factors, including timely completion, adequate quality testing, consistent high-performance, market-accepted pricing levels and overall market acceptance. Enhancements and new solutions that we develop may not be introduced in a timely or cost-effective manner, may contain errors or defects, may have interoperability difficulties or may not achieve the broad market acceptance necessary to generate significant revenues. We also have invested, and may continue to invest, in the acquisition of complementary businesses, technologies, services, products and other assets that benefit our innovation and overall business operations. Our investments may not result in enhancements or new solutions that will be accepted by existing or prospective customers. If we are unable to enhance or upgrade our existing solutions to meet the evolving customer requirements or develop new ones in a timely or cost-effective manner, we may not be able to maintain or increase our revenues or recoup our investments, and our business, results of operations and financial condition would be materially and adversely affected.
Unfavorable industry-specific economic and market conditions, or reductions in corporate learning spending, could limit our ability to grow our business and negatively affect our operating results.
Our revenues, results of operations and cash flows depend on the overall demand for our solutions. Concerns about the systemic impact of a potential widespread recession (in China or internationally), geopolitical issues or the availability and cost of credit could lead to increased market volatility, decreased consumer confidence and diminished growth expectations in the Chinese and other key international economies, which in turn could result in reductions in corporate learning spending or IT spending by our existing and prospective customers. Prolonged economic slowdowns may result in customers delaying or canceling enterprising learning projects, choosing to focus on in-house development efforts or seeking to lower their costs by requesting us to renegotiate existing contracts on less advantageous terms or defaulting on payments due on existing contracts or not renewing at the end of existing contract terms. We cannot predict the timing, strength, or duration of any economic slowdown, instability or recovery, generally or within any particular industry. If the economic conditions of the general economy or markets in which we operate worsen from present levels, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
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We operate in a highly competitive market. If we fail to compete effectively, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
According to Frost & Sullivan, the corporate learning industry in China is rapidly evolving and increasingly competitive. With the introduction of new market entrants, we expect competition to continue to intensify in the future. The principal competitive factors in our market include training effectiveness, content quality, teaching system and tools, scalability and training cost.
Some of our competitors, including one-stop corporate learning solution providers and online learning content providers, may have greater financial, technological and other resources, greater brand recognitions, larger sales and marketing budgets and larger content portfolios. As a result, certain of our competitors may be able to respond more quickly and effectively than we can to new or evolving opportunities, technologies, standards or customer requirements. In addition, some competitors may offer products or services that address one or a limited number of functions at lower prices, with greater depth than our solutions or in geographies or industry verticals where we do not operate or are less established. Our current and potential competitors may develop and market new solutions with functionality comparable to ours, which could lead to increased pricing pressures. In addition, some of our competitors have lower prices, which may be attractive to certain customers even if those products or services have different or lesser functionality. Moreover, as we expand the scope of our business, we may face additional competition. If one or more of our competitors were to merge or partner with another of our competitors, the change in the competitive landscape could also adversely affect our ability to compete effectively.
If we are unable to compete effectively or maintain favorable pricing, it could lead to reduced revenues, reduced margins, increased losses or the failure of our solutions to achieve or maintain widespread market acceptance, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we fail to constantly respond to evolving needs of our existing and prospective customers by enhancing the training content and functionality of our solutions, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
The demands of corporate learning from our customers are continuously growing and constantly evolving. Our future success will depend on our ability to develop and make available on a timely basis new and improved training content and solution features that can address evolving customer needs. Our success in training content development depends on our ability to identify the demands of our existing or potential customers with respect to new knowledge and skills, and then develop, either by ourselves or by our content partners, sufficient high-quality course content and related learning materials to address these needs in a timely manner. However, there can be no assurance that we and our content partners may be able to do so successfully. For example, certain courses we and our content partners have developed in the past have received lower than anticipated levels of customer interest. In addition, if we are not able to anticipate our customers demands and provide relevant content, our lead times for content development may make it difficult for us to rapidly produce the required content. We also believe that many of our customers find us by word-of-mouth and other non-paid referrals from existing customers. If existing customers are dissatisfied with the content in or user experience of our content library, they may stop accessing our content library and may stop referring others to us. Likewise, if existing customers do not find our content helpful or appealing, whether because of a negative experience or declining interest in or relevancy of the content, they may stop referring others to us. If we are unable to retain existing customers and attract new customers, our growth prospects would be harmed and our business could be adversely affected.
With respect to solution features, many of the features we currently offer are relatively new and unproven and we cannot assure you that our existing features and any future features or enhancements that we develop will be successful. The success of any enhancement or new feature depends on several factors, including our
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understanding of market demand, timely execution, successful introduction, and market acceptance. We may not successfully develop new content and features or enhance our existing solutions to meet customer needs or our new content and features and enhancements may not achieve adequate acceptance in the market. Additionally, we may not sufficiently increase our revenues to offset the upfront content development, research and development, sales and marketing, and other expenses we incur in connection with the development of new courses and solution features and enhancements. Any of the foregoing may adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Failure to effectively develop and expand our sales and marketing capabilities could harm our ability to increase our customer base and achieve broader market acceptance of our solutions.
Our ability to broaden our customer base and achieve broader market acceptance of our solutions depends to a significant extent on the ability of our sales and marketing organizations to work together to drive our sales pipeline and cultivate customer and partner relationships to drive revenue growth. We have invested in and plan to continue expanding our sales and marketing team. Identifying, recruiting, and training sales personnel will require significant time, expense, and attention. Failure to hire, develop, and retain talented sales or marketing personnel, or underperformance of these new sales or marketing personnel or their inability to achieve desired productivity levels in a reasonable period of time could adversely affect our business.
We also cooperate with our channel partners to distribute our solutions to their customers, with which we do not contract or contract only to a limited extent. We expect these channels to continue to generate a portion of our revenues in the future. Our sustained success requires continued efforts to develop and maintain successful relationships with these channel partners and increasing the portion of sales opportunities that they refer to us. We also plan to dedicate significant resources to sales and marketing programs, including lead generation activities and brand awareness campaigns, such as search engine and email marketing, online banner and video advertising, client events, and webinars. If we are unable to identify, develop and maintain strategic relationship with our existing or new channel partners, or if we fail to select appropriate marketing channels and our sales and marketing programs are not effective, our ability to broaden our customer base and achieve broader market acceptance of our solutions could be harmed.
In addition, the investments we make in our sales and marketing organizations will occur in advance of experiencing benefits from such investments, making it difficult to determine in a timely manner if we are efficiently allocating our resources in these areas. We also need to enhance our ability to cross-sell and up-sell additional features and solutions to existing customers. If our direct sales efforts are not as successful as anticipated, we may incur higher customer acquisition cost and be unable to meet our revenue growth targets.
From time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment.
From time to time in the ordinary course of our business, we may become involved in various legal proceedings, including commercial, intellectual property, product liability, employment, class action and other litigation and claims, as well as governmental and other regulatory investigations and proceedings. Such matters, with or without merit, could be time-consuming, divert managements attention and resources and cause us to incur significant expenses. Furthermore, because litigation is inherently unpredictable, the results of any such actions may have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, operating results or financial condition.
In June 2020, we acquired control over CEIBS PG and its business, which mainly consists of subscription based corporate learning solutions, by acquiring the entire equity interests in (i) Digital B-School China Limited, holding a 39% equity interest in CEIBS PG, and (ii) CEIBS Management Limited, holding a 21% equity interest in CEIBS PG (collectively, the Share Transfer). However, in August 2020, CEIBS, the other shareholder of CEIBS PG holding the remaining 40% equity interest, stated publicly that we had infringed its intellectual property rights and CEIBS was not aware of and did not recognize the associated share purchase of Shanghai
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China Europe and Shanghai Fenghe by Yunxuetang Network, the VIEs. In January 2021, CEIBS further filed a winding up petition with the High Court of Hong Kong, seeking to wind up CEIBS PG (the Winding-up Proceedings). These disputes arose from a series of transaction documents, including a share purchase agreement, entered into among CEIBS and certain then shareholders of CEIBS PG for the establishment of CEIBS PG in May 2007 (collectively, the Transaction Documents). As part of the arrangement, CEIBS entered into a quitclaim with CEIBS PG and agreed to relinquish the sole and exclusive rights over certain trademarks to CEIBS PG worldwide (the Quitclaim). Furthermore, in November 2020, CEIBS PG brought an arbitration action against CEIBS in the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (the HKIAC Arbitration), alleging that CEIBS has breached the Quitclaim and the Transaction Documents entered into among the parties by using CEIBS related trademarks, which CEIBS PG has sole and exclusive rights to use.
During the Winding-up Proceedings, CEIBS alleged that the Share Transfer breached the relevant provisions stipulated under the Transaction Documents, the Share Transfer regarding our indirect equity interest in CEIBS PG was invalid or of no effect and/or inequitable, and that we infringed its intellectual property rights by using CEIBS related trademarks, on the basis that, amongst others, (i) the Share Transfer circumvented and was in breach of a right-of-first-offer provision, which requires a shareholder to give notice to other shareholders before it transfers its shares to a transferee who is neither another shareholder or an affiliate of a shareholder; (ii) the Share Transfer has caused a complete and irretrievable breakdown of mutual trust and confidence in the cooperation of CEIBS PG among the parties; (iii) CEIBS has the right to withdraw the sole and exclusive rights over the trademarks granted to CEIBS PG when there are significant changes to the shareholder structure of CEIBS PG based on the memorandum of understanding agreed among the parties; and (iv) we infringed its intellectual property rights by using CEIBS related trademarks outside the agreed scope under the Quitclaim. In November 2021, the High Court of Hong Kong decided that the Winding-up Proceedings be stayed pending determination of the HKIAC Arbitration. However, upon determination of the HKIAC Arbitration, the parties do have the liberty to restore the Winding-up Proceedings for further directions or order. On January 15, 2024, the arbitration tribunal issued a partial final award, declaring the transfer of 21% equity interest in CEIBS PG to us invalid at the time of the transfer and our Groups appointment of one director of CEIBS PG invalid, while dismissing the Quitclaim issue due to the lack of jurisdiction. We subsequently applied to set aside the arbitration award in April 2024 with the High Court of Hong Kong and CEIBS also filed an application to the High Court of Hong Kong to enforce the arbitration award in April 2024. In May 2024, the High Court of Hong Kong held a hearing, and the set aside application and the enforcement application were adjourned for substantive arguments before a judge in August 2024.
Given that Hong Kong courts have adopted a very pro-arbitration approach, we determined that we have lost control over CEIBS PG since the partial final award was declared on January 15, 2024 even though our application to set aside the partial final award is still pending adjudication. As a result, CEIBS PG has been deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements from January 15, 2024. In 2022 and 2023, revenues contributed by CEIBS PG amounted to RMB84.6 million and RMB99.4 million (US$13.8 million), respectively. As we have consolidated CEIBS PG in our financial statements after the Share Transfer and have deconsolidated CEIBS PG from our consolidated financial statements starting from January 15, 2024, such deconsolidation will have a material and adverse effect on our results of operations reflected on our consolidated financial statements. In the event that CEIBS succeeds in the Winding up Proceedings if such proceedings are restored, CEIBS PG will be wound up. Furthermore, we may be subject to negative publicity, whether actual or perceived, in relation to the legal proceedings, which could harm our reputation, and in turn could have a negative impact on our relationships with customers and our results of operations. Any of the foregoing may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition. For details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings.
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Complying with evolving laws and regulations regarding cybersecurity, information security, privacy and data protection and other related laws and requirements may be expensive and force us to make adverse changes to our business. Many of these laws and regulations are subject to change and uncertain interpretation, and any failure or perceived failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in negative publicity, legal proceedings, suspension or disruption to operations, increased cost of operations, or otherwise harm our business.
Laws and regulations governing cybersecurity, information security, privacy and data protection, the use of the internet as a commercial medium, the use of data in artificial intelligence and machine learning, and data sovereignty requirements are rapidly evolving, extensive, complex, and include inconsistencies and uncertainties. According to the PRC National Security Law, the State shall establish institutions and mechanisms for national security review and regulation, conduct national security review on certain matters which affect or may affect the national security, such as key technologies and IT products and services. According to the PRC Cybersecurity Law and relevant regulations, network operators, are obligated to take technical and other necessary measures to ensure the security and stable operation of network, maintain the integrity, confidentiality and availability of network data, and furthermore provide assistance and support in accordance with the law for public security and national security authorities to protect national security or assist with criminal investigations. In addition, the PRC Cybersecurity Law provides that personal information and important data collected and generated by operators of critical information infrastructure in the course of their operations in the PRC should be stored in the PRC, and the law imposes heightened regulation and additional security obligations on operators of critical information infrastructure.
On December 28, 2021, the CAC and 12 other relevant PRC government authorities published the amended Cybersecurity Review Measures, which came into effect on February 15, 2022 and superseded and replaced the current Cybersecurity Review Measures previously promulgated on April 13, 2020. The Cybersecurity Review Measures provide that if a network platform operator that possesses personal information of more than one million users and seeks a listing in a foreign country must apply for a cybersecurity review with the Cybersecurity Review Office.
We primarily offer digital corporate learning solutions to enterprise customers. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not been informed by any relevant PRC governmental authorities that our services are deemed to be provided to any CIIOs, nor have we been identified as a CIIO by any relevant PRC governmental authorities. As of the date of this prospectus, as confirmed by the relevant regulatory authority, a cybersecurity review is not required for this offering and listing. As of the date of this prospectus, save as the above-mentioned confirmation, we have not been involved in any investigations or become subject to a cybersecurity review initiated by any regulatory authorities based on the Cybersecurity Review Measures, and we have not received any warning or sanctions in such respect or any regulatory objections to this offering from any regulatory authorities. However, in anticipation of the strengthened implementation of cybersecurity laws and regulations and the continued expansion of our business, we face potential risks if we are deemed as a critical information infrastructure operator or data processing operator under the PRC cybersecurity laws and regulations, and would be required to follow cybersecurity review procedures.
There can be no assurance that we would be able to complete the applicable cybersecurity review procedures in a timely manner, or at all, if we are required to follow such procedures in the future. Any failure or delay in the completion of the cybersecurity review procedures or any other non-compliance or perceived non-compliance with the PRC Cybersecurity Law or related regulations may prevent us from using or providing certain network products and services, and may result in fines or other penalties such as making certain required rectification, suspending our related business, closing our website or taking down our operations and reputational damages or proceedings or actions against us by PRC regulatory authorities, customers or others, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operation or financial conditions. See also Risks Related to Doing Business in ChinaThe approval, filing or other requirements of the China Securities Regulatory Commission or other PRC government authorities are required in connection with this offering under PRC law.
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Furthermore, the PRC government has exerted more oversight and control over overseas securities offerings and other capital markets activities and foreign investment in China-based companies like us. Any such action, once taken by the PRC government, could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or in extreme cases, become worthless.
On June 10, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress of China promulgated the PRC Data Security Law, which came into effect on September 1, 2021. The PRC Data Security Law provides for data security and privacy obligations on entities and individuals carrying out data processing activities, introduces a data classification and hierarchical protection system based on the importance of data in economic and social development, as well as the degree of harm it will cause to national security, public interests, or legitimate rights and interests of individuals or organizations when such data is tampered with, destroyed, leaked, or illegally acquired or used, provides for a national security review procedure for those data activities which may affect national security and imposes export restrictions on certain data and information. The PRC Data Security Law provides that data refers to any recording of information by electronic or other means. Data processing includes the collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, availability and disclosure of data, etc. On July 30, 2021, the State Council promulgated the Regulations on Key Information Infrastructure Security Protection, which came into effect on September 1, 2021. On August 20, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress promulgated the PRC Personal Information Protection Law, effective on November 1, 2021. These newly promulgated laws and regulations reflect PRC governments further attempts to strengthen the legal protection for the national network security, the security of key information infrastructure and the security of personal information protection.
Furthermore, certain PRC regulatory authorities issued the Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities. These opinions call for strengthened regulation over illegal securities activities and supervision of overseas listings by China-based companies and propose to take effective measures, such as promoting the development of relevant regulatory systems to deal with the risks and incidents faced by China-based overseas-listed companies. As of the date of this prospectus, no official guidance or related implementation rules have been issued in relation to these recently issued opinions and the interpretation and implementation of these opinions remain unclear at this stage. We cannot assure you that we will not be required to obtain the filing or pre-approval of potentially other regulatory authorities to pursue this offering.
Also, we cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with new laws and regulations in all respects, and we may be ordered to rectify, suspend or terminate any actions or services that are deemed illegal by the regulatory authorities and become subject to material penalties, which may materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
These and other similar legal and regulatory developments could lead to legal and economic uncertainty, affect how we design, market and sell solutions, how we operate our business, how our customers process and share data, how we process and use data, and how we transfer personal data from one jurisdiction to another, which could negatively impact demand for our solutions. We may incur substantial costs to comply with such laws and regulations, to meet the demands of our customers relating to their own compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and to establish and maintain internal compliance policies.
Moreover, different regulatory bodies in China, including among others, the MIIT, the Cyberspace Administration of China and the Ministry of Public Security have enforced laws and regulations regarding cybersecurity, information security, privacy and data protection with various standards and applications. We have established rigorous and comprehensive policies and other documentation for the collection, processing, sharing, disclosure authorization and other aspects of data use and privacy and taken necessary measures to comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding cybersecurity, information security, privacy and data protection. However, we cannot guarantee the effectiveness of these policies and measures undertaken by us, our employees, vendors or other business partners. We may be from time to time required to rectify or further improve our
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measures regarding cybersecurity, information security, privacy and data protection. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding cybersecurity, information security, privacy and data protection, or any failure or perceived failure of our business partners to do so, or any failure or perceived failure of our employees to comply with our internal control measures, may result in negative publicity and legal proceedings or regulatory actions against us, and could result in fines, revocation of licenses, suspension of relevant operations or other legal or administrative penalties, which may in turn damage our reputation, discourage our current and potential consumers and subject us to fines and damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, it is possible that we may become subject to additional or new laws and regulations regarding cybersecurity, information security, privacy and data protection in other jurisdictions if we extend our business outside of the PRC in the future, which may result in additional expenses to us and subject us to potential liability and negative publicity. We expect that these areas will receive greater attention and focus from regulators, and attract continued or greater public scrutiny and attention going forward, which could increase our compliance costs and subject us to heightened risks and challenges regarding cybersecurity, information security, privacy and data protection. If we are unable to manage these risks, we could become subject to penalties, fines, suspension of business and revocation of required licenses, and our reputation and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
We may fail to optimize the prices for our solutions or the renewal terms of our subscription agreements, and any adverse trend in pricing or customer renewal rates will impact our revenues and results of operations.
As the markets for our solutions mature, or as new competitors introduce new products or services that compete with ours, we may be unable to attract new customers at the same price or based on the same pricing model as we have used historically. Moreover, certain customers may demand greater price concessions. As a result, we may be required to reduce our prices in the future, which could materially and adversely affect our net revenues, gross margin, profitability, financial position and cash flow.
In addition, our customers have no obligation to renew their subscriptions for our solutions after the expiration of the initial subscription period. Our customers may renew for fewer elements of our solutions or on different pricing terms. We may not accurately predict customer renewal rates. Our customers renewal rates may decline or fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including their dissatisfaction with our pricing or our solutions and their ability to continue their operations and spending levels. If our customers do not renew their subscriptions for our solutions on similar pricing terms, our net revenues may decline and our business could suffer. In addition, over time the average term of our contracts could change based on renewal rates or for other reasons.
If we fail to offer high-quality customer support, it could adversely affect our relationships with our current and prospective customers and materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Many of our customers depend on our customer support team to assist them in deploying or using our solutions effectively, help them resolve post-deployment issues quickly, and provide ongoing support. If we do not devote sufficient resources or are otherwise unsuccessful in assisting our customers effectively, it could adversely affect our ability to retain existing customers and could prevent prospective customers from adopting our solutions. We may be unable to respond quickly enough to accommodate short-term increases in demand for customer support. We also may be unable to modify the nature, scope and delivery of our customer support to compete with changes in the support services provided by our competitors. Increased demand for customer support, without corresponding revenues, could increase costs and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our business is dependent on our reputation and on positive recommendations from existing customers. Any failure to deliver and maintain high-quality customer support, or a market perception that we do not maintain high-quality customer support, could adversely affect our ability to attract new customers, and therefore our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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We could incur substantial costs in protecting or defending our intellectual property rights, including intellectual properties licensed from third parties, and any failure to protect our intellectual property could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We rely on a combination of patent, trademark, copyright, domain name, and trade secret protection laws in China and other jurisdictions, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions to protect our intellectual properties and brand. Protection of intellectual property rights in China may not be as effective as in other jurisdictions, and, as a result, we may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property rights, including intellectual properties licensed from third parties, which could adversely affect our business and competitive position. These violations of intellectual property rights, whether or not successfully defended, may also discourage content creation. In addition, any unauthorized use of our intellectual properties by third parties may adversely affect our business and our reputation. Further, we may have difficulty addressing the threats to our business associated with infringement of our copyrighted content. Our content may be potentially subject to unauthorized copying and illegal digital dissemination without an economic return to us. We adopt a variety of measures to mitigate such risks, including by litigation and through technology measures. However, we cannot assure you that such measures will be effective.
In addition, while we typically require our employees, consultants, and contractors who may be involved in the development of intellectual properties to execute agreements assigning such intellectual properties to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who in fact develops intellectual properties that we regard as our own. In addition, such agreements may not be self-executing such that the intellectual properties subject to such agreements may not be assigned to us without additional assignments being executed, and we may fail to obtain such assignments. In addition, such agreements may be breached. Accordingly, we may be forced to bring claims against third parties, or defend claims that they may bring against us related to the ownership of such intellectual properties.
Furthermore, managing or preventing unauthorized use of intellectual properties is difficult and expensive, and we may need to resort to legal proceedings to enforce or defend intellectual properties or to determine the enforceability, scope and validity of our proprietary rights or those of others. Such legal proceedings and an adverse determination in any such legal proceedings could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention. See also From time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment and BusinessLegal Proceedings.
Our sales cycle can be lengthy and unpredictable and requires considerable time and expense when we seek to serve subscription customers, and we may encounter challenges that could cause delays in revenue recognition, which may cause our results of operations to fluctuate significantly. If we fail to collect accounts receivables from our customers in a timely manner, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.
We currently derive a significant portion of our revenues from subscription revenues. Our subscription revenues represented 85.5%, 82.0%, 81.4% and 92.5% of our revenues in 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively. We believe that increasing our sales to these customers is key to our future growth. The length of our sales cycle, which is the time between initial contact with a potential customer and the ultimate sale to that customer, is approximately two months on average and varies upon the size of potential customer and project. Based on our experience, the sales cycle for subscription customers, which generally takes less than six months, can be lengthy and unpredictable, especially when we serve them with our project-based solutions. Many of our prospective customers do not have prior experience with digital corporate learning solutions and, therefore, typically spend significant time and resources evaluating our solutions before they purchase from us. Similarly, we typically spend more time and effort determining their requirements and educating these customers about the benefits and uses of our solutions. Large enterprises also tend to demand more customizations, integrations and additional features than their smaller counterparts. As a result, we may be
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required to divert more sales and research and development resources to large enterprises and will have less personnel available to support other customers, or we will need to hire additional personnel, which would increase our operating expenses. It is often difficult for us to forecast when a potential enterprise sale will close, the size of the customers initial order and the period over which the implementation will occur, any of which may impact the amount of revenues we recognize or the timing of revenue recognition. Large enterprises may delay their purchases as they assess their budget constraints, negotiate early contract terminations with their existing providers or wait for us to develop new features. Any delay in closing, or failure to close, a large-enterprise sales opportunity in a particular period or year could significantly harm our projected growth rates and cause the amount of new sales we book to vary significantly from period to period. We also may have to delay revenue recognition on some of these transactions until the customers technical or implementation requirements have been met.
In addition, we have experienced, and may continue to experience, challenges in configuring, integrating and implementing our solutions and providing ongoing support when serving large enterprises. Large enterprises networks and operational systems are often more complex than those of smaller customers, and the configuration, integration and implementation of our solutions for these customers generally require more efforts as well as participation from the customers corporate learning team. There can be no assurance that the customer will make available to us the necessary personnel and other resources for a successful configuration. The lack of local resources may prevent us from proper configurations, which can in turn adversely impact the quality of solutions that we deliver over our customers networks, and/or may result in delays in the implementation of our solutions. This may create a public perception that we are unable to deliver high-quality solutions to our customers, which could harm our reputation and make it more difficult to attract new customers and retain existing customers. Moreover, large enterprises tend to require higher levels of customer support and individual attention, including periodic business reviews and training sessions, which may increase our costs. If a customer is unsatisfied with the quality of solutions and customer support we provide, we may decide to incur costs beyond the scope of our contract with the customer in order to address the situation and protect our reputation, which may in turn reduce or eliminate the profitability of our contract with the customer. In addition, negative publicity related to our customer relationships, regardless of its accuracy, could harm our reputation and make it more difficult for us to compete for new business with current and prospective customers. If we fail to effectively execute the sale, configuration, integration, implementation and ongoing support of our solutions to large enterprises, our results of operations and our overall ability to grow our customer base could be materially and adversely affected.
We typically extend to our customers payment terms within 60 days after our customers have been billed, resulting in accounts receivables. We had net accounts receivables of RMB35.0 million, RMB32.8 million (US$4.5 million) and RMB22.2 million (US$3.1 million) as of December 31, 2022 and 2023 and March 31, 2024, respectively. We recorded allowance for doubtful accounts/expected credit losses in relation to accounts receivables of RMB3.2 million, RMB2.2 million (US$0.3 million) and RMB2.4 million (US$0.3 million), respectively, as of December 31, 2022 and 2023 and March 31, 2024.
We are exposed to the risks that our customers may delay or even be unable to pay us in accordance with the payment terms included in our agreements with them. We make a credit assessment of our customers before entering into an agreement with them. Nevertheless, we cannot assure you that we are or will be able to accurately assess the creditworthiness of each customer. In particular, customers that are large enterprises generally have longer payment cycles, which may result in increased accounts receivables. Furthermore, we also serve customers in certain rapidly evolving and competitive industries, some of which have also been highly regulated. Such customers financial soundness is subject to changes in the industry trend or relevant laws and regulations, which are beyond our control. We experienced extended payment cycles and delayed collection of accounts receivables as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak in relation to a few customers. In the future, we may experience more delays in collection of accounts receivables and our payment cycles may be affected. Any change in our customers business and financial conditions may affect our collection of accounts receivables. Any delay in payment or failed payment may adversely affect our liquidity and cash flows, which in turn may
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have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, as our business continues to scale up, our accounts receivables may continue to grow, which may increase our credit risk exposure.
We may be unable to integrate acquired businesses and technologies successfully or achieve the expected benefits of such acquisitions. We may acquire or invest in companies or technologies in the future, which may divert our managements attention and result in debt or dilution to our shareholders.
We have made acquisitions in recent years and may make additional acquisitions in the future. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully integrate acquired businesses and, where desired, their business portfolios into ours, to realize the intended benefits in the future. If we fail to successfully integrate acquired businesses or their business portfolios, or if they fail to perform as we anticipate, our existing business and our revenues and results of operations could be adversely affected. If the due diligence of the operations and customer arrangements of acquired businesses performed by us and by third parties on our behalf is inadequate or flawed, or if we later discover unforeseen financial or business liabilities, acquired businesses and their assets may not perform as expected or we may come to realize that our initial investment was too large or unwarranted. Additionally, acquisitions could result in difficulties integrating acquired operations and, where deemed desirable, transitioning overlapping products and services into a single business line, thereby resulting in the diversion of capital and the attention of management and other key personnel away from other business issues and opportunities. We may fail to retain employees acquired through acquisitions, which may negatively impact our integration efforts. Consequently, the failure to integrate acquired businesses effectively may adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may make additional acquisitions or investments or enter into joint ventures or strategic alliances with other companies. Such plans may divert our managements attention and result in debt or dilution to our shareholders.
We provide service level and delivery commitments under our agreements with customers. If we fail to meet these contractual commitments, we could be obligated to provide credits for future service, or face contract termination with refunds of prepaid amounts, which could harm our business and reputation.
Most of our agreements with customers contain service level and delivery commitments. If we are unable to meet the stated service level and delivery commitments, including failure to meet the uptime and other requirements under the agreements, we may be contractually obligated to provide the affected customers with service credits which could significantly affect revenue of the periods in which the uptime or delivery failure occurs and the credits are applied. We could also face customer terminations, which could significantly affect both our current and future revenue. Any service level or delivery failures could harm our business and reputation.
Real or perceived errors, defects, failures, vulnerabilities, or bugs in our solutions could diminish customer demand, harm our business and results of operations and subject us to liability. If we fail to maintain the compatibility of our solutions across devices, business systems and applications and physical infrastructure that we do not control, it could lead to an increase in integration costs and a decline in user engagement.
We provide digital corporate learning solutions to our customers, and any errors, defects, failures, vulnerabilities, bugs or other performance problems of our solutions could hurt our reputation and may damage our customers businesses. There can be no assurance that our solutions will not now or in the future contain undetected errors, defects, bugs, or vulnerabilities, which may cause temporary service outages for some customers. Certain errors in our software code may not be discovered until after the code has been released. Any error, defect, bug, or vulnerability discovered in our code after release could result in damage to our reputation, loss of customers, loss of revenues, or liability for damages, any of which could adversely affect our business and financial results. We implement bug fixes and upgrades as part of our regularly scheduled operation
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maintenance, which may lead to system downtime. Even if we are able to implement the bug fixes and upgrades in a timely manner, any history of defects, or the loss, damage or inadvertent release of confidential customer data, could cause our reputation to be harmed, and customers may elect not to purchase or renew their agreements with us and subject us to warranty claims or other liabilities. The costs associated with any material defect or error in our solutions or other performance problems may be substantial and could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.
Our customers are able to use and manage our solutions on multiple terminals, including PCs and mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. As new smart devices and operating systems are released, we may encounter difficulties supporting these devices and operating systems, and we may need to devote significant resources to the creation, support, and upgrade of our solutions. If we experience difficulties integrating our solutions into PCs, smartphones, tablets or other devices, our reputation, results of operations and future growth could be materially and adversely affected.
Our solutions can also be used alongside a wide range of business systems, applications and physical infrastructure, including enterprise software systems and business software applications used by our customers in their businesses. If we do not support the continued integration of our solutions with third-party business systems, applications and infrastructure, including through the provision of application programming interfaces that enable data to be transferred readily between our solutions and third-party applications, demand for our solutions could decline, and we could lose sales. We will also be required to make our solutions compatible with new or additional business systems, applications and infrastructure that are introduced into the markets that we serve. We may not be successful in making our solutions compatible with these business systems, applications and infrastructure, which could reduce demand for our solutions.
We may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims or other allegations, which could result in material damage to our reputation and brand image, payment of substantial damages.
We have been and may in the future be subject to intellectual property infringement claims or other allegations by third parties for services we provide or for content displayed on, retrieved from or linked to, recorded, stored or make accessible to our courses, either by us or our content partners, or otherwise distributed to our users and customers, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and prospects. We have endeavored to ensure that the content in our courses is not in violation of any third partys intellectual properties but due to the quantities of the courses, we cannot assure you that all of courses that we developed or will develop in the future. Defending these claims is costly and can impose a significant burden on our management and employees, and there can be no assurances that favorable final outcomes will be obtained in all cases. Such claims, even if they do not result in liability, may harm our reputation. Any resulting liability or expenses, or changes required to our solutions to reduce the risk of future liability, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and prospects.
Security breaches and improper access to or disclosure of our data or our customers data or other cyberattacks on our systems could result in litigation and regulatory risk and harm our reputation and our business.
Our business operations involve the storage and transmission of our customers proprietary and other sensitive data. While we have security measures in place to protect our customers data, our solutions and underlying infrastructure may be materially breached or compromised as a result of the following:
| third-party attempts to fraudulently induce employees or customers into disclosing sensitive information such as user names, passwords or other information to gain access to our customers data, our data or our IT systems; |
| efforts by individuals or groups of hackers and sophisticated organizations; |
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| cyberattacks on our internally built infrastructure; |
| vulnerabilities resulting from enhancements and upgrades to our existing solutions; |
| vulnerabilities in third-party infrastructure and systems and applications that our solutions operate in conjunction with or are dependent on; |
| vulnerabilities existing within newly acquired or integrated technologies and infrastructure; |
| attacks on, or vulnerabilities in, the many different underlying networks and services that power the internet that our solutions depend on, most of which are not under our control; and |
| employee or contractor errors or intentional acts that compromise our security systems. |
These risks are mitigated, to the extent possible, by our ability to maintain and improve business and data governance policies, enhanced processes and internal security controls, including our ability to escalate and respond to known and potential risks. Although we have developed systems and processes designed to protect our customers proprietary and other sensitive data, we can provide no assurance that such measures will provide absolute security. For example, our ability to mitigate these risks may be affected by the following:
| frequent changes to, and growth in complexity of, the techniques used to breach, obtain unauthorized access to, or sabotage IT systems and infrastructure, which are generally not recognized until launched against a target, possibly resulting in our being unable to anticipate or implement adequate measures to prevent such techniques; |
| the continued evolution of our internal IT systems as we early adopt new technologies and new ways of sharing data and communicating internally and with customers, which increases the complexity of our IT systems; |
| authorization by our customers to third-party technology providers to access their data, which may lead to our customers inability to protect their data that is stored on our servers; and |
| our limited control over our customers or third-party technology providers, or the transmissions or processing of data by third-party technology providers, which may not allow us to maintain the integrity or security of such transmissions or processing. |
In the ordinary course of business, we have been the target of malicious cyberattack attempts such as distributed denial-of-service attacks. Our data, including our course materials, were historically accessed, cracked and downloaded without authorization, and we have rectified our network security measures to better protect data security and privacy. To date, such identified security events have not been material or significant to us, including to our reputation or business operations, or had a material financial impact. We have implemented procedures designed to shield us against potential cyberattacks. However, there can be no assurance that future cyberattacks would not have a material adverse effect on our business operations.
Our business and results of operations may be adversely affected by our failure to maintain and enhance our brand image, by negative publicity and allegations involving us, as well as by third-party misconduct and misuse of our solutions, many of which are beyond our control.
We believe that maintaining and enhancing our brands including Yunxuetang and increasing market awareness of our company and solutions play an important role in achieving widespread acceptance as well as strengthening our relationships with existing customers and our ability to attract new customers. The successful promotion of our brands will depend largely on our continued marketing efforts, our ability to continue to offer high-quality solutions, our ability to successfully differentiate our solutions from competing products and services, and our ability to maintain market leadership. If we fail to maintain and enhance our brands, our pricing power may decline relative to competitors and we may lose existing or prospective customers, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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We have conducted various online and offline branding and customer acquisition activities. These activities, however, may not be successful or yield increased revenues. The promotion of our brand also requires us to make substantial expenditures, and we anticipate these expenditures to increase as the markets we address become more competitive and as we expand into new markets. To the extent that these marketing activities lead to increased revenues, the additional revenues generated could nevertheless be insufficient to offset the increased expenses we incur.
Our customers may, from time to time, complain about our solutions, such as complaints about the quality of our solutions, our pricing and customer support. If we fail to handle customer complaints effectively, our brand and reputation may suffer, our customers may lose confidence in us, and they may reduce or cease their use of our solutions. In addition, many of our customers post and discuss on social media their experience with internet-based products and services, including ours. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to generate positive customer feedback and minimize negative feedback on social media channels where existing and potential customers seek and share information. If our customers are dissatisfied with any action we take or change we implement in our solutions, their online commentary to this effect could negatively affect our brand and reputation. Complaints or negative publicity about us or our solutions could materially and adversely affect our reputation and ability to attract and retain customers, and as a result, our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, we store, process and transmit a large amount of data in the ordinary course of business, which may be subject to improper disclosure and misappropriation by our employees, business partners and other third parties. As a result, our business may suffer and our brand image, business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected. We are exposed to the risk of other types of employee misconduct, including intentionally failing to comply with government regulations, engaging in unauthorized activities and misrepresentation during marketing activities, which could harm our reputation. It is not always possible to deter third-party misconduct, and the precautions we take to prevent and detect misconduct may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Negative publicity about us, our products and services, operations and our directors, management, shareholders and business partners may adversely affect our reputation and business.
We may, from time to time, receive negative publicity, including negative internet and blog postings, ratings or comments on social media platforms or through traditional media about our company, our business, our directors and management, our shareholders, our brands, our products and services, our suppliers or other business partners. Certain of such negative publicity may be the result of malicious harassment or unfair competition acts by third parties. We may even be subject to government or regulatory investigation as a result of such third-party conduct and may be required to spend significant time and incur substantial costs to defend ourselves against such third-party conduct, and we may not be able to conclusively refute each of the allegations within a reasonable period of time, or at all.
We depend upon our strong brands and, therefore, could be adversely affected by any failure to maintain, protect and enhance those brands.
In China, we operate our services under certain brands including Yunxuetang (云学堂). Our business and financial performance are dependent on the strength and the market perception of our brand and services. A well-recognized brand is critical to strengthening the cooperative relationship with our business partners, facilitating our efforts to monetize our services and enhancing our attractiveness to customers. In order to create and maintain brand awareness and brand loyalty, to retain existing and attract new customers and cooperative content providers, we may need to substantially increase our marketing expenditures. Since we operate in a highly competitive market, brand maintenance and enhancement directly affect our ability to maintain our market position. We must exercise strict quality control of our content to ensure that our brand image is not tarnished by
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substandard products or services. We must also find ways to distinguish our content from those of our competitors. If for any reason we are unable to maintain and enhance our brand recognition, or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business, results of operations and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.
Any catastrophe, including natural disasters, public health crises, political crises, or other extraordinary events, could have a negative impact on our business operations.
We are vulnerable to natural disasters and other calamities. Fire, floods, typhoons, earthquakes, power loss, telecommunications failures, wars, riots, terrorist attacks or similar events could cause severe disruption to our daily operations, and may even require a temporary closure of our facilities. Our business could also be adversely affected by the effects of Ebola virus diseases, H1N1 flu, H7N9 flu, avian flu, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) or other epidemics. Our business operation could be disrupted if any of our employees or contracted workers are suspected of having any of the aforementioned epidemics or another contagious disease or condition, since it could require our employees and contracted workers to be quarantined or our offices to be disinfected. In addition, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected to the extent that any of these epidemics harms the Chinese economy and the business operations of our customers and business partners in general.
We depend largely on the continued services and hiring of our senior management, core technical personnel and qualified staff. Our inability to retain their services could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our future success heavily depends upon the continuing services of our senior management and other key employees. In particular, we rely on the expertise, experience and vision of Mr. Xiaoyan Lu, our founder and chairman of board of directors, and Mr. Teng Zu, our director and chief executive officer, Mr. Yazhou Wu, our chief technology officer and head of strategy and development, as well as other members of our senior management team. We also rely on the technical know-how and skills of our core research and development personnel. If any of our senior management or core technical personnel becomes unable or unwilling to continue to contribute their services to us, we may not be able to replace them easily or at all. As a result, our business may be severely disrupted, our results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected, and we may incur additional expenses to recruit, train and retain key employees.
Our existing operations and future growth require a sizeable and qualified workforce. The effective operation of our solutions depends in part on our professional employees. We also rely on experienced personnel for our business aspects of technology, solution design, content development and sales and marketing to anticipate and effectively respond to the changing customer preferences and market trends. However, our industry is characterized by high demand and intense competition for talents. In order to attract and retain talents, we may need to offer higher compensation, better trainings, more attractive career trajectories and other benefits to our employees, which may be costly and burdensome. We cannot assure you that we will be able to attract or retain qualified workforce necessary to support our future growth. We may fail to manage our relationship with our employees, and any disputes between us and our employees, or any labor-related regulatory or legal proceedings may divert managerial and financial resources, negatively impact staff morale, reduce our productivity, or harm our reputation and future recruiting efforts. In addition, as our business has grown rapidly, our ability to train and integrate new employees into our operations may not meet the increasing demands of our business. Any of the above issues related to our workforce may materially and adversely affect our results of operations and future growth.
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Our growth depends in part on the success of our relationships with third-party service providers. If we are unable to expand our relationships with existing third-party content partners, develop new partners, or maintain sufficient high-quality content from partners, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
We anticipate that the growth of our business will continue to depend on third-party relationships, including relationships with our suppliers, vendors and content partners.
We currently use third-party or related service providers to provide services that are critical to our businesses. We have worked with third-party content partners to deliver a broad portfolio of content within our content library, and have engaged third-party or related service providers to provide cloud infrastructure service. For example, if any of these service providers breaches its obligations under the contractual arrangements to provide such service to us, or refuses to renew these service agreements on terms acceptable to us, we may not be able to find a suitable alternative service provider. Similarly, any failure of or significant quality deterioration in such service providers service platform or system could materially and adversely affect our business operation. If any such risks were to materialize, our reputation, business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Further, our competitors may effectively incentivize third-party content partners to favor our competitors products or services, which could diminish our prospects for collaborations with third-parties and reduce subscriptions to our solutions. In addition, our content providers may not perform as expected under our agreements and we may in the future have disagreements or disputes with such partners. If any such disagreements or disputes cause us to lose access to content from a particular partner, or lead us to experience a significant disruption in the supply of content from a current partner, especially a single-source partner, they could have an adverse effect on our business and operating results.
We depend on cloud infrastructure operated by limited third party providers, and any disruption of or interference with our use of such third-party services would adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We cooperate with third-party cloud service providers to host our learning solutions. We are, therefore, vulnerable to problems experienced by these providers. We expect to experience interruptions, delays or outages with respect to our third-party cloud infrastructure in the future due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human, hardware or software errors, hosting disruptions and capacity constraints. Such issues could arise from a number of causes such as technical failures, natural disasters, fraud or security attacks. The level of service provided by these providers, or regular or prolonged interruptions in that service, could also affect the use of and our customers satisfaction with our solutions and could harm our business and reputation. In addition, hosting costs will increase as our customer base grows, which could harm our business if we are unable to grow our revenues sufficiently to offset such increase.
Furthermore, our providers have broad discretion to change and interpret the terms of service and other policies with respect to us, and those actions may be unfavorable to our business operations. Our providers may also take actions beyond our control that could seriously harm our business, including discontinuing or limiting our access to one or more services, increasing pricing terms, terminating or seeking to terminate our contractual relationship altogether, or altering how we are able to process data in a way that is unfavorable or costly to us. Although we expect that we could obtain similar services from other third parties, if our arrangements with our current providers were terminated, we could experience interruptions in our ability to make our solutions available to customers, as well as delays and additional expenses in arranging for alternative cloud infrastructure services. As a result, we may incur additional costs, fail to attract or retain customers, or be subject to potential liability, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Our physical infrastructure which supports our ability to offer our solutions is concentrated in a few facilities. any disruptions or system failures in these facilities could adversely affect our ability to offer reliable learning solutions.
Our physical infrastructure is subject to various points of failure. Problems with servers, routers, switches, cooling equipment, generators, uninterruptible power supply or other equipment, whether or not within our control, could result in service interruptions for our customers as well as equipment damages. Because our solutions leveraging cloud infrastructure do not require geographic proximity of our physical infrastructure to our customers, they are consolidated into a few facilities. Any failure or downtime in one of such facilities could affect a significant percentage of our customers. The total destruction or severe impairment of any of our facilities could result in significant downtime of our solutions and the loss of customer data. Because our ability to attract and retain customers depends on our ability to provide customers with highly reliable solutions, even minor interruptions could harm our reputation. Additionally, in connection with the expansion or consolidation of our existing facilities from time to time, there is an increased risk that service interruptions may occur as a result of server relocation or other unforeseen construction-related issues.
We have taken and continue to take steps to improve our infrastructure to prevent business interruptions, including on-going maintenance and upgrade. However, business interruptions continue to be a significant risk for us and could have a material adverse impact on our business. Any future interruptions could:
| cause our customers to seek damages for losses incurred; |
| require us to replace existing equipment or add redundant facilities; |
| affect our reputation as a reliable provider of digital corporate learning solutions; |
| cause existing customers to cancel or elect to not renew their contracts; or |
| make it more difficult for us to attract new customers. |
Any of these events could materially increase our expenses or reduce our revenues, which would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
We may be required to transfer our servers to new facilities if we are unable to renew our leases on acceptable terms, or at all, or the owners of the facilities decide to close their facilities or refuse to enter into lease agreements with us, and we may incur significant costs and possible service interruption in connection with doing so. In addition, any financial difficulties, such as bankruptcy or foreclosure, faced by our third-party facility operators, or any of the service providers with which we or they contract, may have negative effects on our business, the nature and extent of which are difficult to predict.
We may have insufficient transmission bandwidth, which could result in disruptions to our solutions and loss of revenue.
Our operations are dependent in part upon transmission bandwidth provided by third-party network or cloud providers. There can be no assurance that we are adequately prepared for unexpected increases in bandwidth demands by our customers. Enterprises are increasingly inclined to adopt digital corporate learning solutions, and we may experience spikes in usage from time to time. Although we believe we are able to scale our network infrastructure in response, if we fail to cost-effectively maintain and expand our network infrastructure, our business and operations could be severely disrupted, and our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
The bandwidth we have contracted to purchase may become unavailable for a variety of reasons, including service outages, payment disputes, network providers going out of business, natural disasters, pandemics, networks imposing traffic limits, or governments adopting regulations that impact network operations. We also may be unable to move quickly enough to augment capacity to reflect growing traffic or security demands. Failure to put in place the capacity we require could result in a reduction in, or disruption of, service to our customers, require us to issue credits and ultimately result in a loss of those customers. Such a failure could also result in our inability to acquire new customers demanding capacity not available.
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For some of our solutions, we recognize revenues over the subscription term, and thus downturns or upturns in new sales and renewals are not immediately reflected in full in our results of operations.
We offer our digital corporate learning solutions on a subscription basis, and we recognize the related revenues on a straight-line basis over the subscription period beginning on the date our solutions are made available to our customers. As a result, a portion of the revenues we report each period are the recognition of revenues generated from subscriptions entered into during previous periods. Consequently, a decline in new or renewed subscriptions in any single period may negatively affect our revenues in that period and future periods. Accordingly, the effect of significant downturns in sales and potential changes in our pricing policies or rate of customer expansion or retention may not be fully reflected in our results of operations until future periods.
The nature of our business requires the application of complex revenue and expense recognition rules, and any significant changes in current rules could affect our financial statements and results of operations.
The accounting rules and regulations that we must comply with are complex and subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or the FASB, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and various bodies formed to promulgate and interpret appropriate accounting principles. Recent actions and public comments from the FASB and the SEC have focused on the integrity of financial reporting and internal controls over financial reporting. In addition, many companies accounting policies and practices are being subject to heightened scrutiny by regulators and the public. Further, the accounting rules and regulations are continually changing in ways that could materially impact our financial statements. For example, issued in May 2014 and codified in ASC Topic 606, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), as amended. For public business entities, the standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period. We have elected to use the extended transition period available to emerging growth companies under the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, or JOBS Act, and we have adopted the standard since the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. We cannot predict the impact of future changes to accounting principles or our accounting policies on our financial statements going forward, which could have a significant effect on our reported financial results, and could affect the reporting of transactions completed before the announcement of the change. In addition, if we were to change our critical accounting estimates, including those related to the recognition of revenue, our results of operations could be significantly affected.
If our judgments or estimates relating to our critical accounting policies are based on assumptions that change or prove to be incorrect, our results of operations could fall below expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in the price of the ADSs.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, as discussed in the section titled Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included elsewhere in this prospectus, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. Our results of operations may be adversely affected if our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our results of operations to fall below our publicly announced guidance or the expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in the market price of the ADSs.
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We outsource certain non-core software development activities to third parties. Any failures by outsourcing service providers to meet our standards may adversely affect our business, reputation and relationship with customers.
While we independently developed all the core features of and technologies underlying our digital corporate learning solutions, we outsource certain non-core software development activities in relation to our cloud-based solutions to third parties in order to enhance productivity and reduce labor costs. Typically, we enter into agreements with these third-party outsourced service providers on a project basis, pursuant to which they deliver software according to our specifications. We may experience operational difficulties because of our outsourcing service providers, including their failure to comply with software specifications, reduced capacity, insufficient quality control and failure to meet deadlines. As a result, we may fail to deliver our learning solutions to the satisfaction of our customers and in a timely manner, which may adversely affect our reputation and relationship with customers. In addition, if one or more of our outsourcing service providers experience business interruptions or are otherwise unable or unwilling to fulfill their agreements with us, we may suffer delays and additional expenses in arranging for alternative service providers meeting our requirements, and our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
Certain software we use leverages open source codes, which, under certain circumstances, may lead to unintended consequences and, therefore, could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our solutions incorporate open source software, and we expect to continue to incorporate open source software in the future. Few of the licenses applicable to open source software have been interpreted by courts, and there is a risk that these licenses could be construed in a manner that could impose unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to commercialize our solutions. Moreover, although we have implemented policies to regulate the use and incorporation of open source software into our solutions, we cannot be certain that we have not incorporated open source software in a manner that is inconsistent with such policies. If we fail to comply with open source licenses, we may be subject to certain requirements, including requirements that we offer our solutions that incorporate the open source software for no cost, that we make available source code for modifications or derivative works we create based upon, incorporating or using the open source software and that we license such modifications or derivative works under the terms of applicable open source licenses. If an author or other third party that distributes such open source software were to allege that we had not complied with the conditions of one or more of these licenses, we could be required to incur significant legal expenses defending against such allegations and could be subject to significant damages, enjoined from generating revenues from customers using solutions that contained the open source software and required to comply with onerous conditions or restrictions on these solutions. In any of these events, we and our customers could be required to seek licenses from third parties in order to continue offering our solutions and to re-engineer or even discontinue offering our solutions in the event re-engineering cannot be accomplished on a timely basis. Any of the foregoing could require us to devote additional research and development resources, which could result in customer dissatisfaction and may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may not receive significant revenue as a result of our current product development efforts.
We have invested, and intend to continue to invest, significantly in product development. Our investment in our current product development efforts may not provide a sufficient, timely return. We make and will continue to make significant investments in software development and related product opportunities. Investments in new technology and processes are inherently speculative. Commercial success depends on many factors including the degree of innovation of the products developed through our research and development efforts, sufficient support from our strategic partners, and effective distribution and marketing. Accelerated product introductions and short product life cycles require high levels of expenditures for product development. These expenditures may materially adversely affect our operating results if they are not offset by revenue increases. We believe that we must continue to dedicate a significant amount of resources to our product development efforts in order to maintain our competitive position. However, significant revenue from new product and service investments may not be achieved for a number of years, if at all. Moreover, new products and services may not be profitable.
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Impairments of goodwill and intangible assets could reduce our earnings.
We review our goodwill and amortizable intangible assets for impairment annually or when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Changes in economic or operating conditions impacting our estimates and assumptions could result in the impairment of our goodwill or other assets. In the event that we determine our goodwill or other assets are impaired, we may be required to record a significant charge to earnings in our financial statements that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Mergers or other strategic transactions involving our competitors or customers could weaken our competitive position, which could harm our results of operations.
Some of our competitors may enter into new alliances with each other or may establish or strengthen cooperative relationships with third-party service providers or other parties, thereby limiting our ability to promote our solutions. Any such consolidation, acquisition, alliance or cooperative relationship could lead to pricing pressure and our loss of market share and could result in a competitor with greater financial, technical, marketing, service and other resources, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Consolidation within our existing and target markets as a result of mergers or other strategic transactions may also create uncertainty among customers as they realign their businesses and impact new sales and renewal rates. For example, mergers or strategic transactions by potential or existing customers may cause the subscription of our solutions to be discontinued, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may need additional capital, and we may be unable to obtain such capital in a timely manner or on acceptable terms, or at all.
We may require additional capital beyond those generated by our initial public offering from time to time to grow our business, including to better serve our customers, develop new features and solutions, improve our operating and technology infrastructure or conduct acquisition of complementary businesses and technologies. Accordingly, we may need to sell additional equity or debt securities or obtain a credit facility. Future issuances of equity or equity-linked securities could significantly dilute our existing shareholders, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges superior to those of holders of the ADSs. For example, we may issue equity securities as consideration in acquisition transactions. Such issuances will be dilutive to our then existing shareholders, and more so if the equity securities are issued at such negotiated prices lower than the investment consideration paid by our then existing shareholders. The incurrence of debt financing would result in increased debt service obligations and could result in operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations or our ability to pay dividends to our shareholders.
Our ability to obtain additional capital is subject to a variety of uncertainties, including:
| our market position and competitiveness in Chinas corporate learning industry; |
| our future profitability, overall financial condition, results of operations and cash flows; |
| general market conditions for capital raising activities in China and globally; and |
| economic, political and other conditions in China and globally. |
We may be unable to obtain additional capital in a timely manner or on acceptable terms or at all, and our financing may also be subject to regulatory requirements. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it in the future, our ability to continue to support our business growth could be significantly impaired, and our business and prospects could be adversely affected.
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The estimates of market opportunity, forecasts of market growth and description of competitive landscape included in this prospectus may prove to be inaccurate, and any real or perceived inaccuracies may harm our reputation and negatively affect our business. Even if the market in which we compete achieves the forecasted growth, our business could fail to grow at similar rates, if at all.
Market opportunity estimates and growth forecasts included in this prospectus are subject to significant uncertainty and are based on assumptions and estimates that may not prove to be accurate. The variables that go into the calculation of our market opportunity are subject to change over time, and there is no guarantee that any particular number or percentage of addressable companies or markets covered by our market opportunity estimates will deploy our solutions at all or generate any particular level of revenue for us. Even if the market in which we compete meets the size estimates and growth forecasted in this prospectus, our business could fail to grow for a variety of reasons, including reasons outside of our control, such as competition in our industry.
Our management team has limited experience managing a public company.
Most members of our management team have limited or no experience managing a publicly-traded company, interacting with public company investors, and complying with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies. Our management team may not successfully or efficiently manage our transition to being a public company that is subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under applicable securities laws and the continuous scrutiny of securities analysts and investors. These new obligations and constituents will require significant attention from our senior management and could divert their attention away from the day-to-day management of our business, which could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our business is subject to extensive and evolving regulations governing the industry. If we fail to obtain and maintain required licenses and permits, we could face government enforcement actions, fines and possibly restrictions on our ability to operate or offer certain of our solutions.
The corporate learning industry in China is subject to extensive regulation. Related laws and regulations are evolving, and their interpretation and enforcement involve significant uncertainties. The VIEs have obtained VAT Licenses for our business operations in the PRC. These licenses are essential to the operation of our business and are generally subject to regular government review or renewal.
We may be deemed to provide certain services or conduct certain activities and thus be subject to certain licenses, approvals, permits, registrations and filings due to the lack of official interpretations of certain terms under internet related PRC regulations and laws. For example, our production and distribution of course materials and audio-visual content may also be deemed as providing radio and TV programs, and thus we may be required to obtain the Permit for Production and Operation of Radio and TV Programs. Also, due to the ambiguity of the definition of online publishing service, the online distribution of content, including our course materials, through our mobile apps and websites, as well as providing digital excerpts of the works consistent with the content of physical publications through our online magazine website, may be regarded as an online publishing service and therefore we may be required to obtain an Online Publishing License. Considering the lack of further interpretation of the definition of internet cultural products, provided that the training videos we deliver to our clients over the internet are regarded as internet cultural products by the relevant authorities, we may be required to obtain an Internet Culture Operation License. In addition, we deliver certain courses in live-streaming format on our mobile apps which the relevant authorities may regard as a live-streaming platform and may thus require us to make necessary filings as a live-streaming platform. We currently have not obtained all of the above licenses nor have we made any such filings.
As of the date of this prospectus, the VIEs have not been subject to any legal or regulatory sanction for failure to obtain, renew or update such licenses. However, we cannot assure you that the PRC government authorities will not take a different view or will not require us to obtain any additional licenses, approvals,
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permits, registrations and filings in the future, and we cannot assure you that we can successfully obtain or maintain required licenses and permits in a timely manner or at all, and we may be subject to fines, confiscation of income and discontinuation of or restrictions on certain of our operations in China as a result. Moreover, if we fail to renew or update any of our current licenses and permits in a timely manner and on commercially reasonable terms or at all, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
We may be required to obtain additional licenses and permits as the interpretation and enforcement of the current PRC laws and regulations are evolving and new laws and regulations may continue to be promulgated or as we expand our solution offerings and business operations. If our operations are no longer in compliance with existing or new laws and regulations, or if we fail to obtain any license required under such laws and regulations, we could be subject to various penalties, including fines and discontinuation of or restrictions on our operations in China, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may face risks and uncertainties with respect to the licensing requirement for online audio-visual programs.
According to relevant PRC laws and regulations, no entities or individuals may provide internet audio-visual program services, which includes making and editing of audio-visual programs concerning educational content and broadcasting such content to the general public online, without a License for Online Transmission of Audio-Visual Programs issued by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, or the SAPPRFT (currently known as National Radio and Television Administration), or its local bureaus or completing the relevant registration procedures with SAPPRFT or its local bureaus. And only state-owned or state-controlled entities are eligible to apply for a License for Online Transmission of Audio-Visual Programs. However, there are still significant uncertainties relating to the interpretation and implementation of the Administrative Provisions on Internet Audio-Visual Program Service, or the Audio-Visual Program Provisions, in particular, the scope of internet audio-visual programs and the interpretation of to the public. If the PRC government determines that our content should be considered as Internet audio-visual programs, or that our contents are broadcast to the public online, we may be required to obtain a License for Online Transmission of Audio-Visual Programs. We are, however, not eligible to apply for such a license since we are not a state-owned or state-controlled entity. If this were to occur, we may be subject to penalties, fines, legal sanctions or an order to suspend the provision of our relevant content.
The discontinuation of any of the preferential tax treatments available to us in China could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. We may not be able to utilize a significant portion of our net operating loss or research tax credit carryforwards, which could adversely affect our potential profitability.
Under PRC tax laws and regulations, enterprises are generally subject to enterprise income tax at the statutory rate of 25%, and revenues from digital corporate learning solutions are generally subject to value-added tax at the rates of 6% and 9%. Preferential tax treatments are available to certain enterprises, industries and regions. For example, Yunxuetang Network, the VIE, was recognized as high and new technology enterprises, or HNTEs, and was entitled to a preferential enterprise income tax rate of 15%. The HNTE status must be reapplied every three years. During the three-year period, HNTEs must conduct a self-review each year to ensure they meet the HNTE criteria. Yunxuetang Network has renewed its HNTE in November 2021 and is entitled to a preferential enterprise income tax rate of 15%. In addition, if the value-added taxes we actually paid for the sales of our qualified proprietary software exceed an amount equivalent to 3% of our revenues from such software, we are eligible to receive a refund of the excessive amount. However, if PRC government changes its tax policy of supporting new technology and software development, or if we cease to be eligible for any of these preferential tax treatments, we must pay tax at the standard rates, which would adversely affect our profitability.
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We face certain risks relating to the real properties that we lease.
Under PRC law, all property lease agreements are required to be registered with the local land and real estate administration bureau. Although failure to do so does not in itself invalidate the leases, the lessees may not be able to defend these leases against bona fide third parties and may also be exposed to potential fines if they fail to rectify such non-compliance within the prescribed time frame after receiving notice from the relevant PRC government authorities. The penalty ranges from RMB1,000 to RMB10,000 for each unregistered lease, at the discretion of the relevant authority. As of the date of this prospectus, 36 of the lease agreements for our leased properties in China have not been registered with the relevant PRC government authorities, and the maximum potential penalties in this regard is RMB360,000. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not been subject to any administrative fines or sanctions in this regard, nor have we received any rectification orders. However, there can be no assurance that relevant authorities will not in future implement measures to request us to register our leases. In the event that any fine is imposed on us for our failure to register our lease agreements, we may not be able to recover such losses from the lessors.
In addition, some of our premises are leased for the sole purpose of registration with the relevant market regulation government and as a result, certain PRC operating entities addresses of their premises for their daily operation are different from the registered addresses. For other premises leased as offices for the local sale and marketing as well as provision of services, we failed to register entities, either in the legal form of subsidiaries or branches, in the cities or towns where such premises are located accordingly. Therefore, there is a risk that such PRC operating entities may be subject to fines, the order to cease operation and confiscation of income.
As of the date of this prospectus, the lessors of certain of our leased properties in China failed to provide us with valid property ownership certificates or authorizations from the property owners for the lessors to sublease the properties. There is a risk that such lessors may not have the relevant property ownership certificates or the right to lease or sublease such properties to us, in which case the relevant lease agreements may be deemed invalid and we may be forced to vacate these properties, which could interrupt our business operations and cause us to incur relocation costs. Moreover, if third parties challenge our lease agreements, it could result in a diversion of managerial attention and cause us to incur costs associated with defending such actions, even if such challenges are ultimately determined in our favor.
Failure to make adequate contributions to social insurance and housing provident fund as required by PRC regulations may subject us to penalties.
In accordance with PRC Social Insurance Law and Regulations on the Administration of Housing Fund and other relevant laws and regulations, an employer is required to pay basic pension insurance, basic medical insurance, work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance and housing provident fund, or the Employee Benefits, for its employees in accordance with the rates provided under relevant regulations and withhold the Employee Benefits that should be assumed by the employees.
Certain PRC operating entities have made contribution of the Employee Benefits through certain third party payment agent. We may be subject to late fees and fines for our contributions through certain third party payment agent. Pursuant to relevant PRC laws and regulations, the under-contribution of social insurance within a prescribed period may subject us to a daily overdue charge of 0.05% of the delayed payment amount. If this payment is not made within the stipulated period, the competent authority may further impose a fine of one to three times of the overdue amount on us. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not received any notice from the relevant government authorities or any claim or request from these employees in this regard. However, we cannot assure you that the relevant government authorities will not require us to pay the outstanding amount and impose late fees or fines on us, in which case our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
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We may be held liable for the information and content retrieved from us or delivered by us over the Internet, which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The PRC government has adopted laws and regulations governing the distribution of information over the internet. Given the broad scope of these laws and regulations and the uncertainties regarding their interpretation, there can be no assurance that all the information and content comply or will comply with the requirements of these laws and regulations at all times. Under applicable PRC laws and regulations, the marketing of our services on our websites or third-party platforms may be deemed as internet advertisement, which may subject us to legal or regulatory liabilities. If we were found to violate laws or regulations governing the information and content displayed on, retrieved from or linked to our websites or posted by us on other platforms, we may be subject to fines and penalties and may be required to remove the non-compliant content from our websites or refrain from distributing the non-compliant content on third-party platforms, which may materially and adversely affect our reputation, business and results of operations.
Moreover, we may also be sued by private parties for defamation, copyright or trademark infringement, invasion of privacy, personal injury or under other legal theories relating to the information or content that we create or distribute. We could incur significant costs in investigating and defending such claims, even if we are ultimately not held liable. If any of these events occurs, we could incur significant expenses and our revenues could be adversely affected.
If we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we could be unable to timely and accurately report our results of operations, meet our reporting obligations or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of the ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.
Prior to this offering, we have been a private company with limited accounting and financial reporting personnel and other resources with which we address our internal control over financial reporting. In the course of auditing our consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified the following material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. As defined in the standards established by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB, a material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the companys annual or interim consolidate financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
The material weaknesses identified relate to:
| lack of sufficient competent financial reporting and accounting personnel with appropriate knowledge of U.S. GAAP and financial reporting requirements set forth by the SEC to address complex U.S. GAAP technical accounting issues and to prepare and review consolidated financial statements, including disclosure notes, in accordance with U.S. GAAP and financial reporting requirements set forth by the SEC; and |
| lack of formal and effective financial closing policies and procedures, specifically those related to period-end expenses cut-off and accruals, consolidation process and financial statement disclosures. |
The material weaknesses, if not remediated timely, may lead to material misstatements in our consolidated financial statements in the future. Prior to preparing for this offering, neither we nor our independent registered public accounting firm had undertaken a comprehensive assessment of our internal control for purposes of identifying and reporting material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. Had we performed a formal assessment of our internal control over financial reporting or had our independent registered public accounting firm performed an audit of our internal control over financial reporting, additional material weaknesses may have been identified.
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We have taken remedial actions and plan to take further steps to strengthen our internal control over financial reporting. For details, see Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsInternal Control over Financial Reporting. The implementation of these measures, however, may not fully remediate the material weaknesses identified in our internal control over financial reporting, and we cannot conclude that they have been fully remediated. Our failure to remediate the material weaknesses or our failure to discover and address any other material weaknesses or deficiencies could result in inaccuracies in our financial statements and impair our ability to comply with applicable financial reporting requirements and related regulatory filings on a timely basis.
Upon completion of this offering, we will become subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404, will require that we include a report from management on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report on Form 20-F beginning with our second annual report on Form 20-F after becoming a public company. In addition, once we cease to be an emerging growth company as such term is defined in the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm may need to attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Moreover, even if our management concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm, after conducting its own independent testing, may issue a report that is adverse if it is not satisfied with our internal controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us. In addition, after we become a public company, our reporting obligations may place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future. We may be unable to timely complete our evaluation testing and any required remediation.
During the course of documenting and testing our internal control procedures, in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404, we may identify other material weaknesses and deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404. Generally, if we fail to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, it could result in material misstatements in our financial statements and could also impair our ability to comply with applicable financial reporting requirements and related regulatory filings on a timely basis. As a result, our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, as well as the trading price of the ADSs, may be materially and adversely affected. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the stock exchange on which we list, regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions. We may also be required to restate our financial statements from prior periods.
We are subject to anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering, financial and economic sanctions and similar laws, and noncompliance with such laws can subject us to administrative, civil and criminal fines and penalties, collateral consequences, remedial measures and legal expenses, all of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation.
We are subject to anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering, financial and economic sanctions and similar laws and regulations in various jurisdictions in which we conduct our business or sell our solutions, including the PRC anti-corruption laws and regulations, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, and other anti-corruption laws and regulations. The FCPA prohibit us and our officers, directors, employees and business partners acting on our behalf, including agents, from corruptly offering, promising, authorizing or providing anything of value to a foreign official for the purposes of influencing official decisions or obtaining or retaining business or otherwise obtaining favorable treatment. The FCPA also requires companies to make and keep books, records and accounts that accurately reflect transactions and dispositions of assets and to maintain a system of adequate internal accounting controls. The PRC anti-corruption laws and regulations prohibit bribery to government agencies, state or government owned or controlled enterprises or entities, to government officials or officials that work for state or government owned enterprises or entities, as well as bribery to non-government
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entities or individuals. There is uncertainty in connection with the implementation of PRC anti-corruption laws and regulations. A violation of these laws or regulations could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation.
We have direct or indirect interactions with officials and employees of Chinas government agencies and state-owned enterprises in the ordinary course of business. These interactions subject us to an increased level of compliance-related concerns. We have implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance by us and our directors, officers, employees, representatives, consultants, agents and business partners with applicable anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering, financial and economic sanctions and similar laws and regulations. However, our policies and procedures may not be sufficient, and our directors, officers, employees, representatives, consultants, agents, and business partners could engage in improper conduct for which we may be held responsible.
Non-compliance with anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering or financial and economic sanctions laws could subject us to whistleblower complaints, adverse media coverage, investigations, and severe administrative, civil and criminal sanctions, collateral consequences, remedial measures and legal expenses, all of which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation. In addition, changes in economic sanctions laws in the future could adversely impact our business and investments in the ADSs.
We intend to expand internationally in the future, which could expose us to geopolitical and regulatory risks, as well as subject us to challenges generated from the different customer needs and operational process.
As part of our business strategies, we intend to expand our internationally in the future through leveraging our success and leadership in China. Our international expansion is subject to many risks and uncertainties, including but are not limited to:
| exposure to international, regional and local economic and political conditions; |
| compliance with applicable foreign laws and regulations, including but not limited to laws and regulations related to labor, social insurance, taxation, foreign exchange controls, intellectual property protection rules and data privacy requirements; |
| failure to address customers localized corporate learning needs; |
| failure to compete effectively with local corporate learning solution providers; |
| failure to adapt our solution offerings to local laws and regulations, particularly these that are related to labor, social insurance and taxation; |
| the lack of market recognition of our brand name in new markets; |
| control of foreign exchange and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; |
| restrictions or requirements relating to foreign investment; |
| challenges in effectively managing overseas operations from our headquarters and establishing overseas IT systems and infrastructure; and |
| challenges in selecting suitable geographical regions for global expansion. |
As a result, we may not be successful in expanding our business beyond our current services or geographic locations or be able to continue or effectively manage our international expansion. In addition, our international expansion may exert pressure on our operating results in the near term, and our international expansion may not be at the pace as we intended or generate returns as we originally expected.
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We have limited insurance coverage, which could expose us to significant costs.
We maintain various insurance policies to safeguard against risks and unexpected events. In addition to providing social security insurance for our employees as required by PRC law, we also provide accident injury supplemental commercial medical insurance for our employees. We do not maintain business interruption insurance, nor do we maintain product liability insurance or key-man life insurance. We cannot assure you that our insurance coverage is sufficient to prevent us from any loss or that we will be able to successfully claim our losses under our current insurance policy in a timely manner, or at all. If we incur any loss that is not covered by our insurance policies, or the compensated amount is significantly less than our actual loss, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Risks Related to Doing Business in China
The approval, filing or other requirements of the China Securities Regulatory Commission or other PRC government authorities are required in connection with this offering under PRC law. Furthermore, the PRC government has exerted more oversight and control over overseas securities offerings and other capital markets activities and foreign investment in China-based companies like us. Any such action, once taken by the PRC government, could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or in extreme cases, become worthless.
On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, including the MOFCOM, the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the State Administration of Taxation or the SAT, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, currently known as the SAMR, the CSRC, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, jointly adopted the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, effective on September 8, 2006, which were amended on June 22, 2009. The M&A Rules purport to require offshore special purpose vehicles that are controlled by PRC companies or individuals and that have been formed for the purpose of seeking a public listing on an overseas stock exchange through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies or assets to obtain CSRC approval prior to publicly listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange. The interpretation and application of the regulations remain unclear. If CSRC approval under the M&A Rules is required, it is uncertain whether it would be possible for us to obtain the approval, and any failure to obtain or delay in obtaining CSRC approval for this offering would subject us to sanctions imposed by the CSRC and other PRC regulatory agencies.
Our PRC legal counsel, Global Law Office has advised us that, based on its understanding of the current PRC laws and regulations, we will not be required to submit an application to the CSRC for the approval of this offering and the listing and trading of the ADSs on the [Nasdaq/NYSE] under the M&A Rules because (i) the CSRC currently has not issued any definitive rule or interpretation of the M&A Rules concerning whether offerings like ours under this prospectus are subject to this regulation; (ii) we established the wholly foreign-owned enterprises, or the WFOEs, by means of direct investment and not through a merger or acquisition of the equity or assets of a PRC domestic company as such term is defined under the M&A Rules; and (iii) no provision in the M&A Rules classifies the contractual arrangements under the VIE Agreements as a type of acquisition transaction falling under the M&A Rules.
However, our PRC legal counsel has further advised us that there remain some uncertainties as to how the M&A Rules will be interpreted or implemented in the context of an overseas offering, and its opinions summarized above are subject to any new laws, rules and regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations in any form relating to the M&A Rules. We cannot assure you that relevant PRC government agencies, including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion as our PRC legal counsel.
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Furthermore, the PRC government has recently indicated an intent to exert more oversight and control over overseas securities offerings and other capital markets activities and foreign investment in China-based companies like us. Any such action, once taken by the PRC government, could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or in extreme cases, become worthless.
On February 17, 2023, the CSRC released the Trial Measures, effective on March 31, 2023. The CSRC also released Supporting Guidance Rules No. 1 through No. 5, Notes on the Trial Measures, Notice on Administration Arrangements for the Filing of Overseas Listings by Domestic Enterprises, and the relevant CSRC Answers to Reporter Questions. Pursuant to the Trial Measures, domestic companies that seek overseas listing and public offering, both directly and indirectly, should perform the filing procedures and report relevant information to the CSRC. Specifically, following the principle of substance over form, if an issuer meets both of the following criteria, its overseas offering and listing will be deemed as an indirect overseas offering and listing by a PRC enterprise: (i) 50% or more of any of the issuers operating revenue, total profit, total assets or net assets as documented in its audited consolidated financial statements for the most recent fiscal year is contributed by PRC companies; and (ii) the majority of the issuers business activities are conducted in mainland China, or its major places of business are located in mainland China, or the majority of senior management staff in charge of its business operations and management are PRC citizens or residents of mainland China. Where an issuer applies for an initial public offering to competent overseas regulators, such issuer must file with the CSRC within three business days after such application is submitted.
The Trial Measures also requires subsequent reports to be submitted to the CSRC on material events, such as change of control or voluntary or forced delisting, of the issuers who have completed overseas offerings and listings.
As advised by Global Law Office, our PRC legal counsel, this listing shall be deemed as an indirect listing by a PRC enterprise, and we are required to perform the filing procedures for this listing under the Trial Measures. However, we cannot assure you that we could complete such filing or meet other requirements pursuant to applicable laws in a timely manner or at all. Under such circumstance, we, our personnel directly in charge, and other personnel with direct responsibility may be warned, fined or subject to other disciplinary measures as set forth in the Trial Measures. We have submitted the relevant filing documents with the CSRC in connection with this offering, and the CSRC published the notification on our completion of the required filing procedures for this offering on February 7, 2024.
Furthermore, if there would be any other approval, filings and/or other administration procedures to be obtained from or accomplished with the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies as required by any new laws and regulations for the offering, we cannot assure that we can obtain the required approval or accomplish the required filings or other regulatory procedures in a timely manner, or at all. Any failure to obtain the relevant approval or complete the filings and other relevant regulatory procedures may subject us to regulatory actions or other sanctions from the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operation or financial conditions and could have a material adverse effect on our future financing and the trading price of the ADSs.
Changes in Chinas economic, political or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.
We generate substantially all of our revenues from our operations in China. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects are influenced by economic, political and legal developments in China. Economic reforms begun in the late 1970s have resulted in significant economic growth. However, any economic reform policies or measures in China may from time to time be modified or revised. Chinas economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including with respect to the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. Any financial or economic crisis in any major markets of the world and any geopolitical tensions could slow down or even hinder the economic growth of the PRC and may in turn adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
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In recent years, the PRC government has been implementing economic reform measures from time to time, with emphasis on the use of market forces to drive economic development. Any such governmental policies or measures may benefit the overall PRC economy, but we cannot assure you that they will not adversely affect us or the industry in which we operate. In addition, the increased global focus on social, ethical and environmental issues may lead to Chinas adoption of more stringent standards in these areas, which may adversely impact the operations of China-based companies including us. Any adverse changes in economic conditions in China, in the policies of the PRC government or in the laws and regulations in China could have a material adverse effect on the overall economic growth of China. Such developments could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, lead to reduction in demand for our solutions and adversely affect our competitive position.
The PRC government may intervene with or influence our operation at any time by adopting new laws and regulations. For example, the PRC government has recently published new policies that significantly affected certain industries such as the education and internet industries, and we cannot rule out the possibility that it will in the future release regulations or policies regarding our industry that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system, including uncertainties regarding the enforcement of laws, and sudden or unexpected changes in policies, laws and regulations with little advance notice in China, could adversely affect us.
The PRC legal system is based on written statutes and court decisions that have limited precedential value. The PRC legal system is evolving rapidly, and therefore the interpretations and enforcement of many laws, regulations and rules may contain uncertainties. For example, recently the PRC government initiated a series of regulatory actions and statements to regulate business operations in China, including cracking down on illegal activities in the securities market, strengthened supervision on overseas listings by China-based companies, including companies with a VIE structure, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews and data security protection, and expanding the efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. From time to time, we may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to enforce our legal rights. However, since PRC judicial and administrative authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to predict the outcome of a judicial or administrative proceeding than in more developed legal systems. Furthermore, the PRC legal system is based, in part, on government policies and internal rules, some of which are not published in a timely manner, or at all, but which may have retroactive effect. As a result, we may not always be aware of any potential violation of these policies and rules. These uncertainties may impede our contractual, property and procedural rights, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The PRC government has significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of our business and may intervene with or influence our operations at any time by adopting new laws and regulations as the government deems appropriate to further regulatory, political and societal goals. The PRC government has recently published new policies that significantly affected certain industries such as the education and internet industries, and we cannot rule out the possibility that it will in the future release regulations or policies regarding our industry that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, the PRC government has also recently indicated an intent to exert more oversight and control over securities offerings and other capital markets activities that are conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based companies like us. Any such action, once taken by the PRC government, could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or in extreme cases, become worthless.
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The PCAOB had historically been unable to inspect our auditor in relation to their audit work performed for our financial statements. Additionally, the inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of our auditor in the past has deprived our investors with the benefits of such inspections.
Our auditor, the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included in this prospectus, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess such firms compliance with the applicable professional standards. Our auditor is located in mainland China, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB was historically unable to conduct inspections and investigations completely before 2022. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB removed mainland China and Hong Kong from the list of jurisdictions where it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms. If in the future, the PCAOB again concludes that it is unable to inspect and investigate completely registered public accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong, and we use an accounting firm headquartered in one of these jurisdictions to conduct audit work, we and our investors in the ADSs would be deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB inspections. Any future inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of accounting firms registered with the PCAOB in China would make it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our independent registered public accounting firms audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to the PCAOB inspections, which could cause investors and potential investors in the ADSs to lose confidence in the quality of work performed by our independent registered public accounting firm and our financial statements.
The ADSs will be prohibited from trading in the United States under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCAA, if in the future the PCAOB is unable to inspect and investigate completely auditors located in China. The delisting of and prohibition from trading the ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted and prohibited from trading, may cause the value of the ADSs to significantly decline or be worthless.
Pursuant to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCAA, which was signed into law on December 18, 2020 and amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 signed into law on December 29, 2022, if the SEC determines that we have filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection for the PCAOB for two consecutive years, the SEC will prohibit our shares or ADSs from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 reduced the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA from three years to two years.
On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report to notify the SEC of its determination that the PCAOB was unable to inspect and investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong and our auditor was subject to that determination. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB vacated its December 16, 2021 determination and removed mainland China and Hong Kong from the list of jurisdictions where it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms. Therefore, we do not expect to be identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer under the HFCAA after we file our annual report on Form 20-F after becoming a public company.
Each year, the PCAOB will determine whether it can inspect and investigate completely audit firms in mainland China and Hong Kong, among other jurisdictions. If the PCAOB determines in the future that it no longer has full access to inspect and investigate completely accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong and we continue to use an accounting firm headquartered in one of these jurisdictions to issue an audit report on our financial statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, we would be identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer after we file our annual report on Form 20-F after becoming a public company. In accordance with the HFCAA, our securities would be prohibited from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States if the PCAOB were unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China for two consecutive years in the future. In the event of such prohibition, the [Nasdaq/NYSE] would delist our securities.
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If our shares and ADSs are prohibited from trading in the United States, there is no certainty that we will be able to list on a non-U.S. exchange or that a market for our shares will develop outside of the United States. Such a prohibition would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase the ADSs when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with delisting would have a negative impact on the price of the ADSs. Also, such a prohibition would significantly affect our ability to raise capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all, which would have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and prospects.
It may be difficult for overseas regulators to conduct investigation or collect evidence within China.
Shareholder claims or regulatory investigation that are common in the United States generally are difficult to pursue as a matter of law or practicality in China.
For example, in China, there are significant legal and other obstacles to providing information needed for regulatory investigations or litigations initiated outside China. Although the authorities in China may establish a regulatory cooperation mechanism with the securities regulatory authorities of another country or region to implement cross-border supervision and administration, such cooperation with the securities regulatory authorities in the Unities States may not be efficient in the absence of mutual and practical cooperation mechanism. Furthermore, according to Article 177 of the PRC Securities Law, which became effective in March 2020, no overseas securities regulator is allowed to directly conduct investigation or evidence collection activities within the PRC territory. While detailed interpretation or implementation rules under Article 177 have yet to be promulgated, and no application of Article 177 has been published in public, the inability for an overseas securities regulator to directly conduct investigation or evidence collection activities within China may further increase the difficulties you face in protecting your interests. See also Risks Related to the ADSs and this OfferingYou may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law and conduct our operations primarily in emerging markets.
The custodians or authorized users of our controlling non-tangible assets, including chops and seals, may fail to fulfill their responsibilities, or misappropriate or misuse these assets.
Under the PRC law, legal documents for corporate transactions, including agreements and contracts are executed using the chop or seal of the signing entity or with the signature of a legal representative whose designation is registered and filed with relevant PRC market regulation administrative authorities.
In order to secure the use of our chops and seals, we have established internal control procedures and rules for using these chops and seals. In any event that the chops and seals are intended to be used, the responsible personnel will submit a formal application, which will be verified and approved by authorized employees in accordance with our internal control procedures and rules. In addition, in order to maintain the physical security of our chops, we generally have them stored in secured locations accessible only to authorized employees. Although we monitor such authorized employees, the procedures may not be sufficient to prevent all instances of abuse or negligence. There is a risk that our employees could abuse their authority, for example, by entering into a contract not approved by us or seeking to gain control of one of our subsidiaries or the VIEs or their subsidiaries. If any employee obtains, misuses or misappropriates our chops and seals or other controlling non-tangible assets for whatever reason, we could experience disruption to our normal business operations. We may have to take corporate or legal action, which could involve significant time and resources to resolve and divert management from our operations, and we may not be able to recover our loss due to such misuse or misappropriation if a third party relies on the apparent authority of such employees and acts in good faith.
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Fluctuations in exchange rates could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment.
The value of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar and other currencies is affected by changes in Chinas political and economic conditions and Chinas foreign exchange policies, among other things. With the development of the foreign exchange market and progress towards interest rate liberalization and Renminbi internationalization, the PRC government may in the future announce further changes to the exchange rate system and we cannot assure you that Renminbi will not appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the future. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between Renminbi and the U.S. dollar in the future.
Significant revaluation of the Renminbi may have a material adverse effect on your investment. For example, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars we receive from this offering into Renminbi for our operations, appreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the Renminbi amount we would receive from the conversion. Conversely, if we decide to convert our Renminbi into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or the ADSs or for other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Renminbi would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us.
Very limited hedging options are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may decide to enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these hedges may be limited, and we may not be able to adequately hedge our exposure or at all. In addition, our currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert Renminbi into foreign currency.
Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to utilize our revenues effectively and affect the value of your investment.
The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. We receive substantially all of our revenues in Renminbi. Under our current corporate structure, our Cayman Islands holding company may rely on dividend payments from our PRC subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, by complying with certain procedural requirements. Specifically, under the existing exchange restrictions, without prior approval of SAFE, cash generated from the operations of our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated entities in China may be used to pay dividends to our company. However, approval from or registration with appropriate government authorities is required where Renminbi is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies.
As a result, we need to obtain SAFE approval to use cash generated from the operations of our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated entities to pay off their respective debt in a currency other than Renminbi owed to entities outside China, or to make other capital expenditure payments outside China in a currency other than Renminbi.
The PRC government has imposed restrictive foreign exchange policies and stepped up scrutiny of major outbound capital movement including overseas direct investment. More restrictions and substantial vetting process are put in place by SAFE to regulate cross-border transactions falling under the capital account. If any of our shareholders regulated by such policies fails to satisfy the applicable overseas direct investment filing or approval requirement timely or at all, it may be subject to penalties from the relevant PRC authorities. The PRC government may at its discretion further restrict access in the future to foreign currencies for current account transactions. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currencies to satisfy our foreign currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders, including holders of the ADSs.
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PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans to or make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated entities, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
We are an offshore holding company conducting our operations in China through our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated entities. We may make loans to our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated entities, or we may make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries, or we may establish new PRC subsidiaries and make capital contributions to these new PRC subsidiaries, or we may acquire offshore entities with business operations in China in an offshore transaction.
Most of these activities are subject to PRC regulations and approvals. For example, loans by us to our PRC subsidiaries to finance its activities cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with the local counterpart of SAFE. If we decide to finance our PRC subsidiaries by means of capital contributions, these capital contributions are subject to the requirement of making necessary filings in the foreign investment comprehensive administrative system and registration with other governmental authorities in China. Due to the restrictions imposed on loans in foreign currencies extended to PRC domestic companies, we are not likely to make such loans to the VIEs as PRC domestic companies. Further, we are not likely to finance the activities of the VIEs by means of capital contributions due to regulatory restrictions relating to foreign investment in PRC domestic enterprises engaged in value-added telecommunication services and certain other businesses.
SAFE promulgated the Circular on Reforming the Management Approach regarding the Settlement of Foreign Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprise, or SAFE Circular 19, effective June 2015, in replacement of the Circular on the Relevant Operating Issues Concerning the Improvement of the Administration of the Payment and Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign Invested Enterprises, the Notice from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Issues Concerning Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Exchange Businesses, and the Circular on Further Clarification and Regulation of the Issues Concerning the Administration of Certain Capital Account Foreign Exchange Businesses. According to SAFE Circular 19, the flow and use of the RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company is regulated such that RMB capital may not be used for the issuance of RMB entrusted loans, the repayment of inter-enterprise loans or the repayment of banks loans that have been transferred to a third party. Although SAFE Circular 19 allows RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise to be used for equity investments within China, it also reiterates the principle that RMB converted from the foreign currency-denominated capital of a foreign-invested company may not be directly or indirectly used for purposes beyond its business scope. Although SAFE promulgated in October 2019 the Circular on Further Promoting the Cross-border Trade and Investment Facilitation, or SAFE Circular 28, pursuant to which non-investment foreign-invested companies are allowed to conduct domestic equity investment with settled capital from foreign exchange if such investment projects are true and compliant and do not otherwise violate the existing Special Management Measures (Negative List) for Foreign Investment Access, or the Negative List, it is unclear whether SAFE will permit such capital to be used for equity investments in China in actual practice. SAFE promulgated the Circular on Reforming and Regulating Policies on the Control over Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital Accounts, or SAFE Circular 16, effective on June 9, 2016, which reiterates some of the rules set forth in SAFE Circular 19, but changes the prohibition against using RMB capital converted from foreign currency denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company to issue RMB entrusted loans to a prohibition against using such capital to issue loans to non-associated enterprises. Violations of SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16 could result in administrative penalties. SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16 may significantly limit our ability to transfer any foreign currency we hold, including the net proceeds from this offering, to our PRC subsidiaries, which may adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business in China. On October 23, 2019, the SAFE promulgated the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Promoting the Convenience of Cross-border Trade and Investment, or the SAFE Circular 28, which, among other things, allows all foreign-invested companies to use Renminbi converted from foreign currency-denominated capital for equity investments in China, as long as the equity investment is genuine, does not violate applicable laws, and complies with the negative list on foreign investment.
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In light of the various requirements imposed by PRC regulations on loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary government registrations or obtain the necessary government approvals on a timely basis, or at all, with respect to future loans by us to our PRC subsidiaries or with respect to future capital contributions by us to our PRC subsidiaries. If we fail to complete such registrations or obtain such approvals, our ability to use the proceeds we received from this offering and to capitalize or otherwise fund our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
In addition, our PRC subsidiaries are also required to withhold a 10% (or 7% if paid to a Hong Kong resident who qualifies for the benefits of the tax treaty between China and Hong Kong) tax on interest paid under any cross-border shareholder loan. Prior to the payment of any interest and principal on any such shareholder loan, our PRC subsidiaries must present evidence of registration with SAFE regarding any such shareholder and may be required to provide evidence of payment of withholding tax on the interest payable on that.
PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident beneficial owners or our PRC subsidiaries to liability or penalties, limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our PRC subsidiaries ability to increase its registered capital or distribute profits to us, or may otherwise adversely affect us.
SAFE promulgated the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration over the Overseas Investment and Financing and Round-trip Investment by Domestic Residents via Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, in July 2014, which replaced the Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for PRC Residents Engaging in Financing and Roundtrip Investments via Overseas Special Purpose Vehicles promulgated by SAFE in October, 2005. SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents or entities to register with SAFE or its local branch in connection with their establishment or control of an offshore entity established for the purpose of overseas investment or financing with such PRC residents or entities legally owned assets or equity interests in domestic enterprises or offshore assets or interests. On February 13, 2015, SAFE issued Circular on Further Simplifying and Improving the Foreign Currency Management Policy on Direct Investment, or SAFE Circular 13, effective on June 1, 2015, pursuant to which the power to accept SAFE registration was delegated from local SAFE to local qualified banks where the assets or interest in the domestic entity was located. In addition, such PRC residents or entities must update their SAFE registrations when the offshore special purpose vehicle undergoes material events relating to any change of basic information (including change of such PRC citizens or residents, name and operation term), increases or decreases in investment amount, transfers or exchanges of shares, or mergers or divisions.
If our shareholders who are PRC residents or entities do not complete their registration with the local SAFE branches or local qualified banks, our PRC subsidiaries may be prohibited from distributing its profits and proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to us, and we may be restricted in our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiaries. Moreover, failure to comply with the SAFE registration described above could result in liability under PRC laws for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions. In addition, our shareholders who are PRC entities shall complete their overseas direct investment filings according to applicable laws and regulations regarding the overseas direct investment by PRC entities, including filings with the MOFCOM, the National Development and Reform Commission, or NDRC, or the local branch of the MOFCOM and NDRC based on the investment amount, invested industry or other factors thereof.
We have used our best efforts to notify PRC residents or entities who directly or indirectly hold shares in our Cayman Islands holding company and who are known to us as being PRC residents or entities to complete the foreign exchange registrations or overseas direct investment filings. However, we may not at all times be fully aware or informed of the identities of all our shareholders or beneficial owners that are required to make or update such registration or filings, and we cannot compel them to comply with SAFE registration requirements and filing requirements as set forth in SAFE, MOFCOM and NDRC regulations. As a result, we cannot assure you that all other shareholders or beneficial owners of ours who are PRC residents or entities have complied
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with, and will in the future make, obtain or update any applicable registrations, filings or approvals required by SAFE, MOFCOM and NDRC regulations. Failure by such shareholders or beneficial owners to comply with SAFE, MOFCOM and NDRC regulations, or failure by us to amend the foreign exchange registrations of our PRC subsidiaries, could subject us to fines or legal sanctions, restrict our overseas or cross-border investment activities, limit our PRC subsidiaries ability to make distributions or pay dividends to us or affect our ownership structure, which could adversely affect our business and prospects.
Moreover, under existing foreign exchange regulations, circulation of foreign currencies within the territory of the PRC shall be prohibited, and no pricing and settlement shall be made in foreign currencies within the territory of the PRC, unless otherwise stipulated by the state authority. For instance, using foreign exchange to make payments that shall be made with Renminbi violates various foreign exchange regulation requirements, which may result in liabilities under PRC law for circumventing applicable foreign exchange restrictions and be construed as arbitrage of exchange. As a result, relevant foreign exchange regulatory authorities may order the violating entity to convert the foreign exchange and impose a fine of up to 30% of the illegal arbitrage amount; in serious cases, the regulatory authorities may impose a fine in excess of 30% but no more than the illegal arbitrage amount. The violating entity may also be subject to criminal liability if its act constitutes a criminal offense. We have made some acquisitions in China, and as a consideration, we have issued new shares overseas to acquired entities direct or indirect shareholders who are PRC residents, which may subject such shareholders and us to the abovementioned fines or criminal liability in serious cases. In addition, we cannot assure you that such shareholders have completed the necessary registrations as required by SAFE Circular 37 and other relevant SAFE regulations and rules, failure of which may subject such shareholders to fines and sanctions and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders or the ADSs holders.
Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, or EIT Law, and its implementation rules, an enterprise established outside of the PRC with its de facto management body within the PRC is considered a resident enterprise and will be subject to PRC enterprise income tax on its global income at the rate of 25%. The implementation rules define the term de facto management body as the body that exercises full and substantial control and overall management over the business, productions, personnel, accounts and properties of an enterprise. In 2009, the State Administration of Taxation, or SAT, issued the Circular of the State Administration of Taxation on Issues Relating to Identification of PRC-controlled Overseas Registered Enterprises as Resident Enterprises in Accordance with the De Facto Standards of Organizational Management, or SAT Circular 82, which provides certain specific criteria for determining whether the de facto management body of a PRC-controlled enterprise that is incorporated offshore is located in China. Although this circular only applies to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, but not to those controlled by PRC individuals or foreigners, the criteria set forth in the circular may reflect the State Administration of Taxations general position on how the de facto management body test should be applied in determining the tax resident status of all offshore enterprises. According to SAT Circular 82, an offshore incorporated enterprise controlled by a PRC enterprise or a PRC enterprise group will be regarded as a PRC tax resident by virtue of having its de facto management body in China and will be subject to PRC enterprise income tax on its global income only if all of the following conditions are met: (i) the primary location of the day-to-day operational management is in the PRC; (ii) decisions relating to the enterprises financial and human resource matters are made or are subject to approval by organizations or personnel in the PRC; (iii) the enterprises primary assets, accounting books and records, company seals, and board and shareholder resolutions, are located or maintained in the PRC; and (iv) at least 50% of voting board members or senior executives habitually reside in the PRC.
We believe none of our entities outside of China is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to determination by the PRC tax authorities and uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation of the term de facto management body If the PRC tax authorities determine that any of our entities outside of China is a PRC resident enterprise for enterprise income
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tax purposes, such entity could be required to pay 25% tax on its global income. Further, if the PRC tax authorities determine that we are a PRC resident enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, we may be required to withhold a 10% withholding tax from dividends we pay to our shareholders that are non-resident enterprises, including the holders of the ADSs. In addition, non-resident enterprise shareholders (including the ADSs holders) may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 10% on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, if such income is treated as sourced from within the PRC. Furthermore, if PRC tax authorities determine that we are a PRC resident enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, dividends paid to our non-PRC individual shareholders (including the ADSs holders) and any gain realized on the transfer of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares by such shareholders may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 20% (which, in the case of dividends, may be withheld at source by us), if such dividends and/or gains are deemed to be from PRC sources. These rates may be reduced by an applicable tax treaty, but it is unclear whether our non-PRC shareholders would in practice be able to obtain the benefits of any tax treaties between their country of tax residence and the PRC in the event that we are treated as a PRC resident enterprise. Any such tax may reduce the returns on your investment in the ADSs.
We face uncertainties with respect to indirect transfer of equity interests in PRC resident enterprises by their non-PRC holding companies.
We face uncertainties regarding the reporting on and consequences of previous private equity financing transactions involving the transfer and exchange of shares in our company by non-resident investors. In February 2015, SAT issued the Bulletin on Issues of Enterprise Income Tax on Indirect Transfers of Assets by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises, or SAT Bulletin 7. Pursuant to SAT Bulletin 7, an indirect transfer of PRC assets, including a transfer of equity interests in an unlisted non-PRC holding company of a PRC resident enterprise, by non-PRC resident enterprises may be re-characterized and treated as a direct transfer of the underlying PRC assets, if such arrangement does not have a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of avoiding payment of PRC enterprise income tax. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax, and the transferee or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer is obligated to withhold the applicable taxes, currently at a rate of 10% for the transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise. On October 17, 2017, SAT issued the Bulletin on Issues Concerning the Withholding of Non-PRC Resident Enterprise Income Tax at Source, or SAT Bulletin 37, which came into effect on December 1, 2017. SAT Bulletin 37 further clarifies the practice and procedure of the withholding of nonresident enterprise income tax. Currently, there is a safe harbor for securities purchased and sold on a public stock exchange.
There is uncertainty as to the application of SAT Bulletin 37 or previous rules under SAT Bulletin 7. We face uncertainties on the reporting and consequences of private equity financing transactions, share exchanges or other transactions involving the transfer of shares in our company by investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises and did not purchase and sale their securities on a public stock exchange. Under SAT Bulletin 37 and SAT Bulletin 7, our company may be subject to filing obligations or taxes if our company is the transferor in such transactions, and may be subject to withholding obligations if our company is the transferee in such transactions.
Certain PRC regulations may make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions.
Among other things, the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, adopted by six PRC regulatory agencies in 2006 and amended in 2009, established additional procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time-consuming and complex. Such regulation requires, among other things, that the MOFCOM be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor acquires control of a PRC domestic enterprise, if (i) any important industry is concerned, (ii) such transaction involves factors that impact or may impact national economic security, or (iii) such transaction will lead to a change in control of a domestic enterprise which holds a famous trademark or PRC time-honored brand. Moreover, the Anti-Monopoly Law promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress, or the SCNPC, was most recently amended on June 24, 2022 and became effective on August 1, 2022. Pursuant to the Anti-Monopoly Law,
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transactions which are deemed concentrations and involve parties with specified turnover thresholds must be cleared by the relevant anti-monopoly authority before they can be completed. In addition, in 2011, the General Office of the State Council promulgated a Notice on Establishing the Security Review System for Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, also known as Circular 6, which officially established a security review system for mergers and acquisitions of domestic enterprises by foreign investors. Also, MOFCOM promulgated the Regulations on Implementation of Security Review System for the Merger and Acquisition of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, effective 2011, to implement Circular 6. Under the foregoing regulations, a security review is required for mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors having national defense and security concerns and mergers and acquisitions by which foreign investors may acquire the de facto control of domestic enterprises with national security concerns. The foregoing regulations prohibit foreign investors from bypassing the security review by structuring transactions through holding shares on behalf of others, trusts, re-investment through multiple levels, leases, loans, control through contractual arrangements or offshore transactions. Following the implementation of the Foreign Investment Law, NDRC and MOFCOM promulgated the Measures for the Security Review of Foreign Investments, effective from January 18, 2021, which require foreign investors or relevant parties to file a prior report before making a foreign investment if such investment involves military related industry, national defense security or taking control of an enterprise in a key industry that concerns national security; and if a foreign investment will or may affect national security, the standing working office organized by NDRC and MOFCOM will conduct a security review to decide whether to approve such investment. We may pursue potential strategic acquisitions that are complementary to our business and operations. Complying with the requirements of these regulations to complete such transactions could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval or clearance from the MOFCOM and other relevant PRC authorities, may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share.
Increases in labor costs in the PRC may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The PRC Labor Contract Law has reinforced the protection of employees who, under the PRC Labor Contract Law, have the right, among others, to have written employment contracts, to enter into employment contracts with no fixed term under certain circumstances, to receive overtime wages and to terminate or alter terms in labor contracts. Furthermore, the PRC Labor Contract Law sets forth additional restrictions and increases the costs involved with dismissing employees. To the extent that we need to significantly reduce our workforce, the PRC Labor Contract Law could affect our ability to do so in a timely and cost-effective manner, and we could be subject to penalties or incur significant liabilities in connection with labor disputes or investigations.
In addition, we are required by PRC laws and regulations to make social insurance registration and open housing provident fund account with relevant governmental authorities and pay various statutory employee benefits, including pensions, housing fund, medical insurance, work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance to designated government agencies for the benefit of our employees. The relevant government agencies may examine whether an employer has made adequate payments of the requisite statutory employee benefits, and those employers who fail to make adequate payments may be subject to late payment fees, fines and/or other penalties. Our social insurance and/or housing provident fund policies and practices may be found to have violated the relevant laws and regulations. For example, some of our PRC operating entities did not make adequate social insurance and housing fund contributions or did not make social insurance registration and open housing fund account in accordance with PRC laws and regulations. Pursuant to relevant PRC laws and regulations, the under-contribution of social insurance within a prescribed period may subject us to a daily overdue charge of 0.05% of the delayed payment amount. If this payment is not made within the stipulated period, the competent authority may further impose a fine of one to three times of the overdue amount on us. As a result, we may be subject to fines and legal sanctions, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.
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Recent litigation and negative publicity surrounding China-based companies listed in the United States may result in increased regulatory scrutiny of us and negatively impact the trading price of the ADSs.
We believe that litigation and negative publicity surrounding companies with operations in China that are listed in the United States have negatively impacted stock prices for such companies. Various equity-based research organizations have published reports on China-based companies after examining, among other things, their corporate governance practices, related party transactions, sales practices and financial statements that have led to special investigations and stock suspensions on national exchanges. Any similar scrutiny of us, regardless of its lack of merit, could result in a diversion of managerial resources, potential costs to defend ourselves against rumors, decreases and volatility in the ADS trading price, and increased directors and officers insurance premiums, and could have a material adverse effect upon our business, results of operations and financial condition.
A severe or prolonged downturn in the global or Chinese economy could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
The global macroeconomic environment is facing challenges, including the end of quantitative easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the economic slowdown in the Eurozone since 2014 and uncertainties over the impact of Brexit. The Chinese economy has shown slower growth compared to the previous decade since 2012 and the trend may continue. There is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the worlds leading economies, including the United States and China. There have been concerns over unrest and terrorist threats in the Middle East, Europe and Africa, which have resulted in market volatility. There have also been concerns over the relationship between China and other countries, including the surrounding Asian countries. Recent international trade disputes, including tariff actions announced by the United States, China and certain other countries, and the uncertainties created by such disputes may cause disruptions in the international flow of goods and services and may adversely affect the Chinese economy as well as global markets and economic conditions. Economic conditions in China are sensitive to global economic conditions, as well as changes in domestic economic and political policies and the expected or perceived overall economic growth rate in China. Any severe or prolonged slowdown in the global or Chinese economy may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Changes in international trade policies and international barriers to trade, or the escalation of trade and political tensions, may have an adverse effect on our business.
Although cross-border business may not be an area of our focus, if we plan to expand our business internationally in the future, any unfavorable government policies on international trade, such as capital controls or tariffs, may affect the demand for our services, impact our competitive position, or prevent us from being able to conduct business in certain countries. If any new tariffs, legislation, or regulations are implemented, or if existing trade agreements are renegotiated, such changes could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Recently, there have been heightened tensions in international economic and political relations. Although the direct impact of the current international trade and political tension, and any escalation of such tension, on the industries in which we operate is uncertain, the negative impact on general, economic, political and social conditions may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure
There are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations, and rules relating to the agreements that establish the VIE structure for our operations in China, including potential future actions by the PRC government, which could affect the enforceability of our contractual arrangements with the VIEs and, consequently, significantly affect the financial condition and results of operations performance of Yunxuetang. If the PRC government finds such agreements non-compliant with relevant PRC laws, regulations, and rules, or if these laws, regulations, and rules or the interpretation thereof change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in the VIEs.
Current PRC laws and regulations impose certain restrictions on foreign ownership of companies that engage in certain business operations, such as value-added telecommunications services. The MOFCOM and the NDRC promulgated the Negative List, and further amended it on December 27, 2021 and became effective on January 1, 2022. Pursuant to the current Negative List (2021 Version), foreign investment in value-added telecommunications services (except for e-commerce, domestic multi-party communications services, store-and-forward services and domestic call center services) falls within the Negative List. As a result, foreign investors can only conduct investment activities through equity or contractual joint ventures with certain shareholding requirements and approvals from competent authorities. PRC partners are required to hold the majority interests in the joint ventures and approval from MOFCOM and the MIIT, for the incorporation of the joint ventures and the business operations. The primary foreign investors must also have operating experience and a good track record in providing value-added telecommunication services overseas.
Current PRC laws and regulations impose restrictions on foreign ownership and investment in companies that engage in the value-added telecommunications services. We are an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Yunxuetang Information is our wholly-owned PRC subsidiary and a foreign-invested enterprise under PRC laws, and Fenghe Consulting is a foreign-invested enterprise under PRC laws and 60% held by us. We conduct our business in China through Yunxuetang Network, Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai China Europe and their respective subsidiaries, or collectively the VIEs, in China, based on contractual arrangements by and among Yunxuetang Information, Yunxuetang Network and its shareholders, Fenghe Consulting, Shanghai China Europe and its shareholders, and Fenghe Consulting, Shanghai Fenghe and its shareholders. Our contractual arrangements allow us to be considered the primary beneficiary of the VIEs for accounting purposes. We have been and expect to continue to be dependent on the VIEs to operate our business in China. As a result of these contractual arrangements, we are considered the primary beneficiary of the VIEs for accounting purposes, and consolidate their financial results under U.S. GAAP. See Our History and Corporate StructureContractual Arrangements with the VIEs and Their Shareholders for details.
In the opinion of our PRC counsel, Global Law Office, each of the contractual arrangements does not (i) result in any violation of any governmental authorizations or any PRC laws; (i) result in any violation of the provisions of the articles of association or business license, as applicable, of any of the PRC companies; or (iii) to the best of our PRC counsels knowledge after due and reasonable inquiries with our company, conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any terms or provisions of, or any other contract or instrument governed by the PRC laws to which any of the PRC companies is a party, except, in the case of clause (iii) above, for such circumstance where there would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect. However, we have been further advised by our PRC counsel that there are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations. Thus, the PRC government may ultimately take a view contrary to or otherwise different from the opinion of our PRC counsel. If the PRC government otherwise find that we are in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations or lack the necessary permits or licenses to operate our business, the relevant governmental authorities would have broad discretion in dealing with such violation, including, without limitation:
| revoking the business and operating licenses of our company; |
| discontinuing or restricting any related-party transactions between our group and the VIEs; |
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| imposing fines and penalties, confiscating the income from our company, or imposing additional requirements for our operations which we may not be able to comply with; |
| requiring us to restructure our ownership structure or operations, including terminating the contractual arrangements and deregistering the share pledges of the VIE, which in turn would affect our ability to consolidate, derive economic interests from, or exercise our contractual rights over the VIEs; |
| restricting or prohibiting our use of the proceeds of this offering to finance our business and operations in China, particularly the expansion of our business through strategic acquisitions; or |
| restricting the use of financing sources by us or the VIEs or otherwise restricting our or their ability to conduct business. |
Any of these events could cause significant disruptions to our business operations, which would in turn materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, new PRC laws, regulations, and rules may be introduced to impose additional requirements, posing additional challenges to our corporate structure and contractual arrangements. If occurrences of any of these events results in our inability to direct the activities of the VIEs in China, our failure to receive the economic benefits from the VIEs and/or our inability to claim our contractual rights over the assets of the VIEs that conduct substantially all of our operations in China, we may not be able to consolidate their financial results in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations and cause the ADSs to significantly decline in value or become worthless.
Any failure by the VIEs or their shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material adverse effect on our business.
Since PRC laws limit foreign equity ownership in certain kinds of business in China, we have relied and expect to continue to rely on the contractual arrangements with the VIEs and their shareholders to operate our business in China. For a description of these contractual arrangements, see Our History and Corporate StructureContractual Arrangements with the VIEs and Their Shareholders.
However, these contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership. Any of the VIEs and their shareholders could breach their contractual arrangements with us by, among other things, failing to conduct their operations in an acceptable manner or taking other actions that are detrimental to our interests. In the event that the shareholders of the VIE breach the terms of these contractual arrangements and voluntarily liquidate the VIE, or the VIE declares bankruptcy and all or part of its assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors, or are otherwise disposed of without our consent, we may be unable to conduct some or all of our business operations or otherwise benefit from the assets held by the VIEs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Most of the nominee shareholders of the VIEs are also shareholders of our company. The enforceability of the contractual agreements is also dependent upon the shareholders of the VIEs, and their interests may not align with us. If any of the VIEs or its shareholders fail to perform their respective obligations under the contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend additional resources to enforce such arrangements. We may also have to rely on legal remedies under PRC law, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and contractual remedies, which we cannot assure you will be sufficient or effective under PRC law. Our contractual arrangements are governed by PRC law and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in China. Accordingly, these agreements would be interpreted in accordance with PRC law and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The legal system in the PRC has been undergoing significant development in recent years. However, there may still be some challenges and differences in comparison to more established legal systems. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. Meanwhile, there are very few precedents and little formal guidance as to how contractual arrangements in the context of a consolidated variable
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interest entity should be interpreted or enforced under PRC law. There remain significant uncertainties regarding the ultimate outcome of such arbitration should legal action become necessary. In addition, under PRC law, rulings by arbitrators are final, parties cannot appeal the arbitration results in courts, and if the losing parties fail to carry out the arbitration awards within a prescribed time limit, the prevailing parties may only enforce the arbitration awards in PRC courts through arbitration award recognition proceedings, which would require additional expenses and delay. In the event that we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements, or if we suffer significant delay or other obstacles in the process of enforcing these contractual arrangements, we may not be able to be considered the primary beneficiary of the VIEs for accounting purposes, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected.
The shareholders of the VIEs may have actual or potential conflicts of interest with us, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The shareholders of the VIEs may have actual or potential conflicts of interest with us. These shareholders may breach, or cause the VIEs to breach, or refuse to renew, the existing contractual arrangements we have with them and the VIEs, which would have a material adverse effect on our contractual rights over the VIEs and receive economic benefits from them. For example, the shareholders may be able to cause our agreements with the VIEs to be performed in a manner adverse to us by, among other things, failing to remit payments due under the contractual arrangements to us on a timely basis. We cannot assure you that when conflicts of interest arise any or all of these shareholders will act in the best interests of our company or such conflicts will be resolved in our favor. Currently, we do not have any arrangements to address potential conflicts of interest between these shareholders and our company. If we cannot resolve any conflict of interest or dispute between us and these shareholders, we would have to rely on legal proceedings, which could result in disruption of our business and subject us to substantial uncertainties as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.
Our contractual arrangements may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities and they may determine that we or the VIEs owe additional taxes, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Under applicable PRC laws and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the PRC tax authorities. The tax authorities may impose reasonable adjustments on taxation if they have identified any related party transactions that are inconsistent with arms length principles. We could face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that our contractual arrangements were not entered into on an arms length basis in such a way as to result in an impermissible reduction in taxes under applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations, and adjust income of the VIEs in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment. A transfer pricing adjustment could, among other things, result in a reduction of expense deductions recorded by the VIEs for PRC tax purposes, which could in turn increase its tax liabilities without reducing our PRC subsidiaries tax expenses. In addition, if WFOE requests the shareholders of the VIEs to transfer their equity interests at nominal or no value pursuant to the contractual arrangements, such transfer could be viewed as a gift and subject WFOE to PRC income tax. Furthermore, the PRC tax authorities may impose late payment fees and other penalties on the VIEs for the adjusted but unpaid taxes according to the applicable regulations. Our financial position could be materially and adversely affected if the VIEs tax liabilities increase or if they are required to pay late payment fees and other penalties.
Uncertainties exist with respect to the interpretation and implementation of the newly enacted Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
On March 15, 2019, the National Peoples Congress promulgated the Foreign Investment Law, which came into effect on January 1, 2020 and replaced the trio of existing laws regulating foreign investment in China, namely, the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-invested Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and
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ancillary regulations. The Foreign Investment Law embodies an expected PRC regulatory trend to rationalize its foreign investment regulatory regime in line with prevailing international practice and the legislative efforts to unify the corporate legal requirements for both foreign and domestic investments. The current Foreign Investment Law does not mention concepts such as actual control and controlling PRC companies by contracts or trusts that were included in the previous drafts, nor does it specify regulations on controlling through contractual arrangements. As a result, this regulatory topic remains unclear under the Foreign Investment Law. However, since the Foreign Investment Law is relatively new, uncertainties still exist in relation to its interpretation and implementation, and failure to take timely and appropriate measures to cope with the regulatory-compliance challenges could result in a material adverse effect on us. For instance, though the Foreign Investment Law does not explicitly classify contractual arrangements as a form of foreign investment, it contains a catch-all provision under the definition of foreign investment, which includes investments made by foreign investors in China through means stipulated in laws or administrative regulations or other methods prescribed by the State Council. Therefore, it still leaves leeway for future laws, administrative regulations or provisions promulgated by the Stale Council to provide for contractual arrangements as a form of foreign investment, at which time it will be uncertain whether our contractual arrangements will be deemed to be in violation of the market access requirements for foreign investment in the PRC and if so, how our contractual arrangements should be dealt with. In addition, if future laws, administrative regulations or provisions prescribed by the State Council mandate further actions to be taken by companies with respect to existing contractual arrangements, we may face substantial uncertainties as to whether we can complete such actions in a timely manner, or at all. In the worst-case scenario, we may be required to unwind our existing contractual arrangements and/or dispose of the relevant business operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our current corporate structure, corporate governance, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may rely on dividends paid by our PRC subsidiaries to fund cash and financing requirements. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business and to pay dividends to holders of our Class A ordinary shares, including those represented by the ADSs.
We are a holding company, and we may rely on dividends to be paid by our PRC subsidiaries for our cash and financing requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to holders of our Class A ordinary shares, including those represented by the ADSs, and service any debt we may incur. If any of our PRC subsidiaries incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us.
Under PRC laws and regulations, wholly foreign-owned enterprises in the PRC, such as WFOE, may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profits as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, after making up previous years accumulated losses, if any, to fund certain statutory reserve funds, until the aggregate amount of such a fund reaches 50% of its registered capital. These reserve funds are not distributable as cash dividends. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other distributions to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.
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Risks Related to Corporate Governance
Our proposed dual-class share structure with different voting rights, as well as the concentration of our share ownership among executive officers, directors and principal shareholders, may limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A ordinary shares and the ADSs may view as beneficial.
We have adopted a dual-class share structure such that our ordinary shares will consist of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, which is conditional upon, and will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering. In respect of matters requiring the votes of shareholders, each Class A ordinary share is entitled to one vote and each Class B ordinary share is entitled to 20 votes. Each Class B ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof. Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. We will sell Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs in this offering. For more information, see Description of Share Capital.
Mr. Xiaoyan Lu, our director, founder and chairman of the board will beneficially own all of our outstanding Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the completion of this offering. These Class B ordinary shares will constitute approximately % of our total outstanding share capital and % of the aggregate voting power of our total outstanding share capital immediately following the completion of this offering, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs. As a result, Mr. Xiaoyan Lu has the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted to the shareholders for approval. Immediately following the completion of this offering, we will be a controlled company within the meaning of the [Nasdaq/NYSE] rules. See Principal Shareholders.
As a result of this dual-class share structure and the concentration of control, upon completion of this offering, Mr. Xiaoyan Lu will have significant influence over our business, including decisions regarding mergers, consolidations, liquidations and the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, election of directors and other significant corporate actions. In addition, our executive officers, directors, and principal shareholders and their affiliated entities together beneficially own approximately % of our outstanding ordinary shares on an as-converted basis immediately after the completion of this offering, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs. These shareholders may take actions that are not in the best interest of us or our other shareholders. This concentration of control may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could have the effect of depriving our other shareholders of the opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and may reduce the price of the ADSs. It will also limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any potential merger, takeover or other change of control transactions that holders of Class A ordinary shares and the ADSs may view as beneficial.
As an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices for corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the [Nasdaq/NYSE] corporate governance listing standards; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with the corporate governance listing standards.
We have applied to list the ADSs on the [Nasdaq/NYSE]. The [Nasdaq/NYSE] corporate governance listing standards permit a foreign private issuer like us to follow the corporate governance practices of its home country. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, may differ significantly from the [Nasdaq/NYSE] corporate governance listing standards.
For instance, we are not required to: (i) have a majority of the board be independent; (ii) have a compensation committee or a nominations or corporate governance committee consisting entirely of independent directors; or (iii) have regularly scheduled executive sessions with only independent directors each year. We intend to rely on some of these exemptions. As a result, you may not be provided with the benefits of certain corporate governance requirements of the [Nasdaq/NYSE].
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We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to U.S. domestic public companies.
Because we are a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including:
| the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K with the SEC; |
| the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents, or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act; |
| the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and |
| the selective disclosure rules by issuers of material nonpublic information under Regulation FD. |
We will be required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each fiscal year. In addition, we intend to publish our results on a quarterly basis through press releases, distributed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the [Nasdaq/NYSE]. Press releases relating to financial results and material events will also be furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K. However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely than that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information that would be made available to you were you investing in a U.S. domestic issuer.
We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act and may take advantage of certain reduced reporting requirements.
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, most significantly, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for so long as we remain an emerging growth company. As a result, if we elect not to comply with such auditor attestation requirements, our investors may not have access to certain information they may deem important. The JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until such date that a private company is otherwise required to comply with such new or revised accounting standards. Further, as an emerging growth company, we have elected to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised financial accounting standards. As such, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates because of the potential differences in accounting standard used. We cannot predict if investors will find the ADSs less attractive because we may rely on these provisions. If some investors find the ADSs less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for the ADSs and the trading price of the ADSs may be more volatile.
We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company, particularly after we cease to qualify as an emerging growth company.
We are a public company and expect to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and the [Nasdaq/NYSE], impose various requirements on the corporate governance practices of public companies. We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some corporate activities more time-consuming and costly. As a company with less than US$1.235 billion in revenues for our last fiscal year, we qualify as an emerging growth company pursuant to the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. After we are no longer an emerging growth company, we expect to incur significant expenses and devote substantial management effort toward ensuring compliance with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the other rules and regulations of the SEC.
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As a result of becoming a public company, we will need to increase the number of independent directors and adopt policies regarding internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures. We also expect that operating as a public company will make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. In addition, we will incur additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements. It may also be more difficult for us to find qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers. We are currently evaluating and monitoring developments with respect to these rules and regulations, and we cannot predict or estimate with any degree of certainty the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs.
In the past, shareholders of a public company often brought securities class action suits against the company following periods of instability in the market price of that companys securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our managements attention and other resources from our business and operations, which could harm our results of operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Our post-offering memorandum and articles of association contain anti-takeover provisions that could have a material adverse effect on the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares and the ADSs.
We will adopt our post-offering memorandum and articles of association that will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering. Our post-offering memorandum and articles of association will contain provisions which could limit the ability of others to acquire control of our company or cause us to engage in change-of-control transactions. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders of an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transaction. Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our shareholders, to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to fix their designations, powers, preferences, privileges, and relative participating, optional or special rights and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights associated with our Class A ordinary shares, represented by the ADS or otherwise. Preferred shares could be issued quickly with terms calculated to delay or prevent a change in control of our company or make removal of management more difficult. If our board of directors decides to issue preferred shares, the price of the ADSs may fall and the voting and other rights of the holders of our Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.
Risks Related to the ADSs and this Offering
An active trading market for our ordinary shares or the ADSs may not develop and the trading price for the ADSs may fluctuate significantly.
We will apply to list the ADSs on the [Nasdaq/NYSE]. We have no current intention to seek a listing for our ordinary shares on any stock exchange. Prior to the completion of this offering, there has been no public market for the ADSs or our ordinary shares, and we cannot assure you that a liquid public market for the ADSs will develop. If an active public market for the ADSs does not develop following the completion of this offering, the market price and liquidity of the ADSs may be materially and adversely affected. The initial public offering price for the ADSs was determined by negotiation between us and the underwriters based upon several factors, and we cannot assure you that the trading price of the ADSs after this offering will not decline below the initial public offering price. As a result, investors in our securities may experience a significant decrease in the value of their ADSs, and may not be able to resell ADSs at or above the price they paid, or at all.
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The trading price of the ADSs is likely to be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors.
The trading price of the ADSs is likely to be volatile and could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. This may happen because of broad market and industry factors, like the performance and fluctuation of the market prices of other companies with business operations located mainly in China that have listed their securities in the United States. A number of Chinese companies have listed or are in the process of listing their securities on U.S. stock markets. The securities of some of these companies have experienced significant volatility, including price declines in connection with their initial public offerings. The trading performances of these Chinese companies securities after their offerings may affect the attitudes of investors toward Chinese companies listed in the United States in general and consequently may impact the trading performance of the ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, any negative news or perceptions about inadequate corporate governance practices or fraudulent accounting, corporate structure or matters of other Chinese companies may also negatively affect the attitudes of investors towards Chinese companies in general, including us, regardless of whether we have conducted any inappropriate activities. Furthermore, securities markets may from time to time experience significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to our operating performance, which may have a material and adverse effect on the trading price of the ADSs.
In addition to market and industry factors, the price and trading volume for the ADSs may be highly volatile for factors specific to our own operations, including the following:
| variations in our revenues, earnings and cash flow; |
| announcements of new investments, acquisitions, strategic partnerships or joint ventures by us or our competitors; |
| announcements of new solutions and expansions by us or our competitors; |
| announcements of new policies, rules or regulations relating to the enterprising learning industry in China; |
| changes in financial estimates by securities analysts; |
| detrimental adverse publicity about us, our solutions, our competitors or our industry; |
| additions or departures of key personnel; |
| fluctuations of exchange rates between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar; |
| release of lock-up or other transfer restrictions on our outstanding equity securities or sales of additional equity securities; and |
| potential litigation or regulatory investigations. |
Any of these factors may result in large and sudden changes in the volume and price at which the ADSs will trade.
In the past, shareholders of public companies have often brought securities class action suits against those companies following periods of instability in the market price of their securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our managements attention and other resources from our business and operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit, which could harm our results of operations. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
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Techniques employed by short sellers may drive down the market price of the ADSs.
Short selling is the practice of selling securities that the seller does not own but rather has borrowed from a third party with the intention of buying identical securities back at a later date to return to the lender. The short seller hopes to profit from a decline in the value of the securities between the sale of the borrowed securities and the purchase of the replacement shares, as the short seller expects to pay less in that purchase than it received in the sale. As it is in the short sellers interest for the price of the security to decline, many short sellers publish, or arrange for the publication of, negative opinions regarding the relevant issuer and its business prospects in order to create negative market momentum and generate profits for themselves after selling a security short. These short attacks have, in the past, led to selling of shares in the market.
Public companies listed in the United States that have a substantial majority of their operations in China have been the subject of short selling. Much of the scrutiny and negative publicity has centered on allegations of a lack of effective internal control over financial reporting resulting in financial and accounting irregularities and mistakes, inadequate corporate governance policies or a lack of adherence thereto and, in many cases, allegations of fraud. As a result, many of these companies are now conducting internal and external investigations into the allegations and, in the interim, are subject to shareholder lawsuits and/or SEC enforcement actions.
We may be the subject of unfavorable allegations made by short sellers in the future. Any such allegations may be followed by periods of instability in the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and ADSs and negative publicity. If and when we become the subject of any unfavorable allegations, whether such allegations are proven to be true or untrue, we could have to expend a significant amount of resources to investigate such allegations and/or defend ourselves. While we would strongly defend against any such short seller attacks, we may be constrained in the manner in which we can proceed against the relevant short seller by principles of freedom of speech, applicable federal or state law or issues of commercial confidentiality. Such a situation could be costly and time-consuming and could distract our management from growing our business. Even if such allegations are ultimately proven to be groundless, allegations against us could severely impact our business operations and shareholders equity, and the value of any investment in the ADSs could be greatly reduced or rendered worthless.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they adversely change their recommendations regarding the ADSs, the market price for the ADSs and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for the ADSs will be influenced by research or reports that industry or securities analysts publish about our business. If one or more analysts who cover us downgrade the ADSs, the market price for the ADSs would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease to cover us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause the market price or trading volume for the ADSs to decline.
Because the initial public offering price is substantially higher than the pro forma net tangible book value per share, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution.
The initial public offering price of the ADSs is substantially higher than the net tangible book value per ADS. Therefore, if you purchase the ADSs in this offering, you will pay a price per ADS that substantially exceeds our pro forma net tangible book value per ADS after this offering. Based on the initial public offering price of $ per ADS, you will experience immediate dilution of $ per ADS, representing the difference between our pro forma net tangible book value per ADS after giving effect to this offering at the initial public offering price. See Dilution for more details.
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The sale or availability for sale of substantial amounts of the ADSs could adversely affect their market price.
Sales of substantial amounts of the ADSs in the public market after the completion of this offering, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of the ADSs and could materially impair our ability to raise capital through equity offerings in the future. The ADSs sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and shares held by our existing shareholders may also be sold in the public market in the future subject to the restrictions in Rule 144 and Rule 701 under the Securities Act and the applicable lock-up agreements. There will be ADSs (equivalent to Class A ordinary shares) outstanding immediately after this offering, or ADSs (equivalent to Class A ordinary shares) if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs in full. In connection with this offering, we, our directors and executive officers, and existing shareholders have agreed not to sell, transfer or dispose of any ADSs, ordinary shares or similar securities for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus without the prior written consent of the underwriters, subject to certain exceptions.
However, the underwriters may release these securities from these restrictions at any time, subject to applicable regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. We cannot predict what effect, if any, market sales of securities held by our significant shareholders or any other shareholder or the availability of these securities for future sale will have on the market price of the ADSs. See Underwriting and Shares Eligible for Future Sale for a more detailed description of the restrictions on selling our securities after this offering.
Because we do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future after this offering, you must rely on price appreciation of the ADSs for return on your investment.
We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings after this offering to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, we do not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Therefore, you should not rely on an investment in the ADSs as a source for any future dividend income.
Our board of directors has complete discretion as to whether to distribute dividends, subject to certain restrictions under Cayman Islands law, namely that our company may only pay dividends out of profits or share premium account, and provided always that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid if this would result in our company being unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our board of directors. Even if our board of directors decides to declare and pay dividends, the timing, amount and form of future dividends, if any, will depend on our future results of operations and cash flow, our capital requirements and surplus, the amount of distributions, if any, received by us from our subsidiaries, our financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. Accordingly, the return on your investment in the ADSs will likely depend entirely upon any future price appreciation of the ADSs. There is no guarantee that the ADSs will appreciate in value after this offering or even maintain the price at which you purchased the ADSs. You may not realize a return on your investment in the ADSs or even lose your entire investment in the ADSs.
We have not determined a specific use for a portion of the net proceeds from this offering, and we may use these proceeds in ways with which you may not agree.
We have not determined a specific use for a portion of the net proceeds of this offering, and our management will have considerable discretion in deciding how to apply these proceeds. You will not have the opportunity to assess whether the proceeds are being used appropriately before you make your investment decision. You must rely on the judgment of our management regarding the application of the net proceeds of this offering. We cannot assure you that the net proceeds will be used in a manner that will improve our results of operations or increase the price of the ADSs, nor that these net proceeds will be placed only in investments that generate income or appreciate in value.
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You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law and conduct our operations primarily in emerging markets.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands, as amended, and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from the common law of England, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding, on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws than the United States. Some U.S. states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the United States.
Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like us have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records (other than the memorandum and articles of associations) or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders of these companies. Our directors have discretion under our articles of association to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.
Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, differ significantly from requirements for companies incorporated in other jurisdictions such as the United States. If we choose to follow home country practice, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would under rules and regulations applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.
In addition, we conduct substantially all of our business operations in emerging markets, including China, and substantially all of our directors and senior management are based in China. The SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice, or the DOJ, and other authorities often have substantial difficulties in bringing and enforcing actions against non-U.S. companies and non-U.S. persons, including company directors and officers, in certain emerging markets, including China. Additionally, our public shareholders may have limited rights and few practical remedies in emerging markets where we operate, as shareholder claims that are common in the United States, including class action based on securities law and fraud claims, generally are difficult or impossible to pursue as a matter of law or practicality in many emerging markets, including China. For example, in China, there are significant legal and other obstacles for the SEC, the DOJ and other U.S. authorities to obtaining information needed for shareholder investigations or litigation. Although the competent authorities in China may establish a regulatory cooperation mechanism with the securities regulatory authorities of another country or region to implement cross-border supervision and administration, the regulatory cooperation with the securities regulatory authorities in the United States has not been efficient in the absence of a mutual and practical cooperation mechanism.
According to Article 177 of the PRC Securities Law which became effective in March 2020, no foreign securities regulator is allowed to directly conduct investigation or evidence collection activities within the territory of the PRC. Accordingly, without the consent of the competent PRC securities regulators and relevant authorities, no organization or individual may provide the documents and materials relating to securities business activities to foreign securities regulators.
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As a result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the United States. For a discussion of significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders, see Description of Share CapitalDifferences in Corporate Law.
You are purchasing equity securities of a Cayman Islands holding company rather than equity securities of our subsidiaries and VIEs that have substantive business operations in China. As a result, certain judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company with no business operations, and all of our assets are located outside of the United States. Substantially all of our current operations are conducted in China through our PRC subsidiaries and VIEs. We and our shareholders do not and are not legally permitted to have any equity interests in the VIEs as current PRC laws and regulations restrict foreign investment in companies that engage in certain services, such as the value-added telecommunication services. As a result, we operate businesses in China through certain contractual arrangements with the VIEs. For a summary of such contractual arrangements, see Our History and Corporate StructureContractual Arrangements with the VIEs and Their Shareholders. Investors in the ADSs are purchasing equity securities of a Cayman Islands holding company rather than equity securities of our subsidiaries and the VIEs. In addition, most of our current directors and officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the United States. All or a substantial portion of the assets of these persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of China may render you unable to enforce a judgment against us, our assets, our directors and officers or their assets. For more information regarding the relevant laws of the Cayman Islands and China, see Enforceability of Civil Liabilities.
We will be a controlled company as defined under the [Nasdaq/NYSE] corporate governance rules. As a result, we will qualify for, and intend to rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that would otherwise provide protection to shareholders of other companies.
Following the completion of this offering, we will be a controlled company as defined under the [Nasdaq/NYSE] corporate governance rules because Mr. Xiaoyan Lu will own more than 50% of our total voting power. For so long as we remain a controlled company, we may rely on certain exemptions from the corporate governance rules, including the rule that we have to establish a nominating and corporate governance committee composed entirely of independent directors. As a result, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these corporate governance requirements. Even if we cease to be a controlled company, we may still rely on exemptions available to foreign private issuers, including being able to adopt home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters. See As an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices for corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the [Nasdaq/NYSE] corporate governance listing standards; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with the corporate governance listing standards and We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to U.S. domestic public companies.
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The voting rights of holders of ADSs are limited by the terms of the deposit agreement, and you may not be able to exercise your right to vote your Class A ordinary shares.
As a holder of the ADSs, you will only be able to exercise the voting rights with respect to the Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Under the deposit agreement, you must vote by giving voting instructions to the depositary. If we request the depositary to ask for your instructions, then upon receipt of your voting instructions, the depositary will try, as far as is practicable, to vote the underlying Class A ordinary shares which are represented by the ADSs in accordance with your instructions. If we do not request the depositary to ask for your instructions, the depositary may still vote in accordance with instructions you give, but it is not required to do so. You will not be able to directly exercise your right to vote with respect to the Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs unless you withdraw such shares and became the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date for the general meeting. Under our post-offering memorandum and articles of association that will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering, the minimum notice period required for convening a general meeting is fifteen calendar days. When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient advance notice to withdraw the Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs and become the registered holder of such shares to allow you to vote with respect to any specific matter. If we ask for your instructions, the depositary will notify you of the upcoming vote and will arrange to deliver our voting materials to you. We cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote your shares. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for their manner of carrying out your voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and you may have no legal remedy if the Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs are not voted as you requested.
The depositary may give us a discretionary proxy to vote our Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs if you do not give voting instructions, which could adversely affect your interests and the ability of our shareholders as a group to influence the management of our company.
Under the deposit agreement for the ADSs, if you do not give voting instructions to the depositary to direct how the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs are voted, upon our request, the depositary will give us (or our nominee) a discretionary proxy to vote the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs at shareholders meetings if:
| we timely provided the depositary with notice of meeting and related voting materials and requested it to solicit your instructions; |
| we request the depositary to give a proxy; |
| we have informed the depositary that there is no substantial opposition as to a matter to be voted on at the meeting; and |
| the matter subject to voting would not have a material adverse impact on shareholders. |
The effect of this discretionary proxy is that if you do not give voting instructions to the depositary to direct how the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs are voted, you cannot prevent the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs from being voted, under the circumstances described above. This may make it more difficult for shareholders to influence the management of our company. Holders of our ordinary shares are not subject to this discretionary proxy.
You may not receive cash dividends if the depositary decides it is impractical to make them available to you.
The depositary of the ADSs has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on our Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities underlying the ADSs, after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of Class A ordinary shares the ADSs represent. However, the depositary may, at its discretion, decide that it is inequitable or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of the ADSs. For example, the depositary may
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determine that it is not practicable to distribute certain property through the mail, or that the value of certain distributions may be less than the cost of mailing them. In these cases, the depositary may decide not to distribute such property to you.
We and the depositary are entitled to amend the deposit agreement and to change the rights of ADSs holders under the terms of such agreement, and we may terminate the deposit agreement, without the prior consent of the ADSs holders.
We and the depositary are entitled to amend the deposit agreement and to change the rights of the ADSs holders under the terms of such agreement, without the prior consent of the ADSs holders. We and the depositary may agree to amend the deposit agreement in any way we decide is necessary or advantageous to us. Amendments may reflect, among other things, operational changes in the ADS program, legal developments affecting ADSs or changes in the terms of our business relationship with the depositary. In the event that the terms of an amendment are disadvantageous to ADSs holders, ADSs holders will receive 30 days advance notice of the amendment, but no prior consent of the ADSs holders is required under the deposit agreement. Furthermore, we may decide to terminate the ADS facility at any time for any reason. For example, terminations may occur when we decide to list our shares on a non-U.S. securities exchange and determine not to continue to sponsor an ADS facility or when we become the subject of a takeover or a going-private transaction. If the ADS facility will terminate, ADSs holders will receive at least 90 days prior notice, but no prior consent is required from them. Under the circumstances that we decide to make an amendment to the deposit agreement that is disadvantageous to ADSs holders or terminate the deposit agreement, the ADSs holders may choose to sell their ADSs or surrender their ADSs and become direct holders of the underlying Class A ordinary shares, but will have no right to any compensation whatsoever.
You may experience dilution of your holdings due to inability to participate in rights offerings.
We may, from time to time, distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire securities. Under the deposit agreement, the depositary will not distribute rights to holders of ADSs unless the distribution and sale of rights and the securities to which these rights relate are either exempt from registration under the Securities Act with respect to all holders of ADSs or are registered under the provisions of the Securities Act. The depositary may, but is not required to, attempt to sell these undistributed rights to third parties, and may allow the rights to lapse. We may be unable to establish an exemption from registration under the Securities Act, and we are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to these rights or underlying securities or to endeavor to have a registration statement declared effective. Accordingly, holders of ADSs may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution of their holdings as a result.
You may be subject to limitations on transfer of the ADSs or the ability to surrender the ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal of our Class A ordinary shares.
The ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its books for transfers or for surrender for the purpose of withdrawal at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. The depositary may close its books from time to time for a number of reasons, including in connection with corporate events such as a rights offering, during which time the depositary needs to maintain an exact number of ADSs holders on its books for a specified period. The depositary may also close its books in emergencies, and on weekends and public holidays. The depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of the ADSs generally when our share register or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary thinks it is advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.
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ADSs holders may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to claims arising under the deposit agreement, which could result in less favorable outcomes to the plaintiff(s) in any such action.
The deposit agreement governing the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, ADSs holders waive the right to a jury trial of any claim they may have against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to our shares, the ADSs or the deposit agreement, including any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws.
If we or the depositary opposed a jury trial demand based on the waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable based on the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with the applicable state and federal law. To our knowledge, the enforceability of a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver in connection with claims arising under the federal securities laws has not been finally adjudicated by the United States Supreme Court. However, we believe that a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver provision is generally enforceable, including under the laws of the State of New York, which govern the deposit agreement, by a federal or state court in the City of New York, which has non-exclusive jurisdiction over matters arising under the deposit agreement. In determining whether to enforce a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver provision, courts will generally consider whether a party knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived the right to a jury trial. We believe that this is the case with respect to the deposit agreement and the ADSs. It is advisable that you consult legal counsel regarding the jury waiver provision before entering into the deposit agreement.
If you or any other holders or beneficial owners of ADSs bring a claim against us or the depositary in connection with matters arising under the deposit agreement or the ADSs, including claims under federal securities laws, you or such other holder or beneficial owner may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to such claims, which may, among other things, limit and discourage lawsuits against us and/or the depositary and lead to limited access to information and other imbalances of resources between you as ADS holders and us. If a lawsuit is brought against us and/or the depositary under the deposit agreement, it may be heard only by a judge or justice of the applicable trial court, which would be conducted according to different civil procedures and may result in different outcomes than a trial by jury would have had, including results that could be less favorable to the plaintiff(s) in any such action.
Nevertheless, if this jury trial waiver provision is not permitted by applicable law, an action could proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. No condition, stipulation or provision of the deposit agreement or ADSs serves as a waiver by any holder or beneficial owner of ADSs or by us or the depositary of compliance with any provision of the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
There can be no assurance that we will not be a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for any taxable year, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors in the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares.
In general, a non-U.S. corporation is a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year in which (i) 50% or more of the average value of its assets (generally determined on a quarterly basis) consists of assets that produce, or are held for the production of, passive income, or (ii) 75% or more of its gross income consists of passive income. For purposes of the above calculations, a non-U.S. corporation that owns, directly or indirectly, at least 25% by value of the shares of another corporation is treated as if it held its proportionate share of the assets of the other corporation and received directly its proportionate share of the income of the other corporation. Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, investment gains and certain rents and royalties (other than rents and royalties that are derived in the conduct of an active business and meet certain requirements). Cash is generally a passive asset for these purposes. Goodwill and other intangibles generally are treated as active assets to the extent associated with business activities that produce active income.
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Based on the current and expected composition of our income and assets and the estimated value of our assets, including goodwill and other intangibles, which is based on the expected price of the ADSs in this offering, we do not expect to be a PFIC for our current taxable year. However, the application of the PFIC rules to a company like us is subject to certain uncertainties. Our PFIC status for any taxable year is an annual determination that can be made only after the end of that year and will depend on the composition of our income and assets and the value of our assets from time to time. The value of our goodwill and other intangibles may be determined, in large part, by reference to the market price of the ADSs, which could be volatile. Therefore, because we currently hold, and will continue to hold a substantial amount of cash after this offering, we may be or become a PFIC for any taxable year if our market capitalization declines significantly after this offering. Moreover, it is not entirely clear how the contractual arrangements among us and the VIEs will be treated for purposes of the PFIC rules, and we may be or become a PFIC if the VIEs are not treated as owned by us for these purposes. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that we will not be a PFIC for our current or any future taxable year. If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. investor owns ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. investor generally will be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences, including increased tax liability on disposition gains and certain excess distributions and additional reporting requirements. See TaxationMaterial U.S. Federal Income Tax ConsiderationsPassive Foreign Investment Company Rules.
If we were deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, applicable restrictions could make it impractical for us to continue our business as contemplated and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We intend to conduct our operations so that we will not be deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Under Section 3(a)(1) of the Investment Company Act, an entity generally will be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act if, absent an applicable exemption: (a) it is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading securities; or (b) it is engaged or proposes to engage in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities, and owns or proposes to acquire investment securities (other than U.S. government securities, securities issued by employees securities companies and securities issued by qualifying majority-owned subsidiaries of such entity) having a value exceeding 40% of the value of its total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis.
We are, and hold ourselves out to be, primarily engaged in the business of researching, designing, developing and providing digital corporate learning SaaS solutions, and not in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities. Accordingly, we do not believe that our company is what is frequently referred to as an orthodox investment company as defined in the Investment Company Act and described in clause (a) in the preceding paragraph. Furthermore, on an unconsolidated basis, at least 60% of the value of our companys total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) consists of our indirect interest, through our wholly-owned subsidiaries, in Yunxutang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd., or Yunxuetang Information, our majority owned subsidiary. We believe Yunxuetang Information is a qualifying majority owned subsidiary for purposes of the 40% test described in clause (b) in the preceding paragraph, because Yunxuetang Information is primarily engaged in the business of researching, designing, developing and providing digital corporate learning SaaS solutions, and is not an investment company by virtue of Rule 3a-1 under the Investment Company Act. Under Rule 3a-1, an entity is generally deemed to be an investment company if, absent an applicable exemption, more than 45% of the value of its assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) consists of, and more than 45% of its net income after taxes (for the past four fiscal quarters combined) is derived from, securities other than U.S. government securities, securities issued by employees securities companies, securities issued by qualifying majority owned subsidiaries of such entity and securities issued by qualifying companies that are controlled primarily by such entity. Yunxuetang Informations assets, consolidated with its wholly-owned subsidiaries (within the meaning of the Investment Company Act), consist primarily of trade receivables (including trade receivables due from related parties), prepayments, property and equipment, right-of-use assets, intangible assets that are not securities, and other assets that we believe would not be considered securities for purposes of the Investment Company Act.
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Therefore, we believe that, consolidating Yunxuetang Informations wholly-owned subsidiaries (within the meaning of the Investment Company Act), no more than 45% of the value of its assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) consists of, and no more than 45% of its net income after taxes (for the past four fiscal quarters combined) is derived from, securities other than U.S. government securities, securities issued by employees securities companies, securities issued by qualifying majority owned subsidiaries of Yunxuetang Information and securities issued by qualifying companies that are controlled primarily by Yunxuetang Information. Accordingly, we believe that Yunxuetang Information is not an investment company by virtue of Rule 3a-1 under the Investment Company Act, and therefore is a qualifying majority-owned subsidiary held through our companys wholly-owned subsidiaries for purposes of applying the 40% test described in clause (b) in the preceding paragraph to our company and such wholly-owned subsidiaries.
The need to comply with Section 3(a)(1) and Rule 3a-1 under the Investment Company Act may cause us to restrict our business and subsidiaries with respect to how we invest excess cash pending use in our business. In addition, if we no longer meet the requirements of Section 3(a)(1) and Rule 3a-1, and no other exemption is available to us, we may take other actions in order to conduct our business in a manner that does not subject us to the registration and other requirements of the Investment Company Act. This may include adjusting our cash management investments, which may result in lower rates of returns, and/or liquidating all or a portion of our investment securities, including on unfavorable terms, and holding such amounts in cash, and/or acquiring assets or businesses that could change the nature of our business or potentially take other actions that may be viewed as adverse to the holders of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, in order to conduct our business in a manner that does not subject us to the registration and other requirements of the Investment Company Act.
If anything were to happen which would cause our company to be deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may lose our ability to raise money in the U.S. capital markets and from U.S. lenders, and additional restrictions under the Investment Company Act could apply to us, all of which could make it impractical for us to continue our business as currently conducted. In addition, if we were to become inadvertently subject to the Investment Company Act, any violation of the Investment Company Act could subject us to material adverse consequences, including potentially significant regulatory penalties and the possibility that certain of our contracts could be deemed unenforceable. This would materially and adversely affect the value of the ADSs and our ability to pay dividends in respect of our Class A ordinary shares.
We have granted, and may continue to grant share incentives, which may result in increased share-based compensation expenses.
We adopted a share incentive plan in September 2021, or the 2021 Share Plan, for the purpose of granting share-based compensation awards to our officers, directors, employees and other eligible persons to incentivize their performance and align their interests with ours. As of the date of this prospectus, the maximum aggregate number of ordinary shares we are authorized to issue pursuant to the 2021 Share Plan is 11,258,693 ordinary shares, and 4,378,011 shares have been granted pursuant to the 2021 Share Plan. In 2022, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, we recorded RMB71.8 million, RMB26.1 million (US$3.6 million), RMB10.9 million and RMB2.6 million (US$0.4 million), respectively, in share-based compensation expenses.
We believe the granting of share-based compensation awards is of significant importance to our ability to attract and retain key personnel and employees, and we may grant share-based compensation awards in the future. As a result, we may incur expenses associated with share-based compensation, which may have a material and adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Our ability to attract or retain highly skilled employees may be adversely affected by declines in the perceived value of our equity or equity awards. Furthermore, there are no assurance that the number of shares reserved for issuance under our share incentive plan will be sufficient to grant equity awards adequate to recruit new employees and to compensate existing employees. In case we decide to reserve and issue additional shares under our share incentive plan, your interests in our company will be further diluted by such issuance.
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The issuance of additional shares in connection with acquisitions, our share incentive plans or otherwise will dilute all other shareholdings.
Our post-offering memorandum and articles of association authorizes us to issue additional ordinary shares of such class or classes (however designated) as the board of directors may determine in accordance with the post-offering memorandum and articles of association. Subject to compliance with applicable rules and regulations, we may issue all of these shares that are not already outstanding without any action or approval by our shareholders. We intend to continue to evaluate strategic acquisitions in the future. We may pay for such acquisitions, partly or in full, through the issuance of additional equity. Any future issuance of shares in connection with our acquisitions, the exercise of share options, the vesting of restricted share units or otherwise would dilute the percentage ownership held by existing investors.
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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements. Many of the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as anticipate, believe, could, expect, should, plan, intend, estimate and potential, among others.
Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this prospectus and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our intent, belief or current expectations. Forward-looking statements are based on our managements beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to of various factors, including, but not limited to, those identified under the section entitled Risk Factors in this prospectus. These risks and uncertainties include factors relating to:
| general economic, political, demographic and business conditions in China and globally; |
| our ability to implement our growth strategy; |
| the success of operating initiatives, including advertising and promotional efforts and new solution development by us and our competitors; |
| our ability to develop and apply our technologies to support and expand our solution offerings; |
| the expected growth of the digital corporate learning industry in China; |
| competition in the digital corporate learning industry in China; |
| changes in government policies and regulation; |
| other factors that may affect our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations; and |
| other risk factors discussed under Risk Factors. |
In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statement as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update them in light of new information or future developments or to release publicly any revisions to these statements in order to reflect later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
You should read this prospectus and the documents that we reference in this prospectus and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
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We expect to receive total estimated net proceeds from this offering of approximately US$ million, or approximately US$ million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs in full, based on the midpoint of the estimated initial public offering price range set forth on the front cover of this prospectus, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and the estimated offering expenses payable by us.
We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for the following purposes:
| approximately 40%, or US$ million, for investment in research and development and technology system to enhance and expand our solution offerings; |
| approximately 20%, or US$ million, for marketing and brand promotions; |
| approximately 20%, or US$ million, for strategic investments and acquisitions complementary to our business, such as other corporate learning solution providers, high quality content providers, software development companies, although we have not identified any specific investments or acquisition targets at this time; and |
| approximately 20%, or US$ million, for other general corporate purposes. |
If an unforeseen event occurs or business conditions change, we may use the proceeds of this offering differently than as described in this prospectus. In utilizing the proceeds from this offering, we are permitted under PRC laws and regulations to provide funding to our PRC subsidiaries only through loans or capital contributions, and to our consolidated VIEs only through loans, and only if we satisfy the applicable government registration and approval requirements. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet these requirements on a timely basis, if at all. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Doing Business in ChinaPRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans to or make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated entities, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
Pending use of the net proceeds, we intend to hold our net proceeds in short-term, interest-bearing, financial instruments or demand deposits.
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We have not previously declared or paid any cash dividend or dividend in kind and we have no plan to declare or pay any dividends in the near future on our shares or the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares. We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business.
We are a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. We rely principally on dividends from our PRC subsidiaries for our cash requirements, including any payment of dividends to our shareholders. PRC regulations may restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to us. See RegulationRegulation Relating to Foreign Exchange Registration of Overseas Investment by PRC Residents.
Our board of directors has discretion as to whether to distribute dividends, subject to certain requirements of Cayman Islands law. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our board of directors. Under Cayman Islands law, a Cayman Islands company may pay a dividend out of either profit or share premium account, provided that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid if this would result in the company being unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. Even if our board of directors decides to pay dividends, the form, frequency and amount will depend upon our future operations and earnings, capital requirements and surplus, general financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that the board of directors may deem relevant. If we pay any dividends on our Class A ordinary shares, we will pay those dividends which are payable in respect of the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs to the depositary, as the registered holder of such Class A ordinary shares, and the depositary then will pay such amounts to the ADS holders in proportion to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs held by such ADS holders, subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, including the fees and expenses payable thereunder. See Description of American Depositary Shares.
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The table below sets forth our capitalization as of March 31, 2024:
| on an actual basis; |
| on a pro forma basis to give effect to (i) the automatic conversion and the re-designation, as applicable, of all of our outstanding preferred shares and all of our outstanding ordinary shares, except for the 16,931,824 ordinary shares held by Unicentury Holdings Limited beneficially owned by Mr. Xiaoyan Lu, our director, founder and chairman of the board, into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering; and (ii) the re-designation of 16,931,824 ordinary shares held by Unicentury Holdings Limited beneficially owned by Mr. Xiaoyan Lu into Class B ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering; and |
| on a pro forma as adjusted basis to give effect to (i) the automatic conversion and the re-designation, as applicable, of all of our outstanding preferred shares and all of our outstanding ordinary shares, except for the 16,931,824 ordinary shares held by Unicentury Holdings Limited beneficially owned by Mr. Xiaoyan Lu, into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering; (ii) the re-designation of 16,931,824 ordinary shares held by Unicentury Holdings Limited beneficially owned by Mr. Xiaoyan Lu into Class B ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering; and (iii) the issuance and sale of Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs by us in this offering, and the receipt of approximately US$ million in estimated net proceeds, considering an offering price of US$ per ADS (the midpoint of the estimated initial public offering price range set forth on the front cover of this prospectus), after deduction of the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. |
You should read this table together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus and the information under Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. This table does not take into consideration any anti-dilution adjustment based on the initial public offering price as the initial public offering price is not available yet. For details, see Description of Share CapitalAnti-Dilution Adjustment. We have also incurred additional indebtedness after March 31, 2024. For details, see Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsLiquidity and Capital ResourcesMaterial Cash Requirements.
As of March 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Actual | Pro forma | Pro forma as adjusted(1) |
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RMB | US$ | RMB | US$ | RMB | US$ | |||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indebtedness |
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Short-term borrowings |
36,900 | 5,111 | 36,900 | 5,111 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Long-term borrowings |
215,500 | 29,846 | 215,500 | 29,846 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mezzanine equity |
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Series A preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value; 15,040,570 shares authorized, issued and outstanding on an actual basis, and none outstanding on a pro forma or a pro forma as adjusted basis) |
412,141 | 57,082 | | | ||||||||||||||||||||
Series B preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value; 7,085,330 shares authorized, issued and outstanding on an actual basis, and none outstanding on a pro forma or a pro forma as adjusted basis) |
199,849 | 27,679 | | |
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As of March 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Actual | Pro forma | Pro forma as adjusted(1) |
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RMB | US$ | RMB | US$ | RMB | US$ | |||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series C preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value; 23,786,590 shares authorized, issued and outstanding on an actual basis, and none outstanding on a pro forma or a pro forma as adjusted basis) |
504,393 | 69,858 | | | ||||||||||||||||||||
Series D preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value; 37,152,161 shares authorized, issued and outstanding on an actual basis, and none outstanding on a pro forma or a pro forma as adjusted basis) |
1,086,404 | 150,464 | | | ||||||||||||||||||||
Series E convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 26,417,318 shares authorized, issued and outstanding on an actual basis, and none outstanding on a pro forma or a pro forma as adjusted basis) |
1,447,743 | 200,510 | | | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total mezzanine equity |
3,650,530 | 505,593 | | | ||||||||||||||||||||
Ordinary shares (US$0.0001 par value 390,518,031 shares authorized, 48,253,425 shares issued and outstanding on an actual basis) |
33 | 5 | | | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class A ordinary shares (par value of US$0.0001 per share; nil authorized, issued and outstanding on an actual basis, 483,068,176 shares authorized, 140,803,570 shares issued and outstanding on a pro forma basis; 483,068,176 shares authorized, shares issued and outstanding on a pro forma as adjusted basis) |
| | 100 | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class B ordinary shares (par value of US$0.0001 per share; nil authorized, issued and outstanding on an actual basis, 16,931,824 shares authorized, issued and outstanding on a pro forma and pro forma as adjusted basis) |
| | 12 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Additional paid-in capital(2) |
13,117 | 1,817 | 3,763,039 | 521,176 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income |
21,356 | 2,958 | 21,356 | 2,958 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Accumulated deficit |
(3,531,679 | ) | (489,132 | ) | (3,531,679 | ) | (489,132 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Total YXT.COM Group Holding Limited shareholders (deficit)/equity |
(3,497,173 | ) | (484,352 | ) | 252,828 | 35,018 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Total shareholders (deficit)/equity(2) |
(3,497,173 | ) | (484,352 | ) | 252,828 | 35,018 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders (deficit)/equity |
792,841 | 109,807 | 792,841 | 109,807 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Notes: (1) | The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only. Our additional paid-in capital, total shareholders (deficit)/equity and total capitalization following the completion of this offering are subject to adjustment based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing. |
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(2) | A US$1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of US$ per ADS (the midpoint of the estimated initial public offering price range set forth on the front cover of this prospectus) would increase (decrease) each of additional paid-in capital, total shareholders (deficit)/equity, and total capitalization by US$ million, assuming the number of Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deduction of the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. |
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If you invest in the ADSs, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per ADS and our net tangible book value per ADS after this offering. Dilution results from the fact that the initial public offering price per ordinary share is substantially in excess of the book value per ordinary share attributable to the existing shareholders for our presently outstanding ordinary shares.
Our net tangible book deficit as of March 31, 2024 was approximately US$5.3 million, or US$0.11 per ordinary share and US$0.33 per ADS. Net tangible book deficit represents the amount of our total consolidated tangible assets, less the amount of our total consolidated liabilities. Dilution is determined by subtracting net tangible book value per ordinary share as adjusted from the initial public offering price per ordinary share.
Without taking into account any other changes in such net tangible book value after March 31, 2024, other than to give effect to (i) the automatic conversion and the re-designation, as applicable, of all of our outstanding preferred shares and all of our outstanding ordinary shares, except for the 16,931,824 ordinary shares held by Unicentury Holdings Limited beneficially owned by Mr. Xiaoyan Lu, into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering; (ii) the re-designation of 16,931,824 ordinary shares held by Unicentury Holdings Limited beneficially owned by Mr. Xiaoyan Lu into Class B ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering; and (iii) the issuance and sale of Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs by us in this offering, and the receipt of approximately US$ million in estimated net proceeds, considering an offering price of US$ per ADS (the midpoint of the estimated initial public offering price range set forth on the front cover of this prospectus), after deduction of the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value as of March 31, 2024 would have been approximately US$ million, or US$ per ordinary share and US$ per ADS, to existing shareholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of US$ per ordinary share, or US$ per ADS, to purchasers of ADSs in this offering. The following table illustrates such dilution. This table does not take into consideration any anti-dilution adjustment based on the initial public offering price as the initial public offering price is not available yet. For details, see Description of Share CapitalAnti-Dilution Adjustment.
Per Ordinary Share |
Per ADS | |||||||
Initial public offering price |
US$ | |||||||
Net tangible book deficit as of March 31, 2024 |
US$ | (0.11 | ) | (0.33 | ) | |||
Pro forma net tangible book value after giving effect to the automatic conversion of all of our outstanding preferred shares |
US$ | 0.05 | 0.15 | |||||
Pro forma net tangible book value as adjusted to give effect to the automatic conversion of all of our outstanding preferred shares and this offering |
US$ | |||||||
Amount of dilution in net tangible book value to new investors in this offering |
US$ | |||||||
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The pro forma information discussed above is illustrative only.
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The following table summarizes, on a pro forma basis as of March 31, 2024, the differences between the existing shareholders and the new investors with respect to the number of ordinary shares purchased from us in this offering, the total consideration paid and the average price per ordinary share paid at the initial public offering price of US$ per ADS, the midpoint of the estimated initial public offering price range set forth on the front cover of this prospectus, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses. The total number of ordinary shares does not include the ordinary shares underlying the ADSs issuable upon the exercise of the over-allotment option granted to the underwriters.
Ordinary Shares Purchased | Total Consideration | Average Price Per Ordinary Share |
Average Price Per ADS |
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Amount (in thousands of US$) |
Percent | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Number | Percent | US$ | US$ | |||||||||||||||||||||
Existing shareholders |
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New investors |
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Total |
The discussion and tables above also assume no exercise of any stock options outstanding as of the date of this prospectus. As of the date of this prospectus, 4,378,011 ordinary shares underlying share awards have been granted under our share incentive plan, and there are a total of 6,880,682 ordinary shares available for future issuance upon the exercise of grants under our share incentive plan. To the extent that any of the awards of options are granted and exercised, there will be further dilution to new investors.
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ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES
Cayman Islands
We were incorporated in the Cayman Islands in order to enjoy the following benefits:
| political and economic stability; |
| an effective judicial system; |
| a favorable tax system; |
| the absence of exchange control or currency restrictions; and |
| the availability of professional and support services. |
However, certain disadvantages accompany incorporation in the Cayman Islands. These disadvantages include, but are not limited to, the following:
| the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States and these securities laws provide significantly less protection to investors; and |
| Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the federal courts of the United States. |
Our constitutional documents do not contain provisions requiring that disputes, including those arising under the securities laws of the United States, between us, our officers, directors and shareholders, be arbitrated.
Substantially all of our operations are conducted in China, and substantially all of our assets are located in China. A majority of our directors and executive officers are nationals or residents of jurisdictions other than the United States and a substantial portion of their assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for a shareholder to effect service of process within the United States upon these persons, or to enforce against us or them judgments obtained in United States courts, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.
We have appointed Cogency Global Inc. as our agent upon whom process may be served in any action brought against us under the securities laws of the United States.
Walkers (Hong Kong), our counsel as to Cayman Islands law, and Global Law Office, our counsel as to PRC law, have advised us, respectively, that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands and China, respectively, would:
| recognize or enforce judgments of United States courts obtained against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States; or |
| entertain original actions brought in each respective jurisdiction against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States. |
Walkers (Hong Kong) has informed us that it is uncertain whether the courts of the Cayman Islands will allow shareholders of our company to originate actions in the Cayman Islands based upon securities laws of the United States. In addition, there is uncertainty with regard to Cayman Islands law related to whether a judgment obtained from the U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws will be determined by the courts of the Cayman Islands as penal or punitive in nature. If such a determination is made, the courts of the Cayman Islands will not recognize or enforce the judgment against a Cayman Islands company, such as our company. As the courts of the Cayman Islands have yet to rule on making such a determination in relation to judgments obtained from U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws, it is uncertain whether such judgments would be enforceable in the Cayman Islands. Walkers (Hong Kong) has informed us
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that although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the federal or state courts of the United States (and the Cayman Islands are not a party to any treaties for the reciprocal enforcement or recognition of such judgments), a judgment obtained in such jurisdiction will be recognized and enforced in the courts of the Cayman Islands at common law, without any reexamination of the merits of the underlying dispute, by an action commenced on the foreign judgment debt in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, provided such judgment (i) is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction, (ii) imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given, (iii) is final, (iv) is not in respect of taxes, a fine or a penalty, and (v) was not obtained in a manner and is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands.
PRC
We have been advised by Global Law Office, our PRC legal counsel, that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the PRC would enforce judgments of United States courts or Cayman courts obtained against us or these persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the United States federal and state securities laws. Global Law Office has further advised us that the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other form of reciprocity with the United States or the Cayman Islands that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, courts in the PRC will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC law or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States or in the Cayman Islands. Under the PRC Civil Procedures Law, foreign shareholders may originate actions based on PRC law against us in the PRC, if they can establish sufficient nexus to the PRC for a PRC court to have jurisdiction, and meet other procedural requirements, including, among others, the plaintiff must have a direct interest in the case, and there must be a concrete claim, a factual basis and a cause for the suit. However, it would be difficult for foreign shareholders to establish sufficient nexus to the PRC by virtue only of holding the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares.
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OUR HISTORY AND CORPORATE STRUCTURE
Our Major Business Milestones
In 2011, Yunxuetang Network was founded and commenced operations.
In 2013, Yunxuetang Network released its corporate learning software products and started to offer free trial to enterprises. In 2015, Yunxuetang Network launched its commercial software products.
In 2017, to expand its content library, Yunxuetang Network stated to built its content ecosystem by collaborating with content partners. Since 2019, Yunxuetang Network has been focusing on investing in in-house content development and on promoting software-content integration. To further expand the software + content ecosystem, we have been focusing on selected strategic cooperation, investment and acquisitions since 2020.
As a result, we are the largest digital corporate learning solution provider in China in terms of total revenue, subscription revenue and number of subscription customers in 2023, according to Frost & Sullivan.
Our Corporate History
We are an exempted company with limited liability incorporated in the Cayman Islands. We commenced our operations in 2011 through Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd., or Yunxuetang Network.
In April 2007, CEIBS Publishing Group Limited, or CEIBS PG, was incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong. CEIBS PG commenced its operation in 2007 through Shanghai China Europe International Culture Communication Co., Ltd., or Shanghai China Europe, and Shanghai Fenghe Culture Communication Co., Ltd., or Shanghai Fenghe.
In August 2008, Fenghe Enterprise Management Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., or Fenghe Consulting, was incorporated in the PRC. Fenghe Consulting is currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of CEIBS PG.
In January 2017, UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, our current ultimate holding company, was incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. In June 2021, we renamed our holding company to YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED.
In February 2017, YXT.COM (HK) Limited (formerly known as Unicentury (HK) Limited), currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, was incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong.
In August 2017, Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd., or Yunxuetang Information, was incorporated in the PRC. Yunxuetang Information is currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of YXT.COM (HK) Limited.
In June 2020, we acquired 60% equity interest in CEIBS PG. YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED currently holds 39% and 21% equity interest in CEIBS PG through two wholly-owned subsidiaries, Digital B-School China Limited and CEIBS Management Limited, respectively. Since the date of the acquisition, we have consolidated its financial data into our results of operations.
In January 2024, pursuant to a partial final award issued by the HKIAC, the transfer of 21% equity interest in CEIBS PG to us was declared invalid at the time of the transfer and our Groups appointment of one director of CEIBS PG was invalid. We subsequently applied to set aside the arbitration award in April 2024 with the High Court of Hong Kong and CEIBS also filed an application to the High Court of Hong Kong to enforce the arbitration award in April 2024. In May 2024, the High Court of Hong Kong held a hearing, and the set aside application and the enforcement application were adjourned for substantive arguments before a judge in August 2024. For details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and
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IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment. Given that Hong Kong courts have adopted a very pro-arbitration approach, we determined that we have lost control over CEIBS PG since the partial final award was declared on January 15, 2024 even though our application to set aside the partial final award is still pending adjudication. As a result, CEIBS PG has been deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements from January 15, 2024.
Yunxuetang Information entered into a series of contractual arrangements, as amended and restated, with Yunxuetang Network and its shareholders, through which we obtained control over Yunxuetang Network and its subsidiaries. In addition, Fenghe Consulting entered into a series of contractual arrangements, as amended and restated, with Shanghai China Europe and Shanghai Fenghe and their respective shareholders, through which we obtained control over Shanghai China Europe and Shanghai Fenghe and their respective subsidiaries.
As a result, we are considered the primary beneficiary for accounting purposes, of Yunxuetang Network, Shanghai China Europe, Shanghai Fenghe and their subsidiaries. We treat them as our consolidated affiliated entities under U.S. GAAP, and have consolidated the financial results of these entities in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We refer to each of Yunxuetang Information and Fenghe Consulting as our wholly foreign owned entity, or WFOE, and to each of Yunxuetang Network, Shanghai China Europe and Shanghai Fenghe as our variable interest entity, or VIE, in this prospectus. For more details and risks related to our variable interest entity structure, please see Contractual Arrangements with the VIEs and Their Shareholders and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Corporate Structure.
Our Corporate Structure
The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure, including all of our significant subsidiaries and the VIE immediately upon the completion of this offering.
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Note: (1) | Shareholders of Yunxuetang Network are Xiaoyan Lu (our director, founder and chairman of the Board), Suzhou Xinzhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (LLP), Suzhou Dazhiqihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (LLP), Shanghai Ximalaya Technology Co., Ltd., Jie Ding (our director and co-founder), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., and certain other nominee shareholders, each holding approximately 66.8%, 9.8%, 5.8%, 4.2%, 4.2%, 1.0% and 8.1%, respectively, of Yunxuetang Networks equity interests. Most of the nominee shareholders are also shareholders of our company. |
Contractual Arrangements with the VIEs and Their Shareholders
We are a company registered in the Cayman Islands. Our PRC subsidiaries are considered foreign-invested enterprises. Our subsidiary Yunxuetang Information controls Yunxuetang Network through a series of contractual arrangements. Before January 15, 2024, our subsidiary Fenghe Consulting controlled the VIEs Shanghai China Europe and Shanghai Fenghe, respectively, in each case through a series of contractual arrangements. CEIBS PG has been deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements from January 15, 2024 and the subsidiaries and the VIEs controlled by CEIBS PG, namely Fenghe Consulting, Shanghai China Europe and Shanghai Fenghe, have been deconsolidated as well. Thus, we refer to Yunxuetang Network, Shanghai China Europe and Shanghai Fenghe as the VIEs before January 15, 2024, and refer to Yunxuetang Network as the VIE after January 15, 2024. For details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment. As a result of these contractual arrangements, we are considered the primary beneficiary of the VIE(s) for accounting purposes, and consolidate their operating results in our financial statements under the U.S. GAAP.
The following is a summary of the contractual arrangements by and among Yunxuetang Information, Yunxuetang Network and the shareholders of Yunxuetang Network. For the complete text of these contractual arrangements, please see the copies filed as exhibits to the registration statement filed with the SEC of which this prospectus forms a part. Fenghe Consulting entered into similar contractual arrangements with each of the Shanghai China Europe and Shanghai Fenghe, as a result of which we were considered the primary beneficiary of the VIEs for accounting purposes, and consolidated their operating results in our financial statements under the U.S. GAAP before the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG.
In the opinion of Global Law Office, our PRC legal counsel, the contractual arrangements described below are valid, binding and enforceable under current PRC law. However, these contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership. There are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations. We have been further advised by our PRC legal counsel that if the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our value-added telecommunication services and related business do not comply with PRC government restrictions on foreign investment in such businesses, we could be subject to severe penalties including being prohibited from continuing operations. For a description of the risks related to these contractual arrangements and our corporate structure, please see Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Corporate Structure.
Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreements
Under the exclusive technology and consulting service agreements among Yunxuetang Information and Yunxuetang Network, Yunxuetang Information has agreed to provide the following services to Yunxuetang Network:
| the product development and research; |
| the website design and the design, installation, testing and maintenance of network system; |
| the database support and software services; |
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| the consultancy services including economy consultancy, project investment consultancy, technology information consultancy and enterprise management consultancy; |
| the orientation and on-the-job trainings to technical staff; |
| the technology development, consultancy and transfer services; |
| the design of short-to-medium term market development plan; and |
| other related technology services. |
Yunxuetang Network has agreed to pay quarterly service fee to Yunxuetang Information for an amount equal to 100% of its pre-tax profit. Yunxuetang Information maintained certain personnel for content development, sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative functions to support the operations of Yunxuetang Network, the VIE. As a result, despite that Yunxuetang Network has not achieved accumulated pre-tax profit, based on negotiations between Yunxuetang Network and Yunxuetang Information, Yunxuetang Network has agreed to pay certain amount of service fees to Yunxuetang Information for the support services of its personnel. The agreement continues to be effective unless it is terminated by written notice of Yunxuetang Information or according to the provisions in the agreement. Unless otherwise required by applicable laws, Yunxuetang Network shall not have any right to terminate the exclusive technology and consulting service agreement in any event.
Each of the exclusive technology and consulting service agreement between Fenghe Consulting and Shanghai China Europe and the exclusive technology and consulting service agreement between Fenghe Consulting and Shanghai Fenghe contains terms substantially similar to the exclusive technology and consulting service agreement described above.
Equity Interest Pledge Agreements
Under the equity interest pledge agreement among Yunxuetang Information, Yunxuetang Network and the shareholders of Yunxuetang Network, each of the shareholders of Yunxuetang Network pledged his or her respective equity interest in Yunxuetang Network to Yunxuetang Information to secure his or her obligations under the exclusive technology and consulting service agreement, exclusive option agreement and power of attorney agreement. Each of the shareholders of Yunxuetang Network further agreed to not transfer or pledge his or her respective equity interest in Yunxuetang Network without the prior written consent of Yunxuetang Information. Each of the equity pledge agreement shall remain binding until the respective pledger, as the case may be, discharges all his or her obligations under the above-mentioned agreements. As the date of this prospectus, the equity pledges under the equity interest pledge agreement have been registered with competent PRC regulatory authority.
Each of the equity interest pledge agreement between Fenghe Consulting, Shanghai China Europe and the shareholders of Shanghai China Europe, and the equity interest pledge agreement between Fenghe Consulting, Shanghai Fenghe and the shareholders of Shanghai Fenghe contains terms substantially similar to the equity interest pledge agreement described above.
Exclusive Option Agreements
Under the exclusive option agreement among Yunxuetang Information, Yunxuetang Network and the shareholders, each of the shareholders of Yunxuetang Network granted Yunxuetang Information an exclusive option to purchase all or a portion of his or her respective equity interest in Yunxuetang Network at a price equal to the minimum amount of consideration permitted by applicable PRC law. Each of Yunxuetang Network and its shareholders agreed not to transfer, mortgage or permit any security interest to be created on any equity interest in Yunxuetang Network unless otherwise specified under the applicable exclusive technology and consulting service agreement, equity interest pledge agreement and power of attorney agreement. Each exclusive purchase option agreement shall remain in effect until all of the equity interests in Yunxuetang Network have been acquired by Yunxuetang Information.
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Each of the exclusive option agreement between Fenghe Consulting, Shanghai China Europe and the shareholders of Shanghai China Europe, and the exclusive option agreement between Fenghe Consulting, Shanghai Fenghe and the shareholders of Shanghai Fenghe contains terms substantially similar to the exclusive option agreement described above.
Power of Attorney Agreements
Pursuant to the power of attorney agreement among Yunxuetang Information, Yunxuetang Network and the shareholders of Yunxuetang Network, each of the shareholders of Yunxuetang Network irrevocably appointed Yunxuetang Information as their exclusive agent and attorney to act on their behalf on all shareholder matters of Yunxuetang Network and exercise all rights as shareholders of Yunxuetang Network. This power of attorney agreement shall remain valid during a period of ten (10) years, unless the applicable exclusive technology and consulting service agreement, equity interest pledge agreement and exclusive option agreement are terminated or the shareholders cease to be shareholders of Yunxuetang Network.
Each of the power of attorney agreement between Fenghe Consulting, Shanghai China Europe and the shareholders of Shanghai China Europe, and the power of attorney agreement between Fenghe Consulting, Shanghai Fenghe and the shareholders of Shanghai Fenghe contains terms substantially similar to the power of attorney agreement described above.
Spousal Consents
Each of the spouses of the applicable individual shareholders of Yunxuetang Network has signed a spousal consent. Under the spousal consent, the signing spouse undertook not to make any assertions in connection with the equity interests in Yunxuetang Network held by his or her spouse. Moreover, the spouse agreed that the disposition of the equity interest in Yunxuetang Network which is held by and registered under the name of his or her spouse shall be made pursuant to the above-mentioned technology and consulting service agreement, equity interest pledge agreement, exclusive option agreement and power of attorney agreement, as amended from time to time. In addition, in the event that any of them obtains any equity interest in Yunxuetang Network held by their respective spouses for any reason, such spouse agreed to be bound by similar obligations and agreed to enter into similar contractual arrangements.
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SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA
The following summary consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, summary consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2022 and 2023 and summary consolidated cash flow data for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023 have been derived from audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The following summary consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, summary consolidated balance sheet data as of March 31, 2024 and summary consolidated cash flow data for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024 have been derived from unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited financial statements and include all adjustments of a normal recurring nature as necessary for the fair statement of our financial position as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024, and our results of operations and cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024. CEIBS PG has been deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements from January 15, 2024. For details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment. For certain of our financial data on the pro forma basis as if the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG occured as of the beginning of 2022, see Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsRecent Development. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or U.S. GAAP. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of results expected for future periods. You should read this section together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included elsewhere in this prospectus.
The following table presents our summary consolidated statements of operations for the periods presented.
For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except for percentages, shares and per share data) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Revenues |
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Corporate learning solutions (1) |
424,275 | 98.5 | 411,822 | 57,037 | 97.1 | 114,634 | 93.8 | 82,031 | 11,361 | 98.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Others |
6,361 | 1.5 | 12,194 | 1,689 | 2.9 | 7,533 | 6.2 | 1,185 | 164 | 1.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total revenues |
430,636 | 100.0 | 424,016 | 58,726 | 100.0 | 122,167 | 100.0 | 83,216 | 11,525 | 100.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of revenues |
(197,899 | ) | (46.0 | ) | (194,474 | ) | (26,935) | (45.9 | ) | (44,541) | (36.5) | (31,147) | (4,313) | (37.4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gross profit |
232,737 | 54.0 | 229,542 | 31,791 | 54.1 | 77,626 | 63.5 | 52,069 | 7,212 | 62.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Operating expenses |
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Sales and marketing expenses |
(344,729 | ) | (80.1 | ) | (244,379 | ) | (33,846) | (57.6 | ) | (53,588) | (43.9) | (36,953) | (5,118) | (44.4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Research and development expenses |
(312,093 | ) | (72.5 | ) | (176,537 | ) | (24,450) | (41.6 | ) | (48,623) | (39.8) | (30,052) | (4,162) | (36.1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General and administrative expenses |
(206,254 | ) | (47.9 | ) | (142,852 | ) | (19,785) | (33.7 | ) | (38,394) | (31.4) | (28,215) | (3,908) | (33.9) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total operating expenses |
(863,076 | ) | (200.4 | ) | (563,768 | ) | (78,081) | (132.9 | ) | (140,605) | (115.1) | (95,220) | (13,188) | (114.4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other operating income |
9,507 | 2.2 | 5,629 | 780 | 1.3 | 1,939 | 1.6 | 513 | 70 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Loss from operations |
(620,832 | ) | (144.2 | ) | (328,597 | ) | (45,510) | (77.5 | ) | (61,040) | (50.0) | (42,638) | (5,906) | (51.2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Interest and investment income |
5,682 | 1.3 | 4,613 | 639 | 1.1 | 1,696 | 1.4 | 2,431 | 337 | 2.9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interest expense |
(497 | ) | (0.1 | ) | (4,650 | ) | (644 | ) | (1.1 | ) | (914) | (0.7 | ) | (2,484 | ) | (344) | (3.0 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Investment losses |
| | (13,144 | ) | (1,820 | ) | (3.1 | ) | (1,406) | (1.2 | ) | (1,841 | ) | (255) | (2.2 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG |
| | | | | | | 78,760 | 10,908 | 94.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange gain/(loss), net |
2,151 | 0.5 | (350 | ) | (49) | (0.1 | ) | (512) | (0.4) | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities |
(32,190 | ) | (7.5 | ) | 102,419 | 14,185 | 24.2 | (4,305) | (3.5) | 808 | 112 | 1.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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103
For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except for percentages, shares and per share data) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(Loss)/income before income tax benefit |
(645,686 | ) | (149.9 | ) | (239,709 | ) | (33,199) | (56.5 | ) |
|
(66,481) |
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(54.4) |
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35,039
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4,853 |
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|
42.1
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Income tax benefit |
5,391 | 1.3 | 9,871 | 1,367 | 2.3 | 1,233 |
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1.0 |
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Net (loss)/income |
(640,295 | ) | (148.7 | ) | (229,838 | ) | (31,832) | (54.2 | ) |
|
(65,248) |
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(53.4) |
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35,039
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4,853 |
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42.1 |
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Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of nil tax |
47,034 | 10.9 | 2,385 | 330 | 0.6 |
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(3,970) |
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(3.2) |
|
341 | 47 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Change in unrealized (loss)/gain on investments in available-for-sale debt securities |
(1,650 | ) | (0.4 | ) | 6,988 | 968 | 1.6 | 2,879 | 2.4 | (2,760) | (382) | (3.3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total comprehensive (loss)/income |
|
(594,911 |
) |
|
(138.1 |
) |
(220,465 | ) | (30,534) | (52.0 | ) | (66,339) | (54.2) | 32,620 | 4,518 | 39.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total comprehensive loss attributable to non-controlling interests shareholders |
25,520 | 5.9 | 9,383 | 1,300 | 2.2 | 2,454 | 2.0 | 300 | 41 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total comprehensive (loss)/income attributable to YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(569,391 | ) | (132.2 | ) | (211,082 | ) | (29,234) | (49.8 | ) | (63,885) | (52.2) | 32,920 | 4,559 | 39.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(1,011,491 | ) | (234.9 | ) | (229,907 | ) | (31,843 | ) | (54.2 | ) | (137,186) | (112.3) | (51,510) | (7,134) | (61.9) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weighted average number of ordinary sharesBasic and diluted |
47,315,140 | 48,781,392 | 48,781,392 | 48,259,381 | 49,232,594 | 49,232,594 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders of YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(21.38 | ) | (4.71 | ) | (0.66 | ) | (2.84) | (1.05) | (0.14) |
Note: (1) | Corporate learning solution revenue includes subscription revenue and non-subscription revenue. |
Pro forma basic and diluted net (loss)/income per share was computed to give effect to the automatic conversion and the re-designation, as applicable, of all of our outstanding convertible redeemable preferred shares into ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis as if the conversion and reclassification had occurred as of the beginning of the period. The following table presents the reconciliations (i) from net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders to pro forma net (loss)/income per share attributable to ordinary shareholders, and (ii) from weighted average ordinary shares outstanding to pro forma weighted average ordinary shares outstanding. This table does not take into consideration any anti-dilution adjustment based on the initial public offering price as the initial public offering price is not available yet. For details, see Description of Share CapitalAnti-Dilution Adjustment.
For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||
(in thousands, except for shares and per share data) |
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Numerator |
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Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders |
(1,011,491 | ) | (229,907 | ) | (137,186 | ) | (51,510 | ) | ||||||||
Pro forma adjustment for conversion of preferred sharesnet accretion of convertible redeemable preferred shares |
396,716 | 9,452 | 74,392 | 86,849 |
104
For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||
(in thousands, except for shares and per share data) |
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Pro forma adjustment for combined effects of 1) change in fair value of derivative liabilities and 2) automatic conversion of these preferred shares |
32,190 | (102,419 | ) | 4,305 | (808 | ) | ||||||||||
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Numerator for pro forma basic and diluted (loss)/income per share |
(582,585 | ) | (322,874 | ) | (58,489 | ) | 34,531 | |||||||||
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Denominator |
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Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing net income per share, basic |
47,315,140 | 48,781,392 | 48,259,381 | 49,232,594 | ||||||||||||
Pro forma effect of conversion of preferred shares |
109,481,969 | 109,481,969 | 109,481,969 | 109,481,969 | ||||||||||||
Denominator for pro forma basic (loss)/income per share |
156,797,109 | 158,263,361 | 157,741,350 | 158,714,563 | ||||||||||||
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Dilutive effect of unvested restricted share units |
| | | 442,012 | ||||||||||||
Denominator for pro forma diluted (loss)/income per share |
156,797,109 | 158,263,361 | 157,741,350 | 159,156,575 | ||||||||||||
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Pro forma net (loss)/income per share, basic |
(3.72 | ) | (2.04 | ) | (0.37 | ) | 0.22 | |||||||||
Pro forma net (loss)/income per share, diluted |
(3.72 | ) | (2.04 | ) | (0.37 | ) | 0.22 |
The following table presents our summary consolidated balance sheet data as of the dates presented.
As of December 31, | As of March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Summary Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
432,007 | 320,489 | 44,387 | 218,870 | 30,313 | |||||||||||||||
Short-term investments |
102,478 | 58,128 | 8,051 | 56,245 | 7,790 | |||||||||||||||
Accounts receivable, net |
34,987 | 32,790 | 4,541 | 22,193 | 3,074 | |||||||||||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
28,798 | 12,028 | 1,666 | 8,982 | 1,244 | |||||||||||||||
Total current assets |
598,270 | 423,435 | 58,645 | 306,290 | 42,421 | |||||||||||||||
Total assets |
1,036,599 | 924,846 | 128,090 | 792,841 | 109,807 | |||||||||||||||
Total current liabilities |
599,200 | 473,949 | 65,641 | 361,811 | 50,108 | |||||||||||||||
Total liabilities |
689,569 | 772,158 | 106,943 | 639,484 | 88,566 | |||||||||||||||
Total mezzanine equity |
3,554,229 | 3,563,681 | 493,564 | 3,650,530 | 505,593 | |||||||||||||||
Total shareholders deficit |
(3,207,199 | ) | (3,410,993 | ) | (472,417 | ) | (3,497,173) | (484,352) | ||||||||||||
Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders deficit |
1,036,599 | 924,846 | 128,090 | 792,841 | 109,807 |
105
The following table presents our summary consolidated cash flow data for the periods presented.
For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | RMB | RMB | US$ | |||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net cash used in operating activities |
(456,835 | ) | (257,029 | ) | (35,598 | ) | (161,545) | (58,491) | (8,101) | |||||||||||||||
Net cash generated from/(used in) investing activities |
267,917 | (97,533 | ) | (13,508 | ) | 34,279 | (29,509) | (4,087) | ||||||||||||||||
Net cash generated from/(used in) financing activities |
9,575 | 241,904 | 33,503 | 9,851 | (13,400) | (1,856) | ||||||||||||||||||
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents |
20,809 | 1,140 | 158 | (4,026) | (219) | (30) | ||||||||||||||||||
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents |
(158,534 | ) | (111,518 | ) | (15,445 | ) | (121,441) | (101,619) | (14,074) | |||||||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year/period |
590,541 | 432,007 | 59,832 | 432,007 | 320,489 | 44,387 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year/period |
432,007 | 320,489 | 44,387 | 310,566 | 218,870 | 30,313 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In evaluating our business, we consider and use certain non-GAAP measures, including adjusted net loss, adjusted net loss margin, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin, as supplemental measures to review and assess our operating performance. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We present these non-GAAP financial measures because they are used by our management to evaluate our operating performance and formulate business plans. We also believe that the use of these non-GAAP measures facilitates investors assessment of our operating performance.
These non-GAAP financial measures are not defined under U.S. GAAP and are not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools. One of the key limitations of using these non-GAAP financial measures is that they do not reflect all items of income and expense that affect our operations. Further, these non-GAAP measures may differ from the non-GAAP information used by other companies, including peer companies, and therefore their comparability may be limited. We compensate for these limitations by reconciling these non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating our performance. We encourage you to review our financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure.
Adjusted Net Loss
We define adjusted net loss as net (loss)/income excluding amortization of incremental intangible assets resulting from business combination, impairment of intangible assets, gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG, share-based compensation, change in fair value of derivative liabilities and adjustments for income taxes. Adjusted net loss margin represents adjusted net loss as a percentage of total revenues.
106
The following tables reconcile our adjusted net loss and adjusted net loss margin for the years indicated, to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which are net (loss)/income and net (loss)/income margin:
For the Year Ended December 31, |
For the Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | RMB | RMB | US$ | |||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands except for percentages) |
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(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net (loss)/income |
(640,295 | ) | (229,838 | ) | (31,832 | ) | (65,248 | ) | 35,039 | 4,853 | ||||||||||||||
Adjustments: |
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Amortization of incremental intangible assets resulting from business combination |
18,240 | 16,340 | 2,263 | 3,420 | | | ||||||||||||||||||
Impairment of intangible assets |
| 21,660 | 3,000 | | | | ||||||||||||||||||
Gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG |
| | | | (78,760 | ) | (10,908 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Share-based compensation |
71,815 | 26,123 | 3,618 | 10,887 | 2,636 | 365 | ||||||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities |
32,190 | (102,419 | ) | (14,185 | ) | 4,305 | (808 | ) | (112 | ) | ||||||||||||||
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Adjusted net loss before income taxes |
(518,050 | ) | (268,134 | ) | (37,136 | ) | (46,636 | ) | (41,893 | ) | (5,802 | ) | ||||||||||||
Adjusted income taxes |
(4,560 | ) | (9,500 | ) | (1,316 | ) | (855 | ) | | | ||||||||||||||
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Adjusted net loss |
(522,610 | ) | (277,634 | ) | (38,452 | ) | (47,491 | ) | (41,893 | ) | (5,802 | ) | ||||||||||||
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Net (loss)/income margin |
(148.7 | )% | (54.2 | )% | (54.2 | )% | (53.4 | )% | 42.1 | % | 42.1 | % | ||||||||||||
Adjusted net loss margin |
(121.4 | )% | (65.5 | )% | (65.5 | )% | (38.9 | )% | (50.3 | )% | (50.3 | )% |
Adjusted EBITDA
We define adjusted EBITDA as net (loss)/income excluding interest income and expenses, income tax expense and benefit, depreciation and amortization, impairment of intangible assets, gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG, share-based compensation, and changes in fair value of derivative liabilities. Adjusted EBITDA margin represents adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of total revenues.
The following tables reconcile our adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin for the periods indicated, to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which are net (loss)/income and net (loss)/income margin:
For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | RMB | RMB | US$ | |||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except for percentages) |
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(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net (loss)/income |
(640,295 | ) | (229,838 | ) | (31,832 | ) | (65,248 | ) | 35,039 | 4,853 | ||||||||||||||
Adjustments: |
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Interest income |
(1,272) | (2,071 | ) | (287 | ) | (1,274 | ) | (113 | ) | (16 | ) | |||||||||||||
Interest expense |
497 | 4,650 | 644 | 914 | 2,484 | 344 | ||||||||||||||||||
Income tax benefit |
(5,391 | ) | (9,871 | ) | (1,367 | ) | (1,233 | ) | | | ||||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
31,461 | 31,353 | 4,342 | 8,027 | 3,307 | 458 | ||||||||||||||||||
Impairment of intangible assets |
| 21,660 | 3,000 | | | | ||||||||||||||||||
Gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG |
| | | | (78,760 | ) | (10,908 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Share-based compensation |
71,815 | 26,123 | 3,618 | 10,887 | 2,636 | 365 | ||||||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities |
32,190 | (102,419 | ) | (14,185 | ) | 4,305 | (808 | ) | (112 | ) | ||||||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA |
(510,995 | ) | (260,413 | ) | (36,067 | ) | (43,622 | ) | (36,215 | ) | (5,016 | ) | ||||||||||||
Net (loss)/income margin |
(148.7 | )% | (54.2 | )% | (54.2 | )% | (53.4 | )% | 42.1 | % | 42.1 | % | ||||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA margin |
(118.7 | )% | (61.4 | )% | (61.4 | )% | (35.7 | )% | (43.5 | )% | (43.5 | )% |
107
MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with the section entitled Selected Consolidated Financial Data and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under Risk Factors and elsewhere in this prospectus.
Overview
We are a leader and disruptor of the digital corporate learning industry in China, a market with massive rigid-demand and a total size of RMB126.0 billion in 2023, according to Frost & Sullivan. We have innovated a SaaS model that integrates software and content, effectively assisting customers in the digital transformation of corporate learning. According to Frost & Sullivan, we are the largest digital corporate learning solution provider in China in terms of total revenue, subscription revenue and number of subscription customers in 2023.
With our software, we help customers efficiently deploy cloud-based learning platforms at scale. We also offer a broad range of high-quality content, covering the entire corporate learning process of our customers. Such content offerings bring additional monetization opportunities and encourage subscription renewals and upsells. Our comprehensive and highly scalable solutions are suitable for various corporate learning scenarios and can be broadly applied among corporate customers across different industries, scales, and development stages.
We develop our software based on the advanced underlying architecture. Our software can be modularized and customized. We help customers rapidly deploy the intelligent learning platform in a plug-and-play manner. Our highly flexible and configurable software products allow our customers to match the use of our software with their specific business needs. Our software is accessible on both mobile and desktop. In addition, users can also access our software on third-party platforms that we collaborate with, such as Tencent WeCom, Ali DingTalk and Lark.
We believe that the well-designed learning paths and targeted content with traceable and quantifiable training results are the core of successful corporate learning solutions and the reason why customers choose us. Our advanced and efficient content development system enables us to deliver stackable content with continuous iteration and optimization. Through the combination of in-house development and external collaboration, as of March 31, 2024, we were offering over 8,200 courses covering approximately 20 industries, with a total of over 20,500 learning hours, including over 6,800 hours of proprietary courses. Being customer-centric and result-oriented, we spot the common needs of various enterprises through our domain expertise and insights, and developed modular, systematic and scenario-based professional content.
Efficient use of technology underpins our success. Leveraging our coverage of 2,434 subscription customers as of March 31, 2024, who are customers with revenues from subscription based corporate learning solutions, in approximately 20 industries, we have accumulated domain expertise and insights across different industries and business scenarios, and constructed systematic labels and knowledge maps. Based on our industry insights and extensive experiences, our personalized recommendation engine then designs suitable learning paths for employees based on their positions and required skills. As a result, our solutions are capable of accurately matching personnel, positions, and courses through personalized recommendation. Our solutions embed key functions such as speech recognition, adaptive learning, intelligent practice partner, anti-cheating for exams and simulation training, making corporate learning more intelligent and effective. Our domain expertise and insights also fully empower all aspects of customer service and marketing. Through the modeling of customer portraits, market conversion and sales strategy, we have continuously discovered new sales opportunities, expanded corporate customer life cycles and improved marketing efficiency.
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We believe focusing on our customers success leads to our own success. Our digital and configurable solutions as well as satisfying customer services allow us to establish an excellent reputation in the market and accumulate a large, high-quality and loyal and rapidly growing customer base. Our high-quality customer base includes leading players across many large-scale and high-growth industries, on average covering more than ten of the top 20 players in electric vehicles, healthcare and catering, according to Frost & Sullivan. The number of our subscription customers was 3,439 and 3,230 as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. The net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 118.1% and 101.4% as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. CEIBS PG has been deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements from January 15, 2024. For details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment. The number of our subscription customers was 3,433 and 2,434 as of March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively, among which CEIBS PG had 727 subscription customers as of March 31, 2023. The net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 111.1% and 106.1%, respectively, as of March 31, 2023 and 2024. Such decreases in the number of subscription customers and net revenue retention rate of subscription customers were mainly due to our business expansion strategy to focus on large enterprises with strong and steady demand for corporate learning solutions, leading to the deselection of some small and medium-sized customers.
In 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our revenues amounted to RMB430.6 million, RMB424.0 million (US$58.7 million), RMB122.2 million and RMB83.2 million (US$11.5 million), respectively. On the pro forma basis as if the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG occured as of the beginning of 2022, our pro forma revenues amounted to RMB346.1 million, RMB324.6 million (US$45.0 million), RMB98.3 million and RMB79.9 million (US$11.1 million) in the same periods, respectively. In 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our (loss)/income before income tax benefit amounted to RMB645.7 million, RMB239.7 million (US$33.2 million), RMB66.5 million and RMB35.0 million (US$4.9 million), respectively. On the pro forma basis as if the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG occured as of the beginning of 2022, our pro forma loss before income tax benefit amounted to RMB541.9 million, RMB190.2 million (US$26.3 million), RMB57.9 million and RMB43.0 million (US$6.0 million) in the same periods, respectively. For details, see Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsRecent Development. In 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our subscription revenues amounted to RMB368.2 million, RMB347.8 million (US$48.2 million), RMB99.5 million and RMB77.0 million (US$10.7 million), respectively, representing 85.5%, 82.0%, 81.4% and 92.5% of our total revenues, respectively. Our gross profit margin was 54.0%, 54.1%, 63.5% and 62.6% in 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively. The slight decrease in gross margin from the three months ended March 31, 2023 to the same period in 2024 was mainly due to the change in product mix with different gross margins in the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023 as a result of our strategic focus on corporate learning solution. Nonetheless, we believe that our overall gross margin will increase in the long run, primarily driven by (i) economies of scale and increase of operating efficiency, and (ii) our continuous focus on providing subscription based corporate learning solutions with self-developed content. We recorded net loss of RMB640.3 million, RMB229.8 million (US$31.8 million) and RMB65.2 million, and net income of RMB35.0 million (US$4.9 million) in 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively. We recorded adjusted net loss of RMB522.6 million, RMB277.6 million (US$38.5 million), RMB47.5 million and RMB41.9 million (US$5.8 million) in the same periods, respectively. Our net cash used in operating activities was RMB456.8 million, RMB257.0 million (US$35.6 million), RMB161.5 million and RMB58.5 million (US$8.1 million) in 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
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Key Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations
The following factors are the principal factors that have affected and will continue to affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Expansion of Usage by Existing Customers
Our results of operations are highly dependent on the total number of and usages of our solutions by our customers. We have cultivated a large, high-quality and loyal customer base across various industries, including manufacturing, new retail, catering, finance, automotive, IT technology, healthcare and energy among others. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, we had 3,881 and 3,501 customers, respectively. The number of our subscription customers was 3,439 and 3,230 as of the same dates. As of March 31, 2023 and 2024, we had 3,824 and 2,545 customers, respectively, among which CEIBS PG had 845 customers as of March 31, 2023. As of the same dates, the number of our subscription customers was 3,433 and 2,434, respectively, among which CEIBS PG had 727 subscription customers as of March 31, 2023. Such decrease was mainly due to (i) the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG, and (ii) our business expansion strategy to focus on large enterprises with strong and steady demand for corporate learning solutions, leading to the deselection of some small and medium-sized customers. We have fostered strong loyalty with existing customers as a result of the high quality SaaS solutions offered by us, effectively addressing their needs. We believe that there are significant opportunities for growth with many of our existing customers. Our high-quality content offerings bring additional monetization opportunities and encourage subscription renewals and upsells. The net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 118.1% and 101.4% as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. The net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 111.1% and 106.1%, respectively, as of March 31, 2023 and 2024.
Acquisition of New Customers
To expand our customer base, we are dedicated to investing in sales and marketing efforts to penetrate additional industry verticals and further enhance our brand image and recognition within Chinas corporate learning industry. Our internal sales and marketing team will concentrate on large and mega enterprises, while collaborating with channel partners to reach out to small and medium enterprises. The success of our operating results and growth prospects will depend, in part, on our ability to attract new customers.
Optimization of Product Offering Mix
Our product mix management significantly impacts our operational results, particularly our overall profit margin. For instance, our subscription-based corporate learning solutions generally yield higher gross margins compared to other offerings, while self-developed content typically boasts higher gross margins than third-party content. To enhance profitability and achieve greater financial scalability, we aim to prioritize subscription-based corporate learning solutions with self-developed content. We will continue optimizing our software and creating high-quality content to leverage synergies between them, thereby driving monetization opportunities and increasing subscription revenue.
Investment for Growth
We are committed to investing in our future growth. We have invested, and expect to continue to invest in developing content and technology capabilities in order to provide high-quality solutions. We also plan to continue to expand our content library, both self-developed and third-parties developed, to enhance user experience and to attract new customers. We have also made investments, both organically and through acquisitions, to extend our technology capabilities and expand our course library, and expect to continue to do so in the future. Any such investments may incur significant costs in advance of experiencing benefits from such investments.
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Effective Control over Costs and Expenses
Our profitability depends largely on our ability to manage and control our costs and expenses. We have invested heavily in our sales and marketing efforts to increase sales to existing customers and acquire new customers. We plan to continue to invest in expanding our sales and marketing effort to secure and capture additional market share in the long term, while continuously enhancing sales efficiency across operational processes, sales strategies, and intelligent tools to strengthen individual sales capabilities. Furthermore, we have optimized the content development team, leading to a more streamlined workforce and a steady increase in efficiency. As we continue to grow our business, we expect to benefit from economies of scale and achieve additional cost savings in the long run.
Impact of COVID-19
To varying degrees, our business operations have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. For example, our suppliers, customers and partners may be unable to fulfill their obligations to us in a timely manner or reduce their spending level on our solutions during the pandemic, to the extent their operations have been negatively impacted. In general, the COVID-19 pandemic has not resulted in a material adverse impact on our business operations. On the contrary, it has accelerated the need for online corporate learning solutions. Organizations are relying on digital platforms to navigate changes and drive innovation. Recognizing the cost-effectiveness and scalability of digital learning, they increasingly turn to these solutions. Post-COVID-19, we experienced an increase in demand as remote work became more prevalent, further emphasizing the value of digital learning. As a market leader, we are well-positioned to capitalize on this opportunity for business growth.
Key Operating Metrics
We manage our business using the following key operating metrics. We use these metrics to assess the progress of our business, make decisions on where to allocate capital, time and technology investments and assess the near-term and long-term performance of our business.
The following tables set forth the major operating metrics for the periods indicated:
As of December 31, |
As of March 31, |
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2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||
Number of subscription customers |
3,439 | 3,230 | 3,433 | 2,434 | ||||||||||||
Net revenue retention rates of subscription customers |
118.1 | % | 101.4 | % | 111.1 | % | 106.1 | % |
We are committed to expanding our customer base. The number of our subscription customers was 3,439 and 3,230 as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. The number of our subscription customers was 3,433 and 2,434 as of March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively, among which CEIBS PG had 727 subscription customers as of March 31, 2023. Such decrease was mainly due to (i) the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG, and (ii) our business expansion strategy to focus on large enterprises with strong and steady demand for corporate learning solutions, leading to the deselection of some small and medium-sized customers.
Our ability to maintain long-term revenue growth is in part dependent on our ability to expand customers usage of our solutions over time and grow revenue generated from existing customers. An important way for us to track our performance in this area is by measuring net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers. Net revenue retention rate helps track the changes in purchases made by a particular cohort of customers over time. A net revenue retention rate above 100% reflects that the customers are increasing their purchases of our solutions. The net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 118.1% and 101.4% as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. The net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 111.1% and 106.1%, as of March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively. Such decrease was mainly due to our business expansion strategy to focus on large
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enterprises with strong and steady demand for corporate learning solutions, leading to the deselection of some small and medium-sized customers. As we continue to develop our content + software solutions, enrich our content offerings and improve our brand awareness, our existing customers willingness to repurchase and renewal will further increase.
Key Components of Results of Operations
Revenues
We derive our revenues from two sources, namely (i) corporate learning solution revenues, including solutions based on both subscription and non-subscription, and (ii) other revenues, primarily consisting of sales of customized software and related maintenance services. In 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our revenues amounted to RMB430.6 million, RMB424.0 million (US$58.7 million), RMB122.2 million and RMB83.2 million (US$11.5 million), respectively. On the pro forma basis as if the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG occured as of the beginning of 2022, our pro forma revenues amounted to RMB346.1 million, RMB324.6 million (US$45.0 million), RMB98.3 million and RMB79.9 million (US$11.1 million) in the same periods, respectively. For details, see Recent Development.
The following table sets forth a breakdown of our total revenues, in absolute amounts and as percentages of total revenues, for the periods indicated:
For the Year Ended December 31, |
For the Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except for percentages) |
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(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Corporate learning solution |
424,275 | 98.5 | 411,822 | 57,037 | 97.1 | 114,634 | 93.8 | 82,031 | 11,361 | 98.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Subscription |
368,176 | 85.5 | 347,829 | 48,174 | 82.0 | 99,538 | 81.4 | 76,982 | 10,662 | 92.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Non-subscription |
56,099 | 13.0 | 63,993 | 8,863 | 15.1 | 15,096 | 12.4 | 5,049 | 699 | 6.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Others |
6,361 | 1.5 | 12,194 | 1,689 | 2.9 | 7,533 | 6.2 | 1,185 | 164 | 1.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total revenues |
430,636 | 100.0 | 424,016 | 58,726 | 100.0 | 122,167 | 100.0 | 83,216 | 11,525 | 100.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Corporate Learning Solution
In 2022, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our revenues generated from corporate learning solution amounted to RMB424.3 million, RMB411.8 million (US$57.0 million), RMB114.6 million and RMB82.0 million (US$11.4 million), respectively, representing 98.5%, 97.1%, 93.8% and 98.6% of our total revenues in the same periods, respectively.
| Subscription revenues. Our subscription revenues are primarily derived from our digital corporate learning solution delivered through SaaS, including subscription of corporate learning system, personalized e-learning system, teaching tools and online courses. In 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our subscription revenues amounted to RMB368.2 million, RMB347.8 million (US$48.2 million), RMB99.5 million and RMB77.0 million (US$10.7 million), respectively, representing 85.5%, 82.0%, 81.4% and 92.5% of our total revenues, respectively. We typically recognize subscription fees as revenue on a straight-line basis through the subscription term. |
| Non-subscription revenues. Our non-subscription revenues are primarily derived from offline courses and recorded courses. In 2022, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our revenues generated from non-subscription based solution amounted to RMB56.1 million, RMB64.0 million (US$8.9 million), RMB15.1 million and RMB5.0 million (US$0.7 million), respectively, representing 13.0%, 15.1%, 12.4% and 6.1% of our total revenues in the same periods, respectively. We typically recognize the revenue as services are completed. |
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Others
Complementary to our corporate learning solution, we also offer customized software and related maintenance services to our customers. The software is installed on-premise at the customers servers. Revenue generated from other services amounted to RMB6.4 million, RMB12.2 million (US$1.7 million), RMB7.5 million and RMB1.2 million (US$0.2 million) in 2022, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Cost of Revenues
Our cost of revenues consists of the costs that are directly related to providing our products and solutions to our customers. These costs include staff expenses, costs of third-party cloud infrastructures, instructor compensation, amortization of online course contents, impairment of intangible assets and other costs. In 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our costs of revenues amounted to RMB197.9 million, RMB194.5 million (US$26.9 million), RMB44.5 million and RMB31.1 million (US$4.3 million), respectively, representing 46.0%, 45.9%, 36.5% and 37.4% of our total revenues in the same periods, respectively. The following table sets forth the components of cost of revenues, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of our total revenues, for the periods indicated.
the Year Ended December 31, | For the Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except for percentages) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of revenues: |
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Staff expenses |
94,717 | 22.0 | 82,881 | 11,479 | 19.5 | 20,948 | 17.1 | 16,766 | 2,322 | 20.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Costs of third-party cloud infrastructures |
41,751 | 9.7 | 39,112 | 5,418 | 9.3 | 10,797 | 8.9 | 10,133 | 1,403 | 12.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Amortization of online course contents |
20,151 | 4.7 | 16,277 | 2,254 | 3.8 | 4,992 | 4.1 | 1,718 | 238 | 2.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Instructor compensation |
26,276 | 6.1 | 32,020 | 4,435 | 7.6 | 4,794 | 3.9 | 1,117 | 155 | 1.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Impairment of intangible assets |
| | 10,530 | 1,458 | 2.5 | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Others |
15,004 | 3.5 | 13,654 | 1,891 | 3.2 | 3,010 | 2.5 | 1,413 | 195 | 1.7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total cost of revenues |
197,899 | 46.0 | 194,474 | 26,935 | 45.9 | 44,541 | 36.5 | 31,147 | 4,313 | 37.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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We expect our cost of revenues to increase in absolute amount in line with our expansion of business and customer base growth, and to decrease as a percentage of our revenues in the long run through economies of scale and improvement of operation efficiency.
Gross Profit
Gross profit is equal to our total revenues less cost of revenues. Gross profit as a percentage of our total revenues is referred to as gross margin. In 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our gross profit was RMB232.7 million, RMB229.5 million (US$31.8 million), RMB77.6 million and RMB52.1 million (US$7.2 million), respectively, and our gross margin was 54.0%, 54.1%, 63.5% and 62.6%, respectively.
For the Year Ended December 31, |
For the Three Months Ended March 31, |
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(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gross profit |
232,737 | 229,542 | 31,791 | 77,626 | 52,069 | 7,212 |
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We expect that our overall gross margin will increase in the long run, primarily driven by (i) economies of scale and improvement of operation efficiency and (ii) our continuous efforts in optimizing product mix for higher gross profit margin.
Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses consist of sales and marketing expenses, research and development expenses and general and administrative expenses. The following table sets forth a breakdown of our operating expenses, in absolute amounts and as percentages of our total revenues, for the periods indicated.
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Sales and marketing expenses |
344,729 | 80.1 | 244,379 | 33,846 | 57.6 | 53,588 | 43.9 | 36,953 | 5,118 | 44.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Research and development expenses |
312,093 | 72.5 | 176,537 | 24,450 | 41.6 | 48,623 | 39.8 | 30,052 | 4,162 | 36.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General and administrative expenses |
206,254 | 47.9 | 142,852 | 19,785 | 33.7 | 38,394 | 31.4 | 28,215 | 3,908 | 33.9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total operating expenses |
863,076 | 200.4 | 563,768 | 78,081 | 132.9 | 140,605 | 115.1 | 95,220 | 13,188 | 114.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sales and marketing expenses. Sales and marketing expenses consist of (i) compensation and incentives paid to sales and marketing staff, (ii) brand marketing and support expenses, (iii) impairment of intangible assets and (iv) other expenses. Our sales and marketing expenses were RMB344.7 million, RMB244.4 million (US$33.8 million), RMB53.6 million and RMB37.0 million (US$5.1 million) in 2022, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively, accounting for 80.1%, 57.6%, 43.9% and 44.4% of our total revenues in the same periods, respectively. The following table sets forth a breakdown of our sales and marketing expenses, in absolute amounts and as percentages of our total revenues, for the periods indicated.
For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Three Months Ended March 31, |
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Compensation and incentives |
293,900 | 68.2 | 188,313 | 26,081 | 44.4 | 46,210 | 37.8 | 31,398 | 4,349 | 37.7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brand marketing and support |
22,977 | 5.3 | 15,635 | 2,165 | 3.7 | 2,755 | 2.3 | 1,217 | 169 | 1.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Impairment of intangible assets |
| | 11,130 | 1,541 | 2.6 | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Others |
27,852 | 6.5 | 29,301 | 4,059 | 6.9 | 4,623 | 3.8 | 4,338 | 600 | 5.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total sales and marketing expenses |
344,729 | 80.1 | 244,379 | 33,846 | 57.6 | 53,588 | 43.9 | 36,953 | 5,118 | 44.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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We adopt an efficient marketing strategy to enhance our brand awareness that combines online advertising and offline seminars and marketing events. Our incentive mechanism has enhanced sales efficiency and promoted repurchase. We plan to continue to invest in sales and marketing to promote our brand awareness, retain our existing customers and attract new customers in the long term, while continuously enhancing sales efficiency across operational processes, sales strategies, and intelligent tools to strengthen individual sales capabilities. As a result, we expect our sales and marketing expenses to further decrease as a percentage of our total revenues in the foreseeable future.
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Research and development expenses. Research and development expenses consist of (i) compensation paid to research and development staff, (ii) professional fees in relation to the software upgrade, (iii) content design expenses, and (iv) other expenses. Our research and development expenses were RMB312.1 million, RMB176.5 million (US$24.5 million), RMB48.6 million and RMB30.1 million (US$4.2 million) in 2022, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively, accounting for 72.5%, 41.6%, 39.8% and 36.1% of our total revenues in the same periods, respectively. The following table sets forth a breakdown of our research and development expenses, in absolute amounts and as percentages of our total revenues, for the periods indicated.
For the Year Ended December 31, |
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Compensation |
282,426 | 65.7 | 161,677 | 22,392 | 38.1 | 44,199 | 36.2 | 26,772 | 3,708 | 32.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Professional fees |
12,646 | 2.9 | 3,611 | 500 | 0.9 | 1,273 | 1.0 | 836 | 116 | 1.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Content design expenses |
6,637 | 1.5 | 3,401 | 471 | 0.8 | 709 | 0.6 | 959 | 133 | 1.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Others |
10,384 | 2.4 | 7,848 | 1,087 | 1.8 | 2,442 | 2.0 | 1,485 | 205 | 1.7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total research and development expenses |
312,093 | 72.5 | 176,537 | 24,450 | 41.6 | 48,623 | 39.8 | 30,052 | 4,162 | 36.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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We believe that continued investment in research and development is key to our future growth. We expect to continue to invest in research and development of our technology and content to improve user experience, such as adding new contents, features and functionalities to our solutions, while continuously increasing efficiency. Therefore, we expect our research and development expenses to further decrease as a percentage of our total revenues in the foreseeable future.
General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses consist of (i) compensation paid to administrative staff and management team, (ii) professional fees for external legal, accounting, recruiting and other consulting services, (iii) share-based compensation, (iv) general office and administrative expenses, including, rent and travel, among others, (v) depreciation and amortization and (vi) other expenses. Our general and administrative expenses were RMB206.3 million, RMB142.9 million (US$19.8 million), RMB38.4 million and RMB28.2 million (US$3.9 million) in 2022, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively, accounting for 47.9%, 33.7%, 31.4% and 33.9% of our total revenues in the same periods, respectively. The following table sets forth a breakdown of our general and administrative expenses, in absolute amounts and as percentages of our total revenues, for the periods indicated.
For the Year Ended December 31, |
For the Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except for percentages) |
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(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Compensation |
67,200 | 15.6 | 50,952 | 7,057 | 12.0 | 15,238 | 12.5 | 11,810 | 1,636 | 14.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Professional fees |
21,293 | 4.9 | 35,965 | 4,981 | 8.5 | 5,134 | 4.2 | 6,640 | 920 | 8.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based compensation |
71,815 | 16.7 | 26,123 | 3,618 | 6.2 | 10,887 | 8.9 | 2,636 | 365 | 3.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General office and administrative expenses |
17,802 | 4.1 | 15,895 | 2,201 | 3.7 | 3,331 | 2.7 | 2,898 | 401 | 3.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
10,569 | 2.5 | 6,206 | 860 | 1.5 | 1,937 | 1.6 | 406 | 56 | 0.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Others |
17,575 | 4.1 | 7,711 | 1,068 | 1.8 | 1,867 | 1.5 | 3,825 | 530 | 4.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total general and administrative expenses |
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206,254
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47.9
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142,852
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19,785 |
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33.7
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38,394 |
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31.4 |
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28,215 |
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3,908 |
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33.9 |
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We expect our general and administrative expenses to further decrease as a percentage of our total revenues in the foreseeable future as we continue to increase operational efficiency and benefit from economies of scale, which will be partially offset by the fact that we will incur additional expenses as a result of operating as a public company.
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Our operating expenses have decreased in absolute numbers from RMB863.1 million in 2022 to RMB563.8 million (US$78.1 million) in 2023, and decreased in absolute numbers from RMB140.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to RMB95.2 million (US$13.2 million) in the same period of 2024. The operating expenses as a percentage of our total revenues was 200.4%, 132.9%, 115.1% and 114.4% in 2022, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively, which was primarily attributable to our efforts in optimizing our human resources and effectively managing costs and expenses.
We expect our operating expenses as a percentage of our revenues will decrease over the long term, as we benefit from our enhanced brand awareness, improved sales efficiency and economies of scale. Nevertheless, such expenses may fluctuate as a percentage of our revenues from period to period depending on the timing and extent of these expenses and due to seasonality.
Other Operating Income
Our other operating income primarily consists of governmental subsidies including various forms of government financial incentives and preferential tax treatments. In 2022, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our other operating income amounted to RMB9.5 million, RMB5.6 million (US$0.8 million), RMB1.9 million and RMB0.5 million (US$0.1 million), respectively.
Taxation
Cayman Islands
We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Under the current law of the Cayman Islands, we are not subject to income or capital gains tax. In addition, dividend payments are not subject to withholding tax in the Cayman Islands. We are not currently a taxpayer in China because we have incurred cumulative losses since inception. We also have no current intention to pay dividends to shareholders.
Hong Kong
Under the current Hong Kong Inland Revenue Ordinance, our subsidiaries incorporated in Hong Kong are subject to a two-tiered profits tax rates regime. Under the two-tiered profits tax rates regime, the first HK$2.0 million of profits of the qualifying group entity will be taxed at 8.25%, and profits above HK$2.0 million will be taxed at 16.5%. We do not have operations in our Hong Kong subsidiaries and we will not be subject to profits tax. In addition, dividend payments to us are not subject to Hong Kong withholding tax.
PRC
Our subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs in China are companies incorporated under PRC law and, as such, are subject to PRC enterprise income tax on their taxable income in accordance with the relevant PRC income tax laws. Pursuant to the PRC EIT Law, which became effective on January 1, 2008, a uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate is generally applicable to both foreign-invested enterprises and domestic enterprises, except where a special preferential rate applies. In 2022, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2024, preferential tax treatment was available to certain of our PRC subsidiaries. The VIE, Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd., was recognized as a High-tech Enterprise in November 2018 and renewed its HNTE certificate in November 2021, which allowed it to apply an income tax rate of 15% during the following three years. The enterprise income tax is calculated based on the entitys global income as determined under PRC tax laws and accounting standards.
We are subject to VAT at a rate of 6% or 9% on the services we provide and related surcharges. We are also subject to surcharges on VAT payments in accordance with PRC law.
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As a Cayman Islands holding company, we may receive dividends from our PRC subsidiaries through YXT.COM (HK) Limited. The PRC EIT Law and its implementing rules provide that dividends paid by a PRC entity to a nonresident enterprise for income tax purposes is subject to PRC withholding tax at a rate of 10%, subject to reduction by an applicable tax treaty with China. Pursuant to the Arrangement between Mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Tax Evasion on Income, the withholding tax rate in respect to the payment of dividends by a PRC enterprise to a Hong Kong enterprise may be reduced to 5% from a standard rate of 10% if the Hong Kong enterprise directly holds at least 25% of the PRC enterprise. Pursuant to the Notice of the State Administration of Taxation on the Issues concerning the Application of the Dividend Clauses of Tax Agreements, or SAT Circular 81, a Hong Kong resident enterprise must meet the following conditions, among others, in order to apply the reduced withholding tax rate: (i) it must be a company; (ii) it must directly own the required percentage of equity interests and voting rights in the PRC resident enterprise; and (iii) it must have directly owned such required percentage in the PRC resident enterprise throughout the 12 months prior to receiving the dividends. In October 2019, the State Administration of Taxation issued Announcement of the State Taxation Administration on Issuing the Measures for Non-resident Taxpayers Enjoyment of Treaty Benefits, or SAT Circular 35, which became effective on January 1, 2020. SAT Circular 35 provides that nonresident enterprises are not required to obtain pre-approval from the relevant tax authority in order to enjoy the reduced withholding tax. Instead, nonresident enterprises and their withholding agents may, by self-assessment and on confirmation that the prescribed criteria to enjoy the tax treaty benefits are met, directly apply the reduced withholding tax rate, and file necessary forms and supporting documents when performing tax filings, which will be subject to post-tax filing examinations by the relevant tax authorities. Accordingly, YXT.COM (HK) Limited may be able to benefit from the 5% withholding tax rate for the dividends it receives from its PRC subsidiaries, if it satisfies the conditions prescribed under SAT Circular 81 and SAT Circular 35 and other relevant tax rules and regulations. However, according to SAT Circular 81 and SAT Circular 35, if the relevant tax authorities consider the transactions or arrangements we have are for the primary purpose of enjoying a favorable tax treatment, the relevant tax authorities may adjust the favorable withholding tax in the future.
If our holding company in the Cayman Islands or any of our subsidiaries outside of China were deemed to be a resident enterprise under the PRC EIT Law, it would be subject to enterprise income tax on its worldwide income at a rate of 25%. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Doing Business in ChinaIf we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders or the ADSs Holders.
For purposes of illustration, the following discussion reflects the hypothetical taxes that might be required to be paid within China, assuming that: (i) we have taxable earnings, and (ii) we determine to pay a dividend in the future:
Taxation Scenario(1) | ||||
Statutory Tax and Standard Rates |
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Hypothetical pre-tax earnings(2) |
100.0 | % | ||
Tax on earnings at statutory rate of 25%(3) |
(25.0 | ) | ||
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Net earnings available for distribution |
75.0 | |||
Withholding tax at standard rate of 10%(4) |
(7.5 | ) | ||
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Net distribution to Parent/Shareholders |
67.5 | % | ||
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Notes: (1) | For purposes of this example, the tax calculation has been simplified. The hypothetical book pre-tax earnings amount, not considering timing differences, is assumed to equal Chinese taxable income. |
(2) | Under the terms of the contractual agreements, sales service fees are charged by our PRC subsidiaries to the VIEs. For all periods presented, these fees are recognized as sales and marketing expenses of the VIEs, with a corresponding amount as service income by our PRC subsidiaries and eliminated in consolidation. See Our Summary Consolidated Financial Data and Operating Data |
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VIE Consolidating Schedule (Unaudited). For income tax purposes, our PRC subsidiaries and VIEs file income taxes on a separate company basis. The fees paid are recognized as a tax deduction by the VIEs and as income by our PRC subsidiaries and are tax neutral. |
Upon the instance that the VIEs reach a cumulative level of profitability, because our PRC subsidiaries occupy certain trademarks and copyrights, the agreements will be updated to reflect charges for such trademarks and copyrights usage on the basis that they will quality for tax neutral treatment. |
(3) | One of the VIEs qualifies for a 15% preferential income tax rate in China. However, such rate is subject to qualification, is temporary in nature, and may not be available in a future period when distributions are paid. For purposes of this hypothetical example, the table above reflects a maximum tax scenario under which the full statutory rate would be effective. |
(4) | Chinas Enterprise Income Tax Law imposes a withholding income tax of 10% on dividends distributed by a Foreign Invested Enterprises (FIE) to its immediate holding company outside of China. A lower withholding income tax rate of 5% is applied if the FIEs immediate holding company is registered in Hong Kong or other jurisdictions that have a tax treaty arrangement with China, subject to a qualification review at the time of the distribution. For purposes of this hypothetical example, the table above assumes a maximum tax scenario under which the full withholding tax would be applied. |
The table above has been prepared under the assumption that all profits of the VIEs will be distributed as fees to our PRC subsidiaries under tax neutral contractual arrangements. If in the future, the accumulated earnings of the VIEs exceed the fees paid to our PRC subsidiaries (or if the current and contemplated fee structure between the intercompany entities is determined to be non-substantive and disallowed by Chinese tax authorities), we have other tax-planning strategies that can be deployed on a tax neutral basis.
Should all tax planning strategies fail, the VIEs could, as a matter of last resort, make a non-deductible transfer to our PRC subsidiaries for the amounts of the stranded cash in the VIEs. This would result in the double taxation of earnings: once at the VIE level (for non-deductible expenses) and again at the PRC subsidiary level (for presumptive earnings on the transfer). Such a transfer and the related tax burdens would reduce our after-tax income to approximately 50.6% of the pre-tax income. Our management believes that there is only a remote possibility that this scenario would happen.
Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Prior to this offering, we have been a private company with limited accounting personnel and other resources with which to address our internal control over financial reporting. Our independent registered public accounting firm has not conducted an audit of our internal control over financial reporting.
As defined in the standards established by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the companys annual or interim consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. In the course of auditing our consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified the following material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and other control deficiencies.
| lack of sufficient competent financial reporting and accounting personnel with appropriate knowledge of U.S. GAAP and financial reporting requirements set forth by the SEC to address complex U.S. GAAP technical accounting issues and to prepare and review consolidated financial statements, including disclosure notes, in accordance with U.S. GAAP and financial reporting requirements set forth by the SEC; and |
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| lack of formal and effective financial closing policies and procedures, specifically those related to period-end expenses cut-off and accruals, consolidation process and financial statement disclosures. |
To remediate the identified material weaknesses, we have undertaken the following steps to strengthen our internal control over financial reporting by establishing a formal accounting and finance department with sufficient resources and proper organizational structure and setting up a financial and system control framework:
| hired a financial controller and a financial manager dedicated to the preparation of consolidated financial statements and SEC reporting, who have prior work experience in big four audit firms with U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting experience, to improve our internal control over financial reporting; |
| developed an accounting manual to establish formal financial closing policies and procedures in accordance with U.S. GAAP; |
| conducted U.S. GAAP accounting and financial reporting training programs for accounting and financial reporting personnel; |
| established clear roles and responsibilities for accounting and financial reporting staff to prepare and review consolidated financial statements and related disclosures under U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements; and |
| enhanced our financial closing and reporting policies and procedures and our operational internal controls by developing and continuously updating the period end closing checklist, to ensure that the consolidated financial statements and related disclosures are properly prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements. |
We will continue strengthening our internal control over financial reporting by taking the following measures:
| continue to implement regular and continuous U.S. GAAP accounting and financial reporting training programs for accounting and financial reporting personnel; |
| continue to update the period end closing checklist; and |
| establish an audit committee. |
We intend to remediate these material weaknesses and expect that we will incur certain costs for implementing our remediation measures. The implementation of these measures, however, may not fully remediate the material weaknesses identified in our internal control over financial reporting, and we cannot conclude that the material weaknesses have been fully remediated. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryIf we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we could be unable to timely and accurately report our results of operations, meet our reporting obligations or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of the ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.
As a company with less than US$1.235 billion in revenue for our last fiscal year, we qualify as an emerging growth company pursuant to the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in the assessment of the emerging growth companys internal control over financial reporting.
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth a summary of our consolidated results of operations for the periods indicated. This information should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. CEIBS PG has been deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements from January 15, 2024. For details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our
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Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment.
For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except for percentages, shares and per share data) |
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(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Revenues |
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Corporate learning solutions(1) |
424,275 | 98.5 | 411,822 | 57,037 | 97.1 | 114,634 | 93.8 | 82,031 | 11,361 | 98.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Others |
6,361 | 1.5 | 12,194 | 1,689 | 2.9 | 7,533 | 6.2 | 1,185 | 164 | 1.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total revenues |
430,636 | 100.0 | 424,016 | 58,726 | 100.0 | 122,167 | 100.0 | 83,216 | 11,525 | 100.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of revenues |
(197,899 | ) | (46.0 | ) | (194,474 | ) | (26,935) | (45.9 | ) | (44,541) | (36.5 | ) | (31,147 | ) | (4,313) | (37.4 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gross profit |
232,737 | 54.0 | 229,542 | 31,791 | 54.1 | 77,626 | 63.5 | 52,069 | 7,212 | 62.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Operating expenses |
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Sales and marketing expenses |
(344,729 | ) | (80.1 | ) | |
(244,379 |
) |
(33,846) | (57.6 | ) | (53,588) | (43.9 | ) | (36,953 | ) | (5,118) | (44.4 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Research and development expenses |
(312,093 | ) | (72.5 | ) | (176,537 | ) | (24,450) | (41.6 | ) | (48,623) | (39.8 | ) | (30,052 | ) | (4,162) | (36.1 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
General and administrative expenses |
(206,254 | ) | (47.9 | ) | (142,852 | ) | (19,785) | (33.7 | ) | (38,394) | (31.4 | ) | (28,215 | ) | (3,908) | (33.9 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total operating expenses |
(863,076 | ) | (200.4 | ) | (563,768 | ) | (78,081) | (132.9 | ) | (140,605) | (115.1 | ) | (95,220 | ) | (13,188) | (114.4 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Other operating income |
9,507 | 2.2 | 5,629 | 780 | 1.3 | 1,939 | 1.6 | 513 | 70 | 0.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Loss from operations |
(620,832 | ) | (144.2 | ) | (328,597 | ) | (45,510) | (77.5 | ) | (61,040) | (50.0 | ) | (42,638 | ) | (5,906) | (51.2 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Interest and investment income |
5,682 | 1.3 | 4,613 | 639 | 1.1 | 1,696 | 1.4 | 2,431 | 337 | 2.9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interest expense |
(497 | ) | (0.1 | ) | (4,650 | ) | (644 | ) | (1.1 | ) | (914) | (0.7 | ) | (2,484 | ) | (344) | (3.0 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Investment losses |
| | (13,144 | ) | (1,820 | ) | (3.1 | ) | (1,406) | (1.2 | ) | (1,841 | ) | (255) | (2.2 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG |
| | | | | | | 78,760 | 10,908 | 94.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange gain/(loss), net |
2,151 | 0.5 | (350 | ) | (49) | (0.1 | ) | (512) | (0.4 | ) | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities |
(32,190 | ) | (7.5 | ) | 102,419 | 14,185 | 24.2 | (4,305) | (3.5 | ) | 808 | 112 | 1.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(Loss)/income before income tax benefit |
(645,686 | ) | (149.9 | ) | (239,709 | ) | (33,199) | (56.5 | ) | (66,481) | (54.4 | ) | 35,039 | 4,853 | 42.1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Income tax benefit |
5,391 | 1.3 | 9,871 | 1,367 | 2.3 | 1,233 | 1.0 | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Net (loss)/income |
(640,295 | ) | (148.7 | ) | (229,838 | ) | (31,832) | (54.2 | ) | (65,248) | (53.4 | ) | 35,039 | 4,853 | 42.1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Adjusted EBITDA(2) |
(510,995 | ) | (118.7 | ) | (260,413 | ) | (36,067) | (61.4 | ) | (43.622) | (35.7) | (36,215) | (5,016) | (43.5 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Adjusted net loss(2) |
(522,610 | ) | (121.4 | ) | (277,634 | ) | (38,452) | (65.5 | ) | (47,491) | (38.9) | (41,893) | (5,802) | (50.3 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Notes: (1) | Corporate learning solution revenue includes subscription revenue and non-subscription revenue. |
(2) | For details, see Non-GAAP Financial Measures. |
Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 Compared to Three Months Ended March 31, 2023
Revenues
Our revenues decreased by 31.9% from RMB122.2 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to RMB83.2 million (US$11.5 million) in the same period of 2024. The decrease was due to (i) the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG starting from January 15, 2024, which resulted in the decrease in revenues in the amount of RMB20.6 million; and (ii) the fluctuation of our business operations, due to (1) the decrease in our revenues from corporate learning solutions in the amount of RMB12.0 million; and (2) the decrease in our other revenues in the amount of RMB6.3 million. On the pro forma basis as if the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG occured as of the beginning of 2022, our pro forma revenues decreased by 18.6% from RMB98.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to RMB79.9 million (US$11.1 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2024. For details, see Recent Development.
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Corporate learning solution. Our revenues derived from corporate learning solution decreased by 28.4% from RMB114.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to RMB82.0 million (US$11.4 million) in the same period of 2024.
| Subscription revenues. Our subscription revenues decreased by 22.7% from RMB99.5 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to RMB77.0 million (US$10.7 million) in the same period of 2024. The decrease in subscription revenues was because of (i) the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG starting from January 15, 2024, which resulted in the decrease in subscription revenues in the amount of RMB14.4 million; and (ii) the fluctuation of our business operations in the amount of RMB8.1 million, due to (1) our strategic suspension of certain ancillary online teaching tools; and (2) our business expansion strategy to focus on large enterprises with strong and steady demand for corporate learning solutions, leading to the deselection of some small and medium-sized customers and therefore the decrease in the number of our subscription customers during the same periods. |
| Non-subscription revenues. Our non-subscription revenues decreased by 66.6% from RMB15.1 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to RMB5.0 million (US$0.7 million) in the same period of 2024, due to (i) the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG starting from January 15, 2024, which resulted in the decrease in non-subscription revenues in the amount of RMB6.2 million; and (ii) the fluctuation of our business operations in the amount of RMB3.9 million, because our offline delivery of courses resumed to the normal level in the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023, which experienced a high level of offline delivery after the COVID-19 restrictions were initially lifted. |
Others. Revenues from other complementary services decreased by 84.3% from RMB7.5 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to RMB1.2 million (US$0.2 million) in the same period of 2024, due to the decreased number of customized software projects completed in the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023 as a result of our strategic focus on corporate learning solution.
Cost of Revenues
Our cost of revenues decreased by 30.1% from RMB44.5 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to RMB31.1 million (US$4.3 million) in the same period of 2024. The decrease was due to (i) the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG starting from January 15, 2024, which resulted in the decrease in cost of revenues in the amount of RMB6.5 million, and (ii) the fluctuation of our business operations in the amount of RMB6.9 million, due to our continuous efforts in optimizing our human resources and effectively managing cost and expenses.
Gross Profit and Gross Margin
As a result of the foregoing, our gross profit decreased by 32.9% from RMB77.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to RMB52.1 million (US$7.2 million) in the same period of 2024. Our gross margin decreased from 63.5% in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to 62.6% in the same period of 2024. The slight decrease in gross margin was mainly due to the change in product mix with different gross margins in the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023 as a result of our strategic focus on corporate learning solution.
Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses decreased by 32.3% from RMB140.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to RMB95.2 million (US$13.2 million) in the same period of 2024.
Sales and Marketing Expenses
Our sales and marketing expenses decreased by 31.0% from RMB53.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to RMB37.0 million (US$5.1 million) in the same period of 2024, which was mainly attributable
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to (i) the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG starting from January 15, 2024, which resulted in the decrease in sales and marketing expenses in the amount of RMB11.2 million; and (ii) the fluctuation of our business operations, primarily attributable to the decrease in compensation paid to sales and marketing staff in the amount of RMB5.2 million, due to our efforts in optimizing our human resources and effectively managing costs and expenses.
Research and Development Expenses
Our research and development expenses decreased by 38.2% from RMB48.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to RMB30.1 million (US$4.2 million) in the same period of 2024, primarily due to (i) the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG starting from January 15, 2024, which resulted in the decrease in research and development expenses in the amount of RMB7.3 million; and (ii) the fluctuation of our business operations, primarily attributable to the decrease in the compensation paid to research and development staff in the amount of RMB10.1 million, due to our efforts in optimizing our human resources and the increased efficiency in research and development.
General and Administrative Expenses
Our general and administrative expenses decreased by 26.5% from RMB38.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to RMB28.2 million (US$3.9 million) in the same period of 2024, which was largely attributable to (i) the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG starting from January 15, 2024, which resulted in the decrease in general and administrative expenses in the amount of RMB3.7 million; and (ii) the fluctuation of our business operations, primarily attributable to the decrease in share-based compensation paid to general and administrative staff in the amount of RMB8.3 million, due to the completion of the amortization of certain share-based incentives.
Operating Loss
Our operating loss decreased by 30.2% from RMB61.0 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to RMB42.6 million (US$5.9 million) in the same period of 2024.
Change in Fair Value of Derivative Liabilities
We recorded gain in fair value of derivative liabilities of RMB0.8 million (US$0.1 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2024, as compared to loss in fair value of derivative liabilities of RMB4.3 million in the same period of 2023. Such increase in gain was primarily due to the decrease in the fair value of derivative liabilities.
Gain on Deconsolidation of CEIBS PG
We recorded gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG of RMB78.8 million (US$10.9 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2024. For details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment.
Net (Loss)/Income
We had net income of RMB35.0 million (US$4.9 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2024, as compared to net loss of RMB65.2 million in the same period of 2023.
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Year Ended December 31, 2023 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2022
Revenues
Our revenues decreased by 1.5% from RMB430.6 million in 2022 to RMB424.0 million (US$58.7 million) in 2023, primarily driven by the decreases in our revenues from corporate learning solutions. On the pro forma basis as if the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG occured as of the beginning of 2022, our pro forma revenues decreased by 6.2% from RMB346.1 million in 2022 to RMB324.6 million (US$45.0 million) in 2023 due to the same reason. For details, see Recent Development.
Corporate learning solution. Our revenues derived from corporate learning solution decreased by 2.9% from RMB424.3 million in 2022 to RMB411.8 million (US$57.0 million) in 2023.
| Subscription based corporate learning solution. Revenues from subscription based solution decreased by 5.5% from RMB368.2 million in 2022 to RMB347.8 million (US$48.2 million) in 2023, because of (i) our strategic suspension of certain ancillary online teaching tools, and (ii) our business expansion strategy to focus on large enterprises with strong and steady demand for corporate learning solutions, leading to the deselection of some small and medium-sized customers and therefore the decrease in the number of our subscription customers during the same periods. |
| Non-subscription based corporate learning solution. Revenues from non-subscription based solution increased by 14.1% from RMB56.1 million in 2022 to RMB64.0 million (US$8.9 million) in 2023, primarily due to the increase in the offline activities in 2023 as compared to 2022. |
Others. Revenues from other complementary services increased by 90.6% from RMB6.4 million in 2022 to RMB12.2 million (US$1.7 million) in 2023, due to the increased number of customized software projects completed in 2023.
Cost of Revenues
Our cost of revenues decreased by 1.7% from RMB197.9 million in 2022 to RMB194.5 million (US$26.9 million) in 2023, attributable to our efforts in optimizing our human resources and effectively managing costs and expenses.
Gross Profit and Gross Margin
As a result of the foregoing, our gross profit decreased by 1.4% from RMB232.7 million in 2022 to RMB229.5 million (US$31.8 million) in 2023. Our gross margin remained stable at 54.0% in 2022 and 54.1% in 2023, respectively.
Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses decreased by 34.7% from RMB863.1 million in 2022 to RMB563.8 million (US$78.1 million) in 2023.
Sales and Marketing Expenses
Our sales and marketing expenses decreased by 29.1% from RMB344.7 million in 2022 to RMB244.4 million (US$33.8 million) in 2023, which was mainly attributable to the decrease in compensation paid to sales and marketing staff in the amount of RMB105.6 million, primarily due to our efforts in optimizing our human resources and effectively managing costs and expenses.
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Research and Development Expenses
Our research and development expenses decreased by 43.4% from RMB312.1 million in 2022 to RMB176.5 million (US$24.4 million) in 2023, primarily due to the decrease in the compensation paid to research and development staff in the amount of RMB120.7 million, primarily due to our efforts in optimizing our human resources and the increased efficiency in research and development.
General and Administrative Expenses
Our general and administrative expenses decreased by 30.7% from RMB206.3 million in 2022 to RMB142.9 million (US$19.8 million) in 2023, which was largely attributable to the decrease in share-based compensation paid to general and administrative staff in the amount of RMB45.7 million, primarily due to the completion of the amortization of certain share-based incentives.
Operating Loss
Our operating loss decreased by 47.1% from RMB620.8 million in 2022 to RMB328.6 million (US$45.5 million) in 2023.
Change in Fair Value of Derivative Liabilities
We recorded gain in fair value of derivative liabilities of RMB102.4 million (US$14.2 million) in 2023, as compared to loss in fair value of derivative liabilities of RMB32.2 million in 2022. Such increase in gain was primarily due to the decrease in the fair value of derivative liabilities.
Net Loss
We had net loss of RMB229.8 million (US$31.8 million) in 2023, as compared to RMB640.3 million in 2022.
Recent Development
On January 15, 2024, pursuant to a partial final award issued by the HKIAC, the transfer of 21% equity interest in CEIBS PG to us was declared invalid at the time of the transfer and our Groups appointment of one director of CEIBS PG was invalid. We subsequently applied to set aside the arbitration award in April 2024 with the High Court of Hong Kong and CEIBS also filed an application to the High Court of Hong Kong to enforce the arbitration award in April 2024. In May 2024, the High Court of Hong Kong held a hearing, and the set aside application and the enforcement application were adjourned for substantive arguments before a judge in August 2024. For details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment. Given that Hong Kong courts have adopted a very pro-arbitration approach, we determined that we have lost control over CEIBS PG since the partial final award was declared on January 15, 2024 even though our application to set aside the partial final award is still pending adjudication. As a result, CEIBS PG has been deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements from January 15, 2024.
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The following unaudited pro forma financial information is for illustrative purposes only, which reflects the effect of the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG as if the deconsolidation occurred as of the beginning of 2022.
For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED Consolidated Historical |
Deconsolidated CEIBS PG Historical |
Transaction Accounting Adjustments |
Pro Forma deconsolidation |
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED Consolidated Historical |
Deconsolidated CEIBS PG Historical |
Transaction Accounting Adjustments |
Pro Forma deconsolidation |
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED Consolidated Historical |
Deconsolidated CEIBS PG Historical |
Transaction Accounting Adjustments |
Pro Forma deconsolidation |
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED Consolidated Historical |
Deconsolidated CEIBS PG Historical |
Transaction Accounting Adjustments |
Pro Forma deconsolidation |
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RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | US$ | RMB | US$ | RMB | US$ | RMB | US$ | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | US$ | RMB | US$ | RMB | US$ | RMB | US$ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pro forma revenue(1) |
430,636 | (88,475 | ) | 3,916 | 346,077 | 424,016 | 58,726 | (101,216 | ) | (14,018 | ) | 1,839 | 255 | 324,639 | 44,962 | 122,167 | (24,655 | ) | 750 | 98,262 | 83,216 | 11,525 | (3,299 | ) | (457 | ) | 22 | 3 | 79,939 | 11,071 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pro forma loss before income tax benefit(1) (2) |
(645,686 | ) | 53,025 | 50,802 | (541,859 | ) | (239,709 | ) | (33,199 | ) | 49,498 | 6,855 | | | (190,211 | ) | (26,344 | ) | (66,481 | ) | 8,600 | | (57,881 | ) | 35,039 | 4,853 | 749 | 104 | (78,760 | ) | (10,908 | ) | (42,972 | ) | (5,952 | ) |
Notes: (1) | The pro forma financial information for all periods presented above has been calculated after adjusting the results of CEIBS PG to reflect the deconsolidation, including pro forma adjustment related to elimination of inter-company transactions. |
(2) | The actual gain from the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG in the amount of RMB78.8 million was recorded on January 15, 2024. See Note 4 to our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for the three months ended March 31, 2024. For the purpose of preparation for the unaudited pro forma financial information, the pro forma gain from the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG was calculated in the amount of RMB50.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, as if the deconsolidation occurred as of the beginning of 2022. Accordingly, the actual gain of RMB78.8 million recorded on January 15, 2024 was excluded from the pro forma financial information for the three months ended March 31, 2024. |
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In evaluating our business, we consider and use certain non-GAAP measures, including adjusted net loss, adjusted net loss margin, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin, as supplemental measures to review and assess our operating performance. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We present these non-GAAP financial measures because they are used by our management to evaluate our operating performance and formulate business plans. We also believe that the use of these non-GAAP measures facilitates investors assessment of our operating performance.
These non-GAAP financial measures are not defined under U.S. GAAP and are not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools. One of the key limitations of using these non-GAAP financial measures is that they do not reflect all items of income and expense that affect our operations. Further, these non-GAAP measures may differ from the non-GAAP information used by other companies, including peer companies, and therefore their comparability may be limited. We compensate for these limitations by reconciling these non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating our performance. We encourage you to review our financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure.
Adjusted Net Loss
We define adjusted net loss as net (loss)/income excluding amortization of incremental intangible assets resulting from business combination, impairment of intangible assets, gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG, share-based compensation, change in fair value of derivative liabilities and adjustments for income taxes. Adjusted net loss margin represents adjusted net loss as a percentage of total revenues.
The following tables reconcile our adjusted net loss and adjusted net loss margin for the periods indicated, to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which are net (loss)/income and net (loss)/income margin:
For the Year Ended December 31, |
For the Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | RMB | RMB | US$ | |||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except for percentages) |
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(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net (loss)/income |
(640,295 | ) | (229,838 | ) | (31,832 | ) | (65,248 | ) | 35,039 | 4,853 | ||||||||||||||
Adjustments: |
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Amortization of incremental intangible assets resulting from business combination |
18,240 | 16,340 | 2,263 | 3,420 | | | ||||||||||||||||||
Impairment of intangible assets |
| 21,660 | 3,000 | | | | ||||||||||||||||||
Gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG |
| | | | (78,760 | ) | (10,908 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Share-based compensation |
71,815 | 26,123 | 3,618 | 10,887 | 2,636 | 365 | ||||||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities |
32,190 | (102,419 | ) | (14,185 | ) | 4,305 | (808 | ) | (112 | ) | ||||||||||||||
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Adjusted loss before income taxes |
(518,050 | ) | (268,134 | ) | (37,136 | ) | (46,636 | ) | (41,893 | ) | (5,802 | ) | ||||||||||||
Adjusted income taxes |
(4,560 | ) | (9,500 | ) | (1,316 | ) | (855 | ) | | | ||||||||||||||
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Adjusted net loss |
(522,610 | ) | (277,634 | ) | (38,452 | ) | (47,491 | ) | (41,893 | ) | (5,802 | ) | ||||||||||||
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Net (loss)/income margin |
(148.7 | )% | (54.2 | )% | (54.2 | )% | (53.4 | )% | 42.1 | % | 42.1 | % | ||||||||||||
Adjusted net loss margin |
(121.4 | )% | (65.5 | )% | (65.5 | )% | (38.9 | )% | (50.3 | )% | (50.3 | )% |
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Adjusted EBITDA
We define adjusted EBITDA as net (loss)/income excluding interest income and expenses, income tax expense and benefit, depreciation and amortization, impairment of intangible assets, gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG, share-based compensation, and changes in fair value of derivative liabilities. Adjusted EBITDA margin represents adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of total revenues.
The following tables reconcile our adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin for the periods indicated, to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which are net loss and net loss margin:
For the Year Ended December 31, |
For the Three Months Ended March 31, |
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( unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net (loss)/income |
(640,295 | ) | (229,838 | ) | (31,832 | ) | (65,248 | ) | 35,039 | 4,853 | ||||||||||||||
Adjustments: |
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Interest income |
(1,272 | ) | (2,071 | ) | (287 | ) | (1,274 | ) | (113 | ) | (16 | ) | ||||||||||||
Interest expenses |
497 | 4,650 | 644 | 914 | 2,484 | 344 | ||||||||||||||||||
Income tax benefit |
(5,391 | ) | (9,871 | ) | (1,367 | ) | (1,233 | ) | | | ||||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
31,461 | 31,353 | 4,342 | 8,027 | 3,307 | 458 | ||||||||||||||||||
Impairment of intangible assets |
| 21,660 | 3,000 | | | | ||||||||||||||||||
Gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG |
| | | | (78,760 | ) | (10,908 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Share-based compensation |
71,815 | 26,123 | 3,618 | 10,887 | 2,636 | 365 | ||||||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities |
32,190 | (102,419 | ) | (14,185 | ) | 4,305 | (808 | ) | (112 | ) | ||||||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA |
(510,995 | ) | (260,413 | ) | (36,067 | ) | (43,622 | ) | (36,215 | ) | (5,016 | ) | ||||||||||||
Net (loss)/income margin |
(148.7 | )% | (54.2 | )% | (54.2 | )% | (53.4 | )% | 42.1 | % | 42.1 | % | ||||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA margin |
(118.7 | )% | (61.4 | )% | (61.4 | )% | (35.7 | )% | (43.5 | )% | (43.5 | )% |
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Cash Flows and Working Capital
Our principal sources of liquidity have been proceeds from the issuance and sale of our preferred shares. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023 and March 31, 2024, we had RMB432.0 million, RMB320.5 million (US$44.4 million) and RMB218.9 million (US$30.3 million) in cash and cash equivalents, respectively. The decrease from December 31, 2022 to December 31, 2023 was primarily due to our loss from operations of RMB328.6 million (US$45.5 million) in 2023. The decrease from December 31, 2023 to March 31, 2024 was primarily due to our loss from operations of RMB42.6 million (US$5.9 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2024, and the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG starting from January 15, 2024, which resulted in the decrease in cash and cash equivalents in the amount of RMB30.8 million (US$4.3 million). For details, see Operating Activities, Investing Activities, and Financing Activities. Our cash and cash equivalents mainly consist of bank deposits and are primarily denominated in Renminbi and US dollars. Our cash and cash equivalents denominated in Renminbi amounted to RMB191.7 million (US$26.5 million) as of March 31, 2024, among which RMB181.2 million (US$25.1 million) was held by the VIEs. Meanwhile, our cash and cash equivalents denominated in US dollars amounted to RMB27.2 million (US$3.8 million) as of March 31, 2024, none of which was held by the VIEs. As of March 31, 2024, 100% of our cash and cash equivalents denominated in Renminbi are located in the PRC, while our cash and cash equivalents denominated in US dollars located in the PRC and held outside of the PRC amounted to RMB11.6 million (US$1.6 million) and RMB15.6 million (US$2.2 million), respectively. We believe that our current cash and anticipated cash flow from operations will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs, including our cash needs for working capital and capital expenditures, for at least the next 12 months from the date these consolidated financial statements are available to be issued.
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As a holding company with no material operations of our own, we conduct our operations primarily through our PRC subsidiaries and our consolidated VIEs in China. We are permitted under PRC laws and regulations to provide funding to our PRC subsidiaries in China through capital contributions or loans, subject to the approval of government authorities and limits on the amount of capital contributions and loans. In addition, our subsidiaries in China may provide Renminbi funding to our consolidated VIEs only through entrusted loans. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Doing Business in ChinaPRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans to or make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated entities and affiliated entities, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business and Use of Proceeds. The ability of our subsidiaries in China to make dividends or other cash payments to us is subject to various restrictions under PRC laws and regulations. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Doing Business in ChinaWe may rely on dividends paid by our PRC subsidiaries to fund cash and financing requirements. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business and to pay dividends to holders of our ordinary shares, including those represented by the ADSs and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Doing Business in ChinaIf we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders or the ADS holders.
The following table sets forth a summary of our cash flows for the periods indicated:
For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Net cash used in operating activities |
(456,835 | ) | (257,029 | ) | (35,598 | ) | (161,545) | (58,491) | (8,101) | |||||||||||||||
Net cash generated from/(used in) investing activities |
267,917 | (97,533 | ) | (13,508 | ) | 34,279 | (29,509) | (4,087) | ||||||||||||||||
Net cash generated from/(used in) financing activities |
9,575 | 241,904 | 33,503 | 9,851 | (13,400) | (1,856) | ||||||||||||||||||
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents |
20,809 | 1,140 | 158 | (4,026) | (219) | (30) | ||||||||||||||||||
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents |
(158,534 | ) | (111,518 | ) | (15,445 | ) | (121,441) | (101,619) | (14,074) | |||||||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year/period |
590,541 | 432,007 | 59,832 | 432,007 | 320,489 | 44,387 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year/period |
432,007 | 320,489 | 44,387 | 310,566 | 218,870 | 30,313 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities was RMB58.5 million (US$8.1 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2024. The difference between our net income of RMB35.0 million (US$4.8 million) and the net cash used in operating activities was mainly attributable to (i) a gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS PG of RMB78.8 million (US$10.9 million), and (ii) a decrease in deferred revenue of RMB22.2 million (US$3.1 million), partially offset by (i) a decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets of RMB3.1 million (US$0.4 million), and (ii) share-based compensation of RMB2.6 million (US$0.4 million).
Net cash used in operating activities was RMB257.0 million (US$35.6 million) in 2023. The difference between our net loss of RMB229.8 million (US$31.8 million) and the net cash used in operating activities was mainly attributable to (i) a gain in fair value change of derivatives liabilities of RMB102.4 million (US$14.2 million) as a result of the decreased valuation of our Company, and (ii) a decrease in other payable and
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accrued liabilities of RMB45.7 million (US$6.3 million) due to our efforts in optimizing our human resources and effectively managing costs and expenses, partially offset by (i) share-based compensation of RMB26.1 million (US$3.6 million), (ii) amortization of intangible assets of RMB22.0 million (US$3.0 million), (iii) impairment of intangible assets of RMB21.7 million (US$3.0 million), (iv) an increase in deferred revenue of RMB19.1 million (US$2.6 million), and (v) a decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets of RMB15.3 million (US$2.1 million) due to the completion of our office renovation.
Net cash used in operating activities was RMB456.8 million in 2022. The difference between our net loss of RMB640.3 million and the net cash used in operating activities was mainly attributable to (i) share-based compensation of RMB71.8 million, (ii) a loss from fair value change of derivatives liabilities of RMB32.2 million as a result of the increased valuation of our company, (iii) amortization of intangible assets of RMB23.7 million, and (iv) an increase in deferred revenue of RMB24.7 million due to our business growth.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was RMB29.5 million (US$4.1 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2024, which was primarily due to (i) cash paid for short-term investments of RMB56.3 million (US$7.8 million), and (ii) deconsolidation of CEIBS PG cash and cash equivalents of RMB30.8 million (US$4.3 million), partially offset by cash received from maturity of short-term investments of RMB58.6 million (US$8.1 million).
Net cash used in investing activities was RMB97.5 million (US$13.5 million) in 2023, which was primarily due to (i) cash paid for long-term investments of RMB117.6 million (US$16.3 million), and (ii) cash paid for short-term investments of RMB96.5 million (US$13.4 million), partially offset by cash received from maturity of short-term investments of RMB141.7 million (US$19.6 million).
Net cash generated from investing activities was RMB267.9 million in 2022, which was primarily due to cash received from maturity of short-term investments of RMB547.7 million, partially offset by (i) cash paid for short-term investments of RMB224.3 million and (ii) purchase of available-for-sale debt securities of RMB36.8 million.
Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities was RMB13.4 million (US$1.9 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2024, which was primarily due to (i) repayment of short-term borrowings of RMB9.9 million (US$1.4 million), and (ii) repayment of long-term borrowings of RMB3.5 million (US$0.5 million).
Net cash generated from financing activities was RMB241.9 million (US$33.5 million) in 2023, which was primarily due to proceeds from borrowings of RMB269.8 million (US$37.4 million), partially offset by payments of borrowings of RMB24.0 million (US$3.3 million).
Net cash generated from financing activities was RMB9.6 million in 2022, which was primarily due to proceeds from borrowings of RMB20.0 million, partially offset by payments of borrowings of RMB8.0 million.
Material Cash Requirements
Our material cash requirements as of March 31, 2024 primarily include our operating lease commitments, short-term and long-term borrowings, capital expenditures, and working capital requirements.
Our operating lease commitments consist of the commitments under the lease agreements for our office premises. We lease our office facilities under non-cancelable operating leases with various expiration dates. The majority of our operating lease commitments are related to our office lease agreements in China.
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Our short-term and long-term borrowings represent future maximum commitment relating to the principal amount and interests in connection with our borrowings. In February 2023, April 2023 and June 2023, we entered into three unsecured one-year bank loans in the principal amount of RMB9.9 million, RMB9.9 million and RMB20.0 million, respectively, with an annual interest rate of 3.10% each, and repaid such loans in full by May 2024. In April 2023, we entered into one secured two-year bank loan in the principal amount of RMB80.0 million with an annual interest rate of 3.65% and repaid such loan in full by May 2024. In April 2023, we entered into one unsecured two-year bank loan in the principal amount of RMB50.0 million with an annual interest rate of 4.20% and with annual repayment schedule of RMB2.5 million, RMB3.5 million and RMB44.0 million in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. In December 2023, we entered into two unsecured 1.5-year bank loans in the aggregate principal amount of RMB100.0 million in total with an annual interest rate of 4.00% each, both of which are due in June 2025. In April 2024, we entered into an unsecured two-year bank loan of RMB43.0 million with an annual interest rate of 3.55% and with annual repayment schedule of RMB1.5 million, RMB3.0 million and RMB38.5 million in 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively. In May 2024, we entered into a secured two-year bank loan in the principal amount of RMB75.0 million with an annual interest rate of 3.45% and with annual repayment schedule of RMB1.5 million, RMB2.0 million and RMB71.5 million in 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively. In June 2024, we entered into a secured one-year bank loan in the principal amount of RMB80.0 million with an annual interest rate of 3.60%, which is due in June 2025. In June 2024, we also entered into an unsecured two-year bank loan in the principal amount of RMB10.0 million with an annual interest rate of 3.30% and with annual repayment schedule of RMB0.5 million, RMB3.5 million and RMB6.0 million in 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively. The weighted average interest rates for the outstanding borrowings were approximately 3.43%, 3.88% and 3.81% as of December 31, 2022 and 2023 and March 31, 2024, respectively. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023 and March 31, 2024, the outstanding balance of our borrowings was RMB20.0 million, RMB265.8 million and RMB252.4 million, respectively. As of March 31, 2024, the combined aggregate amount of maturities for all long-term borrowings after 2023 (unaudited) is RMB3.5 million in 2024 and RMB219.0 million in 2025. For details, see Note 12 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.
The following table sets forth our contractual obligations as of March 31, 2024:
Payment due by period | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total | Less than 1 year |
1-3 years | 3-5 years | More than 5 years |
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(in RMB thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Operating lease commitment(1) |
29,508 | 11,359 | 7,773 | 2,900 | 7,476 | |||||||||||||||
Short-term borrowings(2) |
30,029 | 30,029 | | | | |||||||||||||||
Long-term borrowings(2) |
232,360 | 15,587 | 216,773 | | |
(1) | Represents obligations under lease agreements for our office premises. |
(2) | Includes interest payment obligations thereof. |
Our capital expenditures are incurred primarily in connection with the purchase of third-party content and computer equipment. Our capital expenditures were RMB18.7 million, RMB5.6 million (US$0.8 million), RMB2.3 million and RMB1.0 million (US$0.1 million) in 2022, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively. We intend to fund our future capital expenditures with our existing cash balance and proceeds from this offering. We will continue to make capital expenditures to meet the expected growth of our business.
We have not entered into any financial guarantees or other commitments to guarantee the payment obligations of any third parties. In addition, we have not entered into any derivative contracts that are indexed to our shares and classified as shareholders equity or that are not reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Furthermore, we do not have any retained or contingent interest in assets transferred to an unconsolidated entity that serves as credit, liquidity or market risk support to such entity. We do not have any variable interest in any unconsolidated entity that provides financing, liquidity, market risk, or credit support to us or engages in leasing, hedging, or product development services with us.
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Other than those shown above, we did not have any significant capital and other commitments, long-term obligations, or guarantees as of March 31, 2024.
Holding Company Structure
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED is a holding company with no material operations of its own. We conduct our operations primarily through our PRC subsidiaries and our consolidated VIEs. As a result, our ability to pay dividends depends upon dividends paid by our subsidiaries which, in turn, depends on the payment of the service fees and royalty payments to our PRC subsidiaries by our consolidated VIEs in the PRC pursuant to certain contractual arrangements. See Our History and Corporate StructureContractual Arrangements with the VIEs and Their Shareholders. If our subsidiaries or any newly formed subsidiaries incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing their debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends to us.
In addition, our subsidiaries in China are permitted to pay dividends to us only out of their retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with the Accounting Standards for Business Enterprise as promulgated by the Ministry of Finance, or PRC GAAP. In accordance with PRC company laws, our consolidated VIEs in China must make appropriations from their after-tax profit to non-distributable reserve funds including (i) statutory surplus fund and (ii) discretionary surplus fund. The appropriation to the statutory surplus fund must be at least 10% of the after-tax profits calculated in accordance with PRC GAAP. Appropriation is not required if the statutory surplus fund has reached 50% of the registered capital of our consolidated VIEs. Appropriation to discretionary surplus fund is made at the discretion of our consolidated VIEs. Pursuant to the law applicable to Chinas foreign investment enterprise, our subsidiaries that are foreign investment enterprise in the PRC have to make appropriation from their after-tax profit, as determined under PRC GAAP, to reserve funds including (i) general reserve fund, (ii) enterprise expansion fund, and (iii) staff bonus and welfare fund. The appropriation to the general reserve fund must be at least 10% of the after-tax profits calculated in accordance with PRC GAAP. Appropriation is not required if the reserve fund has reached 50% of the registered capital of our subsidiaries. Appropriation to the other two reserve funds are at our subsidiaries discretion.
As an offshore holding company, we are permitted under PRC laws and regulations to provide funding from the proceeds of our offshore fund raising activities to our PRC subsidiaries only through loans or capital contributions, and to our consolidated VIEs only through loans, in each case subject to the satisfaction of the applicable government registration and approval requirements. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Doing Business in ChinaPRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans to or make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated entities, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business. As a result, there is uncertainty with respect to our ability to provide prompt financial support to our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs when needed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, our PRC subsidiaries may use their own retained earnings (rather than Renminbi converted from foreign currency denominated capital) to provide financial support to our consolidated VIEs either through entrustment loans or direct loans to such consolidated VIEs nominee shareholders, which would be contributed to the consolidated VIEs as capital injections. Such direct loans to the nominee shareholders would be eliminated in our consolidated financial statements against the consolidated VIEs share capital.
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Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject us to the concentration of credit risks consist of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. The maximum exposures of such assets to credit risk are their carrying amounts as of the balance sheet dates. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023 and March 31, 2024, all of our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments were held in major financial institutions located in the PRC and in Hong Kong, which we consider to be of high credit quality based on their credit ratings.
We have not experienced any significant recoverability issue with respect to our accounts receivable. We assess the creditworthiness of each customer when providing services and may require the customers to make advance payments or a deposit before the services are rendered.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2023 and March 31, 2024, there were no customer with greater than 10% of our total accounts receivable, respectively.
Concentration of Customers and Suppliers
Substantially all of our revenues were derived from customers located in China. There were no customers or suppliers from whom revenues or purchases individually represent greater than 10% of our total revenues or total purchases in 2022, 2023 or the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk
In July 2005, the PRC government changed its decades-old policy of pegging the value of the RMB to the US$, and the RMB appreciated more than 20% against the US$ over the following three years. Between July 2008 and June 2010, this appreciation halted and the exchange rate between the RMB and the US$ remained within a narrow band. Since June 2010, the RMB has fluctuated against the US$, at times significantly and unpredictably. The depreciation of the RMB against the US$ was approximately 8.5%, 1.7% and 0.2% in 2022, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2024, respectively, and the appreciation of the RMB against the US$ was approximately 1.4% in the three months ended March 31, 2023. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC, or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the RMB and the US$ in the future.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Revenues
We adopted ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, for all periods presented. Consistent with the criteria of Topic 606, we recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to receive in exchange for those goods or services.
To achieve that core principle, we apply the five steps defined under Topic 606: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer, (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract, (iii) determine the transaction price, (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract, and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. We assess our revenue arrangements against specific criteria in order to determine if we are acting as principal or agent. Revenue arrangements with multiple performance obligations are divided into separate distinct goods or services. We allocate the transaction price to each performance obligation based on the relative standalone selling price of the goods or services provided. We determine standalone selling prices considering market conditions and based on overall pricing objectives such as observable standalones selling prices. Revenue is recognized upon the transfer of control of promised goods or services to a customer.
Revenue is recorded net of value-added tax.
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Revenue recognition policies for each type of revenue steam are as follows:
Corporate Learning Solution
We offer corporate learning solution to corporate customers through providing subscription-based services including corporate learning platform, personalized e-learning system, teaching tools and online courses. Our subscription-based services generally do not provide customers with the right to take possession of the software supporting the platform, learning content or tools and, as a result, are accounted for as service arrangements. Through the subscription of our SaaS platform service, customers can rapidly deploy the intelligent learning platform in a plug-and-play manner. Frequently, existing customers who subscribed platform service tend to add additional courses to their subscription by purchasing prioritized package or advanced package with additional charges. We also offered the teaching tools, such as virtual classroom or meeting room, for subscription as add-on options. For platform service, online courses and online teaching tools, we continually provides customer access and connectivity to its services, and fulfills its obligation to, the end customer over the subscription period. Each distinct service represents a single performance obligation that is satisfied over time. The subscription-based contracts vary from one month to five years. Revenue from subscription-based corporate learning solution is recognized on a straight-line basis over the subscription period.
We also derive revenue from providing non-subscription based corporate learning solution, such as offline courses and courseware recording service. Based on the needs of the customers, we design the offline courses and hires experienced lecturer to provide face-to-face offline learning courses. The offline course is delivered on the specific date agreed and the unit price for each offline course is also specified in the contract. For the courseware recording service, we record video courseware based on customers needs. The recorded courseware belongs to the customers. Revenue from non-subscription based corporate learning solution is generally recognized at point in time upon completion.
Other Revenue
We also develop software for other customers who have specific demand for learning platform software. We develop learning platform to be installed on these customers own servers. Copyright of the software developed belongs to these customers. The development processes last approximately 6-11 months. We are obligated to provide post-sales maintenance service for malfunction during the period determined in the contract, which is usually a year. Revenue for the on-premise software development is recognized at a point in time when the software is made available to the customer; whereas the revenue for post-sales maintenance service is recognized over the contract term beginning on the date that the software is made available to the customer.
Remaining Performance Obligations
Remaining performance obligations represents the amount of contracted future revenue that has not yet been recognized, including both deferred revenue and non-cancelable contracted amounts that will be invoiced and recognized as revenue in future periods. As of March 31, 2024, the aggregate amount of transaction price allocated to the remaining performance obligations was RMB337.8 million, which included balance of deferred revenue that will be recognized as revenue in the future periods. We expect to recognize approximately 69% of the remaining performance obligations in the 12 months following March 31, 2024 and 28% of the remaining performance obligations between 13 to 36 months following March 31, 2024, with the remainder to be recognized thereafter.
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price in a business combination over the fair value of net tangible and intangible assets acquired. We test goodwill for impairment annually as of December 31, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that goodwill may be impaired. We initially assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not that the fair value of our sole reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If, after
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assessing the events or circumstances, we determine it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then we perform a quantitative analysis by comparing the book value of net assets to the fair value of the reporting unit. If the fair value is determined to be less than the book value, an impairment charge is recorded. In assessing the qualitative factors, we consider the impact of certain key factors including macroeconomic conditions, industry and market considerations, management turnover, changes in regulation, litigation matters, changes in enterprise value and overall financial performance. The goodwill recorded at the Group level of RMB164.1 million as of December 31, 2023 was generated from the acquisition of CEIBS PG in June 2020.
According to ASC 350-20-40, when a portion of a reporting unit that constitutes a business or nonprofit activity is to be disposed of, goodwill associated with that business or nonprofit activity shall be included in the carrying amount of the business or nonprofit activity in determining the gain or loss on disposal. The amount of goodwill to be included in that carrying amount shall be based on the relative fair values of the business or nonprofit activity to be disposed of and the portion of the reporting unit that will be retained. The relative fair value allocated to the disposed CEIBS PG was RMB276 thousand, which reduced the goodwill amount to RMB163.8 million as of March 31, 2024.
The final decision of the HKIAC Arbitration tribunal on January 15, 2024 triggered an impairment assessment of goodwill as of December 31, 2023. Based on management assessment, we determined that based on a quantitative analysis, that the fair value of the reporting unit of us still substantially exceeded its carrying value of net assets of the reporting unit and therefore the impairment of goodwill was nil for the year ended December 31, 2023. As of March 31, 2024, the impairment of goodwill was also nil.
Fair Value Measurements
As of December 31, 2022 and 2023 and March 31, 2024, information about inputs into the fair value measurement of our assets and liabilities that are measured or disclosed at fair value on a recurring basis in periods subsequent to their initial recognition is as follows:
Fair value measurement at reporting date using | ||||||||||||||||
Description |
Fair value as of December 31, 2022 |
Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1) |
Significant other observable inputs (Level 2) |
Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) |
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RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||
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Liabilities: |
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Derivative liability |
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Conversion feature |
202,698 | | | 202,698 | ||||||||||||
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Fair value measurement at reporting date using | ||||||||||||||||
Description |
Fair value as of December 31, 2023 |
Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1) |
Significant other observable inputs (Level 2) |
Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) |
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Liabilities: |
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Conversion feature |
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Fair value measurement at reporting date using | ||||||||||||||||
Description |
Fair value as of March 31, 2024 |
Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1) |
Significant other observable inputs (Level 2) |
Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) |
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RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||
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Liabilities: |
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Derivative liability |
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Conversion feature |
99,471 | | | 99,471 | ||||||||||||
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When available, we use quoted market prices to determine the fair value of an asset or liability. If quoted market prices are not available, we measure fair value using valuation techniques that use, when possible, current market-based or independently sourced market parameters, such as interest rates and currency rates. Following is a description of the valuation techniques that we use to measure the fair value of assets and liabilities that we report in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at fair value.
Derivative Liabilities
Conversion Feature
Significant factors, assumptions and methodologies used in determining the business valuation include applying the discounted cash flow approach, and such approach involves certain significant estimates which are as follows:
As of December 31, 2022 | As of December 31, 2023 | As of March 31, 2024 | ||||||||||
Discount rate | 16.0 | % | 15.0 | % | 15.0 | % | ||||||
Weighting between IPO scenario and Redemption scenario |
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IPO scenario-80 Redemption scenario-20 |
% % |
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IPO scenario-80 Redemption scenario-20 |
% % |
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IPO scenario-80 Redemption scenario-20 |
% % |
Discount Rates
The discount rates listed out in the table above were based on the weighted average cost of capital, which was determined based on a consideration of the factors including risk-free rate, comparative industry risk, equity risk premium, company size and non-systemic risk factors.
Comparable Companies
In deriving the weighted average cost of capital used as the discount rates under the income approach, certain publicly traded companies were selected for reference as our guideline companies. The guideline companies were selected based on the following criteria: (i) they operate in the SaaS industry and (ii) their shares are publicly traded in the United States, Hong Kong and China.
The income approach involves applying appropriate discount rates to estimated cash flows that are based on earnings forecasts. Our revenues and earnings growth rates, as well as major milestones that we have achieved. However, these fair values are inherently uncertain and highly subjective. The assumptions used in deriving the fair values are consistent with our business plan. These assumptions include: no material changes in the applicable future periods in the existing political, legal, fiscal or economic conditions in China; no material changes will occur in the current taxation law in China and the applicable tax rates will remain consistent; we have the ability to retain competent management and key personnel to support our ongoing operations; and industry trends and market conditions for the corporate training service business will not deviate significantly from current forecasts. These assumptions are inherently uncertain.
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Recent Accounting Pronouncements
For a detailed discussion on recent accounting pronouncements, see Note 2.32 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Certain information, including statistics and estimates, set forth in this section and elsewhere in this prospectus and all tables and graphs set forth in this section has been derived from an industry report dated May 20, 2024 commissioned by us and independently prepared by Frost & Sullivan in connection with this offering. We believe that the sources of such information are appropriate, and we have taken reasonable care in extracting and reproducing such information. We have no reason to believe that such information is false or misleading in any material respect or that any fact has been omitted that would render such information false or misleading in any material respect. Investors are cautioned not to place any undue reliance on the information, including statistics and estimates, set forth in this section or similar information included elsewhere in this prospectus.
Overview of Chinas Corporate Learning Market
China is the second largest economy in the world and the fastest growing economy among the top five economies in the past decade, with a nominal GDP exceeding RMB126.0 trillion and a GDP growth of 4.2% in 2023, and it is the only major economy in the world that has achieved positive economic growth under the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Chinas economy development has transitioned from quantity-driven to quality-driven, with increasing focus on economic structure upgrade, creativity and innovation. Achieving these goals requires evolving organizations, innovative businesses and better-trained labor force.
China has the largest labor force in the world. By the end of 2023, China had a labor force of approximately 740.4 million, and an additional 78.8 million people on aggregate will reach working age in the next five years. Among the total labor force, 66.0% have not received high school education or above, and 30.0% have not received junior high school education or above. These working forces, especially those just reached working age, have strong demand for on-the-job learning and training, according to Frost & Sullivan.
Furthermore, scientific and technology progress has promoted the development of digital economy, which brings new challenges and higher requirements for daily operations, business model upgrades and strategic planning for Chinese enterprises. For traditional industries such as manufacturing, catering, financial and service industries, and the new business models born in the Internet era that span across e-commerce, new retail, online education, new energy vehicles and healthcare, enterprises and talents need to constantly meet evolving market demand, innovate businesses, adapt to new jobs, and enhance their competitiveness.
Corporate learning is a systematic process implemented to improve the overall quality of corporate talents. The goals of corporate learning are to increase talents knowledge and enhance their skills, optimize their methodologies in work, and deepen their recognition of corporate values, so as to achieve both personal and organizational development goals at the same time.
According to Frost & Sullivan, the size of the Chinese corporate learning market has reached RMB641.6 billion in 2023, being one of the largest corporate learning markets in the world. The corporate learning market is expected to grow to RMB1,289.4 billion in 2028, representing a CAGR of 15.0% from 2023 to 2028.
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Market Size of the Corporate Learning Industry in China by Size of Corporate Users 2019-2028E
Source: Frost & Sullivan
Chinas corporate learning market enjoys huge development potential. According to Frost & Sullivan, the overall penetration rate of the Chinese corporate learning market was only 14.7% in 2023. As of December 31, 2023, there were about 34.4 million enterprises in China, of which more than 29.4 million enterprises had not yet adopted corporate learning systems, including approximately 36.0 thousand large enterprises, 467.0 thousand medium-sized enterprises and 28.9 million small enterprises. The current penetration rate of corporate learning for large enterprises is 70.0%, as they have strong demand for systematic corporate learning solutions and higher willingness to pay, representing a considerable market to be penetrated. The current penetration rate of corporate learning for medium-sized and small enterprises is only 36.0% and 14.0%, respectively. These smaller enterprises also have increasing demand for corporate learning in the tide of economic upgrading. In the future, following mega enterprises, more and more large, medium-sized and small enterprises will choose corporate learning service providers with high industry recognition, and will drive the penetration rate growth. According to Frost & Sullivan, the overall penetration rate in 2028 will reach 16.4%. The size of the corporate learning market for mega, large, medium-sized and small enterprises will grow from RMB24.2 billion, RMB246.7 billion, RMB245.3 billion and RMB125.4 billion in 2023 to RMB33.6 billion, RMB509.6 billion, RMB488.5 billion and RMB257.7 billion in 2028 respectively. In 2023, the corporate learning investment in China was only RMB2,670.0 per person per year, while the corporate learning investment of US enterprises was RMB6,758.0 per person per year, representing approximately 2.5 times that of China. The significant gap demonstrates significant growth potential for Chinese corporate learning market.
Furthermore, the Chinese government has issued preferential policies in favor of corporate learning investment in terms of taxation benefits and subsidies for enterprises. For example, the pre-tax deduction ratio for employees education increased from 2.5% to 8.0%. In addition, local governments have increased financial support for corporate learning. For instance, some local governments have established employment subsidy funds and local talent funds for vocational skills development.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic placed challenges on the daily operations of enterprises, but also created development opportunities due to the growing needs for industrial digitalization. Companies need to respond to the challenges of the epidemic and seize opportunities with new business ideas and stronger human capital. The needs for digital corporate learning also arise at this historic moment.
While the corporate learning market is huge, there are still significant unmet needs that cannot be fully addressed by traditional players. According to Frost & Sullivan, these players face a number of inherent challenges.
| Poor training effectiveness. The old-school short-term, spoon-feeding and large-class courses fail to provide continuous and targeted trainings, which leads to low study efficiency, unsatisfying experience, limited interest, and ultimately poor training effectiveness. |
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| Low content quality. Content offered by the traditional providers is unspecialized, untargeted and untimely, which is insufficient for new business scenarios and unable to meet the development needs of enterprises. |
| Lack of teaching system and tools. Traditional corporate learning players lack comprehensive teaching system and tools for testing, learning, practicing, examining and evaluating, and thus is unable to design targeted learning paths for employees and evaluate their learning results. |
| Non-scalable. Unlike cloud-based solutions, traditional in-person corporate learning solutions are difficult to scale through a large or distributed business to reach all employees. In addition, the traditional corporate learning is highly dependent on high-quality lecturers, which also limits their scalability. |
| High training cost. Traditional corporate learning is mainly delivered in-person, which burdens the enterprises with high costs in management, venue, equipment, lecturers and time. |
Digital Corporate Learning Market
Overview of Digital Corporate Learning Market
The many pain points in the industry confirm the huge unmet needs for corporate learning. The rapid development of Internet and SaaS, the substantial online traffic growth brought by the COVID-19 epidemic, and the contemporary societys habitual dependence on the Internet have accelerated the digital transformation of the corporate learning industry.
Digital corporate learning refers to the training conducted through digital methods, including online training and OMO (online merges offline) training, and integrates software, content and services. It is closely connected with work scenarios and career development paths, making full use of innovative technologies and insights, and creates a personalized and intelligent learning model to meet the needs of the entire lifecycle of talent development.
According to Frost & Sullivan, the size of Chinas digital corporate learning market has reached RMB126.0 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to RMB300.0 billion in 2028, representing a CAGR of 18.9% from 2023 to 2028.
Market Size of Digital Corporate Learning Industry in China by Size of Corporate, 2019-2028E
Source: Frost & Sullivan
Chinas digital corporate learning industry is still at its early stage. According to Frost & Sullivan, the digital corporate learning market in 2023 only accounted for 19.6% of the overall corporate learning market. Compared with the penetration rates of other enterprise software, such as approximately 43.0% for office automation system and approximately 35.0% for video conferencing system, this penetration rate is relatively
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low, demonstrating the huge penetration potential of digital corporate learning. The high penetration rates of office automation systems and video conferencing systems show the importance of workplace software and the convenience and efficiency they bring, which also cultivates the habits of enterprises to use online software and promotes the acceptance of digital corporate learning. Therefore, it is estimated that Chinas digital corporate learning will account for 23.3% of the overall corporate learning in 2028, according to Frost & Sullivan. In addition, according to Frost & Sullivan, the market size of Chinas digital corporate learning solutions for large enterprises has reached RMB53.2 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to RMB135.0 billion in 2028, representing a CAGR of 20.5% from 2023 to 2028.
Key Drivers of Chinas Digital Corporate Learning Market
According to Frost & Sullivan, the rapid growth of Chinas digital corporate learning market will be mainly driven by the following factors:
| Massive market size. The total market size of Chinas corporate leaning market was RMB641.6 billion in 2023, and is expected to grow to RMB1,289.4 billion in 2028, representing a CAGR of 15.0% from 2023 to 2028, according to Frost & Sullivan. Digital corporate learning service providers, especially players with integrated software and content business model, are able to address the pain points faced by traditional corporate learning service providers and are thus well-positioned to capture the market opportunities. |
| Continued SaaS penetration. In-house development of corporate learning software faces difficulties in terms of cost, technology capabilities, and data security, among others. Digital corporate learning SaaS solutions are standardized, easy-to-use and affordable, and can respond to customer needs efficiently without extensive customization. They are also more convenient for solution delivery. The market expects to see continued penetration growth of SaaS model within digital corporate leaning industry. |
| Rigid demand from large enterprises. Large enterprises with more than 1,000 employees have steady and increasing demand for corporate learning solutions. Moreover, as compared to e-learning modules embedded in office automation or human resource systems, they prefer professional and stand-alone digital corporate learning products. The current penetration rate of corporate learning for large enterprises is 70.0%, as they have strong demand for systematic corporate learning solutions and higher willingness to pay. |
| Steady corporate learning budget. The benefits of corporate learning have been increasingly recognized among enterprises, especially large enterprises, in China. Many large enterprises have established training departments with independent right of decision making, and have annual recurring budget for training programs. |
Competitive Landscape of Chinas Digital Corporate Learning Market
Chinas traditional corporate learning market is highly fragmented and served by many medium-sized and small providers. Effectively solving the traditional pain points such as poor training effects and high costs, the digital corporate learning solution providers are subverting the traditional market in the long run.
Digital corporate learning providers mainly consist of the following categories: (i) integrated SaaS solution providers; (ii) digital content providers; (iii) software developers; and (iv) traditional services providers in the process of digital transformation. According to Frost & Sullivan, the main characteristics of these players are as follows:
| Integrated SaaS solution providers. They provide an integrated corporate learning solution that combines software and content, and embeds key SaaS features. Content is synchronically developed and configured based on customers needs, and deeply integrated with the software products, and therefore ensures quality learning results. This type of provider is expected to enjoy rapid scalable growth and become the leader in the digital corporate learning market. |
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| Digital content providers. They focus on the supply of digital course content delivered through third-party software or SaaS solutions. However, the content is not closely connected with the delivering solutions, so it is difficult to link and integrate the course and the software, consequently adversely affect the training result. |
| Software developers. They develop corporate learning software and digital solutions, while the content needs to be obtained from third parties. These providers are usually either general software developers or corporate learning software specialists. General software developers are involved in a wide range of software businesses, therefore their attention to corporate learning is distracted, leading to relatively shallow industry insights and weak competitiveness. Corporate learning software specialists generally have relatively small revenue scale, making it difficult for them to grow. They also lack content production capacity, which is the core competitiveness that attracts users and enhances user stickiness. |
| Traditional services providers. Traditional offline corporate training institutions have begun to expand their business into the field of digital training. Due to the lack of Internet experience and advanced technology, these providers are more likely to provide digital training in the same way as offline training, resulting in a mismatch between the content and the SaaS delivery model. Thus, it is difficult for these providers to achieve high-quality training effect. |
During the paradigm shift, the integrated SaaS business model with the combination of software and content is expected to reshape the corporate learning market and become the mainstream business model for digital corporate learning. With the SaaS model being built on software and deeply integrated with customers internal HR architecture, the integrated SaaS business model drives the content development to be tailored to the real business needs. It provides convenience, affordability and scalability, addressing the inherent challenges of the existing traditional model in terms of quality, effectiveness, evaluation, reach for learners and costs. In addition, the SaaS model offers a high level of standardization and ease to adopt, and optimizes and accelerates the process from content creation to delivery for corporate learning, and therefore is favored by enterprise customers.
According to Frost & Sullivan, Yunxuetang is the pioneer of the integrated software + content SaaS model, and the largest digital corporate learning provider in China based on total revenue (with a market share of 1.6% in 2023), subscription revenue and the number of subscription customers in 2023. The significant majority portion of Yunxuetangs revenues from digital corporate learning solutions are subscription revenues in 2023. Yunxuetang is significantly ahead of its competitors in terms of subscription revenue and the number of subscription customers in 2023. In addition, Yunxuetang also has an industry-leading content library as measured by number of courses, topics covered and quality of content, according to Frost & Sullivan.
The digital corporate learning market in China is in its early stage of development. Within the relatively fragmented competitive landscape, Yunxuetang, as the industry leader of Chinas digital corporate learning market, is well-positioned to promote and integrate the market.
Source: Frost & Sullivan
Notes: (1) | Subscription revenue refers to digital corporate learning solutions revenue derived from the subscription based model, which does not include revenue from on-premise software and offline courses. |
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(2) | Total digital corporate learning solutions revenue includes both subscription revenue and on-premise software revenue, and excludes revenue from offline courses. |
(3) | Company A is a digital corporate learning provider based in Shanghai, which provides software, courses as well as services. |
(4) | Company B is a digital corporate learning provider based in Shenzhen, which provides software, courses as well as services. |
(5) | Company C is a digital corporate learning provider based in Beijing, which provides software, courses as well as services. |
(6) | Company D is a digital corporate learning provider based in Beijing, which provides software and services. |
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Our Mission
To empower talent development and corporate success with technology.
Our Company
We are a leader and disruptor of the digital corporate learning industry in China, a market with massive rigid-demand and a total size of RMB126.0 billion in 2023, according to Frost & Sullivan. We have innovated a SaaS model that integrates software and content, effectively assisting customers in the digital transformation of corporate learning. According to Frost & Sullivan, we are the largest digital corporate learning solution provider in China in terms of total revenue, subscription revenue and number of subscription customers in 2023.
With our software, we help customers efficiently deploy cloud-based learning platforms at scale. We also offer a broad range of high-quality content, covering the entire corporate learning process of our customers. Such content offerings bring additional monetization opportunities and encourage subscription renewals and upsells. Our comprehensive and highly scalable solutions are suitable for various corporate learning scenarios and can be broadly applied among corporate customers across different industries, scales, and development stages.
We develop our software based on the advanced underlying architecture. Our software can be modularized and customized. We help customers rapidly deploy the intelligent learning platform in a plug-and-play manner. Our highly flexible and configurable software products allow our customers to match the use of our software with their specific business needs. Our software is accessible on both mobile and desktop. In addition, users can also access our software on third-party platforms that we collaborate with, such as Tencent WeCom, Ali DingTalk and Lark.
We believe that the well-designed learning paths and targeted content with traceable and quantifiable training results are the core of successful corporate learning solutions and the reason why customers choose us. Our advanced and efficient content development system enables us to deliver stackable content with continuous iteration and optimization. Through the combination of in-house development and external collaboration, as of March 31, 2024, we were offering over 8,200 courses covering approximately 20 industries, with a total of over 20,500 learning hours, including over 6,800 hours of proprietary courses. Being customer-centric and result-oriented, we spot the common needs of various enterprises through our domain expertise and insights, and developed modular, systematic and scenario-based professional content.
Efficient use of technology underpins our success. Leveraging our coverage of 2,434 subscription customers as of March 31, 2024, who are customers with revenues from subscription based corporate learning solutions, in approximately 20 industries, we have accumulated domain expertise and insights across different industries and business scenarios, and constructed systematic labels and knowledge maps. Based on our industry insights and extensive experiences, our personalized recommendation engine then designs suitable learning paths for employees based on their positions and required skills. As a result, our solutions are capable of accurately matching personnel, positions, and courses through personalized recommendation. Our solutions embed key functions such as speech recognition, adaptive learning, intelligent practice partner, anti-cheating for exams and simulation training, making corporate learning more intelligent and effective. Our domain expertise and insights also fully empower all aspects of customer service and marketing. Through the modeling of customer portraits, market conversion and sales strategy, we have continuously discovered new sales opportunities, expanded corporate customer life cycles and improved marketing efficiency.
We believe focusing on our customers success leads to our own success. Our digital and configurable solutions as well as satisfying customer services allow us to establish an excellent reputation in the market and
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accumulate a large, high-quality loyal customer base. Our high-quality customer base includes leading players across many large-scale and high-growth industries, on average covering more than ten of the top 20 players in electric vehicles, healthcare and catering, according to Frost & Sullivan. The number of our subscription customers was 3,439 and 3,230 as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. The net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 118.1% and 101.4% as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. CEIBS PG has been deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements from January 15, 2024. For details, see BusinessLegal Proceedings and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment. The number of our subscription customers was 3,433 and 2,434 as of March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively, among which CEIBS PG had 727 subscription customers as of March 31, 2023. The net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 111.1% and 106.1%, respectively, as of March 31, 2023 and 2024. Such decreases in the number of subscription customers and net revenue retention rate of subscription customers were mainly due to our business expansion strategy to focus on large enterprises with strong and steady demand for corporate learning solutions, leading to the deselection of some small and medium-sized customers.
In 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our revenues amounted to RMB430.6 million, RMB424.0 million (US$58.7 million), RMB122.2 million and RMB83.2 million (US$11.5 million), respectively. On the pro forma basis as if the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG occured as of the beginning of 2022, our pro forma revenues amounted to RMB346.1 million, RMB324.6 million (US$45.0 million), RMB98.3 million and RMB79.9 million (US$11.1 million) in the same periods, respectively. In 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our (loss)/income before income tax benefit amounted to RMB645.7 million, RMB239.7 million (US$33.2 million), RMB66.5 million and RMB35.0 million (US$4.9 million), respectively. On the pro forma basis as if the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG occured as of the beginning of 2022, our pro forma loss before income tax benefit amounted to RMB541.9 million, RMB190.2 million (US$26.3 million), RMB57.9 million and RMB43.0 million (US$6.0 million) in the same periods, respectively. For details, see Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsRecent Development. In 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, our subscription revenues amounted to RMB368.2 million, RMB347.8 million (US$48.2 million), RMB99.5 million and RMB77.0 million (US$10.7 million), respectively, representing 85.5%, 82.0%, 81.4% and 92.5% of our total revenues, respectively. Our gross profit margin was 54.0%, 54.1%, 63.5% and 62.6% in 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively. The slight decrease in gross margin from the three months ended March 31, 2023 to the same period in 2024 was mainly due to the change in product mix with different gross margins in the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023 as a result of our strategic focus on corporate learning solution. Nonetheless, we believe that our overall gross margin will increase in the long run, primarily driven by (i) economies of scale and increase of operating efficiency, and (ii) our continuous focus on providing subscription based corporate learning solutions with self-developed content. We recorded net loss of RMB640.3 million, RMB229.8 million (US$31.8 million) and RMB65.2 million, and net income of RMB35.0 million (US$4.9 million) in 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively. We recorded adjusted net loss of RMB522.6 million, RMB277.6 million (US$38.5 million), RMB47.5 million and RMB41.9 million (US$5.8 million) in the same periods, respectively. Our net cash used in operating activities was RMB456.8 million, RMB257.0 million (US$35.6 million), RMB161.5 million and RMB58.5 million (US$8.1 million) in 2022, 2023, and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Industry Background
According to Frost & Sullivan, Chinas corporate learning market is one of the largest corporate learning markets in the world, with a market size of RMB641.6 billion in 2023. It is expected to grow to RMB1,289.4 billion in 2028, representing a CAGR of 15.0% from 2023 to 2028.
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While the corporate learning market is huge, there are still significant unmet needs that cannot be fully addressed by traditional players. These players face a number of inherent challenges.
| Poor training effectiveness. The old-school short-term, spoon-feeding and large-class courses fail to provide continuous and targeted trainings, which leads to low learning efficiency, unsatisfying experience, limited interest, and ultimately poor training effectiveness. |
| Low content quality. Traditional corporate learning providers do not possess sufficient content resources. Content offered by the traditional providers is unspecialized, untargeted and untimely, which is insufficient for new business scenarios and unable to meet the development needs of enterprises. This is primarily attributable to the lack of sufficient customer base and lack of understanding of customers core development needs. |
| Lack of teaching system and tools. Traditional corporate learning players lack comprehensive teaching system and tools for assessment, learning, practicing, examining and evaluating, and thus is unable to design targeted learning paths for employees and evaluate their learning results. |
| Non-scalable. Unlike cloud-based solutions, it is difficult for traditional in-person corporate learning solutions that are not scalable through a large or distributed business to reach all employees. In addition, the traditional corporate learning is highly dependent on high-quality lecturers, which also limits their scalability. |
| High training cost. Traditional corporate learning is mainly delivered in-person, which burdens corporates with high costs in management, travel, venue, equipment, and lecturers. |
The accelerating digital economy and the COVID-19 pandemic have sharply increased the needs for digital corporate learning solutions, which primarily deliver corporate learning content online. According to Frost & Sullivan, the market size of Chinas digital corporate learning solutions has reached RMB126.0 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to RMB300.0 billion in 2028, representing a CAGR of 18.9% from 2023 to 2028. In addition, according to Frost & Sullivan, the market size of Chinas digital corporate learning solutions for large enterprises has reached RMB53.2 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to RMB135.0 billion in 2028, representing a CAGR of 20.5% from 2023 to 2028.
During the paradigm shift, the integrated SaaS business model with the combination of software and content is expected to reshape the corporate learning market and become the mainstream business model for digital corporate learning.
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Our Business Model and Solution
We have pioneered a highly integrated software + content model.
| Software |
| The cloud-native architecture of our software underpins the digital transformation of corporate learning. With cloud deployment, we help customers achieve rapid implementation and continuous upgrade of the learning solutions. Our software concurrently supports multiple terminals and provides remarkable compatibility. |
| Our software covers the entire process of assessment, learning, practice, test and evaluation. In addition, it is equipped with a comprehensive set of teaching tools that integrate training and content development. |
| We have launched different versions of software, including lite, standard, professional and flagship, which suit the specific needs from our customers. |
| Content |
| We have an industry-leading content library as measured by number of courses, topics covered and quality of content, according to Frost & Sullivan. Leveraging domain expertise and insights, we have summarized typical use cases and best practices in various industries and developed standardized content for different positions and skill levels. We design personalized learning paths and objectives and intelligently recommends learning content, thereby improving leaning effectiveness and experience. Our solutions also visualize the effectiveness of our content. |
Key benefits of our business model and solutions to customers include:
| Effective learning. The development of 5G and cloud services allows better internet connectivity and smoother online training delivery. Our online solution frees users from time and space constraints, encourages participation and interaction, and optimizes learning experience, thereby enhancing training |
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effectiveness. Mobile Internet allows corporate training to be available anywhere and to anyone, and thus serve more diversified use cases and reach significant larger learner base who were under-served. |
| High-quality content. We offer a wide range of high-quality content targeted at various topics, use cases, employee positions and industries, catering to the strategic needs of our customers. Our content is developed through both in-house and collaboration with third-party content partners. With extensive experience in serving leading enterprises in different industries, corporate learning expertise and industry knowhow, we develop standardized high-quality content while keeping up with latest industry trends. Meanwhile, we continuously refine our corporate learning system and methodology throughout our content development process, ensuring the high quality of our content in the long term. |
| Integrated model with high efficiency. Our software and content are organically integrated and coordinated. Leveraging advanced technologies, we create more precise learner profile, help develop and assign more personalized courses, and allows us to extract the commonality and best practice of leading enterprises and replicate to others. We also offer various corporate learning tools to help enterprises quantify learning results and manage the entire learning process, thereby improving the efficiency of talent development and facilitating the implementation of corporate strategies. |
| Scalability. Our cloud-native solution is highly scalable, accommodating large and geographically dispersed employee bases and deployments of various sizes. In addition, our modular course design provides flexibility to ensure the dynamic upgrade and iteration of courses according to the needs of enterprises and changes in market conditions, which continuously promotes the talent development of enterprises. |
| Cost-effective and easy deployment. Our plug-and-play solutions can be easily and quickly deployed. Our SaaS model offers high level of standardization, and optimizes and accelerates the process from content creation to delivery for the corporate training. Enterprises using our solutions can save the heavy investment in self-establishment and maintain digital corporate learning infrastructure. As a result, our solutions are more affordable to our customers. Moreover, online corporate learning significantly reduces the training costs while increasing flexibility to reach all employees. |
Our Strengths
Leader in Chinas Digital Corporate Learning Market
We are the pioneer and leader in Chinas digital corporate learning industry. According to Frost & Sullivan, we are the largest player in overall digital corporate learning market in China in terms of total revenue, subscription revenue and number of subscription customers. We believe our leading position has allowed us to establish brand reputation among customers. We are the first-mover in the mobile Internet era to build our solutions on cloud. Through the integration of powerful software systems and high-quality content, we have led the construction of the corporate learning ecosystem. Leveraging our domain expertise and insights, we become one of the first corporate learning service providers in the industry to intelligently design learning paths and recommend content based on different customers skill sets, positions and industries.
Innovative Business Model Integrating Software and Content
We innovated the integrated software + content SaaS solutions, mainly targeting at large enterprises, to address the pain points of traditional corporate learning providers, accommodating customers increasing demand for comprehensive corporate learning. Enterprises, especially large enterprises, have annual recurring budget for corporate learning. We are well-positioned to capture such opportunities through our innovative business model. The strong synergies between our software and content continuously bring monetization opportunities, thereby creating a strong competitive edge for us. The standardization of SaaS products facilitates quick delivery. We are able to better understand and predict customer needs with insights, enabling us to optimize our content in a timely and effective manner. Our high-quality content supported by well-functioned software, in turn, enhances customer stickiness and encourages renewals and upsells of software subscriptions, thereby increasing customer lifetime value.
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Advanced Technology Capabilities
We attach great importance to continuous investment in technology. As of March 31, 2024, we had 311 research and development personnel, accounting for 41.8% of our employees, with an average experience of over 11 years. In 2022, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, we incurred RMB312.1 million, RMB176.5 million (US$24.5 million), RMB48.6 million and RMB30.1 million (US$4.2 million) of research and development expenses, respectively.
Our advanced technology capabilities enable us to offer more intelligent and better solutions. Our technology infrastructure enables us to offer highly-reliable solutions with 99.9% uptime. Leveraging our continuously expanding user base and industry coverage, we have accumulated domain expertise and insights that spans over different industries and business scenarios. As an early-mover equipped with machine learning capabilities, we have abstracted corporate employee skill portraits for different positions. Accordingly, we design customized learning paths for employees and are able to recommend suitable curriculum content intelligently, providing targeted solutions under diverse scenarios to our customers. We have successfully applied the insights throughout our entire operations process, from product development to customer service.
Efficient Marketing Strategy
We adopt an efficient strategy that combines online and offline marketing activities. In addition, as one of the few corporate learning service provider on both Tencent WeCom and Ali DingTalk, we are able to extend our reach to more enterprises. Furthermore, we have established a well-recognized brand by serving leading companies in difference industries, which in turn allows us to reach the vast market of small and medium-sized enterprises through word-of-mouth referrals.
We digitize the entire sales and marketing process. With our domain expertise and insights, we accurately match our customers with solutions that are suitable for their business scenarios, thus improving customer signing rates and sales efficiency. Our marketing expenses as a proportion of revenue dropped from 80.1% in 2022 to 57.6% in 2023, and slightly increased from 43.9% in the three months ended March 31, 2023 to 44.4% in the same period of 2024.
Strong and High-Profile Customer Base
We have cultivated a large, high-quality and loyal customer base across various industries, including manufacturing, new retail, catering, finance, automotive, IT technology, healthcare and energy among others. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, we had 3,881 and 3,501 customers, respectively. The number of our subscription customers was 3,439 and 3,230 as of the same dates, respectively. The net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 118.1% and 101.4% as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. As of March 31, 2023 and 2024, we had 3,824 and 2,545 customers, respectively, among which CEIBS PG had 845 customers as of March 31, 2023. As of the same dates, the number of our subscription customers was 3,433 and 2,434, respectively, among which CEIBS PG had 727 subscription customers as of March 31, 2023. The net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 111.1% and 106.1%, respectively, as of March 31, 2023 and 2024. Such decreases in the number of subscription customers and net revenue retention rate of subscription customers were mainly due to our business expansion strategy to focus on large enterprises with strong and steady demand for corporate learning solutions, leading to the deselection of some small and medium-sized customers.
We help customers succeed and share their success. As of March 31, 2024, we have established a customer service team consisting of approximately 100 personnel that work closely with our customers, ensuring
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satisfactory customer experience and exploring additional monetization opportunities. We provide full-cycle customer services from project planning, implementation, operation support and maintenance. We pride ourselves in providing a satisfactory experience to every customer and user of our corporate learning solutions.
Entrepreneurial and Experienced Management Team
We benefit from a visionary, entrepreneurial and experienced management team with deep expertise in technology and education. Our management team has an average of more than 20 years of experience in enterprise services, Internet and education industries. Our founder, Mr. Xiaoyan Lu, is a successful serial entrepreneur with a profound technology background, rich experience and deep insights in the Internet, software and education industries and forward-looking leadership. Our CEO, Mr. Teng Zu, is an experienced entrepreneur in the Internet, education and corporate learning industries. He served at New Oriental Education & Technology and was responsible for its online business, gaining extensive experiences in education software and content and curriculum design. Our CTO, Mr. Yazhou Wu has rich experience in Internet and cloud architecture technology. He has held various senior positions at leading technology companies in China.
Our company has an agile organizational structure, adhering to a corporate culture of innovation and openness. Everyone is committed to serving and achieving customer success.
Our Strategies
Solidify Existing Leadership among Digital Corporate Learning Market for Large Enterprises and Further Expand Customer Base
We will solidify our leading position among digital corporate learning market for large enterprises. Specifically, we plan to continue to expand our customer base, especially large enterprises in first-tier cities and strategically selected industries. We endeavor to solidify our leadership in wallet shares of large enterprises, thereby enhancing our brand awareness to attract mega enterprises with over 10,000 employees. We will continue to provide satisfactory experiences to customers and users of our corporate learning solutions. We plan to capture the potential market opportunities brought by the digitization of traditional industries and the emergence of new economy. Moreover, we will further strengthen our brand and invest in brand building by increasing media exposure and organizing more offline industry seminars. Additionally, we plan to improve marketing efficiency. We will continue to broaden and optimize sales channels, and improve capabilities and efficiency of our sales team.
Upsell among Existing Customers and Continuously Improve Customer Lifetime Value
To create more value to our customers, we will conduct interact more frequently with customers and provide responses to their demands more timely, which will facilitate our in-depth understanding of customer feedback on the use of solutions and resolve any problems they encounter more efficiently. We will encourage renewals and upsells by upgrading and optimizing our software, and developing targeted and comprehensive high-quality content to satisfy various needs from customers, thereby continuously increasing customer lifetime value.
Enhance Content Quality and Brand Awareness
We will continue to focus on the development of high-quality content to ensure the dynamic update and iteration of the courses to meet the needs of the enterprises. We plan to strengthen content development leveraging our technology capacities, to meet the needs of more diversified business scenarios and more career development stages of corporate talents. Leveraging high-quality content offerings, our brand awareness will be further enhanced, which will ultimately benefit our long-term profitability.
Levering our software content development tools, our corporate learning system and methodology as well as our extensive sales channels, we plan to establish an open content ecosystem to attract and engage more content partners. Accordingly, we will be able to further expand and optimize our content library to serve more customers and achieve strong network effects.
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Continuously Invest in Technology to Upgrade Solutions and Enhance Operation Efficiency
We will continue to upgrade our technology infrastructure to enhance the scalability, stability, concurrency and security of our solutions. We also plan to develop an open low-code application PaaS to improve the flexibility and scalability of our solutions, enabling customers to develop customized corporate learning applications on our software using simple and standardized application programming interfaces. In addition, to solidify our competitive edges, we will continue to invest in technologies to upgrade our solutions and enhance our operation efficiency, which will improve our profitability. For example, we have been incorporating AI technologies and capabilities into our solutions. Woven together, in our recent modest attempts, we have demonstrated value by supporting clients on more agile, data-backed, insight-driven talent development and deployment, which are expected to help customers enhance productivity, efficiency and human capital return on investment. Fine-tuning large-language models with our domain expertise, we developed AI tools to define task-based competency model, perform behavior-event-based talent assessments and provide individualized career development guides with high reliability and validity at a fraction of the time- and cost-spent of the traditional way. We will continue to explore the potentials of AI technologies and develop tools such as AI-coach, AI-knowledge extractor, AI-learning-content-generator, etc. Our domain expertise, AI capabilities and client base combined will generate a self-enforcing cycle to further solidify our competitive edge.
Take Opportunities in Selected Strategic Cooperation, Investment and Acquisitions
We will further enhance our technology capabilities and content library through strategic cooperation, investment and acquisitions of new technologies, application software (such as human resource technology software) and high quality content. Furthermore, we will consider strategic acquisitions from time to time to scale our business, enabling us to better address the demands from customers and creating more values to them.
Our Solutions
We provide an innovative corporate learning SaaS solution, software + content integrated and primarily subscription based. We provide our solutions to customers across different industries, at different scale and development stages.
Software
With years of operations, we have developed a deep understanding of corporate learning for diversified organizations. Since 2021, we have made comprehensive upgrades on our software, further enhancing the customer experience and operation efficiency of the powerful corporate learning performs we help enterprises establish. We offer a variety selection of bespoke cloud-based solutions that suit their specific needs. Key components of our solutions include:
| Corporate learning system. Our corporate learning system comprises (i) a hybrid learning management system with comprehensive features, which covers the full corporate learning cycle; (ii) a knowledge management system, which is capable of storing contents in an organized manner based on the needs of users; (iii) a ULCD (Universal Learning Content Designer), a digital engine for learning system design which is able to efficiently generate learning programs based on content stored in the knowledge management system, and (iv) a talent development system, which empowers enterprises to assess the skills of their employees, thereby developing customized learning paths based on their skill sets and development objectives for their positions. |
| Personalized e-learning system. Customized to the needs of users at different positions, from different enterprises, and in different industries, our adaptive personalized e-learning system intelligently recommends learning content. |
| Teaching tools. We offer various modularized multimedia learning tools for our customers to select, including interactive online learning, livestream learning, and content development tools, among others. |
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| Training analytics system. Training analytics system helps enterprises and individuals analyze the training results, thereby providing advice on future learning paths. |
Our software products have the following features:
| Comprehensive functionality with high-quality content: We believe our comprehensive solutions enable enterprises to align corporate learning with their strategic goals and business objectives, and provide individuals in different industries at different positions with tools to advance their careers. |
| Easy-to-use: Our solutions employ an intuitive and user-friendly interface, which makes online learning convenient and accessible to all, increasing user adoption rates and usage. |
| Gamified learning experience: We offer enterprises immersive and interactive learning programs with game features, and thereby increase learning engagement among learners and improve the degree of their knowledge retention. |
| Highly secure: We are committed to protecting users data security and privacy, and have completed various information security, privacy and compliance certifications/validations from competent government agencies. For example, we have obtained the Trusted Cloud Service Certification for Enterprise SaaS ServicesGeneral, the CCRC (China Cybersecurity Review Technology and Certificate Center) Internet Application Security Certification, and the Data Security Maturity Model Certification, among others. |
| Highly flexible, configurable and scalable: Our highly flexible and configurable software products allow our customers with diversified business needs to use at their discretion, and can be easily deployed on customers existing IT systems. Our customers can configure various features, functions, and workflow in our solutions based on job position, department, location, responsibilities, among others. |
| Intelligent: We are able to better understand our users, assess their skills, develop learning paths and recommend intelligently based on their needs and preferences, thereby providing smarter and more personalized learning experiences. |
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The following tables summarize the information of our software products:
| Lite version. We empower small organizations to learn by offering a lite version of our software product, which contains basic digital learning tools and learning content, etc., fulfilling the needs for online learning and test for small organizations. |
| Standard version. For mid-sized organizations which typically prioritize learning for their management team, our standard version software product offers advanced and interactive learning and evaluation reports, and supports multiple languages. Our standard version product is able to satisfy the needs for professional training projects at scale. |
| Professional version. On top of the standard version, the professional version is equipped with functions including advanced learning, test, evaluation reports, and corporate learning tool packs, among others, aiming to empower mid-sized and large enterprises with professional learning management and talent development. |
| Flagship versionXuanxing Digital Corporate Learning Solution. Xuanxing is our flagship product, providing one-stop, intelligent and digital learning solutions to empower enterprises and talents. By offering integrated solutions of learning systems, learning tools and high-quality content library, Xuanxing is able to address various needs from our customers. Compared to professional version, our flagship version product is targeted at large group enterprises by supporting corporate learning of different group entities. Xuanxing is equipped with comprehensive features to satisfy needs from customers in different sectors. Its highly modularized product architecture enables plug-and-play delivery. Xuanxing offers integrated talent development and industry-specific trainings. As a SaaS solution, Xuanxing is highly scalable to support our customers increasing needs. |
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Screenshots of our software productcontent library (flagship version)
Screenshots of our software productusers homepage (flagship version)
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Screenshots of our software productusers talent development system (flagship version)
Screenshots of our gamified learning experience
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Screenshot of our Universal Learning Content Design (ULCD) interface
Content
We are committed to providing learning content that caters to enterprises business needs and individual users development needs.
We have established a content library with a wide range of high-quality content to support corporate learning, which is integrated into our software solutions. Through the combination of in-house development and external collaboration, as of March 31, 2024, we were offering over 8,200 courses covering approximately 20 industries, with a total of over 20,500 learning hours, including over 6,800 hours of proprietary courses. Our content can be delivered through on-demand video or live streaming. In addition, to enhance learning experience, we also adopt an online-merge-offline approach to integrate online resources and offline courses, providing in-person learning sessions. As of March 31, 2024, our content library includes approximately 7,000 online courses across a wide spectrum of topics, including talent development, management and leadership, job knowledge, industry-specific know-how, business skills and content tools, which is illustrated in the following diagram.
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Leveraging domain expertise and insights, we assess users skill levels and develop tailored learning paths with intelligently recommended courses. Our courses provide users with exercises to apply concepts to real situation. At the end of a course, users take a test to evaluate whether they have mastered the knowledge. In addition, recommendations for future skill development will pop out once a user completes his or her current curriculum.
Content Development
Our content are primarily developed by our instructors, who mainly focus on developing, updating and improving our courses and related materials to stay abreast of the latest trends in their respective areas. As of March 31, 2024, we collaborated with 645 instructors, mainly are renowned experts, scholars and entrepreneurs across various industries including consumer, healthcare, manufacturing, technology, among others.
Our content are designed to be compatible with our software. Levering the insights we accumulated, we have established a highly systemized and streamlined process for developing new content from content design to user evaluation. To select suitable topics and suitable instructors, we keep close communications with customers to understand their needs and also focus on latest market trends. We provide instructors with a set of tools and skill development materials.
In addition to instructors, we also closely collaborate with selected content partners, which include renowned corporate learning vendors, prestigious colleges across the world, and industry-leading corporations, gathering a team of experts consisting of industry experts, scholars and consultants. Leveraging our domain expertise and insights, we provide user feedback, industry know-how and content development tools to content partners. We work with content partners to adapt their high-quality content to our software and learning system, and to develop supplementary course materials, syllabus, exercises and tests.
We have established a real-time multi-dimensional feedback mechanism to optimize and iterate our content, thereby continuously improving content creation efficiency, learning results and user experience.
Our Customers
Our solutions are used by organizations of all sizes across a broad range of industries in China. As of December 31, 2023, we had 3,501 customers, including over 200 Fortune 500 companies in China. As of March 31, 2023 and 2024, we had a total of 3,824 and 2,545 customers, respectively, including over 180 Fortune 500 companies in China. We have covered leading companies in consumer, healthcare, manufacturing, technology, electric vehicles, and other high-growth industries.
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Customer Case Studies
The following are examples of how some of our customers have adopted our solutions. We believe these customers usage is representative of usage by our customers generally and shows the breadth of our solution offerings and adoption across geographies, verticals, and customer size.
Client A
Client A is a leading platform for housing transactions and services in China.
When carrying out group level management in its early days, Client A had to deal with monthly training reports from various cities across the country, and statistical tabulation of class hours, teaching, studying and degree of satisfaction was onerous.
In 2018, Yunxuetang provided one-stop corporate learning solutions for Client A, including Yunxuetangs cloud-based corporate learning system with live streaming modules, and a package of over 5,500 different courses and supporting services, enabling Client A to fully digitalize its corporate training process. Our solutions helped Client A significantly improve its efficiency of training and reduce training costs, and enable its corporate training department to monitor training status across the country on a real-time basis. With our solutions, the average training cycle for Client As employees and the average length of on-board trainings for new hires has been significantly reduced. We help Client A save a large amount of man-hours and intangible costs relating to corporate learning. Our solutions provide various digital and online project report and analysis for Client A to better manage its corporate training process.
So far, our digital corporate training solutions covered Client As employees in various cities across China. As a result of our continuous value creation, as of March 31, 2024, the number of accounts activated by Client A has increased by over six times since our initial collaboration.
Client B
Client B is a leading kitchen appliances manufacturers in China.
Facing the demand for an increasing number of talent development projects, Client B was keen to build a one-stop internal training platform that allows for effective training and knowledge management and provides personalized learning paths and post-learning assessment.
In 2019, Client B started to use the corporate learning solution developed by Yunxuetang. Initially, Client B only purchased employee accounts for a small portion of its employees. Benefiting from our high quality, efficient and cost-effective solutions, Client B subsequently activated additional accounts, over five times as of March 31, 2024 as compared to its initial purchase, with various features and functions for both its employees and distributors, such as on-the-job training catering to different positions, talent demand identification, online knowledge management, annual training planning and live streaming classes.
Yunxuetang successfully helped Client B to integrate its online and offline trainings, established a sound learning platform, and is continuously improving the learning platform on all relevant aspects, including teaching, learning, practicing, testing and assessment. With our solutions, Client Bs training procedures are streamlined, and trainings can be deployed and reach Client Bs employees instantly. Our solutions enable Client B to achieve precise management of each step of the training process, helping it save man-hours significantly.
Client C
Client C is a world-leading manufacturer and supplier of construction and mining equipment headquartered in China.
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Yunxuetang established client relationship in 2020 with Client C, offering integrated corporate learning solutions and supporting services. Yunxuetang provides diverse types of trainings, such as new employee training, general competence training, product knowledge and professional skill training, as well as certification program. Staff across various levels at key business units of Client C, including marketing, R&D, production management, quality management, supply chain management and after-sales services, etc. have attended the trainings through the digital platform. Trainings provided by our solutions enabled attendees to better develop their skills and enhanced their innovation capability.
Within two years, the digital corporate learning platform has been widely and actively used by Client Cs employees, demonstrating the easy-to-use features and effective training and learning results of our solutions. Leveraging our highly-efficient digital learning platform, tens of thousands of talents at key positions of Client C, such as R&D, production, supply chain, marketing service and finance, completed their training programs within one year, creating a positive learning atmosphere across the organization. Employees are able to use fragmented time to learn, and thus increasing their participation rate of corporate training.
Customer Services
We have developed a full-coverage customer support and services to customers throughout their use of our solutions. Complementary to our SaaS solutions, we also offer supplementary technical and operational support services to customers, which allows us to build customer rapport, to drive customer satisfaction and to capture cross-selling and upselling opportunities. We value each customer and place great emphasis on improving customer experience at each stage.
We provide pre-sale consultation, onboarding implementation support and training at the initial stage. In addition, we provide on-going technical, maintenance and operational support to ensure reliable performance. We believe close customer relationship can keep us posted of market feedback and evolving needs for corporate learning, which drives our solution development and innovation and higher customer satisfaction.
Sales and Marketing
Direct sales supported by our experienced industry-focused team is our primary sales approach. To promote our solutions, particularly when we enter into a new vertical, we cooperate with industry leaders to complete lighthouse projects to demonstrate our technological capabilities and advantages of our solutions. We then leverage such lighthouse projects to develop and offer solutions to other customers, thereby further penetrating the vertical.
We have implemented a land and expand strategy to achieve organic expansion within existing customers. As organizations have good experience in using our SaaS solutions and become familiar with the benefits, they tend to expand usages. Moreover, our land and expand strategy enables us to grow as our customers grow, and to generate incremental revenues through increased levels of adoption by our customers. As of December 31, 2023, the net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 101.4%. As of March 31, 2024, the net revenue retention rate of our subscription customers in terms of subscription revenue was 106.1%.
We have established a professional and industry-focused in-house sales team consisting of 217 people as of March 31, 2024. Our employees have deep knowledge of the industries and customers they cover. Our in-house sales team works closely with our content development team to ensure that they can propose and customize the best solutions to address the pain points our customers have to deal with in the relevant industry verticals.
In addition to direct sales, we also collaborate with channel partners, such as Tencent WeCom, Ali DingTalk and Lark, and leverage their customer network to effectively extend our reach to more enterprises.
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We adopt an efficient marketing strategy to enhance our brand awareness that combines online advertising and offline seminars and marketing events. In addition, we also promote our brand and generate customer leads through word-of-mouth referrals by our customers.
Technology and Infrastructure
Technology is the backbone of our highly scalable business model. Our strong technological capabilities enable us to deliver superior user experience and improve operational efficiency. Our technology team, coupled with our technologies and insights, has continued to identify opportunities for improvements in our technology infrastructure and applications. We believe a strong technology and product development capability is crucial to our continued success and ability to develop innovative solution offerings to keep up with rapid development and advances in technologies. We closely attend to the needs of our customers and respond to their feedback and requests through developing new solutions or adding advanced or optimized features in existing solutions. As of March 31, 2024, we employed 311 research and development staff, representing 41.8% of our total number of employees. In 2022, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, we incurred RMB312.1 million, RMB176.5 million (US$24.5 million), RMB48.6 million and RMB30.1 million (US$4.2 million) of research and development expenses, respectively.
Cloud-Native Architecture
Our SaaS solutions are designed and deployed with an on-demand, multi-tenant, and multi-user architecture. We employ a configurable architecture to balance the load of customers on separate sub-environments, as well as to provide a flexible method for scalability without affecting other parts of the current environment. Our cloud-native architecture allows us to provide our customers with high levels of uptime. In addition, to effectively address various needs from our customers, we have adopted a modular micro-service architecture on top of our cloud infrastructure. This facilitates the customization, iteration and delivery of configurable corporate learning solutions that meet the requirements and preferences of customers. We also adopt a cross-cloud multi-active architecture to ensure the reliability and availability of our solutions.
Domain Expertise and Insights
Our solutions are powered by our domain expertise and insights related to skill assessment, teaching, learning, content development, content recommendation and outcome evaluations. We are able to generate and leverage high-quality industry insights, understand corporate learning needs, and establish best practices and case studies to develop targeted solutions for customers. We have developed models to standardize skill set for different positions, design personalized learning paths, abstract employee skill portraits and develop knowledge maps. Therefore, we are able to address various requirements and demands for corporate learning and talent development in a flexible, effective and efficient manner.
Intellectual Property
We rely on a combination of trademark, fair trade practice, intellectual property laws in China and other jurisdictions, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions to protect our intellectual property. As of March 31, 2024, we had 130 registered trademarks, 336 registered copyrights, 46 domain names and two patents in China. The expiration dates of our patents are March 29, 2035 and March 8, 2042, respectively.
In addition, we rely on a number of exclusive rights, especially know-hows, portrait rights, rights of publicity on social media platforms, social media accounts and online store accounts. We also enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees, and we rigorously control access to our technologies and information. As such, we believe the protection of our trademarks, copyrights, domain names, trade names, patents trade secrets, know-hows, portrait rights, rights of publicity or personality and other proprietary rights is critical to our business. For risk factors relating to our intellectual properties, please see Risk FactorsRisks
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Related to Our Business and IndustryWe could incur substantial costs in protecting or defending our intellectual property rights, including intellectual properties licensed from third parties, and any failure to protect our intellectual property could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Data Security and Privacy
We are committed to protecting our users data security and privacy, and to complying with all applicable laws and regulations on data security and privacy. Our data are primarily processed and stored at servers located in China. We use tier-3+ data center facilities to ensure data security. When providing services to our customers, while we have access to such data, we process as data processor on behalf of our customers other than having control over sensitive data as data controller. Such data are either collected by our enterprise customers, or collected by us at our customers request and with sufficient authorization from the individual users. Upon requests from customers, we will delete all data related to our services to customers in compliance with applicable laws.
We have established and implemented a strict group-wide policy on data collection, processing and usage. To ensure the confidentiality and integrity of our data, we maintain a comprehensive and rigorous data security program. We anonymize and encrypt confidential data and take other technological measures to ensure the secure collection, storage, processing, transmission, usage and deletion of data. We have also established stringent internal protocols under which we grant classified access to data so as to only allow minimum data access by limited employees with strictly defined and layered access authority. Data access records are kept for review on a regular basis. We strictly control and manage the use of data in our company. Our back-end security system is capable of handling malicious attacks to safeguard the security of our operations and to protect the data security of our users. We also apply various data safety technologies, such as anti-spider technologies, to ensure data security. To ensure reliability and availability of our operations, we have designed various emergency plans in response to events of potential security breaches and attacks. We back up our data in multiple secured data storage systems to minimize the risk of data loss. We also conduct frequent reviews of our back-up systems to ensure that they function properly and are well maintained.
To identify potential security risks, ensure strict compliance of our data security and privacy policies and applicable laws and regulations, we conduct security reviews both internally and on our suppliers. We also conduct regular data security trainings to all employees. We have also established a data security committee led by our chief executive officer and our chief technology officer, members of which also include leaders in the R&D, software development, content development, operation and customer service departments. Major responsibilities of our data security committee include to establish and update our network and data security related policies and strategies in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, assign security management responsibilities to relevant departments, response to sever network and potential data leaks, make key decisions in relation to network and data security, among others.
We have completed information security, privacy and compliance certifications/validations. For example, we have obtained ISO 27001 Information Security Management System Certification, the Trusted Cloud Service Certification for Enterprise SaaS ServicesGeneral, the CCRC Internet Application Security Certification, and the Data Security Maturity Model CertificationLevel 2, have passed the evaluations for ITSS Maintenance Service Capability MaturityLevel 3, ITSS Cloud Computing SaaS Service CapabilityLevel 3, and have completed registration for Multi-Level Security ProtectionLevel 3. In addition, we also obtained KLYINSOFT NeoCertify, Certified Professional DDOS System, Certified Professional Firewall System, Certified Database Access Protection System and passed the NSFOCUS Penetration Testing. We have also passed regular audits on data security by authorities. We are committed to enhancing our data security and privacy measures, and are in the process of obtaining additional information security, privacy and compliance certifications/validations.
For risk factors relating to data security and privacy, please see Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustrySecurity breaches and improper access to or disclosure of our data or our customers
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data or other cyberattacks on our systems could result in litigation and regulatory risk and harm our reputation and our business.
Competition
The corporate learning industry is rapidly evolving and increasingly competitive. We face competition from market players of various segments of the corporate learning industry, including both digital corporate learning providers and traditional corporate learning providers. Digital corporate learning providers mainly consist of the following categories: (i) integrated SaaS solution providers; (ii) digital content providers; (iii) software developers; and (iv) traditional service providers in the process of digital transformation.
Among all digital corporate learning providers, integrated SaaS solution providers, levering their digitalization capabilities and industry insights, are best positioned in the competition, primarily because the integrated software + content model is able to deliver better user experience and greater training effectiveness. As the leading digital corporate learning provider with integrated SaaS solution, we believe that we are strategically positioned to consolidate the fragmented market and further solidify our market leadership.
However, some of our existing competitors have greater name recognition, longer operating histories, larger customer bases as well as greater financial, technical and other resources. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryWe operate in a highly competitive market. If we fail to compete effectively, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. For more information of the competitive landscape of our industry, see Industry Overview.
Employees
We had a total of 744 employees as of March 31, 2024, which were located in China. The following table sets forth the numbers of our employees categorized by function as of March 31, 2024.
Function |
Number of Employees | |||
Research and development |
311 | |||
Sales and marketing |
262 | |||
Administration and operation |
171 | |||
|
|
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Total |
744 | |||
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Our success depends on our ability to attract, motivate, train and retain qualified personnel. We believe we offer our employees competitive compensation packages and an environment that encourages self-development and, as a result, have generally been able to attract and retain qualified personnel and maintain a stable core management team. To improve our operation efficiency, we have optimized our human resources in 2022.
As required by regulations in China, we participate in various employee social security plans that are organized by municipal and provincial governments, including pension, unemployment insurance, childbirth insurance, work-related injury insurance, medical insurance and housing provident fund. We are required under PRC law to make contributions to employee benefit plans at specified percentages of the salaries, bonuses and certain allowances of our employees, up to a maximum amount specified by the local government from time to time. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFailure to make adequate contributions to social insurance and housing provident fund as required by PRC regulations may subject us to penalties.
We enter into standard labor contracts and confidentiality agreements with our employees. To date, we have not experienced any significant labor disputes. None of our employees are represented by labor unions.
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Facilities
We are headquartered in Beijing and Suzhou and have several offices in China. We lease our premises under operating lease agreements from independent third parties. We believe that our existing facilities are generally adequate to meet our current needs, but we expect to seek additional space as needed to accommodate future growth.
Insurance
We maintain various insurance policies to safeguard against risks and unexpected events. In addition to providing social security insurance for our employees as required by the PRC law, we also provide supplemental commercial medical insurance for our employees. Consistent with customary industry practice in China, we do not maintain business interruption insurance, nor do we maintain key-man life insurance.
Legal Proceedings
We are involved in disputes and legal or administrative proceedings in the ordinary course of our business.
In June 2020, we acquired control over CEIBS PG and its business, which mainly consists of subscription based corporate learning solutions, by acquiring the entire equity interests in (i) Digital B-School China Limited, holding a 39% equity interest in CEIBS PG, and (ii) CEIBS Management Limited, holding a 21% equity interest in CEIBS PG (collectively, the Share Transfer). However, in August 2020, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), the other shareholder of CEIBS PG holding the remaining 40% equity interest, stated publicly that we had infringed its intellectual property rights and CEIBS was not aware of and did not recognize the associated share purchase of Shanghai China Europe and Shanghai Fenghe by Yunxuetang Network, the VIEs. During the same month, CEIBS filed a writ of summons at the High Court of Hong Kong against CEIBS PG, seeking a declaration that a quitclaim entered into among CEIBS and CEIBS PG in May 2007 (the Quitclaim) was not legally binding on CEIBS.
In September 2020, CEIBS PG sent a request for consultation to CEIBS stating that it was prepared to refer the disputes to arbitration. In November 2020, CEIBS discontinued the litigation. In late November 2020, CEIBS PG filed an arbitration before the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre against CEIBS, seeking a declaration that the Quitclaim is enforceable and binding on CEIBS and CEIBS is not entitled to unilaterally withdraw the Quitclaim, together with an inquiry as to damages suffered by CEIBS PG (the HKIAC Arbitration).
In January 2021, CEIBS filed a winding up petition with the High Court of Hong Kong, seeking to wind up CEIBS PG (the Winding-up Proceedings). In May 2021, CEIBS filed a stay application with the HKIAC seeking to stay the HKIAC Arbitration. In July 2021, a hearing on the stay application was held, and in October 2021, the HKIAC issued a decision to deny CEIBSs stay application. In November 2021, the High Court of Hong Kong decided that the Winding-up Proceedings be stayed pending determination of the HKIAC Arbitration. Upon determination of the HKIAC Arbitration, the parties do have the liberty to restore the Winding-up Proceedings for further directions or order. The High Court of Hong Kong decided that the CEIBS shall pay the costs of and occasioned by the summons.
The abovementioned disputes arose from a series of transaction documents, including a share purchase agreement (the SPA), entered into among CEIBS and certain then shareholders of CEIBS PG for the establishment of CEIBS PG in May 2007 (together with the SPA, the Transaction Documents). As part of the arrangement, CEIBS entered into the Quitclaim and agreed to relinquish the sole and exclusive rights over certain trademarks to CEIBS PG worldwide.
Regarding the disputes in the Winding-up Proceedings, CEIBS alleged that the Share Transfer breached the relevant provisions stipulated in the Transaction Documents and that we infringed its intellectual property rights
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by using CEIBS related trademarks, on the basis that, amongst others, (i) the Share Transfer circumvented and was in breach of a right-of-first-offer provision, which requires a shareholder to give notice to other shareholders before it transfers its shares to a transferee who is neither another shareholder or an affiliate of a shareholder; (ii) the Share Transfer has caused a complete and irretrievable breakdown of mutual trust and confidence in the cooperation of CEIBS PG among the parties; (iii) CEIBS has the right to withdraw the sole and exclusive rights over the trademarks granted to CEIBS PG when there are significant changes to the shareholder structure of CEIBS PG based on the memorandum of understanding agreed among the parties; and (iv) we infringed its intellectual property rights by using CEIBS related trademarks outside the agreed scope under the Quitclaim. As advised by our litigation counsel, we believe that the claims made by CEIBS above lack merit for the following reasons: (i) the right-of-first-offer provision only applies to direct transfer of CEIBS PGs shares and the Share Transfer is not contractually restricted under the Transaction Documents; (ii) the right to freely transfer shares can only be restricted by sufficiently clear words restricting such rights and there is no written evidence supporting the alleged common understanding and legal expectation nor any documents recording the claimed mutual trust and confidence; (iii) the Transaction Documents have constituted the full and entire understanding and agreement amongst the parties in relation to CEIBS PG, which do not contain any clause specifically concerning withdrawal of the relevant intellectual properties under the Quitclaim in case of substantial change to the shareholding structure; and (iv) the Share Transfer did not affect the original business scope of the Quitclaim. In November 2021, the High Court of Hong Kong decided that the Winding-up Proceedings be stayed pending determination of the HKIAC Arbitration. Upon determination of the HKIAC Arbitration, the parties do have the liberty to restore the Winding-up Proceedings for further directions or order. The High Court of Hong Kong decided that the CEIBS shall pay the costs of and occasioned by the summons.
In May 2023, a hearing of the HKIAC Arbitration was held. In July 2023, CEIBS alleged in its closing submission to the arbitration tribunal that, among other things, the issuance of the 21% equity interest of CEIBS PG to CEIBS Management Ltd. in 2007 only entitled CEIBS Management Ltd.s 100% equity owner Mr. Xuelin Zhou legal ownership rather than beneficial ownership pursuant to the SPA. In August 2023, the tribunal held another session where the parties gave oral closing submissions. On January 15, 2024, the arbitration tribunal issued a partial final award, declaring the transfer of 21% of CEIBS PG shares to us invalid at the time of the transfer and our Groups appointment of one director of CEIBS PG invalid, while dismissing the Quitclaim issue due to the lack of jurisdiction. Such ruling was based on the tribunals determination that the issuance of the 21% equity interest of CEIBS PG to CEIBS Management Ltd. in 2007 only entitled CEIBS Management Ltd.s 100% equity owner Mr. Xuelin Zhou legal ownership rather than beneficial ownership pursuant to the SPA, which made his transfer of such equity interest to Chengwei Capital HK Limited in 2016 invalid, and the subsequent transfer from Chengwei Capital HK Limited to us in 2020 invalid too. The parties have different interpretations regarding the relevant clause in the SPA. We believe that the aforementioned transfer of 21% equity interest of CEIBS PG in 2007 entitled Mr. Xuelin Zhou beneficial ownership, and that the subsequent transfers, including the transfer to us in 2020, were valid. Our view has been fully supported by the litigation counsel and remained unchanged throughout the process of the HKIAC Arbitration. We subsequently applied to set aside the arbitration award in April 2024 with the High Court of Hong Kong and CEIBS also filed an application to the High Court of Hong Kong to enforce the arbitration award in April 2024. In May 2024, the High Court of Hong Kong held a hearing, and the set aside application and the enforcement application were adjourned for substantive arguments before a judge in August 2024.
We have consolidated CEIBS PG in our financial statements since the Share Transfer as we were able to effectively control CEIBS PG, on the basis that (i) we acquired an indirect interest in 60% shareholding in CEIBS PG, and (ii) we indirectly had a simple majority vote with the directors appointed by us representing a 3/5 majority of the board of CEIBS PG. Given that Hong Kong courts have adopted a very pro-arbitration approach, we determined that we have lost control over CEIBS PG since the partial final award was declared on January 15, 2024 even though our application to set aside the partial final award is still pending adjudication. As a result, CEIBS PG has been deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements from January 15, 2024. In 2022 and 2023, revenues contributed by CEIBS PG amounted to RMB84.6 million and RMB99.4 million (US$13.8 million), respectively. As we have deconsolidated CEIBS PG from our consolidated financial statements starting from January 15, 2024, such deconsolidation will have a material and adverse effect on our results of operations reflected on our consolidated financial statements. In the event that CEIBS succeeds in the Winding up
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Proceedings if such proceedings are restored, CEIBS PG will be wound up. Furthermore, we may be subject to negative publicity, whether actual or perceived, in relation to the legal proceedings, which could harm our reputation, and in turn could have a negative impact on our relationships with customers and our results of operations. Any of the foregoing may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition. For details of such risks, see Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment.
We believe the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG will not materially and adversely affect us in the area of customer expansion or maintenance, as we have demonstrated resilience through the establishment of our robust brand reputation, trusted partnership with customers and proven product capabilities. Furthermore, the deconsolidation will not materially and adversely affect us in the area of product development, because the key R&D personnels remain in the Group, ensuring that we continue to introduce cutting-edge solutions to meet evolving market demands. We believe that we will be able to maintain our overall business operations with increased awareness and the advantages offered by our solutions.
Except as disclosed above, we are currently not a party to any other material legal or administrative proceedings. However, litigation or any other legal or administrative proceeding, regardless of the outcome, is likely to result in substantial cost and diversion of our resources, including our managements time and attention. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFrom time to time, we may become defendants in legal proceedings for which we are unable to assess our exposure and which could become significant liabilities in the event of an adverse judgment and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryWe could incur substantial costs in protecting or defending our intellectual property rights, including intellectual properties licensed from third parties, and any failure to protect our intellectual property could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Licenses and Approvals
As of the date of this prospectus, we have obtained all material licenses and approvals from relevant regulatory authorities that are material to our operations in China. The following table sets forth a list of material licenses and approvals that our PRC subsidiaries and VIEs are required to obtain to carry out our operations in China as of the date of this prospectus.
Entity |
Type |
License and Approvals |
PRC Regulatory Authority | |||
Yunxuetang Information |
WFOE | Business License (Obtained) | Suzhou Hi-Tech District (Huqiu District) Administration for Market Regulation | |||
Yunxuetang Network |
VIE | Business License (Obtained) | Suzhou Hi-Tech District (Huqiu District) Administration for Market Regulation | |||
Yunxuetang Network |
VIE | National Value-added Telecommunication Service License (Obtained) | Ministry of Industry and Information Technology | |||
Yunxuetang Network |
VIE | Provincial Value-added Telecommunication Service License (Obtained) | Jiangsu Communications Administration | |||
Yunxuetang Network |
VIE | Human Resourcing Service Permit (Obtained) | Suzhou Hi-tech District (Huqiu District) Administrative Approval Administration |
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This section sets forth a summary of the most significant PRC laws and regulations relevant to our business and operations in China.
PRC Regulations
We operate our business in China under a legal regime created and made by PRC lawmakers consisting of the National Peoples Congress, or the NPC, the countrys highest legislative body, the State Council, the highest authority of the executive branch of the PRC central government, and several ministries and agencies under its authority, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or the MIIT, the State Administration for Market Regulation (formerly known as the State Administration for Industry and Commerce), or the SAMR, and the National Press and Publication Administration (formerly known as the State Administration of Press Publication Radio Film and Television), or the SAPPRFT, or the MOE. This section summarizes the principal PRC regulations related to our business.
Regulation Relating to Foreign Investment
On March 15, 2019, the National Peoples Congress promulgated the Foreign Investment Law, which came into effect on January 1, 2020 and replaced the trio of laws regulating foreign investment in China, namely, the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-invested Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations. The foreign-invested enterprises established prior to the effectiveness of the Foreign Investment Law may keep their corporate forms, among other things, within five years after January 1, 2020. Pursuant to the Foreign Investment Law, foreign investors means natural persons, enterprises, or other organizations of a foreign country, foreign-invested enterprises, or FIEs, means any enterprise established under PRC law that is wholly or partially invested by foreign investors and foreign investment means any foreign investors direct or indirect investment in mainland China, including: (i) establishing FIEs in mainland China either individually or jointly with other investors; (ii) obtaining stock shares, stock equity, property shares, other similar interests in Chinese domestic enterprises; (iii) investing in new projects in mainland China either individually or jointly with other investors; and (iv) making investment through other means provided by laws, administrative regulations, or State Council provisions.
The Foreign Investment Law stipulates that China implements the management system of pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list to foreign investment and the government generally will not expropriate foreign investment, except under special circumstances, in which case it will provide fair and reasonable compensation to foreign investors. Foreign investors are barred from investing in prohibited industries on the negative list and must comply with the specified requirements when investing in restricted industries on that list. When a license is required to enter a certain industry, the foreign investor must apply for one, and the government must treat the application the same as one by a domestic enterprise, except where laws or regulations provide otherwise. In addition, foreign investors or FIEs are required to file information reports and foreign investment shall be subject to the national security review. In addition, the Implementation Rules of the Foreign Investment Law, effective on January 1, 2020, clarifies that the Foreign Investment Law and its implementation rules also apply to investments by FIEs in China.
On December 26, 2019, the Supreme Peoples Court of China promulgated the Interpretations on Certain Issues Regarding the Application of Foreign Investment Law, effective on January 1, 2020, pursuant to which investment contracts are defined as relevant agreements formed as a result of direct or indirect investments in China by foreign investors, namely, foreign individuals, foreign enterprises or other foreign organizations, including contracts for establishment of foreign investment enterprises, share transfer contracts, equity transfer contracts, contracts for transfer of property or other similar interests, contracts for newly-built projects and etc. Any claim to invalidate an investment contract will be supported by courts if such investment contract is decided
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to be entered into for purposes of making foreign investments in the prohibited industries under the negative list or for purposes of investing in the restricted industries without satisfaction of conditions set out in the negative list.
Regulation Relating to Foreign Investment Restrictions
According to the latest Special Administrative Measures for the Entry of Investment (Negative List), or the Negative List, promulgated by the Ministry of Commerce, or the MOFCOM, and the National Development and Reform Commission, or the NDRC, effective on January 1, 2022, the provision of value-added telecommunications services falls in the restricted industries and the percentage of foreign ownership cannot exceed 50% (except for e-commerce, domestic multi-party communication, store-and-forward and call center). Besides, foreign investment in internet news services, online publishing services, internet audio-visual program services, internet culture operation (except for music) and internet information dissemination services (except for contents opened up in Chinas WTO commitments) shall be prohibited. Foreign investment in radio and television program production and operation (including introduction of businesses) companies is also prohibited.
The Regulations for the Administration of Foreign-Invested Telecommunications Enterprises (2022 revision) (the FITE Regulations), which was promulgated by the State Council on December 11, 2001 and was recently amended on March 29, 2022. The new FITE Regulations only requires foreign investors shall not acquire more than 50% of the equity interest of such foreign-invested telecommunications enterprise, except as otherwise provided, and do not further require stringent performance and operational experience for foreign investor of such foreign-invested telecommunications enterprise engaging in value-added telecommunication services. The foreign-invested telecommunications enterprises that meet these requirements must obtain approvals from the MIIT or its authorized local branches, before launching the value-added telecommunications business in the PRC.
On January 13, 2015, the MIIT issued the Circular on Loosening the Restrictions on Shareholding by Foreign Investors in Online Data Processing and Transaction Processing Business (for profit E-commerce) in China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, according to which, a foreign investor is allowed to hold 100% of the equity interest in a PRC entity that provides online data processing and transaction processing services (for profit E-commerce) in China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. On June 19, 2015, the MIIT issued the Circular on Loosening the Restrictions on Shareholding by Foreign Investors in Online Data Processing and Transaction Processing Business (for-profit E-commerce), which expanded the designated districts from China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone to the whole country.
In June 2016, the MIIT issued the Notice of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Issues Relating to Hong Kong and Macau Service Providers Engaging in Telecommunication Business in Mainland China, or Notice 222, according to which, (1) Hong Kong and Macau service providers are allowed to establish wholly-owned enterprises or joint venture enterprises in Mainland China with no restriction on shareholding percentage for provision of the value-add telecommunication businesses with respect to online data processing and transactions processing (limited to for profit E-commerce), domestic multi-party communications services (under the Classification Catalogue of Telecommunications Services), store-and-forward services, and contact center services, internet access services business (limited to providing internet access services for online users) and information services business (limited to application stores), and Hong Kong and Macau service providers are allowed to establish joint venture enterprises in Mainland China with the shareholding percentage of Hong Kong and Macau investors in the joint venture enterprises not exceeding 50%, for provision of the value-add telecommunication businesses with respect to online data processing and transactions processing (excluding for profit E-commerce), domestic internet virtual private network business (under the Classification Catalogue of Telecommunications Services), internet data center business, internet access services business (except for providing internet access services for online users), and information services business (except for application stores). Hong Kong and Macau service providers referred to in above Notice 222 shall be subject to relevant provisions in the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement or the Mainland and Macau Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement and its relevant supplements.
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To comply with the above foreign investment restrictions, we rely on the contractual arrangements with the VIEs to operate our business in China. However, there remain substantial uncertainties with respect to the interpretation and application of existing or future PRC laws and regulations on foreign investment. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Corporate Structure. If our current ownership structure is found to be in violation of current or future PRC laws, rules or regulations regarding the legality of foreign investment in value-added telecommunications services and other types of businesses in which foreign investment is restricted or prohibited, we could be subject to severe penalties.
Regulations Relating to Value-added Telecommunications Services
An extensive regulatory scheme governing telecommunication services, including value-added telecommunication services and infrastructure telecommunications services, is promulgated by the State Council, MIIT, and other relevant government authorities. Value-added telecommunication service operators may be required to obtain additional licenses and permits in addition to those that they currently have given new laws and regulations may be adopted from time to time. In addition, substantial uncertainties exist regarding the interpretation and implementation of current and any future PRC laws and regulations applicable to the telecommunication activities.
On September 25, 2000, the State Council promulgated the Telecommunication Regulation of the Peoples Republic of China, or the Telecommunications Regulations, as last amended on February 6, 2016, to regulate telecommunications activities in China. According to the Telecommunications Regulations, there are two categories of telecommunication activities, namely infrastructure telecommunications services and value-added telecommunications services. Pursuant to the Telecommunications Regulations, operators of value-added telecommunications services, or VATS, shall be approved by MIIT, or its provincial level counterparts, and obtain a license for value-added telecommunications business, or VAT License. The Measures for the Administration of Telecommunications Business Licensing, or the Licenses Measures, issued on March 1, 2009 and most recently amended on July 3, 2017 for the purpose of strengthening the administration of telecommunications business licensing, which set forth more specific provisions regarding the types of licenses required to operate VATS and the application for and the approval, use and administration of a telecommunications business permit. According to the Licenses Measures and Telecommunications Regulations, any entity conducting VATS without obtaining the VAT License or conducting business beyond the authorized scope on the VAT License may be subject to correction, confiscation of the illegal income, a fine ranging from three to five times the amount of the illegal income (where there is no illegal income, or the illegal income is less than RMB50,000, a fine ranging from RMB100,000 to RMB1 million), and suspension of business operation.
The Classification Catalogue of Telecommunications Services (2015 Version), as last amended on June 6, 2019, defines (1) online data processing and transaction processing services as the services of providing online data processing and transaction/affair processing to users through public communication networks or the Internet using various data and transaction/affair processing application platforms connected to public communication networks or the Internet; (2) domestic multi-party communications services as real-time interactive or on-demand voice and image communication services realized domestically between two points or among multiple points by virtue of a multi-party communication platform, public communication network or the internet, (3) information services as the information services provided for users through public communications networks or internet by means of information gathering, development, processing and the construction of the information platform, which include, among others, internet information services and non-internet information service, etc.
The Administrative Measures on Internet Information Services, or the ICP Measures, promulgated by the State Council and as last amended on January 8, 2011, sets forth more specific rules on the provision of internet information services. According to the ICP Measures, any company that engages in the provision of commercial internet information services must obtain a sub-category VATS License for Internet Information Services, or the ICP License, from the relevant government authorities before providing any commercial internet information
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services within the PRC. Pursuant to the above-mentioned regulations, commercial internet information services generally refer to provision of specific information content, online advertising, web page construction and other online application services through the internet for profit making purpose. According to the ICP Measures, internet information service providers cannot produce, duplicate, publish or disseminate information that (i) is against any fundamental principles set out in the Constitution Law of China; (ii) endangers the national security, leaks the national secrets, incites to overthrow the national power, or undermines the national unity; (iii) damages the national honor or interests; (iv) incites the ethnic hatred and ethnic discrimination or undermines the solidarity among all ethnic groups; (v) undermines the national policies on religions and advocates religious cults and feudal superstition; (vi) disseminates rumors to disrupt the social order and undermines the social stability; (vii) disseminates the obscene materials, advocates gambling, violence, killing and terrorism, or instigates others to commit crimes; (viii) humiliates or defames others or infringes the legitimate rights and interests of others; and (ix) is otherwise prohibited by laws and regulations.
In addition to the Telecommunications Regulations and the other regulations discussed above, the provision of commercial internet information services on mobile internet apps is regulated by the Administrative Provisions on Mobile Internet Applications Information Services, which was promulgated by the Cyberspace Administration of China, or the CAC, on June 28, 2016, recently amended on June 14, 2022 and became effective on August 1, 2022. The providers of mobile internet applications are subject to requirements under these provisions, including acquiring the qualifications and complying with other requirements provided by laws and regulations and being responsible for information security.
To comply with the relevant laws and regulations, Yunxuetang Network has obtained a national VAT License which will remain effective until February 18, 2026, and a provincial VAT License which will remain effective until December 19, 2027. Shanghai Fenghe has obtained a provincial ICP License which will remain effective until March 20, 2025. Shanghai China Europe has obtained a provincial ICP License which will remain effective until July 23, 2026.
Regulation Relating to Production and Distribution of Radio and Television Programs
The Administrative Measures on the Production and Operation of Radio and Television Programs, or the Radio and TV Programs Measures, promulgated by the SAPPRFT are applicable for establishing institutions that produce and distribute radio and television programs or for the production of radio and television programs like programs with a special topic, column programs, variety shows, animated cartoons, radio plays and television dramas and for activities like transactions and agency transactions of program copyrights. Pursuant to the Radio and TV Programs Measures, any entity that intends to produce or operate radio or television programs must first obtain the Permit for Production and Operation of Radio and TV Programs from the SAPPRFT or its local branches.
As of the date of this prospectus, uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation and practice of the government authorities regarding whether providing users with training videos and training live streaming services through internet platform require Permit for Production and Operation of Radio and TV Programs. We will continue to monitor the development of relevant rules, and the corresponding interpretation and practice.
Regulation Relating to Internet Live Streaming Services
On November 4, 2016, the Cyberspace Administration of China, or the CAC, issued the Administrative Regulation on Internet Live Streaming Services, effective from December 1, 2016, according to which, internet live streaming is defined as the activities of continuously releasing real-time information to the public based on the internet in forms such as videos, audios, images and texts, and internet live-streaming service providers are defined as the operators that provide internet live-streaming platform service. In addition, the internet live-streaming service providers should take various measures during operation of their services, such as examining and verifying the authenticity of the identification information, and file such information for records.
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On July 12, 2017, the CAC issued a Notice on Development of the Filing Work for Enterprises Providing Internet Live Streaming Services, which provides that all the companies providing internet live streaming services should file with the local authority since July 15, 2017, otherwise the CAC or its local counterparts may impose administrative sanctions on such companies.
Pursuant to the Circular on Tightening the Administration of Internet Live Streaming Services jointly issued by the MIIT, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, or the MOCT, and several other government agencies on August 1, 2018, the live streaming services providers are required to file with the local public security authority within 30 days after they commence the service online.
On February 9, 2021, the CAC, the MOCT, the National Radio and Television Administration, and several other government agencies issued the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Regulation and Administration of Online Live Streaming, which provides that internet live streaming platforms should promptly go through the enterprise record-filing formalities with local competent authorities such as the cyberspace administration.
Regulation Relating to Internet Culture Activities
The Interim Administrative Provisions on Internet Culture, or the Internet Culture Provisions, which was promulgated by the Ministry of Culture, or MOC (currently known as the MOCT), on February 17, 2011 and last amended on December 15, 2017, requires internet information services providers engaging in commercial internet culture activities to obtain an Internet Culture Business Operating License from the MOC. Internet cultural activity is defined under the Internet Culture Provisions as an act of provision of internet cultural products and related services, which includes (i) the production, duplication, importation, and broadcasting of the internet cultural products; (ii) the online dissemination whereby cultural products are posted on the internet or transmitted via the internet to end-users, such as computers, fixed-line telephones, mobile phones, television sets and games machines, for online users browsing, use or downloading; and (iii) the exhibition and competition of the internet cultural products. In addition, internet cultural products is defined under the Internet Culture Provisions as cultural products produced, broadcast and disseminated via the internet, which mainly include internet cultural products especially produced for the internet, such as online music entertainment, online games, online shows and plays (programs), online performances, online works of art and online cartoons, and internet cultural products produced from cultural products such as music entertainment, games, shows and plays (programs), performances, works of art, and cartoons through certain techniques and duplicating those to internet for dissemination.
On May 14, 2019, the General Office of MOCT promulgated the Notice on Adjusting the Scope of Internet Culture Business Operating License and Further Standardize the Approval Work, which provides that online music, online shows and plays, online performances, online works of art, online cartoons, displays and games are the activities that fall in the scope of internet culture business operating license, and further clarifies that educational live streaming activities are not deemed as online performances.
Regulation Relating to Online Publishing
On February 4, 2016, the SAPPRFT (currently reformed into the State Administration of Press and Publication (National Copyright Administration)) and the MIIT jointly issued the Administrative Provisions on Online Publishing Services, or the Online Publishing Provisions, which came into effect on March 10, 2016. Under the Online Publishing Provisions, any entity providing online publishing services shall obtain an Online Publishing Services Permit. Online publishing services refer to the provision of online publications to the public through information networks; and online publications refer to digital works with publishing features such as having been edited, produced or processed and are available to the public through information networks, including: (i) written works, pictures, maps, games, cartoons, audio/video reading materials and other original digital works containing useful knowledge or ideas in the field of literature, art, science or other fields; (ii) digital works of which the content is identical to that of any published book, newspaper, periodical, audio/video product,
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electronic publication or the like; (iii) network literature databases or other digital works, derived from any of the aforesaid works by selection, arrangement, collection or other means; and (iv) other types of digital works as may be determined by the SAPPRFT.
We currently do not hold an Online Publishing Services Permit. As of the date of this prospectus, there are no explicit interpretation from the governmental authorities or prevailing enforcement practice deeming the provision of our training content through our online solutions as online publishing which requires an Online Publishing Services Permit. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether the local PRC authorities would adopt a different practice. In addition, it remains uncertain whether the PRC governmental authorities would issue more explicit interpretation and rules or promulgate new laws and regulations. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryOur business is subject to extensive and evolving regulations governing the industry. If we fail to obtain and maintain required licenses and permits, we could face government enforcement actions, fines and possibly restrictions on our ability to operate or offer certain of our solutions.
Regulation Relating to Internet Information Security and Privacy Protection
The PRC Constitution states that the PRC laws protect the freedom and privacy of communications of citizens and prohibit infringement of such rights. PRC governmental authorities have enacted laws and regulations on internet information security and protection of personal information from any abuse or unauthorized disclosure. The Decisions on Maintaining Internet Security which was enacted by the SCNPC on December 28, 2000 and amended on August 27, 2009, may subject violators to criminal punishment in the PRC for any effort to: (i) gain improper entry into a computer or system of strategic importance; (ii) disseminate politically disruptive information; (iii) leak state secrets; (iv) spread false commercial information; or infringe intellectual property rights. The Ministry of Public Security, or MPS, has promulgated measures that prohibit use of the internet in ways which, among other things, result in a leakage of state secrets or a spread of socially destabilizing content. If an information service provider violates these measures, the MPS and the local security bureaus may revoke its operating license and shut down its websites.
Pursuant to the Decision on Strengthening the Protection of Online Information issued by the SCNPC on December 28, 2012, and the Order for the Protection of Telecommunication and Internet User Personal Information issued by the MIIT on July 16, 2013 and come into effect on September 1, 2013, any collection and use of user personal information must be subject to the consent of the user, abide by the principles of legality, rationality and necessity and be within the specified purposes, methods and scopes. Personal information is defined as information that identifies a citizen, the time or location for his/her use of telecommunication and internet services or involves privacy of any citizen such as his/her birth date, ID card number, and address. An internet information service provider must also keep information collected strictly confidential, and is further prohibited from divulging, tampering or destroying of any such information, or selling or providing such information to other parties. Any violation of the above decision or order may subject the internet information service provider to warnings, fines, confiscation of illegal gains, revocation of licenses, cancelation of filings, closedown of websites or even criminal liabilities.
Pursuant to the Notice of the Supreme Peoples Court, the Supreme Peoples Procuratorate and the MPS on Legally Punishing Criminal Activities Infringing upon the Personal Information of Citizens, issued on April 23, 2013, and the Interpretation of the Supreme Peoples Court and the Supreme Peoples Procuratorate on Several Issues regarding Legal Application in Criminal Cases Infringing upon the Personal Information of Citizens, which was issued on May 8, 2017 and took effect on June 1, 2017, the following activities may constitute the crime of infringing upon a citizens personal information: (i) providing a citizens personal information to specified persons or releasing a citizens personal information online or through other methods in violation of relevant national provisions; (ii) providing legitimately collected information relating to a citizen to others without such citizens consent (unless the information is processed, not traceable to a specific person and not recoverable); (iii) collecting a citizens personal information in violation of applicable rules and regulations when performing a duty or providing services; or (iv) collecting a citizens personal information by purchasing, accepting or exchanging such information in violation of applicable rules and regulations.
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Pursuant to the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law issued by the SCNPC on August 29, 2015, which became effective on November 1, 2015, any person or entity that fails to fulfill the obligations related to internet information security administration as required by applicable laws and refuses to rectify upon orders is subject to criminal penalty for the result of (i) any dissemination of illegal information in large scale; (ii) any severe effect due to the leakage of the clients information; (iii) any serious loss of criminal evidence; or (iv) other severe situation, and any individual or entity that sells or provides personal information to others in a way violating the applicable law, or steals or illegally obtain any personal information is subject to criminal penalty in severe situation.
Pursuant to the PRC Cyber Security Law issued by the SCNPC on November 7, 2016, effective as of June 1, 2017, personal information refers to all kinds of information recorded by electronic or otherwise that can be used to independently identify or be combined with other information to identify individuals personal information, including but not limited to: individuals names, dates of birth, ID numbers, biologically identified personal information, addresses and telephone numbers, etc. The PRC Cyber Security Law also provides that: (i) to collect and use personal information, network operators shall follow the principles of legitimacy, rightfulness and necessity, disclose rules of data collection and use, clearly express the purposes, means and scope of collecting and using the information, and obtain the consent of the persons whose data is gathered; network operators shall neither gather personal information unrelated to the services they provide, nor gather or use personal information in violation of the provisions of laws and administrative regulations or the scopes of consent given by the persons whose data is gathered; and shall dispose of personal information they have saved in accordance with the provisions of laws and administrative regulations and agreements reached with users; and network operators shall not divulge, tamper with or damage the personal information they have collected, and shall not provide the personal information to others without the consent of the persons whose data is collected. However, if the information has been processed and cannot be recovered and thus it is impossible to match such information with specific persons, such circumstance is an exception.
Pursuant to the Provisions on Internet Security Supervision and Inspection by Public Security Organs, which was promulgated by the MPS on September 15, 2018 and became effective on November 1, 2018, the public security departments are authorized to carry out internet security supervision and inspection of the internet service providers from the following aspects, among others: (i) whether the service providers have completed the recordation formalities for online entities, and filed the basic information on and the changes of the accessing entities and users; (ii) whether they have established and implemented the cybersecurity management system and protocols, and appointed the persons responsible for cybersecurity; (iii) whether the technical measures for recording and retaining users registration information and weblog data are in place according to the law; (iv) whether they have taken technical measures to prevent computer viruses, network attacks and network intrusion; (v) whether they have adopted preventive measures to tackle the information that is prohibited to be issued or transmitted by the laws and administrative regulations in the public information services; (vi) whether they provide technical support and assistance as required by laws to public security departments to safeguard national security and prevent and investigate on terrorist activities and criminal activities; and (vii) whether they have fulfilled the obligations of the grade-based cybersecurity protection and other obligations prescribed by the laws and administrative regulations. In particular, public security departments shall also carry out supervision and inspection on whether an internet service provider has taken required measures to manage information published by users, adopted proper measures to handle the published or transmitted information that is prohibited to be published or transmitted, and kept the relevant records.
In addition, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the MIIT, the MPS, and the SAMR jointly issued an Announcement of Launching Special Crackdown Against Illegal Collection and Use of Personal Information by Apps on January 23, 2019 to implement special rectification works against mobile Apps that collect and use personal information in violation of applicable laws and regulations, where business operators are prohibited from collecting personal information irrelevant to their services, or forcing users to give authorization in a disguised manner. On November 28, 2019, the National Internet Information Office, the MIIT, the MPS and
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the SAMR further jointly issued a notice to classify and identify illegal collection and use of personal information.
According to the Civil Code of China, which took effect on January 1, 2021, a natural person has the right of privacy and the personal information of a natural person will be protected in accordance with law. Information processors may not divulge or tamper with the personal information collected or stored by them and may not illegally provide any natural persons personal information to others without the consent of such natural person.
In addition, we are also subject to the Data Security Law promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress of China on June 10, 2021, which came into effect on September 1, 2021. The Data Security Law provides that the state shall establish a data security review system, under which data processing activities that affect or may affect national security shall be reviewed for national security purposes. A decision on security review made according to the law shall be final.
On December 28, 2021, the CAC, together with certain other PRC governmental authorities, promulgated the Cybersecurity Review Measures that replaced the previous version and took effect from February 15, 2022. Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, network platform operators with personal information of over one million users shall be subject to cybersecurity review before listing abroad. The competent governmental authorities may also initiate a cybersecurity review against the operators if the authorities believe that the network product or service or data processing activities of such operators affect or may affect national security. If the Cybersecurity Review Office deems it necessary to conduct a cybersecurity review, it should complete a preliminary review within 30 business days from the issuance of a written notice to the operator, or 45 business days for complicated cases. Upon the completion of a preliminary review, the Cybersecurity Review Office should reach a review conclusion suggestion and send the review conclusion suggestion to the members for the cybersecurity review system and the relevant authorities for their comments. These authorities shall issue a written reply within 15 business days from the receipt of the review conclusion suggestion. If the Cybersecurity Review Office and these authorities reach a consensus, then the Cybersecurity Review Office shall inform the operator in writing, otherwise, the case will go through a special review procedure. The special review procedure should be completed within 90 business days, or longer for complicated cases. The Cybersecurity Review Measures provide that the relevant violators shall be subject to legal consequences in accordance with the Cybersecurity Law and the Data Security Law.
On November 14, 2021, the CAC published the Administration Regulations on Cyber Data Security (Draft for Comments), which provide the circumstances under which data processors shall apply for cybersecurity review, including, among others, when (i) the data processors who process personal information of at least one million users apply for a foreign listing; and (ii) the data processors listing in Hong Kong affects or may possibly affect national security. Data processors dealing with important data or listing overseas should carry out an annual data security assessment by themselves or by entrusting data security service agencies, and each year before January 31, data security assessment report for the previous year shall be submitted to the applicable cyberspace administration department. When data collected and generated within the PRC are provided by the data processors to overseas recipients, if such data includes important data, or if the relevant data processor is a CIIO or processes personal information of more than one million people, the data processor shall go through the security assessment of cross-border data transfer organized by the national cyberspace administration. As of the date of this prospectus, this draft has not been formally adopted, and we will continue to monitor the enaction, interpretation and implementation of such draft.
On July 7, 2022, the CAC promulgated the Security Assessment Measures for Outbound Data Transfers which came into effect on September 1, 2022. The Security Assessment Measures for Outbound Data Transfers provides four circumstances, under any of which data processors shall, through the local cyberspace administration at the provincial level, apply to the national cyberspace administration for security assessment of cross border data transfer. These circumstances include: (i) where a data processor transfers important data to overseas recipients; (ii) where a CIIO, or a data processor processing the personal information of more than one
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million individuals, who, in either case, transfers personal information to overseas recipients; (iii) where a data processor who has transferred the personal information of more than 100,000 individuals, or the sensitive personal information of more than 10,000 individuals to overseas recipients, since January 1 of the previous year cumulatively; or (iv) other circumstances under which security assessment of data cross-border transfer is required as prescribed by the national cyberspace administration. Since there might be newly issued explanations or implementation rules, we will continually monitor our compliance status in accordance with the latest changes in applicable regulatory requirements.
Regulation Relating to Intellectual Property Rights
Copyright and Software Registration
The PRC Copyright Law, promulgated in 1990 and last amended in 2020, or the Copyright Law, and its related implementing regulations, promulgated in 2002 and amended in 2013, are the principal laws and regulations governing copyright related matters. The Copyright Law extends copyright protection to writings, oral works, photographic works, audio-visual works, and software products. Authors and other copyright owners may register their works with the registration organizations recognized by the competent national copyright authority. Under the Copyright Law, the term of protection for copyrighted software is fifty years. In addition, there is a voluntary registration system administered by the China Copyright Protection Center. To address the problem of copyright infringement related to the content posted or transmitted over the internet, the National Copyright Administration, or the NCAC, and the MIIT jointly promulgated the Measures for Administrative Protection of Copyright Related to Internet on April 29, 2005, which became effective on May 30, 2005.
On December 20, 2001, the State Council promulgated the Computer Software Protection Regulations which came into effect on January 1, 2002 and was last amended on January 30, 2013. These regulations are formulated for protecting the rights and interests of computer software copyright owners, encouraging the development and application of computer software and promoting the development of software business. In order to further implement the Computer Software Protection Regulations, the NCAC issued the Computer Software Copyright Registration Procedures on February 20, 2002, as amended on June 18, 2004, which applies to software copyright registration, license contract registration and transfer contract registration.
Patents
The SCNPC adopted the Patent Law of the PRC in 1984 and last amended it in 2020. A patentable invention, utility model or design must meet three conditions, namely novelty, inventiveness and practical applicability. Patents cannot be granted for scientific discoveries, rules and methods for intellectual activities, methods used to diagnose or treat diseases, animal and plant breeds or substances obtained by means of nuclear transformation. The Patent Office under the State Intellectual Property Office is responsible for receiving, examining and approving patent applications. A patent is valid for a twenty-year term for an invention and a ten-year term for a utility model or design, both starting from the application date. Except under certain specific circumstances provided by law, any third-party user must obtain consent or a proper license from the patent owner to use the patent, otherwise the use will constitute an infringement of the rights of the patent holder.
Trademark
Trademarks are protected by the PRC Trademark Law, which was adopted in 1982, last revised in April 2019 and became effective in November 2019, as well as its implementation rules adopted in 2002 and revised in 2014. The Trademark Office of National Intellectual Property Administration under the SAMR handles trademark registrations and grants a protection term of ten years to registered trademarks which may be renewed for consecutive ten-year periods upon request by the trademark owner. The PRC Trademark Law has adopted a first-to-file principle with respect to trademark registration. Where a trademark for which a registration has been made is identical or similar to another trademark which has already been registered or been subject to a
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preliminary examination and approval for use on the same kind of or similar commodities or services, the application for registration of such trademark may be rejected. Any person applying for the registration of a trademark may not prejudice the existing right first obtained by others, nor may any person register in advance a trademark that has already been used by another party and has already gained a sufficient degree of reputation through such partys use. An application for registration of a malicious trademark not for use will be rejected and those who apply for trademark registration maliciously will be given administrative penalties of warnings or fines according to the circumstances; those who file trademark lawsuits maliciously will be punished by the peoples court according to applicable laws.
Domain Name
The Administrative Measures on Internet Domain Names, or the Domain Name Measures, were promulgated by the MIIT on August 24, 2017, and came into effect on November 1, 2017. According to the Domain Name Measures, any party that has domain name root servers, and the institution for operating domain name root servers, the domain name registry and the domain name registrar within the territory of China, shall obtain a permit for this purpose from the MIIT or the communications administration of the local province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government. The registration of domain names is generally on a first-apply-first-registration basis and a domain name applicant will become the domain name holder upon the completion of the application procedure.
Trade Secrets
According to the PRC Anti-Unfair Competition Law, promulgated by the SCNPC in September 1993, as amended in November 4, 2017 and April 23, 2019 respectively, the term trade secrets refers to technical and business information that is unknown to the public, has utility, may create business interests or profits for its legal owners or holders, and is maintained as a secret by its legal owners or holders. Under the PRC Anti-Unfair Competition Law, business persons are prohibited from infringing others trade secrets by: (i) obtaining the trade secrets from the legal owners or holders by any unfair methods such as theft, bribery, fraud, coercion, electronic intrusion, or any other illicit means; (ii) disclosing, using or permitting others to use the trade secrets obtained illegally under item (i) above; or (iii) disclosing, using or permitting others to use the trade secrets, in violation of any contractual agreements or any requirements of the legal owners or holders to keep such trade secrets in confidence. Pursuant to the Civil Code of China, if one intentionally infringes upon the intellectual property rights of others and the circumstance is severe, the infringed party is entitled to request for the corresponding punitive compensation.
Regulation Relating to Employment, Social Insurance and Housing Provident Fund
Employment
Pursuant to the PRC Labor Law effective from January 1, 1995 and last amended on December 29, 2018 and the PRC Labor Contract Law effective from January 1, 2008 and amended on December 28, 2012, a written labor contract shall be executed by an employer and an employee when the employment relationship is established, and an employer is under an obligation to sign an unlimited-term labor contract with any employee who has worked for the employer for ten consecutive years. Furthermore, if an employee requests or agrees to renew a fixed-term labor contract that has already been entered into twice consecutively, the resulting contract must have an unlimited term, with certain exceptions. All employers must compensate their employees equal to at least the local minimum wage standards. All employers are required to establish a system for labor safety and sanitation, strictly abide by state rules and standards and provide employees with appropriate workplace safety training. In addition, the PRC government has continued to introduce various new labor-related regulations after the PRC Labor Contract Law. Amongst other things, new annual leave requirements mandate that annual leave ranging from 5 to 15 days is available to nearly all employees and further require that the employer compensate an employee for any annual leave days the employee is unable to take in the amount of three times his daily
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salary, subject to certain exceptions. Moreover, all PRC enterprises are generally required to implement a standard working time system of eight hours a day and forty hours a week, and if the implementation of such standard working time system is not appropriate due to the nature of the job or the characteristics of business operation, the enterprise may implement a flexible working time system or comprehensive working time system after obtaining approvals from the relevant authorities.
Social Insurance
The Law on Social Insurance of the PRC, which was promulgated on October 28, 2010 and amended on December 29, 2018, has established social insurance systems of basic pension insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance, work injury insurance and basic medical insurance, and has elaborated in detail the legal obligations and liabilities of employers who do not comply with relevant laws and regulations on social insurance.
According to the Interim Regulations on the Collection and Payment of Social Insurance Premiums, the Regulations on Work Injury Insurance, the Regulations on Unemployment Insurance and the Trial Measures on Employee Maternity Insurance of Enterprises, enterprises in the PRC shall provide benefit plans for their employees, which include basic pension insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance, work injury insurance and basic medical insurance. An enterprise must provide social insurance by going through social insurance registration with local social insurance authorities or agencies, and shall pay or withhold relevant social insurance premiums for or on behalf of employees. On July 20, 2018, the General Office of the State Council issued the Plan for Reforming the State and Local Tax Collection and Administration Systems, which stipulated that the State Administration of Taxation, or the SAT, will become solely responsible for collecting social insurance premiums.
Housing Provident Fund
According to the Administrative Regulations on the Administration of Housing Provident Fund, which was promulgated on April 3, 1999 and last amended on March 24, 2019, housing provident fund paid and deposited both by employee themselves and their unit employer shall be owned by the employees. An employer should undertake registration of payment and deposit of the housing provident fund in the housing provident fund management center and open a housing provident fund account on behalf of its employees in a commissioned bank. Employers should timely pay and deposit housing provident fund contributions in full amount and late or insufficient payments shall be prohibited.
Regulation Relating to Foreign Exchange
The principal regulations governing foreign currency exchange in China are the PRC Foreign Exchange Administration Regulations, or the Foreign Exchange Administration Regulations, which were promulgated by the State Council on January 29, 1996 and last amended on August 5, 2008. Under the Foreign Exchange Administration Regulations, Renminbi is generally freely convertible for payments of current account items, such as trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions and dividend payments, but not freely convertible for capital account items, such as direct investment, loan or investment in securities outside China, unless prior approval of SAFE or its local counterparts has been obtained.
On March 30, 2015, SAFE promulgated the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming the Administration of Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 19, which became effective on June 1, 2015 and was amended on December 30, 2019. According to SAFE Circular 19, the foreign exchange capital of FIEs shall be subject to the Discretionary Foreign Exchange Settlement, which means that the foreign exchange capital in the capital account of an FIE for which the rights and interests of monetary contribution have been confirmed by the local foreign exchange bureau (or the book-entry registration of monetary contribution by the banks) can be settled at the banks based on the actual operational needs of the FIE. The proportion of Discretionary Foreign Exchange Settlement of the foreign
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exchange capital of an FIE is temporarily set at 100%. The Renminbi converted from the foreign exchange capital will be kept in a designated account and if an FIE needs to make further payment from such account, it still needs to provide supporting documents and proceed with the review process with the banks. Furthermore, SAFE Circular 19 stipulates that the use of capital by FIEs shall follow the principles of authenticity and self-use within the business scope of enterprises. The capital of an FIE and capital in Renminbi obtained by the FIE from foreign exchange settlement shall not be used for the following purposes: (i) directly or indirectly used for payments beyond the business scope of the enterprises or payments as prohibited by relevant laws and regulations; (ii) directly or indirectly used for investment in securities unless otherwise provided by the relevant laws and regulations; (iii) directly or indirectly used for issuance of RMB entrusted loans, repayment of inter-enterprise loans (including advances by the third party) or repayment of bank loans that have been transferred to a third party; or (iv) directly or indirectly used for expenses related to the purchase of real estate that is not for self-use (except for the foreign-invested real estate enterprises).
The Circular on Reforming and Standardizing the Foreign Exchange Settlement Management Policy of Capital Account, or SAFE Circular 16, was promulgated by SAFE on June 9, 2016 and amended on December 4, 2023. Pursuant to SAFE Circular 16, enterprises registered in the PRC may also convert their foreign debts from foreign currency to Renminbi on a self-discretionary basis. SAFE Circular 16 provides a unified standard for the conversion of foreign exchange under capital account items (including but not limited to foreign currency capital and foreign debts) on a self-discretionary basis which applies to all enterprises registered in the PRC. SAFE Circular 16 reiterates the principle that Renminbi converted from foreign currency-denominated capital of a company may not be directly or indirectly used for purposes beyond its business scope or prohibited by PRC Laws, while such converted Renminbi shall not be provided as loans to its non-associated enterprises.
On October 23, 2019, SAFE promulgated the Notice for Further Advancing the Facilitation of Cross-border Trade and Investment, or the SAFE Circular 28, which, among other things, allows all foreign-invested companies to use Renminbi converted from foreign currency-denominated capital for equity investments in China, as long as the equity investment is genuine, does not violate applicable laws, and complies with the negative list on foreign investment.
Regulation Relating to Foreign Exchange Registration of Overseas Investment by PRC Residents
SAFE issued the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment Through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, to regulate foreign exchange matters in relation to the use of special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, by PRC residents or entities to seek offshore investment and financing or conduct round trip investment in China. Under SAFE Circular 37, a SPV refers to an offshore entity established or controlled, directly or indirectly, by PRC residents (including individuals and entities) for the purpose of seeking offshore financing or making offshore investment, using legitimate onshore or offshore assets or interests, while round trip investment refers to direct investment in China by PRC residents through SPVs, namely, establishing FIEs to obtain the ownership, control rights and management rights. The term control under SAFE Circular 37 is broadly defined as the operation rights, beneficiary rights or decision-making rights acquired by PRC residents in the offshore special purpose vehicles by means of acquisition, trust, proxy, voting rights, repurchase, convertible bonds or other arrangements. SAFE Circular 37 provides that, before making contribution into an SPV, PRC residents are required to complete foreign exchange registration with SAFE or its local branch. SAFE promulgated the Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving Foreign Exchange Administration Policy on Direct Investment, which provides that applications for foreign exchange registration of inbound foreign direct investments and outbound overseas direct investments, including those required under SAFE Circular 37, will be filed with qualified banks instead of SAFE.
An amendment to the registration is required if there is a material change with respect to the SPV registered, such as any change of basic information (including change of the PRC residents, name and operation term), increases or decreases in investment amount, transfers or exchanges of shares, and mergers or divisions. Failure
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to comply with the registration procedures set forth in SAFE Circular 37 and the subsequent notice, or making misrepresentation on or failure to disclose controllers of the FIE that is established through round-trip investment, may result in restrictions being imposed on the foreign exchange activities of the relevant FIE, including payment of dividends and other distributions, such as proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation, to its offshore parent or affiliate, and the capital inflow from the offshore parent, and may also subject relevant PRC residents or entities to penalties under PRC foreign exchange administration regulations.
Regulation on Stock Incentive Plans
SAFE promulgated the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Issues concerning the Administration of Foreign Exchange Used for Domestic Individuals Participation in Equity Incentive Plans of Companies Listed Overseas, or the Stock Option Rules on February 15, 2012, replacing the previous rules issued by SAFE in March 2007. Under the Stock Option Rules and other relevant rules and regulations, PRC citizens and non-PRC citizens who reside in China for a continuous period of not less than one year and participate in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company are required to register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent, which could be a PRC subsidiary of such overseas-listed company, and complete certain other procedures, unless certain exceptions are available. In addition, an overseas-entrusted institution must be retained to handle matters in connection with the exercise or sale of stock options and the purchase or sale of shares and interests.
Regulation Relating to M&A and Overseas Listings
On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, including the Ministry of Commerce, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the SAT, the SAMR, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, and SAFE jointly issued the M&A Rules, which became effective on September 8, 2006 and was amended on June 22, 2009. The M&A Rules requires in some instances that the MOFCOM be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise where any of the following situations exist: (i) the transaction involves an important industry in China, (ii) the transaction may affect national economic security, or (iii) the PRC domestic enterprise has a well-known trademark or historical Chinese trade name in China. The M&A Rules, among other things, also require that PRC entities or individuals obtain MOFCOM approval before they establish or control an SPV overseas, provided that they intend to use the SPV to acquire their equity interests in a PRC company at the consideration of newly issued share of the SPV, or share swap, and list their equity interests in the PRC company overseas by listing the SPV in an overseas market; (ii) the SPV obtains MOFCOMs approval before it acquires the equity interests held by the PRC entities or PRC individual in the PRC company by share swap; and (iii) the SPV obtains CSRC approval before it lists overseas.
The M&A Rules further requires that the MOFCOM be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor acquires control of a PRC domestic enterprise or a foreign company with substantial PRC operations, if certain thresholds under the Provisions on Thresholds for Prior Notification of Concentrations of Undertakings, issued by the State Council, are triggered. Moreover, the Anti-Monopoly Law promulgated by the Standing Committee of the NPC requires that transactions which are deemed concentrations and involve parties with specified turnover thresholds be cleared by the MOFCOM before they can be completed.
On February 17, 2023, the CSRC released the Trial Measures and five supporting guidelines, effective on March 31, 2023. Pursuant to the Trial Measures, domestic companies that seek overseas listing and public offering, both directly and indirectly, should perform the filing procedures and report relevant information to the CSRC. Specifically, following the principle of substance over form, if an issuer meets both of the following criteria, its overseas offering and listing will be deemed as an indirect overseas offering and listing by a PRC enterprise: (i) 50% or more of any of the issuers operating revenue, total profit, total assets or net assets as documented in its audited consolidated financial statements for the most recent fiscal year is contributed by PRC
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companies; and (ii) the majority of the issuers business activities are conducted in mainland China, or its major places of business are located in mainland China, or the majority of senior management staff in charge of its business operations and management are PRC citizens or residents of mainland China. On the same day, the CSRC also held a press conference for the release of the Trial Measures and issued the Notice on Administration for the Filing of Overseas Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, which clarifies that, on or prior to the effective date of the Trial Measures, PRC companies that have already submitted valid applications for overseas offering and listing but have not obtained approval from overseas regulatory authorities or stock exchanges may reasonably arrange the timing for submitting their filing applications with the CSRC, and must complete the filing before the completion of their overseas offering and listing.
The Trial Measures also requires subsequent reports to be submitted to the CSRC on material events, such as change of control or voluntary or forced delisting, of the issuers who have completed overseas offerings and listings. Besides, if any material change in the principal business and operation of the issuer after its overseas offering and listing makes the issuer no longer within the scope of record filing, the issuer shall submit a special report and a legal opinion issued by a PRC law firm to the CSRC within three business days after such change to provide an explanation of the relevant situation.
According to the Overseas Listing Trial Measures, the PRC enterprises engaging in overseas offering and listing activities shall strictly comply with the laws and regulations. It is prohibited to make any comments in a manner that misrepresents or disparages laws and policies, business environment and judicial situation of the nation in the documents produced or issued for the overseas listing. If a domestic company fails to complete the filing procedures or conceals any material fact or falsifies any major content in its filing documents, such domestic company may be subject to administrative penalties, such as order to rectify, warnings, fines, and its controlling shareholders, actual controllers, the persons directly in charge and other directly liable persons may also be subject to administrative penalties, such as warnings and fines.
On February 24, 2023, the CSRC and other three authorities published the Provisions on Strengthening the Confidentiality and Archives Management Related to Overseas Issuance and Listing of Securities by Domestic Companies, or the Confidentiality and Archives Management Provisions, effective on March 31, 2023. Pursuant to the Confidentiality and Archives Management Provisions, PRC domestic companies that seek to offer and list securities in overseas markets shall establish confidentiality and archives system. The PRC domestic companies shall obtain approval from the competent authority and file with the confidential administration department at the same level when providing or publicly disclosing documents and materials related to state secrets or secrets of the governmental authorities to the relevant securities companies, securities service agencies or the offshore regulatory authorities or providing or publicly disclosing such documents and materials through its offshore listing entity, and shall complete corresponding procedures when providing or publicly disclosing documents and materials which may adversely influence national security and the public interest to the relevant securities companies, securities service agencies or the offshore regulatory authorities or providing or publicly disclosing such documents and materials through its offshore listing entity. The PRC domestic companies shall provide written statements on the implementation on the aforementioned rules to the relevant securities companies and securities service agencies and the PRC domestic companies shall not provide accounting files to an overseas accounting firm unless such firm complies with the corresponding procedures.
Regulation Relating to Taxation
Enterprise Income Tax
On March 16, 2007, the NPC enacted the Enterprise Income Tax Law, which was last amended on December 29, 2018, and on December 6, 2007, the State Council promulgated the Implementing Rules of the Enterprise Income Tax Law, which became effective on January 1, 2008 and was amended on April 23, 2019 (or collectively, the PRC EIT Law). The PRC EIT Law applies a uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate to both FIEs and domestic enterprises, except where tax incentives are granted to special industries and projects.
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Enterprises qualifying as High and New Technology Enterprises are entitled to a preferential 15% enterprise income tax rate rather than the 25% statutory tax rate. The preferential tax treatment continues as long as an enterprise can retain its High and New Technology Enterprise status.
Under the PRC EIT Law, an enterprise established outside China with its de facto management body located in China is considered a resident enterprise, which means it can be treated as a domestic enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes. A non-resident enterprise that does not have an establishment or place of business in China, or has an establishment or place of business in China but the income of which has no actual relationship with such establishment or place of business, shall pay enterprise income tax on its income deriving from inside China at the reduced rate of enterprise income tax of 10% and such income tax shall be subject to withholding at the source, where the payer shall act as the withholding agent. Dividends generated after January 1, 2008 and payable by an FIE in China to its foreign enterprise investors are subject to a 10% withholding tax, unless any such foreign investors jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for a preferential withholding arrangement.
The Notice on Issues Concerning the Determination of Chinese-Controlled Enterprises Registered Overseas as Resident Enterprises on the Basis of Their Bodies of Actual Management, or the SAT Circular 82, provides certain specific criteria for determining whether the de facto management body of a PRC-controlled enterprise that is incorporated offshore is located in China. According to the SAT Circular 82, an offshore incorporated enterprise controlled by a PRC enterprise or a PRC enterprise group will be regarded as a PRC tax resident by virtue of having its de facto management body in China, and will be subject to PRC enterprise income tax on its global income only if all of the following conditions are met: (i) the primary location of the day-to-day operational management is in the PRC; (ii) decisions relating to the enterprises financial and human resource matters are made or are subject to approval by organizations or personnel in the PRC; (iii) the enterprises primary assets, accounting books and records, company seals, and board and shareholder resolutions are located or maintained in the PRC; and (iv) at least 50% of voting board members or senior executives habitually reside in the PRC.
Pursuant to the Arrangement between mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, the withholding tax rate in respect to the payment of dividends by a mainland China enterprise to a Hong Kong enterprise may be reduced to 5% from a standard rate of 10% if the Hong Kong enterprise directly holds at least 25% of the mainland China enterprise and certain other conditions are satisfied. Pursuant to the Notice of the State Administration of Taxation on the Issues concerning the Application of the Dividend Clauses of Tax Agreements, a Hong Kong resident enterprise must meet the following conditions, among others, in order to apply the reduced withholding tax rate: (i) it must be a company; (ii) it must directly own the required percentage of equity interests and voting rights in the mainland China resident enterprise; and (iii) it must have directly owned such required percentage in the mainland China resident enterprise throughout the 12 months prior to receiving the dividends.
On February 3, 2015, the SAT issued the Bulletin on Issues of Enterprise Income Tax on Indirect Transfers or Assets by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises, or SAT Bulletin 7, which extends its tax jurisdiction to transactions involving the transfer of taxable assets through offshore transfer of a foreign intermediate holding company. Pursuant to SAT Bulletin 7, where a non-resident enterprise indirectly transfers properties such as equity in PRC resident enterprises without any justifiable business purposes and aiming to avoid the payment of enterprise income tax, such indirect transfer must be reclassified as a direct transfer of equity in PRC resident enterprise. To assess whether an indirect transfer of PRC taxable properties has reasonable commercial purposes, all arrangements related to the indirect transfer must be considered comprehensively and factors set forth in SAT Bulletin 7 must be comprehensively analyzed in light of the actual circumstances. In addition, SAT Bulletin 7 has introduced safe harbors for internal group restructurings and the purchase and sale of equity securities through a public securities market.
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On October 17, 2017, the SAT issued the Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Issues Concerning the Withholding of Non-resident Enterprise Income Tax at Source, or SAT Bulletin 37, last amended on June 15, 2018, which further clarifies the practice and procedure of the withholding of non-resident enterprise income tax.
Value-Added Tax
Pursuant to the Provisional Regulations on PRC Value-added Tax and its implementation regulations, unless otherwise specified by relevant laws and regulations, any entity or individual engaged in the sales of goods, provision of processing, repairs and replacement services and importation of goods into China is generally required to pay a value-added tax, or VAT.
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Directors and Executive Officers
The following table sets forth information regarding our executive officers and directors upon the completion of this offering.
Directors and Executive Officers |
Age |
Position/Title | ||
Xiaoyan Lu |
54 | Director, Founder, Chairman of the Board | ||
Teng Zu |
41 | Director, Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer | ||
Jie Ding |
55 | Director, Co-founder | ||
Pun Leung Liu |
45 | Director, Chief Financial Officer | ||
Yazhou Wu |
48 | Chief Technology Officer | ||
Guodian Huang* |
52 | Independent Director | ||
Yunjian Ling* |
54 | Independent Director |
* | Each of Guodian Huang and Yunjian Ling has accepted appointment as an independent director, which will be effective immediately upon the SECs declaration of effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part. |
Xiaoyan Lu founded Yunxuetang in 2011 and currently serves as our chairman of the Board. Mr. Lu is a successful serial entrepreneur. Prior to founding Yunxuetang, Mr. Lu worked as a manager at Suzhou Materials and Equipments Trading Group from 1995 to 1998. In 1998, Mr. Lu founded two software companies. Mr. Lu holds an EMBA from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS).
Teng Zu co-founded Yunxuetang and currently serves as a director and our chief executive officer. Prior to co-founding Yunxuetang, Mr. Zu served as director of Internet operation department and chief executive officer of Leci at New Oriental Education & Technology Group (NYSE: EDU, HKEx: 9901) from April 2011 to September 2014. Mr. Zu founded Haoxue Online Education Platform and served as its chief executive officer from September 2014 to January 2017. Mr. Zu founded Guoshi Technology and served as its chief executive officer from June 2018 to June 2019.
Jie Ding co-founded Yunxuetang and currently serves as a director. Prior to co-founding Yunxuetang, Ms. Ding worked as a mathematics teacher at the Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University from July 1989 to August 1992. Ms. Ding served as a sales manager at Beijing Renda International Information and Engineering Co., Ltd. from September 1992 to February 1999. Ms. Ding held various positions at Barco NV from March 1999 to August 2008 and served as its general manager in Great China (include Hong Kong, Marco and Taiwan). Ms. Ding served as chief marketing officer in G-net Cloud Service Co., Ltd. from August 2008 to June 2013. Ms. Ding holds a Doctorate of Business Administration degree from United Business Institutes, an EMBA from CEIBS, and a bachelors degree in Mathematics from Beijing Normal University.
Pun Leung Liu has served as our director since June 2021, and has served as our chief financial officer since September 2020. Prior to joining Yunxuetang, Mr. Liu served in various positions at Ernst & Young from 2000 to 2011. Mr. Liu served as chief risk officer of 500.com Limited (NYSE: BTCM) from 2011 to 2014. Mr. Liu served as director, board secretary and chief financial officer of A8 New Media Group Limited (HKEx: 0800) from 2014 to 2017. Mr. Liu served as chief financial officer of DaDa Education Group, an online English education company, from 2017 to 2019. Mr. Liu is a member of Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Institute of Internal Auditors. Mr. Liu holds a bachelors degree in Accountancy from the City University of Hong Kong.
Yazhou Wu has served as our chief technology officer since April 2021. Mr. Wu has been leading our technology teams and is playing a vital role in building digital corporate learning solutions. Prior to joining
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Yunxuetang, Mr. Wu held various R&D and operating management positions at Tencent from November 2002 to July 2008, with expertise in the development of multi-user high concurrency systems. Mr. Wu served as the chief executive officer of Le Cloud Computing Co., Ltd from May 2015 to November 2017. Mr. Wu served as the operating president of HNA Technology Co., Ltd. from November 2017 to June 2019, where he was primarily responsible for its general operating and the strategy and management of Cloud-Smart BU. In June 2019, Mr. Wu founded Wuzhu Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., a company focusing on the smart marketing industry, and served as its director from June 2019 to April 2021. Mr. Wu holds dual bachelors degree in Precise Instrument and English from Tianjin University.
Guodian Huang will serve as our director immediately upon the effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part. Currently, Mr. Huang serves as chairman of Chuanglian Investment Co., Ltd. since 2000, and vice chairman of Xiamen Dongjiang Environmental Protection Science Co., Ltd. since January 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Huang worked in Xiamen Oasis Environmental Protection Co., Ltd. as chairman from December 2000 to May 2014. Mr. Huang obtained a bachelors degree in finance from Xiamen University in 1995, and an EMBA from CEIBS in 2004.
Yunjian Ling will serve as our director immediately upon the effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part. Mr. Ling has worked in Hunan Sokan New Material Co., Ltd. since March 2009, serving as chairman and general manager from March 2009 to December 2021, and chairman since December 2021. Currently, Mr. Ling also serves as a director in Sokan New Material (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. since October 2012, an executive director and general manager in Changsha Songrun New Material Co., Ltd. since August 2017, and an executive director in Changsha Maosong Science & Technology Co., Ltd. since November 2017. Mr. Ling obtained an EMBA from Central South University in 2023.
Employment Agreements and Indemnification Agreements
We have entered into employment agreements with each of our executive officers. Each of our executive officers is employed for a specified time period, which will be renewed automatically thereafter for successive one-year terms unless a one-month notice of non-renewal is given by one party to the other. We may terminate an executive officers employment for cause at any time without advance notice in certain events. We may terminate an executive officers employment by giving a prior written notice. An executive officer may terminate his or her employment at any time by giving a prior written notice.
Each executive officer has agreed to hold, unless expressly consented to by us, at all times during and after the termination of his or her employment agreement, in strict confidence and not to use, any of our confidential information or the confidential information of our customers and suppliers. In addition, each executive officer has agreed to be bound by certain non-competition and non-solicitation restrictions during the term of his or her employment and for two years following the last date of employment.
We have also entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers. Under these agreements, we agree to indemnify our directors and executive officers against certain liabilities and expenses incurred by such persons in connection with claims made by reason of their being a director or officer of our company.
Board of Directors
Our board of directors will consist of six directors, including two independent directors, namely Mr. Huang Guodian and Mr. Ling Yunjian, upon the SECs declaration of effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1 to which this prospectus forms a part. A director is not required to hold any shares in our company to qualify to serve as a director. The corporate governance rules of the [Nasdaq/NYSE] generally require that a majority of an issuers board of directors must consist of independent directors. However, the corporate governance rules of the [Nasdaq/NYSE] permit foreign private issuers like us to follow home country practice in certain corporate governance matters. We rely on this home country practice exception and do not have a majority of independent directors serving on our board of directors.
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A director who is in any way, whether directly or indirectly, interested in a contract or proposed contract with our company is required to declare the nature of his or her interest at a meeting of our directors. A general notice given to the directors by any director to the effect that he or she is a member, shareholder, director, partner, officer or employee of any specified company or firm and is to be regarded as interested in any contract or transaction with that company or firm shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of interest for the purposes of voting on a resolution in respect to a contract or transaction in which he/she has an interest, and after such general notice it shall not be necessary to give special notice relating to any particular transaction. A director may vote in respect of any contract or proposed contract or arrangement notwithstanding that he/she may be interested therein and if he/she does so, his/her vote shall be counted and he/she may be counted in the quorum at any meeting of the directors at which any such contract or proposed contract or arrangement is considered. Our board of directors may exercise all of the powers of our company to borrow money, to mortgage or charge its undertaking, property and uncalled capital, or any part thereof, and to issue debentures, debenture stock or other securities whenever money is borrowed or as security for any debt, liability or obligation of our company or of any third party. None of our directors has a service contract with us that provides for benefits upon termination of service as a director.
Committees of the Board of Directors
We intend to establish an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee under our board of directors immediately and adopt a charter for each of the three committees upon the effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part. We intend to establish these committees prior to the completion of this offering. Each committees members and functions are described below.
Audit Committee. Our audit committee will consist of Guodian Huang, Yunjian Ling, and Xiaoyan Lu, and is chaired by Guodian Huang. We have determined that Guodian Huang and Yunjian Ling satisfy the independence requirements of [Rule 5605(c)(2) of the Listing Rules of the Nasdaq/Section 303A of the Corporate Governance Rules of the NYSE] and meet the independence standards under Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We have determined that Guodian Huang qualifies as an audit committee financial expert. Mr. Xiaoyan Lu, our director, founder and chairman of the board, holds and will hold, immediately upon the completion of this offering, more than 10% of our voting power. As such, Mr. Xiaoyan Lu does not fall under the safe harbor provision of Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Our audit committee will consist solely of independent directors within one year of this offering. The audit committee oversees our accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of the financial statements of our company. The audit committee is responsible for, among other things:
| the appointment, compensation, retention, termination, and oversight of the work of any accounting firm engaged for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or performing other audit, review or attest services for our company (subject, if applicable, to shareholder ratification); |
| pre-approving the audit services and non-audit services (including the fees and terms thereof) to be provided by our companys independent auditor pursuant to pre-approval policies and procedures established by the committee; |
| discussing with the independent auditor its responsibilities under generally accepted auditing standards, reviewing and approving the planned scope and timing of the independent auditors annual audit plan(s) and discussing significant findings from the audit and any problems or difficulties encountered, including any restrictions on the scope of the auditors activities or on access to requested information, and any significant disagreements with management; |
| evaluating the independent auditors qualifications, performance and independence, and presenting its conclusions with respect to the independent auditor to the full board on at least an annual basis; |
| establishing policies for our companys hiring of current or former employees of the independent auditor; |
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| at least annually, evaluating the performance, responsibilities, budget and staffing of our companys internal audit function and reviewing and approving the internal audit plan; |
| at least annually, evaluating the performance of the senior officer or officers responsible for the internal audit function of our company, and making recommendations to the board and management regarding the responsibilities, retention or termination of such officer or officers; |
| establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by our company regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters, and the confidential, anonymous submission by employees of our company of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters; |
| at least annually, evaluating its own performance and report to the board on such evaluation; |
| reviewing and assessing the adequacy of the charter of the committee on an annual basis and recommending any proposed changes to the board; and |
| reviewing and approving all related-party transactions (as defined in Item 7 of Form 20-F), including, but not limited to, transactions between our company, on the one hand, and enterprises that directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, control or are controlled by, or are under common control with, our company, on the other hand. |
Compensation Committee. Our compensation committee will consist of Xiaoyan Lu and Guodian Huang and is chaired by Xiaoyan Lu. We have determined that Guodian Huang satisfies the independence requirements of [Rule 5605(c)(2) of the Listing Rules of the Nasdaq/Section 303A of the Corporate Governance Rules of the NYSE]. The compensation committee assists the board in reviewing and approving the compensation structure, including all forms of compensation, relating to our directors and executive officers. Our chief executive officer may not be present at any committee meeting during which their compensation is deliberated upon. The compensation committee is responsible for, among other things:
| reviewing and approving the compensation of the chief executive officer and each of our companys other executive officers; |
| in consultation with our companys chief executive officer, periodically reviewing our companys management succession planning, including policies for chief executive officer selection and succession in the event of the incapacitation, retirement or removal of the chief executive officer, and evaluations of, and development plans for, any potential successors to the chief executive officer; |
| reviewing and evaluating our companys executive compensation and benefits policies generally (subject, if applicable, to shareholder approval), including the review and recommendation of any incentive-compensation and equity-based plans of our company that are subject to board approval; |
| reporting to the board periodically; |
| at least annually, evaluating its own performance and reporting to the board on such evaluation; |
| reviewing and assessing the adequacy of the charter of the committee on an annual basis and periodically recommending any proposed changes to the board for approval; and |
| reviewing and assessing risks arising from our companys employee compensation policies and practices and whether any such risks are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on our company. |
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Our nominating and corporate governance committee will consist of Yunjian Ling and Xiaoyan Lu, and is chaired by Yunjian Ling. We have determined that Yunjian Ling satisfies the independence requirements of [Rule 5605(c)(2) of the Listing Rules of the Nasdaq/Section 303A of the Corporate Governance Rules of the NYSE]. The nominating and corporate governance committee assists the board in selecting individuals qualified to become our directors and in determining the
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composition of the board and its committees. The nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for, among other things:
| overseeing searches for and identifying qualified individuals for membership on the board; |
| recommending to the board criteria for board and board committee membership and recommending individuals for membership on the board and its committees; |
| at least annually, leading the board in a self-evaluation to determine whether it and its committees are functioning effectively; |
| at least annually, reviewing the evaluations prepared by each board committee of such committees performance and considering any recommendations for proposed changes to the board; |
| reviewing and approving compensation (including equity-based compensation) for our companys directors; |
| overseeing an orientation and continuing education program for directors; |
| reporting to the board periodically; |
| at least annually, evaluating its own performance and reporting to the board on such evaluation; and |
| periodically reviewing and assessing the adequacy of the charter of the committee and recommending any proposed changes to the board for approval. |
Duties and Functions of Directors
Under Cayman Islands law, our directors owe fiduciary duties to our company, including a duty of loyalty, a duty to act honestly and a duty to act in what they consider in good faith to be in our best interests. Our directors must also exercise their powers only for a proper purpose. Our directors also owe to our company a duty to exercise the skill they actually possess and such care and diligence that a reasonable prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances. It was previously considered that a director need not exhibit in the performance of his duties a greater degree of skill than may reasonably be expected from a person of his knowledge and experience. However, English and Commonwealth courts have moved toward an objective standard with regard to the required skill and care and these authorities are likely to be followed in the Cayman Islands. In fulfilling their duty of care to us, our directors must ensure compliance with our memorandum and articles of association, as amended and restated from time to time. Our company has the right to seek damages if a duty owed by our directors is breached. In limited exceptional circumstances, a shareholder may have the right to seek damages in our name if a duty owed by our directors is breached. In accordance with our post-offering amended and restated articles of association, the functions and powers of our board of directors include, among others, (i) directing the business of our company as they see fit; (ii) adopting the corporate governance policies or initiatives of our company and determining on various corporate governance related matters; (iii) appointing any person to hold such office in our company for the administration of our company; (iv) exercising all the powers of our company to borrow money; (v) convening shareholders annual general meetings and reporting its work to shareholders at such meetings; and (iv) declaring dividends. In addition, in the event of a tie vote, the chairman of our board of directors has, in addition to his personal vote, the right to cast a tie-breaking vote.
Terms of Directors and Officers
Our officers are elected by and serve at the discretion of the board. Each director is not subject to a term of office and holds office until such time as his successor takes office or until the earlier of his death, resignation or removal from office by special resolution or the unanimous written resolution of all shareholders. A director will be removed from office automatically if, among other things, the director (i) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors; (ii) dies or is found to be or becomes of unsound mind; (iii) resigns his office by notice in writing to our company; (iv) is prohibited by any applicable law or designated stock exchange rules from being a director; (v) without special leave of absence from the board, is absent from meetings of the board for three consecutive meetings and the board resolves that his office be vacated; or (vi) is removed from office pursuant to any other provision of our post-offering amended and restated articles of association.
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Interested Transactions
A director may, subject to any separate requirement for audit committee approval under applicable law or applicable [Nasdaq/NYSE] rules, vote in respect of any contract or transaction in which he or she is interested, provided that the nature of the interest of any directors in such contract or transaction is disclosed by him or her at or prior to its consideration and any vote in that matter.
Compensation of Directors and Executive Officers
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, we paid an aggregate of RMB6.8 million (US$1.0 million) in cash to our executive officers, and we did not pay any cash compensation to our non-executive directors. We have not set aside or accrued any amount to provide pension, retirement or other similar benefits to our directors and executive officers. Our PRC subsidiaries and the VIEs are required by law to make contributions equal to certain percentages of each employees salary for his or her pension insurance, medical insurance, unemployment insurance and other statutory benefits and a housing provident fund.
Share Incentive Plan
2021 Share Plan
We adopted the 2021 Share Incentive Plan, or the 2021 Share Plan, in September 2021. The purposes of the 2021 Share Plan are to attract and retain the best available personnel for positions of substantial responsibility, to provide additional incentives to selected employees, directors, and consultants and to promote the success of our business by offering these individuals or entities an opportunity to acquire a proprietary interest in our success, or to increase this interest by permitting them to acquire our shares. Under the 2021 Share Plan, the maximum aggregate number of ordinary shares which may be issued pursuant to all awards under the 2021 Share Plan is 11,258,693. As of the date of this prospectus, 4,378,011 shares have been granted and outstanding under the 2021 Share Plan.
We entered into a trust deed on December 30, 2022 with Kastle Limited to act as the trustee of YXT.COM GROUP TRUST to hold securities on behalf of certain employees and members of management under the 2021 Share Plan. Kastle Limited has waived its rights associated with the ordinary shares, including the voting rights.
The following paragraphs summarize the terms of the 2021 Share Plan, as amended.
Types of Awards. The 2021 Share Plan permits the awards of options, restricted shares and restricted share units, and other type of awards as designed and approved by the board of directors, or a committee of one or more members of the board (the Committee).
Plan Administration. The 2021 Share Plan shall be administrated by the Committee.
Eligibility. Persons eligible to participate in this Plan include employees, consultants, and all directors, as determined by the board of directors, or a committee of one or more members of the board.
Exercise price. The exercise price in respect of any particular option shall be such price as determined by the board in its absolute discretion at the time of making of the offer (which shall be stated in the option agreement).
Award Agreement. Each award under the 2021 Share Plan shall be evidenced by award agreements that set forth the terms, conditions and limitations for each award which may include the term of an award, the provisions applicable in the event the participants employment or service terminates, and our companys authority to unilaterally or bilaterally amend, modify, suspend, cancel or rescind an award.
Conditions of Award. The plan administrator of the 2021 Share Plan shall determine the provisions, terms, and conditions of each award including, but not limited to, the type or types of the award, the exercise price,
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grant price, or purchase price, any restrictions or limitations on the award, any schedule for lapse of forfeiture restrictions or restrictions on the exercisability of an award, and accelerations or waivers thereof, any provisions related to non-competition and recapture of gain on an award, based in each case on such considerations as the Committee in its sole discretion determines.
Amendment, Modification and Termination. With the approval of the board, at any time and from time to time, the committee may terminate, amend or modify the 2021 Share Plan; provided, however, that (a) to the extent necessary and desirable to comply with applicable laws or stock exchange rules, our company shall obtain shareholder approval of any amendment in such a manner and to such a degree as required, unless our company decides to follow home country practice, and (b) unless our company decides to follow home country practice, shareholder approval is required for any amendment to the 2021 Share Plan that (i) increases the number of shares available under the Plan (other than any adjustment related to changes in capital structure), or (ii) permits the Committee to extend the term of the 2021 Share Plan or the exercise period for an option beyond ten years from the date of grant. No termination, amendment, or modification of the 2021 Share Plan shall adversely affect in any material way any award previously granted pursuant to the 2021 Share Plan without the prior written consent of the participant.
Transfer restrictions. Unless otherwise expressly provided by applicable laws and by the award agreement, all awards are non-transferable and will not be subject in any manner to sale, transfer, anticipation, alienation, assignment, pledge, encumbrance or charge.
The following table summarizes, as of the date of this prospectus, the number of ordinary shares underlying share awards granted to our directors and executive officers.
Ordinary Shares Underlying Share Awards Granted |
Date of Grant | |||||||
Teng Zu |
2,956,830 | September 2021 | ||||||
Yazhou Wu |
* | October 2022 | ||||||
Pun Leung Liu |
* | October 2022 | ||||||
Total |
3,892,850 | N/A |
* | Less than 1% of our total outstanding shares |
As of the date of this prospectus, other grantees under the 2021 Share Plan as a group held 485,161 ordinary shares underlying the share awards granted, and there are a total of 6,880,682 ordinary shares underlying share awards available for grant under the 2021 Share Plan.
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The following table sets forth information concerning the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus, assuming conversion of all of our outstanding preferred shares into ordinary shares on a one-to-one basis, by:
| each of our directors and executive officers; and |
| each person known to us to beneficially own more than 5% of any class of our ordinary shares. |
We have adopted a dual-class voting structure which will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering. The 16,931,824 issued and outstanding ordinary shares held by Unicentury Holdings Limited prior to this offering, which are beneficially owned by Mr. Xiaoyan Lu, our director, founder and chairman of the board, will be re-designated into Class B ordinary shares, and the remaining outstanding ordinary shares and all of the outstanding preferred shares prior to this offering will be converted and re-designated, as applicable, into Class A ordinary shares, in each case on a one-for-one basis, subject to anti-dilution adjustments based on the initial public offering price (for details, see Description of Share CapitalAnti-Dilution Adjustment), immediately prior to the completion of this offering. Mr. Xiaoyan Lu did not exchange any consideration to the company as part of this re-designation.
The calculations in the table below are based on 157,735,394 ordinary shares on an as-converted basis outstanding as of the date of this prospectus and ordinary shares outstanding immediately after the completion of this offering, including (i) Class A ordinary shares to be sold by us in this offering represented by the ADSs, (ii) 140,803,570 Class A ordinary shares re-designated and converted from our outstanding ordinary shares and preferred shares, and (iii) 16,931,824 Class B ordinary shares re-designated from our outstanding ordinary shares. The table below does not take into consideration any anti-dilution adjustment based on the initial public offering price as the initial public offering price is not available yet.
Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. In computing the number of shares beneficially owned by a person and the percentage ownership of that person, we have included shares that the person has the right to acquire within 60 days, including through the exercise of any option, warrant, or other right or the conversion of any other security. These shares, however, are not included in the computation of the percentage ownership of any other person.
Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned Prior to This Offering |
Class A Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned After This Offering |
Class B Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned After This Offering |
Voting Power After This Offering*** |
|||||||||||||||||
Number | %** | Number | % | Number | % | % | ||||||||||||||
Directors and Executive Officers: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Xiaoyan Lu(1) |
26,689,409 | 16.9 | ||||||||||||||||||
Teng Zu(2) |
3,781,961 | 2.4 | ||||||||||||||||||
Jie Ding(3) |
2,588,813 | 1.6 | ||||||||||||||||||
Pun Leung Liu |
* | * | ||||||||||||||||||
Yazhou Wu |
* | * | ||||||||||||||||||
Huang Guodian |
| | ||||||||||||||||||
Ling Yunjian |
| | ||||||||||||||||||
All directors and executive officers as a group |
33,762,197 | 21.3 | ||||||||||||||||||
Principal Shareholders: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Jump Shot Holdings Limited(4) |
31,753,231 | 20.1 | ||||||||||||||||||
Entities affiliated with Xiaoyan Lu(1) |
26,689,409 | 16.9 | ||||||||||||||||||
YF Elite Alliance Limited(5) |
23,786,590 | 15.1 |
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Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned Prior to This Offering |
Class A Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned After This Offering |
Class B Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned After This Offering |
Voting Power After This Offering*** |
|||||||||||||||||
Number | %** | Number | % | Number | % | % | ||||||||||||||
Image Frame Investment (HK) Limited(6) |
20,823,295 | 13.2 | ||||||||||||||||||
SIG China Investments Master Fund IV, LLLP(7) |
11,247,235 | 7.1 | ||||||||||||||||||
Matrix Partners China VI Hong Kong Limited(8) |
8,858,443 | 5.6 | ||||||||||||||||||
Langmafeng Holdings Limited(9) |
8,328,977 | 5.3 |
Notes:
* | Less than 1% of our total outstanding shares on an as-converted basis. |
** | For each person and group included in this table, percentage ownership is calculated by dividing the number of shares beneficially owned by such person or group by the sum of (i) 157,735,394, being the number of ordinary shares outstanding as of the date of this prospectus, and (ii) the number of ordinary shares underlying share options held by such person or group that are exercisable within 60 days after the date of this prospectus. |
*** | For each person and group included in this column, percentage of voting power is calculated by dividing the voting power beneficially owned by such person or group by the voting power of all of our ordinary shares as a single class. |
| The address of our directors and executive officers is Room 501-502, No. 78 East Jinshan Road Huqiu District, Suzhou Jiangsu, 215011, Peoples Republic of China. |
| Each of Huang Guodian and Ling Yunjian has accepted appointment as an independent director, which will be effective immediately upon the SECs declaration of effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part. |
(1) | Represents (i) 16,931,824 ordinary shares held of record by Unicentury Holdings Limited, a British Virgin Islands company wholly owned by Xiaoyan Lu, (ii) 3,636,736 ordinary shares held of record by DZQH Holdings Limited, a company registered in British Virgin Islands and ultimately controlled by its sole director, Xiaoyan Lu, and (iii) 6,120,849 ordinary shares held of record by XZY Holdings Limited, a company registered in British Virgin Islands and ultimately controlled by its sole director, Xiaoyan Lu. Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, all the 16,931,824 ordinary shares held of record by Unicentury Holdings Limited and beneficially owned by Mr. Xiaoyan Lu will be re-designated into Class B ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, and the remaining 9,757,585 ordinary shares will be re-designated into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis. The registered address of each of Unicentury Holdings Limited, DZQH Holdings Limited and XZY Holdings Limited is Sertus Chambers, P.O. Box 905, Quastisky Building, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. |
(2) | Represents 3,781,961 ordinary shares held of record by Zuniform Limited, a British Virgin Islands company wholly owned by Teng Zu. Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, all the 3,781,961 ordinary shares will be re-designated into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis. The registered address of Zuniform Limited is Sertus Chambers, P.O. Box 905, Quastisky Building, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. |
(3) | Represents 2,588,813 ordinary shares held of record by Dingding Holdings Limited, a British Virgin Islands company wholly owned by Jie Ding. Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, all the 2,588,813 ordinary shares will be re-designated into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis. The registered address of Dingding Holdings Limited is Sertus Chambers, P.O. Box 905, Quastisky Building, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. |
(4) | Represents 31,753,231 Series D preferred shares held of record by Jump Shot Holdings Limited, a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, all the 31,753,231 preferred shares will be converted and re-designated into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis. The registered address of Jump Shot Holdings Limited is c/o Maples Corporate Services |
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Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands. Jump Shot Holdings Limited is wholly owned by Centurium Capital Partners 2018, L.P. The general partner of Centurium Capital Partners 2018, L.P. is Centurium Capital Partners 2018 GP Ltd. The ultimate beneficially owner of Centurium Capital Partners 2018 GP Ltd. is Hui Li. |
(5) | Represents 23,786,590 Series C preferred shares held of record by YF Elite Alliance Limited, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, all the 23,786,590 preferred shares will be converted and re-designated into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis. The registered address of YF Elite Alliance Limited is Maples Corporate Services (BVI) Limited, Kingston Chambers, PO Box 173, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. YF Elite Alliance Limited is ultimately controlled by Feng Yu. |
(6) | Represents 3,939,542 Series D preferred shares and 16,883,753 Series E preferred shares held of record by Image Frame Investment (HK) Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong. Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, all the 20,823,295 preferred shares will be converted and re-designated into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis. The registered address of Image Frame Investment (HK) Limited is 29/F., Three Pacific Place, No. 1 Queens Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong. The sole member of Image Frame Investment (HK) Limited is Tencent Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. |
(7) | Represents 9,787,847 Series A preferred shares and 1,459,388 Series D preferred shares held of record by SIG China Investments Master Fund IV, LLLP, a Delaware limited liability limited partnership. SIG Asia Investment, LLLP, a Delaware limited liability limited partnership, is the investment manager for SIG China Investments Master Fund IV, LLLP pursuant to an investment management agreement and, as such, has discretionary authority to vote and dispose of the shares held by SIG China Investments Master Fund IV, LLLP. In addition, Heights Capital Management, Inc., a Delaware corporation, is the investment manager for SIG Asia Investment, LLLP pursuant to an investment management agreement and, as such, also has discretionary authority to vote and dispose of the shares held by SIG China Investments Master Fund IV, LLLP. Arthur Dantchik, in his capacity as president of SIG Asia Investment, LLLP, and vice president of Heights Capital Management, Inc. may also be deemed to have investment discretion over the shares held by SIG China Investments Master Fund IV, LLLP. Mr. Dantchik disclaims any such investment discretion or beneficial ownership with respect to the shares held by SIG China Investments Master Fund IV, LLLP. Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, all the 11,247,235 preferred shares will be converted and re-designated into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis. The business address of SIG China Investments Master Fund IV, LLLP is 251 Little Falls Drive, Wilmington, Delaware, USA. |
(8) | Represents 5,252,951 ordinary shares and 3,605,492 Series E2 preferred shares held of record by Matrix Partners China VI Hong Kong Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong. Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, all the 5,252,951 ordinary shares and 3,605,492 preferred shares will be converted and/or re-designated, as the case may be, into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis. The registered address of Matrix Partners China VI Hong Kong Limited is 2701, 27th Floor, Central Plaza, 18 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. Matrix Partners China VI Hong Kong Limited is ultimately controlled by Timothy Allan Barrows. |
(9) | Represents 8,328,977 ordinary shares held of record by Langmafeng Holdings Limited, a company registered in British Virgin Islands. Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, all the 8,328,977 ordinary shares will be re-designated into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis. The registered address of Langmafeng Holdings Limited is Sertus Chambers, P.O. Box 905, Quastisky Building, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Island. Langmafeng Holdings Limited is ultimately controlled by Jiancong Xiao. |
As of the date of this prospectus, a total of 9,787,847 Series A preferred shares and 1,459,388 Series D preferred shares are held by a record holder in the United States, representing 7.1% of the outstanding ordinary shares on an as-converted basis. None of our ordinary shares are held by record holders in the United States. We are not aware of any arrangement that may, at a subsequent date, result in a change of control of our company. See Description of Share CapitalHistory of Securities Issuances for a description of issuances of our ordinary shares and preferred shares that have resulted in significant changes in ownership held by our major shareholders.
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Contractual Arrangements
See Our History and Corporate Structure for a description of the contractual arrangements by and among our PRC subsidiaries, the VIEs and the shareholders of the VIEs.
Employment Agreements and Indemnification Agreements
See ManagementEmployment Agreements and Indemnification Agreements.
Private Placements
See Description of Share CapitalHistory of Securities Issuances.
Shareholders Agreement
See Description of Share CapitalShareholders Agreement.
Share Incentive Plan
See ManagementShare Incentive Plan.
Other Related Party Transactions
Transactions with Suzhou Yunzheng Technology Co., Ltd.
In 2022, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, we incurred cost of revenues of RMB0.2 million, RMB0.4 million (US$56 thousand), RMB0.1 million and RMB0.2 million (US$31 thousand), respectively, from Suzhou Yunzheng Technology Co., Ltd., an entity controlled by Xiaoyan Lu, for purchases of services.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2023 and March 31, 2024, we did not have any outstanding balances from related parties.
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We are a Cayman Islands exempted company and our affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, as amended and restated from time to time, and Companies Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands, which we refer to as the Companies Act below, and the common law of the Cayman Islands.
Our share capital is divided into ordinary shares and preferred shares. In respect of all of our ordinary shares and preferred shares we have power insofar as is permitted by law, to redeem or purchase any of our shares and to increase or reduce the share capital subject to the provisions of the Companies Act and the articles of association and to issue any shares, whether such shares be of the original, redeemed or increased capital, with or without any preference, priority or special privilege or subject to any postponement of rights or to any conditions or restrictions and so that unless the conditions of issue shall otherwise expressly declare every issue of shares whether declared to be preference or otherwise shall be subject to the powers under our memorandum and articles of association.
As of the date hereof, our authorized share capital consists of US$50,000 divided into (i) 390,518,031 ordinary shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each, (ii) 15,040,570 Series A preferred shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each, (iii) 7,085,330 Series B preferred shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each, (iv) 23,786,590 Series C preferred shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each, (v) 37,152,161 Series D preferred shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each, (vi) 16,883,753 Series E preferred shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each, and (vii) 9,533,565 Series E2 preferred shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each. As of the date of this prospectus, there are 48,253,425 ordinary shares issued and outstanding. All of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares are fully paid. Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, all of our issued and outstanding preferred shares will be redesignated or converted into ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to anti-dilution adjustments based on the initial public offering price.
We have adopted an eighth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which will become effective and replace the current seventh amended and restated memorandum and articles of association in its entirety immediately prior to the completion of this offering. Our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, immediately prior to the completion of this offering, our authorized share capital will be US$50,000 divided into 500,000,000 ordinary shares, comprising of (i) 483,068,176 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each, and (ii) 16,931,824 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each. All outstanding ordinary shares beneficially owned by Unicentury Holdings Limited prior to this offering, which are beneficially owned by Mr. Xiaoyan Lu, our director, founder and chairman of the board, will be re-designated into Class B ordinary shares, and all remaining outstanding ordinary shares and all outstanding preferred shares prior to this offering will be automatically converted and re-designated, as applicable, into Class A ordinary shares, in each case on a one-for-one basis, subject to anti-dilution adjustments based on the initial public offering price, immediately prior to the completion of this offering. Immediately upon the completion of this offering, we will have an aggregate of issued and outstanding ordinary shares, including Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs to be issued by us in this offering, assuming the underwriters do not exercise the option to purchase additional ADSs.
The following are summaries of material provisions of our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the Companies Act insofar as they relate to the material terms of our ordinary shares that we expect will become effective upon the closing of this offering.
Exempted Company
We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an
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exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except that an exempted company:
| does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies; |
| is not required to open its register of members for inspection; |
| does not have to hold an annual general meeting; |
| may issue shares with no par value; |
| may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance); |
| may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands; |
| may register as an exempted limited duration company; and |
| may register as a segregated portfolio company. |
Limited liability means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on that shareholders shares of the company.
Ordinary Shares
General. Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, our authorized share capital is US$50,000 divided into 500,000,000 ordinary shares, with a par value of US$0.0001 each. Holders of ordinary shares will have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights. All of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares are fully paid and non-assessable. Certificates representing the ordinary shares are issued in registered form. We may not issue share to bearer. Our shareholders who are nonresidents of the Cayman Islands may freely hold and transfer their ordinary shares.
Dividends. The holders of our ordinary shares are entitled to such dividends as may be declared by our board of directors subject to our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the Companies Act. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our directors. Our post-offering amended and restated articles of association provide that dividends may be declared and paid out of our profits, realized or unrealized, or from any reserve set aside from profits which our board of directors determine is no longer needed. Dividends may also be declared and paid out of share premium account or any other fund or account which can be authorized for this purpose in accordance with the Companies Act. No dividend may be declared and paid unless our directors determine that, immediately after the payment, we will be able to pay our debts as they become due in the ordinary course of business and we have funds lawfully available for such purpose.
Classes of Ordinary Shares. Our ordinary shares are divided into Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Except for conversion rights and voting rights, the Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares shall carry equal rights and rank pari passu with one another, including but not limited to the rights to dividends and other capital distributions.
Conversion Rights. A Class B ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof, while Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. Upon any sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of Class B ordinary shares by a holder thereof to any person which is not an affiliate of such holder, or upon a change of beneficial ownership of any Class B ordinary shares as a result of which any person who is not an affiliate of the holders of such ordinary shares becomes a beneficial owner of such ordinary shares, such Class B ordinary shares shall be automatically and immediately converted into an equal number of Class A ordinary shares.
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Voting Rights. In respect of all matters subject to a shareholders vote, holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares shall, at all times, vote together as one class on all matters submitted to a vote by the members at any such general meeting. Each Class A ordinary share shall be entitled to one vote, and each Class B ordinary share shall be entitled to twenty votes, on all matters subject to the vote at general meetings of our company. Voting at any meeting of shareholders is by show of hands unless a poll is demanded. A poll may be demanded by the chairman of such meeting or any one shareholder.
A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of two or more shareholders holding not less than one-half of the votes attaching to the issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote at general meetings present in person or by proxy or, if a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorized representative. As a Cayman Islands exempted company, we are not obliged by the Companies Act to call shareholders annual general meetings. Our post-offering memorandum and articles of association provide that we may (but are not obliged to) in each year hold a general meeting as our annual general meeting in which case we will specify the meeting as such in the notices calling it, and the annual general meeting will be held at such time and place as may be determined by our directors. We, however, will hold an annual shareholders meeting during each fiscal year, as required by the corporate governance rules at the [Nasdaq/NYSE]. Each general meeting, other than an annual general meeting, shall be an extraordinary general meeting. Shareholders annual general meetings and any other general meetings of our shareholders may be called by a majority of our board of directors or our chairman or upon a requisition of shareholders holding at the date of deposit of the requisition not less than one-third of the votes attaching to the issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote at general meetings, in which case the directors are obliged to call such meeting and to put the resolutions so requisitioned to a vote at such meeting; however, our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do not provide our shareholders with any right to put any proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings not called by such shareholders. Advance notice of at least fifteen (15) days is required for the convening of our annual general meeting and other general meetings unless such notice is waived in accordance with our articles of association.
An ordinary resolution to be passed at a meeting by the shareholders requires the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the votes attaching to the ordinary shares cast by those shareholders entitled to vote who are present in person or by proxy at a general meeting, while a special resolution also requires the affirmative vote of no less than two-thirds of the votes attaching to the ordinary shares cast by those shareholders entitled to vote who are present in person or by proxy at a general meeting. A special resolution will be required for important matters such as reducing share capital and any capital redemption reserve or making changes to our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Transfer of Ordinary Shares. Subject to the restrictions in our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as set out below, any of our shareholders may transfer all or any of his or her ordinary shares by an instrument of transfer in the usual or common form or any other form approved by our board of directors.
Our board of directors may, in its absolute discretion, decline to register any transfer of any ordinary share which is not fully paid up or on which we have a lien. Our board of directors may also decline to register any transfer of any ordinary share unless:
| the instrument of transfer is lodged with us, accompanied by the certificate for the ordinary shares to which it relates and such other evidence as our board of directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer; |
| the instrument of transfer is in respect of only one class of shares; |
| the instrument of transfer is properly stamped, if required; |
| in the case of a transfer to joint holders, the number of joint holders to whom the ordinary share is to be transferred does not exceed four; |
| the shares are free from any lien in favor of our company; and |
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| a fee of such maximum sum as the [Nasdaq/NYSE] may determine to be payable or such lesser sum as our directors may from time to time require is paid to us in respect thereof. |
If our directors refuse to register a transfer they shall, within three months after the date on which the instrument of transfer was lodged, send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of such refusal.
The registration of transfers may, after compliance with any notice required of the [Nasdaq/NYSE], be suspended and the register closed at such times and for such periods as our board of directors may from time to time determine, provided, however, that the registration of transfers shall not be suspended nor the register closed for more than 30 days in any year as our board may determine.
Liquidation. On a return of capital on winding up or otherwise (other than on conversion, redemption or purchase of ordinary shares), if the assets available for distribution amongst our shareholders shall be more than sufficient to repay the whole of the share capital at the commencement of the winding up, the surplus shall be distributed amongst our shareholders in proportion to the par value of the shares held by them at the commencement of the winding up, subject to a deduction from those shares in respect of which there are monies due, of all monies payable to our company for unpaid calls or otherwise. If our assets available for distribution are insufficient to repay all of the paid-up capital, the assets will be distributed so that the losses are borne by our shareholders in proportion to the par value of the shares held by them. Any distribution of assets or capital to a holder of ordinary share will be the same in any liquidation event.
Calls on Ordinary Shares and Forfeiture of Ordinary Shares. Our board of directors may from time to time make calls upon shareholders for any amounts unpaid on their ordinary shares in a notice served to such shareholders at least 14 clear days prior to the specified time of payment. The ordinary shares that have been called upon and remain unpaid are subject to forfeiture.
Redemption, Repurchase and Surrender of Ordinary Shares. We may issue shares on terms that such shares are subject to redemption, at our option or at the option of the holders thereof, on such terms and in such manner as may be determined, before the issue of such shares, by our board of directors or by a special resolution of our shareholders. Our company may also repurchase any of our shares provided that the manner and terms of such purchase have been approved by our board of directors or by ordinary resolution of our shareholders, or are otherwise authorized by our post-offering memorandum and articles of association. Under the Companies Act, the redemption or repurchase of any share may be paid out of our companys profits or out of the proceeds of a fresh issue of shares made for the purpose of such redemption or repurchase, or out of capital (including share premium account and capital redemption reserve) if the company can, immediately following such payment, pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. In addition, under the Companies Act no such share may be redeemed or repurchased (a) unless it is fully paid up, (b) if such redemption or repurchase would result in there being no shares outstanding, or (c) if the company has commenced liquidation. In addition, our company may accept the surrender of any fully paid share for no consideration.
Variations of Rights of Shares. If at any time our share capital is divided into different classes or series of shares, the rights attached to any class or series of shares (unless otherwise provided by the terms of issue of the shares of that class or series), whether or not our company is being wound- up, may be varied with the consent in writing of a majority the holders of the issued shares of that class or series or with the sanction of a special resolution at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of the class or series. The rights conferred upon the holders of the shares of any class issued shall not, unless otherwise expressly provided by the terms of issue of the shares of that class, be deemed to be varied by the creation or issue of further shares ranking pari passu with such existing class of shares.
Inspection of Books and Records. Holders of our ordinary shares have no general right under Cayman Islands law to inspect or obtain copies of our list of shareholders or our corporate records. However, we will provide our shareholders with annual audited financial statements. See Where You Can Find Additional Information.
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Issuance of Additional Shares. Our post-offering amended and restated memorandum of association authorizes our board of directors to issue additional ordinary shares from time to time as our board of directors shall determine, to the extent of available authorized but unissued shares.
Our post-offering amended and restated memorandum of association also authorizes our board of directors to establish from time to time one or more series of preferred shares and to determine, with respect to any series of preferred shares, the terms and rights of that series, including:
| the designation of the series; |
| the number of shares of the series; |
| the dividend rights, dividend rates, conversion rights, voting rights; and |
| the rights and terms of redemption and liquidation preferences. |
Our board of directors may issue preferred shares without action by our shareholders to the extent authorized but unissued. Issuance of these shares may dilute the voting power of holders of ordinary shares.
Anti-Takeover Provisions. Some provisions of our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or management that shareholders may consider favorable, including provisions that authorize our board of directors to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to designate the price, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of such preferred shares without any further vote or action by our shareholders.
Register of Members
Under the Companies Act, we must keep a register of members and there should be entered therein:
| the names and addresses of our members, a statement of the shares held by each member, and of the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member, confirm the number and category of shares held by each member, and confirm whether each relevant category of shares held by a member carries voting rights under the articles of association of the company, and if so, whether such voting rights are conditional; |
| the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and |
| the date on which any person ceased to be a member. |
Under the Companies Act, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (that is, the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members is deemed as a matter of the Companies Act to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon completion of this offering, we will perform the procedure necessary to immediately update the register of members to record and give effect to the issuance of shares by us to the Depositary (or its nominee) as the depositary. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name.
If the name of any person is incorrectly entered in or omitted from our register of members, or if there is any default or unnecessary delay in entering on the register the fact of any person having ceased to be a member of our company, the person or member aggrieved (or any member of our company or our company itself) may apply to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for an order that the register be rectified, and the Court may either refuse such application or it may, if satisfied of the justice of the case, make an order for the rectification of the register.
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Differences in Corporate Law
The Companies Act is derived, to a large extent, from the older Companies Acts of England, but does not follow many recent English law statutory enactments. In addition, the Companies Act differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the State of Delaware.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements. The Companies Act permits mergers and consolidations between Cayman Islands companies and between Cayman Islands companies and non-Cayman Islands companies. For these purposes, (a) merger means the merging of two or more constituent companies and the vesting of their undertaking, property and liabilities in one of such companies as the surviving company, and (b) a consolidation means the combination of two or more constituent companies into a consolidated company and the vesting of the undertaking, property and liabilities of such companies to the consolidated company. In order to effect such a merger or consolidation, the directors of each constituent company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation, which must then be authorized by (a) a special resolution of the shareholders of each constituent company, and (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent companys articles of association. The written plan of merger or consolidation must be filed with the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands together with a declaration as to the solvency of the consolidated or surviving company, a declaration as to the assets and liabilities of each constituent company and an undertaking that a copy of the certificate of merger or consolidation will be given to the members and creditors of each constituent company and that notification of the merger or consolidation will be published in the Cayman Islands Gazette. Court approval is not required for a merger or consolidation which is effected in compliance with these statutory procedures.
A merger between a Cayman parent company and its Cayman subsidiary or subsidiaries does not require authorization by a resolution of shareholders of that Cayman subsidiary if a copy of the plan of merger is given to every member of that Cayman subsidiary to be merged unless that member agrees otherwise. For this purpose a company is a parent of a subsidiary if it holds issued shares that together represent at least ninety percent (90%) of the votes at a general meeting of the subsidiary.
The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest over a constituent company is required unless this requirement is waived by a court in the Cayman Islands.
Save in certain limited circumstances, a shareholder of a Cayman constituent company who dissents from the merger or consolidation is entitled to payment of the fair value of his shares (which, if not agreed between the parties, will be determined by the Cayman Islands court) upon dissenting to the merger or consolidation, provide the dissenting shareholder complies strictly with the procedures set out in the Companies Act. The exercise of dissenter rights will preclude the exercise by the dissenting shareholder of any other rights to which he or she might otherwise be entitled by virtue of holding shares, save for the right to seek relief on the grounds that the merger or consolidation is void or unlawful.
Separate from the statutory provisions relating to mergers and consolidations, the Companies Act also contains statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction and amalgamation of companies by way of schemes of arrangement, provided that, in the case of creditors or a class of creditors, the arrangement is approved by a majority in number of each class of creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made, and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of creditors that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meetings, convened for the purpose. In the case of shareholders or a class of shareholders, the arrangement must be approved by three-fourths in value of the shareholders or class of shareholders, as the case may be, present and voting either in person or by proxy at the meeting. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder has the right to express to the court the view that the transaction ought not to be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it determines that:
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| the statutory provisions as to the required majority vote have been met; |
| the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question and the statutory majority are acting bona fide without coercion of the minority to promote interests adverse to those of the class; |
| the arrangement is such that may be reasonably approved by an intelligent and honest man of that class acting in respect of his interest; and |
| the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act. |
The Companies Act also contains a statutory power of compulsory acquisition which may facilitate the squeeze out of a dissenting minority shareholder upon a tender offer. When a tender offer is made and accepted by holders of 90.0% of the shares affected within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period commencing on the expiration of such four-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares to the offeror on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands but this is unlikely to succeed in the case of an offer which has been so approved unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith or collusion.
If an arrangement and reconstruction is thus approved, or if a tender offer is made and accepted, a dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights, which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of Delaware corporations, providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares.
Shareholders Suits. In principle, we will normally be the proper plaintiff to sue for a wrong done to us as a company, and as a general rule a derivative action may not be brought by a minority shareholder. However, based on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority in the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands court can be expected to follow and apply the common law principles (namely the rule in Foss v. Harbottle and the exceptions thereto) which permit a minority shareholder to commence a class action against or derivative actions in the name of the company to challenge actions where:
| a company acts or proposes to act illegally or ultra vires; |
| the act complained of, although not ultra vires, could only be effected duly if authorized by more than a simple majority vote that has not been obtained; and |
| those who control the company are perpetrating a fraud on the minority. |
Indemnification of Directors and Executive Officers and Limitation of Liability. Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a companys memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our post-offering memorandum and articles of association provide that that we shall indemnify our officers and directors against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by such directors or officer, other than by reason of such persons dishonesty, willful default or fraud, in or about the conduct of our companys business or affairs (including as a result of any mistake of judgment) or in the execution or discharge of his duties, powers, authorities or discretions, including without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by such director or officer in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil proceedings concerning our company or its affairs in any court whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere. This standard of conduct is generally the same as permitted under the Delaware General Corporation Law for a Delaware corporation.
In addition, we have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers that provide such persons with additional indemnification beyond that provided in our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
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Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers or persons controlling us under the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Directors Fiduciary Duties. Under Delaware corporate law, a director of a Delaware corporation has a fiduciary duty to the corporation and its shareholders. This duty has two components: the duty of care and the duty of loyalty. The duty of care requires that a director act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances. Under this duty, a director must inform himself of, and disclose to shareholders, all material information reasonably available regarding a significant transaction. The duty of loyalty requires that a director acts in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation. He must not use his corporate position for personal gain or advantage. This duty prohibits self-dealing by a director and mandates that the best interest of the corporation and its shareholders take precedence over any interest possessed by a director, officer or controlling shareholder and not shared by the shareholders generally. In general, actions of a director are presumed to have been made on an informed basis, in good faith and in the honest belief that the action taken was in the best interests of the corporation. However, this presumption may be rebutted by evidence of a breach of one of the fiduciary duties. Should such evidence be presented concerning a transaction by a director, the director must prove the procedural fairness of the transaction, and that the transaction was of fair value to the corporation.
As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a director of a Cayman Islands company is in the position of a fiduciary with respect to the company and therefore it is considered that he owes the following duties to the company a duty to act bona fide in the best interests of the company, a duty not to make a profit based on his position as director (unless the company permits him to do so), a duty not to put himself in a position where the interests of the company conflict with his personal interest or his duty to a third party, and a duty to exercise powers for the purpose for which such powers were intended. A director of a Cayman Islands company owes to the company a duty to act with skill and care. It was previously considered that a director need not exhibit in the performance of his duties a greater degree of skill than may reasonably be expected from a person of his knowledge and experience. However, English and Commonwealth courts have moved towards an objective standard with regard to the required skill and care and these authorities are likely to be followed in the Cayman Islands.
Shareholder Action by Written Consent. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may eliminate the right of shareholders to act by written consent by amendment to its certificate of incorporation. The Companies Act and our post-offering amended and restated articles of association provide that our shareholders may approve corporate matters by way of a unanimous written resolution signed by or on behalf of each shareholder who would have been entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting without a meeting being held.
Shareholder Proposals. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a shareholder has the right to put any proposal before the annual meeting of shareholders, provided it complies with the notice provisions in the governing documents. A special meeting may be called by the board of directors or any other person authorized to do so in the governing documents, but shareholders may be precluded from calling special meetings.
The Companies Act provide shareholders with only limited rights to requisition a general meeting, and does not provide shareholders with any right to put any proposal before a general meeting. However, these rights may be provided in a companys articles of association. Our post-offering amended and restated articles of association allow our shareholders holding in aggregate not less than one-third of all votes attaching to the issued and outstanding shares of our company entitled to vote at general meetings to requisition an extraordinary general meeting of our shareholders, in which case our board is obliged to convene an extraordinary general meeting and to put the resolutions so requisitioned to a vote at such meeting. Other than this right to requisition a shareholders meeting, our post-offering amended and restated articles of association do not provide our shareholders with any other right to put proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general
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meetings not called by such shareholders. As an exempted Cayman Islands company, we are not obliged by law to call shareholders annual general meetings.
Cumulative Voting. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, cumulative voting for elections of directors is not permitted unless the corporations certificate of incorporation specifically provides for it. Cumulative voting potentially facilitates the representation of minority shareholders on a board of directors since it permits the minority shareholder to cast all the votes to which the shareholder is entitled on a single director, which increases the shareholders voting power with respect to electing such director. There are no prohibitions in relation to cumulative voting under the laws of the Cayman Islands but our post-offering amended and restated articles of association do not provide for cumulative voting. As a result, our shareholders are not afforded any less protections or rights on this issue than shareholders of a Delaware corporation.
Removal of Directors. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a director of a corporation with a classified board may be removed only for cause with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under our post-offering amended and restated articles of association, directors may be removed with or without cause, by an ordinary resolution of our shareholders. A director shall hold office until the expiration of his or her term or his or her successor shall have been elected and qualified, or until his or her office is otherwise vacated. In addition, a directors office shall be vacated if the director (i) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors; (ii) dies or is found to be or becomes of unsound mind; (iii) resigns his office by notice in writing to our company; (iv) is prohibited by any applicable law or designated stock exchange rules from being a director; (v) without special leave of absence from the board, is absent from meetings of the board for three consecutive meetings and the board resolves that his office be vacated; or (vi) is removed from office pursuant to any other provision of our post-offering amended and restated articles of association.
Transactions with Interested Shareholders. The Delaware General Corporation Law contains a business combination statute applicable to Delaware corporations whereby, unless the corporation has specifically elected not to be governed by such statute by amendment to its certificate of incorporation, it is prohibited from engaging in certain business combinations with an interested shareholder for three years following the date that such person becomes an interested shareholder. An interested shareholder generally is a person or a group who or which owns or owned 15% or more of the targets outstanding voting share within the past three years. This has the effect of limiting the ability of a potential acquirer to make a two-tiered bid for the target in which all shareholders would not be treated equally. The statute does not apply if, among other things, prior to the date on which such shareholder becomes an interested shareholder, the board of directors approves either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the person becoming an interested shareholder. This encourages any potential acquirer of a Delaware corporation to negotiate the terms of any acquisition transaction with the targets board of directors.
Cayman Islands law has no comparable statute. As a result, we cannot avail ourselves of the types of protections afforded by the Delaware business combination statute. However, although Cayman Islands law does not regulate transactions between a company and its significant shareholders, the directors of our company are required to comply with fiduciary duties which they owe to our company under Cayman Islands laws, including the duty to ensure that, in their opinion, any such transactions must be entered into bona fide in the best interests of the company, and are entered into for a proper corporate purpose and not with the effect of constituting a fraud on the minority shareholders.
Dissolution; Winding up. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, unless the board of directors approves the proposal to dissolve, dissolution must be approved by shareholders holding 100% of the total voting power of the corporation. Only if the dissolution is initiated by the board of directors may it be approved by a simple majority of the corporations outstanding shares. Delaware law allows a Delaware corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a supermajority voting requirement in connection with dissolutions initiated by the board.
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Under Cayman Islands law, a company may be wound up by either an order of the courts of the Cayman Islands or by a special resolution of its members or, if the company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due, by an ordinary resolution of its members. The court has authority to order winding up in a number of specified circumstances including where it is, in the opinion of the court, just and equitable to do so. Under the Companies Act and our post-offering amended and restated articles of association, our company may be dissolved, liquidated or wound up by a special resolution of our shareholders.
Variation of Rights of Shares. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may vary the rights of a class of shares with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares of such class, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under Cayman Islands law and our post-offering amended and restated articles of association, if our share capital is divided into more than one class of shares, we may vary the rights attached to any class with the written consent of the holders of a majority of the issued shares of that class or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a general meeting of the holders of the shares of that class.
Amendment of Governing Documents. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporations governing documents may be amended with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under the Companies Act and our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution of our shareholders.
Rights of Nonresident or Foreign Shareholders. There are no limitations imposed by our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association on the rights of nonresident or foreign shareholders to hold or exercise voting rights on our shares. In addition, there are no provisions in our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association governing the ownership threshold above which shareholder ownership must be disclosed.
History of Securities Issuances
The following is a summary of our securities issuances in the past three years.
Ordinary Shares
On September 10, 2021, pursuant to the 2021 Share Plan, we issued 1,478,415 ordinary shares and 1,478,415 restricted ordinary shares to Zuniform Limited and Teng Zu for a consideration of US$295.68, of which 739,207 and 739,208 restricted ordinary shares vested and were no longer deemed restricted shares on July 5, 2022 and July 5, 2023, respectively. See ManagementShare Incentive Plan.
Share Award Grants
We have granted share awards to certain of our directors, executive officers and employees. See ManagementShare Incentive Plan.
Shareholders Agreement
Our currently effective fifth amended and restated shareholders agreement was entered into on March 22, 2021 by and among us, our shareholders, and certain other parties named therein.
The current shareholders agreement provides for certain special rights, including registration right, right of first refusal, right of co-sale, and drag-along right and contains provisions governing the board of directors and other corporate governance matters. Those special rights (except the registration right as described below), as well as the corporate governance provisions, will terminate upon the completion of this offering.
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Registration Rights
Pursuant to the current shareholders agreement, we have granted certain registration rights to our shareholders, provided that no shareholder shall be entitled to exercise any such registration right after the earlier of (i) three years following the consummation of a qualified IPO; or (ii) with respect to any holder, the date on which such holder may sell all of such holders registrable securities under Rule 144 of the Securities Act in any ninety-day period. Set forth below is a description of the registration rights granted under the current shareholders agreement.
Demand Registration Rights. At any time commencing six months after the closing of this offering, holders of at least 10% of the registrable securities then outstanding have the right to demand that we file a registration statement covering the registration of such registrable securities. We are not obligated to effect any such registration if we have, within the six-month period preceding the date of such request, already effected a registration under the Securities Act pursuant to demand registration right or Form F-3 registration right or piggyback registration right in which the holders had an opportunity to participate, other than a registration from which the registrable securities of the holders have been excluded (with respect to all or any portion of the registrable securities the holders requested be included in such registration). Further, we are not obligated to effect more than three such demand registrations that have been declared and ordered effective, except that (i) if the sale of all of the registrable securities sought to be included is not consummated for any reason other than due to the action or inaction of the holders including registrable securities in such registration, such registration shall not be deemed to constitute one of the registration rights; and (ii) the piggyback registrations and Form F-3 registrations described below shall not be deemed to constitute one of the demand registrations.
In the event of an underwritten offering therein, we are not required to register the registrable securities of a holder unless such holders registrable securities are included in the underwriting and such holder enters into an underwriting agreement in customary form with the managing underwriter(s) selected by the holders of a majority of the registrable securities being registered and reasonably acceptable to us. The underwriters of any underwritten offering may exclude up to 75% of the number of registrable securities from being included in the applicable registration statement if the managing underwriter(s) determine(s) in good faith that marketing factors require a limitation of the number of shares to be underwritten, provided that all other securities are first entirely excluded from the underwriting and registration. The number of registrable securities that may be included in the underwriting shall be reduced as required by the underwriter(s) and allocated among the holders of registrable securities on a pro rata basis according to the number of registrable securities then outstanding held by each holder requesting registration.
In addition, we have the right to defer filing of a registration statement for up to 90 days if our board determines in good faith judgment that the filing of a registration statement would be materially detrimental to us and our shareholders, provided that within any 12-month period, we do not exercise this right and during such 90 days, we do not file any registration statement pertaining to the public offering of our securities.
Piggyback Registration Rights. If we propose to file a registration statement for a public offering of our securities (including, but not limited to, registration statements relating to secondary offerings of our securities, but excluding registration statements relating to any employee benefit plan or a corporate reorganization), we must offer holders of our registrable securities an opportunity to include all or any part of their securities in this registration.
In the event of an underwritten offering therein, we are not required to register the registrable securities of a holder, unless such holders registrable securities are included in the underwriting and such holder enters into an underwriting agreement in customary form with the managing underwriter(s) selected for such underwriting. The underwriters of any underwritten offering may exclude up to 75% of the number of registrable securities from being included in the applicable registration statement if the managing underwriter(s) determine(s) in good faith that marketing factors require a limitation of the number of shares to be underwritten. The number of shares that
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may be included in the registration and the underwriting shall be allocated, first, to us, second, to each of the holders requesting inclusion of their registrable securities in such registration statement on a pro rata basis based on the total number of shares of registrable securities then held by each such holder, and third, to holders of other securities of ours.
There shall be no limit on the number of times the holders may request registration of registrable securities pursuant to such piggyback registration rights.
Form F-3 Registration Rights. In case we receive from any holders of registrable securities then outstanding written requests that we effect a registration on Form F-3, as the case may be, we shall, subject to certain limitations, file a registration statement on Form F-3 covering the registrable securities and other securities so requested to be registered as soon as practicable after receipt of the request or requests of the holders.
Expenses of Registration. We will bear all registration expenses incurred in connection with any demand, piggyback or F-3 registration, subject to certain limitations.
Anti-Dilution Adjustment
The conversion of all of our outstanding convertible redeemable preferred shares into ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis is subject to full-ratchet anti-dilution mechanism if the issuance price of the securities issued in this offering determined based on the per share offering price or the per ADS offering price and the conversion ratio between ADS and Class A ordinary shares (the initial public offering price) is lower than the respective issuance prices of our preferred shares when they were issued. Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, we shall issue such number of Class A ordinary shares as fully paid bonus shares for no additional consideration, to the shareholders whose anti-dilution rights are triggered, such that the total number of Class A ordinary shares held by such shareholders on an as-converted basis immediately following such issuance and prior to the completion of this offering shall be equal to (x) the aggregate purchase price paid by such shareholders to us in consideration for their respective shares divided by (y) the initial public offering price. Following such anti-dilution mechanism, the respective issuance price for each shareholder whose anti-dilution right is triggered shall be deemed to have been adjusted to be equal to the initial public offering price.
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DESCRIPTION OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES
American Depositary Shares
The Bank of New York Mellon, as depositary, will register and deliver American Depositary Shares, also referred to as ADSs. Each ADS will represent three shares (or a right to receive three shares) deposited with The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, as custodian for the depositary in Hong Kong. Each ADS will also represent any other securities, cash or other property that may be held by the depositary. The deposited shares together with any other securities, cash or other property held by the depositary are referred to as the deposited securities. The depositarys office at which the ADSs will be administered and its principal executive office are located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286.
You may hold ADSs either (A) directly (i) by having an American Depositary Receipt, also referred to as an ADR, which is a certificate evidencing a specific number of ADSs, registered in your name, or (ii) by having uncertificated ADSs registered in your name, or (B) indirectly by holding a security entitlement in ADSs through your broker or other financial institution that is a direct or indirect participant in The Depository Trust Company, also called DTC. If you hold ADSs directly, you are a registered ADS holder, also referred to as an ADS holder. This description assumes you are an ADS holder. If you hold the ADSs indirectly, you must rely on the procedures of your broker or other financial institution to assert the rights of ADS holders described in this section. You should consult with your broker or financial institution to find out what those procedures are.
Registered holders of uncertificated ADSs will receive statements from the depositary confirming their holdings.
As an ADS holder, we will not treat you as one of our shareholders and you will not have shareholder rights. Cayman Islands law governs shareholder rights. The depositary will be the holder of the shares underlying your ADSs. As a registered holder of ADSs, you will have ADS holder rights. A deposit agreement among us, the depositary, ADS holders and all other persons indirectly or beneficially holding ADSs sets out ADS holder rights as well as the rights and obligations of the depositary. New York law governs the deposit agreement and the ADSs.
The following is a summary of the material provisions of the deposit agreement. For more complete information, you should read the entire deposit agreement and the form of ADR. For directions on how to obtain copies of those documents, see Where You Can Find Additional Information.
Dividends and Other Distributions
How will you receive dividends and other distributions on the shares?
The depositary has agreed to pay or distribute to ADS holders the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on shares or other deposited securities, upon payment or deduction of its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of shares your ADSs represent.
Cash. The depositary will convert any cash dividend or other cash distribution we pay on the shares into U.S. dollars, if it can do so on a reasonable basis and can transfer the U.S. dollars to the United States. If that is not possible or if any government approval is needed and cannot be obtained, the deposit agreement allows the depositary to distribute the foreign currency only to those ADS holders to whom it is possible to do so. It will hold the foreign currency it cannot convert for the account of the ADS holders who have not been paid. It will not invest the foreign currency and it will not be liable for any interest.
Before making a distribution, any withholding taxes, or other governmental charges that must be paid will be deducted. See Taxation. The depositary will distribute only whole U.S. dollars and cents and will round fractional cents to the nearest whole cent. If the exchange rates fluctuate during a time when the depositary cannot convert the foreign currency, you may lose some of the value of the distribution.
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Shares. The depositary may distribute additional ADSs representing any shares we distribute as a dividend or free distribution. The depositary will only distribute whole ADSs. It will sell shares which would require it to deliver a fraction of an ADS (or ADSs representing those shares) and distribute the net proceeds in the same way as it does with cash. If the depositary does not distribute additional ADSs, the outstanding ADSs will also represent the new shares. The depositary may sell a portion of the distributed shares (or ADSs representing those shares) sufficient to pay its fees and expenses in connection with that distribution.
Rights to purchase additional shares. If we offer holders of our securities any rights to subscribe for additional shares or any other rights, the depositary may (i) exercise those rights on behalf of ADS holders, (ii) distribute those rights to ADS holders or (iii) sell those rights and distribute the net proceeds to ADS holders, in each case after deduction or upon payment of its fees and expenses. To the extent the depositary does not do any of those things, it will allow the rights to lapse. In that case, you will receive no value for them. The depositary will exercise or distribute rights only if we ask it to and provide satisfactory assurances to the depositary that it is legal to do so. If the depositary will exercise rights, it will purchase the securities to which the rights relate and distribute those securities or, in the case of shares, new ADSs representing the new shares, to subscribing ADS holders, but only if ADS holders have paid the exercise price to the depositary. U.S. securities laws may restrict the ability of the depositary to distribute rights or ADSs or other securities issued on exercise of rights to all or certain ADS holders, and the securities distributed may be subject to restrictions on transfer.
Other Distributions. The depositary will send to ADS holders anything else we distribute on deposited securities by any means it thinks is legal, fair and practical. If it cannot make the distribution in that way, the depositary has a choice. It may decide to sell what we distributed and distribute the net proceeds, in the same way as it does with cash. Or, it may decide to hold what we distributed, in which case ADSs will also represent the newly distributed property. However, the depositary is not required to distribute any securities (other than ADSs) to ADS holders unless it receives satisfactory evidence from us that it is legal to make that distribution. The depositary may sell a portion of the distributed securities or property sufficient to pay its fees and expenses in connection with that distribution. U.S. securities laws may restrict the ability of the depositary to distribute securities to all or certain ADS holders, and the securities distributed may be subject to restrictions on transfer.
The depositary is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any ADS holders. We have no obligation to register ADSs, shares, rights or other securities under the Securities Act. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of ADSs, shares, rights or anything else to ADS holders. This means that you may not receive the distributions we make on our shares or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical for us to make them available to you.
Deposit, Withdrawal and Cancellation
How are ADSs issued?
The depositary will deliver ADSs if you or your broker deposits shares or evidence of rights to receive shares with the custodian. Upon payment of its fees and expenses and of any taxes or charges, such as stamp taxes or stock transfer taxes or fees, the depositary will register the appropriate number of ADSs in the names you request and will deliver the ADSs to or upon the order of the person or persons that made the deposit.
How can ADS holders withdraw the deposited securities?
You may surrender your ADSs to the depositary for the purpose of withdrawal. Upon payment of its fees and expenses and of any taxes or charges, such as stamp taxes or stock transfer taxes or fees, the depositary will deliver the shares and any other deposited securities underlying the ADSs to the ADS holder or a person the ADS holder designates at the office of the custodian. Or, at your request, risk and expense, the depositary will deliver the deposited securities at its office, if feasible. However, the depositary is not required to accept surrender of ADSs to the extent it would require delivery of a fraction of a deposited share or other security. The depositary may charge you a fee and its expenses for instructing the custodian regarding delivery of deposited securities.
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How do ADS holders interchange between certificated ADSs and uncertificated ADSs?
You may surrender your ADR to the depositary for the purpose of exchanging your ADR for uncertificated ADSs. The depositary will cancel that ADR and will send to the ADS holder a statement confirming that the ADS holder is the registered holder of uncertificated ADSs. Upon receipt by the depositary of a proper instruction from a registered holder of uncertificated ADSs requesting the exchange of uncertificated ADSs for certificated ADSs, the depositary will execute and deliver to the ADS holder an ADR evidencing those ADSs.
Voting Rights
How do you vote?
ADS holders may instruct the depositary how to vote the number of deposited shares their ADSs represent. If we request the depositary to solicit your voting instructions (and we are not required to do so), the depositary will notify you of a shareholders meeting and send or make voting materials available to you. Those materials will describe the matters to be voted on and explain how ADS holders may instruct the depositary how to vote. For instructions to be valid, they must reach the depositary by a date set by the depositary. The depositary will try, as far as practical, subject to the laws of the Cayman Islands and the provisions of our articles of association or similar documents, to vote or to have its agents vote the shares or other deposited securities as instructed by ADS holders. If we do not request the depositary to solicit your voting instructions, you can still send voting instructions, and, in that case, the depositary may try to vote as you instruct, but it is not required to do so.
Except by instructing the depositary as described above, you will not be able to exercise voting rights unless you surrender your ADSs and withdraw the shares. However, you may not know about the meeting enough in advance to withdraw the shares. In any event, the depositary will not exercise any discretion in voting deposited securities and it will only vote or attempt to vote as instructed.
We cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote the shares represented by your ADSs. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for the manner of carrying out voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise voting rights and there may be nothing you can do if the shares represented by your ADSs are not voted as you requested.
In order to give you a reasonable opportunity to instruct the depositary as to the exercise of voting rights relating to Deposited Securities, if we request the Depositary to act, we agree to give the depositary notice of any such meeting and details concerning the matters to be voted upon at least 30 days in advance of the meeting date.
Fees and Expenses
Persons depositing or withdrawing shares or ADS holders must pay: |
For: | |
US$5.00 (or less) per 100 ADSs (or portion of 100 ADSs) |
Issuance of ADSs, including issuances resulting from a distribution of shares or rights or other property
Cancellation of ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal, including if the deposit agreement terminates | |
US$0.05 (or less) per ADS |
Any cash distribution to ADS holders | |
A fee equivalent to the fee that would be payable if securities distributed to you had been shares and the shares had been deposited for issuance of ADSs |
Distribution of securities distributed to holders of deposited securities (including rights) that are distributed by the depositary to ADS holders | |
US$0.05 (or less) per ADS per calendar year |
Depositary services |
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Persons depositing or withdrawing shares or ADS holders must pay: |
For: | |
Registration or transfer fees |
Transfer and registration of shares on our share register to or from the name of the depositary or its agent when you deposit or withdraw shares | |
Expenses of the depositary |
Cable (including SWIFT) and facsimile transmissions (when expressly provided in the deposit agreement)
Converting foreign currency to U.S. dollars | |
Taxes and other governmental charges the depositary or the custodian has to pay on any ADSs or shares underlying ADSs, such as stock transfer taxes, stamp duty or withholding taxes |
As necessary | |
Any charges incurred by the depositary or its agents for servicing the deposited securities |
As necessary |
The depositary collects its fees for delivery and surrender of ADSs directly from investors depositing shares or surrendering ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal or from intermediaries acting for them. The depositary collects fees for making distributions to investors by deducting those fees from the amounts distributed or by selling a portion of distributable property to pay the fees. The depositary may collect its annual fee for depositary services by deduction from cash distributions or by directly billing investors or by charging the book-entry system accounts of participants acting for them. The depositary may collect any of its fees by deduction from any cash distribution payable (or by selling a portion of securities or other property distributable) to ADS holders that are obligated to pay those fees. The depositary may generally refuse to provide fee-attracting services until its fees for those services are paid.
From time to time, the depositary may make payments to us to reimburse us for costs and expenses generally arising out of establishment and maintenance of the ADS program, waive fees and expenses for services provided to us by the depositary or share revenue from the fees collected from ADS holders. In performing its duties under the deposit agreement, the depositary may use brokers, dealers, foreign currency dealers or other service providers that are owned by or affiliated with the depositary and that may earn or share fees, spreads or commissions.
The depositary may convert currency itself or through any of its affiliates, or the custodian or we may convert currency and pay U.S. dollars to the depositary. Where the depositary converts currency itself or through any of its affiliates, the depositary acts as principal for its own account and not as agent, advisor, broker or fiduciary on behalf of any other person and earns revenue, including, without limitation, transaction spreads, that it will retain for its own account. The revenue is based on, among other things, the difference between the exchange rate assigned to the currency conversion made under the deposit agreement and the rate that the depositary or its affiliate receives when buying or selling foreign currency for its own account. The depositary makes no representation that the exchange rate used or obtained by it or its affiliate in any currency conversion under the deposit agreement will be the most favorable rate that could be obtained at the time or that the method by which that rate will be determined will be the most favorable to ADS holders, subject to the depositarys obligation to act without negligence or bad faith. The methodology used to determine exchange rates used in currency conversions made by the depositary is available upon request. Where the custodian converts currency, the custodian has no obligation to obtain the most favorable rate that could be obtained at the time or to ensure that the method by which that rate will be determined will be the most favorable to ADS holders, and the depositary makes no representation that the rate is the most favorable rate and will not be liable for any direct or indirect losses associated with the rate. In certain instances, the depositary may receive dividends or other distributions from us in U.S. dollars that represent the proceeds of a conversion of foreign currency or translation from foreign currency at a rate that was obtained or determined by us and, in such cases, the depositary will not
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engage in, or be responsible for, any foreign currency transactions and neither it nor we make any representation that the rate obtained or determined by us is the most favorable rate and neither it nor we will be liable for any direct or indirect losses associated with the rate.
Payment of Taxes
You will be responsible for any taxes or other governmental charges payable on your ADSs or on the deposited securities represented by any of your ADSs. The depositary may refuse to register any transfer of your ADSs or allow you to withdraw the deposited securities represented by your ADSs until those taxes or other charges are paid. It may apply payments owed to you or sell deposited securities represented by your ADSs to pay any taxes owed and you will remain liable for any deficiency. If the depositary sells deposited securities, it will, if appropriate, reduce the number of ADSs to reflect the sale and pay to ADS holders any proceeds, or send to ADS holders any property, remaining after it has paid the taxes.
Tender and Exchange Offers; Redemption, Replacement or Cancellation of Deposited Securities
The depositary will not tender deposited securities in any voluntary tender or exchange offer unless instructed to do so by an ADS holder surrendering ADSs and subject to any conditions or procedures the depositary may establish.
If deposited securities are redeemed for cash in a transaction that is mandatory for the depositary as a holder of deposited securities, the depositary will call for surrender of a corresponding number of ADSs and distribute the net redemption money to the holders of called ADSs upon surrender of those ADSs.
If there is any change in the deposited securities such as a sub-division, combination or other reclassification, or any merger, consolidation, recapitalization or reorganization affecting the issuer of deposited securities in which the depositary receives new securities in exchange for or in lieu of the old deposited securities, the depositary will hold those replacement securities as deposited securities under the deposit agreement. However, if the depositary decides it would not be lawful and practical to hold the replacement securities because those securities could not be distributed to ADS holders or for any other reason, the depositary may instead sell the replacement securities and distribute the net proceeds upon surrender of the ADSs.
If there is a replacement of the deposited securities and the depositary will continue to hold the replacement securities, the depositary may distribute new ADSs representing the new deposited securities or ask you to surrender your outstanding ADSs in exchange for new ADSs identifying the new deposited securities.
If there are no deposited securities underlying ADSs, including if the deposited securities are cancelled, or if the deposited securities underlying ADSs have become apparently worthless, the depositary may call for surrender of those ADSs or cancel those ADSs upon notice to the ADS holders.
Amendment and Termination
How may the deposit agreement be amended?
We may agree with the depositary to amend the deposit agreement and the ADRs without your consent for any reason. If an amendment adds or increases fees or charges, except for taxes and other governmental charges or expenses of the depositary for registration fees, facsimile costs, delivery charges or similar items, or prejudices a substantial right of ADS holders, it will not become effective for outstanding ADSs until 30 days after the depositary notifies ADS holders of the amendment. At the time an amendment becomes effective, you are considered, by continuing to hold your ADSs, to agree to the amendment and to be bound by the ADRs and the deposit agreement as amended.
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How may the deposit agreement be terminated?
The depositary will initiate termination of the deposit agreement if we instruct it to do so. The depositary may initiate termination of the deposit agreement if
| 60 days have passed since the depositary told us it wants to resign but a successor depositary has not been appointed and accepted its appointment; |
| we delist the ADSs from an exchange in the United States on which they were listed and do not list the ADSs on another exchange in the United States or make arrangements for trading of ADSs on the U.S. over-the-counter market; |
| we delist our shares from an exchange outside the United States on which they were listed and do not list the shares on another exchange outside the United States; |
| the depositary has reason to believe the ADSs have become, or will become, ineligible for registration on Form F-6 under the Securities Act of 1933; |
| we appear to be insolvent or enter insolvency proceedings; |
| all or substantially all the value of the deposited securities has been distributed either in cash or in the form of securities; |
| there are no deposited securities underlying the ADSs or the underlying deposited securities have become apparently worthless; or |
| there has been a replacement of deposited securities. |
If the deposit agreement will terminate, the depositary will notify ADS holders at least 90 days before the termination date. At any time after the termination date, the depositary may sell the deposited securities. After that, the depositary will hold the money it received on the sale, as well as any other cash it is holding under the deposit agreement, unsegregated and without liability for interest, for the pro rata benefit of the ADS holders that have not surrendered their ADSs. Normally, the depositary will sell as soon as practicable after the termination date.
After the termination date and before the depositary sells, ADS holders can still surrender their ADSs and receive delivery of deposited securities, except that the depositary may refuse to accept a surrender for the purpose of withdrawing deposited securities or reverse previously accepted surrenders of that kind that have not settled if it would interfere with the selling process. The depositary may refuse to accept a surrender for the purpose of withdrawing sale proceeds until all the deposited securities have been sold. The depositary will continue to collect distributions on deposited securities, but, after the termination date, the depositary is not required to register any transfer of ADSs or distribute any dividends or other distributions on deposited securities to ADS holders (until they surrender their ADSs) or give any notices or perform any other duties under the deposit agreement except as described in this paragraph.
Limitations on Obligations and Liability
Limits on our Obligations and the Obligations of the Depositary; Limits on Liability to Holders of ADSs
The deposit agreement expressly limits our obligations and the obligations of the depositary. It also limits our liability and the liability of the depositary. We and the depositary:
| are only obligated to take the actions specifically set forth in the deposit agreement without negligence or bad faith, and the depositary will not be a fiduciary or have any fiduciary duty to holders of ADSs; |
| are not liable if we are or it is prevented or delayed by law or by events or circumstances beyond our or its ability to prevent or counteract with reasonable care or effort from performing our or its obligations under the deposit agreement; |
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| are not liable if we or it exercises discretion permitted under the deposit agreement; |
| are not liable for the inability of any holder of ADSs to benefit from any distribution on deposited securities that is not made available to holders of ADSs under the terms of the deposit agreement, or for any special, consequential or punitive damages for any breach of the terms of the deposit agreement; |
| have no obligation to become involved in a lawsuit or other proceeding related to the ADSs or the deposit agreement on your behalf or on behalf of any other person; |
| may rely upon any documents we believe or it believes in good faith to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper person; |
| are not liable for the acts or omissions of any securities depository, clearing agency or settlement system; and |
| the depositary has no duty to make any determination or provide any information as to our tax status, or any liability for any tax consequences that may be incurred by ADS holders as a result of owning or holding ADSs or be liable for the inability or failure of an ADS holder to obtain the benefit of a foreign tax credit, reduced rate of withholding or refund of amounts withheld in respect of tax or any other tax benefit. |
In the deposit agreement, we and the depositary agree to indemnify each other under certain circumstances.
Requirements for Depositary Actions
Before the depositary will deliver or register a transfer of ADSs, make a distribution on ADSs, or permit withdrawal of shares, the depositary may require:
| payment of stock transfer or other taxes or other governmental charges and transfer or registration fees charged by third parties for the transfer of any shares or other deposited securities; |
| satisfactory proof of the identity and genuineness of any signature or other information it deems necessary; and |
| compliance with regulations it may establish, from time to time, consistent with the deposit agreement, including presentation of transfer documents. |
The depositary may refuse to deliver ADSs or register transfers of ADSs when the transfer books of the depositary or our transfer books are closed or at any time if the depositary or we think it advisable to do so.
Your Right to Receive the Shares Underlying your ADSs
ADS holders have the right to cancel their ADSs and withdraw the underlying shares at any time except:
| when temporary delays arise because: (i) the depositary has closed its transfer books or we have closed our transfer books; (ii) the transfer of shares is blocked to permit voting at a shareholders meeting; or (iii) we are paying a dividend on our shares; |
| when you owe money to pay fees, taxes and similar charges; or |
| when it is necessary to prohibit withdrawals in order to comply with any laws or governmental regulations that apply to ADSs or to the withdrawal of shares or other deposited securities. |
This right of withdrawal may not be limited by any other provision of the deposit agreement.
Direct Registration System
In the deposit agreement, all parties to the deposit agreement acknowledge that the Direct Registration System, also referred to as DRS, and Profile Modification System, also referred to as Profile, will apply to the
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ADSs. DRS is a system administered by DTC that facilitates interchange between registered holding of uncertificated ADSs and holding of security entitlements in ADSs through DTC and a DTC participant. Profile is a feature of DRS that allows a DTC participant, claiming to act on behalf of a registered holder of uncertificated ADSs, to direct the depositary to register a transfer of those ADSs to DTC or its nominee and to deliver those ADSs to the DTC account of that DTC participant without receipt by the depositary of prior authorization from the ADS holder to register that transfer.
In connection with and in accordance with the arrangements and procedures relating to DRS/Profile, the parties to the deposit agreement understand that the depositary will not determine whether the DTC participant that is claiming to be acting on behalf of an ADS holder in requesting registration of transfer and delivery as described in the paragraph above has the actual authority to act on behalf of the ADS holder (notwithstanding any requirements under the Uniform Commercial Code). In the deposit agreement, the parties agree that the depositarys reliance on and compliance with instructions received by the depositary through the DRS/Profile system and in accordance with the deposit agreement will not constitute negligence or bad faith on the part of the depositary.
Shareholder Communications; Inspection of Register of Holders of ADSs
The depositary will make available for your inspection at its office all communications that it receives from us as a holder of deposited securities that we make generally available to holders of deposited securities. The depositary will send you copies of those communications or otherwise make those communications available to you if we ask it to. You have a right to inspect the register of holders of ADSs, but not for the purpose of contacting those holders about a matter unrelated to our business or the ADSs.
Jury Trial Waiver
The deposit agreement provides that, to the extent permitted by law, ADS holders waive the right to a jury trial of any claim they may have against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to our shares, the ADSs or the deposit agreement, including any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws. If we or the depositary opposed a jury trial demand based on the waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable in the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with applicable case law.
You will not, by agreeing to the terms of the deposit agreement, be deemed to have waived our or the depositarys compliance with U.S. federal securities laws or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
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SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE
Upon completion of this offering, we will have ADSs outstanding, representing Class A ordinary shares, or approximately % of our outstanding ordinary shares, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs. All of the ADSs sold in this offering will be freely transferable by persons other than our affiliates without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act. Sales of substantial amounts of the ADSs in the public market could adversely affect prevailing market prices of the ADSs. Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our ordinary shares or the ADSs, and [while the ADSs have been approved for listing on the [Nasdaq/NYSE],] we cannot assure you that a regular trading market will develop in the ADSs.
Lock-up Agreements
We, [our directors, executive officers and existing shareholders] have agreed, subject to some exceptions, not to transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any of our ordinary shares, as represented by the ADSs or otherwise, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for our ordinary shares, as represented by the ADSs or otherwise, for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus. After the expiration of the 180-day period, the ordinary shares or ADSs held by our directors, executive officers and our existing shareholders may be sold subject to the restrictions under Rule 144 under the Securities Act or by means of registered public offerings.
Rule 144
All of our ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering are restricted shares as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act and may be sold publicly in the United States only if they are subject to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act or pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements. Under Rule 144 as currently in effect, a person who has beneficially owned our restricted shares for at least six months is generally entitled to sell the restricted securities without registration under the Securities Act beginning 90 days after the date of this prospectus, subject to certain additional restrictions.
Our affiliates may sell within any three-month period a number of restricted shares that does not exceed the greater of the following:
| 1% of the then outstanding ordinary shares of the same class, as represented by the ADSs or otherwise, which will equal approximately Class A ordinary shares immediately after this offering, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs; or |
| the average weekly trading volume of our Class A ordinary shares, as represented by the ADSs or otherwise, on the [Nasdaq/NYSE] during the four calendar weeks preceding the date on which notice of the sale is filed with the SEC. |
Affiliates who sell restricted securities under Rule 144 may not solicit orders or arrange for the solicitation of orders, and they are also subject to notice requirements and the availability of current public information about us.
Persons who are not our affiliates are only subject to one of these additional restrictions, the requirement of the availability of current public information about us, and this additional restriction does not apply if they have beneficially owned our restricted shares for more than one year.
Rule 701
In general, under Rule 701 of the Securities Act as currently in effect, each of our employees, consultants or advisors who purchases our ordinary shares from us in connection with a compensatory stock or option plan or
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other written agreement relating to compensation is eligible to resell such ordinary shares 90 days after we became a reporting company under the Exchange Act in reliance on Rule 144, but without compliance with some of the restrictions, including the holding period, contained in Rule 144.
Registration Rights
Upon completion of this offering, certain holders of our ordinary shares or their transferees will be entitled to request that we register their shares under the Securities Act, following the expiration of the lock-up agreements described above. See Description of Share CapitalShareholders AgreementRegistration Rights.
Form S-8
We intend to file a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act covering all ordinary shares which are either subject to outstanding options or may be issued upon exercise or vesting of any options or other equity awards which may be granted or issued in the future pursuant to our share incentive plan. We expect to file this registration statement as soon as practicable after the date of this prospectus. Shares registered under any registration statements will be available for sale in the open market, except to the extent that the shares are subject to vesting restrictions with us or the contractual restrictions and the lock-up described above.
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The following discussion of Cayman Islands, PRC and United States federal income tax consequences of an investment in the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. This discussion does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, such as the tax consequences under state, local and other tax laws. To the extent that the discussion relates to matters of Cayman Islands tax law, it represents the opinion of Walkers (Hong Kong), our Cayman Islands counsel. To the extent that the discussion relates to matters of PRC tax law, it represents the opinion of Global Law Office, our PRC legal counsel.
Cayman Islands Taxation
The Cayman Islands currently levies no taxes on individuals or corporations based upon profits, income, gains or appreciation, and there is no taxation in the nature of inheritance tax or estate duty. There are no other taxes likely to be material to us or holders of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares levied by the government of the Cayman Islands, except for stamp duties which may be applicable on instruments executed in, or after execution brought within the jurisdiction of the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands is not party to any double tax treaties that are applicable to any payments made to or by our company. There are no exchange control regulations or currency restrictions in the Cayman Islands.
Payments of dividends and capital in respect of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, nor will gains derived from the disposal of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporation tax.
Peoples Republic of China Taxation
Under the PRC EIT Law, which became effective on January 1, 2008 and amended on February 24, 2017, an enterprise established outside the PRC with de facto management bodies within the PRC is considered a resident enterprise for PRC enterprise income tax purposes and is generally subject to a uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate on its worldwide income. Under the implementation regulations to the PRC EIT Law, a de facto management body is defined as a body that has material and overall management and control over the manufacturing and business operations, personnel and human resources, finances and properties of an enterprise.
In addition, the SAT Circular 82 issued by the SAT in April 2009 specifies that certain offshore incorporated enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups will be classified as PRC resident enterprises if the following are located or resident in the PRC: (a) senior management personnel and departments that are responsible for daily production, operation and management; (b) financial and personnel decision making bodies; (c) key properties, accounting books, company seal, minutes of board meetings and shareholders meetings; and (d) half or more of the senior management or directors having voting rights. Further to SAT Circular 82, the SAT issued the SAT Bulletin 45, which took effect in September 2011, to provide more guidance on the implementation of SAT Circular 82. SAT Bulletin 45 provides for procedures and administration details of determination on resident status and administration on post-determination matters. Our company is a company incorporated outside the PRC. As a holding company, its key assets are its ownership interests in its subsidiaries, and its key assets are located, and its records (including the resolutions of its board of directors and the resolutions of its shareholders) are maintained, outside the PRC. As such, we do not believe that our company meets all of the conditions above or is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. For similar reasons, we believe our other entities outside of China are not PRC resident enterprises either. However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to determination by the PRC tax authorities and uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation of the term de facto management body. There can be no assurance that the PRC
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government will ultimately take a view that is consistent with us. If the PRC tax authorities determine that our Cayman Islands holding company is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, a number of unfavorable PRC tax consequences could follow. For example, a 10% withholding tax would be imposed on dividends we pay to our non-PRC enterprise shareholders (including the ADS holders). In addition, non-resident enterprise shareholders (including the ADS holders) may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 10% on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, if such income is treated as sourced from within the PRC. Furthermore, if we are deemed a PRC resident enterprise, dividends paid to our non-PRC individual shareholders (including the ADS holders) and any gain realized on the transfer of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares by such shareholders may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 20% (which, in the case of dividends, may be withheld at source). These rates may be reduced by an applicable tax treaty, but it is unclear whether non-PRC shareholders of our company would be able to obtain the benefits of any tax treaties between their country of tax residence and the PRC in the event that we are treated as a PRC resident enterprise.
Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations
The following are material U.S. federal income tax consequences to you of the ownership and disposition of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, but this discussion does not purport to be a comprehensive description of all of the tax considerations that may be relevant to your decision to own the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares.
This discussion applies to you only if you are a U.S. Holder, you acquire ADSs in this offering and you hold the ADSs or underlying Class A ordinary shares as capital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In addition, it does not describe all of the tax consequences that may be relevant in light of your particular circumstances, including the alternative minimum tax, the Medicare contribution tax on net investment income and tax consequences applicable to you if you are subject to special rules, such as if you are:
| a financial institution; |
| an insurance company; |
| a regulated investment company; |
| a dealer or electing trader in securities that uses a mark-to-market method of tax accounting; |
| a person that holds ADSs or Class A ordinary shares as part of a straddle, integrated or similar transaction; |
| a person whose functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes is not the U.S. dollar; |
| an entity classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes or a partner or member thereof; |
| a tax-exempt entity, individual retirement account or Roth IRA; |
| a person that owns or is deemed to own ADSs or Class A ordinary shares representing 10% or more of our stock by vote or value; or |
| a person that holds ADSs or Class A ordinary shares in connection with a trade or business outside the United States. |
If you are a partnership (or other entity classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that owns ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of your partners will generally depend on their status and your activities. If you are a partnership that intends to acquire ADSs or Class A ordinary shares you should consult your tax adviser as to the particular U.S. federal income tax consequences to you and your partners of owning and disposing of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares.
This discussion is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), administrative pronouncements, judicial decisions, final, temporary and proposed Treasury regulations, and the income tax
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treaty between the United States and the PRC (the Treaty), all as of the date hereof, any of which is subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect. This discussion assumes that each obligation under the deposit agreement and any related agreement will be performed in accordance with its terms.
For purposes of this discussion you are a U.S. Holder if you are, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, a beneficial owner of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares and:
| a citizen or individual resident of the United States; |
| a corporation, or other entity taxable as a corporation, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state therein or the District of Columbia; or |
| an estate or trust the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source. |
In general, if you own ADSs you will be treated as the owner of the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by those ADSs for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Accordingly, no gain or loss will be recognized if you exchange the ADSs for the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by those ADSs.
This discussion does not address the effects of any state, local or non-U.S. tax laws, or any U.S. federal taxes other than income taxes (such as U.S. federal estate or gift tax consequences). You should consult your tax adviser concerning the U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences of owning and disposing of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares in your particular circumstances.
Taxation of Distributions
The following discussion is subject to the discussion under Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules below.
Distributions paid on the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, other than certain pro rata distributions of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, will be treated as dividends to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Because we do not maintain calculations of our earnings and profits under U.S. federal income tax principles, it is expected that distributions generally will be reported to you as dividends. Dividends will not be eligible for a dividends-received deduction. If you are a non-corporate U.S. Holder of ADSs, subject to applicable limitations, dividends paid to you with respect to ADSs may be taxable at a favorable rate, provided that we are not a passive foreign investment company (PFIC) for our taxable year of the distribution or the preceding taxable year. If you are a non-corporate U.S. Holder, you should consult your tax adviser regarding the availability of this favorable tax rate and any applicable limitations in your particular circumstances.
Dividends generally will be included in your income on the date of receipt by you (in the case of Class A ordinary shares) or by the depositary (in the case of ADSs). The amount of income with respect to a dividend paid in foreign currency will be the U.S. dollar amount calculated by reference to the spot rate in effect on the date of receipt, regardless of whether the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars on that date. If the dividend is converted into U.S. dollars on the date of receipt, you generally should not be required to recognize foreign currency gain or loss in respect of the amount received. You may have foreign currency gain or loss if the dividend is converted into U.S. dollars after the date of receipt.
Dividends will be treated as foreign-source income for foreign tax credit purposes. As described in Peoples Republic of China Taxation, dividends paid by us may be subject to PRC withholding tax. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the amount of the dividend income will include any amounts withheld in respect of PRC withholding tax. Subject to applicable limitations, which vary depending upon your circumstances, and the discussion below regarding the impact of certain Treasury regulations, PRC taxes withheld from dividend payments (at a rate not exceeding any rate applicable under the Treaty if you are eligible for Treaty benefits)
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generally will be creditable against your U.S. federal income tax liability. The rules governing foreign tax credits are complex. For example, under Treasury regulations, in absence of an election to apply the benefits of an applicable income tax treaty, in order for foreign income taxes to be creditable, the relevant foreign income tax rules must be consistent with certain U.S. federal income tax principles, and we have not determined whether the PRC income tax system meets these requirements. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) released notices that provide relief from certain of the provisions of the Treasury regulations described above for taxable years ending before the date that a notice or other guidance withdrawing or modifying the temporary relief is issued (or any later date specified in such notice or other guidance). You should consult your tax adviser regarding the creditability of foreign taxes in your particular circumstances. In lieu of claiming a credit, you may be able to elect to deduct any PRC taxes withheld in computing your taxable income, subject to applicable limitations. An election to deduct creditable foreign taxes instead of claiming foreign tax credits applies to all creditable foreign taxes paid or accrued in the relevant taxable year.
Sale or Other Taxable Disposition of ADSs or Class A Ordinary Shares
The following discussion is subject to the discussion under Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules below.
You will generally recognize capital gain or loss on a sale or other taxable disposition of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized on the sale or disposition and your tax basis in the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares disposed of, in each case as determined in U.S. dollars. The gain or loss will be long-term capital gain or loss if, at the time of the sale or disposition, you have owned the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares for more than one year. If you are a non-corporate U.S. Holder, any long-term capital gains recognized by you will generally be subject to tax rates that are lower than those applicable to ordinary income. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.
As described in Peoples Republic of China Taxation, gains on the sale of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares may be subject to PRC taxes. Under the Code, capital gains of U.S. persons are generally treated as U.S.-source income. However, if you are eligible for the benefits of the Treaty, you may be able to elect to treat the gain as foreign-source income and claim a foreign tax credit in respect of PRC taxes on disposition gains. Treasury regulations generally preclude you from claiming a foreign tax credit with respect to PRC income taxes on gains from dispositions of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares unless you are eligible for Treaty benefits and elect to apply them. As discussed above under Taxation of Distributions, the IRS released notices that provide relief from certain of the provisions of the Treasury regulations described above (including the limitation described in the preceding sentence) for taxable years ending before the date that a notice or other guidance withdrawing or modifying the temporary relief is issued (or any later date specified in such notice or other guidance). However, even if these Treasury regulations do not prohibit you from claiming a foreign tax credit with respect to PRC taxes on disposition gains, other limitations under the foreign tax credit rules may preclude you from claiming a foreign tax credit with respect to PRC income taxes on disposition gains. If you are precluded from claiming a foreign tax credit, it is possible that any PRC income taxes on disposition gains may either be deductible or reduce the amount realized on the disposition. The rules governing foreign tax credits and deductibility of foreign taxes are complex. You should consult your tax adviser regarding your eligibility for the benefits of the Treaty and the creditability or deductibility of any PRC tax on disposition gains in your particular circumstances, including the Treatys resourcing rule, any reporting requirements with respect to a Treaty-based return position and any applicable limitations.
Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules
In general, a non-U.S. corporation is a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year in which (i) 50% or more of the average value of its assets (generally determined on a quarterly basis) consists of assets that produce, or are held for the production of, passive income, or (ii) 75% or more of its gross income consists of passive income. For purposes of the above calculations, a non-U.S. corporation that owns, directly or
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indirectly, at least 25% by value of the shares of another corporation is treated as if it held its proportionate share of the assets of the other corporation and received directly its proportionate share of the income of the other corporation. Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, investment gains and certain rents and royalties (other than rents and royalties that are derived in the conduct of an active business and meet certain requirements). Cash is generally a passive asset for these purposes. Goodwill and other intangibles generally are treated as active assets to the extent associated with business activities that produce active income.
Based on the current and expected composition of our income and assets and the estimated value of our assets, including goodwill and other intangibles, which is based on the expected price of the ADSs in this offering, we do not expect to be a PFIC for our current taxable year. However, the application of the PFIC rules to a company like us is subject to certain uncertainties. Our PFIC status for any taxable year is an annual determination that can be made only after the end of that year and will depend on the composition of our income and assets and the value of our assets from time to time. The value of our goodwill and other intangibles may be determined, in large part, by reference to the market price of the ADSs, which could be volatile. Therefore, because we currently hold, and will continue to hold a substantial amount of cash after this offering, we may be or become a PFIC for any taxable year if our market capitalization declines significantly after this offering. Moreover, it is not entirely clear how the contractual arrangements among us and the VIEs will be treated for purposes of the PFIC rules, and we may be or become a PFIC if the VIEs are not treated as owned by us for these purposes. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that we will not be a PFIC for our current or any future taxable year.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year and any entity in which we own or are deemed to own equity interests (including our subsidiaries and VIEs) is also a PFIC (a Lower-tier PFIC), you will be deemed to own a proportionate amount (by value) of the shares of each Lower-tier PFIC and will be subject to U.S. federal income tax according to the rules described in the next paragraph on (i) certain distributions by the Lower-tier PFIC and (ii) dispositions of shares of the Lower-tier PFIC, in each case as if you held such shares directly, even though you will not receive any proceeds of those distributions or dispositions.
In general, if we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which you own ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, gain recognized by you on a sale or other disposition (including certain pledges) of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares will be allocated ratably over your holding period. The amounts allocated to the taxable year of the sale or disposition and to any year before we became a PFIC will be taxed as ordinary income. The amount allocated to each other taxable year will be subject to tax at the highest rate in effect for individuals or corporations, as appropriate, for that taxable year, and an interest charge will be imposed on the resulting tax liability for each such year. Furthermore, to the extent that distributions received by you in any taxable year on the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares exceed 125% of the average of the annual distributions on the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares received during the preceding three taxable years or your holding period, whichever is shorter, the excess distributions will be subject to taxation in the same manner. If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which you own ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, we will generally continue to be treated as a PFIC with respect to you for all succeeding years during which you own the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, even if we cease to meet the threshold requirements for PFIC status, unless you make a timely deemed sale election, in which case any gain on the deemed sale will be taxed under the PFIC rules described above.
Alternatively, if we are a PFIC and if the ADSs are regularly traded on a qualified exchange (each as defined in applicable U.S. Treasury regulations), you may be able to make a mark-to-market election with respect to the ADSs that will result in tax treatment different from the general tax treatment for PFICs described in the preceding paragraph. The ADSs will be treated as regularly traded for any calendar year in which more than a de minimis quantity of the ADSs are traded on a qualified exchange on at least 15 days during each calendar quarter (or, for the quarter of the calendar year in which the offering occurs, such reduced number of days as prescribed by applicable Treasury regulations). The [Nasdaq/NYSE] where the ADSs are expected to be listed, is a qualified exchange for this purpose. If you are a U.S. Holder of ADSs and make the mark-to-market election, you generally will recognize as ordinary income any excess of the fair market value of the ADSs at the
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end of each taxable year over their adjusted tax basis, and will recognize an ordinary loss in respect of any excess of the adjusted tax basis of the ADSs over their fair market value at the end of the taxable year to the extent of the net amount of income previously included as a result of the mark-to-market election. If you make the election, your tax basis in the ADSs will be adjusted to reflect the income or loss amounts recognized. Any gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs in a taxable year in which we are a PFIC will be treated as ordinary income and any loss will be treated as an ordinary loss (but only to the extent of the net amount of income previously included as a result of the mark-to-market election, with any excess treated as capital loss). If you make the mark-to-market election, distributions paid on ADSs will be treated as discussed under Taxation of Distributions above (but subject to the discussion in the following paragraph). Once made, the election will remain in effect for all taxable years in which we are a PFIC, unless it is revoked with the IRSs consent, or the ADSs cease to be regularly traded on a qualified exchange. There is no provision of law or official guidance that permits you to make a mark-to-market election with respect to any Lower-tier PFIC unless the shares of such Lower-tier PFIC are themselves regularly traded on a qualified exchange. As a result, if you make a mark-to-market election with respect to the ADSs, you could nevertheless be subject to the PFIC rules described in the preceding paragraph with respect to your indirect interest in any Lower-tier PFIC. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the availability and advisability of making a mark-to-market election in your particular circumstances if we are a PFIC for any taxable year.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year in which we pay a dividend or the preceding taxable year, the favorable tax rate described above with respect to dividends paid to certain non-corporate U.S. Holders will not apply.
We do not intend to provide information necessary to make qualified electing fund elections which, if available, would result in tax treatment different from the general tax treatment for PFICs described above.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which you own ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, you will generally be required to file annual reports on IRS Form 8621. You should consult your tax adviser regarding our PFIC status for any taxable year and the potential application of the PFIC rules to your ownership of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Payments of dividends and sales proceeds that are made within the United States or through certain U.S.-related financial intermediaries may be subject to information reporting and backup withholding, unless (i) you are a corporation or other exempt recipient (and establish that fact if required to do so) or (ii) in the case of backup withholding, you provide a correct taxpayer identification number and certify that you are not subject to backup withholding. The amount of any backup withholding from a payment to you will be allowed as a credit against your U.S. federal income tax liability and may entitle you to a refund, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
If you are an individual or one of certain specified entities, you may be required to report information relating to your ownership of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, or non-U.S. accounts through which the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares are held. You should consult your tax adviser regarding your reporting obligations with respect to the ADSs and Class A ordinary shares.
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We and the underwriters named below have entered into an underwriting agreement with respect to the ADSs being offered. Subject to certain conditions set out in the underwriting agreement, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, and each underwriter has severally agreed to purchase, at the public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, the number of ADSs listed next to its name in the following table. [EF Hutton LLC] is acting as the representative of the underwriters.
Underwriters |
Number of |
|||
EF Hutton LLC |
||||
Tiger Brokers (NZ) Limited |
||||
CMB International Capital Limited |
||||
|
|
|||
Total |
||||
|
|
The underwriters are offering the ADSs subject to their receipt and acceptance of the ADSs from us and subject to prior sale. The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the several underwriters to pay for and accept delivery of the ADSs offered by this prospectus are subject to the approval of certain legal matters by their counsel and to certain other conditions. The underwriters are obligated, severally and not jointly, to take and pay for all of the ADSs offered by this prospectus if any such ADSs are taken, other than the ADSs covered by the underwriters option to purchase additional ADSs described below. The underwriting agreement also provides that if an underwriter defaults, the purchase commitments of non-defaulting underwriters may be increased or the offering may be terminated.
The address of EF Hutton LLC is 590 Madison Avenue, 39th Floor, New York, 10022. The address of Tiger Brokers (NZ) Limited is Level 27, 151 Queen Street, Auckland Central, Auckland 1010. The address of CMB International Capital Limited is 45/F, Champion Tower, 3 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong.
Certain of the underwriters are expected to make offers and sales both inside and outside the United States through their respective selling agents. Any offers or sales in the United States will be conducted by broker-dealers registered with the SEC. Tiger Brokers (NZ) Limited is not a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and, to the extent that its conduct may be deemed to involve participation in offers or sales of ADSs in the United States, those offers or sales will be made through one or more SEC-registered broker-dealers in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. CMB International Capital Limited is not a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and may not make sales in the United States or to U.S. persons. CMB International Capital Limited has agreed that it does not intend to, and will not, offer or sell any of the ADSs in the United States or to any U.S. persons in connection with this offering.
We have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to an aggregate of additional ADSs from us at the public offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus, less underwriting discounts and commissions. To the extent the option is exercised, each underwriter will become severally obligated, subject to certain conditions, to purchase additional ADSs approximately proportionate to each underwriters initial amount reflected in the table above and will offer the additional ADSs on the same term as those on which the ADSs are being offered.
The underwriters initially propose to offer part of the ADSs directly to the public at the public offering price on the cover page of this prospectus and part of the ADSs to certain dealers at a price that represents a concession not in excess of US$ per ADS from the initial public offering price. After the initial public offering, the offering price and other selling terms may from time to time be varied by the underwriters.
The underwriting fee is equal to the public offering price per ADS less the amount paid by the underwriters to us per ADS. The underwriting fee is $ per ADS. The following table shows the per ADS and total
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underwriting discounts and commissions to be paid to the underwriters by us. Such amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters option to purchase additional ADSs.
Total | ||||||||||||
Per ADS | Without Option to Purchase Additional ADSs |
With Option to Purchase Additional ADSs |
||||||||||
Initial public offering price |
$ | $ | $ | |||||||||
Underwriting discounts and commissions paid by |
||||||||||||
us from ADSs offered to the public |
$ | $ | $ | |||||||||
Proceeds, before expenses, |
||||||||||||
to us from ADSs offered to the public |
$ | $ | $ |
We estimate that the total expenses of this offering, excluding the underwriting discounts and commissions, will be approximately US$ million. We have agreed to reimburse the underwriters for certain expenses relating to clearance of this offering up to US$ .
[We have agreed that, without the prior written consent of the representatives on behalf of the underwriters and subject to certain exceptions and other than the Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs to be sold in this offering, we will not during the period ending 180 days after the date of this prospectus, (i) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, or submit to, or file with, the SEC a registration statement under the Securities Act relating to, any ordinary shares or ADSs or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for such ordinary shares or ADSs, or publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge, loan, disposition or filing, or (ii) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers all or a portion of the economic consequences associated with the ownership of any ordinary shares or ADSs or any such other securities (regardless of whether any of these transactions are to be settled by the delivery of ordinary shares or ADSs or such other securities, in cash or otherwise).]
[Our directors, officers, existing shareholders and certain holders of our outstanding share incentive awards (such persons, the Lock-up Parties) have agreed that, without the prior written consent of the representatives on behalf of the underwriters and subject to certain exceptions, they will not, and will not cause any direct or indirect affiliate to, during the period ending 180 days after the date of this prospectus, (i) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any ordinary shares or ADSs or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for such ordinary shares or ADSs (including, without limitation, ordinary shares or such other securities which may be deemed to be beneficially owned by such Lock-up Parties in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC and securities which may be issued upon exercise of a stock option or warrant (collectively with the ordinary shares, the Lock-up Securities)), (ii) enter into any hedging, swap or other agreement or transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Lock-up Securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Lock-up Securities, in cash or otherwise, (iii) make any demand for or exercise any right with respect to the registration of any Lock-up Securities, or (iv) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing. The Lock-up Parties have acknowledged and agreed that the foregoing precludes them from engaging in any hedging or other transactions or arrangements (including, without limitation, any short sale or the purchase or sale of, or entry into, any put or call option, or combination thereof, forward, swap or any other derivative transaction or instrument, however described or defined) designed or intended, or which could reasonably be expected to lead to or result in, a sale or disposition or transfer (whether by them or any other person) of any economic consequences of ownership, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, of any Lock-up Securities, whether any such transaction or arrangement (or instrument provided for thereunder) would be settled by delivery of Lock-up Securities, in cash or otherwise.]
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The representatives, in their sole discretion, may release the ordinary shares, ADSs and other securities subject to the lock-up agreements described above in whole or in part at any time.
Record holders of our securities are typically the parties to the lock-up agreements with the underwriters, while holders of beneficial interests in our shares who are not also record holders in respect of such shares are not typically subject to any such agreements or other similar restrictions. Accordingly, we believe that certain holders of beneficial interests who are not record holders and are not bound by market standoff or lock-up agreements could enter into transactions with respect to those beneficial interests that negatively impact our stock price. In addition, a shareholder who is neither subject to a market standoff agreement with us nor a lock-up agreement with the underwriters may be able to sell, short sell, transfer, hedge, pledge, lend or otherwise dispose of or attempt to sell, short sell, transfer, hedge, pledge, lend or otherwise dispose of, their equity interests at any time after the closing of this offering.]
We have applied to list the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares on the [Nasdaq/NYSE] under the symbol YXT.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our ordinary shares or the ADSs. The initial public offering price will be negotiated among the representatives and us and will not necessarily reflect the market price of the ADSs following this offering. Among the factors considered in determining the initial public offering price of the ADSs, in addition to prevailing market conditions, will be our historical performance, estimates of our business potential and earnings prospects, future prospects of our industry in general, our sales, earnings and certain other financial and operating information in recent periods, an assessment of our management and the consideration of the above factors in relation to market valuation of companies in related businesses. We cannot assure you that the initial public offering price will correspond to the price at which the ADSs will trade in the public market subsequent to this offering or that an active trading market for the ADSs will develop and continue after this offering.
In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell ADSs in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, stabilizing transactions and purchases to cover positions created by short sales. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of ADSs than they are required to purchase in the offering, and a short position represents the amount of such sales that have not been covered by subsequent purchases. A covered short position is a short position that is not greater than the amount of additional ADSs for which the underwriters option described above may be exercised. The underwriters may cover any covered short position by either exercising their option to purchase additional ADSs or purchasing ADSs in the open market. In determining the source of ADSs to cover the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of ADSs available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase additional ADSs pursuant to the option described above. Naked short sales are any short sales that create a short position greater than the amount of additional ADSs for which the option described above may be exercised. The underwriters must cover any such naked short position by purchasing ADSs in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the ADSs in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of various bids for or purchases of ADSs made by the underwriters in the open market prior to the completion of the offering.
The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representatives have repurchased ADSs sold by, or for the account of, such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.
Purchases to cover a short position and stabilizing transactions, as well as other purchases by the underwriters for their own accounts, may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the ADSs, and together with the imposition of the penalty bid, may stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the market price of the ADSs. As a result, the price of the ADSs may be higher than the price that otherwise might
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exist in the open market. The underwriters are not required to engage in these activities, and if these activities are commenced, they are required to be conducted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and they may be discontinued at any time. These transactions may be effected on the [Nasdaq/NYSE], the over-the-counter market or otherwise.
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the websites maintained by one or more of the underwriters or one or more securities dealers. One or more of the underwriters participating in this offering may distribute prospectuses electronically. The underwriters may agree to allocate a number of ADSs for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated on the same basis as other allocations. In addition, ADSs may be sold by the underwriters to securities dealers who resell ADSs to online brokerage account holders.
[At our request, the underwriters have reserved up to % of the ADSs being offered by this prospectus (assuming exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional ADSs) for sale at the initial public offering price to certain of our directors, executive officers, employees, business associates and members of their families. The directed ADS program will be administered by . We do not know if these individuals will choose to purchase all or any portion of these reserved ADSs, but any purchases they do make will reduce the number of ADSs available for sale to the general public. Any reserved ADSs not so purchased will be offered by the underwriters to the general public on the same terms as the other ADSs.]
[The underwriters have informed us that they do not intend sales to discretionary accounts to exceed 5% of the total number of ADSs offered by them.]
We have agreed to indemnify the several underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage, lending and other financial and non-financial activities and services. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, a variety of these services to us and to persons and entities with relationships with us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates, directors, officers and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers. Such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to assets, securities and/or instruments of us (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise) and/or persons and entities with relationships with us. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also communicate independent investment recommendations, market color or trading ideas and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such assets, securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they should acquire, long and/or short positions in such assets, securities and instruments.
Selling Restrictions
No action has been taken in any jurisdiction (except in the United States) that would permit a public offering of the ADSs, or the possession, circulation or distribution of this prospectus or any other material relating to us or the ADSs in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Accordingly, the ADSs may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, and neither this prospectus nor any other material or advertisements in connection with the ADSs may be distributed or published, in or from any country or jurisdiction except in compliance with any applicable laws, rules and regulations of any such country or jurisdiction. Persons into
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whose possession this prospectus comes are advised to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to the offering and the distribution of this prospectus. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities offered by this prospectus in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or a solicitation is unlawful.
Australia
No placement document, prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document has been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), in relation to the offering. This prospectus does not constitute a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act 2001 (the Corporations Act), and does not purport to include the information required for a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act. Any offer in Australia of the ADSs may only be made to persons (the Exempt Investors) who are sophisticated investors (within the meaning of section 708(8) of the Corporations Act), professional investors (within the meaning of section 708(11) of the Corporations Act) or otherwise pursuant to one or more exemptions contained in section 708 of the Corporations Act so that it is lawful to offer the ADSs without disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act. The ADSs applied for by Exempt Investors in Australia must not be offered for sale in Australia in the period of 12 months after the date of allotment under the offering, except in circumstances where disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act would not be required pursuant to an exemption under section 708 of the Corporations Act or otherwise or where the offer is pursuant to a disclosure document which complies with Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act. Any person acquiring ADSs must observe such Australian on-sale restrictions. This prospectus contains general information only and does not take account of the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. It does not contain any securities recommendations or financial product advice. Before making an investment decision, investors need to consider whether the information in this prospectus is appropriate to their needs, objectives and circumstances, and, if necessary, seek expert advice on those matters.
Bermuda
The ADSs may be offered or sold in Bermuda only in compliance with the provisions of the Investment Business Act of 2003 of Bermuda which regulates the sale of securities in Bermuda. Additionally, non-Bermudian persons (including companies) may not carry on or engage in any trade or business in Bermuda unless such persons are permitted to do so under applicable Bermuda legislation.
British Virgin Islands
The ADSs are not being, and may not be offered to the public or to any person in the British Virgin Islands for purchase or subscription by us or on our behalf. The ADSs may be offered to companies incorporated under the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004 (British Virgin Islands) (each a BVI Company), but only where the offer will be made to, and received by, the relevant BVI Company entirely outside of the British Virgin Islands.
This prospectus has not been, and will not be, registered with the Financial Services Commission of the British Virgin Islands. No registered prospectus has been or will be prepared in respect of the ADSs for the purposes of the Securities and Investment Business Act, 2010, or SIBA or the Public Issuers Code of the British Virgin Islands.
The ADSs may be offered to persons located in the British Virgin Islands who are qualified investors for the purposes of SIBA. Qualified investors include (i) certain entities which are regulated by the Financial Services Commission in the British Virgin Islands, including banks, insurance companies, licensees under SIBA and public, professional and private mutual funds; (ii) a company, any securities of which are listed on a recognized exchange; and (iii) persons defined as professional investors under SIBA, which is any person (a) whose ordinary business involves, whether for that persons own account or the account of others, the
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acquisition or disposal of property of the same kind as the property, or a substantial part of our property; or (b) who has signed a declaration that he, whether individually or jointly with his spouse, has a net worth in excess of US$1,000,000 and that he consents to being treated as a professional investor.
Canada
The ADSs may be sold only to purchasers resident or located in the Provinces of Ontario, Québec, Alberta and British Columbia, purchasing, or deemed to be purchasing, as principal that are accredited investors, as defined in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions or subsection 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario), and are permitted clients, as defined in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations. Any resale of the securities must be made in accordance with an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the prospectus requirements of applicable securities laws.
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if this prospectus (including any amendment thereto) contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchasers province or territory. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchasers province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
Pursuant to section 3A.3 of National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts, or NI 33-105, the underwriters are not required to comply with the disclosure requirements of NI 33-105 regarding underwriter conflicts of interest in connection with this offering.
Cayman Islands
This prospectus does not constitute an invitation or offer to the public in the Cayman Islands of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, whether by way of sale or subscription. The underwriters have not offered or sold, and will not offer or sell, directly or indirectly, any ADSs or Class A ordinary shares in the Cayman Islands.
Dubai International Financial Center
This document relates to an exempt offer in accordance with the Markets Rules 2012 of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). This document is intended for distribution only to persons of a type specified in the Markets Rules 2012 of the DFSA. It must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other person. The DFSA has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with exempt offers. The DFSA has not approved this document nor taken steps to verify the information set forth herein and has no responsibility for this document. The ADSs to which this document relates may be illiquid and/or subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers of the ADSs offered should conduct their own due diligence on the ADSs. If you do not understand the contents of this document you should consult an authorized financial advisor.
In relation to its use in the DIFC, this document is strictly private and confidential and is being distributed to a limited number of investors and must not be provided to any person other than the original recipient, and may not be reproduced or used for any other purpose. The interests in the ADSs may not be offered or sold directly or indirectly to the public in the DIFC.
European Economic Area
In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area (each, a Relevant Member State), an offer to the public of any ADSs may not be made in that Relevant Member State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the ADSs which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant Member State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant Member State and notified to the competent authority
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in that Relevant Member State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation, except that an offer to the public in that Relevant Member State of any ADSs may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Regulation:
(a) to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation;
(b) to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriters for any such offer; or
(c) in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation,
provided that no such offer of ADSs shall result in a requirement for the issuer or any underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or a supplemental prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation and each person who initially acquires any ADSs or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed to and with each of the Underwriters and the Issuer that it is a qualified investor within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation.
In the case of any ADSs being offered to a financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation, each financial intermediary will also be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that the ADSs acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of any ADSs to the public, other than their offer or resale in a Relevant Member State to qualified investors as so defined or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the underwriters has been obtained to each such proposed offer or resale.
The issuer, the underwriters and their affiliates will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, warranties and agreements. Notwithstanding the above, a person who is not a qualified investor and who has notified the underwriters of such fact in writing may, with the prior consent of the underwriters, be permitted to acquire ADSs in the offer.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an offer to the public in relation to any ADSs in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any ADSs to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any ADSs, and the expression Prospectus Regulation means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129.
France
Neither this prospectus nor any other offering material relating to the ADSs described in this prospectus has been submitted to the clearance procedures of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers or of the competent authority of another member state of the European Economic Area and notified to the Autorité des Marchés Financiers. The ADSs have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in France. Neither this prospectus nor any other offering material relating to the ADSs has been or will be:
| to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive; |
| to fewer than 100 or, if the relevant member state has implemented the relevant provision of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), as permitted under the Prospectus Directive, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the relevant Dealer or Dealers nominated by us for any such offer; |
| in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive; |
| released, issued, distributed or caused to be released, issued or distributed to the public in France; or |
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| used in connection with any offer for subscription or sale of the ADSs to the public in France. |
Such offers, sales and distributions will be made in France only:
| to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) and/or to a restricted circle of investors (cercle restreint dinvestisseurs), in each case investing for their own account, all as defined in, and in accordance with articles L.411-2, D.411-1, D.411-2, D.734-1, D.744-1, D.754-1 and D.764-1 of the French Code monétaire et financier; |
| to investment services providers authorized to engage in portfolio management on behalf of third parties; or |
| in a transaction that, in accordance with article L.411-2-II-1° -or-2° -or 3° of the French Code monétaire et financier and article 211-2 of the General Regulations (Règlement Général) of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, does not constitute a public offer (appel public à lépargne). |
The ADSs may be resold directly or indirectly, only in compliance with articles L.411-1, L.411-2, L.412-1 and L.621-8 through L.621-8-3 of the French Code monétaire et financier.
Germany
This prospectus does not constitute a Prospectus Directive-compliant prospectus in accordance with the German Securities Prospectus Act (Wertpapierprospektgesetz) and does therefore not allow any public offering in the Federal Republic of Germany (Germany) or any other Relevant Member State pursuant to § 17 and § 18 of the German Securities Prospectus Act. No action has been or will be taken in Germany that would permit a public offering of the ADSs, or distribution of a prospectus or any other offering material relating to the ADSs. In particular, no securities prospectus (Wertpapierprospekt) within the meaning of the German Securities Prospectus Act or any other applicable laws of Germany, has been or will be published within Germany, nor has this prospectus been filed with or approved by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) for publication within Germany.
Each underwriter will represent, agree and undertake, (i) that it has not offered, sold or delivered and will not offer, sell or deliver the ADSs within Germany other than in accordance with the German Securities Prospectus Act (Wertpapierprospektgesetz) and any other applicable laws in Germany governing the issue, sale and offering of ADSs, and (ii) that it will distribute in Germany any offering material relating to the ADSs only under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of Germany.
This prospectus is strictly for use of the person who has received it. It may not be forwarded to other persons or published in Germany.
Hong Kong
The ADSs may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong by means of any document other than (i) to professional investors as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made under that Ordinance, or (ii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a prospectus as defined in the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong) or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance. No advertisement, invitation or document relating to the ADSs may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to ADSs which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to professional investors as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made under that Ordinance.
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Indonesia
This prospectus does not, and is not intended to, constitute a public offering in Indonesia under Law Number 8 of 1995 regarding Capital Market. This prospectus may not be distributed in the Republic of Indonesia and the ADSs may not be offered or sold in the Republic of Indonesia or to Indonesian citizens wherever they are domiciled, or to Indonesia residents, in a manner which constitutes a public offering under the laws of the Republic of Indonesia.
Israel
This prospectus does not constitute a prospectus under the Israeli Securities Law, 5728-1968, and has not been filed with or approved by the Israel Securities Authority. In Israel, this prospectus is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, investors listed in the first addendum, or the Addendum, to the Israeli Securities Law, consisting primarily of joint investment in trust funds, provident funds, insurance companies, banks, portfolio managers, investment advisors, members of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, underwriters purchasing for their own account, venture capital funds, entities with equity in excess of NIS 50 million and qualified individuals, each as defined in the Addendum (as it may be amended from time to time), collectively referred to as qualified investors. Qualified investors may be required to submit written confirmation that they meet the criteria for one of the categories of investors set forth in the prospectus.
Italy
The offering of ADSs has not been registered with the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) pursuant to Italian securities legislation and, accordingly, no ADSs may be offered, sold or delivered, nor copies of this prospectus or any other documents relating to the ADSs may not be distributed in Italy except:
| to qualified investors, as referred to in Article 100 of Legislative Decree No. 58 of 24 February 1998, as amended (the Decree No. 58) and defined in Article 26, paragraph 1, letter d) of CONSOB Regulation No. 16190 of 29 October 2007, as amended (Regulation No. 16190) pursuant to Article 34-ter, paragraph 1, letter. b) of CONSOB Regulation No. 11971 of 14 May 1999, as amended (Regulation No. 11971); or |
| in any other circumstances where an express exemption from compliance with the offer restrictions applies, as provided under Decree No. 58 or Regulation No. 11971. |
Any offer, sale or delivery of the ADSs or distribution of copies of this prospectus or any other documents relating to the ADSs in the Republic of Italy must be:
| made by investment firms, banks or financial intermediaries permitted to conduct such activities in the Republic of Italy in accordance with Legislative Decree No. 385 of 1 September 1993, as amended (the Banking Law), Decree No. 58 and Regulation No. 16190 and any other applicable laws and regulations; |
| in compliance with Article 129 of the Banking Law, and the implementing guidelines of the Bank of Italy, as amended; and |
| in compliance with any other applicable notification requirement or limitation which may be imposed, from time to time, by CONSOB or the Bank of Italy or other competent authority. |
Please note that, in accordance with Article 100-bis of Decree No. 58, where no exemption from the rules on public offerings applies, the subsequent distribution of the ADSs on the secondary market in Italy must be made in compliance with the public offer and the prospectus requirement rules provided under Decree No. 58 and Regulation No. 11971.
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Furthermore, ADSs which are initially offered and placed in Italy or abroad to qualified investors only but in the following year are regularly (sistematicamente) distributed on the secondary market in Italy to non-qualified investors become subject to the public offer and the prospectus requirement rules provided under Decree No. 58 and Regulation No. 11971. Failure to comply with such rules may result in the sale of the ADSs being declared null and void and in the liability of the intermediary transferring the ADSs for any damages suffered by such non-qualified investors.
Japan
The ADSs have not been and will not be registered pursuant to Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. Accordingly, none of the ADSs nor any interest therein may be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any Japanese Person or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to or for the benefit of any Japanese Person, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan in effect at the relevant time. For the purposes of this paragraph, Japanese Person shall mean any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.
Korea
The ADSs have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Investments Services and Capital Markets Act of Korea and the decrees and regulations thereunder (the FSCMA), and the ADSs have been and will be offered in Korea as a private placement under the FSCMA. None of the ADSs may be offered, sold or delivered directly or indirectly, or offered or sold to any person for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Korea or to any resident of Korea except pursuant to the applicable laws and regulations of Korea, including the FSCMA and the Foreign Exchange Transaction Law of Korea and the decrees and regulations thereunder (the FETL). The ADSs have not been listed on any of securities exchanges in the world including, without limitation, the Korea Exchange in Korea. Furthermore, the ADSs may not be resold to Korean residents unless the purchaser of the ADSs complies with all applicable regulatory requirements (including but not limited to requirements under the FETL) in connection with the purchase of the ADSs. By the purchase of the ADSs, the relevant holder thereof will be deemed to represent and warrant that if it is in Korea or is a resident of Korea, it purchased the ADSs pursuant to the applicable laws and regulations of Korea.
Kuwait
Unless all necessary approvals from the Kuwait Ministry of Commerce and Industry required by Law No. 31/1990 Regulating the Negotiation of Securities and Establishment of Investment Funds, its Executive Regulations and the various Ministerial Orders issued pursuant thereto or in connection therewith, have been given in relation to the marketing and sale of the ADSs, these may not be marketed, offered for sale, nor sold in the State of Kuwait. Neither this prospectus (including any related document), nor any of the information contained therein is intended to lead to the conclusion of any contract of whatsoever nature within Kuwait.
Malaysia
No prospectus or other offering material or document in connection with the offer and sale of the securities has been or will be registered with the Securities Commission of Malaysia, or Commission, for the Commissions approval pursuant to the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the securities may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the securities be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Malaysia other than (i) a closed end fund approved by the Commission; (ii) a holder of a Capital Markets Services License; (iii) a person who acquires the securities as principal, if the offer is on terms that the securities may only be
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acquired at a consideration of not less than RM250,000 (or its equivalent in foreign currencies) for each transaction; (iv) an individual whose total net personal assets or total net joint assets with his or her spouse exceeds RM3 million (or its equivalent in foreign currencies), excluding the value of the primary residence of the individual; (v) an individual who has a gross annual income exceeding RM300,000 (or its equivalent in foreign currencies) per annum in the preceding twelve months; (vi) an individual who, jointly with his or her spouse, has a gross annual income of RM400,000 (or its equivalent in foreign currencies), per annum in the preceding twelve months; (vii) a corporation with total net assets exceeding RM10 million (or its equivalent in a foreign currencies) based on the last audited accounts; (viii) a partnership with total net assets exceeding RM10 million (or its equivalent in foreign currencies); (ix) a bank licensee or insurance licensee as defined in the Labuan Financial Services and Securities Act 2010; (x) an Islamic bank licensee or takaful licensee as defined in the Labuan Financial Services and Securities Act 2010; and (xi) any other person as may be specified by the Commission; provided that, in the each of the preceding categories (i) to (xi), the distribution of the securities is made by a holder of a Capital Markets Services License who carries on the business of dealing in securities. The distribution in Malaysia of this prospectus is subject to Malaysian laws. This prospectus does not constitute and may not be used for the purpose of public offering or an issue, offer for subscription or purchase, invitation to subscribe for or purchase any securities requiring the registration of a prospectus with the Commission under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007.
PRC
This prospectus has not been and will not be circulated or distributed in the PRC except pursuant to applicable laws and regulations of the PRC. For the purpose of this paragraph, PRC does not include Taiwan, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR and the ADSs may not be offered or sold, and will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to any resident of the PRC or to persons for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, to any resident of the PRC except pursuant to applicable laws and regulations of the PRC. Neither this prospectus nor any advertisement or other offering material may be distributed or published in the PRC, except under circumstances that will result in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. For the purpose of this paragraph, the PRC does not include Taiwan and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao.
Qatar
The ADSs described in this prospectus have not been, and will not be, offered, sold or delivered, at any time, directly or indirectly in the State of Qatar in a manner that would constitute a public offering. This prospectus has not been, and will not be, registered with or approved by the Qatar Financial Markets Authority or Qatar Central Bank and may not be publicly distributed. In the State of Qatar, the offer contained herein is made on an exclusive basis to the specifically intended recipient thereof, upon that persons request and initiative, for personal use only and shall in no way be construed as a general offer for the sale of securities to the public or an attempt to do business as a bank, an investment company or otherwise in the State of Qatar. The information contained in this prospectus shall only be shared with any third parties in Qatar on a need to know basis for the purpose of evaluating the contained offer. Any distribution of this prospectus by the recipient to third parties in Qatar beyond the terms hereof is not permitted and shall be at the liability of such recipient.
Saudi Arabia
This prospectus may not be distributed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia except to such persons as are permitted under the Offers of Securities Regulations as issued by the board of the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority (CMA) pursuant to resolution number 2-11-2004 dated October 4, 2004 as amended by resolution number 1-28-2008, as amended (the CMA Regulations). The CMA does not make any representation as to the accuracy or completeness of this prospectus, and expressly disclaims any liability whatsoever for any loss arising from, or incurred in reliance upon, any part of this prospectus. Prospective purchasers of the securities offered hereby should conduct their own due diligence on the accuracy of the information relating to the securities. If you do not understand the contents of this prospectus you should consult an authorized financial adviser.
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Singapore
This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of ADSs may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the ADSs be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than
| to an institutional investor (as defined in Section 4A of the Securities and Futures Act (Chapter 289) of Singapore, as modified or amended from time to time (the SFA)) pursuant to Section 274 of the SFA; |
| to a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA) pursuant to Section 275(1) of the SFA, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A) of the SFA, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA; or |
| otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA. |
Where the ADSs are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:
| a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or |
| a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor, securities or securities-based derivatives contracts (each term as defined in Section 2(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the ADSs pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except: |
to an institutional investor or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person arising from an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) or Section 276(4)(i)(B) of the SFA;
where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer;
where the transfer is by operation of law;
as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA; or
as specified in Regulation 37A of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Securities and Securities-based Derivatives Contracts) Regulations 2018.
South Africa
Due to restrictions under the securities laws of South Africa, the ADSs are not offered, and the offer shall not be transferred, sold, renounced or delivered, in South Africa or to a person with an address in South Africa, unless one or other of the following exemptions stipulated in section 96 (1) applies:
(a) the offer, transfer, sale, renunciation or delivery is to:
(i) | persons whose ordinary business, or part of whose ordinary business, is to deal in securities, as principal or agent; |
the South African Public Investment Corporation;
persons or entities regulated by the Reserve Bank of South Africa;
authorized financial service providers under South African law;
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financial institutions recognized as such under South African law;
a wholly-owned subsidiary of any person or entity contemplated in (c), (d) or (e), acting as agent in the capacity of an authorized portfolio manager for a pension fund, or as manager for a collective investment scheme (in each case duly registered as such under South African law); or
any combination of the person in (i) to (vi); or
(b) the total contemplated acquisition cost of the securities, for any single addressee acting as principal is equal to or greater than ZAR1,000,000 or such higher amount as may be promulgated by notice in the Government Gazette of South Africa pursuant to section 96(2)(a) of the South African Companies Act, No. 71 of 2008 (as amended or re-enacted) (the South African Companies Act).
No offer to the public (as such term is defined in the South African Companies Act) in South Africa is being made in connection with the issue of the ADSs. Accordingly, this document does not, nor is it intended to, constitute a registered prospectus (as that term is defined in the South African Companies Act) prepared and registered under the South African Companies Act and has not been approved by, and/or filed with, the South African Companies and Intellectual Property Commission or any other regulatory authority in South Africa. Any issue or offering of the ADSs in South Africa constitutes an offer of the ADSs in South Africa for subscription or sale in South Africa only to persons who fall within the exemption from offers to the public set out in section 96(1)(a) of the South African Companies Act. Accordingly, this document must not be acted on or relied on by persons in South Africa who do not fall within section 96(1)(a) of the South African Companies Act (such persons being referred to as SA Relevant Persons). Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available in South Africa only to SA Relevant Persons and will be engaged in South Africa only with SA relevant persons.
Switzerland
The ADSs may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX) or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This document does not constitute a prospectus within the meaning of, and has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the ADSs or the offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.
Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, our company, the ADSs have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this document will not be filed with, and the offer of ADSs will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA (FINMA), and the offer of ADSs has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (CISA). The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of ADSs.
Taiwan
The ADSs have not been and will not be registered or filed with, or approved by, the Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan pursuant to relevant securities laws and regulations and may not be issued, offered or sold in Taiwan through a public offering or in circumstances which constitute an offer within the meaning of the Securities and Exchange Act of Taiwan or relevant laws and regulations that require a registration, filing or approval of the Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan. No person or entity in Taiwan has been authorized to offer, sell, give advice regarding or otherwise intermediate the offering and sale of the ADSs in Taiwan.
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United Arab Emirates
The ADSs have not been offered or sold, and will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in the United Arab Emirates, except: (i) in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations of the United Arab Emirates; and (ii) through persons or corporate entities authorized and licensed to provide investment advice and/or engage in brokerage activity and/or trade in respect of foreign securities in the United Arab Emirates. The information contained in this prospectus does not constitute a public offer of securities in the United Arab Emirates in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law (Federal Law No. 8 of 1984 (as amended)) or otherwise and is not intended to be a public offer and is addressed only to persons who are sophisticated investors. This prospectus has not been approved by or filed with the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, the Securities and Commodities Authority or the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
United Kingdom
An offer to the public of any ADSs may not be made in the United Kingdom prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the ADSs which has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority, except that an offer to the public in the United Kingdom of any ADSs may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the UK Prospectus Regulation:
(a) to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation;
(b) to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriters for any such offer; or
(c) in any other circumstances falling within section 86 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended, FSMA),
provided that no such offer of ADSs shall result in a requirement for the issuer or any underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to section 85 of the FSMA or a supplemental prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the UK Prospectus Regulation and each person who initially acquires any ADSs or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed to and with each of the underwriters and the issuer that it is a qualified investor within the meaning of Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation.
In the case of any ADSs being offered to a financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 1(4) of the UK Prospectus Regulation, each financial intermediary will also be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that the ADSs acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of any ADSs to the public, other than their offer or resale in the United Kingdom to qualified investors as so defined or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the underwriters has been obtained to each such proposed offer or resale.
The issuer, the underwriters and their affiliates will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, warranties and agreements. Notwithstanding the above, a person who is not a qualified investor and who has notified the underwriters of such fact in writing may, with the prior consent of the underwriters, be permitted to acquire ADSs in the offer.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an offer to the public in relation to any ADSs in the United Kingdom means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any ADSs to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any ADSs, and the expression UK Prospectus Regulation means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
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In addition, in the United Kingdom, this document is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, and any offer subsequently made may only be directed at persons who are qualified investors (as defined in the Prospectus Regulation) (i) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the Order) and/or (ii) who are high net worth companies (or persons to whom it may otherwise be lawfully communicated) falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as relevant persons) or otherwise in circumstances which have not resulted and will not result in an offer to the public of the ADSs in the United Kingdom within the meaning of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
Any person in the United Kingdom that is not a relevant person should not act or rely on the information included in this document or use it as basis for taking any action. In the United Kingdom, any investment or investment activity that this document relates to may be made or taken exclusively by relevant persons.
234
EXPENSES RELATING TO THIS OFFERING
Set forth below is an itemization of the total expenses, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions, that we expect to incur in connection with this offering. With the exception of the SEC registration fee, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, filing fee and the [Nasdaq/NYSE] listing fee, all amounts are estimates. Our company will pay all of the expenses of this offering.
Expenses |
Amount | |||
SEC registration fee |
US$ | |||
[Nasdaq/NYSE] listing fee |
US$ | |||
FINRA filing fee |
US$ | |||
Printing and engraving expenses |
US$ | |||
Legal fees and expenses |
US$ | |||
Accounting fees and expenses |
US$ | |||
Miscellaneous costs |
US$ | |||
|
|
|||
Total |
US$ | |||
|
|
235
We are being represented by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP with respect to certain legal matters of U.S. federal securities and New York state law. Certain legal matters with respect to U.S. federal securities and New York State law in connection with this offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. The validity of the Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs offered in this offering and other certain legal matters as to Cayman Islands law will be passed upon for us by Walkers (Hong Kong). Legal matters as to PRC law will be passed upon for us by Global Law Office and for the underwriters by Jingtian & Gongcheng. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP may rely upon Walkers (Hong Kong) with respect to matters governed by Cayman Islands law and Global Law Office with respect to matters governed by PRC law. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP may rely upon Jingtian & Gongcheng with respect to matters governed by PRC law.
236
The financial statements as of December 31, 2022 and 2023 and for the years then ended included in this Prospectus have been so included in reliance on the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
The registered business address of PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP is 6/F DBS Bank Tower, 1318, Lu Jia Zui Ring Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, the Peoples Republic of China.
237
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement (including amendments and exhibits to the registration statement) on Form F-1 under the Securities Act. This prospectus, which is part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules to the registration statement. For further information, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed as part of the registration statement. If a document has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, we refer you to the copy of the document that has been filed. Each statement in this prospectus relating to a document filed as an exhibit is qualified in all respects by the filed exhibit.
Upon completion of this offering, we will become subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act. Accordingly, we will be required to file reports and other information with the SEC, including annual reports on Form 20-F and reports on Form 6-K. The SEC maintains an Internet site at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information we have filed electronically with the SEC.
As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt under the Exchange Act from, among other things, the rules prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements, and our executive officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will not be required under the Exchange Act to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act.
238
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
F-2 | ||||
F-3 | ||||
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2023 |
F-7 | |||
F-9 | ||||
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2023 |
F-11 | |||
F-13 | ||||
INDEX TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| |||
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024 |
F-68 | |||
F-72 | ||||
F-74 | ||||
F-76 | ||||
Notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated FinancialStatements |
F-78 |
F-1
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of YXT.COM Group Holding Limited
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of YXT.COM Group Holding Limited and its subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the related consolidated statements of comprehensive loss, of changes in shareholders deficit and of cash flows for the years then ended, including the related notes (collectively referred to as the consolidated financial statements). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Change in Accounting Principle
As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed the manner in which it accounts for current expected credit losses on financial instruments in 2023.
Basis for Opinion
These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Companys management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Companys consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits of these consolidated financial statements in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP
Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China
May 28, 2024
We have served as the Companys auditor since 2020.
F-2
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2022 AND 2023
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
ASSETS |
||||||||||||
Current assets: |
||||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
432,007 | 320,489 | 45,140 | |||||||||
Short-term investments |
102,478 | 58,128 | 8,187 | |||||||||
Accounts receivable, net (Allowance for doubtful accounts of RMB 3,228 as of December 31, 2022 and credit losses of RMB 2,201 as of December 31, 2023) |
34,987 | 32,790 | 4,618 | |||||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets (Allowance for doubtful accounts of nil as of December 31, 2022 and credit losses of RMB 373 as of December 31, 2023) |
28,798 | 12,028 | 1,695 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total current assets |
598,270 | 423,435 | 59,640 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Non-current assets: |
||||||||||||
Property, equipment and software, net |
27,643 | 23,402 | 3,296 | |||||||||
Intangible assets, net |
55,374 | 12,720 | 1,792 | |||||||||
Goodwill |
164,113 | 164,113 | 23,115 | |||||||||
Long-term investments |
122,497 | 126,341 | 17,795 | |||||||||
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net |
51,400 | 34,997 | 4,929 | |||||||||
Other non-current assets |
17,302 | 22,265 | 3,136 | |||||||||
Long-term bank deposits |
| 117,573 | 16,560 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total non-current assets |
438,329 | 501,411 | 70,623 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total assets |
1,036,599 | 924,846 | 130,263 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-3
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (CONTINUED)
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2022 AND 2023
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE AND SHAREHOLDERS DEFICIT |
||||||||||||
Current liabilities |
||||||||||||
Accounts payable |
16,755 | 17,855 | 2,515 | |||||||||
Short-term borrowings |
20,000 | 46,800 | 6,592 | |||||||||
Deferred revenue, current |
182,620 | 188,485 | 26,548 | |||||||||
Acquisition consideration payable |
24,375 | 14,775 | 2,081 | |||||||||
Other payable and accrued liabilities |
135,881 | 89,937 | 12,667 | |||||||||
Derivative liabilities |
202,698 | 100,279 | 14,124 | |||||||||
Operating lease liabilities, current |
16,871 | 15,818 | 2,227 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total current liabilities |
599,200 | 473,949 | 66,754 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Non-current liabilities |
||||||||||||
Long-term borrowings |
| 219,000 | 30,846 | |||||||||
Operating lease liabilities, non-current |
34,764 | 20,257 | 2,853 | |||||||||
Deferred revenue, non-current |
45,736 | 58,952 | 8,303 | |||||||||
Deferred tax liabilities |
9,869 | | | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total non-current liabilities |
90,369 | 298,209 | 42,002 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total liabilities |
689,569 | 772,158 | 108,756 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Commitments and contingencies (Note 21) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-4
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (CONTINUED)
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2022 AND 2023
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
Mezzanine equity |
||||||||||||
Series A convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 15,040,570 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2023) |
574,512 | 408,139 | 57,484 | |||||||||
Series B convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 7,085,330 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2023) |
329,406 | 199,518 | 28,102 | |||||||||
Series C convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 23,786,590 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2023) |
453,926 | 493,788 | 69,548 | |||||||||
Series D convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 37,152,161 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2023) |
959,436 | 1,059,434 | 149,218 | |||||||||
Series E convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 26,417,318 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2023) |
1,236,949 | 1,402,802 | 197,582 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total mezzanine equity |
3,554,229 | 3,563,681 | 501,934 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-5
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (CONTINUED)
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2022 AND 2023
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
Shareholders deficit |
||||||||||||
Ordinary shares (US$0.0001 par value 390,518,031 shares authorized as of December 31, 2022 and 2023; 48,253,425 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2023) |
33 | 33 | 5 | |||||||||
Additional paid-in capital |
| 16,671 | 2,348 | |||||||||
Statutory reserve |
4,322 | 4,322 | 609 | |||||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income |
11,260 | 23,775 | 3,349 | |||||||||
Accumulated deficit |
(3,267,084 | ) | (3,490,681 | ) | (491,652 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total YXT.COM Group Holding Limited shareholders deficit |
(3,251,469 | ) | (3,445,880 | ) | (485,341 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Non-controlling interests |
44,270 | 34,887 | 4,914 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total shareholders deficit |
(3,207,199 | ) | (3,410,993 | ) | (480,427 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders deficit |
1,036,599 | 924,846 | 130,263 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-6
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 AND 2023
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
Revenues: |
||||||||||||
Corporate learning solutions |
424,275 | 411,822 | 58,004 | |||||||||
Others |
6,361 | 12,194 | 1,717 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total revenues |
430,636 | 424,016 | 59,721 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Cost of revenues |
(197,899 | ) | (194,474 | ) | (27,391 | ) | ||||||
Sales and marketing expenses |
(344,729 | ) | (244,379 | ) | (34,420 | ) | ||||||
Research and development expenses |
(312,093 | ) | (176,537 | ) | (24,865 | ) | ||||||
General and administrative expenses |
(206,254 | ) | (142,852 | ) | (20,120 | ) | ||||||
Other operating income |
9,507 | 5,629 | 793 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Loss from operations |
(620,832 | ) | (328,597 | ) | (46,282 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Interest and investment income |
5,682 | 4,613 | 650 | |||||||||
Interest expense |
(497 | ) | (4,650 | ) | (655 | ) | ||||||
Investment losses |
| (13,144 | ) | (1,851 | ) | |||||||
Foreign exchange gain/(loss), net |
2,151 | (350 | ) | (49 | ) | |||||||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities (Note 9) |
(32,190 | ) | 102,419 | 14,426 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Loss before income tax expense |
(645,686 | ) | (239,709 | ) | (33,761 | ) | ||||||
Income tax benefit |
5,391 | 9,871 | 1,389 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net loss |
(640,295 | ) | (229,838 | ) | (32,372 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests shareholders |
25,520 | 9,383 | 1,322 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net loss attributable to YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(614,775 | ) | (220,455 | ) | (31,050 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-7
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 AND 2023
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
Net loss attributable to YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(614,775 | ) | (220,455 | ) | (31,050 | ) | ||||||
Net accretion of convertible redeemable preferred shares |
(396,716 | ) | (9,452 | ) | (1,333 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(1,011,491 | ) | (229,907 | ) | (32,383 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net loss |
(640,295 | ) | (229,838 | ) | (32,372 | ) | ||||||
Other comprehensive loss |
||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of tax |
47,034 | 2,385 | 336 | |||||||||
Unrealized (loss)/gain on investments in available-for-sale debt securities, net of tax |
(1,650 | ) | 6,988 | 984 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total comprehensive loss |
(594,911 | ) | (220,465 | ) | (31,052 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total comprehensive loss attributable to non-controlling interests shareholders |
25,520 | 9,383 | 1,322 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total comprehensive loss attributable to YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(569,391 | ) | (211,082 | ) | (29,730 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(1,011,491 | ) | (229,907 | ) | (32,383 | ) | ||||||
Weighted average number of ordinary shares basic and diluted |
47,315,140 | 48,781,392 | 48,781,392 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders of YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
||||||||||||
Basic and diluted |
(21.38 | ) | (4.71 | ) | (0.66 | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-8
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS DEFICIT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 AND 2023
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
Ordinary share (US$0.0001 par value) |
Additional paid-in capital |
Accumulated other comprehensive (loss)/income |
Statutory reserve |
Accumulated deficit |
Total YXT.COM Group Holding Limited shareholders deficit |
Non-controlling interests |
Total shareholders deficit |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of January 1, 2022 |
48,253,425 | 33 | | (34,124 | ) | 4,322 | (2,327,408 | ) | (2,357,177 | ) | 69,790 | (2,287,387 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Net loss |
| | | | | (614,775 | ) | (614,775 | ) | (25,520 | ) | (640,295 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax |
| | | 47,034 | | | 47,034 | | 47,034 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unrealized gain on investments in available-for-sale debt securities, net of tax |
| | | (1,650 | ) | | | (1,650 | ) | | (1,650 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accretion on convertible redeemable preferred shares to redemption value |
| | (71,815 | ) | | | (324,901 | ) | (396,716 | ) | | (396,716 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based compensation (Note 19) |
| | 71,815 | | | | 71,815 | | 71,815 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of December 31, 2022 |
48,253,425 | 33 | | 11,260 | 4,322 | (3,267,084 | ) | (3,251,469 | ) | 44,270 | (3,207,199 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-9
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS DEFICIT (CONTINUED)
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
Ordinary share (US$0.0001 par value) |
Additional paid-in capital |
Accumulated other comprehensive income |
Statutory reserve |
Accumulated deficit |
Total YXT.COM Group Holding Limited shareholders deficit |
Non-controlling interests |
Total shareholders deficit |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of January 1, 2023 |
48,253,425 | 33 | | 11,260 | 4,322 | (3,267,084 | ) | (3,251,469 | ) | 44,270 | (3,207,199 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net loss |
| | | | | (220,455 | ) | (220,455 | ) | (9,383 | ) | (229,838 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax |
| | | 2,385 | | | 2,385 | | 2,385 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cumulative effect of adoption of new accounting standard (Note 2.12) |
| | | 3,142 | | (3,142 | ) | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unrealized gain on investments in available-for-sale debt securities, net of tax |
| | | 6,988 | | | 6,988 | | 6,988 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net accretion on convertible redeemable preferred shares to redemption value (Note 18) |
| | (9,452 | ) | | | | (9,452 | ) | | (9,452 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based compensation (Note 19) |
| | 26,123 | | | | 26,123 | | 26,123 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of December 31, 2023 |
48,253,425 | 33 | 16,671 | 23,775 | 4,322 | (3,490,681 | ) | (3,445,880 | ) | 34,887 | (3,410,993 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-10
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 AND 2023
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
Cash flows from operating activities: |
||||||||||||
Net loss |
(640,295 | ) | (229,838 | ) | (32,372 | ) | ||||||
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: |
||||||||||||
Depreciation of property, equipment and software |
7,732 | 9,368 | 1,319 | |||||||||
Amortization of intangible assets |
23,729 | 21,985 | 3,097 | |||||||||
Impairment of intangible assets |
| 21,660 | 3,051 | |||||||||
Loss from disposal of property, equipment and software |
465 | 132 | 19 | |||||||||
Fair value change of derivatives liabilities |
32,190 | (102,419 | ) | (14,426 | ) | |||||||
Accrual/(reverse) of allowance for doubtful accounts/expected credit losses |
978 | (654 | ) | (92 | ) | |||||||
Impairment of available-for-sale debt securities |
| 13,144 | 1,851 | |||||||||
Unrealized foreign exchange gain |
32 | 335 | 47 | |||||||||
Deferred income tax, net |
(5,391 | ) | (9,871 | ) | (1,389 | ) | ||||||
Share-based compensations |
71,815 | 26,123 | 3,679 | |||||||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
||||||||||||
Accounts receivable |
4,841 | 3,224 | 454 | |||||||||
Prepaid expenses and other assets |
3,863 | 15,330 | 2,160 | |||||||||
Accounts payable |
2,364 | 1,100 | 155 | |||||||||
Deferred revenue |
24,658 | 19,081 | 2,687 | |||||||||
Other payable and accrued liabilities |
16,184 | (45,729 | ) | (6,442 | ) | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net cash used in operating activities |
(456,835 | ) | (257,029 | ) | (36,202 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Cash flows from investing activities: |
||||||||||||
Purchase of property, equipment and software |
(11,907 | ) | (4,640 | ) | (653 | ) | ||||||
Purchase of intangible assets |
(6,779 | ) | (991 | ) | (140 | ) | ||||||
Cash paid for short-term investments |
(224,269 | ) | (96,468 | ) | (13,587 | ) | ||||||
Cash paid for long-term bank deposit |
| (117,573 | ) | (16,560 | ) | |||||||
Purchase of available-for-sale debt securities |
(36,800 | ) | (10,000 | ) | (1,408 | ) | ||||||
Partial cash payment for acquisition of CEIBS Publishing Group |
| (9,600 | ) | (1,352 | ) | |||||||
Proceeds from disposal of property and equipment |
| 11 | 1 | |||||||||
Cash received from maturity of short-term investments |
547,672 | 141,728 | 19,962 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net cash generated from/(used in) investing activities |
267,917 | (97,533 | ) | (13,737 | ) | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-11
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 AND 2023
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
Cash flows from financing activities: |
||||||||||||
Proceeds from short-term borrowings |
20,000 | 39,800 | 5,606 | |||||||||
Proceeds from long-term borrowings |
| 230,000 | 32,395 | |||||||||
Repayment of short-term borrowings |
(8,000 | ) | (20,000 | ) | (2,817 | ) | ||||||
Repayment of long-term borrowings |
| (4,000 | ) | (563 | ) | |||||||
Payments of initial public offering costs |
(2,425 | ) | (3,896 | ) | (549 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net cash generated from financing activities |
9,575 | 241,904 | 34,072 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents |
20,809 | 1,140 | 160 | |||||||||
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents |
(158,534 | ) | (111,518 | ) | (15,707 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year |
590,541 | 432,007 | 60,847 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year |
432,007 | 320,489 | 45,140 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information |
||||||||||||
Cash paid for income tax |
| | | |||||||||
Cash paid for interest |
(543 | ) | (4,390 | ) | (618 | ) | ||||||
Supplemental schedule of non-cash investing and financing activities |
||||||||||||
Net accretion on convertible redeemable preferred shares to redemption value |
396,716 | 9,452 | 1,333 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-12
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
1. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION
(a) | Principal Activities |
YXT.COM Group Holding Limited (the Company) (formerly known as Unicentury Group Holding Limited) was incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands in January 2017, as an exempted company with limited liability. In June 2021, the Company was renamed to YXT.COM Group Holding Limited.
The Company, through its subsidiaries, consolidated variable interest entities (VIEs) and VIEs subsidiaries (collectively, the Group). The Groups platform has innovated a SaaS model, which integrates software and content, effectively assisting customers in the digital transformation of corporate learning. The Groups principal operation and geographic market is in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC).
(b) | History of the Group and Basis of Presentation for the Reorganization and latest development of the organization |
Prior to the incorporation of the Company and starting in November 2011, the Group commenced its initial operations through Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (Yunxuetang) by Xiaoyan Lu and other three founding individuals. After a series of agreements, Yunxuetang was owned by Xiaoyan Lu and other eight founding individuals (collectively, the Initial Ordinary Shareholder) by January 2017. After the Company was established in Cayman Island in January 2017, YXT.COM (HK) Limited (YXT HK) was incorporated in Hong Kong SAR (Hong Kong) as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, and Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (the WFOE) was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of YXT HK in the PRC. The Group then entered into a series of contractual arrangements among the WFOE, Yunxuetang and Yunxuetangs shareholders in October 2017 (the Reorganization). The principal term of these contractual agreements is discussed below. Yunxuetang became the variable interest entity of the Group (the VIE) as these contractual agreements provided the Group (i) with the power to direct activities of the VIE that most significantly affected its economic performance and (ii) received the economic benefits from the VIE that could be significant to them and as such the Group is the primary beneficiary and consolidates the VIE for financial reporting. After the completion of this transaction, the Groups consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company, its subsidiaries and the consolidated VIEs. As the shareholders of the Company and Yunxuetang were mirrored with the same ownership immediately before and after the Reorganization, the Reorganization was determined to be a recapitalization and accounted for in a manner of a common ownership transaction. Accordingly, the accompanying consolidated financial statements were prepared as if the current corporate structure has been in existence since the incorporation of Yunxuetang. In 2018, the VIE agreements were amended and restated, which amended the VIEs shareholders list and equity interest of each shareholder as a result of the change in registered share capital of the VIE. Rights and obligations, clause, and terms regarding VIE accounting and consolidation basis remained substantially the same.
On June 24, 2020, the Company completed acquisition of the 60% outstanding shares, including preferred shares and common shares, of CEIBS Publishing Group Limited (the CEIBS PG). CEIBS PG, its subsidiary and its consolidated variable interest entities (together CEIBS Publishing Group) offer corporate learning solution through providing online learning content and offline training courses in the PRC. Since the completion of this acquisition, the Group had historically consolidated CEIBS Publishing Group. On January 15, 2024, the HKIAC Arbitration tribunal concluded and issued their final decision on the CEIBS arbitration case, resulting in the deconsolidation of CEIBS Publishing Group in January 2024. Refer to Commitments and contingencies (Note 21) and Subsequent events (Note 22) for additional details on the impact to the Groups consolidated financial statements.
F-13
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
1. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION (CONTINUED)
(b) | History of the Group and Basis of Presentation for the Reorganization and latest development of the organization (Continued) |
As of December 31, 2023, the Companys principal subsidiary is as follow:
Name of subsidiary |
Place of incorporation |
Date of |
Percentage of direct or indirect ownership |
Establish or acquired |
Principal activities | |||||
Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. |
Suzhou | August 8, 2017 | 100% | Established | Technology development |
As of December 31, 2023, the Companys principal VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries are as follow:
Name of VIEs and VIEs |
Place of incorporation |
Date of |
Percentage of economic interest |
Establish or acquired |
Principal activities | |||||||
Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. |
Suzhou |
December 22, 2011 |
|
100 |
% |
Established |
Technology development and sales of SaaS platform | |||||
Beijing Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. |
Beijing |
August 21, 2012 |
|
100 |
% |
Established |
Technology development and sales of SaaS platform | |||||
Suzhou Xuancai Network Technology Co., Ltd |
Suzhou |
September 25, 2015 |
|
100 |
% |
Established |
Technology development and sales of SaaS platform | |||||
Shanghai China Europe International Culture Communication Co., Ltd. |
Shanghai | Incorporated on November 29, 2007, acquired on June 24, 2020 |
60 | % | Acquired | Sales of content | ||||||
Shanghai Fenghe Culture Communication Co., Ltd. |
Shanghai |
Incorporated on November 12, 2007, acquired on June 24, 2020 |
60 | % | Acquired | Sales of content |
(c) | Consolidated Variable Interest Entities |
In order to comply with the PRC laws and regulations which prohibit or restrict foreign investments into companies involved in restricted businesses, the Group operates its Apps, websites and other restricted businesses in the PRC through PRC domestic companies and its subsidiaries, whose equity interests are held by
F-14
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
1. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION (CONTINUED)
(c) | Consolidated Variable Interest Entities (Continued) |
certain entities and individuals including management members of the Company (Nominee Shareholders). Unrecognized revenue generating assets mainly include trademarks, licenses, patent and domain names, majority of which were held by VIEs and not recognized on VIEs standalone financial statements. Recognized revenue generating assets mainly included electronic equipment recorded in property, equipment, and software, while certain licenses and domain names were recognized as intangible assets. The Company entered into a series of contractual arrangements with such PRC domestic companies and its respective Nominee Shareholders, which provided the Company with substantially all of the economic benefits from such PRC domestic companies. Management concluded that such PRC domestic companies are VIE of the Company, of which the Company is the ultimate primary beneficiary. As such, the Group consolidated financial results of such PRC domestic companies and its subsidiaries in the Groups consolidated financial statements. The principal terms of the agreements entered into amongst the VIE, the Nominee Shareholders and the WFOE are further described below.
Exclusive Call Option Agreements
Pursuant to the exclusive call option agreement, the Nominee Shareholders of the VIE have granted the WFOE the exclusive and irrevocable right to purchase or to designate one or more person(s) at its discretion to purchase part or all of the equity interests in the VIE (the Target Equity) from the Nominee Shareholders at any time. The total transfer price for the Target Equity shall be subject to the lowest price permitted by PRC laws and regulations. The VIE and its Nominee Shareholders have agreed that without prior written consent of the WFOE, the Nominee Shareholders or the VIE shall not sell, transfer, pledge or dispose of any of the Target Equity, assets, or the revenue or business in the VIE. In addition, the VIE covenants that it shall not declare any dividend or change capitalization structure of the VIE or enter into any loan or investment agreements without WFOEs prior written consent.
Power of Attorney
Pursuant to the Power of Attorney, each of the Nominee Shareholders appointed the WFOE or its designee(s) as their attorney-in-fact to exercise all shareholder rights under PRC law and the relevant articles of association, including but not limited to, attending shareholders meetings and signing on their behalf on the resolutions, voting on their behalf on all matters requiring shareholder approval, including but not limited to the appointment and removal of legal representative, directors and senior management, as well as the sale, transfer and disposal of all or part of the equity interests owned by such shareholders. The powers of attorney will remain effective for a given Nominee Shareholders until such shareholder ceases to be a shareholder of the VIE.
Exclusive Technology, Consulting and Service Agreement
Pursuant to the exclusive technology consulting and service agreement, the WFOE has agreed to provide to the VIE services, including, but not limited to, product development and research, website design, design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of computer networks system, database support and software service, economic and technology information consulting. The VIE shall pay to the WFOE service fees quarterly for an amount equal to 100% of its pre-tax profit, and the amount shall not be deducted or set-off unless mutually agreed by VIE and WFOE. The agreement remains effective until VIE dissolves in accordance with PRC laws, unless WFOE early terminates the agreement by delivering a prior written notice.
F-15
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
1. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION (CONTINUED)
(c) | Consolidated Variable Interest Entities (Continued) |
Equity Interest Pledge Agreements
Pursuant to the equity interest pledge agreement, the Nominee Shareholders of the VIE have pledged 100% equity interests in VIE to the WFOE to guarantee Nominee Shareholders and WFOEs fulfillment of obligations under the above agreements, including the payment of service fees by the VIE of its obligations under the exclusive technology consulting and service agreement. The equity interest pledge shall not be released until Nominee Shareholders and WFOE have fulfilled all the obligations under the above agreements and WFOE has recognized in writing, unless otherwise expressly approved by WFOE in writing. In the event of a breach by the VIE or any of its Nominee Shareholders of contractual obligations under the above agreements, as the case may be, the WFOE, as pledgee, will have the right to auction or dispose of the pledged equity interests in the VIE and will have priority in receiving the proceeds from such auction or disposal.
Spousal Consent Letters
Pursuant to the Spousal Consent Letter, the spouse of each Nominee Shareholder (except for Mr. Xiaoyan Lu, Ms.Qi Gao, the shareholder of Yunxuetang, who have no spouse yet), who is a natural person, unconditionally and irrevocably agreed that the equity interests in the VIE held by such Nominee Shareholder will be disposed of pursuant to the equity interest pledge agreement, the exclusive call option agreement, and power of attorney. Each of their spouses agreed not to assert any rights over the equity interests in the VIE held by such Nominee Shareholder. In addition, in the event that any spouse obtains any equity interests in VIE held by such Nominee Shareholder for any reason, he or she agreed to be bound by the equity interest pledge agreement, the exclusive option agreement, and power of attorney.
F-16
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
1. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION (CONTINUED)
(d) | Risks in Relations to the VIE Structure |
The following table set forth the assets, liabilities, results of operations and changes in cash and cash equivalents of the consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries taken as a whole, which were included in the Groups consolidated financial statements with intercompany transactions eliminated:
As of December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
ASSETS |
||||||||
Current assets |
||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
121,267 | 292,286 | ||||||
Short-term investments |
23,021 | | ||||||
Accounts receivable, net |
34,987 | 32,790 | ||||||
Amounts due from the Groups entities |
7,282 | 25,012 | ||||||
Prepaid expense and other current assets |
25,139 | 9,652 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total current assets |
211,696 | 359,740 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Non-current assets |
||||||||
Long-term investments |
122,497 | 126,341 | ||||||
Property, equipment and software, net |
11,653 | 8,469 | ||||||
Intangible assets, net |
17,374 | 12,720 | ||||||
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net |
15,681 | 32,300 | ||||||
Other non-current assets |
3,174 | 4,154 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total non-current assets |
170,379 | 183,984 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total assets |
382,075 | 543,724 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
LIABILITIES |
||||||||
Current liabilities |
||||||||
Accounts payable |
16,755 | 17,855 | ||||||
Short-term borrowings |
20,000 | 46,800 | ||||||
Deferred revenue, current |
184,102 | 188,485 | ||||||
Amounts due to the Groups entities |
19,494 | 6,282 | ||||||
Acquisition consideration payable, onshore |
9,653 | 5,792 | ||||||
Other payable and accrued liabilities |
43,987 | 40,025 | ||||||
Operating lease liabilities, current |
7,492 | 12,778 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total current liabilities |
301,483 | 318,017 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Non-current liabilities |
||||||||
Loan from the Groups entities |
60,000 | | ||||||
Operating lease liabilities, non-current |
8,509 | 20,257 | ||||||
Long-term borrowings |
| 219,000 | ||||||
Deferred revenue, non-current |
45,736 | 58,952 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total non-current liabilities |
114,245 | 298,209 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total liabilities |
415,728 | 616,226 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
F-17
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
1. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION (CONTINUED)
(d) | Risks in Relations to the VIE Structure (Continued) |
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Third-party revenues |
430,636 | 424,016 | ||||||
Cost of revenues |
(116,162 | ) | (136,865 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net loss |
(1,952 | ) | (45,835 | ) | ||||
Net cash generated from/(used in) operating activities |
47,372 | (4,070 | ) | |||||
Net cash used in investing activities |
(28,222 | ) | (10,711 | ) | ||||
Net cash generated from financing activities |
32,000 | 185,800 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents |
51,150 | 171,019 | ||||||
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year |
70,117 | 121,267 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year |
121,267 | 292,286 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
Under the contractual arrangements with the consolidated VIEs, the Company has the power to direct activities of the consolidated VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries through the Groups relevant PRC subsidiaries and can have assets transferred freely out of the consolidated VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries without restrictions. Therefore, the Company considers that there is no restriction requiring that any asset of the consolidated VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries can only be used to settle obligations of the respective VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries. Since the consolidated VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries are incorporated as limited liability companies under the PRC Law, the creditors of the consolidated VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries do not have recourse to any assets of the WFOE or the Company for the debt settlement purpose. In the event that the shareholders of the VIEs breach the terms of the contractual arrangements and voluntarily liquidate the VIE, or the VIE declares bankruptcy and all or part of its assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors, or are otherwise disposed of without our consent, the Company may be unable to conduct some or all of our and our subsidiaries business and the VIEs businesses operations or otherwise benefit from the assets held by the VIEs.
The Group believes that the Groups relevant PRC subsidiaries contractual arrangements with the consolidated WFOEs, VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries and the Nominee Shareholders are in compliance with PRC laws and regulations, as applicable, and are legally enforceable. However, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit the Companys ability to enforce these contractual arrangements.
In addition, if the current structure of any of the contractual arrangements were found to be in violation of any existing PRC laws, the Company may be subject to penalties, which may include but not be limited to, the cancellation or revocation of the Companys business and operating licenses, being required to restructure the Companys operations or terminate the Companys operating activities. The imposition of any of these or other penalties may result in a material and adverse effect on the Companys ability to conduct its operations. In such case, the Company may not be able to operate or consolidate the VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries, which may result in deconsolidation of the VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries.
There are, however, substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations. Accordingly, the Company cannot be assured that the PRC government authorities will not ultimately take a view that is contrary to the Companys belief and the opinion of its PRC legal counsel.
F-18
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
1. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION (CONTINUED)
(d) | Risks in Relations to the VIE Structure (Continued) |
In March 2019, the draft Foreign Investment Law was submitted to the National Peoples Congress for review and was approved on March 15, 2019, which came into effect from January 1, 2020. The approved Foreign Investment Law does not touch upon the relevant concepts and regulatory regimes that were historically suggested for the regulation of VIE structures, and thus this regulatory topic remain unclear under the Foreign Investment Law. Since the Foreign Investment Law is new, there are substantial uncertainties exist with respect to its implementation and interpretation and the possibility that such entities will be deemed as foreign-invested enterprise and subject to relevant restrictions in the future shall not be excluded. If the contractual arrangements establishing the Companys VIE structure are found to be in violation of any existing law and regulations or future PRC laws and regulations, the relevant PRC government authorities will have broad discretion in dealing with such violation, including, without limitation, levying fines, confiscating income or the income of these affiliated Chinese entities, revoking business licenses or the business licenses of these affiliated Chinese entities, requiring the Company and its affiliated Chinese entities to restructure their ownership structure or operations and requiring the Company or its affiliated Chinese entities to discontinue any portion or all of the Companys value-added businesses. Any of these actions could cause significant disruption to the Companys business operations and have a severe adverse impact on the Companys cash flows, financial position and operating performance. If the imposing of these penalties causes the Company to lose its rights to direct the activities of and receive economic benefits from the VIEs, which in turn may restrict the Companys ability to consolidate and reflect in its financial statements the financial position and results of operations of its VIEs.
(e) | Liquidity |
The Group incurred net losses of RMB 640,295 and RMB 229,838 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. Net cash used in operating activities was RMB 456,835 and RMB 257,029 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. Accumulated deficit was RMB 3,267,084 and RMB 3,490,681 as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Historically, the Group has relied principally on both operational sources of cash and non-operational sources of financing from investors and borrowings from banks to fund its operations and business development. There can be no assurances that such funding sources will be available at terms acceptable to the Company, or at all. The Groups ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on managements ability to obtain additional loan or equity financing and successfully executing its business plan, which includes increasing revenue while controlling operating cost and expenses to improve operating cash flows. The Company obtained agreements from existing preferred shareholders to extend their respective preferred shares optional redemption date until January 2026 or later refer to Subsequent events (Note 22). And during the year ended December 31, 2023 and subsequently to year end, the Group was also able to effectively enter into/refinance several long-term borrowings with banks. With these, and based on cash flows projection and existing balance of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, the Group believes the operating cash flows are sufficient to meet the cash requirements to fund planned operations and other commitments for at least the next twelve months from the consolidated financial statements are available to be issued. The Groups consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and liquidation of liabilities in the normal course of business.
F-19
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES
2.1 Basis of Presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (US GAAP) for the periods presented. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.
Significant accounting policies followed by the Group in the preparation of its accompanying consolidated financial statements are summarized below:
2.2 Basis of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company, its subsidiaries, the consolidated VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries for which the Company is the ultimate primary beneficiary.
A subsidiary is an entity in which the Company, directly or indirectly, controls more than one half of the voting power, has the power to appoint or remove the majority of the members of the board of directors, to cast a majority of votes at the meeting of the board of directors or to govern the financial and operating policies of the investee under a statute or agreement among the shareholders or equity holders.
A consolidated VIE is an entity in which the Company, or its subsidiary, through contractual arrangements, bears the risks of, and enjoys the rewards normally associated with, ownership of the entity, and therefore the Company or its subsidiary is the primary beneficiary of the entity.
All transactions and balances between the Company, its subsidiaries, VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries have been eliminated upon consolidation.
2.3 Non-Controlling Interests
For the Companys consolidated subsidiaries, VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries, non-controlling interests are recognized to reflect the portion of their equity that is not attributable, directly or indirectly, to the Company as the controlling shareholder. The third party held the common shares of our subsidiary. Non-controlling interests are classified as a separate line item in the equity section of the Groups Consolidated Balance Sheets and have been separately disclosed in the Groups Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss and Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholders Deficit to distinguish the interests from that of the Company.
2.4 Use of Estimates
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses for the reporting period. On an ongoing basis, the Group evaluates its estimates, including, but not limited to, those related to the determination of the useful lives of property, equipment and software and intangible assets, incremental borrowing rate applied in lease accounting, current expected credit loss of receivables, impairment of long-lived and intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, deferred tax asset, long-term investment, valuation of convertible redeemable preferred shares, ordinary shares, conversion features and share-based compensation arrangements. These estimates and assumptions are based on the Groups historical
F-20
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.4 Use of Estimates (Continued)
results and managements future expectations. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Changes in facts and circumstances may cause the Group to revise its estimates.
2.5 Foreign Currencies
The Groups reporting currency is Renminbi (RMB). The functional currency of the Groups entities incorporated in Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Singapore and Hong Kong is the United States dollars (US$). The Groups PRC subsidiaries consolidated VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries determined their functional currency to be RMB. The determination of the respective functional currency is based on the criteria of ASC 830, Foreign Currency Matters and is based primarily on the currency the entity conducts its business in.
Transactions denominated in other than the functional currencies are translated into the functional currency of the entity at the exchange rates quoted by authoritative banks prevailing on the transaction dates. Exchange gains and losses resulting from those foreign currency transactions denominated in a currency other than the functional currency are recorded in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. Total foreign exchanges were a gain of RMB 2,151 and a loss of RMB 350 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively.
The financial statements of the Group are translated from the functional currency into RMB. Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into RMB using the applicable exchange rates at the balance sheet date. Equity accounts other than earnings generated in current period are translated into RMB at the appropriate historical rates. Revenues, expenses, gain and loss are translated into RMB using the periodic average exchange rates. The resulting foreign currency translation adjustments are recorded in other comprehensive income as a component of shareholders equity. Total foreign currency translation adjustments to the Groups other comprehensive were gains of RMB 47,034 and RMB 2,385 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively.
2.6 Convenience Translation
Translations of the Consolidated Balance Sheets, the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss and the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows from RMB into US$ as of and for the years ended December 31, 2023 are solely for the convenience of the readers and were calculated at the rate of US$1.00=RMB 7.0999, representing the index rates as of December 29, 2023 stipulated by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board. No representation is made that the RMB amounts could have been, or could be, converted, realized or settled into US$ at that rate on December 31, 2023, or at any other rate.
2.7 Fair Value Measurements
Accounting guidance defines fair value as the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. When determining the fair value measurement for assets and liabilities required or permitted to be recorded at fair value, the Group considers the principal or most advantageous market in which it would transact and it considers assumptions that market participants would use when pricing the asset or liability.
F-21
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.7 Fair Value Measurements (Continued)
Accounting guidance establishes a fair value hierarchy that requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. A financial instruments categorization within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Accounting guidance establishes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:
Level 1 Observable inputs that reflect quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.
Level 2 Include other inputs that are directly or indirectly observable in the marketplace.
Level 3 Unobservable inputs which are supported by little or no market activity.
Accounting guidance also describes three main approaches to measuring the fair value of assets and liabilities: (1) market approach, (2) income approach and (3) cost approach. The market approach uses prices and other relevant information generated from market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities. The income approach uses valuation techniques to convert future amounts to a single present value amount. The measurement is based on the value indicated by current market expectations about those future amounts. The cost approach is based on the amount that would currently be required to replace an asset.
The Groups financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and other current assets, long-term investments, accounts payable, short-term borrowings, long-term borrowings, deferred revenue, acquisition consideration payable, other payable and accrued liabilities and derivative liabilities. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, except for short-term investments, long-term investments and derivative liabilities which are measured at fair value and long-term borrowings and long-term bank deposit are measured at amortized cost, the carrying values of the other financial instruments approximated their fair values due to the short-term maturity of these instruments.
2.8 Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash includes currency on hand and deposits held by financial institutions that can be added to or withdrawn without limitation. Cash equivalents represent short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and with original maturities from the date of purchase of three months or less.
2.9 Short-Term Investments
Short-term investments are comprised of i) time deposits issued by financial institutions with original maturities greater than three months but less than twelve months and ii) wealth management products issued by PRC banks, which contains variable interest with original maturities within one year. These investments are stated at fair value. Changes in the fair value are reflected in Interest and investment income in the Consolidation Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
F-22
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.10 Long-Term Bank Deposits
Long-term bank deposits which were fixed deposits in financial institutions with original maturities greater than twelve months, stated at amortized cost and interest accrued is recorded in Interest and investment income in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
2.11 Accounts Receivable, net
Accounts receivable are presented net of allowance for doubtful accounts/expected credit losses. Prior to January 1, 2023, the Group maintained an allowance for doubtful accounts which reflects its best estimate of amounts that potentially would not be collected. The Group determined the allowance for doubtful accounts by taking into consideration various factors including but not limited to historical collection experience and creditworthiness of the customers. Accounts receivable balances were written off after all collection efforts had been exhausted.
Starting from January 1, 2023, the Group adopted ASU No. 2016-13, Financial InstrumentsCredit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (ASC Topic 326), which amends previously issued guidance regarding the impairment of financial instruments by creating an impairment model that is based on expected losses rather than incurred losses. The Group used a modified retrospective approach which resulted in only de minimus impact on the accumulated deficit due to account receivable.
The Groups accounts receivable and other receivables included in prepaid expenses and other current assets are within the scope of ASC Topic 326. To estimate expected credit losses, the Group considers the past collection experience, current economic conditions, future economic conditions (external data and macroeconomic factors) and changes in the Groups customer collection trends. The Group has identified the relevant credit risk characteristics of its customers and the related receivables and other receivables which include size, type of the services or the products the Group provides, or a combination of these characteristics. Receivables with similar credit risk characteristics have been grouped into pools. For each pool, the Group determines an expected loss rate based on historical loss experience adjusted for judgments about the effects of relevant observable data including current and future economic conditions. This is assessed at each quarter based on the Groups specific facts and circumstances.
The following table summarized the details of the Groups allowance for doubtful accounts/expected credit losses:
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Balance at beginning of the year |
2,250 | 3,228 | ||||||
Reverse of doubtful accounts due to subsequent collection |
(2,841 | ) | | |||||
Provision/(reverse) for doubtful accounts/expected credit losses |
3,819 | (1,027 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Balance at end of the year |
3,228 | 2,201 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
F-23
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.12 Long-term Investments
The Group accounts for debt securities as available-for-sale (AFS) when they are not classified as either trading or held-to-maturity. AFS debt securities are recorded at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses, net of related tax effect, are excluded from earnings and are reported as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income until realized. Realized gains and losses from the sale of AFS debt securities are determined on a specific-identification basis. Prior to January 1, 2023, an impairment loss on the AFS debt securities is recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss when the decline in value is determined to be other-than-temporary.
Starting from January 1, 2023, after the Group adopted ASC Topic 326, if the amortized cost basis of an AFS security exceeds its fair value and if the Group has the intention to sell the security or it is more likely than not that the Group will be required to sell the security before recovery of the amortized cost basis, an impairment is recognized in the consolidated statements of operations. If the Group does not have the intention to sell the security and it is not more likely than not that the Group will be required to sell the security before recovery of the amortized cost basis and the Group determines that the decline in fair value below the amortized cost basis of an AFS security is entirely or partially due to credit-related factors, the credit loss is measured and recognized as an allowance for credit losses in the consolidated statements of operations. The allowance is measured as the amount by which the debt securitys amortized cost basis exceeds the Groups best estimate of the present value of cash flows expected to be collected. Upon adoption of the new standard on January 1, 2023, the Company used a modified retrospective approach and recorded a decrease to its accumulated deficit of RMB 3,142 related to the investment of Beijing Lingdai Information Technology Co., Ltd (Beijing Lingdai) classified from accumulated other comprehensive income.
2.13 Property, Equipment and Software, net
Property and equipment are stated at historical cost less accumulated depreciation. Repairs and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred as repairs and maintenance do not extend the useful life or improve the related assets. Depreciation and amortization, including amortization of leasehold improvements, is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets.
The estimated useful life of each asset category is as follows:
Category |
Estimated useful lives | |
Leasehold improvement |
Shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful lives of the assets | |
Electronic equipment |
3-5 years | |
Furniture |
5 years | |
Software purchased |
5 years | |
Vehicles |
5 years |
When assets are retired or otherwise disposed of, the cost and accumulated depreciation and amortization are removed from their respective accounts and any loss on such retirement is reflected in operating expenses.
Construction in progress represents assets under construction. Construction in progress is transferred to property, equipment and software and depreciation or amortization commences when an asset is ready for its intended use.
F-24
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.14 Intangible Assets with Definite Lives
Separately identifiable intangible assets that have determinable lives continue to be amortized and consist primarily of license, developed content, trademarks, domain name and customer relationship. The content library assets which are classified as license have been acquired from the independent course provider. Particularly, the developed content, trademarks, domain name and customer relationship were acquired from the business combination of CEIBS Publishing Group in 2020. The Group amortizes these intangible assets on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, which is three to five years. The estimated life of amortized intangibles is reassessed if circumstances occur that indicate the life has changed. The Group has no intangible assets with indefinite lives.
2.15 Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
The Group assesses potential impairment of its long-lived assets, which include the property, equipment and software and intangible assets with definite lives. The Group performs an impairment review whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Factors the Group considers important that could trigger an impairment review include, but are not limited to, significant under-performance relative to historical or projected future results of operations, significant changes in the manner of its use of acquired assets or its overall business strategy, and significant industry or economic trends. When the Group determines that the carrying value of a long-lived asset (or asset group) may not be recoverable based upon the existence of one or more of the above indicators, the Group determines the recoverability by comparing the carrying amount of the asset to the net future undiscounted cash flows that the asset is expected to generate and recognizes an impairment charge equal to the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the fair value of the asset. Fair value is generally determined by discounting the cash flows expected to be generated by the assets, when the market prices are not readily available. The final decision of the HKIAC Arbitration tribunal on January 15, 2024 for the CEIBS arbitration case triggered an impairment review on the aforementioned developed content, trademarks, domain name and customer relationship acquired from the business combination of CEIBS Publishing Group. Based on the impairment assessment conducted by the Group, the carrying amount of these intangible assets associated with the CEIBS Publishing Group cannot be recovered and therefore were fully impaired as of December 31, 2023. Refer to Note 8 for presentation in Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss. Refer to Note 21 and 22 for further details.
2.16 Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price in a business combination over the fair value of net tangible and intangible assets acquired. The Group tests goodwill for impairment annually as of December 31, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that goodwill may be impaired. The Group initially assesses qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely-than-not that the fair value of its sole reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If, after assessing the events or circumstances, the Group determines it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then the Group performs a quantitative analysis by comparing the book value of net assets to the fair value of the reporting unit. If the fair value is determined to be less than the book value, an impairment charge is recorded. In assessing the qualitative factors, the Group considers the impact of certain key factors including macroeconomic conditions, industry and market considerations, management turnover, changes in regulation, litigation matters, changes in enterprise value and overall financial performance. The goodwill of the Group of RMB164,113 is generated from the acquisition of CEIBS Publishing Group in June 2020.
F-25
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.16 Goodwill (Continued)
Due to the subsequent events (refer to Note 22), the final decision of the HKIAC Arbitration tribunal on January 15, 2024 for the CEIBS arbitration case triggered an impairment assessment of goodwill. After assessing the subsequent events and its circumstance for impairment, the Group determined that based on a quantitative analysis, that the fair value of the reporting unit substantially exceeds its carrying amount of net assets of the reporting unit and therefore no impairment of goodwill was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2023. There were no goodwill impairment recorded for the year ended December 31, 2022.
2.17 Operating Lease
The Group determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. The Group enters into operating lease arrangements primarily for office and operation space. The Group determines if an arrangement contains a lease at its inception by assessing whether there is an identified asset and whether the arrangement conveys the right to control the use of the identified asset in exchange for consideration. Operating leases are included in right-of-use assets and operating lease liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Right-of-use assets represent the Groups right to use an underlying asset over the lease term and operating lease liabilities represent the Groups obligation to make payments arising from the lease. Right-of-use assets and operating lease liabilities are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term.
The Operating lease right-of-use assets also includes any lease payments made at or before the lease commencement date and excludes any lease incentives received. Lease payments consist of the fixed payments under the arrangements. As the implicit rate of the Groups leases is not determinable, the Group uses an incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the lease commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. Operating lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.
The Groups lease term may include options to extend or terminate the lease. Only renewal or termination options that are reasonably certain of exercise are included in the lease term. The Group accounts for lease components and non-lease components as a single lease component.
After the lease commencement date, right-of-use assets are amortized by the difference between the straight-line lease expenses, and the accretion of interest on the operating lease liabilities each period over the lease term. Operating lease liabilities are increased to reflect the accretion of interest and reduced for the lease payment made.
For operating lease with a term of one year or less, the Group has elected to not recognize operating lease liabilities or right-of-use asset on its Consolidated Balance Sheets. Instead, it recognizes the lease payment as expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Short-term lease costs are immaterial to its Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
2.18 Internal-Use Software Development Costs
The Group recognizes internal-use software development costs related to our technology of corporate learning platform, including related software and mobile applications in accordance with ASC 350-40 Internal-use software. Costs related to preliminary project activities and post-implementation operating
F-26
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.18 Internal-Use Software Development Costs (Continued)
activities are expensed as incurred. Costs that are directly attributable to the development of the software in the application development stage are capitalized. Costs capitalized for developing corporate learning solution were not material for the periods presented.
2.19 Revenues
Consistent with the criteria of Topic 606, the Group recognizes revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Group expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services.
To achieve that core principle, the Group applies the five steps defined under Topic 606: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer, (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract, (iii) determine the transaction price, (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract, and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. The Group assesses its revenue arrangements against specific criteria in order to determine if it is acting as principal or agent. Revenue arrangements with multiple performance obligations are divided into separate distinct goods or services. The Group allocates the transaction price to each performance obligation based on the relative standalone selling price of the goods or services provided. The Group determines standalone selling prices considering market conditions and based on overall pricing objectives such as observable standalones selling prices. Revenue is recognized upon the transfer of control of promised goods or services to a customer.
Revenue is recorded net of value-added tax.
Revenue recognition policies for each type of revenue steam are as follows:
Corporate Learning Solution
The Group offers corporate learning solution to corporate customers through providing subscription-based services including corporate learning platform, personalized e-learning system, teaching tools and online courses. The Groups subscription-based services generally do not provide customers with the right to take possession of the software supporting the platform, learning content or tools and, as a result, are accounted for as service arrangements. Through the subscription of the Groups SaaS platform service, customers can rapidly deploy the intelligent learning platform in a plug-and-play manner. Frequently, existing customers who subscribed platform service tend to add additional courses to their subscription by purchasing prioritized package or advanced package with additional charges. The Group also offered the teaching tools, such as virtual classroom or meeting room, for subscription as add-on options. For platform service, online courses and online teaching tools, the Group continually provides customer access and connectivity to its services, and fulfills its obligation to, the end customer over the subscription period. Each distinct service represents a single performance obligation that is satisfied over time. The subscription-based contracts vary from one month to five years. Revenue from subscription-based corporate learning solution is recognized on a straight-line basis over the subscription period.
The Group also derives revenue from providing non-subscription based corporate learning solution, such as offline courses and courseware recording service. Based on the needs of the customers, the Group designs the
F-27
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.19 Revenues (Continued)
Corporate Learning Solution (Continued)
offline courses and hires experienced lecturer to provide face-to-face offline learning courses. The offline course is delivered on the specific date agreed and the unit price for each offline course is also specified in the contract. For the courseware recording service, the Group records video courseware based on customers needs. The recorded courseware belongs to the customers. Revenue from non-subscription based corporate learning solution is generally recognized at point in time upon completion.
Other Revenue
The Group also develops software for other customers who have specific demand for learning platform software. The Group develops learning platform to be installed on these customers own servers. Copyright of the software developed belongs to these customers. The development processes last approximately 6-11 months. The Group is also obligated to provide post-sales maintenance service for malfunction during the period determined in the contract, which is usually a year. Revenue for the on-premise software development is recognized at a point in time when the software is made available to the customer; whereas the revenue for post-sales maintenance service is recognized over the contract term beginning on the date that the software is made available to the customer.
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Corporate learning solutions |
||||||||
Subscription-based |
368,176 | 347,829 | ||||||
Non-subscription-based |
56,099 | 63,993 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
424,275 | 411,822 | |||||||
Others |
||||||||
Sales of software developed and related maintenance service |
6,361 | 12,194 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
430,636 | 424,016 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
Remaining Performance Obligations
Remaining performance obligations represents the amount of contracted future revenue that has not yet been recognized, including both deferred revenue and non-cancelable contracted amounts that will be invoiced and recognized as revenue in future periods. As of December 31, 2023, the aggregate amount of transaction price allocated to the remaining performance obligations was RMB 424,788 which included balance of deferred revenue which will be recognized as revenue in the future periods.
The Company expects to recognize approximately 73% of the remaining performance obligations in the 12 months following December 31, 2023 and 26% of the remaining performance obligations between 13 to 36 months, with the remainder to be recognized thereafter.
F-28
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.20 Deferred Revenue
The Group records deferred revenue when cash payments are received in advance of revenue recognition from subscription services described above in accordance with the terms of the underlying contracts where the service period has not yet commenced but will commence in the near future. Deferred revenue is recognized when, or as, performance obligations are satisfied. Amounts anticipated to be recognized within one year of the balance sheet date are recorded as deferred revenue, current; the remaining portion is recorded as deferred revenue, non-current. Revenue recognized that was included in deferred revenue balance at the beginning of the period were RMB 168,362 and RMB 182,620 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Changes in deferred revenue were as follows:
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Balance at beginning of the year |
203,698 | 228,356 | ||||||
Additions to deferred revenue |
455,294 | 443,097 | ||||||
Recognition of deferred revenue |
(430,636 | ) | (424,016 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Balance at end of the year |
228,356 | 247,437 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
2.21 Cost of Revenues
Cost of revenue includes certain direct costs associated with delivering the Groups platform and includes costs for hosting and bandwidth, depreciation, amortization of long-lived assets used in the provision of SaaS service, cost of self-made courses development and amortization of purchased content library, rental expenses for office space, impairment of intangible assets, personnel-related costs associated with the Groups customer support team and engineering team that is responsible for maintaining the Groups service availability and security of its platform, and other contract fulfilment costs.
2.22 Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses comprise primarily of expenses relating to marketing and brand promotion activities, employee-related cost for personnel engaged in marketing, business development, impairment of intangible assets, rental expenses for office space and sales support functions.
2.23 Research and Development
Research and development expenses are principally related to our technology of corporate learning platform which consists mainly of employee-related cost for research and development personnel, third-party cloud infrastructure and bandwidth expenses incurred for research and development purposes, rental expenses, and depreciation expenses associated with the equipment used for research and development functions and other expenses incurred for courses designing. The Group accounts for internal use software development costs in accordance with guidance on intangible assets and internal use software. See Note 2.18 Internal-Use Software Development Costs.
F-29
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.24 General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist of employee-related cost for personnel related to the general corporate functions, including accounting, finance, legal and human relations, costs associated with use by these functions of facilities and equipment, such as depreciation expenses, rental and other general corporate related expenses.
2.25 Share-based compensation
The Group grants restricted shares, restricted share units(RSUs) and ordinary shares to the employees and the founder transferred ordinary shares to the employees with no consideration. Such compensations are accounted for in accordance with ASC 718, CompensationStock Compensation.
Share-based compensation awards are measured at the grant date fair value of the awards and recognized as expenses a) immediately at grant date if no vesting conditions are required; or b) for awards granted with only service conditions, using the graded vesting method, over the vesting period.
Share-based compensation in relation to the restricted shares, RSUs and ordinary shares is measured based on the fair market value of the Groups ordinary shares at the grant date of the award. Estimation of the fair value of the Groups ordinary shares involves assumptions regarding a number of complex and subjective variables, including the comparable companies volatilities, risk-free rate, expected term and weighting among the scenarios of liquidation, redemption and initial public offering (IPO). The fair value of these awards was assessed using the income approach/discounted cash flow method with a discount for lack of marketability, given that the shares underlying the awards were not publicly traded at the time of grant.
In accordance with ASU 2016-09, the Group has chosen to account for forfeitures when they occur.
2.26 Employee Benefits
Full time employees of the Group in the PRC participate in a government mandated defined contribution plan, pursuant to which certain pension benefits, medical care, employee housing fund and other welfare benefits are provided to the employees. Chinese labor regulations require that the PRC subsidiaries and VIE of the Group make contributions to the government for these benefits based on certain percentages of the employees salaries, up to a maximum amount specified by the local government. The Group has no legal obligation for the benefits beyond the contributions made. Total amounts of such employee benefit expenses were RMB 129,738 and RMB 82,336 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively, including accrued and unpaid.
2.27 Government Grant
Government grants are recognized as Other Operating Income. Such amounts are recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss upon receipts and all conditions attached to the grants are fulfilled.
2.28 Income Tax
Current income taxes are recorded in accordance with the regulations of the relevant tax jurisdiction. The Group accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method in accordance with ASC 740, Income Tax.
F-30
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.28 Income Tax (Continued)
Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the tax consequences attributable to differences between carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities in the financial statements and their respective tax basis, and operating loss carry-forwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred taxes of a change in tax rates is recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss in the period of change. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce the amount of deferred tax assets if it is considered more likely than not that amount of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.
The Group recognizes in its consolidated financial statements the benefit of a tax position if the tax position is more likely than not to prevail based on the facts and technical merits of the position. Tax positions that meet the more likely than not recognition threshold is measured at the largest amount of tax benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon settlement. The Group estimates its liability for unrecognized tax benefits which are periodically assessed and may be affected by changing interpretations of laws, rulings by tax authorities, changes and/or developments with respect to tax audits, and expiration of the statute of limitations. The ultimate outcome for a particular tax position may not be determined with certainty prior to the conclusion of a tax audit and, in some cases, appeal or litigation process. The actual benefits ultimately realized may differ from the Groups estimates. As each audit is concluded, adjustments, if any, are recorded in the Groups consolidated financial statements in the period in which the audit is concluded. Additionally, in future periods, changes in facts, circumstances and new information may require the Group to adjust the recognition and measurement estimates with regard to individual tax positions. Changes in recognition and measurement estimates are recognized in the period in which the changes occur. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, the Group did not have any significant unrecognized uncertain tax positions.
Valuation allowances have been provided against deferred tax assets when the Group determines that it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will not be utilized in the future. In making such determination, the Group evaluates a variety of factors including the Groups entities operating history, accumulated deficit, existence of taxable temporary differences and reversal periods. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, valuation allowances on deferred tax assets were provided because it was more likely than not that the Group will not be realized based on the Groups estimate of its future taxable income. If events occur in the future that allow the Group to realize more of its deferred income tax than the presently recorded amounts, an adjustment to the valuation allowances will result in a decrease in tax expense when those events occur.
2.29 Comprehensive Loss
Comprehensive loss is defined as the changes in equity of the Group during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances excluding transactions resulting from investments from shareholders and distributions to shareholders. Comprehensive loss for the periods presented includes net loss, foreign currency translation adjustments and unrealized (loss)/gain on investments in AFS debt securities.
2.30 Net Loss Per Share
Basic loss per share is computed by dividing net loss attributable to holders of ordinary shares by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period using the two-class method. Under the
F-31
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.30 Net Loss Per Share (Continued)
two-class method, net loss is allocated between common shares and other participating securities base on their participating rights. Diluted net loss per share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities to issue ordinary shares were exercised. The dilutive effect of outstanding share-based awards is reflected in the diluted net loss per share by application of the if-converted method and treasury stock method, respectively. Dilutive equivalent shares are excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share if their effects would be anti-dilutive.
2.31 Segment Reporting
ASC 280, Segment Reporting, establishes standards for companies to report in their financial statements information about operating segments, products, services, geographic areas, and major customers.
Based on the criteria established by ASC 280, the Groups chief operating decision maker (CODM) has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer, who reviews consolidated results when making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance of the Group as a whole and hence, the Group has only one reportable segment. The Group does not distinguish between markets or segments for the purpose of internal reporting. As the Groups long-lived assets are substantially located in the PRC and substantially all the Groups revenue is derived from within the PRC, no geographical segments are presented.
2.32 Recent Accounting Pronouncements
The Group qualifies as an emerging growth company, or EGC, pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended, or the JOBS Act. As an EGC, the Group does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until such date that a private company is otherwise required to comply with such new or revised accounting standards. The Group will adopt the standards based on extended transition period provided to private companies.
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-07, Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures (Topic 280). This ASU updates reportable segment disclosure requirements by requiring disclosures of significant reportable segment expenses that are regularly provided to the Chief Operating Decision Maker (CODM) and included within each reported measure of a segments profit or loss. This ASU also requires disclosure of the title and position of the individual identified as the CODM and an explanation of how the CODM uses the reported measures of a segments profit or loss in assessing segment performance and deciding how to allocate resources. The ASU is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Adoption of the ASU should be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the financial statements. Early adoption is also permitted. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of the new guidance on its consolidated financial statement.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (Topic 740). The ASU requires disaggregated information about a reporting entitys effective tax rate reconciliation as well as additional information on income taxes paid. For public business entities, this standard is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. For non-public business entities, this standard is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2025. Early adoption is permitted, and the disclosures in this
F-32
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.32 Recent Accounting Pronouncements (Continued)
standard are required to be applied on a prospective basis with the option to apply the standard retrospectively. The Company is in the process of evaluating the potential impact of the new guidance on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
3. CONCENTRATION AND RISKS
3.1 Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Group to the concentration of credit risks consist of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. The maximum exposures of such assets to credit risk are their carrying amounts as of the balance sheet dates. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, all of the Companys cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments were held in major financial institutions located in the PRC and Hong Kong, which management considers to be of high credit quality based on their credit ratings.
The Group has not experienced any significant recoverability issue with respect to its accounts receivable. The Group assesses the creditworthiness of each customer when providing services and may require the customers to make advance payments or a deposit before the services are rendered.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, there was no customer with greater than 10% of the accounts receivable, respectively.
3.2 Concentration of Customers and Suppliers
Substantially all revenue was derived from customers located in China. There are no customers or suppliers from whom revenues or purchases individually represent greater than 10% of the total revenues or the total purchases of the Group in any of the periods presented.
3.3 Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk
In July 2005, the PRC government changed its decades-old policy of pegging the value of the RMB to the US$, and the RMB appreciated more than 20% against the US$ over the following three years. Between July 2008 and June 2010, this appreciation halted and the exchange rate between the RMB and the US$ remained within a narrow band. Since June 2010, the RMB has fluctuated against the US$, at times significantly and unpredictably. The depreciation of the RMB against the US$ was approximately 8.5% and 1.7% in years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC, or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the RMB and the US$ in the future.
4. SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS
As of December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Time deposits |
55,359 | 58,128 | ||||||
Wealth management products (1) |
47,119 | | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
102,478 | 58,128 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
F-33
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
4. SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)
(1) | The Groups wealth management products mainly consisted of financial products issued by commercial banks in China with a variable interest rate indexed to the performance of underlying assets and a maturity date within one year when purchased or revolving terms. For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, the weighted average return of the wealth management products was 2.3% and 2.6%, respectively. |
5. LONG-TERM BANK DEPOSITS
As of December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Long-term bank deposits (1) |
| 117,573 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
(1) | The Groups long-term bank deposits were fixed deposits in financial institutions with original maturities of 18 months. For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, the weighted average return of the wealth management products was nil and 4.0%, respectively. |
6. PREPAID EXPENSES AND OTHER CURRENT ASSETS
Prepaid expenses and other current assets consist of the following:
As of December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Current assets |
||||||||
Prepaid bandwidth costs |
8,565 | 4,773 | ||||||
Deposits |
3,857 | 1,447 | ||||||
Prepaid travel expense |
1,294 | 1,308 | ||||||
Prepaid office software service fee |
1,334 | 927 | ||||||
VAT recoverable (1) |
3,560 | 686 | ||||||
Prepaid content rental expenses |
878 | 154 | ||||||
Prepaid marketing expenses |
730 | 125 | ||||||
Prepaid consulting service fee |
850 | 27 | ||||||
Receivables from third-party payment settlement platform (2) |
5,970 | 20 | ||||||
Other miscellaneous prepaid expenses |
1,760 | 2,561 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
28,798 | 12,028 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Non-current assets |
||||||||
Deferred initial public offering related costs |
12,356 | 16,252 | ||||||
Deposits for lease |
4,875 | 5,940 | ||||||
Prepaid content rental expenses |
71 | 73 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
17,302 | 22,265 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
(1) | VAT recoverable represented the balances that the Group can utilize to deduct its VAT liabilities. |
(2) | Receivables from third-party payment settlement platform represent cash due from the third-party on-line payment service providers in relation to their processing of payments to the Group. |
F-34
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
6. PREPAID EXPENSES AND OTHER CURRENT ASSETS (CONTINUED)
The Group adopted ASC 326 starting from January 1, 2023 and used a modified retrospective approach which resulted in only de minimus impact on the accumulated deficit due to prepaid expenses and other current assets. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, the Groups allowance for doubtful accounts/expected credit losses for prepaid expenses and other current assets were nil and RMB 373, respectively.
7. PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE, NET
Property, equipment and software, net, consist of the following:
As of December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Cost |
||||||||
Leasehold improvements |
21,834 | 27,613 | ||||||
Electronic equipment |
12,700 | 13,252 | ||||||
Vehicles |
4,687 | 5,199 | ||||||
Furniture |
4,050 | 3,949 | ||||||
Software |
1,170 | 1,831 | ||||||
Construction in progress |
2,757 | | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total cost |
47,198 | 51,844 | ||||||
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization |
(19,555 | ) | (28,442 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Property, equipment and software, net |
27,643 | 23,402 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
Depreciation expenses were RMB 7,732 and RMB 9,368 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. No impairment charges were recorded for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively.
8. INTANGIBLE ASSETS, NET
Intangible assets are summarized as follows:
As of December 31, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||
Weighted Average Amortization Period (in years) |
Gross Carrying Amount |
Accumulated Amortization |
Net Book Value |
|||||||||||||
Developed Content |
2.5 | 35,100 | (17,550 | ) | 17,550 | |||||||||||
License |
3.0 | 28,720 | (11,373 | ) | 17,347 | |||||||||||
Trademarks |
2.5 | 26,400 | (13,200 | ) | 13,200 | |||||||||||
Domain Name |
0.5 | 11,644 | (9,717 | ) | 1,927 | |||||||||||
Customer Relationship |
2.5 | 10,700 | (5,350 | ) | 5,350 | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
112,564 | (57,190 | ) | 55,374 | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
F-35
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
8. INTANGIBLE ASSETS, NET (CONTINUED)
As of December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Weighted Average Amortization Period (in years) |
Gross Carrying Amount |
Accumulated Amortization |
Impairment (Note 2.15) |
Net Book Value |
||||||||||||||||
License |
2.1 | 29,710 | (16,990 | ) | | 12,720 | ||||||||||||||
Developed Content |
1.5 | 35,100 | (24,570 | ) | (10,530 | ) | | |||||||||||||
Trademarks |
1.5 | 26,400 | (18,480 | ) | (7,920 | ) | | |||||||||||||
Domain Name |
| 11,644 | (11,644 | ) | | | ||||||||||||||
Customer Relationship |
1.5 | 10,700 | (7,490 | ) | (3,210 | ) | | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
113,554 | (79,174 | ) | (21,660 | ) | 12,720 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The total amounts charged to the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss for amortization expenses amounted to approximately RMB 23,729 and RMB 21,985 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively.
The amounts charged to Cost of Revenue and Sales and Marketing Expenses in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss for impairment amounted to RMB 10,530 and RMB 11,130 for the year ended December 31, 2023, respectively. There is no impairment recorded for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Based on the recorded intangible assets on December 31, 2023, estimated amortization expense is expected to be as follows:
Amortization Expense | ||||
2024 |
5,667 | |||
2025 |
4,158 | |||
2026 |
1,956 | |||
2027 |
939 | |||
|
|
|||
12,720 | ||||
|
|
9. LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS
As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Initial cost |
Net cumulative fair value adjustments |
Carrying value |
Initial cost |
Net cumulative fair value adjustments |
Carrying value |
|||||||||||||||||||
Available-for-sale debt securities |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shanghai Jiayang Information System Co., Ltd(1) |
55,000 | 2,130 | 57,130 | 55,000 | 8,071 | 63,071 | ||||||||||||||||||
Guangzhou Tale Base Technology Co., Ltd(2) |
31,400 | (271 | ) | 31,129 | 31,400 | 776 | 32,176 | |||||||||||||||||
Beijing Lingdai(3) |
31,980 | (3,142 | ) | 28,838 | 31,980 | (6,507 | ) | 25,473 | ||||||||||||||||
Others(4) |
5,400 | | 5,400 | 15,400 | (9,779 | ) | 5,621 | |||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
123,780 | (1,283 | ) | 122,497 | 133,780 | (7,439 | ) | 126,341 | |||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
F-36
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
9. LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)
The Companys AFS debt investments all include substantive liquidation preference and redemption provision and is redeemable at the option of the investor. As at December 31, 2023, the Company did not have the intent or a requirement to sell its AFS debt investments.
(1) On September 28, 2021, Yunxuetang entered into a share purchase agreement and a share transfer agreement to acquire 10% equity interest of Shanghai Jiayang Information System Co., Ltd (Shanghai Jiayang), which is principally engaged in human resource management software, at a cash consideration of RMB 55,000 (Jiayang Investment), and the investment is legally settled on October 13, 2021. The Company recognized unrealized gain of RMB 2,130 and RMB 5,941 in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively.
(2) Yunxuetang entered into a share purchase agreement and a share transfer agreement to acquire 10.02% equity interest of Guangzhou Tale Base Technology Co., Ltd (Tale Base), which is principally engaged in human resource management software, at a cash consideration of RMB 31,400 (Tale Base Investment), and the investment was legally closed on February 28, 2022. The Company recognized an unrealized loss of RMB 271 and an unrealized gain of RMB 1,047 in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively.
(3) On July 1, 2021, Yunxuetang entered into a share purchase agreement and a share transfer agreement to acquire 19% equity interest of Beijing Lingdai, which is principally engaged in online and offline training in finance, at a cash consideration of RMB 31,980 (Lingdai Investment). The investment has been a continuous unrealized loss position for over 12 months. The Company recognized an unrealized loss of RMB 3,509 in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income and recognized a credit loss of RMB 3,365 in Investment Loss as the decline in fair value is all related to credit factors for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively.
(4) The Company assesses the unrealized losses of the other investments and determines that the decline in fair value is related to credit factors. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized credit loss related impairments of RMB 9,779 in Investment Loss of consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.
F-37
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
10. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, information about inputs into the fair value measurement of the Groups assets and liabilities that are measured or disclosed at fair value on a recurring basis in periods subsequent to their initial recognition is as follows:
Fair value measurement at reporting date using | ||||||||||||||||
Description |
Fair value as of December 31, 2022 |
Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1) |
Significant other observable inputs (Level 2) |
Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) |
||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||
Assets: |
||||||||||||||||
Short-term investments |
||||||||||||||||
Time deposits |
55,359 | | 55,359 | | ||||||||||||
Wealth management products |
47,119 | | 47,119 | | ||||||||||||
Long-term investments |
||||||||||||||||
Available-for-sale debt securities |
||||||||||||||||
Jiayang Investment (1) |
57,130 | | | 57,130 | ||||||||||||
Tale Base Investment(1) |
31,129 | | | 31,129 | ||||||||||||
Lingdai Investment (1) |
28,838 | | | 28,838 | ||||||||||||
Others |
5,400 | | | 5,400 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total assets |
224,975 | | 102,478 | 122,497 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Liabilities: |
||||||||||||||||
Derivative liabilities |
||||||||||||||||
Conversion feature |
202,698 | | | 202,698 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fair value measurement at reporting date using | ||||||||||||||||
Description |
Fair value as of December 31, 2023 |
Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1) |
Significant other observable inputs (Level 2) |
Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) |
||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||
Assets: |
||||||||||||||||
Short-term investments |
||||||||||||||||
Time deposits |
58,128 | | 58,128 | | ||||||||||||
Long-term investments |
||||||||||||||||
Available-for-sale debt securities |
||||||||||||||||
Jiayang Investment (1) |
63,071 | | | 63,071 | ||||||||||||
Tale Base Investment(1) |
32,176 | | | 32,176 | ||||||||||||
Lingdai Investment (1) |
25,473 | | | 25,473 | ||||||||||||
Others |
5,621 | | | 5,621 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total assets |
184,469 | | 58,128 | 126,341 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Liabilities: |
||||||||||||||||
Derivative liabilities |
||||||||||||||||
Conversion feature |
100,279 | | | 100,279 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) | Refer to Note 9Long-term investments for further information on the Companys investments |
F-38
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
10. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (CONTINUED)
When available, the Group uses quoted market prices to determine the fair value of an asset or liability. If quoted market prices are not available, the Group measures fair value using valuation techniques that use, when possible, current market-based or independently sourced market parameters, such as interest rates and currency rates. Following is a description of the valuation techniques that the Group uses to measure the fair value of assets and liabilities that the Group reports in its Consolidated Balance Sheets at fair value.
Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis
Short-Term Investments
Short-term investment consists of wealth management products and time deposits, which are valued by the Group on a recurring basis. The Group values its short-term wealth management products investments and time deposits held in certain banks using model-derived valuations based upon discounted cash flow, in which significant inputs, mainly including expected return, are observable or can be derived principally from, or corroborated by, observable market data, and accordingly, the Group classifies the valuation techniques that use these inputs as Level 2. The expected return of the financial products was determined based on the prevailing interest rates in the market.
Long-Term Investments
Our Level 3 available-for-sale debt securities as of December 31, 2022 and 2023 primarily consist of redeemable preferred stock investments in privately held companies without readily determinable fair values.
Depending on the investees financing activity in a reporting period, managements estimate of fair value may be primarily derived from the investees financing transactions, such as the issuance of preferred stock to new investors. The price in these transactions generally provides the best indication of the enterprise value of the investee. Additionally, based on the timing, volume, and other characteristics of the transaction, we may supplement this information by using other valuation techniques, including the guideline public company approach. The guideline public company approach relies on publicly available market data of comparable companies and uses comparative valuation multiples of the investees revenue or net profit.
Once the fair value of the investee is estimated, an option-pricing model (OPM) is employed to allocate value to various classes of securities of the investee, including the class owned by us. The model involves making assumptions around the investees expected time to liquidity and volatility.
An increase or decrease in any of the unobservable inputs in isolation, such as the security price in a significant financing transaction of the investee, could result in a material increase or decrease in our estimate of fair value. Other unobservable inputs, including short-term revenue projections, time to liquidity, and volatility are less sensitive to the valuation in the respective reporting periods, as a result of the primary weighting on the investees financing transactions. In the future, depending on the weight of evidence and valuation approaches used, these or other inputs may have a more significant impact on our estimate of fair value.
For any sales of equity and debt securities, it will be recorded for as realized gains or losses in the Interest and investment income in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss.
F-39
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
10. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (CONTINUED)
Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis (Continued)
Long-Term Investments (Continued)
The following table summarizes information about the significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement for our long-term investments as of December 31, 2022 and 2023:
Investment |
At initial valuation date |
Fair value method valuation date (and relative weighting) |
Fair value as of December 31, 2023 |
Fair value method as of 2023 (and relative weighting) |
Key inputs |
Range | ||||||||||||
Financing transaction of Lingdai Investment |
Financing transactions | Revenue multiples | Market multiples | 1.5x-2.5x | ||||||||||||||
31,980 | (100%) | 25,473 | (100%) | Volatility | 62%-67% | |||||||||||||
Estimated time to liquidity | |
1.5-2.5 years |
||||||||||||||||
Investment |
At initial valuation date |
Fair value method at initial valuation date (and relative weighting) |
Fair value as of December 31, 2023 |
Fair value method as of 2023 (and relative weighting) |
Key inputs |
Range | ||||||||||||
Financing transaction of Jiayang Investment |
55,000 | Financing transactions (100%) | 63,071 | Net Profit multiples (100%) | Market multiples | 18x-20x | ||||||||||||
Volatility | 35%-40% | |||||||||||||||||
Estimated time to liquidity | |
1.0-1.5 years |
||||||||||||||||
Investment |
At initial valuation date |
Fair value method at initial valuation date (and relative weighting) |
Fair value as of December 31, 2023 |
Fair value method as of 2023 (and relative weighting) |
Key inputs |
Range | ||||||||||||
Financing transaction of Tale Base Investment |
31,400 | Financing transactions (100%) | 32,176 | Revenue multiples (100%) | Market multiples | 3.8x-4.3x | ||||||||||||
Volatility | 35%-40% | |||||||||||||||||
Estimated time to liquidity | |
1.0-1.5 years |
F-40
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
10. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (CONTINUED)
Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis (Continued)
Long-Term Investments (Continued)
Investment |
At initial valuation date |
Fair value method at initial valuation date (and relative weighting) |
Fair value as of December 31, 2022 |
Fair value 2022 (and relative weighting) |
Key inputs |
Range | ||||||||||||
Financing transaction of Lingdai Investment |
31,980 | Financing transactions (100%) | 28,838 | Revenue multiples (100%) | Market multiples | 3x-4x | ||||||||||||
Volatility | 70%-75% | |||||||||||||||||
Estimated time to liquidity | 1-1.5 years | |||||||||||||||||
Investment |
At initial valuation date |
Fair value method at initial valuation date (and relative weighting) |
Fair value as of December 31, 2022 |
Fair value method as of 2022 (and weighting) |
Key inputs |
Range | ||||||||||||
Financing transaction of Jiayang Investment |
55,000 | Financing transactions (100%) | 57,130 | Net Profit multiples (100%) | Market multiples | 20x-25x | ||||||||||||
Volatility | 40%-45% | |||||||||||||||||
Estimated time to liquidity | 2-2.5 years | |||||||||||||||||
Investment |
At initial valuation date |
Fair value method at initial valuation date (and relative weighting) |
Fair value as of December 31, 2022 |
Fair value method as of 2022 (and weighting) |
Key inputs |
Range | ||||||||||||
Financing transaction of Tale Base Investment |
31,400 | Financing transactions (100%) | 31,129 | Revenue multiples (100%) | Market multiples | 4.5x-5x | ||||||||||||
Volatility | 35%-40% | |||||||||||||||||
Estimated time to liquidity | 2-2.5 years |
Derivative Liabilities
For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively, the roll forward of these conversion features which required to be bifurcated and accounted for as derivative liabilities are as follows:
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Conversion feature |
Conversion feature |
|||||||
Balance at beginning of the year |
170,508 | 202,698 | ||||||
The change in fair value |
32,190 | (102,419 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Balance at end of the year |
202,698 | 100,279 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
F-41
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
10. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (CONTINUED)
Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis (Continued)
Derivative Liabilities (Continued)
Conversion Feature
Significant factors, assumptions and methodologies used in determining the business valuation include applying the discounted cash flow approach, and such approach involves certain significant estimates which are as follows:
As of December 31, 2022 | As of December 31, 2023 | |||||||
Discount rate |
16.0% | 15.0% | ||||||
Weighting between IPO scenario and Redemption scenario |
|
IPO scenario-80% Redemption scenario-20% |
|
|
IPO scenario-80% Redemption scenario-20% |
|
Discount rates
The discount rates listed out in the table above were based on the weighted average cost of capital, which was determined based on a consideration of the factors including risk-free rate, comparative industry risk, equity risk premium, company size and non-systemic risk factors.
Comparable companies
In deriving the weighted average cost of capital used as the discount rates under the income approach, certain publicly traded companies were selected for reference as our guideline companies. The guideline companies were selected based on the following criteria: (i) they operate in the SaaS industry and (ii) their shares are publicly traded in the United States, Hong Kong and China.
The income approach involves applying appropriate discount rates to estimated cash flows that are based on earnings forecasts. Our revenues and earnings growth rates, as well as major milestones that the Group have achieved. However, these fair values are inherently uncertain and highly subjective. The assumptions used in deriving the fair values are consistent with our business plan. These assumptions include: no material changes in the applicable future periods in the existing political, legal, fiscal or economic conditions in China; no material changes will occur in the current taxation law in China and the applicable tax rates will remain consistent; the Group have the ability to retain competent management and key personnel to support our ongoing operations; and industry trends and market conditions for the corporate training service business will not deviate significantly from current forecasts. These assumptions are inherently uncertain.
Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Non-Recurring Basis
See Note 8, Intangible assets, net, regarding our consolidated financial statements for fair value measurements of certain assets and liabilities on a non-recurring basis.
F-42
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
11. SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM BORROWINGS
Fixed annual interest rate |
Term | As of December 31, | ||||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||||
Short-term borrowings: |
||||||||||||||||
Unsecured bank loans |
3.10%-3.15 | % | Within 12 months | 20,000 | 39,800 | |||||||||||
Current portion of long-term borrowings |
3.65 | % | Mature in 2024 | | 7,000 | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
20,000 | 46,800 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Long-term borrowings: |
||||||||||||||||
Secured bank loan(1) |
3.65 | % | 1-2 years | | 78,500 | |||||||||||
Unsecured bank loan(2) |
4.20 | % | 1-2 years | | 147,500 | |||||||||||
Less: current portion of long-term borrowings |
3.65 | % | Mature in 2024 | | (7,000 | ) | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
| 219,000 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
(1) | On April 27, 2023, the Group entered into one secured bank loan of RMB 80,000 which was guaranteed by the Founder of the Group with annual payment schedule of RMB 1,500, RMB 3,500 and RMB 75,000 in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. The Group repaid RMB 1,500 during the year ended December 31, 2023, when the installment became due. In May 2024, the Company made early repayment of the balance, and refinanced a new secured bank loan of RMB 75,000 with annual payment schedule of RMB 1,500, 2,000 and RMB 71,500 in 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively. The new loan is also guaranteed by the Founder of the Group. |
(2) | On April 24, 2023, the Group entered into one unsecured bank loan of RMB 50,000 with annual payment schedule of RMB 2,500, RMB 3,500 and RMB 44,000 in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. The Group repaid RMB 2,500 during the year ended December 31, 2023, when the installment became due. |
Then on December 27, 2023, the Group entered into another two unsecured bank loans with the same bank in total amount of RMB 100,000, both of which are due in June 2025.
The combined aggregate amount of maturities for all long-term borrowings for each of the five years following December 31, 2023 as follows:
Long-term borrowings | ||||
RMB | ||||
2024 |
7,000 | |||
2025 |
219,000 |
The weighted average interest rates for the outstanding borrowings were approximately 3.43% and 3.88% as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Subsequently to year-end, in April 2024, the Company entered into another unsecured bank loan of RMB 43,000 with annual payment schedule of RMB 1,500, 3,000 and RMB 38,500 in 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively.
F-43
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
12. OTHER PAYABLE AND ACCRUED LIABILITIES
As of December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Salary and welfare payable |
116,163 | 69,620 | ||||||
Taxes payable |
16,187 | 8,625 | ||||||
Professional fees payable |
440 | 3,855 | ||||||
Short-term rental payable |
93 | 2,924 | ||||||
Leasehold improvement payable |
375 | 907 | ||||||
Others |
2,623 | 4,006 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
135,881 | 89,937 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
13. OPERATING LEASE
The Group has operating leases primarily for office and operation space. The Groups operating lease arrangements have remaining terms of one year to eleven years with no variable lease costs.
The Group performed evaluations of its contracts and determined that each of its identified leases are operating leases. The components of operating lease expense were as follows:
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Operating lease costs |
22,361 | 18,472 | ||||||
Expenses for short-term lease within 12 months |
3,371 | 1,155 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total lease cost |
25,732 | 19,627 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases is as follows:
As of December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Operating lease right-of-use assets |
51,400 | 34,997 | ||||||
Operating lease liabilities - current |
16,871 | 15,818 | ||||||
Operating lease liabilities - non-current |
34,764 | 20,257 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total lease liabilities |
51,635 | 36,075 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
F-44
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
13. OPERATING LEASE (CONTINUED)
Supplemental cash flow information related to leases is as follows:
Year ended December 31, |
||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities |
23,997 | 20,187 | ||||||
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities |
29,168 | 4,168 | ||||||
Weighted average remaining lease term |
4.66 | 4.63 | ||||||
Weighted average discount rate |
4.59 | % | 4.73 | % |
Maturities of lease liabilities are as follows:
As of December 31, 2023 |
||||
RMB | ||||
2024 |
17,058 | |||
2025 |
8,127 | |||
2026 |
3,340 | |||
2027 |
1,466 | |||
2028 and after |
9,277 | |||
|
|
|||
Total undiscounted operating lease payments |
39,268 | |||
Less: imputed interest |
(3,193 | ) | ||
|
|
|||
Total |
36,075 | |||
|
|
14. ACQUISITION CONSIDERATION PAYABLE
On June 24, 2020, the Company acquired 100% shares of CEIBS Management Ltd. (the ManCo) and Digital B-School China Limited (the Digital B) (the Acquisition, Share transfer). ManCo held 21% common shares of CEIBS PG. Digital B held 0.04% common shares and 38.96% preferred shares of CEIBS PG. After the Acquisition, the Company effectively held 60% shares of CEIBS PG and obtained control of CEIBS PG. China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) holds the rest 40% common shares of CEIBS Publishing Group. The Company has included the financial results of CEIBS Publishing Group in the consolidated financial statements since the acquisition date. The consideration of the Acquisition included US$15 million in cash (equivalent to RMB 103,924) and 5,252,723 Series A-4 preferred shares of the Company with the total fair value of RMB 94,755 issued. The Company made cash payment of RMB 9,600 in February 2023. Refer to Commitments and contingencies (Note 21) and Subsequent events (Note 22) for the arbitration result related to this acquisition declared in January 2024, and its accounting implication in 2024. However, prior to any future negotiations amongst the counter parties, this payable balance remains unchanged legally as of December 31, 2023.
F-45
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
15. RELATED PARTY BALANCES AND TRANSACTIONS
The table below sets forth the major related parties and their relationships with the Group as of December 31, 2023:
Name of related parties |
Relationship with the Group | |
Suzhou Yunzheng Technology Co., Ltd. (Suzhou Yunzheng) |
Controlled by the Xiaoyan Lu (the Founder of the Company) |
The Group had the following transactions with the major related parties:
Year ended December 31, |
||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Sales of service |
||||||||
Suzhou Yunzheng |
| 57 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Purchase of service |
||||||||
Suzhou Yunzheng |
245 | 404 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
16. TAXATION
(a) | Value Added Tax (VAT) and Surcharges |
The Group is subject to VAT at the rate of 6% for both corporate learning solution and other revenue.
(b) | Income Tax |
Cayman Islands
Under the current laws of the Cayman Islands, entities incorporated in the Cayman Islands are not subject to tax on income or capital gain. Additionally, the Cayman Islands does not impose a withholding tax on payments of dividends to shareholders.
British Virgin Islands
Under the current laws of the British Virgin Islands, entities incorporated in the British Virgin Islands are not subject to tax on their income or capital gains.
Hong Kong
Under the current Hong Kong Inland Revenue Ordinance, the Companys subsidiaries incorporated in Hong Kong are subject to a two-tiered profits tax rates regime. Under the two-tiered profits tax rates regime, the first HK$2 million of profits of the qualifying group entity will be taxed at 8.25%, and profits above HK$2 million will be taxed at 16.5%.
F-46
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
16. TAXATION (CONTINUED)
(b) | Income Tax (Continued) |
China
On March 16, 2007, the National Peoples Congress of PRC enacted a new Enterprise Income Tax Law (new EIT law), under which Foreign Investment Enterprises (FIEs) and domestic companies would be subject to enterprise income tax at a uniform rate of 25%. The new EIT law became effective on January 1, 2008. In accordance with the implementation rules of EIT Law, a qualified High and New Technology Enterprise (HNTE) is eligible for a preferential tax rate of 15%. The HNTE certificate is effective for a period of three years. An entity could re-apply for the HNTE certificate when the prior certificate expires.
Yunxuetang obtained its HNTE certificate on November 19, 2021 and was eligible to enjoy a preferential tax rate of 15% from 2021 to 2023 to the extent it has taxable income under the EIT Law, as long as it maintains the HNTE qualification and duly conducts relevant EIT filing procedures with the relevant tax authority.
Hainan Yunxuetang established and started to operate in Hainan Free Trade Port on July 7, 2022, which was engaged with the encouraged industrial category, thus it was eligible to enjoy a preferential tax rate of 15% during 2022 to the extent it has taxable income under the EIT Law, as long as it maintains the qualification and duly conducts relevant EIT filing procedures with the relevant tax authority.
The Groups other PRC subsidiaries, VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries are subject to the statutory income tax rate of 25%.
According to relevant laws and regulations promulgated by the State Administration of Tax of the PRC effective from 2008 onwards, enterprises engaging in research and development activities are entitled to claim 150% of their qualified research and development expenses so incurred as tax deductible expenses when determining their assessable profits for the year (Super Deduction). The additional deduction of 50% of qualified research and development expenses can only be claimed directly in the annual EIT filing and subject to the approval from the relevant tax authorities. Effective from 2018 onwards, enterprises engaging in research and development activities are entitled to claim 175% of their qualified research and development expenses so incurred as tax deductible expenses. The additional deduction of 75% of qualified research and development expenses can be directly claimed in the annual EIT filing. Effective from October, 2022 to December, 2023, the additional deduction of 100% of qualified research and development expenses generated during this period can be directly claimed in the annual EIT filing.
Withholding Tax on Undistributed Dividends
The new EIT Law also provides that an enterprise established under the laws of a foreign country or region but whose actual management body is located in the PRC be treated as a resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes and consequently be subject to the PRC income tax at the rate of 25% for its global income. The Implementing Rules of the EIT Law merely define the location of the actual management body as the place where the exercising, in substance, of the overall management and control of the production and business operation, personnel, accounting, property, etc., of a non-PRC company is located. Based on a review of surrounding facts and circumstances, the Group does not believe that it is likely that its operations outside of the PRC should be considered a resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. However, due to limited guidance and implementation history of the EIT Law, there is uncertainty as to the application of the EIT Law. Should the
F-47
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
16. TAXATION (CONTINUED)
(b) | Income Tax (Continued) |
Withholding Tax on Undistributed Dividends (Continued)
company be treated as a resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes, the company will be subject to PRC income tax on worldwide income at a uniform tax rate of 25%.
The new EIT law also imposes a withholding income tax of 10% on dividends distributed by an FIE to its immediate holding company outside of China, if such immediate holding company is considered as a non-resident enterprise without any establishment or place within China or if the received dividends have no connection with the establishment or place of such immediate holding company within China, unless such immediate holding companys jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for a different withholding arrangement. According to the arrangement between Mainland China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion in August 2006, dividends paid by an FIE in China to its immediate holding company in Hong Kong will be subject to withholding tax at a rate of no more than 5% if the foreign investor owns directly at least 25% of the shares of the FIE and if Hong Kong company is a beneficial owner of the dividend. The State Taxation Administration (SAT) further promulgated SAT Public Notice [2018] No.9 regarding the assessment criteria on beneficial owner status.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, the Group does not have any plan for its PRC subsidiaries to distribute their retained earnings and intends to retain them to operate and expand its business in the PRC. Accordingly, no deferred income tax liabilities on withholding tax were provided as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Composition of Income Tax
The components of loss before tax are as follows:
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Loss before tax |
||||||||
Loss from PRC entities |
(607,635 | ) | (307,901 | ) | ||||
(Loss)/gain from overseas entities |
(38,051 | ) | 68,192 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total loss before tax |
(645,686 | ) | (239,709 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Current income tax expense |
| | ||||||
Deferred income tax benefit |
5,391 | 9,871 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
5,391 | 9,871 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
F-48
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
16. TAXATION (CONTINUED)
(b) | Income Tax (Continued) |
Reconciliation of the Differences Between Statutory Tax Rate and the Effective Tax Rate
Reconciliation of the differences between the statutory EIT rate applicable to losses of the consolidated entities and the income tax expense of the Group:
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
PRC Statutory income tax rate |
25.0 | % | 25.0 | % | ||||
Tax rate difference from statutory rate in other jurisdictions (1) |
(1.5 | %) | 8.0 | % | ||||
Effect of preferential tax rates and tax holiday (2) |
(0.5 | %) | (4.0 | %) | ||||
Effect of permanent differences (3) |
1.4 | % | 5.1 | % | ||||
Change in valuation allowance |
(23.6 | %) | (30.0 | %) | ||||
Effective tax rates |
0.8 | % | 4.1 | % |
(1) | The tax rate difference is attributed to varying rates in other jurisdictions where the Group is established or operates, such as the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands or Hong Kong. |
(2) | Yunxuetang has been qualified as HNTE and enjoys a preferential income tax rate of 15% during 2022 and 2023. Hainan Yunxuetang has been qualified as encouraged industrial enterprise which are registered and substantially operated in Hainnan Free Trade Port and enjoys a preferential income tax rate of 15% during 2022 and 2023. Since Yunxuetang and Hainan Yunxuetang had cumulative tax losses as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, there was no effect of the tax holiday. |
(3) | The permanent differences are primarily related to share-based compensation, additional tax deductions for qualified research and development expenses offset by non-deductible expenses. |
(c) | Deferred Tax Assets and Deferred Tax Liabilities |
The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to the deferred tax asset balances as of December 31, 2022 and 2023 are as follows:
As of December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Deferred tax assets |
||||||||
Net accumulated losses-carry forward |
401,426 | 459,295 | ||||||
Deferred revenue |
52,624 | 46,083 | ||||||
Property, equipment and software, net |
15,466 | 13,033 | ||||||
Advertising expense in excess of deduction limit |
840 | | ||||||
Accounts receivables allowance |
522 | 325 | ||||||
Other deductible temporary differences |
9,409 | 5,599 | ||||||
Less: valuation allowance |
(476,022 | ) | (521,462 | ) | ||||
Amounts offset by deferred tax liabilities |
(4,265 | ) | (2,873 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total deferred tax assets, net |
| | ||||||
|
|
|
|
F-49
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
16. TAXATION (CONTINUED)
(c) | Deferred Tax Assets and Deferred Tax Liabilities (Continued) |
As of December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Deferred tax liabilities |
||||||||
Related to acquired net assets |
9,869 | | ||||||
Intangible assets, net |
2,681 | 1,909 | ||||||
Prepaid expenses |
1,584 | 964 | ||||||
Amounts offset by deferred tax assets |
(4,265 | ) | (2,873 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total deferred tax liabilities, net |
9,869 | | ||||||
|
|
|
|
Movement of valuation allowance
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Balance at beginning of the year |
(325,200 | ) | (476,022 | ) | ||||
Changes of valuation allowance |
(152,067 | ) | (71,910 | ) | ||||
Expired accumulated loss carry forward |
1,245 | 26,470 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Balance at end of the year |
(476,022 | ) | (521,462 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
As of December 31, 2023, net operating loss carry forwards from PRC entities will expire as follows:
At December 31, |
RMB | |||
2024 |
189,067 | |||
2025 |
250,058 | |||
2026 |
469,096 | |||
2027 |
626,039 | |||
2028 |
336,314 | |||
|
|
|||
1,870,574 | ||||
|
|
As of December 31, 2023, the Group had tax losses carry forwards of approximately RMB 1,870,574 which mainly arose from its subsidiaries, consolidated VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries established in the PRC. The tax losses carry forwards from PRC entities will expire during the period from 2024 to 2028.
17. ORDINARY SHARES
On January 20, 2017, the Company was incorporated as an exempted company with limited liability with authorized share capital of US$50 divided into 500,000,000 shares with par value US$0.0001 each.
In addition, 56,179,775 ordinary shares were issued to the Initial Ordinary Shareholders on May 4, 2017 as part of the Reorganization to swap the Initial Ordinary Shareholders equity interests in Yunxuetang with the shareholding interests in the Company.
F-50
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
17. ORDINARY SHARES (CONTINUED)
The Company amended the numbers of its ordinary shares authorized as 493,344,264, 467,924,866, 433,071,251, 420,874,891 and 390,518,031 upon the issuance of Series A-1; Series C-1; Series D-1 and Series C-2; Series A-4 and Series D-2; Series E-1 and Series E-2 convertible redeemable preferred shares in November 2017, September 2018, January 2020, June 2020 and January 2021, respectively.
On June 24, 2020, The Company re-designated 6,943,638 ordinary shares to Series D-2 convertible redeemable preferred shares after the Initial Ordinary Shareholder transferred the ordinary share to the Series D-2 convertible redeemable preferred shares investor.
On January 25, 2021, the Company re-designated 3,939,542 ordinary shares to Series D-3 convertible redeemable preferred shares after the Initial Ordinary Shareholder transferred the ordinary share to the Series D-3 convertible redeemable preferred shares investor.
On March 22, 2021, one of the Series E investors acquired 3,751,945 ordinary shares of the Company from Unicentury Holding Limited, which is a shareholder of the Company and wholly owned by the founder, at fair value. These shares remained as ordinary shares after the share transaction. In this share transaction, the Company didnt receive any consideration.
On September 10, 2021, the Company granted 1,478,415 restricted ordinary shares at par value US$0.0001 to Zuniform Limited, owned by the CEO. The restricted ordinary shares vested in two tranches, i.e. 739,207 and 739,208 ordinary shares and no longer be deemed restricted shares on July 5, 2022 and July 5, 2023, respectively. This transaction was treated as the Companys share-based compensation to CEO, refer to Note 19 for more details.
On September 10, 2021, the Company also granted 1,478,415 ordinary shares at par value US$0.0001 to Zuniform Limited, which were vested immediately on the grant date. This transaction was treated as the Companys share-based compensation to the CEO.
On September 10, 2021, one of the Companys shareholders Unicentury Holdings Limited (owned by Xiaoyan Lu, the founder) transferred 825,131 ordinary shares to Zuniform Limited (owned by Teng Zu, the CEO of the Company) with no consideration being exchanged. This transaction was treated as the Companys share-based compensation to CEO.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, the Company had in aggregate of 48,253,425 ordinary shares issued and outstanding, at a par value of US$0.0001.
18. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES
On November 3, 2017, the Company entered into a share purchase agreement with certain investors, pursuant to which 6,655,736 Redeemable Convertible Series A-1 Preferred Shares (the Series A Preferred Shares, Series A-1 Preferred Shares) were issued on November 3, 2017 for an aggregated consideration of US$8,500. The investors were also granted Series A Warrant allowing them to purchase 3,132,111 additional series A preferred shares at the price of $1.277/share within 18 months after the closing. The warrant was separately transferrable. The Company incurred issuance costs of US$101 in connection with the offering of Series A-1 Preferred Shares and Series A Warrant.
F-51
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
18. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
On July 26, 2018 and September 7, 2018, the Series A Warrant holders exercised Series A Warrant to purchase 1,566,056 Redeemable Convertible Series A-2 Preferred Shares (the Series A Preferred Shares, Series A-2 Preferred Shares) and 1,566,055 Redeemable Convertible Series A-3 Preferred Shares (the Series A Preferred Shares, Series A-3 Preferred Shares), respectively. The total consideration was US$4,000.
On June 24, 2020, the Company and its subsidiaries entered into a series of share purchase agreements and acquired 60% of the shares of CEIBS Publishing Group. The Company and its subsidiaries obtained control of CEIBS Publishing Group. As part of the consideration, the Company issued 5,252,723 Redeemable Convertible Series A-4 Preferred Shares (the Series A Preferred Shares, Series A-4 Preferred Shares) to the selling shareholders. Refer to Note 14 for more details about the business combination.
On July 30, 2019, the Company issued 7,085,330 Redeemable Convertible Series B Preferred Shares (the Series B Preferred Shares) for an aggregated consideration of US$10,595 (equivalent to RMB70,000) pursuant to a share purchase agreement entered into with certain investors. No issuance cost was incurred in connection with the offering of Series B Preferred Shares. These investors injected consideration of RMB60,000 in December 2017 and RMB10,000 in January 2018 into Yunxuetang, respectively, when these investors were warranted to the subscription of the Series B Preferred Shares based on fair value at the time. Accordingly, the proceeds received were recorded as warrant liability and subsequently measured at fair value with changes in fair value recorded in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss. The warrant liability was reclassified to mezzanine equity upon issuance of Series B Preferred Shares on July 30, 2019 after the investors completion of the overseas direct investment administrative processes. The Group recognized a loss of RMB3,983 from the change in fair value of the warrant liability up to July 30 in the year of 2019.
On September 10, 2018, the Company entered into a share purchase agreement with certain investors, pursuant to which 15,201,956 Redeemable Convertible Series C-1 Preferred Shares (the Series C Preferred Shares, Series C-1 Preferred Shares) were issued on September 10, 2018 for an aggregated consideration of US$30,000. The investors were also granted Series C Warrant allowing them to purchase no more than US$20,000 Series C preferred shares upon the occurrence of the two scenarios below (whichever occurs first)
(a) | the completion of the next equity financing at the price of 85% of the per share purchase price of the shares to be issued by the Company in the next equity financing but no lower than the per share issuance price of the Series C-1 Purchased Shares, or |
(b) | eighteenth (18th)-month anniversary after the closing at a price agreed upon by the Company and Series C Warrant holder in writing which shall be no lower than the per share issuance price of the Series C-1 Purchased Shares |
The Company incurred issuance costs of US$1,134 in connection with the offering of Series C-1 Preferred Share and Series C Warrant. The warrant is separately transferrable.
On January 15, 2020, the Series C Warrant holders exercised Series C Warrant to purchase 8,584,634 Redeemable Convertible Series C-2 Preferred Shares (the Series C Preferred Shares, Series C-2 Preferred Shares). The total consideration was US$20,000.
On January 15, 2020, the Company entered into a share purchase agreement with certain investors, pursuant to which 26,268,981 Series D-1 Preferred Shares (the Series D Preferred Shares, Series D-1 Preferred
F-52
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
18. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
Shares) were issued on January 15, 2020 for an aggregated consideration of US$72,000. The Company incurred issuance costs of US$2,386 in connection with the offering of Series D-1 Preferred Shares.
On June 24, 2020, a Series D-1 Preferred Shareholder acquired 6,943,638 ordinary shares from one of the original shareholders with total consideration of US$16,177 and these shares were re-designated into Series D-2 preferred shares (the Series D Preferred Shares, Series D-2 Preferred Shares) after transfer (Series D-2 Transfer). In this share transaction, the Company didnt receive any consideration. The re-designation was approved through the Companys shareholder resolution.
On January 25, 2021, the Company entered into a share purchase agreement with certain investors, pursuant to which 16,883,753 Redeemable Convertible Series E-1 Preferred Shares were issued for an aggregated consideration of US$90,000. The Company incurred issuance costs of US$ 1,376 in connection with the offering of Series E-1 Preferred Shares.
On January 25, 2021, a Preferred Share investor acquired 3,939,542 ordinary shares from one of the original shareholders with total consideration of US$11,250 and these shares were re-designated into Series D-3 Preferred Shares after transfer (Series D-3 Transfer). In the share transaction, the Company did not receive any consideration. Similar to the Series D-2 Transfer, in Series D-3 Transfer, ordinary shareholder gave up their benefit to maintain the new investor. The re-designation was approved through the Companys shareholder resolution.
On March 22, 2021, the Company entered into a share purchase agreement with certain investors, pursuant to which 9,533,565 Series E-2 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares were issued for an aggregated consideration of US$64,328. The Company incurred issuance costs of US$ 910 in connection with the offering of Series E-2 Preferred Shares.
The Series A, B, C, D and E Preferred Shares are collectively referred to as the Preferred Shares. The holders of Preferred Shares are collectively referred to as the Preferred Shareholders. The key terms of the Preferred Shares issued by the Company are as follows:
Redemption Rights
At any time commencing on a date when certain events specified in the shareholders agreement (the Redemption Start Date) occurred, any holders of the then outstanding Series A, B, C, D Preferred Shares may request a redemption of specified number of Preferred Shares of such series as determined by the shareholders. On receipt of a redemption request from the holders, the Company shall redeem all of the Preferred Shares requested.
The Redemption Start Date of Preferred Shares have been amended for a number of times historically. If any holder of any series of Preferred Shares exercises its redemption right, any holder of other series of Preferred Shares shall have the right to exercise the redemption of its series at the same time.
F-53
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
18. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
Redemption Rights (Continued)
For Series A-1, A-2, A-3 and Series B Preferred Shares, the price at which each Preferred Share shall be redeemed shall equal to the higher of (a) and (b) below:
(a) | The 150% or 200% of original Preferred Shares issue price for such series and declared but unpaid dividends depend on certain circumstance specified in the shareholders agreement. |
(b) | The fair market value of the relevant series of Preferred Shares on the date of redemption. |
For Series A-4, C-1 and C-2 Preferred Shares, the price at which each Preferred Share shall be redeemed shall equal to the original Preferred Shares issue price for such series plus 8% compound interest per annum (calculated from the issuance dates of the respective series of Preferred Shares) and declared but unpaid dividends.
For Series D-1, D-2 and D-3 Preferred Shares, the price at which each Preferred Share shall be redeemed shall equal to the original Preferred Shares issue price for such series plus 12% compound interest per annum (calculated from the issuance dates of the respective series of Preferred Shares) and declared but unpaid dividends.
For Series E-1 and E-2 Preferred Shares, the price at which each Preferred Share shall be redeemed shall equal to the original Preferred Shares issue price for such series plus 12% compound interest per annum (calculated from the issuance dates of the respective series of Preferred Shares) and declared but unpaid dividends.
If on the redemption date triggered by the occurrence of any redemption event, the Companys assets or funds which are legally available are insufficient to pay in full the aggregate redemption price for Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed, upon the request of a redeeming shareholder, the Company shall execute and deliver a promissory note, bearing an interest of twelve percent (12%) per annum and with repayment of the principal and interest to be made on a monthly basis. Preferred Shares subject to redemption with respect to which the Company has become obligated to pay the redemption price but which it has not paid in full shall continue to have all the rights and privileges which such Preferred Shareholders had prior to such date, until the redemption price has been paid in full with respect to such Preferred Shares.
Conversion Rights
Optional Conversion
Each Preferred Share is convertible, at the option of the holder, at any time after the date of issuance of such Preferred Shares according to a conversion ratio, subject to adjustments for dilution, including but not limited to stock splits, stock dividends and capitalization and certain other events. Each Preferred Share is convertible into a number of ordinary shares determined by dividing the applicable original issuance price by the conversion price (initially being 1 to 1 conversion ratio). The conversion price of each Preferred Share is the same as its original issuance price and no adjustments to conversion price have occurred so far.
F-54
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
18. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
Conversion Rights (Continued)
Automatic Conversion
Each Preferred Share shall automatically be converted into ordinary shares, at the then applicable preferred share conversion price upon (i) closing of a Qualified Initial Public Offering or (ii) the written approval of the holders of a majority of each series of Preferred Shares (calculated and voting separately in their respective single class on an as-converted basis).
Upon the issuance of the Series A Preferred Shares, a Qualified IPO was defined as an initial public offering with gross offering proceeds no less than US$100 million and implied market capitalization of the Company of no less than US$500 million prior to such initial public offering. Upon the issuance of the Series B&C-1, C-2 Preferred Shares, the gross offering proceeds and market capitalization criteria for a Qualified IPO was increased to US$160 million and US$800 million respectively. Upon the issuance of the Series D-1, D-2, D-3 Preferred Shares, for a Qualified IPO, the gross offering proceeds was US$160 million and the market capitalization required was the higher of the balance compounded at the annual rate of return of 25% from the original investment and US$800 million, if IPO occurred within 5 years, or US$1,000 million, if IPO occurred after 5 years.
Upon the issuance of the Series E Preferred Shares, the definition of Qualified IPO was modified as follows: For Series A, B, C and D preferred shareholders, the market capitalization was the higher of the balance compounded at the annual rate of return of 25% from the original investment and US$800 million, if IPO occurred within 4 years, or US$1,000 million, if IPO occurred after 7 years; Upon the issuance of the Series E Preferred Shares, for Series E preferred shareholders, a Qualified IPO was defined as an initial public offering consummated on or prior to the fourth (4th) anniversary of the Series E closing date with gross offering proceeds no less than US$160 million and the implied market capitalization of the Company of no less than US$1,400 million.
Voting Rights
Each Preferred Share has voting rights equivalent to the number of common shares to which it is convertible at the record date. Each Preferred Share shall be entitled to that number of votes corresponding to the number of ordinary shares on an as-converted basis. The holders of Preferred Shares and ordinary shares shall vote together as a single class.
Dividend Rights
Each Preferred Share shall have the right to receive dividends, on an as-converted basis, when, as and if declared by the Board. No dividend shall be paid on the ordinary shares at any time unless and until all dividends on the Preferred Shares have been paid in full. No dividends on preferred and ordinary shares have been declared since the issuance date until December 31, 2023.
Liquidation Preferences
In the event of any liquidation (unless waived by the Preferred Shareholders) including deemed liquidation (i.e. change of control, etc.), dissolution or winding up of the Company, holders of the Preferred Shares shall be
F-55
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
18. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
Liquidation Preferences (Continued)
entitled to receive the liquidation value in the sequence of Series E Preferred Shares, Series D Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares, Series B and Series A Preferred Shares (Series B and Series A preferred shares share the same sequential position). After such liquidation amounts have been paid in full, any remaining funds or assets of the Company legally available for distribution to shareholders shall be distributed on a pro rata, pari passu basis among the holders of the Preferred Shares, on an as-converted basis, together with the holders of the ordinary shares.
For Series E Preferred Shares, liquidation value equals the original Preferred Shares issue price for such series plus 12% compound interest per annum (calculated from the issuance dates of the respective series of Preferred Shares) and declared but unpaid dividends.
For Series D Preferred Shares, liquidation value equals the original Preferred Shares issue price for such series plus 12% compound interest per annum (calculated from the issuance dates of the respective series of Preferred Shares) and declared but unpaid dividends.
For Series C Preferred Shares, liquidation value equals the original Preferred Shares issue price for such series plus 8% compound interest per annum (calculated from the issuance dates of the respective series of Preferred Shares) and declared but unpaid dividends.
For Series B and Series A Preferred Shares, liquidation value equals the 150% of the original Preferred Shares issue price and declared but unpaid dividends.
Accounting for Preferred Shares
The Company classified the Preferred Shares in the mezzanine section of the Consolidated Balance Sheets because they were redeemable at the holders option any time after a certain date and were contingently redeemable upon the occurrence of certain liquidation event outside of the Companys control. The conversion feature of Series A-1, A-2, A-3 and B Preferred Shares and liquidation preferences feature of Series A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4 and B Preferred Shares as mentioned below, are initially measured at its fair value, respectively, and the initial carrying value for the Preferred Shares are allocated on a residual basis, net of issuance costs. There were no beneficial conversion features for the Preferred Shares.
For each reporting period, the Company accretes the carrying amount of the Preferred Shares to the redemption value. For Series A-1, A-2, A-3 and Series B Preferred Shares the redemption value is the higher of (1) 150% of the original preferred shares issue price of such series, or (2) the fair market value of the Preferred Shares of such series. For Series A-4, C-1, C-2, D-1, D-2, D-3, E-1 and E-2 Preferred Shares the redemption value is the result of using effective interest rate method to accrete the Preferred Shares to the redemption prices on the optional redemption date. The accretion is recorded against retained earnings, or in the absence of retained earnings, by charges against additional paid-in-capital, or in the absence of additional paid-in-capital, by charges to accumulated deficit. For year ended December 31, 2022, the accretion of the Preferred Shares was RMB 396,716. For year ended December 31, 2023, the net accretion of the Preferred Shares was adjusted to RMB 9,452. The fair value of Series A-1, A-2, A-3 and Series B Preferred Shares decreased as of December 31, 2023 but was still higher than the 150% of the initial issuance price of these series, therefore a reduction in the carrying amount of preferred shares was recorded for the period, however only to the extent the Group previously recorded increases in the carrying amount in accordance with ASC 480-10-S99.
F-56
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
18. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
Accounting for Preferred Shares (Continued)
The Group has determined that, under the whole instrument approach, host contract of the Preferred Shares is more akin to a debt host, given the Preferred Shares holders have potential creditors right in the event of insufficient fund upon redemption, along with other debt-like features in the terms of the Preferred Shares, including the redemption rights. The conversion feature that is embedded in the Series A-1, A-2, A-3 and B Preferred Shares is required to be bifurcated and accounted for as derivative liability, due to the optional redemption settlement mechanism could give rise to net settlement of the conversion provision in cash if fair market value of relevant series of the Preferred Shares on the date of the redemption is higher than the fixed redemption amount, instead of the settlement by delivery of the ordinary shares of the Company. Thus, the conversion feature is a derivative instrument subject to ASC 815-10-15, also this equity-like feature is not considered clearly and closely related to the debt host of the Preferred Shares and should be bifurcated and accounted for as derivative liability. The fair value of the derivative liabilities of conversion feature was RMB 29,853 initially, and subsequently was marked to market value of RMB 202,698 and RMB 100,279 as at December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Also, the Group has determined that, certain debt-like liquidation features (i.e. change of control, etc.) with which the Series A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4 and B Preferred Shares holders shall be entitled to receive a per share amount equal to 150% of the original preferred share issuance price of the respective series of the Preferred Shares, involve a substantial premium, and could accelerate the repayment of the contractual principal amount as it is contingently exercisable in accordance with ASC 815-15-25-42. Thus, the liquidation features are considered not to be clearly and closely related to the debt host, and are accounted for as derivative liabilities, too. The Group determined the fair value of these derivative liabilities with the assistance of an independent appraiser and concluded that the fair value of the bifurcated liquidation features was insignificant, both initially and subsequently, at the end of each reporting period presented.
Modification of Preferred Shares
The Group assesses whether an amendment to the terms of its convertible redeemable preferred shares is an extinguishment or a modification based on a qualitative evaluation of the amendment. If the amendment adds, removes, significantly changes to a substantive contractual term or to the nature of the overall instrument, the amendment results in an extinguishment of the preferred shares. The Group also assess if the change in terms results in value transfer between Preferred Shareholders or between Preferred Shareholders and ordinary shareholders.
When convertible redeemable preferred shares are extinguished, the difference between the fair value of the consideration transferred to the convertible redeemable Preferred Shareholders and the carrying amount of such preferred shares (net of issuance costs) is treated as a deemed dividend to the Preferred Shareholders. When convertible redeemable preferred shares are modified and such modification results in value transfer between Preferred Shareholders and ordinary shareholders, the change in fair value resulted from the amendment is treated as a deemed dividend to or from the Preferred Shareholders.
On January 15, 2020, the Redemption Start Date of Series A, B and C preferred shares was extended from September 10, 2022 to January 15, 2025, which is to be in line with the optional redemption date of Series D Preferred Shares. In the meantime, the market capitalization criteria for a Qualified IPO was increased from US$800 million to the higher of the balance compounded at the annual rate of return of 25% from the original
F-57
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
18. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
Modification of Preferred Shares (Continued)
investment and US$800 million, if IPO occurred within 5 years, or US$1,000 million, if IPO occurred after 5 years.
On January 25, 2021, the optional redemption date of Series A, B, C and D preferred shares was changed from January 15, 2025 to January 25, 2025, which is to be in line with the optional redemption date of Series E Preferred Shares. On January 25, 2021, the Series D issuance price with respect to one of the Series D investors changed from US$2.7409 to US$2.6510. In the meantime, the definition of Qualified IPO was modified as follows:
For Series A, B, C and D preferred shareholders, the market capitalization was the higher of the balance compounded at the annual rate of return of 25% from the original investment and US$800 million, if IPO occurred within 4 years, or US$1,000 million, if IPO occurred after 7 years; For Series E preferred shareholders, a Qualified IPO was defined as an initial public offering consummated on or prior to the fourth (4th) anniversary of the Series E closing date with gross offering proceeds no less than US$160 million and the implied market capitalization of the Company of no less than US$1,400 million.
In May 2024, the Group obtained all agreements from existing preferred shareholders to further extend their respective preferred shares optional redemption date from January 25, 2025 to January 2026 or later. Please refer to Subsequent events (Note 22) for details.
The Group evaluated the modification in accordance with its accounting policy and concluded that they are modifications, rather than extinguishment, of Preferred Shares, which resulted in transfer of value amongst Preferred Shareholders and ordinary shareholders. The Company assessed the impact on the fair value of Preferred Shares and ordinary shares, which also supported the assessment that the modification resulted in value transfer amongst Preferred Shareholders and ordinary shareholders. The change in fair value of Preferred Shares before and after the modification on January 15, 2020 was RMB 8,971 and was recorded as deemed dividend from ordinary shareholders to Preferred Shareholders. The change in fair value of Preferred Shares before and after the modification on January 25, 2021 was RMB 1,323 and was recorded as deemed contribution from Preferred Shareholders to ordinary shareholders.
On June 24, 2020, Series D-1 investor acquired 6,943,638 ordinary shares from one of the original shareholders and these shares were re-designated as Series D-2 preferred shares after transfer. On January 25, 2021, Series E-1 investor acquired 3,939,542 ordinary shares from one of the original shareholders and these shares were re-designated as Series D-3 preferred shares after transfer. In both Series D-2 Transfer and Series D-3 Transfer, considerations were directly transferred from the new shareholder to the original shareholder based on mutually agreed share price and the Company received no consideration upon the re-designation of new preferred shares. The Group allowed investors to receive redeemable preferred shares without paying the Group any consideration. In both circumstances, ordinary shareholders gave up their benefit to maintain the new investors. Thus, both should be treated as deemed contributions from ordinary shareholders to the preferred shareholders.
Accounting treatment is made for value transfer from ordinary shareholders to preferred shareholders. The difference between the fair value of the Series D-2 and Series D-3 preferred share (booked to mezzanine equity) and the fair value of the ordinary shares on the date of re-designation is charged to paid-in-capital, or in the absence of additional paid-in-capital, by charges to accumulated deficit.
F-58
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
18. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
Modification of Preferred Shares (Continued)
The Companys Preferred Shares activities for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023 are summarized below:
Series A Shares | Series B Shares | Series C Shares | Series D Shares | Series E Shares | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of shares |
Amount (RMB) |
Number of shares |
Amount (RMB) |
Number of shares |
Amount (RMB) |
Number of shares |
Amount (RMB) |
Number of shares |
Amount (RMB) |
Number of shares |
Amount (RMB) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of January 1, 2022 |
15,040,570 | 491,123 | 7,085,330 | 277,380 | 23,786,590 | 419,040 | 37,152,161 | 873,868 | 26,417,318 | 1,096,102 | 109,481,969 | 3,157,513 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accretion on convertible redeemable preferred shares to redemption value |
| 83,389 | | 52,026 | | 34,886 | | 85,568 | | 140,847 | | 396,716 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Balance as of December 31, 2022 |
15,040,570 | 574,512 | 7,085,330 | 329,406 | 23,786,590 | 453,926 | 37,152,161 | 959,436 | 26,417,318 | 1,236,949 | 109,481,969 | 3,554,229 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Balance as of January 1, 2023 |
15,040,570 | 574,512 | 7,085,330 | 329,406 | 23,786,590 | 453,926 | 37,152,161 | 959,436 | 26,417,318 | 1,236,949 | 109,481,969 | 3,554,229 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net accretion on convertible redeemable preferred shares to redemption value |
| (166,373 | ) | | (129,888 | ) | | 39,862 | | 99,998 | | 165,853 | | 9,452 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Balance as of December 31, 2023 |
15,040,570 | 408,139 | 7,085,330 | 199,518 | 23,786,590 | 493,788 | 37,152,161 | 1,059,434 | 26,417,318 | 1,402,802 | 109,481,969 | 3,563,681 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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19. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
On September 10, 2021, the Company adopted 2021 Share Incentive Plan (the 2021 Plan) with the purpose of providing incentives and rewards to its managements and employees.
Under the 2021 Plan, the Companys Board of Directors has approved that a maximum aggregate number of shares that may be issued pursuant to all awards granted shall be 11,258,693 shares, 4,378,011 shares have been granted under the 2021 plan since adoption day.
F-59
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
19. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION (CONTINUED)
Compensation expenses recognized for share-based awards granted by the Company were as follows:
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
General and administrative expenses |
71,815 | 26,123 | ||||||
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|
|
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Share-based compensation expenses |
||||||||
Related to managements restricted shares (a) |
33,105 | 9,865 | ||||||
Related to managements RSUs (b) |
38,710 | 16,258 | ||||||
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Total |
71,815 | 26,123 | ||||||
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There was no income tax benefit recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss for share-based compensation expenses and the Company did not capitalize any of the share-based compensation expenses as part of the cost of any assets for years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively.
(a) | Managements Restricted Shares |
As further discussed in Note 17, on September 10, 2021, the Company granted 1,478,415 restricted ordinary shares at par value US$0.0001 to Zuniform Limited, owned by the CEO. The restricted ordinary shares had been vested in two tranches, i.e., 739,207 and 739,208 ordinary shares and no longer be deemed restricted shares on July 5, 2022 and July 5, 2023, respectively.
The movement of the restricted shares during years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, was as follow:
Number of restricted shares | Weighted average grant date fair value (US$) |
|||||||
Unvested as of January 1, 2022 |
1,478,415 | 5.7072 | ||||||
Vested |
(739,207 | ) | 5.7072 | |||||
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Unvested as of December 31, 2022 |
739,208 | 5.7072 | ||||||
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Unvested as of January 1, 2023 |
739,208 | 5.7072 | ||||||
Vested |
(739,208 | ) | 5.7072 | |||||
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Unvested as of December 31, 2023 |
| | ||||||
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The fair value of the managements restricted shares was determined at the respective grant date by the Company and was amortized over the respective vesting period on graded vesting method. The share-based compensation expenses related to managements restricted shares for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023 were RMB 33,105 and RMB 9,865, respectively.
F-60
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
19. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION (CONTINUED)
(b) | Managements RSUs |
On October 5, 2022, 1,421,181 RSUs representing 1,421,181 ordinary shares of the Company with par value US$0.0001 were granted to certain director, executive officer and management of the Company. 745,164 RSUs have immediately vested due to the service inception date preceded the grant date and the Company recognized RMB 33,600 on the grant date. 234,005 RSUs vested in 2023. 234,005 and 208,007 RSUs shall be vested in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
The movement of the RSUs during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, was as follow:
Number of RSUs | Weighted average grant date fair value (US$) |
|||||||
Unvested as of January 1, 2022 |
| | ||||||
Granted |
1,421,181 | 6.3515 | ||||||
Vested |
(745,164 | ) | 6.3515 | |||||
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Unvested as of December 31, 2022 |
676,017 | 6.3515 | ||||||
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Unvested as of January 1, 2023 |
676,017 | 6.3515 | ||||||
Vested |
(234,005 | ) | 6.3515 | |||||
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Unvested as of December 31, 2023 |
442,012 | 6.3515 | ||||||
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The fair value of the managements RSUs was determined at the respective grant date by the Company and was amortized over the respective vesting period on graded vesting method. The share-based compensation expenses related to managements RSU for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023 were RMB 38,710 and RMB 16,258, respectively.
As of December 31, 2023, there was RMB 6,331 of unamortized stock-based compensation expense related to unvested awards which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 0.77 years. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur.
20. NET LOSS PER SHARE
Basic and diluted net loss per share for each of the years presented are calculated as follows:
Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
2022 | 2023 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Numerator: |
||||||||
Net loss |
(640,295 | ) | (229,838 | ) | ||||
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|||||
Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests shareholders |
25,520 | 9,383 | ||||||
Net accretion on convertible redeemable preferred shares |
(396,716 | ) | (9,452 | ) | ||||
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Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders |
(1,011,491 | ) | (229,907 | ) | ||||
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Denominator: |
||||||||
Weighted average number of ordinary shares basic and diluted |
47,315,140 | 48,781,392 | ||||||
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Net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders: |
||||||||
Basic and diluted |
(21.38 | ) | (4.71 | ) |
F-61
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
20. NET LOSS PER SHARE (CONTINUED)
Basic net loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding and vested RSUs during the period. Diluted net loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of ordinary shares, vested RSUs and dilutive potential ordinary shares outstanding during the period.
For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, the Company had potential ordinary shares, including Preferred Shares, restricted shares and RSUs. Assumed conversion of the Preferred Shares, restricted shares and RSUs have not been reflected in the dilutive calculations pursuant to ASC 260, Earnings Per Share, due to the anti-dilutive effect. The weighted-average numbers of Preferred Shares excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share of the Company were 109,481,969 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023 (Note 18). The weighted-average numbers of restricted shares excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share of the Company were 1,115,899 and 376,692 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively (Note 19). The weighted-average numbers of RSUs excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share of the Company were 161,133 and 516,522 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively (Note 19).
21. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Commitments
The Group has outstanding commitments on several non-cancellable operating lease agreements. Operating lease commitment within one year or less lease term, for which the Group elected not recognize any lease liability or right-of-use asset, and operating lease contracts which lease commencement date has not been started yet, therefore not yet reflected in the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2023 were as follows:
As of December 31, | ||||
RMB | ||||
2024 |
674 | |||
|
|
Contingencies
In June 2020, the Company acquired control over CEIBS PG and its business, which mainly consists of subscription based corporate learning solutions, by acquiring the entire equity interests in (i) Digital B, holding a 39% equity interest in CEIBS PG, and (ii) ManCo, holding a 21% equity interest in CEIBS PG (collectively, the Share Transfer) (Note 14). In 2007, CEIBS had entered into a quitclaim with CEIBS PG and stated that CEIBS relinquished and waived all of its rights in relevant intellectual properties and authorized CEIBS PG the exclusive right to file for relevant trademark registration and use such intellectual properties worldwide (the Quitclaim).
However, in August 2020, CEIBS, the other shareholder of CEIBS PG holding the remaining 40% equity interest, stated publicly that we had infringed its intellectual property rights and CEIBS was not aware of and did not recognize the associated share purchase of Shanghai China Europe and Shanghai Fenghe by Yunxuetang Network, the VIEs. In January 2021, CEIBS further filed a winding-up petition with the High Court of Hong Kong, seeking to wind up CEIBS PG and to terminate the Quitclaim (the Winding-up Proceedings). These disputes arose from a series of transaction documents, including a share purchase agreement, entered into among CEIBS and certain then shareholders of CEIBS PG for the establishment of CEIBS PG in May 2007 (collectively, the Transaction Documents).
F-62
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
21. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (CONTINUED)
Contingencies (Continued)
CEIBS filed this petition on the basis that, amongst others, (i) the Share Transfer circumvented and was in breach of a right-of-first-offer provision, which requires a shareholder to give notice to other shareholders before it transfers its shares to a transferee who is neither another shareholder or an affiliate of a shareholder; (ii) the Share Transfer has caused a complete and irretrievable breakdown of mutual trust and confidence in the cooperation of CEIBS PG among the parties; (iii) CEIBS had the right to withdraw the sole and exclusive rights over the trademarks granted to CEIBS PG when there are significant changes to the shareholder structure of CEIBS PG based on the memorandum of understanding agreed among the parties; and (iv) the Group infringed its intellectual property rights by using CEIBS related trademarks outside the agreed scope under the Quitclaim.
In November 2020, CEIBS PG brought an arbitration action against CEIBS in the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center (the HKIAC Arbitration), alleging the CEIBS has breached the Quitclaim and the Transaction Documents entered into among the parties by using CEIBS related trademarks, which CEIBS PG has sole and exclusive rights to use.
In November 2021, the High Court of Hong Kong decided that the Winding-up Proceedings be stayed pending determination of the HKIAC Arbitration. However, upon determination of the HKIAC Arbitration, the parties do have the liberty to restore the Winding-up Proceedings for further directions or order.
In July 2023, CEIBS alleged in its closing submission to the HKIAC arbitration tribunal that, among other things, the issuance of the 21% equity interest of CEIBS PG to CEIBS Management Ltd. in 2007 only entitled CEIBS Management Ltd.s 100% equity owner Mr. Xuelin Zhou legal ownership rather than beneficial ownership pursuant to the Series A preferred share purchase agreement (the SPA). The parties have different interpretations regarding the relevant clause in the SPA. We believe the transfer of 21% of CEIBS PG shares beneficial ownership to us in 2020 was valid. The Companys view has been fully supported by the litigation counsel and remained unchanged throughout the process of the HKIAC Arbitration. Although the Company believed the allegation raised by CEIBS had no merit, an unfavorable arbitration result would have a material and adverse effect on the Companys results of operations reflected on the consolidated financial statements.
In January 2024, the arbitration tribunal declared the transfer of 21% of CEIBS PG shares to us invalid at the time of the transfer and our Groups appointment of one director CEIBS PG invalid, while dismissing the Quitclaim issue due to the lack of jurisdiction. Such ruling was based on the tribunals determination that the issuance of the 21% equity interest of CEIBS PG to CEIBS Management Ltd. in 2007 only entitled CEIBS Management Ltd.s 100% equity owner Mr. Xuelin Zhou legal ownership rather than beneficial ownership pursuant to the SPA, which made his transfer of such equity interest to Chengwei Capital HK Limited in 2016 invalid, and the subsequent transfer from Chengwei Capital HK Limited to us in 2020 invalid too. We subsequently applied to set aside the arbitration award in April 2024 with the High Court of Hong Kong and CEIBS also filed an application to the High Court of Hong Kong to enforce the arbitration award in April 2024. In May 2024, the High Court of Hong Kong held a hearing, during which the set aside application and the enforcement application were adjourned for substantive arguments before a judge on a date to be fixed.
Unless and until the Award is successfully challenged by way of a set aside application, the Award is final as to the issues stated therein. Having considered recent Hong Kong courts have generally adopted a very
F-63
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
21. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (CONTINUED)
Contingencies (Continued)
pro-arbitration approach, the chance of successfully set aside the Award before the Hong Kong Court was determined to be remote.
As aforementioned, the High Court of Hong Kong had put the Winding-up Proceedings to be stayed pending determination of the HKIAC Arbitration, and upon determination of the HKIAC Arbitration which has been made in January 2024, it is reasonable to predict that the parties may exercise the liberty to restore the Winding-up Proceedings for further directions or order. Given probability of the chance of set aside the arbitration awards is estimated to be remote, 21% of our equity interest in CEIBS PG was invalidated upon the Partial Final Award. In addition, the Tribunal held that the appointment to the CEIBS PG Board of one of the three Directors from the Group was invalid, one of the three YXT Directors should cease to exercise any rights in its capacity as a director of CEIBS PG, failing which CEIBS may apply to enforce the Award, the Group has lost its control over CEIBS PG since the Partial Final Award was declared in January 2024.
22. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company has evaluated subsequent events through May 28, 2024, the date the consolidated financial statements were available to be issued.
On January 15, 2024, the HKIAC Arbitration issued their conclusion and Partial Final Award of the CEIBS arbitration case. Refer to Note 21 Commitments and Contingencies for a complete case details. The following includes the Groups determinations of the accounting impacts resulting from the arbitration conclusions:
1) | The Group should deconsolidate CEIBS PG from its consolidated financial statements starting the point when the Group lost its control in January 2024. The Group had historically consolidated CEIBS PG in its financial statements since the Share Transfer as the Group was able to effectively control CEIBS PG, on the basis that the Group acquired an indirect interest in 60% shareholding in CEIBS PG, (comprised of 39% shareholding via Digital B and 21% shareholding via ManCo), also indirectly has had a simple majority vote with the Directors appointed by the Group representing a 3/5 majority of the Board of CEIBS PG. This view has been fully supported by the Groups litigation counsel and remained unchanged throughout the HKIAC Arbitration. |
2) | The Group has evaluated the significant event that may have triggered any impairment review on all CEIBS PG related long-lived assets, intangible assets and Goodwill associated with the CEIBS PG acquisition. Refer to respective disclosure on impairment assessment and results as of December 31, 2023 in Notes 2.15 and 2.16. |
3) | The Group has evaluated the deconsolidation impact on the Groups financial reporting in January 2024 which did not result in any loss from deconsolidation. |
4) | The Group also assessed impact of the deconsolidation. In 2022 and 2023, revenues contributed by CEIBS PG amounted to RMB84.6 million and RMB99.4 million, respectively. The Group expects the deconsolidation of CEIBS PG will have a material and adverse effect on the results of operations reflected on the consolidated financial statements. |
In May 2024, the Company entered into agreements with all original convertible redeemable preferred shareholders to extend the optional redemption date. The optional redemption date was changed from January 25,
F-64
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
22. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS (CONTINUED)
2025 to March 31, 2026 for Series A-4, Series B and part of Series D convertible redeemable preferred shares and changed from January 25, 2025 to January 31, 2026 for the rest convertible redeemable preferred shares, respectively. The Group evaluated the modification in accordance with its accounting policy and concluded that they are modifications, rather than extinguishment of the Preferred Shares, which resulted in transfer of value amongst Preferred Shareholders and ordinary shareholders. The Company assessed the impact on the fair value of Preferred Shares and ordinary shares, which also supported the assessment that the modification resulted in value transfer amongst Preferred Shareholders and ordinary shareholders. The change in fair value of Preferred Shares before and after the modification in May 2024 was RMB 6,206 and was recorded as deemed dividend from ordinary shareholders to Preferred Shareholders.
23. STATUTORY RESERVES AND RESTRICTED NET ASSETS
Pursuant to laws applicable to entities incorporated in the PRC, the Groups subsidiaries and consolidated VIE in the PRC must make appropriations from after-tax profit to non-distributable reserve funds. These reserve funds include one or more of the following: (i) a general reserve, (ii) an enterprise expansion fund and (iii) a staff bonus and welfare fund. Subject to certain cumulative limits, the general reserve fund requires an annual appropriation of 10% of after tax profit (as determined under accounting principles generally accepted in the PRC at each year-end) until the accumulative amount of such reserve fund reaches 50% of a companys registered capital, the other fund appropriations are at the subsidiaries discretion. These reserve funds can only be used for specific purposes of enterprise expansion and staff bonus and welfare and are not distributable as cash dividends. During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, nil statutory reserve has been made by the Group. The statutory reserve of RMB 4,180 was appropriated by the CEIBS Publishing Groups VIEs before the acquisition.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Group performed a test on the restricted net assets of subsidiaries and VIEs in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation S-X Rule 4-08 (e) (3), General Notes to Financial Statements and concluded that the restricted net assets exceeded 25% of the consolidated net assets of the Group as of December 31, 2023 and the condensed financial information of the Company are required to be presented.
F-65
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
23. STATUTORY RESERVES AND RESTRICTED NET ASSETS (CONTINUED)
Condensed Financial Information of the Parent Company
Balance Sheet
As of December 31, 2022 |
As of December 31, 2023 |
|||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
ASSETS |
||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
213,558 | 15,466 | ||||||
Amounts due from the Groups entities |
56,065 | 174,801 | ||||||
Investments to the Groups entities |
274,261 | 60,013 | ||||||
Other non-current assets |
12,355 | 16,253 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total assets |
556,239 | 266,533 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND SHAREHOLDERS DEFICIT |
||||||||
Amounts due to the Groups entities |
35,613 | 35,613 | ||||||
Acquisition consideration payable |
14,722 | 8,983 | ||||||
Other payable and accrued liabilities |
446 | 3,857 | ||||||
Derivative liabilities |
202,698 | 100,279 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total liabilities |
253,479 | 148,732 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Mezzanine equity |
||||||||
Series A convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 15,040,570 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2023) |
574,512 | 408,139 | ||||||
Series B convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 7,085,330 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2023) |
329,406 | 199,518 | ||||||
Series C convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 23,786,590 shares and authorized, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2023) |
453,926 | 493,788 | ||||||
Series D convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 37,152,161 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2023) |
959,436 | 1,059,434 | ||||||
Series E convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 26,417,318 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2023) |
1,236,949 | 1,402,802 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total mezzanine equity |
3,554,229 | 3,563,681 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Shareholders deficit |
||||||||
Ordinary shares (US$0.0001 par value 390,518,031 shares authorized as of December 31, 2022 and 2023; 48,253,425 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2023) |
33 | 33 | ||||||
Additional paid-in capital |
| 16,671 | ||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income |
11,260 | 23,775 | ||||||
Accumulated deficit |
(3,262,762 | ) | (3,486,359 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total shareholders deficit |
(3,251,469 | ) | (3,445,880 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders deficit |
556,239 | 266,533 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
F-66
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
23. STATUTORY RESERVES AND RESTRICTED NET ASSETS (CONTINUED)
Condensed Financial Information of the Parent Company (Continued)
Statement of Comprehensive Loss
Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
|||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
General and administrative |
(9,050 | ) | (27,856 | ) | ||||
Equity in loss of the Groups entities |
(575,930 | ) | (295,718 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Loss from operation |
(584,980 | ) | (323,574 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Interest and investment income |
2,454 | 756 | ||||||
Interest expense |
(59 | ) | (56 | ) | ||||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities |
(32,190 | ) | 102,419 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Loss before income tax expense |
(614,775 | ) | (220,455 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net loss |
(614,775 | ) | (220,455 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net accretion of convertible redeemable preferred shares |
(396,716 | ) | (9,452 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders |
(1,011,491 | ) | (229,907 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
Statement of Cash Flows |
Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
|||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Net cash used in operating activities |
(6,211 | ) | (29,486 | ) | ||||
Net cash used in investing activities |
(150,456 | ) | (172,856 | ) | ||||
Net cash used in financing activities |
(2,425 | ) | (3,896 | ) | ||||
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents |
22,430 | 8,146 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents |
(136,662 | ) | (198,092 | ) | ||||
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year |
350,220 | 213,558 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year |
213,558 | 15,466 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
F-67
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2023 AND MARCH 31, 2024
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
As of | ||||||||||||
December 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
ASSETS |
||||||||||||
Current assets: |
||||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
320,489 | 218,870 | 30,313 | |||||||||
Short-term investments |
58,128 | 56,245 | 7,790 | |||||||||
Accounts receivable, net (Allowance for expected credit loss of RMB 2,201 and RMB 2,408 as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024) |
32,790 | 22,193 | 3,074 | |||||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets (Allowance for expected credit loss of RMB 373 and RMB 319 as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024) |
12,028 | 8,982 | 1,244 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total current assets |
423,435 | 306,290 | 42,421 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Non-current assets: |
||||||||||||
Property, equipment and software, net |
23,402 | 19,547 | 2,707 | |||||||||
Intangible assets, net |
12,720 | 11,389 | 1,577 | |||||||||
Goodwill |
164,113 | 163,837 | 22,691 | |||||||||
Long-term investments |
126,341 | 126,716 | 17,550 | |||||||||
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net |
34,997 | 25,777 | 3,570 | |||||||||
Other non-current assets |
22,265 | 20,265 | 2,807 | |||||||||
Long-term bank deposits |
117,573 | 119,020 | 16,484 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total non-current assets |
501,411 | 486,551 | 67,386 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total assets |
924,846 | 792,841 | 109,807 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
F-68
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2023 AND MARCH 31, 2024
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
As of | ||||||||||||
December 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE AND SHAREHOLDERS DEFICIT |
||||||||||||
Current liabilities |
||||||||||||
Accounts payable |
17,855 | 9,181 | 1,272 | |||||||||
Short-term borrowings |
46,800 | 36,900 | 5,111 | |||||||||
Deferred revenue, current |
188,485 | 115,263 | 15,964 | |||||||||
Acquisition consideration payable |
14,775 | 14,775 | 2,046 | |||||||||
Other payable and accrued liabilities |
89,937 | 76,492 | 10,593 | |||||||||
Derivative liabilities |
100,279 | 99,471 | 13,777 | |||||||||
Operating lease liabilities, current |
15,818 | 9,729 | 1,345 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total current liabilities |
473,949 | 361,811 | 50,108 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Non-current liabilities |
||||||||||||
Long-term borrowings |
219,000 | 215,500 | 29,846 | |||||||||
Operating lease liabilities, non-current |
20,257 | 18,144 | 2,514 | |||||||||
Deferred revenue, non-current |
58,952 | 44,029 | 6,098 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total non-current liabilities |
298,209 | 277,673 | 38,458 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total liabilities |
772,158 | 639,484 | 88,566 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Commitments and contingencies (Note 20) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
F-69
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2023 AND MARCH 31, 2024
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
As of | ||||||||||||
December 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
Mezzanine equity |
||||||||||||
Series A convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 15,040,570 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024) |
408,139 | 412,141 | 57,082 | |||||||||
Series B convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 7,085,330 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024) |
199,518 | 199,849 | 27,679 | |||||||||
Series C convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 23,786,590 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024) |
493,788 | 504,393 | 69,858 | |||||||||
Series D convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 37,152,161 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024) |
1,059,434 | 1,086,404 | 150,464 | |||||||||
Series E convertible redeemable preferred shares (US$0.0001 par value, 26,417,318 shares authorized, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024) |
1,402,802 | 1,447,743 | 200,510 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total mezzanine equity |
3,563,681 | 3,650,530 | 505,593 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
F-70
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2023 AND MARCH 31, 2024
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
As of | ||||||||||||
December 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
Shareholders deficit |
||||||||||||
Ordinary shares (US$0.0001 par value 390,518,031 shares authorized as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024; 48,253,425 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024) |
33 | 33 | 5 | |||||||||
Additional paid-in capital |
16,671 | 13,117 | 1,817 | |||||||||
Statutory reserve |
4,322 | | | |||||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income |
23,775 | 21,356 | 2,958 | |||||||||
Accumulated deficit |
(3,490,681 | ) | (3,531,679 | ) | (489,132 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total YXT.COM Group Holding Limited shareholders deficit |
(3,445,880 | ) | (3,497,173 | ) | (484,352 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Non-controlling interests |
34,887 | | | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total shareholders deficit |
(3,410,993 | ) | (3,497,173 | ) | (484,352 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders deficit |
924,846 | 792,841 | 109,807 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
F-71
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS)/INCOME
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 AND 2024
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
For the three months ended March 31, | ||||||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
Revenues: |
||||||||||||
Corporate learning solutions |
114,634 | 82,031 | 11,361 | |||||||||
Others |
7,533 | 1,185 | 164 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total revenues |
122,167 | 83,216 | 11,525 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Cost of revenues |
(44,541 | ) | (31,147 | ) | (4,313 | ) | ||||||
Sales and marketing expenses |
(53,588 | ) | (36,953 | ) | (5,118 | ) | ||||||
Research and development expenses |
(48,623 | ) | (30,052 | ) | (4,162 | ) | ||||||
General and administrative expenses |
(38,394 | ) | (28,215 | ) | (3,908 | ) | ||||||
Other operating income |
1,939 | 513 | 70 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Loss from operations |
(61,040 | ) | (42,638 | ) | (5,906 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Interest and investment income |
1,696 | 2,431 | 337 | |||||||||
Interest expense |
(914 | ) | (2,484 | ) | (344 | ) | ||||||
Investment losses |
(1,406 | ) | (1,841 | ) | (255 | ) | ||||||
Gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS Publishing Group (Note 4) |
| 78,760 | 10,908 | |||||||||
Foreign exchange (loss)/gain, net |
(512 | ) | 3 | 1 | ||||||||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities (Note 11) |
(4,305 | ) | 808 | 112 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
(Loss)/income before income tax expense |
(66,481 | ) | 35,039 | 4,853 | ||||||||
Income tax benefit |
1,233 | | | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net (loss)/income |
(65,248 | ) | 35,039 | 4,853 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests shareholders |
2,454 | 300 | 41 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net (loss)/income attributable to YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(62,794 | ) | 35,339 | 4,894 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
F-72
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS)/INCOME
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 AND 2024
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
For the three months ended March 31, | ||||||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
Net (loss)/income attributable to YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(62,794 | ) | 35,339 | 4,894 | ||||||||
Accretion of convertible redeemable preferred shares |
(74,392 | ) | (86,849 | ) | (12,028 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(137,186 | ) | (51,510 | ) | (7,134 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net (loss)/income |
(65,248 | ) | 35,039 | 4,853 | ||||||||
Other comprehensive (loss)/income |
||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of tax |
(3,970 | ) | 341 | 47 | ||||||||
Unrealized gain/(loss) on investments in available-for-sale debt securities, net of tax |
2,879 | (2,760 | ) | (382 | ) | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total comprehensive (loss) /income |
(66,339 | ) | 32,620 | 4,518 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total comprehensive loss attributable to non-controlling interests shareholders |
2,454 | 300 | 41 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total comprehensive (loss)/income attributable to YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(63,885 | ) | 32,920 | 4,559 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
(137,186 | ) | (51,510 | ) | (7,134 | ) | ||||||
Weighted average number of ordinary shares basic and diluted |
48,259,381 | 49,232,594 | 49,232,594 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders of YXT.COM Group Holding Limited |
||||||||||||
Basic and diluted |
(2.84 | ) | (1.05 | ) | (0.14 | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
F-73
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS DEFICIT
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 AND 2024
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
Ordinary share (US$0.0001 par value) |
Additional paid-in capital |
Accumulated other comprehensive income |
Statutory reserve |
Accumulated deficit |
Total YXT.COM Group Holding Limited shareholders deficit |
Non-controlling interests |
Total shareholders deficit |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of January 1, 2023 |
48,253,425 | 33 | | 11,260 | 4,322 | (3,267,084 | ) | (3,251,469 | ) | 44,270 | (3,207,199 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net loss |
| | | | | (62,794 | ) | (62,794 | ) | (2,454 | ) | (65,248 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax |
| | | (3,970 | ) | | | (3,970 | ) | | (3,970 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cumulative effect of adoption of new accounting standard (Note 2.12) |
| | | 3,142 | | (3,142 | ) | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unrealized gain on investments in available-for-sale debt securities, net of tax |
| | | 2,879 | | | 2,879 | | 2,879 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accretion on convertible redeemable preferred shares to redemption value |
| | | | | (74,392 | ) | (74,392 | ) | | (74,392 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based compensation (Note 18) |
| | 10,887 | | | | 10,887 | | 10,887 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of March 31, 2023 |
48,253,425 | 33 | 10,887 | 13,311 | 4,322 | (3,407,412 | ) | (3,378,859 | ) | 41,816 | (3,337,043 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
F-74
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS DEFICIT
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 AND 2024
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
Ordinary share (US$0.0001 par value) |
Additional paid-in capital |
Accumulated other comprehensive income |
Statutory reserve |
Accumulated deficit |
Total YXT.COM Group Holding Limited shareholders deficit |
Non-controlling interests |
Total shareholders deficit |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of January 1, 2024 |
48,253,425 | 33 | 16,671 | 23,775 | 4,322 | (3,490,681 | ) | (3,445,880 | ) | 34,887 | (3,410,993 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net income/(loss) |
| | | | | 35,339 | 35,339 | (300 | ) | 35,039 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax |
| | | 341 | | | 341 | | 341 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unrealized loss on investments in available-for-sale debt securities, net of tax |
| | | (2,760 | ) | | | (2,760 | ) | | (2,760 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deconsolidation of CEIBS Publishing Group (Note 4) |
| | | | (4,322 | ) | 4,322 | | (34,587 | ) | (34,587 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accretion on convertible redeemable preferred shares to redemption value (Note 17) |
| | (6,190 | ) | | | (80,659 | ) | (86,849 | ) | | (86,849 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based compensation (Note 18) |
| | 2,636 | | | | 2,636 | | 2,636 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of March 31, 2024 |
48,253,425 | 33 | 13,117 | 21,356 | | (3,531,679 | ) | (3,497,173 | ) | | (3,497,173 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
F-75
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 AND 2024
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
For the three months ended March 31, | ||||||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
Cash flows from operating activities: |
||||||||||||
Net (loss)/income |
(65,248 | ) | 35,039 | 4,853 | ||||||||
Adjustments to reconcile net (loss)/income to net cash used in operating activities: |
||||||||||||
Depreciation of property, equipment and software |
2,200 | 2,046 | 283 | |||||||||
Amortization of intangible assets |
5,827 | 1,261 | 175 | |||||||||
Gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS Publishing Group |
| (78,760 | ) | (10,908 | ) | |||||||
Loss from disposal of property, equipment and software |
21 | 7 | 1 | |||||||||
Fair value change of derivatives liabilities |
4,305 | (808 | ) | (112 | ) | |||||||
Accrual of expected credit losses |
550 | 354 | 49 | |||||||||
Interest and investment income from long-term bank deposit |
| (1,243 | ) | (172 | ) | |||||||
Impairment of available-for-sale debt securities |
1,406 | 1,841 | 255 | |||||||||
Unrealized foreign exchange loss/(gain) |
499 | (11 | ) | (1 | ) | |||||||
Deferred income tax, net |
(1,233 | ) | | | ||||||||
Share-based compensations |
10,887 | 2,636 | 365 | |||||||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
||||||||||||
Accounts receivable |
(19,151 | ) | (729 | ) | (101 | ) | ||||||
Prepaid expenses and other assets |
1,800 | 3,102 | 430 | |||||||||
Accounts payable |
1,898 | (921 | ) | (128 | ) | |||||||
Deferred revenue |
(24,451 | ) | (22,217 | ) | (3,077 | ) | ||||||
Other payable and accrued liabilities |
(80,855 | ) | (88 | ) | (13 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net cash used in operating activities |
(161,545 | ) | (58,491 | ) | (8,101 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Cash flows from investing activities: |
||||||||||||
Purchase of property, equipment and software |
(2,303 | ) | (995 | ) | (138 | ) | ||||||
Cash paid for short-term investments |
(54,524 | ) | (56,312 | ) | (7,799 | ) | ||||||
Partial cash payment for acquisition of CEIBS Publishing Group |
(9,600 | ) | | | ||||||||
Cash received from maturity of short-term investments |
100,706 | 58,565 | 8,111 | |||||||||
Deconsolidation of CEIBS Publishing Group cash and cash equivalents |
| (30,767 | ) | (4,261 | ) | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net cash generated from/(used in) investing activities |
34,279 | (29,509 | ) | (4,087 | ) | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
F-76
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 AND 2024
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
For the three months ended March 31, | ||||||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
(Note 2.6) | ||||||||||||
Cash flows from financing activities: |
||||||||||||
Proceeds from short-term borrowings |
9,900 | | | |||||||||
Repayment of short-term borrowings |
| (9,900 | ) | (1,371 | ) | |||||||
Repayment of long-term borrowings |
| (3,500 | ) | (485 | ) | |||||||
Payments of initial public offering costs |
(49 | ) | | | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Net cash generated from/(used in) financing activities |
9,851 | (13,400 | ) | (1,856 | ) | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents |
(4,026 | ) | (219 | ) | (30 | ) | ||||||
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents |
(121,441 | ) | (101,619 | ) | (14,074 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period |
432,007 | 320,489 | 44,387 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period |
310,566 | 218,870 | 30,313 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information |
||||||||||||
Cash paid for income tax |
| | | |||||||||
Cash paid for interest |
(179 | ) | (2,459 | ) | (341 | ) | ||||||
Supplemental schedule of non-cash investing and financing activities |
||||||||||||
Accretion on convertible redeemable preferred shares to redemption value |
74,392 | 86,849 | 12,028 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
F-77
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
1. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION
(a) | Principal Activities |
YXT.COM Group Holding Limited (the Company) (formerly known as Unicentury Group Holding Limited) was incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands in January 2017, as an exempted company with limited liability. In June 2021, the Company was renamed to YXT.COM Group Holding Limited.
The Company, through its subsidiaries, consolidated variable interest entities (VIEs) and VIEs subsidiaries (collectively, the Group). The Groups platform has innovated a SaaS model, which integrates software and content, effectively assisting customers in the digital transformation of corporate learning. The Groups principal operation and geographic market is in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC).
(b) | History of the Group and Basis of Presentation for the Reorganization and latest development of the organization |
Prior to the incorporation of the Company and starting in November 2011, the Group commenced its initial operations through Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (Yunxuetang) by Xiaoyan Lu and other three founding individuals. After a series of agreements, Yunxuetang was owned by Xiaoyan Lu and other eight founding individuals (collectively, the Initial Ordinary Shareholder) by January 2017. After the Company was established in Cayman Island in January 2017, YXT.COM (HK) Limited (YXT HK) was incorporated in Hong Kong SAR (Hong Kong) as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, and Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (the WFOE) was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of YXT HK in the PRC. The Group then entered into a series of contractual arrangements among the WFOE, Yunxuetang and Yunxuetangs shareholders in October 2017 (the Reorganization). The principal term of these contractual agreements is discussed below. Yunxuetang became the variable interest entity of the Group (the VIE) as these contractual agreements provided the Group (i) with the power to direct activities of the VIE that most significantly affected its economic performance and (ii) received the economic benefits from the VIE that could be significant to them and as such the Group is the primary beneficiary and consolidates the VIE for financial reporting. After the completion of this transaction, the Groups unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company, its subsidiaries and the consolidated VIEs. As the shareholders of the Company and Yunxuetang were mirrored with the same ownership immediately before and after the Reorganization, the Reorganization was determined to be a recapitalization and accounted for in a manner of a common ownership transaction. Accordingly, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements were prepared as if the current corporate structure has been in existence since the incorporation of Yunxuetang. In 2018, the VIE agreements were amended and restated, which amended the VIEs shareholders list and equity interest of each shareholder as a result of the change in registered share capital of the VIE. Rights and obligations, clause, and terms regarding VIE accounting and consolidation basis remained substantially the same.
On June 24, 2020, the Company completed acquisition of the 60% outstanding shares, including preferred shares and common shares, of CEIBS Publishing Group Limited(the CEIBS PG). CEIBS PG, its subsidiary and its consolidated variable interest entities (together CEIBS Publishing Group) offer corporate learning solution through providing online learning content and offline training courses in the PRC. Since the completion of this acquisition, the Group had historically consolidated CEIBS Publishing Group. Until January 15, 2024, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center (the HKIAC Arbitration) tribunal concluded and issued their final decision on the CEIBS arbitration case, resulting in the deconsolidation of CEIBS Publishing Group in
F-78
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
1. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION (CONTINUED)
(b) | History of the Group and Basis of Presentation for the Reorganization and latest development of the organization (Continued) |
January 2024. Refer to Deconsolidation of CEIBS Publishing Group (Note 4) for additional details on the impact to the Groups unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
As of March 31, 2024, the Companys principal subsidiary is as follow:
Name of subsidiary |
Place of incorporation |
Date of incorporation or acquisition |
Percentage of direct or indirect ownership |
Establish or acquired |
Principal activities |
|||||||||||||||
Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. |
Suzhou | August 8, 2017 | 100 | % | Established | |
Technology development |
|
As of March 31, 2024, the Companys principal VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries are as follow:
Name of VIEs and VIEs |
Place of incorporation |
Date of |
Percentage of economic interest |
Establish or acquired |
Principal activities | |||||||||
Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. |
Suzhou |
December 22, 2011 |
|
100 |
% |
|
Established |
|
Technology | |||||
Beijing Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. |
Beijing |
August 21, 2012 |
|
100 |
% |
|
Established |
|
Technology | |||||
Suzhou Xuancai Network Technology Co., Ltd |
Suzhou |
September 25, 2015 |
|
100 |
% |
|
Established |
|
Technology |
(c) | Consolidated Variable Interest Entities |
In order to comply with the PRC laws and regulations which prohibit or restrict foreign investments into companies involved in restricted businesses, the Group operates its Apps, websites and other restricted businesses in the PRC through PRC domestic companies and its subsidiaries, whose equity interests are held by certain entities and individuals including management members of the Company (Nominee Shareholders). Unrecognized revenue generating assets mainly include trademarks, licenses, patent and domain names, majority of which were held by VIEs and not recognized on VIEs standalone financial statements. Recognized revenue generating assets mainly included electronic equipment recorded in property, equipment, and software, while certain licenses and domain names were recognized as intangible assets. The Company entered into a series of contractual arrangements with such PRC domestic companies and its respective Nominee Shareholders, which provided the Company with substantially all of the economic benefits from such PRC domestic companies.
F-79
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
1. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION (CONTINUED)
(c) | Consolidated Variable Interest Entities (Continued) |
Management concluded that such PRC domestic companies are VIE of the Company, of which the Company is the ultimate primary beneficiary. As such, the Group consolidated financial results of such PRC domestic companies and its subsidiaries in the Groups unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. The principal terms of the agreements entered into amongst the VIE, the Nominee Shareholders and the WFOE are further described below.
Exclusive Call Option Agreements
Pursuant to the exclusive call option agreement, the Nominee Shareholders of the VIE have granted the WFOE the exclusive and irrevocable right to purchase or to designate one or more person(s) at its discretion to purchase part or all of the equity interests in the VIE (the Target Equity) from the Nominee Shareholders at any time. The total transfer price for the Target Equity shall be subject to the lowest price permitted by PRC laws and regulations. The VIE and its Nominee Shareholders have agreed that without prior written consent of the WFOE, the Nominee Shareholders or the VIE shall not sell, transfer, pledge or dispose of any of the Target Equity, assets, or the revenue or business in the VIE. In addition, the VIE covenants that it shall not declare any dividend or change capitalization structure of the VIE or enter into any loan or investment agreements without WFOEs prior written consent.
Power of Attorney
Pursuant to the Power of Attorney, each of the Nominee Shareholders appointed the WFOE or its designee(s) as their attorney-in-fact to exercise all shareholder rights under PRC law and the relevant articles of association, including but not limited to, attending shareholders meetings and signing on their behalf on the resolutions, voting on their behalf on all matters requiring shareholder approval, including but not limited to the appointment and removal of legal representative, directors and senior management, as well as the sale, transfer and disposal of all or part of the equity interests owned by such shareholders. The powers of attorney will remain effective for a given Nominee Shareholders until such shareholder ceases to be a shareholder of the VIE.
Exclusive Technology, Consulting and Service Agreement
Pursuant to the exclusive technology consulting and service agreement, the WFOE has agreed to provide to the VIE services, including, but not limited to, product development and research, website design, design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of computer networks system, database support and software service, economic and technology information consulting. The VIE shall pay to the WFOE service fees quarterly for an amount equal to 100% of its pre-tax profit, and the amount shall not be deducted or set-off unless mutually agreed by VIE and WFOE. The agreement remains effective until VIE dissolves in accordance with PRC laws, unless WFOE early terminates the agreement by delivering a prior written notice.
Equity Interest Pledge Agreements
Pursuant to the equity interest pledge agreement, the Nominee Shareholders of the VIE have pledged 100% equity interests in VIE to the WFOE to guarantee Nominee Shareholders and WFOEs fulfillment of obligations under the above agreements, including the payment of service fees by the VIE of its obligations under the exclusive technology consulting and service agreement. The equity interest pledge shall not be released until
F-80
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
1. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION (CONTINUED)
(c) | Consolidated Variable Interest Entities (Continued) |
Equity Interest Pledge Agreements (Continued)
Nominee Shareholders and WFOE have fulfilled all the obligations under the above agreements and WFOE has recognized in writing, unless otherwise expressly approved by WFOE in writing. In the event of a breach by the VIE or any of its Nominee Shareholders of contractual obligations under the above agreements, as the case may be, the WFOE, as pledgee, will have the right to auction or dispose of the pledged equity interests in the VIE and will have priority in receiving the proceeds from such auction or disposal.
Spousal Consent Letters
Pursuant to the Spousal Consent Letter, the spouse of each Nominee Shareholder (except for Mr. Xiaoyan Lu, Ms.Qi Gao, the shareholder of Yunxuetang, who have no spouse yet), who is a natural person, unconditionally and irrevocably agreed that the equity interests in the VIE held by such Nominee Shareholder will be disposed of pursuant to the equity interest pledge agreement, the exclusive call option agreement, and power of attorney. Each of their spouses agreed not to assert any rights over the equity interests in the VIE held by such Nominee Shareholder. In addition, in the event that any spouse obtains any equity interests in VIE held by such Nominee Shareholder for any reason, he or she agreed to be bound by the equity interest pledge agreement, the exclusive option agreement, and power of attorney.
F-81
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
1. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION (CONTINUED)
(d) | Risks in Relations to the VIE Structure |
The following table set forth the assets, liabilities, results of operations and changes in cash and cash equivalents of the consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries taken as a whole, which were included in the Groups unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements with intercompany transactions eliminated:
As of | ||||||||
December 31, | March 31, | |||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
ASSETS |
||||||||
Current assets |
||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
292,286 | 181,164 | ||||||
Accounts receivable, net |
32,790 | 22,193 | ||||||
Amounts due from the Groups entities |
25,012 | 67,776 | ||||||
Prepaid expense and other current assets |
9,652 | 6,927 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total current assets |
359,740 | 278,060 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Non-current assets |
||||||||
Long-term investments |
126,341 | 122,440 | ||||||
Property, equipment and software, net |
8,469 | 5,861 | ||||||
Intangible assets, net |
12,720 | 11,389 | ||||||
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net |
32,300 | 23,946 | ||||||
Other non-current assets |
4,154 | 2,282 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total non-current assets |
183,984 | 165,918 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total assets |
543,724 | 443,978 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
LIABILITIES |
||||||||
Current liabilities |
||||||||
Accounts payable |
17,855 | 8,980 | ||||||
Short-term borrowings |
46,800 | 36,900 | ||||||
Deferred revenue, current |
188,485 | 115,263 | ||||||
Amounts due to the Groups entities |
6,282 | 412 | ||||||
Acquisition consideration payable, onshore |
5,792 | 5,792 | ||||||
Other payable and accrued liabilities |
40,025 | 25,952 | ||||||
Operating lease liabilities, current |
12,778 | 7,601 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total current liabilities |
318,017 | 200,900 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Non-current liabilities |
||||||||
Operating lease liabilities, non-current |
20,257 | 18,144 | ||||||
Long-term borrowings |
219,000 | 215,500 | ||||||
Deferred revenue, non-current |
58,952 | 44,029 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total non-current liabilities |
298,209 | 277,673 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total liabilities |
616,226 | 478,573 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
F-82
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
1. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION (CONTINUED)
(d) | Risks in Relations to the VIE Structure (Continued) |
For the three months ended March 31, | ||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Third-party revenues |
122,167 | 83,216 | ||||||
Cost of revenues |
(30,493 | ) | (23,136 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net income |
33,140 | 28,189 | ||||||
Net cash used in operating activities |
(22,780 | ) | (24,673 | ) | ||||
Net cash generated from/(used in) investing activities |
17,242 | (73,049 | ) | |||||
Net cash generated from/(used in) financing activities |
9,900 | (13,400 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents |
4,362 | (111,122 | ) | |||||
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period |
121,267 | 292,286 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period |
125,629 | 181,164 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
Under the contractual arrangements with the consolidated VIEs, the Company has the power to direct activities of the consolidated VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries through the Groups relevant PRC subsidiaries and can have assets transferred freely out of the consolidated VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries without restrictions. Therefore, the Company considers that there is no restriction requiring that any asset of the consolidated VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries can only be used to settle obligations of the respective VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries. Since the consolidated VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries are incorporated as limited liability companies under the PRC Law, the creditors of the consolidated VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries do not have recourse to any assets of the WFOE or the Company for the debt settlement purpose. In the event that the shareholders of the VIEs breach the terms of the contractual arrangements and voluntarily liquidate the VIE, or the VIE declares bankruptcy and all or part of its assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors, or are otherwise disposed of without our consent, the Company may be unable to conduct some or all of our and our subsidiaries business and the VIEs businesses operations or otherwise benefit from the assets held by the VIEs.
The Group believes that the Groups relevant PRC subsidiaries contractual arrangements with the consolidated WFOEs, VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries and the Nominee Shareholders are in compliance with PRC laws and regulations, as applicable, and are legally enforceable. However, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit the Companys ability to enforce these contractual arrangements.
In addition, if the current structure of any of the contractual arrangements were found to be in violation of any existing PRC laws, the Company may be subject to penalties, which may include but not be limited to, the cancelation or revocation of the Companys business and operating licenses, being required to restructure the Companys operations or terminate the Companys operating activities. The imposition of any of these or other penalties may result in a material and adverse effect on the Companys ability to conduct its operations. In such case, the Company may not be able to operate or consolidate the VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries, which may result in deconsolidation of the VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries.
There are, however, substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations. Accordingly, the Company cannot be assured that the PRC government authorities
F-83
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
1. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATION (CONTINUED)
(d) | Risks in Relations to the VIE Structure (Continued) |
will not ultimately take a view that is contrary to the Companys belief and the opinion of its PRC legal counsel. In March 2019, the draft Foreign Investment Law was submitted to the National Peoples Congress for review and was approved on March 15, 2019, which came into effect from January 1, 2020. The approved Foreign Investment Law does not touch upon the relevant concepts and regulatory regimes that were historically suggested for the regulation of VIE structures, and thus this regulatory topic remain unclear under the Foreign Investment Law. Since the Foreign Investment Law is new, there are substantial uncertainties exist with respect to its implementation and interpretation and the possibility that such entities will be deemed as foreign-invested enterprise and subject to relevant restrictions in the future shall not be excluded. If the contractual arrangements establishing the Companys VIE structure are found to be in violation of any existing law and regulations or future PRC laws and regulations, the relevant PRC government authorities will have broad discretion in dealing with such violation, including, without limitation, levying fines, confiscating income or the income of these affiliated Chinese entities, revoking business licenses or the business licenses of these affiliated Chinese entities, requiring the Company and its affiliated Chinese entities to restructure their ownership structure or operations and requiring the Company or its affiliated Chinese entities to discontinue any portion or all of the Companys value-added businesses. Any of these actions could cause significant disruption to the Companys business operations and have a severe adverse impact on the Companys cash flows, financial position and operating performance. If the imposing of these penalties causes the Company to lose its rights to direct the activities of and receive economic benefits from the VIEs, which in turn may restrict the Companys ability to consolidate and reflect in its financial statements the financial position and results of operations of its VIEs.
(e) | Liquidity |
The Group incurred net loss of RMB 65,248 and net income of RMB 35,039 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively. Net cash used in operating activities was RMB 161,545 and RMB 58,491 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively. Accumulated deficit was RMB 3,490,681 and RMB 3,531,679 as of December 31,2023 and March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Historically, the Group has relied principally on both operational sources of cash and non-operational sources of financing from investors and borrowings from banks to fund its operations and business development. The Groups ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on managements ability to obtain additional loan or equity financing and successfully executing its business plan, which includes increasing revenue while controlling operating cost and expenses to improve operating cash flows. The Company obtained agreements from existing preferred shareholders to extend their respective preferred shares optional redemption date till January 2026 or later refer to Subsequent events (Note 21). And during the period ended March 31, 2024 and subsequently to the period end, the Group was also able to effectively enter into or refinance several long-term borrowings with banks. With these activities and based on cash flows projection and existing balance of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, the Group believes the operating cash flows are sufficient to meet the cash requirements to fund planned operations and other commitments for at least the next twelve months from the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are available to be issued. The Groups unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and liquidation of liabilities in the normal course of business.
F-84
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES
2.1 Basis of Presentation
The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP) and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, certain information and disclosures required by GAAP for a complete consolidated financial statements are not included herein. In the opinion of management, the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary by management for a fair statement of the results of operations, financial position and cash flows for the interim periods presented. The results of operations of any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations for the full year or for any future periods. These unaudited interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited annual financial statements and notes thereto also included herein for the year ended December 31, 2023. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.
The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared using accounting policies that are consistent with the policies used in preparing the Groups consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023. Principal accounting policies followed by the Group in the preparation of its accompanying consolidated financial statements are summarized below.
2.2 Basis of Consolidation and Deconsolidation
The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company, its subsidiaries, the consolidated VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries for which the Company is the ultimate primary beneficiary.
A subsidiary is an entity in which the Company, directly or indirectly, controls more than one half of the voting power, has the power to appoint or remove the majority of the members of the board of directors, to cast a majority of votes at the meeting of the board of directors or to govern the financial and operating policies of the investee under a statute or agreement among the shareholders or equity holders.
A consolidated VIE is an entity in which the Company, or its subsidiary, through contractual arrangements, bears the risks of, and enjoys the rewards normally associated with, ownership of the entity, and therefore the Company or its subsidiary is the primary beneficiary of the entity.
All transactions and balances between the Company, its subsidiaries, VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries have been eliminated upon consolidation.
The Company deconsolidates its subsidiaries or business in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 810 (ASC 810) as of the date the Company ceased to have a controlling financial interest in the subsidiaries.
The Company accounts for the deconsolidation of its subsidiaries or business by recognizing a gain or loss in net income/loss attributable to the Company in accordance with ASC 810. This gain or loss is measured at the date the subsidiaries are deconsolidated as the difference between (a) the aggregate of the fair value of any consideration received, the fair value of any retained non-controlling interest in the subsidiaries being deconsolidated, and the carrying amount of any non-controlling interest in the subsidiaries being deconsolidated, including any accumulated other comprehensive income/loss attributable to the non-controlling interest and (b) the carrying amount of the assets and liabilities of the subsidiaries being deconsolidated.
F-85
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.3 Non-Controlling Interests
For the Companys consolidated subsidiaries, VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries, non-controlling interests are recognized to reflect the portion of their equity that is not attributable, directly or indirectly, to the Company as the controlling shareholder. The third party held the common shares of our subsidiary. Non-controlling interests are classified as a separate line item in the equity section of the Groups Consolidated Balance Sheets and have been separately disclosed in the Groups unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive loss and unaudited condensed consolidated statements of changes in shareholders deficit to distinguish the interests from that of the Company.
2.4 Use of Estimates
The preparation of unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses for the reporting period. On an ongoing basis, the Group evaluates its estimates, including, but not limited to, those related to the determination of the useful lives of property, equipment and software and intangible assets, incremental borrowing rate applied in lease accounting, current expected credit loss of receivables, impairment of long-lived and intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, deferred tax asset, long-term investment, valuation of convertible redeemable preferred shares, ordinary shares, conversion features and share-based compensation arrangements. These estimates and assumptions are based on the Groups historical results and managements future expectations. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Changes in facts and circumstances may cause the Group to revise its estimates.
2.5 Foreign Currencies
The Groups reporting currency is Renminbi (RMB). The functional currency of the Groups entities incorporated in Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Singapore and Hong Kong is the United States dollars (US$). The Groups PRC subsidiaries consolidated VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries determined their functional currency to be RMB. The determination of the respective functional currency is based on the criteria of ASC 830, Foreign Currency Matters and is based primarily on the currency the entity conducts its business in.
Transactions denominated in other than the functional currencies are translated into the functional currency of the entity at the exchange rates quoted by authoritative banks prevailing on the transaction dates. Exchange gains and losses resulting from those foreign currency transactions denominated in a currency other than the functional currency are recorded in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive loss. Total foreign exchanges were a loss of RMB 512 and a gain of RMB 3 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
The financial statements of the Group are translated from the functional currency into RMB. Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into RMB using the applicable exchange rates at the balance sheet date. Equity accounts other than earnings generated in current period are translated into RMB at the appropriate historical rates. Revenues, expenses, gain and loss are translated into RMB using the periodic average exchange rates. The resulting foreign currency translation adjustments are recorded in other
F-86
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.5 Foreign Currencies (Continued)
comprehensive income as a component of shareholders equity. Total foreign currency translation adjustments to the Groups other comprehensive were a loss of RMB 3,970 and a gain of RMB 341 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
2.6 Convenience Translation
Translations of the Consolidated Balance Sheets, the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss and the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows from RMB into US$ as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2024 are solely for the convenience of the readers and were calculated at the rate of US$1.00=RMB 7.2203, representing the index rates as of March 29, 2024 stipulated by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board. No representation is made that the RMB amounts could have been, or could be, converted, realized or settled into US$ at that rate on March 31, 2024, or at any other rate.
2.7 Fair Value Measurements
Accounting guidance defines fair value as the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. When determining the fair value measurement for assets and liabilities required or permitted to be recorded at fair value, the Group considers the principal or most advantageous market in which it would transact and it considers assumptions that market participants would use when pricing the asset or liability.
Accounting guidance establishes a fair value hierarchy that requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. A financial instruments categorization within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Accounting guidance establishes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:
Level 1 Observable inputs that reflect quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.
Level 2 Include other inputs that are directly or indirectly observable in the marketplace.
Level 3 Unobservable inputs which are supported by little or no market activity.
Accounting guidance also describes three main approaches to measuring the fair value of assets and liabilities: (1) market approach, (2) income approach and (3) cost approach. The market approach uses prices and other relevant information generated from market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities. The income approach uses valuation techniques to convert future amounts to a single present value amount. The measurement is based on the value indicated by current market expectations about those future amounts. The cost approach is based on the amount that would currently be required to replace an asset.
The Groups financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and other current assets, long-term investments, accounts payable, short-term borrowings, long-term borrowings, deferred revenue, acquisition consideration payable, other payable and
F-87
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.7 Fair Value Measurements (Continued)
accrued liabilities and derivative liabilities. As of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024, except for short-term investments, long-term investments and derivative liabilities which are measured at fair value and long-term borrowings and long-term bank deposit are measured at amortized cost, the carrying values of the other financial instruments approximated their fair values due to the short-term maturity of these instruments.
2.8 Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash includes currency on hand and deposits held by financial institutions that can be added to or withdrawn without limitation. Cash equivalents represent short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and with original maturities from the date of purchase of three months or less.
2.9 Short-Term Investments
Short-term investments are comprised of time deposits issued by financial institutions with original maturities greater than three months but less than twelve months. These investments are stated at fair value. Changes in the fair value are reflected in Interest and investment income in the unaudited condensed consolidation statements of comprehensive loss.
2.10 Long-Term Bank Deposits
Long-term bank deposits which were fixed deposits in financial institutions with original maturities greater than twelve months, stated at amortized cost and interest accrued is recorded in Interest and investment income in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.
2.11 Accounts Receivable, net
Accounts receivable are presented net of expected credit losses. Starting from January 1, 2023, the Group adopted ASU No. 2016-13, Financial InstrumentsCredit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (ASC Topic 326), which amends previously issued guidance regarding the impairment of financial instruments by creating an impairment model that is based on expected losses rather than incurred losses. The Group used a modified retrospective approach which resulted in only de minimus impact on the accumulated deficit due to account receivable.
The Groups accounts receivable and other receivables included in prepaid expenses and other current assets are within the scope of ASC Topic 326. To estimate expected credit losses, the Group considers the past collection experience, current economic conditions, future economic conditions (external data and macroeconomic factors) and changes in the Groups customer collection trends. The Group has identified the relevant credit risk characteristics of its customers and the related receivables and other receivables which include size, type of the services or the products the Group provides, or a combination of these characteristics. Receivables with similar credit risk characteristics have been grouped into pools. For each pool, the Group determines an expected loss rate based on historical loss experience adjusted for judgments about the effects of relevant observable data including current and future economic conditions. This is assessed at each quarter based on the Groups specific facts and circumstances.
F-88
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.11 Accounts Receivable, net (Continued)
The following table summarized the details of the Groups expected credit losses:
For the three months ended March 31, | ||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Balance at beginning of the period |
3,228 | 2,201 | ||||||
Deconsolidation of CEIBS Publishing Group |
| (191 | ) | |||||
(Reverse)/provision for expected credit losses |
(5 | ) | 398 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Balance at end of the period |
3,223 | 2,408 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
2.12 Long-term Investments
The Group accounts for debt securities as available-for-sale (AFS) when they are not classified as either trading or held-to-maturity. AFS debt securities are recorded at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses, net of related tax effect, are excluded from earnings and are reported as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income until realized. Realized gains and losses from the sale of AFS debt securities are determined on a specific-identification basis.
Starting from January 1, 2023, after the Group adopted ASC Topic 326, if the amortized cost basis of an AFS security exceeds its fair value and if the Group has the intention to sell the security or it is more likely than not that the Group will be required to sell the security before recovery of the amortized cost basis, an impairment is recognized in the consolidated statements of operations. If the Group does not have the intention to sell the security and it is not more likely than not that the Group will be required to sell the security before recovery of the amortized cost basis and the Group determines that the decline in fair value below the amortized cost basis of an AFS security is entirely or partially due to credit-related factors, the credit loss is measured and recognized as an allowance for credit losses in the consolidated statements of operations. The allowance is measured as the amount by which the debt securitys amortized cost basis exceeds the Groups best estimate of the present value of cash flows expected to be collected. Upon adoption of the new standard on January 1, 2023, the Company used a modified retrospective approach and recorded a loss to its accumulated deficit of RMB 3,142 related to the investment of Beijing Lingdai Information Technology Co., Ltd (Beijing Lingdai) from accumulated other comprehensive income.
2.13 Property, Equipment and Software, net
Property and equipment are stated at historical cost less accumulated depreciation. Repairs and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred as repairs and maintenance do not extend the useful life or improve the related assets. Depreciation and amortization, including amortization of leasehold improvements, is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets.
F-89
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.13 Property, Equipment and Software, net (Continued)
The estimated useful life of each asset category is as follows:
Category |
Estimated useful lives | |
Leasehold improvement |
Shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful lives of the assets | |
Electronic equipment |
3-5 years | |
Furniture |
5 years | |
Software purchased |
5 years | |
Vehicles |
5 years |
When assets are retired or otherwise disposed of, the cost and accumulated depreciation and amortization are removed from their respective accounts and any loss on such retirement is reflected in operating expenses.
Construction in progress represents assets under construction. Construction in progress is transferred to property, equipment and software and depreciation or amortization commences when an asset is ready for its intended use.
2.14 Intangible Assets with Definite Lives
Separately identifiable intangible assets that have determinable lives continue to be amortized and consist primarily of license, developed content, trademarks, domain name and customer relationship. The content library assets which are classified as license have been acquired from the independent course provider. Particularly, the developed content, trademarks, domain name and customer relationship were acquired from the business combination of CEIBS Publishing Group in 2020 and were deconsolidated in January 2024 because of the final ruling in the CEBIS arbitration case on January 15, 2024 (refer to Note 4 for further details). The Group amortizes these intangible assets on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, which is three to five years. The estimated life of amortized intangibles is reassessed if circumstances occur that indicate the life has changed. The Group has no intangible assets with indefinite lives.
2.15 Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
The Group assesses potential impairment of its long-lived assets, which include the property, equipment and software and intangible assets with definite lives. The Group performs an impairment review whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Factors the Group considers important that could trigger an impairment review include, but are not limited to, significant under-performance relative to historical or projected future results of operations, significant changes in the manner of its use of acquired assets or its overall business strategy, and significant industry or economic trends. When the Group determines that the carrying value of a long-lived asset (or asset group) may not be recoverable based upon the existence of one or more of the above indicators, the Group determines the recoverability by comparing the carrying amount of the asset to the net future undiscounted cash flows that the asset is expected to generate and recognizes an impairment charge equal to the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the fair value of the asset. Fair value is generally determined by discounting the cash flows expected to be generated by the assets, when the market prices are not readily available. The final decision of the HKIAC Arbitration tribunal received on January 15, 2024 for the CEIBS arbitration case triggered an impairment review on the aforementioned developed content, trademarks, domain name and customer relationship acquired from the business combination
F-90
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.15 Impairment of Long-Lived Assets (Continued)
of CEIBS Publishing Group for their balances as of December 31, 2023. Based on the impairment assessment conducted by the Group, the carrying amount of these intangible assets associated with the CEIBS Publishing Group cannot be recovered and therefore were fully impaired as of December 31, 2023. Refer to Note 4 for further details.
2.16 Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price in a business combination over the fair value of net tangible and intangible assets acquired. The Group tests goodwill for impairment annually as of December 31, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that goodwill may be impaired. The Group initially assesses qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely-than-not that the fair value of its sole reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If, after assessing the events or circumstances, the Group determines it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then the Group performs a quantitative analysis by comparing the book value of net assets to the fair value of the reporting unit. If the fair value is determined to be less than the book value, an impairment charge is recorded. In assessing the qualitative factors, the Group considers the impact of certain key factors including macroeconomic conditions, industry and market considerations, management turnover, changes in regulation, litigation matters, changes in enterprise value and overall financial performance. The goodwill recorded at the Group level of RMB164,113 as of December 31, 2023 was generated from the acquisition of CEIBS Publishing Group in June 2020.
According to ASC 350-20-40, when a portion of a reporting unit that constitutes a business or nonprofit activity is to be disposed of, goodwill associated with that business or nonprofit activity shall be included in the carrying amount of the business or nonprofit activity in determining the gain or loss on disposal. The amount of goodwill to be included in that carrying amount shall be based on the relative fair values of the business or nonprofit activity to be disposed of and the portion of the reporting unit that will be retained. The relative fair value allocated to the disposed CEIBS Publishing Group was RMB 276, which reduced the goodwill amount to RMB 163,837 as of March 31, 2024.
Due to the final decision of the HKIAC Arbitration tribunal on January 15, 2024 for the CEIBS arbitration case triggered an impairment assessment of goodwill as of December 31, 2023. Based on management assessment, the Group determined that based on a quantitative analysis, that the fair value of the reporting unit of the Group still substantially exceeded its carrying value of net assets of the reporting unit and therefore no impairment of goodwill was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2023. As of March 31, 2024, there was no impairment of goodwill. .
2.17 Operating Lease
The Group determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. The Group enters into operating lease arrangements primarily for office and operation space. The Group determines if an arrangement contains a lease at its inception by assessing whether there is an identified asset and whether the arrangement conveys the right to control the use of the identified asset in exchange for consideration. Operating leases are included in right-of-use assets and operating lease liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Right-of-use assets represent the Groups right to use an underlying asset over the lease term and operating lease liabilities represent the Groups
F-91
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.17 Operating Lease (Continued)
obligation to make payments arising from the lease. Right-of-use assets and operating lease liabilities are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term.
The Operating lease right-of-use assets also includes any lease payments made at or before the lease commencement date and excludes any lease incentives received. Lease payments consist of the fixed payments under the arrangements. As the implicit rate of the Groups leases is not determinable, the Group uses an incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the lease commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. Operating lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.
The Groups lease term may include options to extend or terminate the lease. Only renewal or termination options that are reasonably certain of exercise are included in the lease term. The Group accounts for lease components and non-lease components as a single lease component.
After the lease commencement date, right-of-use assets are amortized by the difference between the straight-line lease expenses, and the accretion of interest on the operating lease liabilities each period over the lease term. Operating lease liabilities are increased to reflect the accretion of interest and reduced for the lease payment made.
For operating lease with a term of one year or less, the Group has elected to not recognize operating lease liabilities or right-of-use asset on its unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets. Instead, it recognizes the lease payment as expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Short-term lease costs are immaterial to its unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.
2.18 Internal-Use Software Development Costs
The Group recognizes internal-use software development costs related to our technology of corporate learning platform, including related software and mobile applications in accordance with ASC 350-40 Internal-use software. Costs related to preliminary project activities and post-implementation operating activities are expensed as incurred. Costs that are directly attributable to the development of the software in the application development stage are capitalized. Costs capitalized for developing corporate learning solution were not material for the periods presented.
2.19 Revenues
Consistent with the criteria of Topic 606, the Group recognizes revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Group expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services.
To achieve that core principle, the Group applies the five steps defined under Topic 606: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer, (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract, (iii) determine the transaction price, (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract, and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. The Group assesses its revenue arrangements against specific criteria in order to determine if it is acting as principal or agent. Revenue
F-92
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.19 Revenues (Continued)
arrangements with multiple performance obligations are divided into separate distinct goods or services. The Group allocates the transaction price to each performance obligation based on the relative standalone selling price of the goods or services provided. The Group determines standalone selling prices considering market conditions and based on overall pricing objectives such as observable standalones selling prices. Revenue is recognized upon the transfer of control of promised goods or services to a customer.
Revenue is recorded net of value-added tax.
Revenue recognition policies for each type of revenue steam are as follows:
Corporate Learning Solution
The Group offers corporate learning solution to corporate customers through providing subscription-based services including corporate learning platform, personalized e-learning system, teaching tools and online courses. The Groups subscription-based services generally do not provide customers with the right to take possession of the software supporting the platform, learning content or tools and, as a result, are accounted for as service arrangements. Through the subscription of the Groups SaaS platform service, customers can rapidly deploy the intelligent learning platform in a plug-and-play manner. Frequently, existing customers who subscribed platform service tend to add additional courses to their subscription by purchasing prioritized package or advanced package with additional charges. The Group also offered the teaching tools, such as virtual classroom or meeting room, for subscription as add-on options. For platform service, online courses and online teaching tools, the Group continually provides customer access and connectivity to its services, and fulfills its obligation to, the end customer over the subscription period. Each distinct service represents a single performance obligation that is satisfied over time. The subscription-based contracts vary from one month to five years. Revenue from subscription-based corporate learning solution is recognized on a straight-line basis over the subscription period.
The Group also derives revenue from providing non-subscription based corporate learning solution, such as offline courses and courseware recording service. Based on the needs of the customers, the Group designs the offline courses and hires experienced lecturer to provide face-to-face offline learning courses. The offline course is delivered on the specific date agreed and the unit price for each offline course is also specified in the contract. For the courseware recording service, the Group records video courseware based on customers needs. The recorded courseware belongs to the customers. Revenue from non-subscription based corporate learning solution is generally recognized at point in time upon completion.
Other Revenue
The Group also develops software for other customers who have specific demand for learning platform software. The Group develops learning platform to be installed on these customers own servers. Copyright of the software developed belongs to these customers. The development processes last approximately 6-11 months. The Group is also obligated to provide post-sales maintenance service for malfunction during the period determined in the contract, which is usually a year. Revenue for the on-premise software development is recognized at a point in time when the software is made available to the customer; whereas the revenue for post-sales maintenance service is recognized over the contract term beginning on the date that the software is made available to the customer.
F-93
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.19 Revenues (Continued)
For the three months ended March 31, | ||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Corporate learning solutions |
||||||||
Subscription-based |
99,538 | 76,982 | ||||||
Non-subscription-based |
15,096 | 5,049 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
114,634 | 82,031 | |||||||
Others |
||||||||
Sales of software developed and related maintenance service |
7,533 | 1,185 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
122,167 | 83,216 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
Remaining Performance Obligations
Remaining performance obligations represents the amount of contracted future revenue that has not yet been recognized, including both deferred revenue and non-cancelable contracted amounts that will be invoiced and recognized as revenue in future periods. As of March 31, 2024, the aggregate amount of transaction price allocated to the remaining performance obligations was RMB 337,845 which included balance of deferred revenue which will be recognized as revenue in the future periods.
The Company expects to recognize approximately 69% of the remaining performance obligations in the 12 months following March 31, 2024 and 28% of the remaining performance obligations between 13 to 36 months, with the remainder to be recognized thereafter.
2.20 Deferred Revenue
The Group records deferred revenue when cash payments are received in advance of revenue recognition from subscription services described above in accordance with the terms of the underlying contracts where the service period has not yet commenced but will commence in the near future. Deferred revenue is recognized when, or as, performance obligations are satisfied. Amounts anticipated to be recognized within one year of the balance sheet date are recorded as deferred revenue, current; the remaining portion is recorded as deferred revenue, non-current. Revenue recognized that was included in deferred revenue balance at the beginning of the period were RMB 71,748 and RMB 65,869 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
F-94
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.20 Deferred Revenue (Continued)
Changes in deferred revenue were as follows:
For the three months ended March 31, |
||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Balance at beginning of the period |
228,356 | 247,437 | ||||||
Additions to deferred revenue |
97,715 | 60,999 | ||||||
Recognition of deferred revenue |
(122,167 | ) | (83,216 | ) | ||||
Deconsolidation of CEIBS Publishing Group |
| (65,928 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Balance at end of the period |
203,904 | 159,292 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
2.21 Cost of Revenues
Cost of revenue includes certain direct costs associated with delivering the Groups platform and includes costs for hosting and bandwidth, depreciation, amortization of long-lived assets used in the provision of SaaS service, cost of self-made courses development and amortization of purchased content library, rental expenses for office space, personnel-related costs associated with the Groups customer support team and engineering team that is responsible for maintaining the Groups service availability and security of its platform, and other contract fulfillment costs.
2.22 Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses comprise primarily of expenses relating to marketing and brand promotion activities, employee-related cost for personnel engaged in marketing, business development, rental expenses for office space and sales support functions.
2.23 Research and Development
Research and development expenses are principally related to our technology of corporate learning platform which consists mainly of employee-related cost for research and development personnel, third-party cloud infrastructure and bandwidth expenses incurred for research and development purposes, rental expenses, and depreciation expenses associated with the equipment used for research and development functions and other expenses incurred for courses designing. The Group accounts for internal use software development costs in accordance with guidance on intangible assets and internal use software. See Note 2.18 Internal-Use Software Development Costs.
2.24 General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist of employee-related cost for personnel related to the general corporate functions, including accounting, finance, legal and human relations, costs associated with use by these functions of facilities and equipment, such as depreciation expenses, rental and other general corporate related expenses.
F-95
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.25 Share-based compensation
The Group grants restricted shares, restricted share units(RSUs) and ordinary shares to the employees and the founder transferred ordinary shares to the employees with no consideration. Such compensations are accounted for in accordance with ASC 718, CompensationStock Compensation.
Share-based compensation awards are measured at the grant date fair value of the awards and recognized as expenses a) immediately at grant date if no vesting conditions are required; or b) for awards granted with only service conditions, using the graded vesting method, over the vesting period.
Share-based compensation in relation to the restricted shares, RSUs and ordinary shares is measured based on the fair market value of the Groups ordinary shares at the grant date of the award. Estimation of the fair value of the Groups ordinary shares involves assumptions regarding a number of complex and subjective variables, including the comparable companies volatilities, risk-free rate, expected term and weighting among the scenarios of liquidation, redemption and initial public offering (IPO). The fair value of these awards was assessed using the income approach/discounted cash flow method with a discount for lack of marketability, given that the shares underlying the awards were not publicly traded at the time of grant.
In accordance with ASU 2016-09, the Group has chosen to account for forfeitures when they occur.
2.26 Employee Benefits
Full time employees of the Group in the PRC participate in a government mandated defined contribution plan, pursuant to which certain pension benefits, medical care, employee housing fund and other welfare benefits are provided to the employees. Chinese labor regulations require that the PRC subsidiaries and VIE of the Group make contributions to the government for these benefits based on certain percentages of the employees salaries, up to a maximum amount specified by the local government. The Group has no legal obligation for the benefits beyond the contributions made. Total amounts of such employee benefit expenses were RMB 22,805 and RMB 13,828 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively, including accrued and unpaid.
2.27 Government Grant
Government grants are recognized as Other Operating Income. Such amounts are recognized in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive loss upon receipts and all conditions attached to the grants are fulfilled.
2.28 Income Tax
Current income taxes are recorded in accordance with the regulations of the relevant tax jurisdiction. The Group accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method in accordance with ASC 740, Income Tax. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the tax consequences attributable to differences between carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities in the financial statements and their respective tax basis, and operating loss carry-forwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred taxes of a change in tax rates is recognized in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive loss in the period of change. Valuation
F-96
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.28 Income Tax (Continued)
allowances are established when necessary to reduce the amount of deferred tax assets if it is considered more likely than not that amount of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.
The Group recognizes in its unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements the benefit of a tax position if the tax position is more likely than not to prevail based on the facts and technical merits of the position. Tax positions that meet the more likely than not recognition threshold is measured at the largest amount of tax benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon settlement. The Group estimates its liability for unrecognized tax benefits which are periodically assessed and may be affected by changing interpretations of laws, rulings by tax authorities, changes and/or developments with respect to tax audits, and expiration of the statute of limitations. The ultimate outcome for a particular tax position may not be determined with certainty prior to the conclusion of a tax audit and, in some cases, appeal or litigation process. The actual benefits ultimately realized may differ from the Groups estimates. As each audit is concluded, adjustments, if any, are recorded in the Groups unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in the period in which the audit is concluded. Additionally, in future periods, changes in facts, circumstances and new information may require the Group to adjust the recognition and measurement estimates with regard to individual tax positions. Changes in recognition and measurement estimates are recognized in the period in which the changes occur. As of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024, the Group did not have any significant unrecognized uncertain tax positions.
Valuation allowances have been provided against deferred tax assets when the Group determines that it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will not be utilized in the future. In making such determination, the Group evaluates a variety of factors including the Groups entities operating history, accumulated deficit, existence of taxable temporary differences and reversal periods. As of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024, valuation allowances on deferred tax assets were provided because it was more likely than not that the Group will not be realized based on the Groups estimate of its future taxable income. If events occur in the future that allow the Group to realize more of its deferred income tax than the presently recorded amounts, an adjustment to the valuation allowances will result in a decrease in tax expense when those events occur.
2.29 Comprehensive (Loss)/income
Comprehensive (loss)/income is defined as the changes in equity of the Group during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances excluding transactions resulting from investments from shareholders and distributions to shareholders. Comprehensive (loss)/income for the periods presented includes net (loss)/income, foreign currency translation adjustments and unrealized gain/(loss) on investments in AFS debt securities.
2.30 Net Loss Per Share
Basic loss per share is computed by dividing net loss attributable to holders of ordinary shares by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period using the two-class method. Under the two-class method, net loss is allocated between common shares and other participating securities base on their participating rights. Diluted net loss per share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities to issue ordinary shares were exercised. The dilutive effect of outstanding share-based awards is reflected in the diluted net loss per share by application of the if-converted method and treasury stock method, respectively. Dilutive
F-97
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
2. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
2.30 Net Loss Per Share (Continued)
equivalent shares are excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share if their effects would be anti-dilutive.
2.31 Segment Reporting
ASC 280, Segment Reporting, establishes standards for companies to report in their financial statements information about operating segments, products, services, geographic areas, and major customers.
Based on the criteria established by ASC 280, the Groups chief operating decision maker (CODM) has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer, who reviews consolidated results when making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance of the Group as a whole and hence, the Group has only one reportable segment. The Group does not distinguish between markets or segments for the purpose of internal reporting. As the Groups long-lived assets are substantially located in the PRC and substantially all the Groups revenue is derived from within the PRC, no geographical segments are presented.
2.32 Recent Accounting Pronouncements
The Group qualifies as an emerging growth company, or EGC, pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended, or the JOBS Act. As an EGC, the Group does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until such date that a private company is otherwise required to comply with such new or revised accounting standards. The Group will adopt the standards based on extended transition period provided to private companies.
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-07, Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures (Topic 280). This ASU updates reportable segment disclosure requirements by requiring disclosures of significant reportable segment expenses that are regularly provided to the Chief Operating Decision Maker (CODM) and included within each reported measure of a segments profit or loss. This ASU also requires disclosure of the title and position of the individual identified as the CODM and an explanation of how the CODM uses the reported measures of a segments profit or loss in assessing segment performance and deciding how to allocate resources. The ASU is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Adoption of the ASU should be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the financial statements. Early adoption is also permitted. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of the new guidance on its consolidated financial statement.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (Topic 740). The ASU requires disaggregated information about a reporting entitys effective tax rate reconciliation as well as additional information on income taxes paid. For public business entities, this standard is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. For non-public business entities, this standard is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2025. Early adoption is permitted, and the disclosures in this standard are required to be applied on a prospective basis with the option to apply the standard retrospectively. The Company is in the process of evaluating the potential impact of the new guidance on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
F-98
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
3. CONCENTRATION AND RISKS
3.1 Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Group to the concentration of credit risks consist of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. The maximum exposures of such assets to credit risk are their carrying amounts as of the balance sheet dates. As of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024, all of the Companys cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments were held in major financial institutions located in the PRC and Hong Kong, which management considers to be of high credit quality based on their credit ratings.
The Group has not experienced any significant recoverability issue with respect to its accounts receivable. The Group assesses the creditworthiness of each customer when providing services and may require the customers to make advance payments or a deposit before the services are rendered.
As of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024, there was no customer with greater than 10% of the accounts receivable, respectively.
3.2 Concentration of Customers and Suppliers
Substantially all revenue was derived from customers located in China. There are no customers or suppliers from whom revenues or purchases individually represent greater than 10% of the total revenues or the total purchases of the Group in any of the periods presented.
3.3 Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk
In July 2005, the PRC government changed its decades-old policy of pegging the value of the RMB to the US$, and the RMB appreciated more than 20% against the US$ over the following three years. Between July 2008 and June 2010, this appreciation halted and the exchange rate between the RMB and the US$ remained within a narrow band. Since June 2010, the RMB has fluctuated against the US$, at times significantly and unpredictably. The appreciation of the RMB against the US$ was approximately 1.4% in the three months ended March 31, 2023. The depreciation of the RMB against the US$ was approximately 0.2% in the three months ended March 31, 2024. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC, or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the RMB and the US$ in the future.
4. DECONSOLIDATION OF CEIBS PUBLISHING GROUP
On June 24, 2020, the Company acquired 100% shares of CEIBS Management Ltd.(the ManCo) and Digital B-School China Limited (the Digital B) (the Acquisition, Share Transfer). ManCo held 21% common shares of CEIBS PG. Digital B held 0.04% common shares and 38.96% preferred shares of CEIBS PG. After the Acquisition, the Company effectively held 60% shares of CEIBS PG and obtained control of CEIBS PG. China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) holds the rest 40% common shares of CEIBS Publishing Group. The Company has included the financial results of CEIBS Publishing Group in the consolidated financial statements since the acquisition date. The consideration of the Acquisition included US$15 million in cash (equivalent to RMB 103,924) and 5,252,723 Series A-4 preferred shares of the Company with the total fair value of RMB 94,755 issued. The Company made partial cash consideration of RMB 79,549 upon closing in July 2020 and also made cash payment of RMB 9,600 in February 2023.
F-99
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
4. DECONSOLIDATION OF CEIBS PUBLISHING GROUP (CONTINUED)
In 2007, CEIBS had entered into a quitclaim with CEIBS PG and stated that CEIBS relinquished and waived all of its rights in relevant intellectual properties and authorized CEIBS PG the exclusive right to file for relevant trademark registration and use such intellectual properties worldwide (the Quitclaim).
However, in August 2020, CEIBS, the other shareholder of CEIBS PG holding the remaining 40% equity interest, stated publicly that we had infringed its intellectual property rights and CEIBS was not aware of and did not recognize the associated share purchase of Shanghai China Europe International Culture Communication Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Fenghe Culture Communication Co., Ltd. by Yunxuetang, the VIEs. In January 2021, CEIBS further filed a winding-up petition with the High Court of Hong Kong, seeking to wind up CEIBS PG and to terminate the Quitclaim (the Winding-up Proceedings). These disputes arose from a series of transaction documents, including a share purchase agreement, entered into among CEIBS and certain then shareholders of CEIBS PG for the establishment of CEIBS PG in May 2007 (collectively, the Transaction Documents).
CEIBS filed this petition on the basis that, amongst others, (i) the Share Transfer circumvented and was in breach of a right-of-first-offer provision, which requires a shareholder to give notice to other shareholders before it transfers its shares to a transferee who is neither another shareholder or an affiliate of a shareholder; (ii) the Share Transfer has caused a complete and irretrievable breakdown of mutual trust and confidence in the cooperation of CEIBS PG among the parties; (iii) CEIBS had the right to withdraw the sole and exclusive rights over the trademarks granted to CEIBS PG when there are significant changes to the shareholder structure of CEIBS PG based on the memorandum of understanding agreed among the parties; and (iv) the Group infringed its intellectual property rights by using CEIBS related trademarks outside the agreed scope under the Quitclaim.
In November 2020, CEIBS PG brought an arbitration action against CEIBS in the HKIAC Arbitration, alleging the CEIBS has breached the Quitclaim and the Transaction Documents entered into among the parties by using CEIBS related trademarks, which CEIBS PG has sole and exclusive rights to use.
In November 2021, the High Court of Hong Kong decided that the Winding-up Proceedings be stayed pending determination of the HKIAC Arbitration. However, upon determination of the HKIAC Arbitration, the parties do have the liberty to restore the Winding-up Proceedings for further directions or order.
The hearing of the HKIAC Arbitration was held in May 2023, and in August 2023, a closing of the HKIAC Arbitration was held. Upon the hearing period, as advised by the Groups litigation counsel, the Group believed that the claims of CEIBS above lacked merit and the likelihood for the Winding-up Proceedings to succeed was relatively remote based on the available information by at that time, including the claims made by CEIBS throughout the period up to the hearing period. Also, in July 2023, CEIBS alleged in its closing submission to the HKIAC arbitration tribunal that, among other things, the issuance of the 21% equity interest of CEIBS PG to CEIBS Management Ltd. in 2007 only entitled CEIBS Management Ltd.s 100% equity owner Mr. Xuelin Zhou legal ownership rather than beneficial ownership pursuant to the Series A preferred share purchase agreement (the SPA). The parties had different interpretations regarding the relevant clause in the SPA. Management believed the transfer of 21% of CEIBS PG shares beneficial ownership to the Company in 2020 was valid. The Companys view had been fully supported by their litigation counsel and remained unchanged throughout the process of the HKIAC Arbitration. Although, the Company believed the new allegation raised by CEIBS in July 2023 had no merit at that time, an unfavorable arbitration result would have a material and adverse effect on the Companys results of operations reflected on the consolidated financial statements.
F-100
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
4. DECONSOLIDATION OF CEIBS PUBLISHING GROUP (CONTINUED)
On January 15, 2024, the arbitration tribunal declared the transfer of 21% of CEIBS PG shares to the Company as invalid at the time of the transfer and our Groups appointment of one director CEIBS PG invalid, while dismissing the Quitclaim issue due to the lack of jurisdiction. Such ruling was based on the tribunals determination that the issuance of the 21% equity interest of CEIBS PG to CEIBS Management Ltd. in 2007 only entitled CEIBS Management Ltd.s 100% equity owner Mr. Xuelin Zhou legal ownership rather than beneficial ownership pursuant to the SPA, which made his transfer of such equity interest to Chengwei Capital HK Limited in 2016 invalid, and the subsequent transfer from Chengwei Capital HK Limited to us in 2020 invalid too. We subsequently applied to set aside the arbitration award in April 2024 with the High Court of Hong Kong and CEIBS also filed an application to the High Court of Hong Kong to enforce the arbitration award in April 2024. In May 2024, the High Court of Hong Kong held a hearing, during which the set aside application and the enforcement application were adjourned for substantive arguments before a judge in August 2024. Prior to the final result and any future negotiations amongst the counter parties, the remaining consideration payable of the Acquisition amount to RMB 14,775 remains unchanged legally as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024.
Unless and until the Award is successfully challenged by way of a set aside application, the Award is final as to the issues stated therein. Having considered recent Hong Kong courts have generally adopted a very pro-arbitration approach, the chance of successfully set aside the Award before the Hong Kong Court was determined to be remote. 21% of our equity interest in CEIBS PG was invalidated upon the Partial Final Award. In addition, the Tribunal held that the appointment to the CEIBS PG Board of one of the three Directors from the Group was invalid, one of the three YXT Directors should cease to exercise any rights in its capacity as a director of CEIBS PG, failing which CEIBS may apply to enforce the Award, accordingly, the Group determined they had lost their control over CEIBS PG since the Partial Final Award upon the final ruling declared on January 15, 2024.
The Company still legally retains the 39% share of CEIBS PG. The Company recorded the remaining 39% share of CEIBS PG amounting to RMB 4,976 as a debt investment in January 2024. Given the underlined shares are redeemable preferred shares issued by CEIBS PG, it is classified as available for sale debt security investment in Long-term investments on the unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet and is subject to market fair valuation assessment each reporting period. The redeemable preferred shares were not considered in substance common stock.
According to ASC 810-10-40, the difference between the carrying value of the assets, liabilities and non-controlling interest of CEIBS Publishing Group that were deconsolidated, and the fair value of the continuing investment, as determined at the date of deconsolidation, resulted in a gain in the amount of RMB 78,760 before tax. This gain on the deconsolidation was presented on the Companys unaudited condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive loss for the three months ended March 31, 2024. As of March 31, 2024, there was no impairment of goodwill of the Company. The reduction in goodwill of RMB 276 represents the relative fair value of goodwill related to the disposed CEIBS Publishing Group.
F-101
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
4. DECONSOLIDATION OF CEIBS PUBLISHING GROUP (CONTINUED)
The following table sets forth details of the condensed balance sheet of CEIBS Publishing Group, which was deconsolidated on January 15, 2024:
As of January 15, 2024 |
||||
RMB | ||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
30,767 | |||
Accounts receivable, net |
10,928 | |||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
383 | |||
Property, equipment and software, net |
2,170 | |||
Intangible assets, net |
70 | |||
Goodwill |
276 | |||
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net |
6,005 | |||
Other non-current assets |
1,806 | |||
Accounts payable |
(7,755 | ) | ||
Deferred revenue, current |
(53,437 | ) | ||
Other payable and accrued liabilities |
(11,780 | ) | ||
Operating lease liabilities, current |
(4,022 | ) | ||
Operating lease liabilities, non-current |
(2,117 | ) | ||
Deferred revenue, non-current |
(12,491 | ) | ||
Non-controlling interests |
(34,587 | ) | ||
|
|
|||
Carrying net liabilities of CEIBS Publishing Group at deconsolidation |
(73,784 | ) | ||
Fair value of 39% CEIBS Publishing Group after deconsolidation |
4,976 | |||
|
|
|||
Gain on deconsolidation of CEIBS Publishing Group |
(78,760 | ) | ||
|
|
5. SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS
As of | ||||||||
December 31, | March 31, | |||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Time deposits |
58,128 | 56,245 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
6. LONG-TERM BANK DEPOSITS
As of | ||||||||
December 31, | March 31, | |||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Long-term bank deposits (1) |
117,573 | 119,020 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
(1) | The Groups long-term bank deposits were fixed deposits in financial institutions with original maturities of 18 months. For the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024 the weighted average return of the wealth management products was nil and 4.0%, respectively. |
F-102
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
7. PREPAID EXPENSES, OTHER CURRENT ASSETS AND OTHER NON-CURRENT ASSETS
Prepaid expenses, other current assets and other non-current assets consist of the following:
As of | ||||||||
December 31, | March 31, | |||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Current assets |
||||||||
Prepaid bandwidth costs |
4,773 | 2,576 | ||||||
Deposits |
1,447 | 1,652 | ||||||
Prepaid travel expense |
1,308 | 1,491 | ||||||
VAT recoverable (1) |
686 | 835 | ||||||
Prepaid office software service fee |
927 | 719 | ||||||
Prepaid marketing expenses |
125 | 131 | ||||||
Prepaid content rental expenses |
154 | 90 | ||||||
Other miscellaneous prepaid expenses |
2,608 | 1,488 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
12,028 | 8,982 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Non-current assets |
||||||||
Deferred initial public offering related costs |
16,252 | 16,252 | ||||||
Deposits for lease |
5,940 | 3,958 | ||||||
Prepaid content rental expenses |
73 | 55 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
22,265 | 20,265 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
(1) | VAT recoverable represented the balances that the Group can utilize to deduct its VAT liabilities. |
The Group adopted ASC 326 starting from January 1, 2023 and used a modified retrospective approach which resulted in only de minimus impact on the accumulated deficit due to prepaid expenses and other current assets. As of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024, the Groups allowance for expected credit losses for prepaid expenses and other current assets were RMB 373 and RMB 319, respectively.
8. PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE, NET
Property, equipment and software, net, consist of the following:
As of | ||||||||
December 31, | March 31, | |||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Cost |
||||||||
Leasehold improvements |
27,613 | 25,368 | ||||||
Electronic equipment |
13,252 | 12,538 | ||||||
Vehicles |
5,199 | 3,233 | ||||||
Furniture |
3,949 | 3,141 | ||||||
Software purchased |
1,831 | 1,831 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total cost |
51,844 | 46,111 | ||||||
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization |
(28,442 | ) | (26,564 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Property, equipment and software, net |
23,402 | 19,547 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
F-103
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
8. PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE, NET (CONTINUED)
Depreciation expenses were RMB 2,200 and RMB 2,046 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively. No impairment charges were recorded for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
9. INTANGIBLE ASSETS, NET
Intangible assets are summarized as follows:
As of December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Weighted Average Amortization Period (in years) |
Gross Carrying Amount |
Accumulated Amortization |
Impairment (Note 2.15) |
Net Book Value |
||||||||||||||||
License |
2.1 | 29,710 | (16,990 | ) | | 12,720 | ||||||||||||||
Developed Content |
1.5 | 35,100 | (24,570 | ) | (10,530 | ) | | |||||||||||||
Trademarks |
1.5 | 26,400 | (18,480 | ) | (7,920 | ) | | |||||||||||||
Domain Name |
| 11,644 | (11,644 | ) | | | ||||||||||||||
Customer Relationship |
1.5 | 10,700 | (7,490 | ) | (3,210 | ) | | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
113,554 | (79,174 | ) | (21,660 | ) | 12,720 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of March 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
Weighted Average Amortization Period (in years) |
Gross Carrying Amount |
Accumulated Amortization |
Net Book Value |
|||||||||||||
License |
1.9 | 29,363 | (17,974 | ) | 11,389 | |||||||||||
Domain Name |
| 244 | (244 | ) | | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
29,607 | (18,218 | ) | 11,389 | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
The total amounts charged to the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive loss for amortization expenses amounted to approximately RMB 5,827 and RMB 1,261 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
The intangible assets of net book value of RMB 70 (gross carrying amount of RMB 347) were decreased due to the deconsolidation of CEIBS Publishing Group (Note 4).
Based on the recorded intangible assets on March 31, 2024, estimated amortization expense is expected to be as follows:
Amortization Expense | ||||
Succeeding period in 2024 |
4,342 | |||
2025 |
4,153 | |||
2026 |
1,956 | |||
2027 |
834 | |||
2028 |
104 | |||
|
|
|||
11,389 | ||||
|
|
F-104
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
10. LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS
As of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
December 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Initial cost |
Net cumulative fair value adjustments |
Carrying value |
Initial cost | Net cumulative fair value adjustments |
Carrying value | |||||||||||||||||||
Availableforsale debt securities |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shanghai Jiayang Information System Co., Ltd(1) |
55,000 | 8,071 | 63,071 | 55,000 | 6,306 | 61,306 | ||||||||||||||||||
Guangzhou Tale Base Technology Co., Ltd(2) |
31,400 | 776 | 32,176 | 31,400 | 481 | 31,881 | ||||||||||||||||||
Beijing Lingdai(3) |
31,980 | (6,507) | 25,473 | 31,980 | (8,380) | 23,600 | ||||||||||||||||||
CEIBS Publishing Group(4) |
| | | 4,976 | (700) | 4,276 | ||||||||||||||||||
Others(5) |
15,400 | (9,779) | 5,621 | 15,400 | (9,747) | 5,653 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
133,780 | (7,439) | 126,341 | 138,756 | (12,040) | 126,716 | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Companys AFS debt investments all include substantive liquidation preference and redemption provision and is redeemable at the option of the investor. As at March 31, 2024, the Company did not have the intent or a requirement to sell its AFS debt investments.
(1) On September 28, 2021, Yunxuetang entered into a share purchase agreement and a share transfer agreement to acquire 10% equity interest of Shanghai Jiayang Information System Co., Ltd (Shanghai Jiayang), which is principally engaged in human resource management software, at a cash consideration of RMB 55,000 (Jiayang Investment), and the investment is legally settled on October 13, 2021. The Company recognized unrealized a gain of RMB 3,507 and a loss of RMB 1,765 in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively. Dividend of RMB nil and 500 were declared and paid by Shanghai Jiayang during the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
(2) Yunxuetang entered into a share purchase agreement and a share transfer agreement to acquire 10.02% equity interest of Guangzhou Tale Base Technology Co., Ltd (Tale Base), which is principally engaged in human resource management software, at a cash consideration of RMB 31,400 (Tale Base Investment), and the investment was legally closed on February 28, 2022. The Company recognized unrealized losses of RMB 627 and RMB 295 in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income for the three month ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
(3) On July 1, 2021, Yunxuetang entered into a share purchase agreement and a share transfer agreement to acquire 19% equity interest of Beijing Lingdai, which is principally engaged in online and offline training in finance, at a cash consideration of RMB 31,980 (Lingdai Investment). The investment has been a continuous unrealized loss position for over 12 months. The Company recognized credit losses of RMB 1,406 and RMB 1,873 in Investment Loss as the decline in fair value is all related to credit factors for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
F-105
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
10. LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)
(4) On January 15, 2024, after the deconsolidation of CEIBS Publishing Group (refer to Note 4), the retained 39% equity interest was accounted for as available for sale debt security investment at its fair value totaling RMB 4,976. As at March 31, 2024, the Company assessed the unrealized loss of the investment and determined that the decline in fair value was not related to credit factors, therefore recognized an unrealize loss of RMB 700 in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income for the three months ended March 31, 2024.
(5) The Company assessed the unrealized losses of the other investments and determines that the decline in fair value was related to credit factors. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company recognized a reversal of credit loss reserve of RMB 32 (for the three months ended March 31, 2023: nil).
11. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
As of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024, information about inputs into the fair value measurement of the Groups assets and liabilities that are measured or disclosed at fair value on a recurring basis in periods subsequent to their initial recognition is as follows:
Fair value measurement at reporting date using | ||||||||||||||||
Description |
Fair value as of December 31, 2023 |
Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1) |
Significant other observable inputs (Level 2) |
Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) | ||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||
Assets: |
||||||||||||||||
Short-term investments |
||||||||||||||||
Time deposits |
58,128 | | 58,128 | | ||||||||||||
Long-term investments |
||||||||||||||||
Available-for-sale debt securities |
||||||||||||||||
Jiayang Investment (1) |
63,071 | | | 63,071 | ||||||||||||
Tale Base Investment(1) |
32,176 | | | 32,176 | ||||||||||||
Lingdai Investment (1) |
25,473 | | | 25,473 | ||||||||||||
Others |
5,621 | | | 5,621 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Total assets |
184,469 | | 58,128 | 126,341 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Liabilities: |
||||||||||||||||
Derivative liabilities |
||||||||||||||||
Conversion feature |
100,279 | | | 100,279 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
F-106
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
11. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (CONTINUED)
Fair value measurement at reporting date using | ||||||||||||||||
Description |
Fair value as of March 31, 2024 |
Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1) |
Significant other observable inputs (Level 2) |
Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) | ||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||
Assets: |
||||||||||||||||
Short-term investments |
||||||||||||||||
Time deposits |
56,245 | | 56,245 | | ||||||||||||
Long-term investments |
||||||||||||||||
Available-for-sale debt securities |
||||||||||||||||
Jiayang Investment (1) |
61,306 | | | 61,306 | ||||||||||||
Tale Base Investment(1) |
31,881 | | | 31,881 | ||||||||||||
Lingdai Investment (1) |
23,600 | | | 23,600 | ||||||||||||
CEIBS Publishing Group (1) |
4,276 | | | 4,276 | ||||||||||||
Others |
5,653 | | | 5,653 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Total assets |
182,961 | | 56,245 | 126,716 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Liabilities: |
||||||||||||||||
Derivative liabilities |
||||||||||||||||
Conversion feature |
99,471 | | | 99,471 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) Refer to Note 10Long-term investments for further information on the Companys investments
When available, the Group uses quoted market prices to determine the fair value of an asset or liability. If quoted market prices are not available, the Group measures fair value using valuation techniques that use, when possible, current market-based or independently sourced market parameters, such as interest rates and currency rates. Following is a description of the valuation techniques that the Group uses to measure the fair value of assets and liabilities that the Group reports in its unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets at fair value.
Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis
Short-Term Investments
Short-term investment consists of wealth management products and time deposits, which are valued by the Group on a recurring basis. The Group values its short-term wealth management products investments and time deposits held in certain banks using model-derived valuations based upon discounted cash flow, in which significant inputs, mainly including expected return, are observable or can be derived principally from, or corroborated by, observable market data, and accordingly, the Group classifies the valuation techniques that use these inputs as Level 2. The expected return of the financial products was determined based on the prevailing interest rates in the market.
F-107
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
11. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (CONTINUED)
Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis (continued)
Long-Term Investments
Our Level 3 available-for-sale debt securities as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024 primarily consist of redeemable preferred stock investments in privately held companies without readily determinable fair values.
Depending on the investees financing activity in a reporting period, managements estimate of fair value may be primarily derived from the investees financing transactions, such as the issuance of preferred stock to new investors. The price in these transactions generally provides the best indication of the enterprise value of the investee. Additionally, based on the timing, volume, and other characteristics of the transaction, we may supplement this information by using other valuation techniques, including the guideline public company approach. The guideline public company approach relies on publicly available market data of comparable companies and uses comparative valuation multiples of the investees revenue or net profit.
Once the fair value of the investee is estimated, an option-pricing model (OPM) is employed to allocate value to various classes of securities of the investee, including the class owned by us. The model involves making assumptions around the investees expected time to liquidity and volatility.
An increase or decrease in any of the unobservable inputs in isolation, such as the security price in a significant financing transaction of the investee, could result in a material increase or decrease in our estimate of fair value. Other unobservable inputs, including short-term revenue projections, time to liquidity, and volatility are less sensitive to the valuation in the respective reporting periods, as a result of the primary weighting on the investees financing transactions. In the future, depending on the weight of evidence and valuation approaches used, these or other inputs may have a more significant impact on our estimate of fair value.
For any sales of equity and debt securities, it will be recorded for as realized gains or losses in the Interest and investment income in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.
The following table summarizes information about the significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement for our long-term investments as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024:
Investment |
At initial valuation date |
Fair value method at initial valuation date (and relative weighting) |
Fair value as of March 31, 2024 |
Fair value method as of March 31, 2024 (and relative weighting) |
Key unobservable inputs |
Range | ||||||
Financing transaction of Lingdai Investment |
31,980 | Financing transactions (100%) | 23,600 | Revenue multiples (100%) | Market multiples | 1.5x-2.5x | ||||||
Volatility |
55%-60% | |||||||||||
Estimated time to liquidity | 1.5-2.5 years |
F-108
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
11. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (CONTINUED)
Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis (Continued)
Long-Term Investments (Continued)
Investment |
At initial valuation date |
Fair value method at initial valuation date (and relative weighting) |
Fair value as of March 31, 2024 |
Fair value method as of March 31, 2024 (and relative weighting) |
Key unobservable inputs |
Range | ||||||
Financing transaction of Jiayang Investment | 55,000 | Financing transactions (100%) | 61,306 | Net Profit multiples (100%) | Market multiples | 18x-20x | ||||||
Volatility |
35%-40% | |||||||||||
Estimated time to liquidity | 1.0-1.5 years | |||||||||||
Investment |
At initial valuation date |
Fair value method at initial valuation date (and relative weighting) |
Fair value as of March 31, 2024 |
Fair value method as of March 31, 2024 (and relative weighting) |
Key unobservable inputs |
Range | ||||||
Financing transaction of Tale Base Investment | 31,400 | Financing transactions (100%) | 31,881 | Revenue multiples (100%) | Market multiples | 3.5x-4.0x | ||||||
Volatility |
40%-45% | |||||||||||
Estimated time to liquidity | 1.0-1.5 years | |||||||||||
Investment |
At initial valuation date |
Fair value method at initial valuation date (and relative weighting) |
Fair value as of March 31, 2024 |
Fair value method as of March 31, 2024 (and relative weighting) |
Key unobservable inputs |
Range | ||||||
Financing transaction of CEIBS Publishing Group | 4,976 | Discounted cash flow (100%) | 4,276 | Discounted cash flow (100%) | Discount rate | 16%-19% | ||||||
Volatility |
50%-55% | |||||||||||
Estimated time to liquidity | 1.0-1.5 years | |||||||||||
Investment |
At initial valuation date |
Fair value method at initial valuation date (and relative weighting) |
Fair value as of December 31, 2023 |
Fair value method as of December 31, 2023 (and relative weighting) |
Key unobservable inputs |
Range | ||||||
Financing transaction of Lingdai Investment | 31,980 | Financing transactions (100%) | 25,473 | Revenue multiples (100%) | Market multiples | 1.5x-2.5x | ||||||
Volatility |
62%-67% | |||||||||||
Estimated time to liquidity | 1.5-2.5 years |
F-109
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
11. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (CONTINUED)
Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis (Continued)
Investment |
At initial valuation date |
Fair value method at initial valuation date (and relative weighting) |
Fair value as of December 31, 2023 |
Fair value method as of December 31, 2023 (and relative weighting) |
Key unobservable inputs |
Range | ||||||
Financing transaction of Jiayang Investment | 55,000 | Financing transactions (100%) | 63,071 | Net Profit multiples (100%) | Market multiples | 18x-20x | ||||||
Volatility |
35%-40% | |||||||||||
Estimated time to liquidity | 1.0-1.5 years | |||||||||||
Investment |
At initial valuation date |
Fair value method at initial valuation date (and relative weighting) |
Fair value as of December 31, 2023 |
Fair value method as of December 31, 2023 (and relative weighting) |
Key unobservable inputs |
Range | ||||||
Financing transaction of Tale Base Investment |
31,400 | Financing transactions (100%) | 32,176 | Revenue multiples (100%) | Market multiples | 3.8x-4.3x | ||||||
Volatility |
35%-40% | |||||||||||
Estimated time to liquidity | 1.0-1.5 years |
Derivative Liabilities
For the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively, the roll forward of these conversion features which required to be bifurcated and accounted for as derivative liabilities are as follows:
For the three months ended March 31, | ||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Conversion feature | Conversion feature | |||||||
Balance at beginning of the period |
202,698 | 100,279 | ||||||
The change in fair value |
4,305 | (808) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Balance at end of the period |
207,003 | 99,471 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
F-110
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
11. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (CONTINUED)
Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis (Continued)
Derivative Liabilities (Continued)
Conversion Feature
Significant factors, assumptions and methodologies used in determining the business valuation include applying the discounted cash flow approach, and such approach involves certain significant estimates which are as follows:
As of March 31, 2023 | As of March 31, 2024 | |||||||
Discount rate |
16.0% | 15.0% | ||||||
Weighting between IPO scenario and Redemption scenario | |
IPO scenario-80% Redemption scenario-20% |
|
|
IPO scenario-80% Redemption scenario-20% |
|
Discount rates
The discount rates listed out in the table above were based on the weighted average cost of capital, which was determined based on a consideration of the factors including risk-free rate, comparative industry risk, equity risk premium, company size and non-systemic risk factors.
Comparable companies
In deriving the weighted average cost of capital used as the discount rates under the income approach, certain publicly traded companies were selected for reference as our guideline companies. The guideline companies were selected based on the following criteria: (i) they operate in the SaaS industry and (ii) their shares are publicly traded in the United States, Hong Kong and China.
The income approach involves applying appropriate discount rates to estimated cash flows that are based on earnings forecasts. Our revenues and earnings growth rates, as well as major milestones that the Group have achieved. However, these fair values are inherently uncertain and highly subjective. The assumptions used in deriving the fair values are consistent with our business plan. These assumptions include: no material changes in the applicable future periods in the existing political, legal, fiscal or economic conditions in China; no material changes will occur in the current taxation law in China and the applicable tax rates will remain consistent; the Group have the ability to retain competent management and key personnel to support our ongoing operations; and industry trends and market conditions for the corporate training service business will not deviate significantly from current forecasts. These assumptions are inherently uncertain.
Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Non-Recurring Basis
See Note 9, Intangible assets, net, regarding our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for fair value measurements of certain assets and liabilities on a non-recurring basis.
F-111
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
12. SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM BORROWINGS
Fixed annual interest rate |
As of | |||||||||||||||
December 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||||||
Term | 2023 | 2024 | ||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||||||||||
Short-term borrowings: |
||||||||||||||||
Unsecured bank loans |
3.10%-3.15% | |
Within 12 months |
|
39,800 | 29,900 | ||||||||||
Current portion of long-term borrowings |
3.65% | Mature in 2024 | 7,000 | 7,000 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
46,800 | 36,900 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Long-term borrowings: |
||||||||||||||||
Secured bank loan(1) |
3.65% | 1-2 years | 78,500 | 75,000 | ||||||||||||
Unsecured bank loan(2) |
4.00%-4.20% | 1-2 years | 147,500 | 147,500 | ||||||||||||
Less: current portion of long-term borrowings |
3.65% | Mature in 2024 | (7,000) | (7,000) | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
219,000 | 215,500 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
(1) | On April 27, 2023, the Group entered into one secured bank loan of RMB 80,000 which was guaranteed by the Founder of the Group with annual payment schedule of RMB 1,500, RMB 3,500 and RMB 75,000 in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. The Group repaid RMB 3,500 during the three months ended March 31, 2024, when the installment became due. In May 2024, the Company made early repayment of the balance, and refinanced a new secured bank loan of RMB 75,000 with annual payment schedule of RMB 1,500, RMB 2,000 and RMB 71,500 in 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively. The new loan is also guaranteed by the Founder of the Group. |
(2) | On April 24, 2023, the Group entered into one unsecured bank loan of RMB 50,000 with annual payment schedule of RMB 2,500, RMB 3,500 and RMB 44,000 in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. The Group repaid nil during the three months ended March 31, 2024 |
Then on December 27, 2023, the Group entered into another two unsecured bank loans with the same bank in total amount of RMB 100,000 both of which are due in June 2025.
The combined aggregate amount of maturities for all long-term borrowings for years following March 31, 2024 as follows:
Long-term borrowings | ||||
RMB | ||||
Succeeding period in 2024 |
3,500 | |||
2025 |
219,000 |
The weighted average interest rates for the outstanding borrowings were approximately 3.88% and 3.81% as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024, respectively.
F-112
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
12. SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM BORROWINGS (CONTINUED)
Subsequent to period ended March 31, 2024, in April 2024, the Company entered into another unsecured bank loan of RMB 43,000 with annual payment schedule of RMB 1,500, RMB 3,000 and RMB 38,500 in 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively.
13. OTHER PAYABLE AND ACCRUED LIABILITIES
As of | ||||||||
December 31, | March 31, | |||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Salary and welfare payable |
69,620 | 55,749 | ||||||
Professional fees payable |
3,855 | 8,879 | ||||||
Taxes payable |
8,625 | 4,753 | ||||||
Short-term rental payable |
2,924 | 3,726 | ||||||
Leasehold improvement payable |
907 | 515 | ||||||
Others |
4,006 | 2,870 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
89,937 | 76,492 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
14. RELATED PARTY BALANCES AND TRANSACTIONS
The table below sets forth the major related parties and their relationships with the Group as of March 31, 2024:
Name of related parties |
Relationship with the Group | |
Suzhou Yunzheng Technology Co., Ltd. (Suzhou Yunzheng) | Controlled by the Xiaoyan Lu (the Founder of the Company) |
The Group had the following transactions with the major related parties:
For three months ended March 31, | ||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Sales of service |
||||||||
Suzhou Yunzheng |
| 38 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Purchase of service |
||||||||
Suzhou Yunzheng |
74 | 225 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
F-113
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
15. TAXATION
Income Tax
Reconciliation of the Differences Between Statutory Tax Rate and the Effective Tax Rate
Reconciliation of the differences between the statutory EIT rate applicable to loss/(income) of the consolidated entities and the income tax expense of the Group:
For the three months ended March 31, |
||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
PRC Statutory income tax rate |
25.0 | % | 25.0 | % | ||||
Tax rate difference from statutory rate in other jurisdictions (1) |
(2.6 | %) | (52.9 | %) | ||||
Effect of preferential tax rates and tax holiday (2) |
4.4 | % | 5.3 | % | ||||
Effect of permanent differences (3) |
3.9 | % | (8.5 | %) | ||||
Change in valuation allowance |
(28.8 | %) | 31.1 | % | ||||
Effective tax rates |
1.9 | % | |
(1) | The tax rate difference is attributed to varying rates in other jurisdictions where the Group is established or operates, such as the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands or Hong Kong. |
(2) | Yunxuetang has been qualified as HNTE and enjoys a preferential income tax rate of 15% during the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024. Hainan Yunxuetang has been qualified as encouraged industrial enterprise which are registered and substantially operated in Hainan Free Trade Port and enjoys a preferential income tax rate of 15% during the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024. Since Yunxuetang and Hainan Yunxuetang had cumulative tax losses as of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024, there was no effect of the tax holiday. |
(3) | The permanent differences are primarily related to share-based compensation, additional tax deductions for qualified research and development expenses offset by non-deductible expenses. |
16. ORDINARY SHARES
On January 20, 2017, the Company was incorporated as an exempted company with limited liability with authorized share capital of US$50 divided into 500,000,000 shares with par value US$0.0001 each.
In addition, 56,179,775 ordinary shares were issued to the Initial Ordinary Shareholders on May 4, 2017 as part of the Reorganization to swap the Initial Ordinary Shareholders equity interests in Yunxuetang with the shareholding interests in the Company.
The Company amended the numbers of its ordinary shares authorized as 493,344,264, 467,924,866, 433,071,251, 420,874,891 and 390,518,031 upon the issuance of Series A-1; Series C-1; Series D-1 and Series C-2; Series A-4 and Series D-2; Series E-1 and Series E-2 convertible redeemable preferred shares in November 2017, September 2018, January 2020, June 2020 and January 2021, respectively.
On June 24, 2020, The Company re-designated 6,943,638 ordinary shares to Series D-2 convertible redeemable preferred shares after the Initial Ordinary Shareholder transferred the ordinary share to the Series D-2 convertible redeemable preferred shares investor.
On January 25, 2021, the Company re-designated 3,939,542 ordinary shares to Series D-3 convertible redeemable preferred shares after the Initial Ordinary Shareholder transferred the ordinary share to the Series D-3 convertible redeemable preferred shares investor.
F-114
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
16. ORDINARY SHARES (CONTINUED)
On March 22, 2021, one of the Series E investors acquired 3,751,945 ordinary shares of the Company from Unicentury Holding Limited, which is a shareholder of the Company and wholly owned by the founder, at fair value. These shares remained as ordinary shares after the share transaction. In this share transaction, the Company didnt receive any consideration.
On September 10, 2021, the Company granted 1,478,415 restricted ordinary shares at par value US$0.0001 to Zuniform Limited, owned by the CEO. The restricted ordinary shares vested in two tranches, i.e. 739,207 and 739,208 ordinary shares and no longer be deemed restricted shares on July 5, 2022 and July 5, 2023, respectively. This transaction was treated as the Companys share-based compensation to CEO, refer to Note 18 for more details.
On September 10, 2021, the Company also granted 1,478,415 ordinary shares at par value US$0.0001 to Zuniform Limited, which were vested immediately on the grant date. This transaction was treated as the Companys share-based compensation to the CEO.
On September 10, 2021, one of the Companys shareholders Unicentury Holdings Limited (owned by Xiaoyan Lu, the founder) transferred 825,131 ordinary shares to Zuniform Limited (owned by Teng Zu, the CEO of the Company) with no consideration being exchanged. This transaction was treated as the Companys share-based compensation to CEO.
As of December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024, the Company had in aggregate of 48,253,425 ordinary shares issued and outstanding, at a par value of US$0.0001.
17. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES
On November 3, 2017, the Company entered into a share purchase agreement with certain investors, pursuant to which 6,655,736 Redeemable Convertible Series A-1 Preferred Shares (the Series A Preferred Shares, Series A-1 Preferred Shares) were issued on November 3, 2017 for an aggregated consideration of US$8,500. The investors were also granted Series A Warrant allowing them to purchase 3,132,111 additional series A preferred shares at the price of $1.277/share within 18 months after the closing. The warrant was separately transferrable. The Company incurred issuance costs of US$101 in connection with the offering of Series A-1 Preferred Shares and Series A Warrant.
On July 26, 2018 and September 7, 2018, the Series A Warrant holders exercised Series A Warrant to purchase 1,566,056 Redeemable Convertible Series A-2 Preferred Shares (the Series A Preferred Shares, Series A-2 Preferred Shares) and 1,566,055 Redeemable Convertible Series A-3 Preferred Shares (the Series A Preferred Shares, Series A-3 Preferred Shares), respectively. The total consideration was US$4,000.
On June 24, 2020, the Company and its subsidiaries entered into a series of share purchase agreements and acquired 60% of the shares of CEIBS Publishing Group. The Company and its subsidiaries obtained control of CEIBS Publishing Group. As part of the consideration, the Company issued 5,252,723 Redeemable Convertible Series A-4 Preferred Shares (the Series A Preferred Shares, Series A-4 Preferred Shares) to the selling shareholders. Refer to Note 4 for more details about the business combination.
On July 30, 2019, the Company issued 7,085,330 Redeemable Convertible Series B Preferred Shares (the Series B Preferred Shares) for an aggregated consideration of US$10,595 (equivalent to RMB70,000) pursuant
F-115
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
17. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
to a share purchase agreement entered into with certain investors. No issuance cost was incurred in connection with the offering of Series B Preferred Shares. These investors injected consideration of RMB60,000 in December 2017 and RMB10,000 in January 2018 into Yunxuetang, respectively, when these investors were warranted to the subscription of the Series B Preferred Shares based on fair value at the time. Accordingly, the proceeds received were recorded as warrant liability and subsequently measured at fair value with changes in fair value recorded in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss. The warrant liability was reclassified to mezzanine equity upon issuance of Series B Preferred Shares on July 30, 2019 after the investors completion of the overseas direct investment administrative processes. The Group recognized a loss of RMB3,983 from the change in fair value of the warrant liability up to July 30 in the year of 2019.
On September 10, 2018, the Company entered into a share purchase agreement with certain investors, pursuant to which 15,201,956 Redeemable Convertible Series C-1 Preferred Shares (the Series C Preferred Shares, Series C-1 Preferred Shares) were issued on September 10, 2018 for an aggregated consideration of US$30,000. The investors were also granted Series C Warrant allowing them to purchase no more than US$20,000 Series C preferred shares upon the occurrence of the two scenarios below (whichever occurs first)
(a) | the completion of the next equity financing at the price of 85% of the per share purchase price of the shares to be issued by the Company in the next equity financing but no lower than the per share issuance price of the Series C-1 Purchased Shares, or |
(b) | eighteenth (18th)-month anniversary after the closing at a price agreed upon by the Company and Series C Warrant holder in writing which shall be no lower than the per share issuance price of the Series C-1 Purchased Shares |
The Company incurred issuance costs of US$1,134 in connection with the offering of Series C-1 Preferred Share and Series C Warrant. The warrant is separately transferrable.
On January 15, 2020, the Series C Warrant holders exercised Series C Warrant to purchase 8,584,634 Redeemable Convertible Series C-2 Preferred Shares (the Series C Preferred Shares, Series C-2 Preferred Shares). The total consideration was US$20,000.
On January 15, 2020, the Company entered into a share purchase agreement with certain investors, pursuant to which 26,268,981 Series D-1 Preferred Shares (the Series D Preferred Shares, Series D-1 Preferred Shares) were issued on January 15, 2020 for an aggregated consideration of US$72,000. The Company incurred issuance costs of US$2,386 in connection with the offering of Series D-1 Preferred Shares.
On June 24, 2020, a Series D-1 Preferred Shareholder acquired 6,943,638 ordinary shares from one of the original shareholders with total consideration of US$16,177 and these shares were re-designated into Series D-2 preferred shares (the Series D Preferred Shares, Series D-2 Preferred Shares) after transfer (Series D-2 Transfer). In this share transaction, the Company didnt receive any consideration. The re-designation was approved through the Companys shareholder resolution.
On January 25, 2021, the Company entered into a share purchase agreement with certain investors, pursuant to which 16,883,753 Redeemable Convertible Series E-1 Preferred Shares were issued for an aggregated consideration of US$90,000. The Company incurred issuance costs of US$ 1,376 in connection with the offering of Series E-1 Preferred Shares.
F-116
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
17. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
On January 25, 2021, a Series E-1 Preferred Share investor acquired 3,939,542 ordinary shares from one of the original shareholders with total consideration of US$11,250 and these shares were re-designated into Series D-3 Preferred Shares after transfer (Series D-3 Transfer). In the share transaction, the Company did not receive any consideration. Similar to the Series D-2 Transfer, in Series D-3 Transfer, ordinary shareholder gave up their benefit to maintain the new investor. The re-designation was approved through the Companys shareholder resolution.
On March 22, 2021, the Company entered into a share purchase agreement with certain investors, pursuant to which 9,533,565 Series E-2 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares were issued for an aggregated consideration of US$64,328. The Company incurred issuance costs of US$ 910 in connection with the offering of Series E-2 Preferred Shares.
The Series A, B, C, D and E Preferred Shares are collectively referred to as the Preferred Shares. The holders of Preferred Shares are collectively referred to as the Preferred Shareholders. The key terms of the Preferred Shares issued by the Company are as follows:
Redemption Rights
At any time commencing on a date when certain events specified in the shareholders agreement (the Redemption Start Date) occurred, any holders of the then outstanding Series A, B, C, D Preferred Shares may request a redemption of specified number of Preferred Shares of such series as determined by the shareholders. On receipt of a redemption request from the holders, the Company shall redeem all of the Preferred Shares requested.
The Redemption Start Date of Preferred Shares have been amended for a number of times historically. If any holder of any series of Preferred Shares exercises its redemption right, any holder of other series of Preferred Shares shall have the right to exercise the redemption of its series at the same time.
For Series A-1, A-2, A-3 and Series B Preferred Shares, the price at which each Preferred Share shall be redeemed shall equal to the higher of (a) and (b) below:
(a) | The 150% or 200% of original Preferred Shares issue price for such series and declared but unpaid dividends depend on certain circumstance specified in the shareholders agreement. |
(b) | The fair market value of the relevant series of Preferred Shares on the date of redemption. |
For Series A-4, C-1 and C-2 Preferred Shares, the price at which each Preferred Share shall be redeemed shall equal to the original Preferred Shares issue price for such series plus 8% compound interest per annum (calculated from the issuance dates of the respective series of Preferred Shares) and declared but unpaid dividends.
For Series D-1, D-2 and D-3 Preferred Shares, the price at which each Preferred Share shall be redeemed shall equal to the original Preferred Shares issue price for such series plus 12% compound interest per annum (calculated from the issuance dates of the respective series of Preferred Shares) and declared but unpaid dividends.
F-117
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
17. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
Redemption Rights (Continued)
For Series E-1 and E-2 Preferred Shares, the price at which each Preferred Share shall be redeemed shall equal to the original Preferred Shares issue price for such series plus 12% compound interest per annum (calculated from the issuance dates of the respective series of Preferred Shares) and declared but unpaid dividends.
If on the redemption date triggered by the occurrence of any redemption event, the Companys assets or funds which are legally available are insufficient to pay in full the aggregate redemption price for Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed, upon the request of a redeeming shareholder, the Company shall execute and deliver a promissory note, bearing an interest of twelve percent (12%) per annum and with repayment of the principal and interest to be made on a monthly basis. Preferred Shares subject to redemption with respect to which the Company has become obligated to pay the redemption price but which it has not paid in full shall continue to have all the rights and privileges which such Preferred Shareholders had prior to such date, until the redemption price has been paid in full with respect to such Preferred Shares.
Conversion Rights
Optional Conversion
Each Preferred Share is convertible, at the option of the holder, at any time after the date of issuance of such Preferred Shares according to a conversion ratio, subject to adjustments for dilution, including but not limited to stock splits, stock dividends and capitalization and certain other events. Each Preferred Share is convertible into a number of ordinary shares determined by dividing the applicable original issuance price by the conversion price (initially being 1 to 1 conversion ratio). The conversion price of each Preferred Share is the same as its original issuance price and no adjustments to conversion price have occurred so far.
Automatic Conversion
Each Preferred Share shall automatically be converted into ordinary shares, at the then applicable preferred share conversion price upon (i) closing of a Qualified Initial Public Offering or (ii) the written approval of the holders of a majority of each series of Preferred Shares (calculated and voting separately in their respective single class on an as-converted basis).
Upon the issuance of the Series A Preferred Shares, a Qualified IPO was defined as an initial public offering with gross offering proceeds no less than US$100 million and implied market capitalization of the Company of no less than US$500 million prior to such initial public offering. Upon the issuance of the Series B&C-1, C-2 Preferred Shares, the gross offering proceeds and market capitalization criteria for a Qualified IPO was increased to US$160 million and US$800 million respectively. Upon the issuance of the Series D-1, D-2, D-3 Preferred Shares, for a Qualified IPO, the gross offering proceeds was US$160 million and the market capitalization required was the higher of the balance compounded at the annual rate of return of 25% from the original investment and US$800 million, if IPO occurred within 5 years, or US$1,000 million, if IPO occurred after 5 years.
Upon the issuance of the Series E Preferred Shares, the definition of Qualified IPO was modified as follows: For Series A, B, C and D preferred shareholders, the market capitalization was the higher of the balance
F-118
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
17. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
Conversion Rights (Continued)
compounded at the annual rate of return of 25% from the original investment and US$800 million, if IPO occurred within 4 years, or US$1,000 million, if IPO occurred after 7 years; Upon the issuance of the Series E Preferred Shares, for Series E preferred shareholders, a Qualified IPO was defined as an initial public offering consummated on or prior to the fourth (4th) anniversary of the Series E closing date with gross offering proceeds no less than US$160 million and the implied market capitalization of the Company of no less than US$1,400 million.
Voting Rights
Each Preferred Share has voting rights equivalent to the number of common shares to which it is convertible at the record date. Each Preferred Share shall be entitled to that number of votes corresponding to the number of ordinary shares on an as-converted basis. The holders of Preferred Shares and ordinary shares shall vote together as a single class.
Dividend Rights
Each Preferred Share shall have the right to receive dividends, on an as-converted basis, when, as and if declared by the Board. No dividend shall be paid on the ordinary shares at any time unless and until all dividends on the Preferred Shares have been paid in full. No dividends on preferred and ordinary shares have been declared since the issuance date until March 31, 2024.
Liquidation Preferences
In the event of any liquidation (unless waived by the Preferred Shareholders) including deemed liquidation (i.e. change of control, etc.), dissolution or winding up of the Company, holders of the Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive the liquidation value in the sequence of Series E Preferred Shares, Series D Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares, Series B and Series A Preferred Shares (Series B and Series A preferred shares share the same sequential position). After such liquidation amounts have been paid in full, any remaining funds or assets of the Company legally available for distribution to shareholders shall be distributed on a pro rata, pari passu basis among the holders of the Preferred Shares, on an as-converted basis, together with the holders of the ordinary shares.
For Series E Preferred Shares, liquidation value equals the original Preferred Shares issue price for such series plus 12% compound interest per annum (calculated from the issuance dates of the respective series of Preferred Shares) and declared but unpaid dividends.
For Series D Preferred Shares, liquidation value equals the original Preferred Shares issue price for such series plus 12% compound interest per annum (calculated from the issuance dates of the respective series of Preferred Shares) and declared but unpaid dividends.
For Series C Preferred Shares, liquidation value equals the original Preferred Shares issue price for such series plus 8% compound interest per annum (calculated from the issuance dates of the respective series of Preferred Shares) and declared but unpaid dividends.
F-119
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
17. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
Liquidation Preferences (Continued)
For Series B and Series A Preferred Shares, liquidation value equals the 150% of the original Preferred Shares issue price and declared but unpaid dividends.
Accounting for Preferred Shares
The Company classified the Preferred Shares in the mezzanine section of the unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets because they were redeemable at the holders option any time after a certain date and were contingently redeemable upon the occurrence of certain liquidation event outside of the Companys control. The conversion feature of Series A-1, A-2, A-3 and B Preferred Shares and liquidation preferences feature of Series A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4 and B Preferred Shares as mentioned below, are initially measured at its fair value, respectively, and the initial carrying value for the Preferred Shares are allocated on a residual basis, net of issuance costs. There were no beneficial conversion features for the Preferred Shares.
For each reporting period, the Company accretes the carrying amount of the Preferred Shares to the redemption value. For Series A-1, A-2, A-3 and Series B Preferred Shares the redemption value is the higher of (1) 150% of the original preferred shares issue price of such series, or (2) the fair market value of the Preferred Shares of such series. For Series A-4, C-1, C-2, D-1, D-2, D-3, E-1 and E-2 Preferred Shares the redemption value is the result of using effective interest rate method to accrete the Preferred Shares to the redemption prices on the optional redemption date. The accretion is recorded against retained earnings, or in the absence of retained earnings, by charges against additional paid-in-capital, or in the absence of additional paid-in-capital, by charges to accumulated deficit. For the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, the accretion of the Preferred Shares was RMB 74,392 and RMB 86,849, respectively.
The Group has determined that, under the whole instrument approach, host contract of the Preferred Shares is more akin to a debt host, given the Preferred Shares holders have potential creditors right in the event of insufficient fund upon redemption, along with other debt-like features in the terms of the Preferred Shares, including the redemption rights. The conversion feature that is embedded in the Series A-1, A-2, A-3 and B Preferred Shares is required to be bifurcated and accounted for as derivative liability, due to the optional redemption settlement mechanism could give rise to net settlement of the conversion provision in cash if fair market value of relevant series of the Preferred Shares on the date of the redemption is higher than the fixed redemption amount, instead of the settlement by delivery of the ordinary shares of the Company. Thus, the conversion feature is a derivative instrument subject to ASC 815-10-15, also this equity-like feature is not considered clearly and closely related to the debt host of the Preferred Shares and should be bifurcated and accounted for as derivative liability. The fair value of the derivative liabilities of conversion feature was RMB 29,853 initially, and subsequently was marked to market value of RMB 100,279 and RMB 99,471 as at December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024, respectively.
Also, the Group has determined that, certain debt-like liquidation features (i.e. change of control, etc.) with which the Series A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4 and B Preferred Shares holders shall be entitled to receive a per share amount equal to 150% of the original preferred share issuance price of the respective series of the Preferred Shares, involve a substantial premium, and could accelerate the repayment of the contractual principal amount as it is contingently exercisable in accordance with ASC 815-15-25-42. Thus, the liquidation features are considered not to be clearly and closely related to the debt host, and are accounted for as derivative liabilities, too. The Group determined the fair value of these derivative liabilities with the assistance of an independent appraiser and
F-120
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
17. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
Accounting for Preferred Shares (Continued)
concluded that the fair value of the bifurcated liquidation features was insignificant, both initially and subsequently, at the end of each reporting period presented.
Modification of Preferred Shares
The Group assesses whether an amendment to the terms of its convertible redeemable preferred shares is an extinguishment or a modification based on a qualitative evaluation of the amendment. If the amendment adds, removes, significantly changes to a substantive contractual term or to the nature of the overall instrument, the amendment results in an extinguishment of the preferred shares. The Group also assess if the change in terms results in value transfer between Preferred Shareholders or between Preferred Shareholders and ordinary shareholders.
When convertible redeemable preferred shares are extinguished, the difference between the fair value of the consideration transferred to the convertible redeemable Preferred Shareholders and the carrying amount of such preferred shares (net of issuance costs) is treated as a deemed dividend to the Preferred Shareholders. When convertible redeemable preferred shares are modified and such modification results in value transfer between Preferred Shareholders and ordinary shareholders, the change in fair value resulted from the amendment is treated as a deemed dividend to or from the Preferred Shareholders.
On January 15, 2020, the Redemption Start Date of Series A, B and C preferred shares was extended from September 10, 2022 to January 15, 2025, which is to be in line with the optional redemption date of Series D Preferred Shares. In the meantime, the market capitalization criteria for a Qualified IPO was increased from US$800 million to the higher of the balance compounded at the annual rate of return of 25% from the original investment and US$800 million, if IPO occurred within 5 years, or US$1,000 million, if IPO occurred after 5 years.
On January 25, 2021, the optional redemption date of Series A, B, C and D preferred shares was changed from January 15, 2025 to January 25, 2025, which is to be in line with the optional redemption date of Series E Preferred Shares. On January 25, 2021, the Series D issuance price with respect to one of the Series D investors changed from US$2.7409 to US$2.6510. In the meantime, the definition of Qualified IPO was modified as follows:
For Series A, B, C and D preferred shareholders, the market capitalization was the higher of the balance compounded at the annual rate of return of 25% from the original investment and US$800 million, if IPO occurred within 4 years, or US$1,000 million, if IPO occurred after 7 years; For Series E preferred shareholders, a Qualified IPO was defined as an initial public offering consummated on or prior to the fourth (4th) anniversary of the Series E closing date with gross offering proceeds no less than US$160 million and the implied market capitalization of the Company of no less than US$1,400 million.
In May 2024, the Group obtained all agreements from existing preferred shareholders to further extend their respective preferred shares optional redemption date from January 25, 2025 to January 2026 or later. Please refer to Subsequent events (Note 21) for details.
The Group evaluated the modification in accordance with its accounting policy and concluded that they are modifications, rather than extinguishment, of Preferred Shares, which resulted in transfer of value amongst
F-121
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
17. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
Modification of Preferred Shares (Continued)
Preferred Shareholders and ordinary shareholders. The Company assessed the impact on the fair value of Preferred Shares and ordinary shares, which also supported the assessment that the modification resulted in value transfer amongst Preferred Shareholders and ordinary shareholders. The change in fair value of Preferred Shares before and after the modification on January 15, 2020 was RMB 8,971 and was recorded as deemed dividend from ordinary shareholders to Preferred Shareholders. The change in fair value of Preferred Shares before and after the modification on January 25, 2021 was RMB 1,323 and was recorded as deemed contribution from Preferred Shareholders to ordinary shareholders.
On June 24, 2020, Series D-1 investor acquired 6,943,638 ordinary shares from one of the original shareholders and these shares were re-designated as Series D-2 preferred shares after transfer. On January 25, 2021, Series E-1 investor acquired 3,939,542 ordinary shares from one of the original shareholders and these shares were re-designated as Series D-3 preferred shares after transfer. In both Series D-2 Transfer and Series D-3 Transfer, considerations were directly transferred from the new shareholder to the original shareholder based on mutually agreed share price and the Company received no consideration upon the re-designation of new preferred shares. The Group allowed investors to receive redeemable preferred shares without paying the Group any consideration. In both circumstances, ordinary shareholders gave up their benefit to maintain the new investors. Thus, both should be treated as deemed contributions from ordinary shareholders to the preferred shareholders.
Accounting treatment is made for value transfer from ordinary shareholders to preferred shareholders. The difference between the fair value of the Series D-2 and Series D-3 preferred share (booked to mezzanine equity) and the fair value of the ordinary shares on the date of re-designation is charged to paid-in-capital, or in the absence of additional paid-in-capital, by charges to accumulated deficit.
F-122
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
17. CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES (CONTINUED)
Modification of Preferred Shares (Continued)
The Companys Preferred Shares activities for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024 are summarized below:
Series A Shares | Series B Shares | Series C Shares | Series D Shares | Series E Shares | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of shares |
Amount (RMB) |
Number of shares |
Amount (RMB) |
Number of shares |
Amount (RMB) |
Number of shares |
Amount (RMB) |
Number of shares |
Amount (RMB) |
Number of shares |
Amount (RMB) |
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Balance as of January 1, 2023 |
15,040,570 | 574,512 | 7,085,330 | 329,406 | 23,786,590 | 453,926 | 37,152,161 | 959,436 | 26,417,318 | 1,236,949 | 109,481,969 | 3,554,229 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accretion on convertible redeemable preferred shares to redemption value |
| 3,163 | | 23 | | 9,370 | | 23,302 | | 38,534 | | 74,392 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Balance as of March 31, 2023 |
15,040,570 | 577,675 | 7,085,330 | 329,429 | 23,786,590 | 463,296 | 37,152,161 | 982,738 | 26,417,318 | 1,275,483 | 109,481,969 | 3,628,621 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Balance as of January 1, 2024 |
15,040,570 | 408,139 | 7,085,330 | 199,518 | 23,786,590 | 493,788 | 37,152,161 | 1,059,434 | 26,417,318 | 1,402,802 | 109,481,969 | 3,563,681 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accretion on convertible redeemable preferred shares to redemption value |
| 4,002 | | 331 | | 10,605 | | 26,970 | | 44,941 | | 86,849 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Balance as of March 31, 2024 |
15,040,570 | 412,141 | 7,085,330 | 199,849 | 23,786,590 | 504,393 | 37,152,161 | 1,086,404 | 26,417,318 | 1,447,743 | 109,481,969 | 3,650,530 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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18. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
On September 10, 2021, the Company adopted 2021 Share Incentive Plan (the 2021 Plan) with the purpose of providing incentives and rewards to its managements and employees.
Under the 2021 Plan, the Companys Board of Directors has approved that a maximum aggregate number of shares that may be issued pursuant to all awards granted shall be 11,258,693 shares, 4,378,011 shares have been granted under the 2021 plan since adoption day.
F-123
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
18. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION (CONTINUED)
Compensation expenses recognized for share-based awards granted by the Company were as follows:
For the three months ended March 31, | ||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
General and administrative expenses |
10,887 | 2,636 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
For the three months ended March 31, | ||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Share-based compensation expenses |
||||||||
Related to managements restricted shares (a) |
3,611 | | ||||||
Related to managements RSUs (b) |
7,276 | 2,636 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total |
10,887 | 2,636 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
There was no income tax benefit recognized in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive loss for share-based compensation expenses and the Company did not capitalize any of the share-based compensation expenses as part of the cost of any assets for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
(a) | Managements Restricted Shares |
As further discussed in Note 16, on September 10, 2021, the Company granted 1,478,415 restricted ordinary shares at par value US$0.0001 to Zuniform Limited, owned by the CEO. The restricted ordinary shares had been vested in two tranches, i.e., 739,207 and 739,208 ordinary shares and no longer be deemed restricted shares on July 5, 2022 and July 5, 2023, respectively.
The movement of the restricted shares during the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, was as follow:
Number of restricted shares | Weighted average grant date fair value (US$) |
|||||||
Unvested as of January 1, 2023 and March 31, 2023 |
739,208 | 5.7072 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Unvested as of January 1, 2024 and March 31, 2024 |
| | ||||||
|
|
|
|
The fair value of the managements restricted shares was determined at the respective grant date by the Company and was amortized over the respective vesting period on graded vesting method. The share-based compensation expenses related to managements restricted shares for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024 were RMB 3,611 and nil, respectively.
(b) | Managements RSUs |
On October 5, 2022, 1,421,181 RSUs representing 1,421,181 ordinary shares of the Company with par value US$0.0001 were granted to certain director, executive officer and management of the Company. 745,164 RSUs
F-124
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
18. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION (CONTINUED)
(b) | Managements RSUs (Continued) |
have immediately vested due to the service inception date preceded the grant date and the Company recognized RMB 33,600 on the grant date. 234,005 RSUs vested in 2023. 234,005 and 208,007 RSUs shall be vested in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
The movement of the RSUs during the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, was as follow:
Number of RSUs | Weighted average grant date fair value (US$) |
|||||||
Unvested as of January 1, 2023 and March 31, 2023 |
676,017 | 6.3515 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Unvested as of January 1, 2024 and March 31, 2024 |
442,012 | 6.3515 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
The fair value of the managements RSUs was determined at the respective grant date by the Company and was amortized over the respective vesting period on graded vesting method. The share-based compensation expenses related to managements RSU for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024 were RMB 7,276 and RMB 2,636, respectively.
As of March 31, 2024, there was RMB 3,695 of unamortized stock-based compensation expense related to unvested awards which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 0.52 years. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur.
19. NET LOSS PER SHARE
Basic and diluted net loss per share for each of the periods presented are calculated as follows:
For the three months ended March 31, |
||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||
RMB | RMB | |||||||
Numerator: |
||||||||
Net (loss)/income |
(65,248 | ) | 35,039 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests shareholders |
2,454 | 300 | ||||||
Accretion on convertible redeemable preferred shares |
(74,392 | ) | (86,849 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders |
(137,186 | ) | (51,510 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Denominator: |
||||||||
Weighted average number of ordinary shares basic and diluted |
48,259,381 | 49,232,594 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders: |
||||||||
Basic and diluted |
(2.84 | ) | (1.05 | ) |
Basic net loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding and vested RSUs during the period. Diluted net loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of ordinary shares, vested RSUs and dilutive potential ordinary shares outstanding during the period.
F-125
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
19. NET LOSS PER SHARE (CONTINUED)
For the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, the Company had potential ordinary shares, including Preferred Shares, restricted shares and RSUs. Assumed conversion of the Preferred Shares, restricted shares and RSUs have not been reflected in the dilutive calculations pursuant to ASC 260, Earnings Per Share, due to the anti-dilutive effect. The weighted-average numbers of Preferred Shares excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share of the Company were 109,481,969 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, (Note 17). The weighted-average numbers of restricted shares excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share of the Company were 739,208 and nil for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively (Note 18).The weighted-average numbers of RSUs excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share of the Company were 676,017 and 442,012 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively (Note 18).
20. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Commitments
The Group has outstanding commitments on several non-cancellable operating lease agreements. Operating lease commitment within one year or less lease term, for which the Group elected not recognize any lease liability or right-of-use asset, and operating lease contracts which lease commencement date has not been started yet, therefore not yet reflected in the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2024 were as follows:
As of March 31, | ||||
RMB | ||||
2024 |
637 | |||
2025 |
72 | |||
|
|
|||
Total |
709 | |||
|
|
Contingencies
The HKIAC Arbitration tribunal concluded and issued their final decision on the CEIBS arbitration case (Note 4). The Company subsequently applied to set aside the arbitration award in April 2024 with the High Court of Hong Kong, and CEIBS also filed an application to the High Court of Hong Kong to enforce the arbitration award in April 2024. In May 2024, the High Court of Hong Kong held a hearing, during which the set aside application and the enforcement application were adjourned for substantive arguments before a judge in August 2024. Also as aforementioned (Note 4), the High Court of Hong Kong had put the Winding-up Proceedings to be stayed pending determination of the HKIAC Arbitration, and upon determination of the HKIAC Arbitration which has been made in January 2024.
Having considered recent Hong Kong courts have generally adopted a very pro-arbitration approach, the chance of successfully set aside the Award before the Hong Kong Court was determined to be remote, based on the Companys external law counsels legal opinion. It is reasonable to predict that the parties may exercise the liberty to restore the Winding-up Proceedings for further directions or order.
F-126
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
21. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company has evaluated subsequent events through June 28, 2024, the date the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements were available to be issued.
In May 2024, the Company entered into agreements with all original convertible redeemable preferred shareholders to extend the optional redemption date. The optional redemption date was changed from January 25, 2025 to March 31, 2026 for Series A-4, Series B and part of Series D convertible redeemable preferred shares and changed from January 25, 2025 to January 31, 2026 for the rest convertible redeemable preferred shares, respectively. The Group evaluated the modification in accordance with its accounting policy and concluded that they are modifications, rather than extinguishment of the Preferred Shares, which resulted in transfer of value amongst Preferred Shareholders and ordinary shareholders. The Company assessed the impact on the fair value of Preferred Shares and ordinary shares, which also supported the assessment that the modification resulted in value transfer amongst Preferred Shareholders and ordinary shareholders. The change in fair value of Preferred Shares before and after the modification was RMB 6,206 and was recorded as deemed dividend from ordinary shareholders to Preferred Shareholders in May 2024.
Events Subsequent to Original Issuance of Financial Statements
In connection with the reissuance of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, the Group has evaluated subsequent events through July 12, 2024, the date the financial statements were reissued.
On July 1, 2024, the Company resolved certain shareholders resolutions. Firstly, the definition of Qualified IPO was modified as an initial public offering with a pre-offering valuation of the Company of at least US$630 million and aggregate gross proceeds to the Company not exceeding US$55 million before January 31, 2026 to match with the Companys current valuation and market condition. The Group evaluated that this modification will not have material impact on the consolidated financials.
Secondly, the conversion of all of the Companys outstanding convertible redeemable preferred shares into ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis is adjusted from weight-average anti-dilution mechanism to full-ratchet anti-dilution mechanism if the issuance price of the securities issued in this offering determined based on the per share offering price (the initial public offering price) is lower than the respective issuance prices of the Companys preferred shares when they were issued. Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, the Company shall issue such number of ordinary shares as fully paid bonus shares for no additional consideration, to the shareholders whose anti-dilution rights are triggered, such that the total number of ordinary shares held by such shareholders on an as-converted basis immediately following such issuance and prior to the completion of this offering shall be equal to (x) the aggregate purchase price paid by such shareholders to the Company in consideration for their respective shares divided by (y) the initial public offering price. Following such full-ratchet anti-dilution mechanism, the respective issuance price for each shareholder whose anti-dilution right is triggered shall be deemed to have been adjusted to be equal to the initial public offering price. The Group is still in process of evaluating the impact on the financial statements.
In June 2024, the Company entered into a secured one-year bank loan in the principal amount of RMB 80,000 with an annual interest rate of 3.60%, which is due in June 2025, and also entered into an unsecured two-year bank loan in the principal amount of RMB 10,000 with an annual interest rate of 3.30% and with annual repayment schedule of RMB 500, RMB 3,500 and RMB 6,000 in 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively.
F-127
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)
22. STATUTORY RESERVES AND RESTRICTED NET ASSETS
Pursuant to laws applicable to entities incorporated in the PRC, the Groups subsidiaries and consolidated VIE in the PRC must make appropriations from after-tax profit to non-distributable reserve funds. These reserve funds include one or more of the following: (i) a general reserve, (ii) an enterprise expansion fund and (iii) a staff bonus and welfare fund. Subject to certain cumulative limits, the general reserve fund requires an annual appropriation of 10% of after tax profit (as determined under accounting principles generally accepted in the PRC at each year-end) until the accumulative amount of such reserve fund reaches 50% of a companys registered capital, the other fund appropriations are at the subsidiaries discretion. These reserve funds can only be used for specific purposes of enterprise expansion and staff bonus and welfare and are not distributable as cash dividends. As of December 31, 2023, the statutory reserve of RMB 4,180 was appropriated by the CEIBS Publishing Groups VIEs before the acquisition and all amount of the statutory reserve was deconsolidated with CEIBS Publishing Group on January 15, 2024. During the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, nil statutory reserve has been made by the Group.
F-128
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN THE PROSPECTUS
Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a companys articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences or committing a crime. Under our post-offering memorandum and articles of association, which will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering, to the fullest extent permissible under Cayman Islands law every director and officer of our company shall be indemnified against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by him in connection with the execution or discharge of his duties, powers, authorities or discretions as a director or officer of our company, including without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by him in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil proceedings concerning our company or its affairs in any court whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere.
Pursuant to the form of indemnification agreements filed as Exhibit 10.1 to this Registration Statement, we will agree to indemnify our directors and executive officers against certain liabilities and expenses that they incur in connection with claims made by reason of their being a director or officer of our company.
The Underwriting Agreement, the form of which to be filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Registration Statement, will also provide for indemnification of us and our officers and directors.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Item 7. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
During the past three years, we have issued the following securities (including options to acquire our ordinary shares) without registering the securities under the Securities Act. We believe that each of the following issuances was exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act regarding sales by an issuer in offshore transactions, pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act regarding transactions not involving a public offering and/or Rule 701 of the Securities Act. None of the transactions involved an underwriter.
Purchaser |
Date of Issuance | Number of Securities |
Consideration | |||||||||
Ordinary Shares |
| |||||||||||
Zuniform Limited |
September 10, 2021 | 1,478,415 | US$147.84 | |||||||||
Restricted Ordinary Shares |
| |||||||||||
Zuniform Limited |
September 10, 2021 | 1,478,415 | US$147.84 | |||||||||
Restricted Share Units |
||||||||||||
Certain director, executive officers and employees |
October 5, 2022 | 1,421,181 | |
Past and future services to us |
|
II-1
Item 8. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
(a) Exhibits:
See Exhibit Index for a complete list of all exhibits filed as part of this registration, which Exhibit Index is incorporated herein by reference.
(b) Financial Statement Schedules
Schedules have been omitted because the information required to be set forth therein is not applicable or is shown in the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto.
Item 9. Undertakings
The undersigned hereby undertakes:
(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.
(b) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer, or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question of whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
(c) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
(1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.
(2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
II-2
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
EXHIBIT INDEX
II-3
* | To be filed by amendment. |
| Certain of the appendices, annexes, exhibits and/or schedules to this exhibit have been omitted and certain information redacted in accordance with Regulation S-K Item 601. The Registrant agrees to furnish supplementally a copy of all omitted exhibits and schedules to the SEC upon its request. |
II-4
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form F-1 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Suzhou, the Peoples Republic of China, on July 12, 2024.
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED | ||
By: |
/s/ Xiaoyan Lu | |
Name: Xiaoyan Lu | ||
Title: Director |
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Xiaoyan Lu as his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name, place and stead in any and all capacities, in connection with this registration statement, including to sign in the name and on behalf of the undersigned, this registration statement and any and all amendments thereto, including post-effective amendments and registrations filed pursuant to Rule 462 under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto such attorneys-in-fact and agents full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or his substitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons on July 12, 2024 in the capacities indicated:
Signature |
Title | |
/s/ Xiaoyan Lu Xiaoyan Lu |
Director, Chairman of Board | |
/s/ Teng Zu Teng Zu |
Director, Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) | |
/s/ Jie Ding Jie Ding |
Director | |
/s/ Pun Leung Liu Pun Leung Liu |
Director, Chief Financial Officer (principal financial officer and principal accounting officer) |
II-5
SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES
Pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, has signed this registration statement or amendment thereto in New York on July 12, 2024.
Authorized U.S. Representative | ||
By: |
/s/ Colleen A. De Vries | |
Name: Colleen A. De Vries | ||
Title: Senior Vice President on behalf of COGENCY GLOBAL INC. |
II-6
Exhibit 3.1
THE COMPANIES ACT (AS AMENDED)
OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES
SEVENTH AMENDED AND RESTATED MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION
OF
UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
(Adopted by Special Resolution passed on March 22, 2021)
1. | The name of the Company is UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED. |
2. | The Registered Office of the Company shall be the Office of Sertus Incorporations (Cayman) Limited, Sertus Chambers, Governors Square, Suite # 5-204, 23 Lime Tree Bay Avenue, P.O. Box 2547, Grand Cayman, KYI-1104, Cayman Islands or at such other location as the Directors may from time to time determine. |
3. | The objects for which the Company is established are unrestricted and the Company shall have full power and authority to carry out any object not prohibited by the Companies Act (as amended) or as revised, or any other Laws of the Cayman Islands. |
4. | The liability of each Member is limited to the amount from time to time unpaid on such Members Shares. |
5. | The authorized share capital of the Company is US$50,000 divided into 500,000,000 shares of a nominal or par value of US$0.0001 each, comprising of (i) 390,518,031 ordinary shares (Ordinary Shares), (ii) 15,040,570 series A preferred shares (Series A Preferred Shares), (iii) 7,085,330 series B preferred shares (Series B Preferred Shares), (iv) 23,786,590 series C preferred shares (Series C Preferred Shares), (v) 37,152,161 series D preferred shares (Series D Preferred Shares), (vi) 16,883,753 series E preferred shares (Series E Preferred Shares), and (vii) 9,533,565 series E2 preferred shares (Series E2 Preferred Shares); provided that subject to the provisions of the Companies Act (as amended) and the Seventh Amended and Restated Articles of Association of the Company (as may be amended), the Company shall have power to redeem or purchase any of its Shares and to sub-divide or consolidate the said Shares or any of them and to issue all or any part of its capital, whether original, redeemed, increased or reduced with or without any preference, priority or special privilege or subject to any postponement of rights or to any conditions or restrictions whatsoever and so that unless the conditions of issue shall otherwise expressly provide, every issue of Shares whether stated to be ordinary, preference or otherwise, shall be subject to the powers on the part of the Company hereinbefore provided. |
6. | If the Company is registered as exempted, its operations will be carried on subject to the provisions of Section 174 of the Companies Act (as amended) and, subject to the provisions of the Companies Act (as amended) and the Seventh Amended and Restated Articles of Association of the Company (as may be amended), it shall have the power to register by way of continuation as a body corporate limited by shares under the Laws of any jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands and to be de-registered in the Cayman Islands. |
1
7. | The financial year end of the Company is 31 December or such other date as the Directors may from time to time decide and annex to this Memorandum of Association. |
2
THE COMPANIES ACT (AS AMENDED)
COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES
OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
SEVENTH AMENDED AND RESTATED ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
OF
UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
(Adopted by Special Resolution passed on March 22, 2021)
INTERPRETATION
1. | In these Articles Table A in the Schedule to the Companies Act does not apply and, unless there is something in the subject or context inconsistent therewith: |
Affiliate means, with respect to a person other than a natural person, any other persons that, directly or indirectly, controls, is controlled by or is under common control with such person; and with respect to any person who is a natural person, any other person that, is directly or indirectly, controlled by such person or is a Family Member of such person. For the avoidance of doubt, in the case of the Lead Series D Investor, the term Affiliate includes (i) any direct or indirect controlling shareholder of the Lead Series D Investor, (ii) any of such direct or indirect controlling shareholders or the Lead Series D Investors general partners, (iii) the fund manager managing such direct or indirect controlling shareholder or the Lead Series D Investor (and general partners and officers thereof) and other funds or person managed or controlled by such fund manager, and (iv) trusts controlled by or for the benefit of any such person referred to in (i), (ii) or (iii). In these Articles, the Affiliate of Yunfeng, Yunfengs Affiliate or YF Affiliate refers to (i) any of YF RMB Funds or YF USD Funds; (ii) any other fund or special purpose investment vehicle managed or sponsored by any YF Advisor; or (iii) any portfolio company controlled by any of the foregoing.
For the purpose of this definition,
(a) | YF RMB Fund shall mean any of the following: (i) 上海云锋股权投资中心(有 限合伙); (ii) 上海云锋新创股权投资中心(有限合伙); (iii)上海云锋新呈股权投资中心(有限合伙); and (iv) 上海云锋麒泰投资中心(有限合伙); |
(b) | YF USD Fund shall mean any of the following: (i) Yunfeng Fund, L.P., (ii) Yunfeng Fund II, L.P.; and (iii)Yunfeng Fund III, L.P. |
(c) | YF Advisor means Yunfeng Offshore Advisor or Yunfeng Onshore Advisor. |
(d) | YF Offshore Advisor means Yunfeng Capital Limited. |
1
(e) | YF Onshore Advisor means 上海云锋投资管理有限公司 or 上海云锋新创投资 管理有限公司, as the case may be. For the avoidance of doubt, Yunfeng shall not be deemed an Affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Limited or Ant Technology Group Co. Ltd. (蚂蚁科技集团股份有限公司). |
Articles means these articles of association of the Company as originally formed or as from time to time altered by Special Resolution;
Available Funds has the meaning as set forth in Article 47(d);
Board or Board of Directors means the board of directors of the Company;
Business means the business of research and development of software (including Software-as-a-Service or SaaS), development and operation of internet or mobile network platforms and design, production, distribution and sale of multimedia courses, in each case, related to professional/skill training or education and enterprise informatization, and providing of related technical, consulting and supporting services, and other business as approved by the Board;
Business Day means any day, other than a Saturday, Sunday or any public holidays, on which banks are ordinarily open for business in Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and the PRC;
Centurium means Jump Shot Holdings Limited, a company incorporated under the Laws of the Cayman Islands, or its successor;
Change of Control means (i) any consolidation, amalgamation, scheme of arrangement or merger of the Company with or into any other person, or any other transaction or series of transactions, in which the members of the Company immediately prior to such consolidation, amalgamation, scheme of arrangement, merger, reorganization or transaction(s) own less than a majority of voting power attaching to all issued and outstanding Equity Securities of the Company immediately after such consolidation, amalgamation, scheme of arrangement, merger, or reorganization, or any transaction or series of related transactions to which the Company is a party in which or as a result of which at least a majority of the voting power attaching to all issued and outstanding Equity Securities of the Company immediately prior to such transaction(s) is transferred; or (ii) a sale, transfer, lease, or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company or of the other Group Companies, or the licensing out of material intellectual property, taken as a whole (or any series of related transactions resulting in such sale, transfer, or lease of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company or of the other Group Companies, or the licensing out of material intellectual property, taken as a whole);
Companies Act means the Companies Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands;
Company means the above named company;
control (including with collative meanings, the terms controlling, controlled by and under common control with) means, with respect to any person, the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power or authority to direct or cause the direction of the business, management and policies of such person, whether through the ownership of voting securities or by contract or otherwise, which power or authority shall conclusively be presumed to exist upon possession of beneficial ownership of more than fifty percent (50%) of the Equity Securities of such person or power to direct the vote of more than fifty percent (50%) of the votes entitled to be cast at a meeting of the members or shareholders of such person or power to control the composition of a majority of the board of directors or similar governing body of such person;
2
Conversion Price has the meaning as set forth in Article 8(a);
Cooperative Agreements has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
Core Subsidiary means a Subsidiary of the Company (i) that conducts the core Business of the Group Companies or (ii) that generates no less than thirty percent (30%) of the aggregated revenues of the Group Companies taken as a whole (based on the then latest available consolidated financial statements of the Group Companies), provided that each of the WFOE I, and Jiangsu Yunxuetang shall constitute a Core Subsidiary.
CW Series A Preferred Shares has the meaning as set forth in Article 47(b);
CW Redemption Price has the meaning as set forth in Article 47(b);
Deemed Liquidation Event means: (i) a sale, lease, transfer, exclusive license or other disposition (whether by merger or otherwise) by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, of all or substantially all of the assets of the Group Companies taken as a whole (or any series of related transactions resulting in such sale, lease, transfer, exclusive license or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Group Companies taken as a whole); (ii) a liquidation, dissolution, winding up or similar procedure of a Core Subsidiary; (iii) a sale, transfer or other disposition or an exclusive licensing of all or substantially all of the intellectual property of the Group Companies taken as a whole (or any series of related transactions resulting in such sale, transfer or other disposition or an exclusive licensing of all or substantially all of the intellectual property of the Group Companies taken as a whole); (iv) a sale, transfer, exchange or other disposition of no less than a majority of the issued and outstanding share capital of the Company or any Core Subsidiary or a majority of the voting power of the Company or any Core Subsidiary; (v) a merger, consolidation, amalgamation or other business combination of the Company or any Core Subsidiary with or into any other business entity, or any other corporate reorganization or scheme of arrangement, (1) in which the shareholders (with respect to any Core Subsidiary that is a Domestic Company, the actual controlling person, which is the WFOE I or the WFOE II (as applicable)) of the Company or such Core Subsidiary immediately prior to such transaction own less than fifty percent (50%) of the voting power attaching to all issued and outstanding Equity Securities of the Company or such Core Subsidiary immediately after such transaction, or (2) in the event that the Company has adopted the Dual Class Voting Structure prior to such transaction which results in the Founder Parties (together with their Affiliates and the persons act in concert with the Founder Parties, if any) jointly holding, directly or indirectly, more than fifty (50%) of the voting power attaching to all issued and outstanding Equity Securities of the Company, where the Founder Parties (together with the persons act in concert with the Founder Parties, if any) jointly own, directly or indirectly, less than fifty percent (50%) of the voting power attaching to all issued and outstanding Equity Securities of the surviving business entity immediately after such transaction; or (vi) any material breach of, or without the prior written consents of the Series A Majority, Series B Majority, Series C Majority, Series D Majority and Series E Majority, any termination (by operation of law or otherwise) of or material amendment to, any contracts among the Group Companies designed to provide the Company with control over and the ability to consolidate the controlled entities, including without limitation termination of (by operation of law or otherwise), material breach of or material amendment to the Cooperative Agreements. Without prejudicing the foregoing, and for the avoidance of doubt, the fact that the voting power of the Founder Parties (together with their Affiliates and the persons act in concert with the Founder Parties, if any) in the Company is less than fifty percent (50%) of the total voting power in the Company before the adoption of the Dual Class Voting Structure shall not constitute or be deemed as a Deemed Liquidation Event.
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Directors means the directors of the Company for the time being, or as the case may be, the directors assembled as a Board or as a committee thereof;
Domestic Companies means Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (江苏云学堂网络科技有限公司, Jiangsu Yunxuetang), Beijing Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (北京云学堂网络科技有限公司), Suzhou Xuancai Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州炫彩网络科技有限公司), Shanghai Zhong Ou International Culture Communication Co., Ltd. (上海中欧国际文化传播有限公司, Shanghai Zhong Ou), Suzhou Xiwenlejian Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州喜闻乐见网络科技有限公司), Beijing Guoshi Technology Co., Ltd. (北京果识科技有限公司), Shanghai Fenghe Culture Communication Co., Ltd. (上海峰禾文化传播有限公司, Shanghai Fenghe) and each other Subsidiary of the Company incorporated under PRC laws (other than the WFOEs), collectively;
Drag-Along Sale has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
Dual Class Voting Structure has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
Equity Securities means, with respect to any person that is a legal entity, any and all shares of capital stock, membership interests, units, profits interests, ownership interest, equity interest, registered capital, and other equity securities of such person, and any right, warrant, option, call, commitment, conversion privilege, preemptive right or other right to acquire any of the foregoing, or security convertible into, exchangeable or exercisable for any of the foregoing, or any contract providing for the acquisition of any of the foregoing. Unless the context otherwise requires or specifies, any reference to Equity Securities refers to the Equity Securities of the Company;
ESOP has the meaning as set forth in Article 9(a);
Existing ESOP Shares has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
Family Members of an individual means his or her spouse, children or step-children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, in-laws and each person who lives together with this individual in the same household;
Founder Lu has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
Founder Lu Holdco has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
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Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage Agreement has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
Founder Lu Holdco Mortgaged Shares has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
Founder Parties has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
Governmental Authority(ies) has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
Group Companies has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
HK Subsidiary II means CEIBS Publishing Group Limited;
Initial Redemption Requesting Holder has the meaning as set forth in Article 47(c);
Internal Rate of Return shall mean, in respect of any Series D Preferred Share as of the date of determination, the annual percentage rate compounded on an annual basis and based on a 365-day period which when applied to each of the following cash flows and taking into account the timing of when the relevant payments are made, would result in a net present value of zero: (a) representing positive cash flows, the aggregate net amounts received by the holder of such Series D Preferred Share in respect of such share through such date (including without limitation any dividends and other distributions and cash from sale or redemption received in respect of such Series D Preferred Share) and (b) representing negative cash flows, the aggregate amounts paid by the holder of such shares;
Investor Directors has the meaning as set forth in Article 79;
Investors has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
IPO means the first firm underwritten registered public offering by the Company (or another listing vehicle formed to hold all or most of the business and assets of the Group Companies taken as a whole) of its ordinary shares pursuant to a registration statement that is filed with and declared effective by either the Commission under the Securities Act or equivalent filing for a public offering by the Company (or another listing vehicle formed to hold all or most of the business and assets of the Group Companies taken as a whole) of its ordinary shares in any jurisdiction other than the United States of America, including a Qualified Public Offering;
Issue Date means the Series A Issue Date, the Series B Issue Date, the Series C Issue Date, the Series D Issue Date, the Series E Issue Date or the Series E2 Issue Date (as applicable);
Issue Price means the Series A Issue Price, the Series B Issue Price, the Series C Issue Price, the Series D Issue Price, the Series E Issue Price or the Series E2 Issue Price (as applicable);
Langmafeng means Langmafeng Holdings Limited;
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Law or Laws means any and all provisions of any applicable constitution, treaty, statute, law, regulation, ordinance, code, rule, or rule of common law, any governmental approval, concession, grant, franchise, license, agreement, directive, requirement, or other governmental restriction or any similar form of decision of, or determination by, or any interpretation or administration of any of the foregoing by, any Governmental Authority, in each case as amended, and any and all applicable governmental orders;
Lead Series D Investor has the meaning set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
Lead Series D Investor Representative has the meaning set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
HK Subsidiaries has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
Matrix means Matrix Partners China VI Hong Kong Limited;
M&A has the meaning as set forth in Article 48(a)(iii);
Member has the meaning as in the Companies Act;
Memorandum of Association means the Memorandum of Association of the Company as originally formed or, as amended and re-stated from time to time;
Mortgagee Proxy has the meaning as set forth in Article76(a).
New ESOP Shares has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
New Securities has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries means the Group Companies whose equity interests are not one-hundred percent (100%) held or controlled (whether directly or indirectly) by the Company, including without limitation, as of the Series E2 Closing Date, the HK Subsidiary II, the WFOE II, Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai Zhong Ou, and a Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary means any of them;
Ordinary Share Equivalents means any Equity Security which is by its terms convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Ordinary Shares, including without limitation, the Preferred Shares.
Ordinary Resolution means a resolution:
(a) | passed by a simple majority votes of such Members as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at a general meeting of the Company and where a poll is taken regard shall be had in computing a majority to the number of votes to which each Member is entitled; or |
(b) | approved in writing by all of the Members entitled to vote at a general meeting of the Company in one or more instruments each signed by one or more of the Members and the effective date of the resolution so adopted shall be the date on which the instrument, or the last of such instruments if more than one, is executed; |
Ordinary Shares means ordinary shares in the capital of the Company of par value of US$0.0001 each;
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paid up means paid up as to the par value and any premium payable in respect of the issue of any Shares and includes credited as paid up;
PRC means the Peoples Republic of China (for the purpose of these Articles shall not include the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macau Special Administrative Region and Taiwan);
Preferred Majority means the holders of more than fifty percent (50%) of the then issued and outstanding Preferred Shares, calculated on an as-converted basis;
Preferred Shares means the Series A Preferred Shares, the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series C Preferred Shares, the Series D Preferred Shares, the Series E Preferred Shares and the Series E2 Preferred Shares collectively and any of them;
Qualified Public Offering means:
(X) with respect to each Member other than the holders of Series E Preferred Shares and Series E2 Preferred Shares, an IPO consummated (unless otherwise consented to by the Lead Series D Investor Representative, Yunfeng and SIG) on or prior to the seventh (7th) anniversary of January 25, 2021on the main board of Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, NASDAQ, the New York Stock Exchange, or another domestic or international stock exchange approved by Tencent, the Lead Series D Investor Representative, Yunfeng and SIG (each, a Qualified Exchange), provided that, unless otherwise consented to by the Lead Series D Investor Representative, Yunfeng and SIG: (a)(i) if the closing of such IPO occurs on or prior to the fourth (4th) anniversary of January 25, 2021, the per share offering price in such IPO shall be no less than the higher of (1) a price that would provide (assuming that all of the Ordinary Shares into which such Series D Preferred Shares issued to Centurium pursuant to the Series D Purchase Agreement are convertible are sold in the IPO at such offering price) Centurium with an Internal Rate of Return of 25% on Centuriums investment in the Series D Preferred Shares acquired pursuant to the Series D Purchase Agreement, with such Internal Rate of Return calculated from the date hereof through the closing date of such IPO, and (2) a price that implies a valuation of the Company immediately prior to the IPO that is no lower than US$800,000,000, and (ii) if the closing of such IPO occurs after the fourth (4th) anniversary of January 25, 2021 and prior to the seventh (7th) anniversary of January 25, 2021 the per share offering price in such IPO shall be no less than a price that implies a valuation of the Company immediately prior to the IPO that is no lower than US$ 1,000,000,000, and (b) such IPO results in gross proceeds in cash to the Company (i.e., before deduction of underwriting fees and other expenses and costs related to such public offering) of at least US$160,000,000; and
(Y) with respect to each holder of Series E Preferred Shares and Series E2 Preferred Shares, an IPO consummated on or prior to the fourth (4th) anniversary of January 25, 2021 on a Qualified Exchange, the per share offering price in which implies a valuation of the Company immediately prior to such IPO not lower than US$1,400,000,000 and results in gross proceeds in cash to the Company (before deduction of underwriting fees and other expenses and costs related to such IPO) of at least US$160,000,000.
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Redeeming Share has the meaning as set forth in Article 47(c);
Redemption Date has the meaning as set forth in Article 47(c);
Redemption Notice has the meaning as set forth in Article 47(c);
Redemption Price has the meaning as set forth in Article 47(b);
Register of Members means the register to be kept by the Company in accordance with Section 40 of the Companies Act;
Related Party has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
Seal means the Common Seal of the Company (if adopted) including any facsimile thereof;
Series A Issue Date means (i) in the case of SIG (and with respect to the Series A Preferred Shares held by it), November 3, 2017; (ii) in the case of Chengwei Capital HK Limited (and with respect to the Series A Preferred Shares held by it), the date of the first sale and issuance of Series A Preferred Shares to Chengwei Capital HK Limited, and (iii) in the case of CW MBA Digital Limited (and with respect to the Series A Preferred Shares held by it), the date of the first sale and issuance of Series A Preferred Shares to CW MBA Digital Limited;
Series A Issue Price means (i) US$1.2771 per Series A Preferred Share with respect to the Series A Preferred Shares held by SIG, its assignee or transferee, as appropriately adjusted for any share dividend, share split, combination of shares, reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification or other similar event affecting the Series A Preferred Shares, or (ii) US$2.8557 per Series A Preferred Share with respect to the Series A Preferred Shares held by Chengwei Capital HK Limited and CW MBA Digital Limited, their assignee or transferee, as appropriately adjusted for any share dividend, share split, combination of shares, reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification or other similar event affecting the Series A Preferred Shares;
Series A&B Liquidation Preference Amount has the meaning as set forth in Article 140(d);
Series A Majority means the holders of more than a majority of the then issued and outstanding Series A Preferred Shares, calculated on an as-converted basis;
Series A Preferred Share(s) means the series A preferred shares of US$0.0001 par value per share in the capital of the Company having the rights, preference and privileges attaching to it as set out herein;
Series B Issue Date means the date of the first sale and issuance of Series B Preferred Shares;
Series B Issue Price means RMB 9.88 per Series B Preferred Share, as appropriately adjusted for any share dividend, share split, combination of shares, reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification or other similar event affecting the Series B Preferred Shares;
Series B Majority means the holders of more than a majority of the then issued and outstanding Series B Preferred Shares, calculated on an as-converted basis;
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Series B Preferred Share(s) means the series B preferred shares of US$0.0001 par value per share in the capital of the Company having the rights, preference and privileges attaching to it as set out herein;
Series B Redemption Price has the meaning as set forth in Article 47(b);
Series C Issue Date means the date of the first sale and issuance of Series C Preferred Shares;
Series C Issue Price means US$2.1020 per Series C Preferred Share, as appropriately adjusted for any share dividend, share split, combination of shares, reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification or other similar event affecting the Series C Preferred Shares;
Series C Liquidation Preference Amount has the meaning as set forth in Article 140(c);
Series C Majority means the holders of more than a majority of the then issued and outstanding Series C Preferred Shares, calculated on an as-converted basis;
Series C Preferred Share(s) means the series C preferred shares of US$0.0001 par value per share in the capital of the Company having the rights, preference and privileges attaching to it as set out herein;
Series C Redemption Price has the meaning as set forth in Article 47(b);
Series D Director has the meaning as set forth in Article 79;
Series D Issue Date means with respect to each holder of the Series D Preferred Share(s), the date of the first sale and issuance of the Series D Preferred Shares to such holder;
Series D Issue Price means (i) US$2.6510 per Series D Preferred Share with respect to the Series D Preferred Shares held by Centurium, its assignee or transferee, (ii) US$2.7409 per Series D Preferred Share with respect to the Series D Preferred Shares held by SIG, its assignee or transferee, or (iii) US$2.8557 per Series D Preferred Share with respect to the Series D Preferred Shares held by Tencent, its assignee or transferee, in each case as appropriately adjusted for any share dividend, share split, combination of shares, reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification or other similar event affecting the Series D Preferred Shares;
Series D Liquidation Preference Amount has the meaning as set forth in Article 140(b);
Series D Majority means the holders of more than a majority of the then issued and outstanding Series D Preferred Shares, calculated on an as-converted basis;
Series D Preferred Share(s) means the series D preferred shares of US$0.0001 par value per share in the capital of the Company having the rights, preference and privileges attaching to it as set out herein;
Series D Purchase Agreement means the Series D Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of December 31, 2019 by and among, inter alia, the Company, certain other Group Companies, Centurium and other relevant parties as listed therein;
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Series D Redemption Price has the meaning as set forth in Article 47(b);
Series E Issue Date means with respect to each holder of the Series E Preferred Share(s), the date of the first sale and issuance of the Series E Preferred Share(s) to such holder;
Series E Issue Price means US$5.3306 per Series E Preferred Share, as appropriately adjusted for any share dividend, share split, combination of shares, reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification or other similar event affecting the Series E Preferred Shares;
Series E&E2 Liquidation Preference Amount has the meaning as set forth in Article 140(a);
Series E Majority means the holders of more than a majority of the then issued and outstanding Series E Preferred Shares and Series E2 Preferred Shares, calculated on an as-converted basis;
Series E Preferred Share(s) means the series E preferred shares of US$0.0001 par value per share in the capital of the Company having the rights, preference and privileges attaching to it as set out herein;
Series E&E2 Redemption Price has the meaning as set forth in Article 47(b);
Series E2 Closing Date means March 22, 2021;
Series E2 Issue Date means with respect to each holder of the Series E2 Preferred Share(s), the date of the first sale and issuance of the Series E2 Preferred Share(s) to such holder;
Series E2 Issue Price means US$6.7476 per Series E2 Preferred Share, as appropriately adjusted for any share dividend, share split, combination of shares, reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification or other similar event affecting the Series E2 Preferred Shares;
Series E2 Majority means the holders of more than two-thirds (2/3) of the then issued and outstanding Series E2 Preferred Shares, calculated on an as-converted basis;
Series E2 Preferred Share(s) means the series E2 preferred shares of US$0.0001 par value per share in the capital of the Company having the rights, preference and privileges attaching to it as set out herein;
Share means any share in the capital of the Company, including a fraction of any share;
Shareholders Agreement means the Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement dated as of March 22, 2021 by and among, inter alia, the Company, certain other Group Companies, Founder Lu and the Shareholders;
Share Restriction Agreements has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
SIG means SIG China Investments Master Fund IV, LLLP;
SIG Director has the meaning as set forth in Article 79;
SIG Series A Redemption Price has the meaning as set forth in Article 47(b);
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SIG Series A Preferred Shares has the meaning as set forth in Article 47(b);
signed includes a signature or representation of a signature affixed by mechanical means;
Special Resolution means a resolution passed in accordance with Section 60 of the Companies Act, being a resolution:
(a) | passed by not less than two-thirds (2/3) votes of such Members as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at a general meeting of the Company of which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a Special Resolution has been duly given and where a poll is taken regard shall be had in computing a two-thirds (2/3) majority to the number of votes to which each Member is entitled; or |
(b) | approved in writing by all of the Members entitled to vote at a general meeting of the Company in one or more instruments each signed by one or more of the Members and the effective date of the Special Resolution so adopted shall be the date on which the instrument or the last of such instruments if more than one, is executed; |
Subsidiary means, with respect to any given person, any other person that is controlled directly or indirectly by such given person. For the avoidance of doubt, the Subsidiaries of the Company shall include the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies and their Subsidiaries from time to time;
Tencent means Image Frame Investment (HK) Limited;
Tencent Business Cooperation Agreements has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
Tencent Director has the meaning as set forth in Article 79;
Transaction Documents has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement;
U.S. means the United States of America;
WFOE I means Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.(云学堂信息科技(江苏)有限公司);
WFOE II means Fenghe Corporation Management Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (枫合企业管理咨询(上海)有限公司), together with WFOE I, the WFOEs and each a WFOE;
Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries means the Subsidiaries of the Company other than the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries and a Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary means any of them.
Yunfeng means YF Elite Alliance Limited;
Yunfeng Director has the meaning as set forth in Article 79;
Zu Tengs SPV has the meaning as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement.
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2. | In these Articles, save where the context requires otherwise: |
(a) | words importing the singular number shall include the plural number and vice versa; |
(b) | words importing the masculine gender only shall include the feminine gender; |
(c) | words importing persons only shall include companies or associations or bodies of persons, whether corporate or not; |
(d) | may shall be construed as permissive and shall shall be construed as imperative; |
(e) | references to a dollar or dollars or $ is a reference to dollars of the U.S.; |
(f) | references to a statutory enactment shall include reference to any amendment or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force; |
(g) | wherever in these Articles there is a reference to a specific number of Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares or any reference to per Share amount, then, upon the occurrence of any share split, subdivision, combination, share dividend, recapitalization, reclassification or similar event affecting Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares after the date hereof, the specific number of Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares so referenced in these Articles shall automatically be proportionally adjusted to reflect the effect of such event on the outstanding Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares by such share split, subdivision, combination or share dividend. Any reference to or calculation of Shares in issue shall exclude treasury shares. |
(h) | in calculations of share numbers, (i) references to a fully-diluted basis mean that the calculation is to be made assuming that all outstanding options, warrants and other Equity Securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Ordinary Shares (whether or not by their terms then currently convertible, exercisable or exchangeable) have been so converted, exercised or exchanged (including assuming that the Existing ESOP Shares and the New ESOP Shares (after its reservation) have been issued and are outstanding), and (ii) references to an as converted basis or as-converted basis mean that the calculation is to be made assuming that all Preferred Shares in issue have been converted into Ordinary Shares; and |
(i) | references to writing and written include any mode of reproducing words in a legible and non-transitory form including emails and faxes. |
3. | Subject to the last two preceding Articles, any words defined in the Companies Act shall, if not inconsistent with the subject or context, bear the same meaning in these Articles. |
PRELIMINARY
4. | The business of the Company may be commenced as soon after incorporation as the Directors see fit. |
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5. | The registered office of the Company shall be at such address in the Cayman Islands as the Directors shall from time to time determine. The Company may in addition establish and maintain such other offices and places of business and agencies in such places as the Directors may from time to time determine. |
SHARES
6. | Subject to the restriction set forth in these Articles (including Article 48) and the Shareholders Agreement (including section 9.4 thereof), all Shares for the time being and from time to time unissued shall be under the control of the Directors, and may be re-designated, allotted or disposed of in such manner, to such persons and on such terms as the Directors in their absolute discretion may think fit. Subject to the relevant provisions, if any, in the Memorandum of Association, these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, and to any direction that may be given by the Company in a general meeting and without prejudice to any special rights previously conferred on the holders of existing Shares, the Directors may issue Shares against payment in cash or against payment in kind (which may, in the sole determination of the Directors, include tangible assets, services or any other valuable property). |
7. | Subject to these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, the Company may insofar as may be permitted by law, (i) pay a commercially reasonable commission to any person in consideration of his subscribing or agreeing to subscribe whether absolutely or conditionally for any Shares. Such commissions may be satisfied by the payment of cash or the lodgement of fully or partly paid-up Shares or partly in one way and partly in the other and (ii) pay, on any issue of Shares, such brokerage as may be lawful and commercially reasonable. |
CONVERSION OF PREFERRED SHARES
8. | The holders of the Preferred Shares have conversion rights as follows: |
(a) | Optional Conversion. Unless converted earlier pursuant to Article 8(b) below and subject to applicable Laws, the Memorandum of Association and these Articles, each Preferred Share shall be convertible at the option of the holder thereof at any time after the applicable Issue Date into such number of fully paid and non-assessable Ordinary Share as determined by dividing the applicable Issue Price by the then-effective applicable Conversion Price (as defined below). The number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of each Preferred Share shall be the quotient of the applicable Issue Price of such Preferred Share divided by the then effective conversion price of such Preferred Share (the Conversion Price), which shall initially be equal to the applicable Issue Price of such Preferred Share, resulting in an initial conversion ratio of 1:1 (for the avoidance of any doubt, the Conversion Price in respect of Series A Preferred Shares held by Chengwei Capital HK Limited and CW MBA Digital Limited shall initially be the Series A Issue Price applicable to Chengwei Capital HK Limited and CW MBA Digital Limited and the Conversion Price in respect of Series A Preferred Shares held by other holders of Series A Preferred Shares shall initially be the Series A Issue Price applicable to such other holders of Series A Preferred Shares). Such initial Conversion Price shall be subject to adjustment as hereinafter provided. |
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(b) | Automatic Conversion. Each Preferred Share shall automatically be converted into Ordinary Shares at the then effective applicable Conversion Price upon (x) the closing of an IPO, or (y) the written request of the Series A Majority (with respect to the Series A Preferred Shares) or the Series B Majority (with respect to the Series B Preferred Shares) or the Series C Majority (with respect to the Series C Preferred Shares) or the Series D Majority (with respect to the Series D Preferred Shares) or the Series E Majority (with respect to the Series E Preferred Shares) or the Series E2 Majority (with respect to the Series E2 Preferred Shares). In the event of the automatic conversion of the Preferred Shares pursuant to the foregoing of this Article 8(b), the person(s) entitled to receive the Ordinary Shares issuable upon such conversion of Preferred Shares shall not be deemed to have converted such Preferred Shares until the Register of Members of the Company has been updated. |
(c) | Mechanisms of Conversion. No fractional Ordinary Share shall be issued upon conversion of the Preferred Shares. In lieu of any fractional shares to which the holder would otherwise be entitled, the Company shall pay cash equal to such fraction multiplied by the then effective applicable Conversion Price. |
(i) | In the event of an optional conversion pursuant to Article 8(a), before any holder of Preferred Shares shall be entitled to convert the same into Ordinary Shares and to receive certificates therefor, such holder of Preferred Shares shall surrender the certificate or certificates therefor, duly endorsed, to the Company or of any transfer agent for the Preferred Shares to be converted and shall give written notice to the Company that the holder elects to convert the same. The Company shall promptly issue and deliver to such holder of Preferred Shares or the nominee(s) of such holder, a certificate or certificates for the number of Ordinary Shares to which such holder shall be entitled as aforesaid, a certificate or certificates for the number of the remaining Preferred Shares (if such holder of Preferred Shares elects to convert less than all of the Preferred Shares held by it before the conversion) and a cheque denominated in U.S. dollars payable to the holder in the amount of any cash amounts payable (if any) as the result of a conversion into fractional Ordinary Shares and shall update the Register of Members. Such conversion shall be deemed to have been made immediately prior to the close of business on the date of such surrender of the certificate or certificates representing the Preferred Shares to be converted, and the person or persons entitled to receive the Ordinary Shares issuable upon such conversion shall be treated for all purposes as the record holder or holders of such Ordinary Shares on such date. |
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(ii) | In the event of an automatic conversion pursuant to Article 8(b), all holders of a class or series of Preferred Shares will be given at least ten (10) days prior written notice of the date fixed (which date shall in the case of an IPO be the latest practicable date immediately prior to the consummation of such IPO) and designated for automatic conversion of such class or series of Preferred Shares pursuant to this Article 8. Such notice shall be sent by overnight courier, postage prepaid, to each applicable record holder of the Preferred Shares at such holders address appearing on the Register of Members or such other address as such holder may have notified the Company in writing prior to such notice. On or before the date fixed for conversion, such applicable holder of Preferred Shares shall surrender his or its certificate or certificates for all such Shares to the contact person of the Company designated in such notice, and the Company shall promptly thereupon issue and deliver to such holder of Preferred Shares a certificate or certificates for the number of Ordinary Shares to which such holder is entitled pursuant to this Article 8 and a cheque denominated in U.S. dollars payable to the holder in the amount of any cash amounts payable as the result of a conversion into fractional Ordinary Shares (if any). On the date fixed for conversion, the Register of Members shall be updated to reflect such conversion and all rights with respect to the Preferred Shares so converted will terminate, with the exception of the rights of the holders thereof, upon surrender of the certificate or certificates therefor, to receive Ordinary Shares (which shall be recorded as issued to such holder in the Register of Members), cash payable as the result of a conversion into fractional Ordinary Shares (if applicable) and certificates for the number of Ordinary Shares into which such Preferred Shares have been converted and payment of any accrued but unpaid dividends thereon. All certificates evidencing the Preferred Shares which are required to be surrendered for conversion in accordance with the provisions hereof shall, from and after the date such certificates are so required to be surrendered, be deemed to have been retired and cancelled and the Preferred Shares represented thereby converted into Ordinary Shares for all purposes, notwithstanding the failure of the holder or holders thereof to surrender such certificates on or prior to such date. |
(iii) | The Directors of the Company may effect such conversion in any manner available under applicable Laws, including redeeming or repurchasing the relevant Preferred Shares and applying the proceeds thereof towards payment for the new Ordinary Shares converted from such Preferred Shares. For purposes of the repurchase or redemption, the Directors may, subject to the Company being able to pay its debts in the ordinary course of business, make payments out of its capital. |
(d) | Reservation of Shares Issuable upon Conversion. The Company shall at all times keep available sufficient number of authorized but unissued Ordinary Shares for the purpose of effecting the conversion of the Preferred Shares into its Ordinary Shares as shall from time to time be sufficient to effect the conversion of all outstanding Preferred Shares, and if at any time the number of authorized but unissued Ordinary Shares shall not be sufficient to effect the conversion of all then outstanding Preferred Shares, in addition to such other remedies as shall be available to the holder of such Preferred Shares, the Company and its Members will take such corporate action as may, in the opinion of its counsel, be necessary to increase its authorized but unissued Ordinary Shares to such number of Shares as shall be sufficient for such purposes. |
ADJUSTMENTS TO CONVERSION PRICE
9. | (a) | Special Definitions. |
For purposes of this Article 9, the following definitions shall apply:
(i) | Options mean rights, options or warrants to subscribe for, purchase or otherwise acquire either Ordinary Shares or Convertible Securities. |
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(ii) | Convertible Securities shall mean any indebtedness, shares or other securities directly or indirectly convertible into or exchangeable for Ordinary Shares. |
(iii) | Additional Ordinary Shares (each an Additional Ordinary Share) shall mean all Ordinary Shares and Ordinary Share Equivalents issued (or, pursuant to Article 9(c), deemed to be issued) by the Company after the Series E2 Closing Date, other than: |
(A) | Ordinary Shares issued upon conversion of the Preferred Shares in issue as of the date of the Series E2 Closing Date, or as dividend or distribution on the Preferred Shares in issue as of the date of the Series E2 Closing Date to which all holders of Preferred Shares are entitled on a pro rata basis; |
(B) | Ordinary Shares (and/or Options) (including any of such shares which are repurchased) issued to officers, directors, employees of and consultants of the Group Companies pursuant to an employee share option plan or any other similar incentive plans duly approved by the Board (including the affirmative votes of the Investor Directors) (such duly approved plan, an ESOP); |
(C) | any securities issued or issuable upon any share splits, share dividends, subdivision, combination, recapitalization, or other similar events which does not change the relative shareholding percentage of the shareholders of the Company; |
(D) | any securities issued in connection with the acquisition of another corporation or entity by the Company, whether by consolidation, merger, purchase of assets, sale or exchange of shares, or other reorganization which, in each case, is approved by the Companys Board (including the affirmative votes of the Investor Directors); |
(E) | any securities issued pursuant to a Qualified Public Offering; |
(F) | any securities issued under any arrangement of strategic alliance, technology licensing, equipment leasing or bank financing, provided that in each case a unanimous approval of the Board of Directors shall be obtained in advance (including the affirmative votes of the Investor Directors); and |
(G) | Ordinary Shares issued to Zu Teng (祖腾) or Zu Tengs SPV in accordance with Section 10.8 of the Shareholders Agreement. |
(b) | No Adjustment of Conversion Price. No adjustment in any Conversion Price shall be made in connection with issuance of Additional Ordinary Shares unless the consideration per Ordinary Share (on an as-converted basis) for an Additional Ordinary Share (determined pursuant to Article 9(e) hereof) issued or deemed to be issued as set forth pursuant to Article 9(c) by the Company is less than the relevant Conversion Price in effect on the date of and immediately prior to such issuance. |
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(c) | Deemed Issuance of Additional Ordinary Shares. In the event the Company at any time or from time to time after the Series E2 Closing Date shall issue any Options or Convertible Securities or shall fix a record date for the determination of holders of any class or series of Shares entitled to receive any such Options or Convertible Securities, then the maximum number of Ordinary Shares (as set forth in the instrument relating thereto without regard to any provisions contained therein for a subsequent adjustment of such number that would result in an adjustment pursuant to clause (ii) of this Article 9(c) below) issuable upon the exercise of such Options or, in the case of Convertible Securities and Options therefor, the conversion or exchange of such Convertible Securities, shall be deemed to be Additional Ordinary Shares issued as of the time of such issue or, in case such a record date shall have been fixed, as of the close of business on such record date, provided that Additional Ordinary Shares shall not be deemed to have been issued unless consideration per Ordinary Share (on an as-converted basis) (determined pursuant to Article 9(e) hereof) for such Additional Ordinary Shares would be less than the applicable Conversion Price then in effect on the date of and immediately prior to such issue, or such record date, as the case may be, and provided further that in any such case in which Additional Ordinary Shares are deemed to be issued: |
(i) | no further adjustment in the applicable Conversion Price then in effect shall be made upon the subsequent issue of Convertible Securities or Ordinary Shares upon the exercise of such Options or conversion or exchange of such Convertible Securities; |
(ii) | if such Options or Convertible Securities by their terms provide, with the passage of time or otherwise, for any increase or decrease in the consideration payable to the Company, or increase or decrease in the number of Ordinary Shares issuable, upon the exercise, conversion or exchange thereof, the applicable Conversion Price then in effect computed upon the issue thereof (or upon the occurrence of a record date with respect thereto), and any subsequent adjustments based thereon, shall, upon any such increase or decrease becoming effective, be recomputed to reflect such increase or decrease insofar as it affects such Options or the rights of conversion or exchange under such Convertible Securities; |
(iii) | upon the expiration of any such Options or any rights of conversion or exchange under such Convertible Securities which shall not have been exercised, the applicable Conversion Price then in effect computed upon the issue thereof (or upon the occurrence of a record date with respect thereto), and any subsequent adjustments based thereon, shall, upon such expiration, be recomputed as if: |
(A) | in the case of Convertible Securities or Options for Ordinary Shares, the only Additional Ordinary Shares issued were Ordinary Shares, if any, actually issued upon the exercise of such Options or the conversion or exchange of such Convertible Securities and the consideration received therefor was the consideration actually received by the Company for the issue of all such Options, whether or not exercised, plus the consideration actually received by the Company upon such exercise, or for the issue of all such Convertible Securities which were actually converted or exchanged, plus the additional consideration, if any, actually received by the Company upon such conversion or exchange, and |
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(B) | in the case of Options for Convertible Securities, only the Convertible Securities, if any, actually issued upon the exercise thereof were issued at the time of issue of such Options, and the consideration received by the Company for the Additional Ordinary Shares deemed to have been then issued was the consideration actually received by the Company for the issue of all such Options, whether or not exercised, plus the consideration deemed to have been received by the Company upon the issue of the Convertible Securities with respect to which such Options were actually exercised; |
(iv) | no readjustment pursuant to clause (ii) or (iii) above shall have the effect of increasing the applicable Conversion Price then in effect to an amount which exceeds the lower of (A) such applicable Conversion Price on the original adjustment date, or (B) such applicable Conversion Price that would have resulted from any issuance of Additional Ordinary Shares between the original adjustment date and such readjustment date; and |
(v) | in the case of any Options which expire by their terms not more than thirty (30) days after the date of issue thereof, no adjustment of the applicable Conversion Price then in effect shall be made until the expiration or exercise of all such Options, whereupon such adjustment shall be made in the manner provided in clause (iii) above. |
(d) | Anti-Dilution Provisions. |
Adjustment of Conversion Price upon Issuance of Additional Ordinary Shares below Conversion Price. In the event that the Company shall issue any Additional Ordinary Shares (including those deemed to be issued pursuant to Article 9(c)) without consideration or for a consideration per Ordinary Share (net of any selling concessions, discounts or commissions) (on an as-converted basis) less than the applicable Conversion Price (as adjusted from time to time) with respect to any Preferred Share then in effect on the date of and immediately prior to such issuance, the applicable Conversion Price with respect to such Preferred Share then in effect shall be reduced, concurrently with such issuance, to a price determined in accordance with the following formula:
CP2=CP1*(A+B) / (A+C)
For purposes of the foregoing formula, with respect to each Preferred Share, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) | CP2 shall mean the applicable Conversion Price with respect to such Preferred Share in effect immediately after such issue of Additional Ordinary Shares; |
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(b) | CP1 shall mean the applicable Conversion Price with respect to such Preferred Share in effect immediately prior to such issue of Additional Ordinary Shares; |
(c) | A shall mean the number of Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding immediately prior to such issue of Additional Ordinary Shares, treating for this purpose as issued and outstanding all Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of Options issued and outstanding (including the Options pursuant to an ESOP) immediately prior to such issue or upon conversion or exchange of all Preferred Shares issued and outstanding immediately prior to such issue; |
(d) | B shall mean the number of Ordinary Shares that would have been issued if such Additional Ordinary Shares had been issued at a price per share equal to CP1 (determined by dividing the aggregate consideration received by the Company in respect of such issue by CP1); and |
(e) | C shall mean the number of such Additional Ordinary Shares issued in such transaction. |
Determination of Consideration.
For purposes of this Article 9, the consideration received by the Company for the issue of any Additional Ordinary Shares shall be computed as follows:
(i) | Cash and Property. Except as provided in clause (ii) below, such consideration shall: |
(A) | insofar as it consists of cash, be computed at the aggregate amount of cash received by the Company excluding amounts paid or payable for accrued interest or accrued dividends, and after deduction of any discounts, commissions or placement fees payable by the Company to any underwriter or placement agent in connection with the issuance of such Additional Ordinary Shares; |
(B) | insofar as it consists of property other than cash, be computed at the fair value thereof at the time of such issue, as determined in good faith by the Board (including the affirmative votes of the Investor Directors); provided, however, that no value shall be attributed to any services performed by any employee, officer or director of any Group Company; and |
(C) | in the event Additional Ordinary Shares are issued together with other Shares or securities or other assets of the Company for consideration which covers both such Additional Ordinary Shares and such other Shares or securities or other assets, be the proportion of such consideration so received with respect to such Additional Ordinary Shares, computed as provided in clauses (A) and (B) above, as determined in good faith by the Board (including the affirmative votes of the Investor Directors). |
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(ii) | Options and Convertible Securities. The consideration per Ordinary Share received by the Company for Additional Ordinary Shares deemed to have been issued pursuant to Article 9(c), relating to Options and Convertible Securities, shall be determined by dividing: |
(A) | the total amount, if any, received or receivable by the Company (net of any selling concessions, discounts or commissions) as consideration for the issue of such Options or Convertible Securities, plus the minimum aggregate amount of additional consideration (as set forth in the instruments relating thereto, without regard to any provision contained therein for a subsequent adjustment of such consideration) payable to the Company upon the exercise of such Options or the conversion or exchange of such Convertible Securities, or in the case of Options for Convertible Securities, the exercise of such Options for Convertible Securities and the conversion or exchange of such Convertible Securities by |
(B) | the maximum number of Ordinary Shares (as set forth in the instruments relating thereto, without regard to any provision contained therein for a subsequent adjustment of such number) issuable upon the exercise of such Options or the conversion or exchange of such Convertible Securities. |
(e) | Adjustments for Shares Dividends, Subdivisions, Combinations or Consolidations of Ordinary Shares. In the event the outstanding Ordinary Shares are subdivided or split into a greater number of Ordinary Shares or there is any bonus share issue in the form of Ordinary Shares, the applicable Conversion Prices then in effect shall, concurrently with the effectiveness of such subdivision or issuance, be proportionately decreased. In the event the outstanding Ordinary Shares shall be combined or consolidated, by reclassification or otherwise, into a lesser number of Ordinary Shares, the applicable Conversion Prices then in effect shall, concurrently with the effectiveness of such combination or consolidation, be proportionately increased. |
(f) | Adjustments for Other Distributions. In the event the Company at any time or from time to time makes, or fixes a record date for the determination of holders of Ordinary Shares entitled to receive, any distribution payable in securities or assets of the Company other than Ordinary Shares then and in each such event, provision shall be made so that the holders of Preferred Shares shall receive, upon conversion thereof, in addition to the number of Ordinary Shares receivable thereupon, the amount of securities or assets of the Company which they would have received had their Preferred Shares been converted into Ordinary Shares on the date of such event and had they thereafter, during the period from the date of such event to and including the date of conversion, retained such securities or assets receivable by them as aforesaid during such period, subject to all other adjustment called for during such period under this Article 9 with respect to the rights of the holders of the Preferred Shares. |
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(g) | Adjustments for Reclassification, Exchange and Substitution. If the Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of the Preferred Shares shall be changed into the same or a different number of Shares of any other class or classes of Shares, whether by capital reorganization, reclassification or otherwise (other than a subdivision, split, consolidation or combination of Shares provided for above), then and in each such event, provision shall be made so that, upon conversion of any Preferred Share, the holder of such Preferred Share shall receive the kind and amount of Shares and other securities and property which the holder of such Preferred Share would have received had the Preferred Share been converted into Ordinary Shares on the date of such reorganization or reclassification or other change, all subject to further adjustment as provided herein. |
(h) | No Impairment. The Company will not, by amendment of its Memorandum of Association and these Articles or through any reorganization, transfer of assets, consolidation, merger, dissolution, issue or sale of securities or any other voluntary action, avoid or seek to avoid the observance or performance of any of the terms to be observed or performed hereunder by the Company but will at all times in good faith assist in the carrying out of all the provisions of this Article 9 and in the taking of all such action as may be necessary or appropriate in order to protect the conversion rights of the Preferred Shares against impairment. |
(i) | Certificate as to Adjustments. Upon the occurrence of each adjustment or readjustment of the Conversion Price pursuant to this Article 9, the Company at its expense shall promptly compute such adjustment or readjustment in accordance with the terms hereof and furnish to each holder of Preferred Shares a certificate setting forth such adjustment or readjustment and showing in detail the facts upon which such adjustment or readjustment is based, including (i) such adjustments and readjustments, which includes (x) the number of the Additional Ordinary Shares issued or sold or deemed to be issued or sold (if applicable), and (y) the consideration received or deemed to be received by the Company for any Additional Ordinary Shares issued or sold or deemed to have been issued or sold (if applicable), (ii) the applicable Conversion Price in effect before and after such adjustments and readjustments, and (iii) the number of Ordinary Shares and the amount, if any, of other property which at the time would be received upon the conversion of the applicable Preferred Shares. |
(j) | Miscellaneous. |
(i) | All calculations under this Article 9 shall be made to the nearest cent or to the nearest one hundredth (1/100) of a share, as the case may be. |
(ii) | The holder(s) of Preferred Shares shall have the right to challenge any determination by the Board of fair value pursuant to this Article 9 if such determination is with respect to an adjustment of the applicable Conversion Price then in effect, in which case such determination of fair value shall be made by an independent appraiser selected jointly by the Board and the challenging parties, the cost of such appraisal to be borne equally by the Company and the challenging parties. |
(iii) | No adjustment in the Conversion Price need be made if such adjustment would result in a change in such Conversion Price of less than US$0.0001. Any adjustment of less than US$0.0001 which is not made shall be carried forward and shall be made at the time of and together with any subsequent adjustment which, on a cumulative basis, amounts to an adjustment of US$0.0001 or more in the Conversion Price. |
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(k) | Other Dilutive Events. If any event occurs as to which the other provisions of this Article 9 are not strictly applicable but the failure to make any adjustment would not fairly protect the anti-dilution rights of the holders of Preferred Shares set forth in this Article 9 in accordance with the essential intent and principles hereof, then, in each case, the Board shall make appropriate adjustment in the Conversion Price or otherwise so as to protect and preserve (without dilution), the rights of the holders of Preferred Shares. |
(l) | Payment of Taxes. The Company will pay all taxes (other than taxes based upon income) and other governmental charges that may be imposed with respect to the issue of Ordinary Shares upon conversion of Preferred Shares. |
VARIATION OF RIGHTS ATTACHING TO SHARES
10. | Subject to the Memorandum of Association, these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, if at any time the share capital is divided into different classes or series of Shares, the rights attaching to any class or series (unless otherwise provided by the terms of issue of the Shares of that class or series) may, whether or not the Company is being wound-up and except where these Articles or the Companies Act impose any stricter quorum, voting or procedural requirements in regard to the variation of rights attached to a specific class or series, be varied with the consents in writing of the holders of at least a majority of the issued Shares of that class or series, so long as such proposed variation would not adversely affect the rights of any other classes or series of Shares. The provisions of these Articles relating to general meetings of the Company shall mutatis mutandis apply to every such separate general meeting of the holders of one specific class or series of Shares except that the necessary quorum shall be at least one (1) person holding or representing by proxy at least a majority of the issued Shares of that class or series and that any holder of Shares of that class or series present in person or by proxy may demand a poll. |
11. | The rights conferred upon the holders of the Shares of any class or series issued with preferred or other rights shall not, unless otherwise expressly provided by the terms of issue of the Shares of that class or series, be deemed to be varied by the creation or issue of additional Shares ranking pari passu therewith, or the redemption or repurchase of Shares of any class or series by the Company or the change to the director appointment rights of any shareholders of the Company. |
CERTIFICATES
12. | Each Member shall be entitled to a share certificate. Share certificates representing Shares of the Company shall be in such form as the Directors may determine. Share certificates shall be signed by one or more Directors or other person authorized by the Directors. All certificates for Shares shall be consecutively numbered or otherwise identified and shall specify the Shares to which they relate. The name and address of the person to whom the Shares represented thereby are issued, with the number of Shares and date of issue, shall be entered in the Register of Members of the Company. All certificates surrendered to the Company for transfer shall be cancelled and subject to these Articles no new certificate shall be issued until the former certificate for a like number of Shares shall have been surrendered and cancelled. The Directors may authorize certificates to be issued with the seal and authorized signature(s) affixed by some method or system of mechanical process. The Company shall not be bound to issue more than one (1) certificate for Shares held jointly by more than one (1) person and delivery of a certificate to one joint holder shall be a sufficient delivery to all of them. |
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13. | If a share certificate is defaced, lost or destroyed it may be renewed on such terms, if any, as to evidence and indemnity as the Directors think fit. |
FRACTIONAL SHARES
14. | Subject to the Memorandum of Association, these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, the Directors may issue fractions of a share of any class of Shares, and, if so issued, a fraction of a share (calculated to three (3) decimal points) shall be subject to and carry the corresponding fraction of liabilities (whether with respect to any unpaid amount thereon, contribution, calls or otherwise), limitations, preferences, privileges, qualifications, restrictions, rights (including, without limitation, voting and participation rights) and other attributes of a whole share of the same class of Shares. If more than one (1) fraction of a Share of the same class is issued to or acquired by the same holder such fractions shall be accumulated. |
LIEN
15. | The Company shall have a first priority lien and charge on every partly paid Share for all moneys (whether presently payable or not) called or payable at a fixed time in respect of that Share, and the Company shall also have a first priority lien and charge on all partly paid Shares standing registered in the name of a Member (whether held solely or jointly with another person) for all moneys presently payable by him or his estate to the Company, but the Directors may at any time declare any Share to be wholly or in part exempt from the provisions of this Article 15. The Companys lien, if any, on a Share shall extend to all distributions payable thereon. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall at no time have any lien or charges of any nature whatsoever on the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgaged Shares for so long as the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage subsists. |
16. | The Company may sell, in such manner as the Directors in their absolute discretion think fit, any Shares on which the Company has a lien, but no sale shall be made unless an amount in respect of which the lien exists is presently payable nor until the expiration of fourteen (14) days after a notice in writing, stating and demanding payment of such part of the amount in respect of which the lien exists as is presently payable, has been given to the registered holder for the time being of the Share, or the persons entitled thereto by reason of his death or bankruptcy. |
17. | For giving effect to any such sale the Directors may authorise any person to transfer the Shares sold to the purchaser thereof. The purchaser shall be registered as the holder of the Shares comprised in any such transfer and he shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money, nor shall his title to the Shares be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in reference to the sale. |
18. | The proceeds of the sale after deduction of expenses, fees and commission incurred by the Company shall be received by the Company and applied in payment of such part of the amount in respect of which the lien exists as is presently payable, and the residue shall (subject to a like lien for sums not presently payable as existed upon the Shares prior to the sale) be paid to the person entitled to the Shares at the date of the sale. |
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CALLS ON SHARES
19. | The Directors may from time to time make calls upon the Members in respect of any moneys unpaid on their partly paid Shares, and each Member shall (subject to receiving at least fourteen (14)-day notice specifying the time or times of payment) pay to the Company at the time or times so specified the amount called on such Shares. A person upon whom a call is made shall remain liable for calls made upon him notwithstanding the subsequent transfer of the Shares in respect of which the call was made. |
20. | The joint holders of a Share shall be jointly and severally liable to pay calls in respect thereof. |
21. | If a sum called in respect of a Share is not paid before or on the day appointed for payment thereof, the person from whom the sum is due shall pay interest upon the sum at the rate of eight percent (8%) per annum from the day appointed for the payment thereof to the time of the actual payment, but the Directors shall be at liberty to waive payment of that interest wholly or in part. |
22. | The provisions of these Articles as to the liability of joint holders and as to payment of interest shall apply in the case of non-payment of any sum which, by the terms of issue of a Share, becomes payable at a fixed time, whether on account of the amount of the Share, or by way of premium, as if the same had become payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified. |
23. | The Directors may make arrangements on the issue of partly paid Shares for a difference between the Members, or the particular Shares, as to the amount of calls to be paid and the times of payment. |
24. | The Directors may, if they think fit, receive from any Member willing to advance the same all or any part of the moneys uncalled and unpaid upon any partly paid Shares held by him, and upon all or any of the moneys so advanced may (until the same would, but for such advance, become presently payable) pay interest at such rate (not exceeding without the sanction of an Ordinary Resolution, eight percent (8%) per annum) as may be agreed upon between the Member paying the sum in advance and the Directors. |
FORFEITURE OF SHARES
25. | If a Member fails to pay any call or instalment of a call in respect of partly paid Shares on the day appointed for payment, the Directors may, at any time thereafter during such time as any part of such call or instalment remains unpaid, serve a notice on him or it requiring payment of the amount of the call or instalment as is unpaid, together with any interest which may have accrued. |
26. | The notice shall name a further day (not earlier than the expiration of fourteen (14) days from the date of the notice) on or before which the payment required by the notice is to be made, and shall state that in the event of non-payment at or before the time appointed the Shares in respect of which the call was made will be liable to be forfeited. |
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27. | If the requirements of any such notice as aforesaid are not complied with, any Share in respect of which the notice has been given may at any time thereafter, before the payment required by notice has been made, be forfeited by a resolution of the Directors to that effect. |
28. | A forfeited Share may be sold or otherwise disposed of on such terms and in such manner as the Directors think fit, and at any time before a sale or disposition the forfeiture may be cancelled on such terms as the Directors think fit. |
29. | A person whose Shares have been forfeited shall cease to be a Member in respect of the forfeited Shares, but shall, notwithstanding, remain liable to pay to the Company all moneys which at the date of forfeiture were payable by him or it to the Company in respect of the Shares forfeited, but his liability shall cease if and when the Company receives payment in full of the amount unpaid on the Shares forfeited. |
30. | A statutory declaration in writing that the declarant is a Director, and that a Share has been duly forfeited on a date stated in the declaration, shall be conclusive evidence of the facts in the declaration as against all persons claiming to be entitled to the Share. |
31. | The Company may receive the consideration, if any, given for a Share on any sale or disposition thereof pursuant to the provisions of these Articles as to forfeiture and may execute a transfer of the Share in favour of the person to whom the Share is sold or disposed of and that person shall be registered as the holder of the Share, and shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money, if any, nor shall his title to the Shares be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in reference to the disposition or sale. |
32. | The provisions of these Articles as to forfeiture shall apply in the case of non-payment of any sum which by the terms of issue of a Share becomes due and payable, whether on account of the amount of the Share, or by way of premium, as if the same had been payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified. |
TRANSFER OF SHARES
33. | The instrument of transfer of any Share shall be in any usual or common form or such other form as the Directors may, in their absolute discretion, approve and be executed by or on behalf of the transferor and if in respect of a nil or partly paid up Share, or if so required by the Directors, shall also be executed on behalf of the transferee, and shall be accompanied by the certificate (if any) of the Shares to which it relates and such other evidence as the Directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer. The transferor shall be deemed to remain a holder of the Share until the name of the transferee is entered in the Register of Members in respect thereof. |
34. | Subject to the restrictions set forth in the Shareholders Agreement (including sections 5 and 9.4 thereof) and the Share Restriction Agreements, the Shares are transferrable, and the Directors shall promptly register any transfer of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgaged Shares pursuant to the terms of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage, including any exercise of the power of sale thereunder, and shall not suspend or unreasonably delay registration of such transfer. The Directors shall decline to register any transfer of Shares that is inconsistent with the Shareholders Agreement, the Share Restriction Agreements or applicable Laws, and shall not decline to register any transfer of Shares by any holder of Preferred Shares in compliance with the Shareholders Agreement, the Share Restriction Agreements and applicable Laws. The Directors shall not register a transfer of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgaged Shares without the prior written consent of Centurium for so long as the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage subsists. If the Directors refuse to register a transfer, they shall notify the transferor of such refusal within five (5) Business Days after receipt of a request for such transfer, providing a detailed explanation of the reason therefor. |
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35. | The registration of transfers may be suspended at such times and for such periods as the Directors may, in their absolute discretion, from time to time determine, provided always that such registration shall not be suspended for more than forty-five (45) days in any year. |
36. | All instruments of transfer which are registered shall be retained by the Company, but any instrument of transfer which the Directors decline to register shall (except in any case of fraud) be returned to the person depositing the same. |
TRANSMISSION OF SHARES
37. | The legal personal representative of a deceased sole holder of a Share shall be the only person recognised by the Company as having any title to the Share. In the case of a Share registered in the name of two or more holders, the survivors or survivor, or the legal personal representatives of the deceased survivor, shall be the only person recognised by the Company as having any title to the Share. |
38. | Any person becoming entitled to a Share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Member shall upon such evidence being produced as may from time to time be required by the Directors, have the right either to be registered as a Member in respect of the Share or, instead of being registered himself, to make such transfer of the Share as the deceased or bankrupt person could have made; but the Directors shall, in either case, have the same right to decline or suspend registration as they would have had in the case of a transfer of the Share by the deceased or bankrupt person before the death or bankruptcy. |
39. | A person becoming entitled to a Share by reason of the death or bankruptcy of the holder shall be entitled to the same dividends and other advantages to which he would be entitled if he were the registered holder of the Share, except that he shall not, before being registered as a Member in respect of the Share, be entitled in respect of it to exercise any right conferred by membership in relation to meetings of the Company. |
ALTERATION OF CAPITAL
40. | Subject to these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, the Company may from time to time by Ordinary Resolution increase the share capital by such sum, to be divided into Shares of such classes and amount, as the resolution shall prescribe. |
41. | Subject to these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, the Company may by Ordinary Resolution: |
(a) | consolidate and divide all or any of its share capital into Shares of a larger amount than its existing Shares; |
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(b) | subdivide its existing Shares, or any of them into Shares of a smaller amount provided that in the subdivision the proportion between the amount paid and the amount, if any, unpaid on each reduced Share shall be the same as it was in case of the Share from which the reduced Share is derived; and |
(c) | cancel any Shares which, at the date of the passing of the resolution, have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any person and diminish the amount of its share capital by the amount of the Shares so cancelled. |
42. | Subject to these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, the Company may by Special Resolution, reduce its share capital and any capital redemption reserve in any manner authorised by law. |
REDEMPTION AND PURCHASE OF OWN SHARES
43. | Subject to the provisions of the Companies Act and the Shareholders Agreement and in accordance with these Articles, the Company may: |
(a) | issue Shares on terms that they are to be redeemed or are liable to be redeemed at the option of the Company or the Member on such terms and in such manner as the Directors may, before the issue of such Shares, determine (including the affirmative votes of all Investor Directors); |
(b) | purchase its own Shares (including any redeemable Shares) on such terms and in such manner as the Directors may determine, provided that the manner of repurchase has first been authorised by the Company in general meeting (unless the redemption is in respect of the Preferred Shares in which case the redemption must be effected in accordance with the provisions of these Articles); and |
(c) | make a payment in respect of the redemption or purchase of its own Shares in any manner permitted by the applicable Laws, including out of profits or the proceeds of issue of Shares. |
44. | Any Share in respect of which notice of redemption has been given shall not be entitled to participate in the profits of the Company in respect of the period after the date specified as the date of redemption in the notice of redemption. |
45. | Subject to these Articles (including Article 47), the redemption or purchase of any Share shall not be deemed to give rise to the redemption or purchase of any other Share. |
46. | The Directors may when making payments in respect of redemption or purchase of Shares, if authorised by the terms of issue of the Shares being redeemed or purchased or with the agreement of the holder of such Shares, make such payment either in cash or in specie. |
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REDEMPTION
47.
(a) | (X) General Redemption Triggers. Notwithstanding Article 43, at any time after the occurrence of any of the following events, each Preferred Share shall become redeemable and be redeemed by the Company at the request of the holder thereof, in each case, in accordance with this Article 47: |
(i) a Qualified Public Offering is not consummated on or prior to the fourth (4th) anniversary of January 25, 2021;
(ii) any holder(s) of Preferred Shares delivers a Redemption Notice (as defined below) pursuant to this Article 47;
(iii) there has been any change in the applicable Laws which results in the Companys failure to effectively control Jiangsu Yunxuetang, or to recognize and receive substantially all the economic benefits of Jiangsu Yunxuetangs business and operations, or to consolidate the financials of Jiangsu Yunxuetang through the contractual arrangement under the Cooperative Agreements or materially restricts the Company from doing the foregoing, and Founder Lu and the holder(s) of the Preferred Shares fail to reach mutual consent on a lawful solution within sixty (60) days;
(iv) any material breach of any of the representations, warranties, covenants or undertakings specified in the Transaction Documents to which such holder(s) of Preferred Shares is a party by any of the Group Companies and/or the Founder Parties which is not curable or if curable, is not cured within thirty (30) days from the date of occurrence; and
(v) Founder Lu is investigated for or convicted of a criminal offence (including those involving moral turpitude, fraud, theft, embezzlement or material and willful act of dishonesty).
(Y) Additional Redemption Trigger. Notwithstanding Article 43, if at any time Founder Lu ceases, directly or indirectly through Founder Lu Holdco, holding at least fifty percent (50%) of the Shares indirectly held by him as of January 25, 2021 (i.e., at least 10,754,450 Ordinary Shares), each Series E Preferred Share and each Series E2 Preferred Share shall become redeemable and be redeemed by the Company at the request of the holder thereof in accordance with this Article 47.
(Z) Exceptions. Notwithstanding the foregoing (X) and (Y):
(i) if the Company proposes to consummate an IPO which does not constitute a Qualified Public Offering and such IPO has been duly approved by the shareholders of the Company in accordance with these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, then each shareholder who voted in favor of or consented to such IPO (including the valuation of the Company immediately prior to such IPO and the proposed gross proceeds in cash to the Company (i.e., before deduction of underwriting fees and other expenses and costs related to such IPO) arising from such IPO) shall not require the Company to redeem any Shares held by it pursuant to Article 47(a)(X)(i) unless (1) such IPO is abandoned or withdrawn by the Company, or is rejected or disapproved by the competent governmental authorities or stock exchange which has the authority to review the application for such IPO, or (2) the Company ceases to use its commercially reasonable efforts to complete such IPO as soon as possible after such shareholder approval; and
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(ii) if the Company proposes to consummate an IPO which does not constitute a Qualified Public Offering with respect to the holders of Series E Preferred Shares and Series E2 Preferred Shares while constitutes a Qualified Public Offering with respect to the Members other than the holders of Series E Preferred Shares and Series E2 Preferred Shares, and any holder of Series E Preferred Shares or Series E2 Preferred Shares requires the Company to redeem any or all of the Series E Preferred Shares or Series E2 Preferred Shares held by it, then the Members other than the holders of Series E Preferred Shares and Series E2 Preferred Shares shall not have the right to require the Company to redeem any Shares held by them in accordance with Article 47(a)(X)(ii) to the extent that such proposed IPO is finally consummated.
(b) | The redemption price per Series A Preferred Share held by SIG (such Series A Preferred Shares, the SIG Series A Preferred Shares, and such redemption price, the SIG Series A Redemption Price) shall equal to (1) under the circumstances of (X)(i) and (X)(ii) above, one hundred and fifty percent (150%) of the Series A Issue Price applicable to SIG, plus any accrued but unpaid dividends from the declaration date until the Redemption Date (as defined below) as specified in the Redemption Notice (as defined below), or the fair market value of such SIG Series A Preferred Shares, whichever is higher; or (2) under the circumstances of (X)(iii), (X)(iv) and (X)(v) above, two hundred percent (200%) of the Series A Issue Price applicable to SIG, plus any accrued but unpaid dividends from the declaration date until the Redemption Date specified in the Redemption Notice, or the fair market value of such SIG Series A Preferred Shares, whichever is higher. The redemption price per Series A Preferred Share for each Series A Preferred Share held by Chengwei Capital HK Limited or CW MBA Digital Limited (such Series A Preferred Shares, the CW Series A Preferred Shares, and such redemption price, the CW Redemption Price) shall equal to the sum of (x) one hundred percent (100%) of the Series A Issue Price applicable to Chengwei Capital HK Limited and CW MBA Digital Limited, (y) an eight percent (8%) compound annual interest calculated from the Series A Issue Date applicable to Chengwei Capital HK Limited and CW MBA Digital Limited until the Redemption Date as specified in the Redemption Notice, and (z) any accrued but unpaid dividends thereon from the declaration date until the Redemption Date as specified in the Redemption Notice. |
The redemption price per Series B Preferred Share (the Series B Redemption Price) shall equal to (1) under the circumstances of (X)(i) and (X)(ii) above, one hundred and fifty percent (150%) of the Series B Issue Price, plus any accrued but unpaid dividends from the declaration date until the Redemption Date as specified in the Redemption Notice, or the fair market value of such Series B Preferred Shares, whichever is higher; or (2) under the circumstances of (X)(iii), (X)(iv) and (X)(v) above, two hundred percent (200%) of the Series B Issue Price, plus any accrued but unpaid dividends from the declaration date until the Redemption Date specified in the Redemption Notice, or the fair market value of such Series B Preferred Shares, whichever is higher.
The redemption price per Series C Preferred Share (the Series C Redemption Price) shall equal the sum of (x) one hundred percent (100%) of the Series C Issue Price, (y) an eight percent (8%) compound annual interest calculated from the Series C Issue Date until the Redemption Date as specified in the Redemption Notice, and (z) any accrued but unpaid dividends from the declaration date until the Redemption Date as specified in the Redemption Notice.
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The redemption price per Series D Preferred Share (the Series D Redemption Price) shall equal the sum of (x) one hundred percent (100%) of the Series D Issue Price, (y) a twelve percent (12%) compound annual interest calculated from the applicable Series D Issue Date until the Redemption Date as specified in the Redemption Notice, and (z) any accrued but unpaid dividends from the declaration date until the Redemption Date as specified in the Redemption Notice.
The redemption price per Series E Preferred Share (the Series E Redemption Price) shall equal the sum of (x) one hundred percent (100%) of the Series E Issue Price, (y) a twelve percent (12%) compound annual interest calculated from the applicable Series E Issue Date until the Redemption Date as specified in the Redemption Notice, and (z) any accrued but unpaid dividends from the declaration date until the Redemption Date as specified in the Redemption Notice.
The redemption price per Series E2 Preferred Share (the Series E2 Redemption Price, together with the SIG Series A Redemption Price, the CW Redemption Price, the Series B Redemption Price, the Series C Redemption Price, the Series D Redemption Price and the Series E Redemption Price, the Redemption Price) shall equal the sum of (x) one hundred percent (100%) of the Series E2 Issue Price, (y) a twelve percent (12%) compound annual interest calculated from the applicable Series E2 Issue Date until the Redemption Date as specified in the Redemption Notice, and (z) any accrued but unpaid dividends from the declaration date until the Redemption Date as specified in the Redemption Notice.
(c) | Redemption of a Preferred Share shall be effected by the holder thereof (the Initial Redemption Requesting Holder) giving the Company a written notice (the Redemption Notice, the date of the Redemption Notice, the Redemption Notice Date). The Redemption Notice shall specify the class(es) and number of Preferred Shares the Initial Redemption Requesting Holder requests the Company to redeem and the date of completion of the redemption (the Redemption Date, provided that the Redemption Date designated in the Redemption Notice by the Initial Redemption Requesting Holder shall be no earlier than the ninetieth (90th) day following such Redemption Notice). For the avoidance of doubt, each Initial Redemption Requesting Holder shall have the right to request to redeem part or all of the Preferred Shares held by such holder subject to Article 47(a). The Company shall, within five (5) Business Days after receiving the Redemption Notice, deliver a written notice to all holders of Preferred Shares, stating receipt of the Redemption Notice and the Redemption Date and notifying the holders of their redemption right and the contact of the Company to whom the share certificate (or certificates) representing the Redeeming Shares (as defined below) (or, in the case of lost certificates, an indemnity in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Directors) shall be delivered. Each holder of Preferred Shares (other than the Initial Redemption Requesting Holder) may, subject to Article 47(a), elect to exercise its redemption right by delivering a written notice to the Company stating the class(es) and number of Preferred Shares that it requests the Company to redeem (all such exercising holders, together with the Initial Redemption Requesting Holder, the Redemption Requesting Holders). Redemption of the Preferred Shares elected to be redeemed by the Redemption Requesting Holders (each, a Redeeming Share) shall be carried out in accordance with this Article 47. Full payment of the applicable Redemption Price for each Redeeming Share shall be completed on the Redemption Date and the unpaid amount (if any) shall become debts due and payable to the holders of the Redeeming Shares after the Redemption Date. |
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(d) | On or prior to the Redemption Date, each Redemption Requesting Holder shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the contact person of the Company stated in the Companys notice, the certificate (or certificates) for those Redeeming Shares (or, in the case of lost certificates, an indemnity in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Directors). The Company shall pay to all Redemption Requesting Holders on the Redemption Date the applicable Redemption Price. |
(e) | If the number of Preferred Shares which could be redeemed to the extent permitted by applicable Laws is less than the number of Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed by all Redemption Requesting Holders, the Company shall, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable Laws, (i) firstly, redeem such number of the Series E2 Preferred Shares and the Series E Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed (if such number exceeds the number of Series E2 Preferred Shares and Series E Preferred Shares that are permitted to be redeemed by applicable Laws, then such permitted number of Series E2 Preferred Shares and Series E Preferred Shares shall be allocated among the requesting holders of the Series E2 Preferred Shares and holders of the Series E Preferred Shares on a pro rata basis based on the number of Series E2 Preferred Shares and Series E Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed (on an as-converted basis)), (ii) secondly, after the completion of redemption of all Series E2 Preferred Shares and Series E Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed, redeem such number of the Series D Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed (if such number exceeds the number of Series D Preferred Shares that are permitted to be redeemed by applicable Laws, then such permitted number of Series D Preferred Shares shall be allocated among the requesting holders of the Series D Preferred Shares on a pro rata basis based on the number of Series D Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed), (iii) thirdly, after the completion of redemption of all Series E2 Preferred Shares, Series E Preferred Shares and Series D Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed, redeem such number of Series C Preferred Shares and CW Series A Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed (if such number exceeds the number of Series C Preferred Shares and CW Series A Preferred Shares that are permitted to be redeemed by applicable Laws, then such permitted number of Series C Preferred Shares and CW Series A Preferred Shares shall be allocated among the requesting holders of the Series C Preferred Shares and CW Series A Preferred Shares on a pro rata basis based on the number of Series C Preferred Shares and CW Series A Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed), and (iv) fourthly, after the completion of redemption of all Series E2 Preferred Shares, Series E Preferred Shares, Series D Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares and CW Series A Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed, redeem such number of Series B Preferred Shares and SIG Series A Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed (if such number exceeds the number of Shares that are permitted to be redeemed by applicable Laws, then such permitted number of Shares shall be allocated among the requesting holders of the Series B Preferred Shares and the SIG Series A Preferred Shares on a pro rata basis based on the number of Series B Preferred Shares and SIG Series A Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed). The holder(s) of Preferred Shares shall be entitled to carry forward the unredeemed portion of Preferred Shares and demand the Company to redeem such portion of Preferred Shares as soon as the Company is permitted by applicable Laws to redeem such unredeemed portion of Preferred Shares. |
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(f) | If the Company does not have sufficient funds (for avoidance of doubt, such funds of the Company which are legally available for payment of the Redemption Price shall include the funds legally up-streamed from the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies, the Available Funds) to redeem all the Redeeming Shares, then the Available Funds shall (i) firstly, be distributed among the exercising holders of the Series E2 Preferred Shares and the holders of the Series E Preferred Shares to pay the aggregate amount of the Series E2 Redemption Price with respect to all of the Series E2 Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed and the Series E Redemption Price with respect to all of the Series E Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed (if the Available Funds are less than the aggregate Series E2 Redemption Price of all of the Series E2 Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed and Series E Redemption Price of all of the Series E Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed, the Available Funds shall be distributed among such holders of Series E2 Preferred Shares and Series E Preferred Shares on a pari passu and pro rata basis, in proportion to the payment they would otherwise have been entitled to pursuant to this Article 47 based on their respective Series E2 Redemption Price and/or Series E Redemption Price), (ii) secondly, subject to the payment in full of the Series E2 Redemption Price payable to the holders of the redeeming Series E2 Preferred Shares and the Series E Redemption Price payable to the holders of the redeeming Series E Preferred Shares, be distributed among the holders of the Series D Preferred Shares to pay for the aggregate amount of the Series D Redemption Price with respect to all of the Series D Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed (if the Available Funds are less than the aggregate Series D Redemption Price of all of the Series D Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed, the Available Funds shall be distributed among such holders of Series D Preferred Shares on a pro rata basis based on the amount of Series D Redemption Price payable to them), (iii) thirdly, subject to the payment in full of the Series E2 Redemption Price payable to the holders of the redeeming Series E2 Preferred Shares, Series E Redemption Price payable to the holders of the redeeming Series E Preferred Shares and the Series D Redemption Price payable to the holders of the redeeming Series D Preferred Shares, be distributed among the holders of the Series C Preferred Shares and CW Series A Preferred Shares to pay for the aggregate amount of the Series C Redemption Price and CW Redemption Price with respect to all of the Series C Preferred Shares and CW Series A Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed (if the remaining Available Funds are less than the aggregate Series C Redemption Price and CW Redemption Price of all of the Series C Preferred Shares and CW Series A Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed, such remaining Available Funds shall be distributed among the holders of the redeeming Series C Preferred Shares and the holders of the redeeming CW Series A Preferred Shares on a pari passu and pro rata basis, in proportion to their respective Series C Redemption Price and/or CW Redemption Price), and (iv) fourthly, subject to the payment in full of the Series E2 Redemption Price payable to the holders of the redeeming Series E2 Preferred Shares, Series E Redemption Price payable to the holders of the redeeming Series E Preferred Shares, Series D Redemption Price payable to the holders of the redeeming Series D Preferred Shares and the Series C Redemption Price and CW Redemption Price payable to the holders of the redeeming Series C Preferred Shares and the redeeming CW Series A Preferred Shares, be distributed among the holders of the Series B Preferred Shares and the SIG Series A Preferred Shares to pay for the aggregate amount of the Series B Redemption Price and the SIG Series A Redemption Price with respect to all of the Series B Preferred Shares and SIG Series A Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed (if the remaining Available Funds are less than the aggregate Series B Redemption Price and SIG Series A Redemption Price of all of the Series B Preferred Shares and the SIG Series A Preferred Shares requested to be redeemed, such remaining Available Funds shall be distributed among the holders of the redeeming Series B Preferred Shares and the holders of the redeeming SIG Series A Preferred Shares on a pari passu and pro-rata basis, in proportion to their respective Series B Redemption Price and/or SIG Series A Redemption Price). From and after the Redemption Date, any unpaid balance of the due and payable Redemption Price to a holder of Preferred Shares shall be paid in the form of a promissory note to such holder, such note to bear interest at a compound rate of twelve percent (12%) per annum (365 days a year) calculated from the Redemption Date based on the actual number of days lapsed. From the Redemption Date to the date on which the entire Redemption Price plus all interests accruing under the note as contemplated herein, are paid in full, the Company and the Directors shall not declare or pay any dividend nor otherwise make any distribution of or otherwise decrease its profits available for distribution. |
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(g) | To the extent permitted by the applicable Laws, the Company shall (i) procure that the profits of the applicable Subsidiaries for the time being available for distribution shall be paid to it by way of dividend, and/or (ii) subject to the restrictions set forth in these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, procure the properties and assets of its Subsidiaries be sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of with proceeds therefrom being distributed up and paid to the Company, if and to the extent that the Company would not itself otherwise have sufficient funds available for any redemption of Preferred Shares required to be made pursuant to these Articles. |
PROTECTIVE PROVISIONS
48.
(a) | In addition to such other limitations as may be provided in these Articles or the Shareholders Agreement, any of the Companys other contractual obligations, requirements under the applicable Laws and any rights of approval of the Investor Directors as set forth in Section Article 48(b), so long as any Series A Preferred Share is outstanding and held by SIG, any Series C Preferred Share is outstanding and held by Yunfeng, any Series D Preferred Share is outstanding and held by the Lead Series D Investor Representative, and/or any Series E Preferred Share is outstanding and held by Tencent, the Company (for purposes of this Article 48(a), the term Company means, in each case, the Group Companies and any one of them, where applicable) shall not, and the Founder Parties and the shareholders of the Company shall each take all steps necessary within their respective control to ensure that the Company shall not, directly or indirectly, carry out any of the following actions (other than any action undertaken in accordance with Section 9.3 of the Shareholder Agreement) (whether in a single transaction or a series of related transactions, whether directly or indirectly, and whether by amendment to these Articles or its constitutional documents, merger, consolidation, schedule of arrangement, amalgamation or otherwise), and no affirmative shareholders resolution shall be adopted to directly or indirectly approve or carry out the same, except with the prior affirmative votes or written consents of SIG, Yunfeng, the Lead Series D Investor Representative and Tencent, and where any such action listed in (i) to (xv) below requires a Special Resolution (as defined in the Restated Articles) of the shareholders of the Company, and the said prior consent(s) of SIG and/or Yunfeng and/or the Lead Series D Investor Representative and/or Tencent have not been obtained, the shareholders of the Company who voted against the resolution at a meeting or objected to adoption of written resolution with respect to such act shall have such number of votes as equal to the number of votes as the shareholders of the Company who voted in favor of or consented to such resolution plus one (1): |
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(i) | the commencement of or consent to any proceeding seeking (i) to adjudicate it as bankrupt or insolvent, (ii) liquidation, dissolution, winding up, reorganization, or other arrangement under law relating to bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization or relief of debtors, or (iii) the entry of an order for relief or the appointment of a receiver, trustee, or other similar official for it or for any substantial part of its property, or a Deemed Liquidation Event (other than a Drag-Along Sale in accordance with Section 6.1 of the Shareholders Agreement); |
(ii) | any amendment, alteration or repeal of, or any waiver under, any provision of any memorandum of association or articles of association of the Company; |
(iii) | any action that creates or authorizes to create, issues, increases or decreases the number of authorized or issued Equity Securities, including any New Securities, but excluding any of the following issuances by the Company: |
(a) | any Ordinary Shares issued upon conversion of the Preferred Shares; |
(b) | any Ordinary Shares issued pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions as set forth in these Articles; |
(c) | any Ordinary Shares (and/or options or warrants therefor) issued to employees, officers, directors, or consultants of the Group Companies pursuant to any ESOP approved by the Companys Board of Directors in accordance with the Shareholders Agreement and these Articles; |
(d) | any Ordinary Share issued to Zu Teng ( 祖腾 ) or Zu Tengs SPV in accordance with Section 10.8 of the Shareholders Agreement; and |
(e) | any Ordinary Share issued in connection with any M&A (as defined below) approved in accordance with the Shareholders Agreement and these Articles; |
(iv) | any purchase, repurchase, redemption, or any retirement, of any Equity Securities, excluding any of the following repurchase or redemption by the Company: |
(a) | the repurchase or redemption of Shares from employees, officers, directors, or consultants of the Company pursuant to (x) any ESOP approved by the Companys Board of Directors in accordance with the Shareholders Agreement or (y) the Share Restriction Agreements); |
(b) | the redemption of Shares by the Company in connection with an M&A approved by Companys Board of Directors in accordance with this the Shareholders Agreement and these Articles; |
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(c) | any repurchase or redemption by the Company of Shares held by any service provider of the Group Companies pursuant to (x) any share incentive agreement under any ESOP approved by the Companys Board of Directors in accordance with this Agreement or (y) the Share Restriction Agreements entered therebetween which allows the Company to have such right of repurchase or redemption at the termination of the service relationship by such service provider; |
(d) | any redemption of Preferred Shares in accordance with Article 47; and |
(e) | any repurchase or redemption of Shares to effect a Drag-Along Sale. |
(v) | (x) any action that would result in any merger, amalgamation, consolidation, business combination, division, share acquisition, change of the corporate form, Change of Control or other reorganization or restructuring of the Company, or, (y) any action, whether by a single transaction or a series of transactions that results in the dilution of the shareholding percentage of any Investor (except for the creation or enforcement of, or the exercise of rights (including the power of sale) under, the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage, any Drag-Along Sale in accordance with Section 6.1 of the Shareholders Agreement, any redemption carried out in accordance with Article 47, or any dilution of the shareholding percentage of any Investor due to any issuance of New Securities duly approved and conducted in compliance with the Shareholders Agreement) (each an M&A)); |
(vi) | the declaration, setting aside or payment of a dividend or making of other distribution on any Shares of the Company (other than by a Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary to the Company or another Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary), or the adoption of, or any change to the dividend policy of the Company; |
(vii) | any action that allows any Shares to have any privileges in terms of voting, purchase or redemption, liquidation preferences or payment of any dividend or other distribution senior to or on a parity with any Preferred Share; |
(viii) | any action that creates, issues or authorizes the creation or issuance of any debt security (other than equipment leases or bank lines of credit) unless issuance of such debt security has received the prior written approval of the Board, including the consents of all the Investor Directors; |
(ix) | any share split, share dividend, combination, recapitalization or similar event with respect to any Equity Securities in the Company; |
(x) | any amendment or change of the rights, preferences, privileges or powers of, or the restrictions provided for the benefit of, the Preferred Shares; |
(xi) | any action (in a single transaction or a series related transactions) that (x) reclassifies or recapitalize any outstanding Equity Securities into, or creates or authorizes the creation of or issues any other Equity Securities having rights, preferences or privileges senior to or on parity with the Preferred Shares, or (y) increases the authorized number of the Preferred Shares or any other class or series of preferred shares; |
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(xii) | any increase or decrease in the size or change of composition or voting power of the Board and any establishment of any committee thereunder and the authorization, power and duties of such committee; |
(xiii) | termination of, any amendment or modification to, or waiver under any captive structure documents in respect of any of the Group Companies executed by such Group Company, the shareholders of such Group Company, the Founder Parties and/or any other parties thereto, including without limitation, any of the Cooperative Agreements; |
(xiv) | any public offering of any debt or Equity Securities of the Company, including the selection or determination of any underwriter, any securities exchange, valuation, size and other material terms and conditions for such offering; |
(xv) | the issuance or reservation of Equity Securities under the ESOP or any other equity incentive plan in excess of the aggregate amount of the Existing ESOP Shares and the New ESOP Shares (as adjusted to reflect any subsequent bonus issue, share split, reverse share split, share dividend, consolidation, subdivision, reclassification, recapitalization or other similar transaction of the Company). |
(b) | For so long as SIG is entitled to appoint or nominate the SIG Director, Yunfeng is entitled to appoint or nominate the Yunfeng Director, the Lead Series D Investor Representative is entitled to appoint or nominate the Series D Director and/or Tencent is entitled to appoint or nominate the Tencent Director, in addition to such other limitations as may be provided in the Shareholders Agreement or in these Articles, any of the Companys other contractual obligations, or requirements under the applicable Laws, the Company (for purposes of this Article 48(b), the term Company means, in each case, the Group Companies and any one of them, where applicable) shall not, and the Founder Parties shall each take all steps necessary to ensure that the Company shall not, directly or indirectly carry out any of the following actions (other than any action undertaken in accordance with Section 9.3 of the Shareholders Agreement) (whether in a single transaction or a series of related transactions, whether directly or indirectly, and whether by amendment to the these Articles or its constitutional documents, merger, consolidation, schedule of arrangement, amalgamation or otherwise), and no resolution shall be adopted by the Board to directly or indirectly approve or carry out any of the following actions by the Company (whether in a single transaction or a series of related transactions, whether directly or indirectly, and whether by amendment to these Articles or its constitutional documents, merger, consolidation, schedule of arrangement, amalgamation or otherwise), except with a majority of affirmative votes or consent of the Board of Directors of the Company, including the affirmative vote of each of the Investor Directors, provided that any action listed in paragraphs (vii) and (x) below shall not require the affirmative vote or consent of the Tencent Director: |
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(i) | any entry into, participation in, formation or establishment of, or exit from any joint venture, partnership, association, consortium or similar entities or relationships; |
(ii) | any provision of any loan or advance to any person, including, any employee or director of any Group Company, except advances and similar expenditures in the ordinary course of business or in accordance with the terms of an ESOP approved by the Board; |
(iii) | any action to create guarantee, mortgage or any other encumbrance on any asset of the Company for any indebtedness; |
(iv) | any incurrence of indebtedness in excess of RMB5,000,000 in a single transaction or in excess of RMB10,000,000 in aggregate for any consecutive twelve (12) months, in each case not already included in a Board-approved budget or incurred outside the ordinary course of business; |
(v) | provision of any loan or lending to any Related Party of any Group Company or other third party or provision of guarantee or security for the indebtedness or liability of any Related Party of any Group Company or any third party (other than (i) loans provided by the Company or a Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary to another Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary or provided by a Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary to the Company) and (ii) guarantee or security provided by the Company or a Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary for the indebtedness or liability of another Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary or provided by a Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary for the indebtedness or liability of the Company); |
(vi) | enter into or become a party to any transaction with any Related Party of any Group Company, renew or extend the terms of any such transaction, or amend any term of any such transaction in a manner adverse to any Group Company, other than (x) any redemption of Shares by the Company carried out in accordance with Article 47 of the Restated Articles, (y) entry into any transaction involving value not exceeding RMB5,000,000 in a single transaction or entry into transactions involving value not exceeding RMB5,000,000 in aggregate for any fiscal year, in each case under clause (y), in the ordinary course of business and on an arms length basis, and (z) any business cooperation or strategic alliance with Tencent or its Affiliates conducted in accordance with the Tencent Business Cooperation Agreements; |
(vii) | approval and amendment of the annual business and financial plans, annual investment plans and annual budgets of the Company; |
(viii) | approval of any capital expenditure in a single transaction or a series of related transactions in excess of RMB5,000,000 or in excess of RMB10,000,000 in aggregate for any consecutive twelve (12) months or approval of any investment commitments in a single transaction or a series of related transactions in excess of RMB10,000,000 or in excess of RMB20,000,000 in aggregate for any consecutive twelve (12) months, in each case that has not been included in the approved annual business plan or budget (to the extent that such annual business plan or budget has specified each specific capital expenditure and investment commitment); |
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(ix) | approval of any other expenditure in a single transaction or a series of related transactions in excess of RMB5,000,000 or in excess of RMB10,000,000 in aggregate for any consecutive twelve (12) months that has not been included in the approved annual budget; |
(x) | appointment, removal or replacement of the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer/Financial VP, the Chief Technology Officer, the Chief Operation Officer and the Chief Human Resource Officer; |
(xi) | approval of or change to the compensation and remuneration of the officers listed in paragraph (x) above (including approving the number of options or other awards issued to such persons under the duly approved ESOP); |
(xii) | any material alteration or change to the business scope, nature of business or Business of the Company, entry into a new line of business, or exiting from any current line of business; |
(xiii) | the adoption, amendment or termination of any ESOP of the Company; |
(xiv) | any transfer, sale, or disposal of any asset or business of the Company involving a transaction value in excess of RMB5,000,000 during any fiscal year (except for any Drag-Along Sale in accordance with Section 6.1 of the Shareholders Agreement, or any transfer, sale or disposition of assets or properties in accordance with Article 47); |
(xv) | any sale, transfer, lease, license, pledge, encumbrance of technology or intellectual property of the Company, other than non-exclusive licenses of the technology or intellectual property of the Company granted in the ordinary course of business; |
(xvi) | any investment (including through acquisition of asset or business of any person) involving an amount in excess of RMB10,000,000 other than any investment in any then existing Subsidiary, or any establishment by any Group Company itself or with any other person of, or any disposal of any interest (including Equity Securities) in, any joint venture, partnership, Subsidiary or alliance; |
(xvii) | approval of any audited financial statements (including without limitation, the balance sheet, the income statement and the cash flow statement) of the Company; |
(xviii) | any commencement or settlement of any material legal actions or arbitrations involving an amount exceeding RMB5,000,000 or any waiver, termination, settlement or compromise by any Company of any valuable right or of any liability involving an amount or value exceeding RMB5,000,000; and |
(xix) | the appointment, removal and replacement of the accounting firm/auditor of the Company, material change of the accounting or financial policy of the Company. |
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CLOSING REGISTER OF MEMBERS OR FIXING RECORD DATE
49. | For the purpose of determining those Members that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at any meeting of Members or any adjournment thereof, or those Members that are entitled to receive payment of any dividend, or in order to make a determination as to who is a Member for any other purpose, the Directors may provide that the Register of Members shall be closed for transfers for a stated period which shall not exceed in any case forty (40) days. If the Register of Members shall be so closed for the purpose of determining those Members that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Members the register shall be so closed for at least ten (10) days immediately preceding such meeting and the record date for such determination shall be the date of the closure of the Register of Members. |
50. | In lieu of or apart from closing the Register of Members, the Directors may fix in advance a date as the record date for any such determination of those Members that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of the Members and for the purpose of determining those Members that are entitled to receive payment of any dividend the Directors may, at or within ninety (90) days prior to the date of declaration of such dividend fix a subsequent date as the record date for such determination. |
51. | If the Register of Members is not so closed and no record date is fixed for the determination of those Members entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Members or those Members that are entitled to receive payment of a dividend, the date on which notice of the meeting is posted or the date on which the resolution of the Directors declaring such dividend is adopted, as the case may be, shall be the record date for such determination of Members. When a determination of those Members that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Members has been made as provided in this Article 51, such determination shall apply to any adjournment thereof. |
GENERAL MEETINGS
52. | Subject to the applicable Laws, if so determined by the Directors, the Company shall hold its annual general meetings and shall specify the meeting as such in the notices calling it. The annual general meeting shall be held at such time and place as the Directors shall appoint and if no other time and place is prescribed by them, it shall be held at the registered office on the second Wednesday in December of each year at ten (10) oclock in the morning. At these meetings the report of the Directors (if any) shall be presented. Unless required by the Companies Act, the Company may but shall not be obliged to hold an annual general meeting. |
53. | The Directors, may whenever they think fit, and they shall on the requisition of Members of the Company holding at the date of the deposit of the requisition not less than one-tenth (1/10) of the then outstanding and paid-up Ordinary Shares (calculated on an as-converted basis) as at the date of the deposit carries the right of voting at general meetings of the Company, proceed to convene a general meeting of the Company. The requisition must state the objects of the meeting and must be signed by the requisitionists and deposited at the registered office of the Company and may consist of several documents in like form each signed by one or more requisitionists. |
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54. | If the Directors do not within twenty-one (21) days from the date of the deposit of the requisition duly proceed to convene a general meeting, the requisitionists, or any of them representing more than one-half (1/2) of the total voting rights of all of them, may themselves convene a general meeting, but any meeting so convened shall not be held after the expiration of three (3) months following the expiration of the said twenty-one (21) days. A general meeting convened as aforesaid by requisitionists shall be convened in the same manner as nearly as possible as that in which general meetings are to be convened by Directors. |
NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETINGS
55. | At least twenty (20) days notice shall be given of any general meeting. Every notice shall be exclusive of the day on which it is given or deemed to be given and shall specify the place, the day and the hour of the meeting and the general nature of the business and shall be given in the manner hereinafter mentioned or in such other manner, if any, as may be prescribed by the Company, provided that a general meeting of the Company shall, whether or not the notice specified in this Article 55 has been given and whether or not the provisions of the Articles regarding general meetings have been complied with, be deemed to have been duly convened if it is so agreed by (i) the Members (or their proxies) holding more than fifty percent (50%) of the aggregate voting power of all of the Ordinary Shares entitled to attend and vote thereat, (ii) the Series A Majority, (iii) the Series B Majority, (iv) the Series C Majority, (v) the Series D Majority, and (vi) the Series E Majority. |
56. | The accidental omission to give notice of a meeting to or the non-receipt of a notice of a meeting by any Member shall not invalidate the proceedings at any meeting. |
57. | The officer of the Company who has charge of the Register of Members of the Company shall prepare and make, at least two (2) days before every general meeting, a complete list of the Members entitled to vote at the general meeting, arranged in alphabetical order, and showing the address of each Member and the number of Shares registered in the name of each Member. Such list shall be open to examination by any Member for any purpose germane to the meeting, during ordinary business hours, for a period of at least two (2) days prior to the meeting, either at a place within the city where the meeting is to be held, which place shall be specified in the notice of the meeting, or, if not so specified, at the place where the meeting is to be held. The list shall also be produced and kept at the time and place of the meeting during the whole time thereof, and may be inspected by any Member of the Company who is present. |
PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS
58. | No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum of Members is present at the time when the meeting proceeds to business. Save as otherwise provided by these Articles, one or more Members holding at least a majority of the paid up voting share capital of the Company (calculated on an as-converted basis and including the Series A Majority, the Series B Majority, the Series C Majority, the Series D Majority, the Series E Majority and the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding Ordinary Shares) present in person or by proxy shall be a quorum, provided always that if the Company has one Member of record the quorum shall be that one Member present in person or by proxy. |
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59. | If a notice of a meeting has been duly delivered to all Members at least twenty (20) days prior to the meeting in accordance with the notice procedures hereunder, and within two (2) hours from the time appointed for the meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting, if convened upon the requisition of Members, shall be dissolved and in any other case it shall stand adjourned to the same day in the next week at the same time and place or to such other time or such other place as the Directors may determine and the Company shall deliver notice thereof to all Members at least three (3) Business Days prior to such adjourned meeting in accordance with the notice procedures hereunder, and if at the adjourned meeting a quorum is not present within two (2) hours from the time appointed for the meeting, the Members (or their proxies) present shall be a quorum. Other than the business as outlined in the notice to Members, no other business shall be determined at the adjourned meeting. |
60. | If the Directors wish to make this facility available to Members for a specific or all general meetings of the Company, a Member may participate in any general meeting of the Company, by means of a telephone or similar communication equipment by way of which all persons participating in such meeting can hear each other and such participation shall be deemed to constitute presence in person at the meeting. |
61. | The chairman, if any, of the Board shall preside as chairman at every general meeting of the Company. |
62. | If there is no such chairman, or if at any general meeting he is not present within fifteen (15) minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting or is unwilling to act as chairman, the Members present shall choose one (1) of their number to be chairman of that meeting. |
63. | The chairman may with the consent of any general meeting at which a quorum is present (and shall if so directed by the meeting) adjourn a meeting from time to time and from place to place, but no business shall be transacted at any adjourned meeting other than the business left unfinished at the meeting from which the adjournment took place. When a meeting is adjourned for fourteen (14) days or more, notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given as in the case of an original meeting. Save as aforesaid and as set out under Article 59, it shall not be necessary to give any notice of an adjournment or of the business to be transacted at an adjourned meeting. |
64. | At any general meeting a resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be decided by a poll and not on a show of hands. On a poll, a Member shall have such number of votes for the Shares he holds in accordance with Article 68. |
65. | If a poll shall be duly demanded, it shall be taken in such manner as the chairman directs, and the result of the poll shall be deemed to be the resolution of the meeting at which the poll was demanded. |
66. | In the case of an equality of votes, the chairman of the meeting shall not be entitled to a second or casting vote. |
67. | A poll demanded on the election of a chairman of the meeting or on a question of adjournment shall be taken forthwith. A poll demanded on any other question shall be taken at such time as the chairman of the meeting directs and any business other than that upon which a poll has been demanded or is contingent thereon may be proceeded with pending the taking of the poll. |
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VOTES OF MEMBERS
68. | Except as otherwise required by law or as set forth herein or as provided in any other Transaction Documents, the holder of any Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding shall have one (1) vote for each Ordinary Share held by such holder, and the holder of any Preferred Shares shall be entitled to the number of votes equal to the number of Ordinary Shares into which such Preferred Shares could be converted at the record date for determination of the Members entitled to vote on such matters, or, if no such record date is established, at the date such vote is taken or any written consents of Members is solicited, such votes to be counted together with all other Shares of the Company having general voting power and as a class except (i) as provided under Article 48 or (ii) as required by law or (iii) as provided in any other Transaction Documents. Holders of Ordinary Shares and Preferred Shares shall be entitled to notice of any Members meeting in accordance with these Articles. Subject to provisions to the contrary elsewhere in the Memorandum of Association, these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, the holders of Preferred Shares shall vote together with the holders of Ordinary Shares, and not as a separate class or series, on all matters put before the Members of the Company. |
69. | Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any class or classes of Shares, on a poll every Member and every person representing a Member by proxy shall have such number of vote(s) set forth under Article 68 for each Share of which he or the person represented by proxy is the holder. |
70. | In the case of joint holders the vote of the senior who tenders a vote whether in person or by proxy shall be accepted to the exclusion of the votes of the other joint holder(s) and for this purpose seniority shall be determined by the order in which the names stand in the Register of Members. |
71. | A Member of unsound mind, or in respect of whom an order has been made by any court having jurisdiction in lunacy, may vote, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, by his committee, or other person in the nature of a committee appointed by that court, and any such committee or other person may vote by proxy. |
72. | No Member shall be entitled to vote at any general meeting or at any separate meeting of the holders of a class or series of Shares unless he or it is registered as a Member of the Company on the record date for such meeting nor unless all calls or other sums presently payable by him in respect of Shares in the Company have been paid. |
73. | On a poll, votes may be given either personally or by proxy. A vote given in accordance with the terms of an instrument of proxy shall be valid notwithstanding the previous death or insanity of the principal or revocation of the proxy or of the authority under which the proxy was executed, or the transfer of the Share in respect of which the proxy is given unless notice in writing of such death, insanity, revocation or transfer as aforesaid shall have been received by the Company at the registered office before the commencement of the general meeting, or adjourned meeting at which it is sought to use the proxy. |
74. | The instrument appointing a proxy shall be in writing under the hand of the appointor or of his attorney duly authorised in writing or, if the appointor is a corporation, either under seal or under the hand of an officer or attorney duly authorised. A proxy need not be a Member. |
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75. | An instrument appointing a proxy may be in any usual or common form or such other form as the Directors may approve. The instrument appointing a proxy shall be deemed to confer authority to demand or join in demanding a poll. |
76. | A. Notwithstanding anything contained in these Articles, any instrument irrevocably appointing Centurium as a proxy for the purposes of implementing the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage Agreement pursuant to the terms of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage (the Mortgagee Proxy) shall not require the approval of the Directors as to its form. The instrument appointing the Mortgagee Proxy shall be deemed to confer authority to vote the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgaged Shares at all general meetings of Members and to request and convene a meeting or meetings of Members for the purpose of any matters necessary or desirable for the purpose pursuant to the terms of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage; provided that the Directors shall recognise, following written notification to the Company, any attorney-in-fact or Mortgagee Proxy (whether or not irrevocable) validly appointed in respect of any Founder Lu Holdco Mortgaged Shares to receive notice of, attend and vote at any meeting of the Company or by written resolution in place of, and to the exclusion of, the personal rights of the Founder Lu Holdco. |
B. The instrument appointing a proxy shall be deposited at the registered office of the Company or at such other place as is specified for that purpose in the notice convening the meeting no later than the time for holding the meeting, or adjourned meeting provided that the chairman of the meeting may at his discretion direct that an instrument of proxy shall be deemed to have been duly deposited upon receipt of telex, cable or telecopy confirmation from the appointor that the instrument of proxy duly signed is in the course of transmission to the Company. An instrument of proxy that is not deposited in the manner permitted shall be invalid.
77. | A resolution in writing signed by all the Members for the time being entitled to receive notice of and to attend and vote at general meetings (or being corporations by their duly authorised representatives) shall be as valid and effective as if the same had been passed at a general meeting of the Company duly convened and held. |
CORPORATIONS ACTING BY REPRESENTATIVES AT MEETINGS
78. | Any corporation which is a Member or a Director may by resolution of its directors or other governing body authorise such person as it thinks fit to act as its representative at any meeting of the Company or of any class of Members or of the Board or of a committee of Directors, and the person so authorised shall be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of the corporation which he represents as that corporation could exercise if it was an individual Member or Director of record of the Company. |
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DIRECTORS
79. | The Board of the Company shall consist of eight (8) members, which number of members shall not be changed except pursuant to an amendment to these Articles. For so long as Tencent or its Affiliates holds any issued and outstanding Series E Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares of the Company, Tencent shall have the right to appoint and remove one (1) Director (the Tencent Director). For so long as the Lead Series D Investor Representative holds any issued and outstanding Series D Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares of the Company, the Lead Series D Investor Representative shall have the right to appoint and remove one (1) Director (the Series D Director). For so long as Yunfeng holds any issued and outstanding Series C Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares of the Company, Yunfeng shall have the right to appoint and remove one (1) Director (the Yunfeng Director). For so long as SIG holds any issued and outstanding Series A Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares of the Company, SIG shall have the right to appoint and remove one (1) Director (the SIG Director, together with the Series E Director, the Series D Director and the Yunfeng Director, collectively, the Investor Directors). Founder Lu shall have the right to appoint and remove, through the Founder Lu Holdco, four (4) Directors. Subject to the articles with respect to the matters which must be approved by the Investor Directors as listed under these Articles (including without limitation Article 48(b)), each member of the Board except Mr. Lu Xiaoyan (卢小燕, a/k/a.卢睿泽) has one (1) vote and Mr. Lu Xiaoyan (卢小燕, a/k/a.卢睿泽) (to the extent he is a director of the Company) has two (2) votes at any Board meeting or in respect of any Board Resolutions. In the event that a special committee is formed within the Board, each of SIG, Yunfeng, the Lead Series D Investor Representative and Tencent shall be entitled to designate the Investor Director appointed by such Shareholder to be a member of such committee. |
Each of SIG, Yunfeng, the Lead Series D Investor Representative, Tencent, Matrix and Langmafeng shall be entitled to respectively designate one (1) non-voting observer (each, an Observer). Chengwei Capital HK Limited and CW MBA Digital Limited (for so long as they hold any issued and outstanding Series A Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares of the Company) shall be entitled to jointly designate one (1) Observer. Each Observer shall have the right to attend and observe meetings of the Board and each committee under the Board, and to receive notices of all meetings of the Board and each committee thereunder and copies of all documents provided to any member of the Board and any member of the Board Committees. The Company shall not grant any additional observer rights without the prior written consents of SIG, Yunfeng, the Lead Series D Investor Representative and Tencent.
80. | The Directors and Observers of the Company may only be appointed and removed as provided in Article 79. |
81. | Subject to the provisions of these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, a Director shall hold office until such time as he is removed from office or his office is vacated pursuant to Article 79 or Article 98. |
82. | Subject to the Shareholders Agreement and these Articles, the Company may by Ordinary Resolution from time to time fix the maximum and minimum number of Directors to be appointed. |
83. | The remuneration to be paid to the Directors shall be such remuneration as the Directors shall determine. The Directors shall also be entitled to be paid their travel, hotel and other expenses properly incurred by them in connection with their attendance at meetings of the Directors, or any committee of the Directors, or general meetings of the Company, or otherwise in connection with the business of the Company, or to receive a fixed allowance in respect thereof as may be determined by the Directors from time to time, or a combination partly of one such method and partly the other. |
84. | There shall be no shareholding qualification for Directors unless determined otherwise by the Company by Ordinary Resolution. |
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85. | Appointment or removal of each director of the Company pursuant to Article 79 may be made by the shareholder which is entitled to appoint or remove such Director by delivering to the Company a written instrument to that effect signed by such shareholder. No director appointed pursuant to Article 79 may be removed from office unless the shareholder originally entitled to appoint such director or occupy such Board seat pursuant to Article 79 is no longer so entitled to appoint such director or occupy such Board seat. Any vacancies created by the resignation, removal or death of a director appointed pursuant to Article 79 shall be filled pursuant to the provisions of Article 79. The Company shall adopt, and each shareholder of the Company agrees to cause the director(s) appointed by it (if any) to consent to adoption of, Board resolutions as may be required to update the register of directors of the Company reflecting each appointment or removal of director made pursuant to Article 79, and the Company shall promptly update its register of directors accordingly thereafter. |
ALTERNATE DIRECTOR
86. | Any Director (other than an alternate director) may in writing appoint another person to be his alternate to act in his place at any meeting of the Directors at which he is unable to be present. Every such alternate shall be entitled to notice of meetings of the Directors and to attend and vote thereat as a Director when the person appointing him is not personally present and where he is a Director to have a separate vote on behalf of the Director he is representing in addition to his own vote. A Director may at any time in writing revoke the appointment of an alternate appointed by him. Such alternate shall not be an officer of the Company and shall be deemed to be the agent of the Director appointing him. Any appointment or removal of an alternate director shall be by notice to the Company signed by the Director making or revoking the appointment or in any other manner approved by the Directors. The remuneration of such alternate shall be payable out of the remuneration of the Director appointing him and the proportion thereof shall be agreed between them. An alternate director shall cease to be alternate director if his appointor ceases to be a Director. |
87. | Any Director may appoint any person, whether or not a Director, to be the proxy of that Director to attend and vote on his behalf, in accordance with instructions given by that Director, or in the absence of such instructions at the discretion of the proxy, at a meeting or meetings of the Directors which that Director is unable to attend personally. The instrument appointing the proxy shall be in writing under the hand of the appointing Director and shall be in any usual or common form or such other form as the Directors may approve, and must be lodged with the chairman of the meeting of the Directors at which such proxy is to be used, or first used, prior to the commencement of the meeting. |
POWERS AND DUTIES OF DIRECTORS
88. | Subject to the provisions of the Companies Act, the Memorandum of Association and these Articles (including Article 48), the Shareholders Agreement and to any directions given by Special Resolution, the business of the Company shall be managed by the Directors who may exercise all the powers of the Company. No alteration of the Memorandum or Articles and no such direction shall invalidate any prior act of the Directors which would have been valid if that alteration had not been made or that direction had not been given. A duly convened meeting of Directors at which a quorum is present may exercise all powers exercisable by the Directors. |
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89. | Subject to the Shareholders Agreement and these Articles, the Directors may from time to time (with consents of a majority of Directors) appoint any person, whether or not a Director, to hold such office in the Company as the Directors may think necessary for the administration of the Company, including but not limited to, the office of president, one or more vice-presidents, treasurer, assistant treasurer, manager or controller, and for such term and at such remuneration (whether by way of salary or commission or participation in profits or partly in one way and partly in another), and with such powers and duties as the Directors may think fit. Any person so appointed by the Directors may be removed by the Directors (with consents of a majority of Directors). The Directors may also appoint one or more of their number to the office of managing director upon like terms, but any such appointment shall ipso facto determine if any managing director ceases for any reason to be a Director, or if the Company by Ordinary Resolution resolves that his tenure of office be terminated. |
90. | The Directors may appoint a Secretary (and if need be an Assistant Secretary or Assistant Secretaries) who shall hold office for such term, at such remuneration and upon such conditions and with such powers as they think fit. Any Secretary or Assistant Secretary so appointed by the Directors may be removed by the Directors. |
91. | Subject to these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, the Directors may delegate any of their powers to committees consisting of such member or members of their body as they think fit provided that, each Investor Director shall be entitled (but not obligated) to be a member of any such committee; any committee so formed shall in the exercise of the powers so delegated conform to any regulations that may be imposed on it by the Directors. |
92. | Subject to these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, the Directors may from time to time and at any time by power of attorney appoint any company, firm or person or body of persons, whether appointed or nominated directly or indirectly by the Directors, to be the attorney or attorneys of the Company for such purposes and with such powers, authorities and discretion (not exceeding those vested in or exercisable by the Directors under these Articles) and for such period and subject to such conditions as they may think fit, and any such power of attorney may contain such provisions for the protection and convenience of persons dealing with any such attorney as the Directors may think fit, and may also authorise any such attorney to delegate all or any of the powers, authorities and discretion vested in him. |
93. | Subject to these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, the Directors may from time to time provide for the management of the affairs of the Company in such manner as they shall think fit and the provisions contained in the three next following Articles shall not limit the general powers conferred by this Article 93. |
BORROWING POWERS OF DIRECTORS
94. | Subject to these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, the Directors may exercise all the powers of the Company to borrow money and to mortgage or charge its undertaking, property and uncalled capital or any part thereof, to issue debentures, debenture stock and other securities whenever money is borrowed or as security for any debt, liability or obligation of the Company or of any third party. |
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THE SEAL
95. | The Seal shall not be affixed to any instrument except by the authority of a resolution of the Board provided always that such authority may be given prior to or after the affixing of the Seal and if given after may be in general form confirming a number of affixings of the Seal. The Seal shall be affixed in the presence of a Director or a Secretary (or an Assistant Secretary) or in the presence of any one or more persons as the Directors may appoint for the purpose and every person as aforesaid shall sign every instrument to which the Seal is so affixed in their presence. |
96. | The Company may maintain a facsimile of the Seal in such countries or places as the Directors may appoint and such facsimile Seal shall not be affixed to any instrument except by the authority of a resolution of the Board provided always that such authority may be given prior to or after the affixing of such facsimile Seal and if given after may be in general form confirming a number of affixings of such facsimile Seal. The facsimile Seal shall be affixed in the presence of such person or persons as the Directors shall for this purpose appoint and such person or persons as aforesaid shall sign every instrument to which the facsimile Seal is so affixed in their presence and such affixing of the facsimile Seal and signing as aforesaid shall have the same meaning and effect as if the Seal had been affixed in the presence of and the instrument signed by a Director or a Secretary (or an Assistant Secretary) or in the presence of any one or more persons as the Directors may appoint for the purpose. |
97. | Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Secretary or any Assistant Secretary shall have the authority to affix the Seal, or the facsimile Seal, to any instrument for the purposes of attesting authenticity of the matter contained therein but which does not create any obligation binding on the Company. |
DISQUALIFICATION OF DIRECTORS
98. | Subject to Article 79, the office of Director shall be vacated, if the Director: |
(a) | becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors; |
(b) | is found to be or becomes of unsound mind; |
(c) | resigns his office by notice in writing to the Company; or |
(d) | is removed from office by notice given by the Member who appointed such Director. |
PROCEEDINGS OF DIRECTORS
99. | The Board shall hold at least one (1) meeting every six (6) months either telephonically or in person, unless otherwise agreed by the majority of the votes of the Directors who in all cases shall include the Investor Directors. The Company shall cause that (i) a notice of each meeting, (ii) the agenda of the business to be transacted at the meeting and (iii) all relevant documents and materials to be circulated at or presented to the meeting are sent to all Directors at least fourteen (14) days before the meeting and a copy of the minutes of the meeting is sent to such persons within thirty (30) days following the meeting. |
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100. | A Director or Directors may participate in any meeting of the Board of Directors, or of any committee appointed by the Board of Directors of which such Director or Directors are members, by means of telephone or similar communication equipment by way of which all persons participating in such meeting can hear each other and such participation shall be deemed to constitute presence in person at the meeting. |
101. | The quorum necessary for the transaction of the business of the Directors shall be five (5) Directors then in office, provided that such quorum shall include the Investor Directors and no Board meetings shall be held in the absence of any Investor Director. A meeting absent of any Investor Director shall be automatically postponed to commence at the same time on the date five (5) Business Days following the original date set forth in the original notice, and if at the postpone meeting any of the Investor Directors is not present within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting any five (5) directors present and entitled to vote shall form a quorum. A notice of the postponed meeting shall also be delivered in accordance with Article 99 above. Only the business outlined in the notice to the Board members shall be determined at the meeting. |
102. | A Director who is in any way, whether directly or indirectly, interested in a contract or proposed contract with the Company shall declare the nature of his interest at a meeting of the Directors. A general notice given to the Board of Directors by any Director to the effect that he is a member of any specified company or firm and is to be regarded as interested in any contract which may thereafter be made with that company or firm shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of interest in regard to any contract so made. A Director may vote in respect of any contract or proposed contract or arrangement notwithstanding that he may be interested therein and if he does so his vote shall be counted and he may be counted in the quorum at any meeting of the Directors, in each case provided that the nature of the interest of any Director in any such contract or arrangement shall be disclosed by him at or prior to its consideration and any vote thereon. |
103. | A Director may hold any other office or place of profit under the Company (other than the office of auditor) in conjunction with his office of Director for such period and on such terms (as to remuneration and otherwise) as the Directors may determine and unless otherwise provided in these Articles or the Shareholders Agreement, no Director or intending Director shall be disqualified by his office from contracting with the Company either with regard to his tenure of any such other office or place of profit or as vendor, purchaser or otherwise, nor shall any such contract or arrangement entered into by or on behalf of the Company in which any Director is in any way interested, be liable to be avoided, nor shall any Director so contracting or being so interested be liable to account to the Company for any profit realised by any such contract or arrangement by reason of such Director holding that office or of the fiduciary relation thereby established. A Director, notwithstanding his interest, may be counted in the quorum present at any meeting of the Directors whereat he or any other Director is appointed to hold any such office or place of profit under the Company or whereat the terms of any such appointment are arranged and he may vote on any such appointment or arrangement; provided that the nature of the interest of any Director in any such contract or transaction shall be disclosed by him at or prior to its consideration and any vote thereon. |
104. | Any Director may act by himself or his firm in a professional capacity for the Company, and he or his firm shall be entitled to remuneration for professional services as if he were not a Director; provided that nothing herein contained shall authorise a Director or his firm to act as auditor to the Company. |
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105. | The Directors shall cause minutes to be made in books or loose-leaf folders provided for the purpose of recording: |
(a) | all appointments of officers made by the Directors; |
(b) | the names of the Directors present at each meeting of the Directors and of any committee of the Directors; |
(c) | all resolutions and proceedings at all meetings of the Company, and of the Directors and of committees of Directors. |
106. | The chairman of each meeting of the Directors shall prepare and sign the minutes of such meeting and promptly deliver a copy of such minutes to the other Directors. |
107. | Subject to Article 48, any action that may be taken by the Board at a meeting may be taken by a written resolution signed by the Directors holding a majority of the votes of all the Directors then in office without convening a Board meeting; provided that, in the event that the Company desires to pass any such written Board resolution without convening a Board meeting, the Company shall provide at least five (5) Business Days of advance notice to each of the Directors of the Company, setting forth the desire to pass such written Board resolution, reasonable details of the matters proposed to be approved (including the draft of such written Board resolution to be passed) and all relevant documents and materials (if applicable). After the Directors representing the majority of the votes of all the Directors have signed such resolution in favor of such matters, such resolution shall be deemed to have been approved by the Board, and promptly but in no event later than two (2) days after such signing, the Company shall notify each other Director who has not signed or declined to sign such resolution together with a copy of such signed resolution, provided that in such circumstances, to the extent permitted by applicable Laws, the Investor appointing or nominating such other Director shall use reasonable endeavors to cause its appointed or nominated Director to cooperate to sign such resolutions if a unanimous written resolutions signed by all Directors of the Company is required by applicable Laws to effectuate a corporate action of the Company or to be filed with or submitted to (where applicable) the competent Governmental Authorities, unless any Investor Director appointed or nominated by such Investor has raised his/her objection or withheld his/her approval or affirmative vote with respect to such matters put to vote pursuant to Article 48(b). When a resolution is signed, a resolution may consist of several documents each signed by one or more of the Directors. |
108. | The continuing Directors may act notwithstanding any vacancy in their body but if and so long as their number is reduced below the number fixed by or pursuant to these Articles as the necessary quorum of Directors, the continuing Directors may act for the purpose of increasing the number, or of summoning a general meeting of the Company, but for no other purpose. |
109. | The Directors may elect a chairman of their meetings and determine the period for which he is to hold office but if no such chairman is elected, or if at any meeting the chairman is not present within fifteen (15) minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting, the Directors present may choose one (1) of their number to be chairman of the meeting. |
110. | A committee appointed by the Directors may elect a chairman of its meetings. If no such chairman is elected, or if at any meeting the chairman is not present within five (5) minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting, the members present may choose one (1) of their number to be chairman of the meeting. |
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111. | A committee appointed by the Directors may meet and adjourn as it thinks proper. Questions arising at any meeting shall be determined by a majority of votes of the committee members present subject to Article 48(b) in which cases the affirmative votes of the Investor Directors shall be obtained. |
112. | All acts done by any meeting of the Directors or of a committee of Directors, or by any person acting as a Director, shall notwithstanding that it be afterwards discovered that there was some technical defect in the appointment of any such Director or person acting as aforesaid, or that they or any of them were disqualified, be as valid as if every such person had been duly appointed and was qualified to be a Director. |
DIVIDENDS
113. |
(a) | Subject to the applicable Laws, the Shareholders Agreement and these Articles (including Article 47, Article 48 and Article 140), the Board (with consents of a majority of Directors) may from time to time declare dividends (including interim dividends) and other distributions on Shares of the Company outstanding and authorize payment of the same out of the funds of the Company lawfully available therefor and in accordance with the provisions of this Article 113. |
(b) | No dividend or distribution, whether in cash, in property, or in any other shares of the Company, shall be declared, paid, set aside or made with respect to the Ordinary Shares, at any time unless a distribution is likewise declared, paid, set aside or made, respectively, at the same time with respect to each issued and outstanding Preferred Share (calculated on an as-converted basis), such that the distribution declared, paid, set aside or made to the holder thereof shall be equal to the distribution that such holder would have received if such Preferred Shares had been converted into Ordinary Shares immediately prior to the record date for such distribution, or if no such record date is established, the date such distribution is made. |
114. | No dividend or distribution shall be payable except out of the profits of the Company, realized or unrealized, or out of the share premium account or as otherwise permitted by the applicable Laws. |
115. | Subject to the applicable Laws, these Articles, the Shareholders Agreement, and any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any class or classes of Shares, the Company by Ordinary Resolution may declare dividends, but no dividend shall exceed the amount recommended by the Board. |
116. | Subject to the rights of persons, if any, entitled to Shares with special rights as to dividends or distributions, if dividends or distributions are to be declared on a class of Shares they shall be declared and paid according to the amounts paid or credited as paid on the Shares of such class outstanding on the record date for such dividend or distribution as determined in accordance with these Articles but no amount paid or credited as paid on a Share in advance of calls shall be treated for the purpose of this Article 116 as paid on the Share. |
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117. | Subject to these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, the Directors may declare that any dividend or distribution be paid wholly or partly by the distribution of specific assets and in particular of paid up Shares, debentures, or debenture stock of any other company or in any one or more of such ways and where any difficulty arises in regard to such distribution, the Directors may settle the same as they think expedient and in particular may issue fractional certificates and fix the value for distribution of such specific assets or any part thereof and may determine that cash payments shall be made to any Members upon the footing of the value so fixed in order to adjust the rights of all Members and may vest any such specific assets in trustees as may seem expedient to the Directors. |
118. | The Directors may, before recommending or declaring any dividend, set aside out of the funds legally available for distribution such sums as they think proper as a reserve or reserves which shall, in the absolute discretion of the Directors be applicable for meeting contingencies, or for equalising dividends or for any other purpose to which those funds may be properly applied and pending such application may in the absolute discretion of the Directors, either be employed in the business of the Company or be invested in such investments (other than shares) as the Directors may from time to time think fit. |
119. | Any dividend may be paid by cheque sent through the post to the registered address of the Member or person entitled thereto, or in the case of joint holders, to any one of such joint holders at his registered address or to such person and such address as the Member or person entitled, or such joint holders as the case may be, may direct. Every such cheque shall be made payable to the order of the person to whom it is sent or to the order of such other person as the Member or person entitled, or such joint holders as the case may be, may direct. |
120. | Subject to these Articles, the Directors when paying dividends to the Members in accordance with the provisions of these Articles may make such payment either in cash or in specie. |
121. | Subject to the applicable Laws, these Articles, the Shareholders Agreement, and any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any class or classes of Shares, all dividends shall be declared and paid according to the amounts paid on the Shares. No amount paid on a Share in advance of calls shall, while carrying interest, be treated for the purposes of this Article 121 as paid on the Share. |
122. | If several persons are registered as joint holders of any Share, any of them may give effectual receipts for any dividend or other moneys payable on or in respect of the Share. |
123. | No dividend shall bear interest against the Company. |
ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT
124. | The books of account relating to the Companys affairs shall be kept in such manner as may be determined from time to time by the Directors. The Company shall cause all books of account to be maintained for a minimum period of five (5) years from the date on which they were prepared. |
125. | The books of account shall be kept at the registered office of the Company, or at such other place or places as the Directors think fit, and shall always be open to the inspection of the Directors. |
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126. | Subject to the Shareholders Agreement, the Directors shall from time to time determine whether and to what extent and at what times and places and under what conditions or regulations the accounts and books of the Company or any of them shall be open to the inspection of Members not being Directors, and no Member (not being a Director) shall have any right of inspecting any account or book or document of the Company except as conferred by law or authorised by the Directors or by the Company by Ordinary Resolution or otherwise in accordance with the Shareholders Agreement. |
127. | Subject to the Shareholders Agreement, the accounts relating to the Companys affairs may be audited. |
CAPITALISATION OF PROFITS
128. | Subject to the Companies Act, these Articles and the Shareholders Agreement, the Directors may, with the authority of an Ordinary Resolution: |
(a) | resolve to capitalize an amount standing to the credit of reserves (including a share premium account, capital redemption reserve and profit and loss account) that is available for distribution; |
(b) | appropriate the sum resolved to be capitalized to the Members in proportion to the nominal amount of Shares (whether or not fully paid) held by them respectively and apply that sum on their behalf in or towards paying up in full unissued Shares or debentures of an amount equal to that sum, and allot the Shares or debentures, credited as fully paid, to the Members (or as they may direct) in those proportions, or partly in one way and partly in the other, but the share premium account, the capital redemption reserve and profits which are not available for distribution may, for the purposes of this Article 128, only be applied in paying up unissued Shares to be allotted to Members credited as fully paid; |
(c) | make any arrangements they think fit to resolve a difficulty arising in the distribution of a capitalized reserve and in particular, without limitation, where Shares or debentures become distributable in fractions the Directors may deal with the fractions as they think fit; |
(d) | authorize a person to enter (on behalf of all the Members concerned) into an agreement with the Company providing for either: |
(i) | the allotment to the Members respectively, credited as fully paid, of Shares or debentures to which they may be entitled on the capitalization, or |
(ii) | the payment by the Company on behalf of the Members (by the application of their respective proportions of the reserves resolved to be capitalized) of the amounts or part of the amounts remaining unpaid on their existing Shares, |
and any such agreement made under this authority being effective and binding on all those Members; and
(e) | generally do all acts and things required to give effect to the resolution. |
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SHARE PREMIUM ACCOUNT
129. | The Directors shall in accordance with Section 34 of the Companies Act establish a share premium account and shall carry to the credit of such account from time to time a sum equal to the amount or value of the premium paid on the issue of any Share. |
130. | There shall be debited to any share premium account on the redemption or purchase of a Share the difference between the nominal value of such Share and the redemption or purchase price provided always that at the discretion of the Directors such sum may be paid out of the profits of the Company or, if permitted by Section 37 of the Companies Act, out of capital. |
NOTICES
131. | Any notice or document may be served by the Company or by the person entitled to give notice to any Member either personally, by facsimile or by sending it through the post in a prepaid letter or via a recognised courier service, fees prepaid, addressed to the Member at his address as appearing in the Register of Members. In the case of joint holders of a Share, all notices shall be given to that one of the joint holders whose name stands first in the Register of Members in respect of the joint holding, and notice so given shall be sufficient notice to all the joint holders. |
132. | Any Member present, either personally or by proxy, at any meeting of the Company shall for all purposes be deemed to have received due notice of such meeting and, where requisite, of the purposes for which such meeting was convened. |
133. | Any notice or other document, if served by (a) post, shall be deemed to have been served five (5) days after the time when the letter containing the same is posted, or, (b) facsimile, shall be deemed to have been served upon production by the transmitting facsimile machine of a report confirming transmission of the facsimile in full to the facsimile number of the recipient or (c) recognised courier service, shall be deemed to have been served forty-eight (48) hours after the time when the letter containing the same is delivered to the courier service. In proving service by post or courier service it shall be sufficient to prove that the letter containing the notice or documents was properly addressed and duly posted or delivered to the courier service. |
134. | Any notice or document delivered or sent by post to or left at the registered address of any Member in accordance with the terms of these Articles shall notwithstanding that such Member be then dead or bankrupt, and whether or not the Company has notice of his death or bankruptcy, be deemed to have been duly served in respect of any Share registered in the name of such Member as sole or joint holder, unless his name shall at the time of the service of the notice or document, have been removed from the Register of Members as the holder of the Share, and such service shall for all purposes be deemed a sufficient service of such notice or document on all persons interested (whether jointly with or as claiming through or under him) in the Share. |
135. | Notice of every general meeting of the Company shall be given to: |
(a) | all Members holding Shares with the right to receive notice and who have supplied to the Company an address for the giving of notices to them; and |
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(b) | every person entitled to a Share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Member, who but for his death or bankruptcy would be entitled to receive notice of the meeting. |
No other person shall be entitled to receive notices of general meetings.
INDEMNITY
136. | Every Director (including for the purposes of this Article 136 any alternate Director appointed pursuant to the provisions of these Articles), Secretary, Assistant Secretary, or other officer for the time being and from time to time of the Company (but not including the Companys auditors) and the personal representatives of the same shall be indemnified and secured harmless out of the assets and funds of the Company against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by him in or about the conduct of the Companys business or affairs or in the execution or discharge of his duties, powers, authorities or discretions including without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by him in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil proceedings concerning the Company or its affairs in any court whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere, unless the same shall happen or sustain by or through his own actual or wilful fraud or wilful default. |
137. | No such Director, alternate Director, Secretary, Assistant Secretary or other officer of the Company (but not including the Companys auditors) shall be liable (a) for the acts, receipts, neglects, defaults or omissions of any other such Director or officer or agent of the Company or (b) for any loss on account of defect of title to any property of the Company or (c) on account of the insufficiency of any security in or upon which any money of the Company shall be invested or (d) for any loss incurred through any bank, broker or other similar person or (e) for any loss occasioned by any negligence, default, breach of duty, breach of trust, error of judgement or oversight on his part or (f) for any loss, damage or misfortune whatsoever which may happen in or arise from the execution or discharge of the duties, powers authorities, or discretions of his office or in relation thereto, unless the same shall happen or sustain by or through his own actual or wilful fraud or wilful default. |
NON-RECOGNITION OF TRUSTS
138. | Except as required by law and save for the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage, no person shall be recognised by the Company as holding any Share upon any trust and the Company shall not, unless required by law, be bound by or be compelled in any way to recognise (even when having notice thereof) any equitable, contingent or future interest in any of its Shares or any other rights in respect thereof except an absolute right to the entirety thereof in each Member registered in the Register of Members. |
WINDING UP
139. | Subject to the Shareholders Agreement, Article 48 and Article 140, if the Company shall be wound up the liquidator may, with the sanction of a Special Resolution of the Company divide amongst the Members in specie or kind the whole or any part of the assets of the Company (whether they shall consist of property of the same kind or not) and may, for such purpose set such value as he deems fair upon any property to be divided as aforesaid and may determine how such division shall be carried out as between the Members or different classes of Shares. The liquidator may, with the like sanction, vest the whole or any part of such assets in trustees upon such trusts for the benefit of the contributories as the liquidator, with the like sanction shall think fit, but so that no Member shall be compelled to accept any Shares or other securities whereon there is any liability. |
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LIQUIDATION PREFERENCE
140. | Subject to applicable Laws, the Shareholders Agreement and these Articles (including Article 48), upon any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, either voluntary or involuntary or any Deemed Liquidation Event, the assets of the Company or proceeds received by the Company and/or the shareholders available for distribution shall be distributed in the following order (after satisfaction of all creditors claims and claims that may be preferred by law): |
(a) | First, each holder of the Series E2 Preferred Shares and the Series E Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive for each Series E2 Preferred Share/Series E Preferred Share held by such holder, on parity with each other and prior and in preference to any distribution of any of the assets or surplus funds of the Company to any other class or series of shares by reason of their ownership of such shares, an amount equal to the sum of (i) one hundred percent (100%) of the Series E2 Issue Price/Series E Issue Price applicable to such holders of Series E2 Preferred Shares/Series E Preferred Shares, (ii) a twelve percent (12%) compound annual interest calculated from the applicable Series E Issue Date/Series E2 Issue Date until the Target Payment Date (as defined below), and (iii) all accrued or declared but unpaid dividends on such Series E2 Preferred Share/Series E Preferred Share (as applicable) (collectively, the Series E&E2 Liquidation Preference Amount). If the assets and funds available for distribution among the holders of the Series E Preferred Shares and the Series E2 Preferred Shares shall be insufficient to permit the payment to such holders of the full Series E&E2 Liquidation Preference Amount, then the entire assets and funds of the Company legally available for distribution shall be distributed ratably among the holders of the Series E Preferred Shares and the Series E2 Preferred Shares in proportion to the Series E&E2 Liquidation Preference Amount each such holder would otherwise be entitled to receive. |
(b) | Second, if there are any assets or funds remaining after the aggregate Series E&E2 Liquidation Preference Amount has been distributed or paid in full to the holders of the Series E2 Preferred Shares and the Series E Preferred Shares pursuant to Article 140(a) above, each holder of the Series D Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive for each Series D Preferred Share held by such holder, on parity with each other and prior and in preference to any distribution of any of the assets or surplus funds of the Company to any other class or series of shares by reason of their ownership of such shares (other than the Series E2 Preferred Shares and the Series E Preferred Shares), an amount equal to the sum of (i) one hundred percent (100%) of the Series D Issue Price, (ii) a twelve percent (12%) compound annual interest calculated from the applicable Series D Issue Date until the Target Payment Date, and (iii) all accrued or declared but unpaid dividends on such Series D Preferred Share (collectively, the Series D Liquidation Preference Amount). If the assets and funds available for distribution among the holders of the Series D Preferred Shares shall be insufficient to permit the payment to such holders of the full Series D Liquidation Preference Amount, then the entire assets and funds of the Company legally available for distribution shall be distributed ratably among the holders of the Series D Preferred Shares in proportion to the Series D Liquidation Preference Amount each such holder would otherwise be entitled to receive. |
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(c) | Third, if there are any assets or funds remaining after the aggregate Series E&E2 Liquidation Preference Amount and Series D Liquidation Preference Amount have been distributed or paid in full to the holders of the Series E2 Preferred Shares, the Series E Preferred Shares and the Series D Preferred Shares respectively pursuant to Article 140(a) and (b) above, each holder of the Series C Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive for each Series C Preferred Share held by such holder, on parity with each other and prior and in preference to any distribution of any of the assets or surplus funds of the Company to any other class or series of shares by reason of their ownership of such shares (other than the Series E2 Preferred Shares, the Series E Preferred Shares and the Series D Preferred Shares), an amount equal to the sum of (i) one hundred percent (100%) of the Series C Issue Price, (ii) an eight percent (8%) compound annual interest calculated from the Series C Issue Date until the Target Payment Date, and (iii) all accrued or declared but unpaid dividends on such Series C Preferred Share (collectively, the Series C Liquidation Preference Amount). If the assets and funds thus distributed among the holders of the Series C Preferred Shares shall be insufficient to permit the payment to such holders of the full Series C Liquidation Preference Amount, then the entire assets and funds of the Company legally available for distribution shall be distributed ratably among the holders of the Series C Preferred Shares in proportion to the Series C Liquidation Preference Amount each such holder would otherwise be entitled to receive. |
(d) | Fourth, if there are any assets or funding remaining after the aggregate Series E&E2 Liquidation Preference Amount, Series D Liquidation Preference Amount and Series C Liquidation Preference Amount have been distributed or paid in full to the holders of the Series E2 Preferred Shares, the Series E Preferred Shares, the Series D Preferred Shares and the Series C Preferred Shares, respectively, pursuant to Article 140(a), (b) and (c) above, each holder of the Series B Preferred Shares and the Series A Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive for each Series B Preferred Share/Series A Preferred Share held by such holder, on parity with each other and prior and in preference to any distribution of any of the assets or surplus funds of the Company to the holders of Ordinary Shares or any other class or series of shares (other than the Series E2 Preferred Shares, the Series E Preferred Shares, the Series D Preferred Shares and the Series C Preferred Shares) by reason of their ownership of such shares, an amount equal to one hundred and fifty percent (150%) of the Series A Issue Price/Series B Issue Price applicable to such holders of Series A Preferred Shares/Series B Preferred Shares, plus all accrued or declared but unpaid dividends on such Series A Preferred Share/Series B Preferred Share (as applicable) (collectively, the Series A&B Liquidation Preference Amount). If the assets and funds thus distributed among the holders of the Series A Preferred Shares and the Series B Preferred Shares shall be insufficient to permit the payment to such holders of the full Series A&B Liquidation Preference Amount, then the entire assets and funds of the Company legally available for distribution shall be distributed ratably among the holders of the Series A Preferred Shares and the Series B Preferred Shares in proportion to the Series A&B Liquidation Preference Amount each such holder would otherwise be entitled to receive. |
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(e) | After setting aside or paying in full the Series E&E2 Liquidation Preference Amount, the Series D Liquidation Preference Amount, the Series C Liquidation Preference Amount and the Series A&B Liquidation Preference Amount due pursuant to Article 140(a), (b), (c) and (d) above, the remaining funds and assets of the Company available for distribution to Members, if any, and proceeds received by the Company or its shareholders shall be distributed ratably amongst holders of outstanding Ordinary Shares and holders of outstanding Preferred Shares on an as-converted basis. |
(f) | For the purpose of this Article 140, a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company shall be deemed to be occasioned by, and shall include a Deemed Liquidation Event. |
(g) | Upon the occurrence of any liquidation, dissolution, winding up of the Company or a Deemed Liquidation Event, the Preferred Majority shall propose in writing to the Company a date on which the payments of the applicable Series E&E2 Liquidation Preference Amount, Series D Liquidation Preference Amount, Series C Liquidation Preference Amount and the Series A&B Liquidation Preference Amount shall be due which shall be a date no earlier than the 30th day after the date of delivery of such proposal and the Company shall not unreasonably reject such proposed due date (the Target Payment Date). In the event the Company fails to make such payments in full on or before the Target Payment Date, any unpaid balance of the due and payable Series E&E2 Liquidation Preference Amount, Series D Liquidation Preference Amount, Series C Liquidation Preference Amount and/or Series A&B Liquidation Preference Amount (as applicable) shall bear an interest at a compound rate of eight percent (8%) per annum calculated from the Target Payment Date to the date on which all the applicable Series E&E2 Liquidation Preference Amount, Series D Liquidation Preference Amount, Series C Liquidation Preference Amount and/or Series A&B Liquidation Preference Amount paid in full. |
(h) | Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article 140, the Company may at any time, out of funds legally available therefore, repurchase Ordinary Shares of the Company issued to or held by employees, officers or consultants of the Company or its Subsidiaries upon termination of their employment or services, pursuant to any bona fide agreement providing for such right of repurchase, whether or not dividends on the Preferred Shares shall have been declared. |
(i) | In the event the Company proposes to distribute assets other than cash in connection with any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, the value of the assets to be distributed to the holders of Preferred Shares and Ordinary Shares shall be determined in good faith by the liquidator (or, in the case of any proposed distribution in connection with a transaction which is a Deemed Liquidation Event hereunder, by the Board, which decision shall include the affirmative votes or written consents of the Investor Directors). Any securities not subject to investment letter or similar restrictions on free marketability shall be valued as follows: |
(i) | If traded on a securities exchange, the value shall be deemed to be the average of the securitys closing prices on such exchange over the thirty (30) day ending one (1) day prior to the distribution; |
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(ii) | If actively traded over-the-counter, the value shall be deemed to be the average of the closing bid prices over the thirty (30) day period ending three (3) days prior to the distribution; and |
(iii) | If there is no active public market, the value shall be the fair market value thereof as determined in good faith by the liquidator (or, in the case of any proposed distribution in connection with a transaction which is a Deemed Liquidation Event, by the Board, with the affirmative votes of the Investor Directors). |
(j) | The method of valuation of securities subject to restrictions on free marketability shall be adjusted to make an appropriate discount from the market value determined as above in clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) to reflect the fair market value thereof as determined in good faith by the liquidator (or, in the case of any proposed distribution in connection with a transaction which is a Deemed Liquidation Event hereunder, by the Board, with the affirmative votes of the Investor Directors). The Series A Majority, the Series B Majority, the Series C Majority, the Series D Majority and the Series E Majority shall have the right to challenge any determination by the Board or the liquidator (as the case may be) of fair market value pursuant to this Article 140, in which case the determination of fair market value shall be made by an independent appraiser selected jointly by the Board or the liquidator (as the case may be) and the challenging parties, the cost of which shall be borne by the Company. |
AMENDMENT OF ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
141. | Subject to the Companies Act, the Shareholders Agreement, these Articles (including Article 48) and the rights attaching to the various classes of Shares, the Company may at any time and from time to time by Special Resolution alter or amend these Articles in whole or in part. |
REGISTRATION BY WAY OF CONTINUATION
142. | The Company may by Special Resolution resolve to be registered by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands or such other jurisdiction in which it is for the time being incorporated, registered or existing. In furtherance of a resolution adopted pursuant to this Article 142, the Directors may cause an application to be made to the Registrar of Companies to deregister the Company in the Cayman Islands or such other jurisdiction in which it is for the time being incorporated, registered or existing and may cause all such further steps as they consider appropriate to be taken to effect the transfer by way of continuation of the Company. |
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Exhibit 3.2
THE COMPANIES ACT (AS AMENDED)
OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES
EIGHTH AMENDED AND RESTATED
MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
OF
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
(ADOPTED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION PASSED ON JULY 1ST, 2024 AND EFFECTIVE CONDITIONAL AND IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE COMPLETION OF THE COMPANYS INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES REPRESENTING ITS CLASS A ORDINARY SHARES)
THE COMPANIES ACT (AS AMENDED)
OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES
EIGHTH AMENDED AND RESTATED
MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION
OF
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
(Adopted by Special Resolution passed on July 1st, 2024 and effective conditional and immediately prior to the completion of the Companys initial public offering of American depositary shares representing its Class A Ordinary Shares)
1. | The name of the Company is YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED (the Company). |
2. | The registered office of the Company will be situated at the offices of Walkers Corporate Limited, 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-9008, Cayman Islands or at such other location as the Directors may from time to time determine. |
3. | The objects for which the Company is established are unrestricted and the Company shall have full power and authority to carry out any object not prohibited by any law as provided by Section 7(4) of the Companies Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands (the Companies Act). |
4. | The Company shall have and be capable of exercising all the functions of a natural person of full capacity irrespective of any question of corporate benefit as provided by Section 27(2) of the Companies Act. |
5. | The Company will not trade in the Cayman Islands with any person, firm or corporation except in furtherance of the business of the Company carried on outside the Cayman Islands; provided that nothing in this section shall be construed as to prevent the Company effecting and concluding contracts in the Cayman Islands, and exercising in the Cayman Islands all of its powers necessary for the carrying on of its business outside the Cayman Islands. |
6. | The liability of the shareholders of the Company is limited to the amount from time to time, if any, unpaid on the shares respectively held by them. |
7. | The authorised share capital of the Company is US$50,000 divided into (a) 483,068,176 Class A Ordinary Shares of par value of US$0.0001 each; and (b) 16,931,824 Class B Ordinary Shares of par value of US$0.0001 each. Subject to the Companies Act and the Articles of Association, the Company shall have power to redeem or purchase any of its shares, and to sub-divide or consolidate the said shares or any of them and to issue all or any part of its capital whether original, redeemed, increased or reduced with or without any preference, priority, special privilege or other rights or subject to any postponement of rights or to any conditions or restrictions whatsoever and so that unless the conditions of issue shall otherwise expressly provide every issue of shares whether stated to be ordinary, preference or otherwise shall be subject to the powers on the part of the Company hereinbefore provided. |
8. | The Company may exercise the power contained in Section 206 of the Companies Act to deregister in the Cayman Islands and be registered by way of continuation in some other jurisdiction. |
9. | Capitalized terms that are not defined in this Memorandum of Association bear the same meaning as those given in the Articles of Association of the Company. |
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CLAUSE | PAGE | |||
TABLE A |
1 | |||
INTERPRETATION |
1 | |||
PRELIMINARY |
4 | |||
SHARES |
5 | |||
MODIFICATION OF RIGHTS |
8 | |||
CERTIFICATES |
8 | |||
FRACTIONAL SHARES |
9 | |||
LIEN |
9 | |||
CALLS ON SHARES |
9 | |||
FORFEITURE OF SHARES |
10 | |||
TRANSFER OF SHARES |
11 | |||
TRANSMISSION OF SHARES |
11 | |||
ALTERATION OF SHARE CAPITAL |
12 | |||
REDEMPTION, PURCHASE AND SURRENDER OF SHARES |
12 | |||
TREASURY SHARES |
13 | |||
GENERAL MEETINGS |
13 | |||
PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS |
14 | |||
VOTES OF SHAREHOLDERS |
16 | |||
CORPORATIONS ACTING BY REPRESENTATIVES AT MEETINGS |
17 | |||
CLEARING HOUSES |
17 | |||
DIRECTORS |
17 | |||
ALTERNATE DIRECTOR |
18 | |||
POWERS AND DUTIES OF DIRECTORS |
19 | |||
BORROWING POWERS OF DIRECTORS |
20 | |||
THE SEAL |
20 | |||
DISQUALIFICATION OF DIRECTORS |
20 | |||
PROCEEDINGS OF DIRECTORS |
21 | |||
PRESUMPTION OF ASSENT |
22 |
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DIVIDENDS |
23 | |||
ACCOUNTS, AUDIT AND ANNUAL RETURN AND DECLARATION |
23 | |||
CAPITALISATION OF RESERVES |
24 | |||
SHARE PREMIUM ACCOUNT |
25 | |||
NOTICES |
25 | |||
INDEMNITY |
27 | |||
NON-RECOGNITION OF TRUSTS |
27 | |||
WINDING UP |
28 | |||
AMENDMENT OF ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION |
28 | |||
CLOSING OF REGISTER OR FIXING RECORD DATE |
28 | |||
REGISTRATION BY WAY OF CONTINUATION |
28 | |||
DISCLOSURE |
29 |
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THE COMPANIES ACT (AS AMENDED)
OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES
EIGHTH AMENDED AND RESTATED
ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
OF
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
(Adopted by Special Resolution passed on July 1st, 2024 and effective conditional and immediately prior to the completion of the Companys initial public offering of American depositary shares representing its Class A Ordinary Shares)
TABLE A
The Regulations contained or incorporated in Table A in the First Schedule of the Companies Act shall not apply to the Company and the following Articles shall comprise the Articles of Association of the Company.
INTERPRETATION
1. | In these Articles the following defined terms will have the meanings ascribed to them, if not inconsistent with the subject or context: |
ADS means an American depositary share, each representing such number of Class A Ordinary Shares as set out in the registration statements of the Company;
Affiliate means in respect of a Person, any other Person that, directly or indirectly, through (1) one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, such Person, and (i) in the case of a natural person, shall include, without limitation, such persons spouse, parents, children, siblings, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, a trust for the benefit of any of the foregoing, and a corporation, partnership or any other entity wholly or jointly owned by any of the foregoing, and (ii) in the case of an entity, shall include a partnership, a corporation or any other entity or any natural person which directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, such entity. The term control shall mean the ownership, directly or indirectly, of shares possessing more than fifty per cent (50%) of the voting power of the corporation, partnership or other entity (other than, in the case of a corporation, securities having such power only by reason of the happening of a contingency), or having the power to control the management or elect a majority of members to the board of directors or equivalent decision-making body of such corporation, partnership or other entity;
Articles means these articles of association of the Company, as amended or substituted from time to time;
Board and Board of Directors and Directors means the directors of the Company for the time being, or as the case may be, the directors assembled as a board or as a committee thereof;
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Chairman means the chairman of the Board of Directors;
Class or Classes means any class or classes of Shares as may from time to time be issued by the Company;
Class A Ordinary Share means a Class A ordinary share of par value US$0.0001 each in the share capital of the Company having the rights set out in these Articles;
Class B Ordinary Share means a Class B ordinary share of par value US$0.0001 each in the share capital of the Company having the rights set out in these Articles;
Commission means the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America or any other federal agency for the time being administering the Securities Act;
Companies Act means the Companies Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands;
Company means YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, a Cayman Islands exempted company;
Companys Website means the main corporate/investor relations website of the Company, the address or domain name of which has been disclosed in any registration statement filed by the Company with the Commission in connection with its initial public offering of ADSs, or which has otherwise been notified to Shareholders;
Designated Stock Exchange means the stock exchange in the United States on which any Shares and ADSs are listed for trading;
Designated Stock Exchange Rules means the relevant code, rules and regulations, as amended, from time to time, applicable as a result of the original and continued listing of any Shares or ADSs on the Designated Stock Exchange;
electronic means the meaning given to it in the Electronic Transactions Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands and any amendment thereto or re-enactments thereof for the time being in force and includes every other law incorporated therewith or substituted therefor;
electronic communication means electronic posting to the Companys Website, transmission to any number, address or internet website or other electronic delivery methods as otherwise decided and approved by not less than a majority of the vote of the Board;
Exchange Act means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended;
Independent Director means a Director who is an independent director as defined in the Designated Stock Exchange Rules or in Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act;
Memorandum of Association means the memorandum of association of the Company, as amended or substituted from time to time;
Month means calendar month;
Office means the registered office of the Company as required by the Companies Act;
Officer means the offices for the time being and from time to time of the Company;
Ordinary Resolution means a resolution:
(a) | passed by a simple majority of the votes cast by such Shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at a general meeting of the Company and where a poll is taken regard shall be had in computing a majority to the number of votes to which each Shareholder is entitled by these Articles; or |
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(b) | approved in writing by all of the Shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the Company in one or more instruments each signed by one or more of the Shareholders and the effective date of the resolution so adopted shall be the date on which the instrument, or the last of such instruments, if more than one, is executed; |
Ordinary Shares means the Class A Ordinary Shares and the Class B Ordinary Shares, collectively;
paid up means paid up as to the par value in respect of the issue of any Shares and includes credited as paid up;
Person means any natural person, firm, company, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association or other entity (whether or not having a separate legal personality) or any of them as the context so requires, other than in respect of a Director or Officer in which circumstances Person Shall mean any person or entity permitted to act as such in accordance with the laws of the Cayman Islands;
Register means the register of Members of the Company required to be kept pursuant to the Companies Act;
Seal means the common seal of the Company (if adopted) including any facsimile thereof;
Secretary means any Person appointed by the Directors to perform any of the duties of the secretary of the Company;
Securities Act means the Securities Act of 1933 of the United States of America, as amended, or any similar federal statute and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, all as the same shall be in effect at the time;
Share means a share in the capital of the Company. All references to Shares herein shall be deemed to be Shares of any or all Classes as the context may require. For the avoidance of doubt in these Articles the expression Share shall include a fraction of a Share;
Shareholder or Member means a Person who is registered as the holder of Shares in the Register and includes each subscriber to the Memorandum of Association pending entry in the Register of such subscriber;
Share Premium Account means the share premium account established in accordance with these Articles and the Companies Act;
signed means bearing a signature or representation of a signature affixed by mechanical means or an electronic symbol or process attached to or logically associated with an electronic communication and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the electronic communication;
Special Resolution means a special resolution of the Company passed in accordance with the Companies Act being a resolution:
(b) | passed by not less than two-thirds of the votes cast by such Shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at a general meeting of the Company of which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been duly given and where a poll is taken regard shall be had in computing a majority to the number of votes to which each Shareholder is entitled; or |
(b) | approved in writing by all of the Shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the Company in one or more instruments each signed by one or more of the Shareholders and the effective date of the special resolution so adopted shall be the date on which the instrument or the last of such instruments, if more than one, is executed; |
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Treasury Shares means Shares that were previously issued but were purchased, redeemed, surrendered or otherwise acquired by the Company and not cancelled;
United States means the United States of America, its territories, its possessions and all areas subject to its jurisdiction; and
year means calendar year.
2. | In these Articles, save where the context requires otherwise: |
(a) | words importing the singular number shall include the plural number and vice versa; |
(b) | words importing the masculine gender only shall include the feminine gender and any Person as the context may require; |
(c) | the word may shall be construed as permissive and the word shall shall be construed as imperative; |
(d) | reference to a dollar or dollars (or US$) and to a cent or cents is reference to dollars and cents of the United States of America; |
(e) | reference to a statutory enactment shall include reference to any amendment or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force; |
(f) | reference to any determination by the Directors shall be construed as a determination by the Directors in their sole and absolute discretion and shall be applicable either generally or in any particular case; |
(g) | reference to in writing shall be construed as written or represented by any means reproducible in writing, including any form of print, lithograph, email, facsimile, photograph or telex or represented by any other substitute or format for storage or transmission for writing including in the form of an electronic record or partly one and partly another; |
(h) | any requirements as to delivery under the Articles include delivery in the form of an electronic record or an electronic communication; and |
(i) | any requirements as to execution or signature under the Articles, including the execution of the Articles themselves, can be satisfied in the form of an electronic signature as defined in the Electronic Transaction Act (as amended). Sections 8 and 19 of the Electronic Transactions Act (as amended) shall not apply. |
3. | Subject to the last two preceding Articles, any words defined in the Companies Act shall, if not inconsistent with the subject or context, bear the same meaning in these Articles. |
PRELIMINARY
4. | The business of the Company may be conducted as the Directors see fit. |
5. | The Office shall be at such address in the Cayman Islands as the Directors may from time to time determine. The Company may in addition establish and maintain such other offices and places of business and agencies in such places as the Directors may from time to time determine. |
6. | The expenses incurred in the formation of the Company and in connection with the offer for subscription and issue of Shares shall be paid by the Company. Such expenses may be amortised over such period as the Directors may determine and the amount so paid shall be charged against income and/or capital in the accounts of the Company as the Directors shall determine. |
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7. | The Directors shall keep, or cause to be kept, the Register at such place or (subject to compliance with the Companies Act and these Articles) places as the Directors may from time to time determine. In the absence of any such determination, the Register shall be kept at the Office. |
SHARES
8. | Subject to these Articles, all Shares for the time being unissued shall be under the control of the Directors who may, in their absolute discretion and without the approval of the Members, cause the Company to: |
(a) | issue, allot or dispose of the same (whether in certificated form or non-certificated form, including fractions of a Share) to such Persons, in such manner, on such terms and having such rights and being subject to such restrictions as they may from time to time determine; |
(b) | grant rights over Shares or other securities to be issued in one or more classes or series as they deem necessary or appropriate and determine the designations, powers, preferences, privileges and other rights attaching to such Shares or securities, including dividend rights, voting rights, conversion rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the powers, preferences, privileges and rights associated with the then issued and outstanding Shares, at such times and on such other terms as they think proper; and |
(c) | grant options with respect to such Shares and issue warrants, convertible securities or similar instruments with respect thereto; |
and, for such purposes, the Directors may reserve an appropriate number of Shares for the time being unissued.
9. | The Directors, or the Shareholders by Ordinary Resolution, may authorise the division of Shares into any number of Classes and sub-classes and the different Classes and sub-classes shall be authorised, established and designated (or re-designated as the case may be) and the variations in the relative rights (including, without limitation, voting, dividend and redemption rights), restrictions, preferences, privileges and payment obligations as between the different Classes (if any) may be fixed and determined by the Directors or by the Shareholders by Ordinary Resolution. The Directors may issue Shares with such preferred or other rights, all or any of which may be greater than the rights of Ordinary Shares, at such time and on such terms as they may think appropriate. Notwithstanding Article 12 the Directors may issue from time to time, out of the authorised share capital of the Company (other than the authorised but unissued Ordinary Shares), series of preferred shares in their absolute discretion and without approval of the Members; provided, however, before any preferred shares of any such series are issued, the Directors shall by resolution of Directors determine, with respect to any series of preferred shares, the terms and rights of that series, including: |
(a) | the designation of such series, the number of preferred shares to constitute such series and the subscription price thereof if different from the par value thereof; |
(b) | whether the preferred shares of such series shall have voting rights, in addition to any voting rights provided by law, and, if so, the terms of such voting rights, which may be general or limited; |
(c) | the dividends, if any, payable on such series, whether any such dividends shall be cumulative, and, if so, from what dates, the conditions and dates upon which such dividends shall be payable, and the preference or relation which such dividends shall bear to the dividends payable on any shares of any other class or any other series of shares; |
(d) | whether the preferred shares of such series shall be subject to redemption by the Company, and, if so, the times, prices and other conditions of such redemption; |
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(e) | whether the preferred shares of such series shall have any rights to receive any part of the assets available for distribution amongst the Members upon the liquidation of the Company, and, if so, the terms of such liquidation preference, and the relation which such liquidation preference shall bear to the entitlements of the holders of shares of any other class or any other series of shares; |
(f) | whether the preferred shares of such series shall be subject to the operation of a retirement or sinking fund and, if so, the extent to and manner in which any such retirement or sinking fund shall be applied to the purchase or redemption of the preferred shares of such series for retirement or other corporate purposes and the terms and provisions relative to the operation thereof; |
(g) | whether the preferred shares of such series shall be convertible into, or exchangeable for, shares of any other class or any other series of preferred shares or any other securities and, if so, the price or prices or the rate or rates of conversion or exchange and the method, if any, of adjusting the same, and any other terms and conditions of conversion or exchange; |
(h) | the limitations and restrictions, if any, to be effective while any preferred shares of such series are outstanding upon the payment of dividends or the making of other distributions on, and upon the purchase, redemption or other acquisition by the Company of, the existing shares or shares of any other class of shares or any other series of preferred shares; |
(i) | the conditions or restrictions, if any, upon the creation of indebtedness of the Company or upon the issue of any additional shares, including additional shares of such series or of any other class of shares or any other series of preferred shares; and |
(j) | any other powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights, and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof; |
and, for such purposes, the Directors may reserve an appropriate number of Shares for the time being unissued. The Company is not obliged to issue, allot or dispose of shares if it is, in the opinion of the Directors, unlawful or impracticable. The Company shall not issue Shares to bearer.
10. | The rights and restrictions attaching to the Ordinary Shares are as follows: |
(a) | Income |
Holders of Ordinary Shares shall be entitled to such dividends as the Directors may in their absolute discretion lawfully declare from time to time.
(b) | Capital |
Holders of Ordinary Shares shall be entitled to a return of capital on liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company (other than on a conversion, redemption or purchase of shares, or an equity financing or series of financings that do not constitute the sale of all or substantially all of the shares of the Company).
(c) | Attendance at General Meetings and Voting |
Holders of Ordinary Shares have the right to receive notice of, attend, speak and vote at general meetings of the Company. Holders of Class A Ordinary Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares shall, at all times, vote together as one class on all matters submitted to a vote by the Members. Each Class A Ordinary Share shall be entitled to one (1) vote on all matters subject to vote at general meetings of the Company and each Class B Ordinary Share shall be entitled to twenty (20) votes on all matters subject to vote at general meetings of the Company.
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(d) | Conversion |
(i) | Each Class B Ordinary Share is convertible into one (1) Class A Ordinary Share at any time by the holder thereof. The right to convert shall be exercisable by the holder of the Class B Ordinary Share delivering a written notice to the Company that such holder elects to convert a specified number of Class B Ordinary Shares into Class A Ordinary Shares. In no event shall Class A Ordinary Shares be convertible into Class B Ordinary Shares. |
(ii) | Upon: |
(A) any sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of Class B Ordinary Shares by a holder thereof to any person or entity which is not an Affiliate of such holder, or
(B) a change of beneficial ownership of any Class B Ordinary Shares as a result of which any Person who is not an Affiliate of the registered holders of such Ordinary Shares becomes a beneficial owner of such Ordinary Shares,
such Class B Ordinary Shares shall be automatically and immediately converted into an equal number of Class A Ordinary Shares.
For the avoidance of doubt, (i) a sale, transfer, assignment or disposition shall be effective upon the Companys registration of such sale, transfer, assignment or disposition in the Register of Members; (ii) the creation of any pledge, charge, encumbrance or other third party right of whatever description on any Class B Ordinary Shares to secure any contractual or legal obligations shall not be deemed as a sale, transfer, assignment or disposition unless and until any such pledge, charge, encumbrance or other third party right is enforced and results in the third party who is not an Affiliate of the relevant Member becoming a beneficial owner of the relevant Class B Ordinary Shares, in which case all the related Class B Ordinary Shares shall be automatically and immediately converted into the same number of Class A Ordinary Shares, and (iii) the termination of directorship on the Board or employment as an executive officer with the Company of any holder of any Class B Ordinary Shares shall not trigger the automatic conversion contemplated under this Article 10(d).
(iii) | For purposes of this Article 10, beneficial ownership shall have the meaning defined in Rule 13d-3 under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. |
(iv) | Any conversion of Class B Ordinary Shares into Class A Ordinary Shares pursuant to this Article shall be effected by means of the re-designation and re-classification of the relevant Class B Ordinary Share as a Class A Ordinary Share together with such rights and restrictions and which shall rank pari passu is all respects with the Class A Ordinary Shares then in issue. Such conversion shall become effective forthwith upon entries being made in the Register of Members to record the re-designation and re-classification of the relevant Class B Ordinary Shares as Class A Ordinary Shares. |
(v) | Upon conversion, the Company shall allot and issue the relevant Class A Ordinary Shares to the converting Member, enter or procure the entry of the name of the relevant holder of Class B Ordinary Shares, as the holder of the relevant number of Class A Ordinary Shares resulting from the conversion of the Class B Ordinary Shares, in, and make any other necessary and consequential changes to, the Register of Members and shall procure that certificates in respect of the relevant Class A Ordinary Shares, together with a new certificate for any unconverted Class B Ordinary Shares, comprised in the certificate(s) surrendered by the holder of the Class B Ordinary Shares are issued to the holders of the Class A Ordinary Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares. |
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(vi) | Save and except for voting rights and conversion rights as set out in this Article 10(c) and (d), Class A Ordinary Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares shall rank pari passu and shall have the same rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions. |
11. | The Company may insofar as may be permitted by law, pay a commission to any Person in consideration of his subscribing or agreeing to subscribe whether absolutely or conditionally for any Shares. Such commissions may be satisfied by the payment of cash or the lodgement of fully or partly paid-up Shares or partly in one way and partly in the other. The Company may also pay such brokerage as may be lawful on any issue of Shares. |
12. | The Directors may refuse to accept any application for Shares, and may accept any application in whole or in part, for any reason or for no reason. |
MODIFICATION OF RIGHTS
13. | Whenever the capital of the Company is divided into different Classes (and as otherwise determined by the Directors) the rights attached to any such Class may, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to any Class, only be materially adversely varied or abrogated with the consent in writing of the holders of not less than a majority of the issued Shares of the relevant Class, or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the Shares of such Class by a majority of two-thirds of the votes cast at such a meeting. To every such separate meeting all the provisions of these Articles relating to general meetings of the Company or to the proceedings thereat shall, mutatis mutandis, apply, except that the necessary quorum shall be one or more Persons at least holding or representing by proxy one-third in nominal or par value amount of the issued Shares of the relevant Class (but so that if at any adjourned meeting of such holders a quorum as above defined is not present, those Shareholders who are present shall form a quorum) and that, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to the Shares of that Class, every Shareholder of the Class shall on a poll have one vote for each Share of the Class held by him. For the purposes of this Article the Directors may treat all the Classes or any two or more Classes as forming one Class if they consider that all such Classes would be affected in the same way by the proposals under consideration, but in any other case shall treat them as separate Classes. |
14. | The rights conferred upon the holders of the Shares of any Class issued with preferred or other rights shall not, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to the Shares of that Class, be deemed to be materially adversely varied or abrogated by, inter alia, the creation, allotment or issue of further Shares ranking pari passu with or subsequent to them or the redemption or purchase of any Shares of any Class by the Company. The rights of the holders of Shares shall not be deemed to be materially adversely varied by the creation or issue of Shares with preferred or other rights including, without limitation, the creation of Shares with enhanced or weighted voting rights. |
CERTIFICATES
15. | Every Person whose name is entered as a Member in the Register shall, without payment, be entitled to a certificate within two months after allotment or lodgement of transfer (or within such other period as the conditions of issue shall provide) in the form determined by the Directors. All certificates shall specify the Share or Shares held by that person and the amount paid up thereon, provided that in respect of a Share or Shares held jointly by several persons the Company shall not be bound to issue more than one certificate, and delivery of a certificate for a Share to one of several joint holders shall be sufficient delivery to all. All certificates for Shares shall be delivered personally or sent through the post addressed to the member entitled thereto at the Members registered address as appearing in the Register. |
16. | Every share certificate of the Company shall bear legends required under the applicable laws, including the Securities Act. |
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17. | Any two or more certificates representing Shares of any one Class held by any Member may at the Members request be cancelled and a single new certificate for such Shares issued in lieu on payment (if the Directors shall so require) of US$1.00 or such smaller sum as the Directors shall determine. |
18. | If a share certificate shall be damaged or defaced or alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, a new certificate representing the same Shares may be issued to the relevant Member upon request subject to delivery up of the old certificate or (if alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed) compliance with such conditions as to evidence and indemnity and the payment of out-of-pocket expenses of the Company in connection with the request as the Directors may think fit. |
19. | In the event that Shares are held jointly by several persons, any request may be made by any one of the joint holders and if so made shall be binding on all of the joint holders. |
FRACTIONAL SHARES
20. | The Directors may issue fractions of a Share and, if so issued, a fraction of a Share shall be subject to and carry the corresponding fraction of liabilities (whether with respect to nominal or par value, premium, contributions, calls or otherwise), limitations, preferences, privileges, qualifications, restrictions, rights (including, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, voting and participation rights) and other attributes of a whole Share. If more than one fraction of a Share of the same Class is issued to or acquired by the same Shareholder such fractions shall be accumulated. |
LIEN
21. | The Company has a first and paramount lien on every Share (whether or not fully paid) for all amounts (whether presently payable or not) payable at a fixed time or called in respect of that Share. The Company also has a first and paramount lien on every Share registered in the name of a Person indebted or under liability to the Company (whether he is the sole registered holder of a Share or one of two or more joint holders) for all amounts owing by him or his estate to the Company (whether or not presently payable). The Directors may at any time declare a Share to be wholly or in part exempt from the provisions of this Article. The Companys lien on a Share extends to any amount payable in respect of it. |
22. | The Company may sell, in such manner as the Directors may determine, any Share on which the Company has a lien, but no sale shall be made unless an amount in respect of which the lien exists is presently payable nor until the expiration of fourteen days after a notice in writing, demanding payment of such part of the amount in respect of which the lien exists as is presently payable, has been given to the registered holder for the time being of the Share, or the Persons entitled thereto by reason of his death or bankruptcy. |
23. | For giving effect to any such sale the Directors may authorise some Person to transfer the Shares sold to the purchaser thereof. The purchaser shall be registered as the holder of the Shares comprised in any such transfer and he shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money, nor shall his title to the Shares be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in reference to the sale. |
24. | The proceeds of the sale after deduction of expenses, fees and commission incurred by the Company shall be received by the Company and applied in payment of such part of the amount in respect of which the lien exists as is presently payable, and the residue shall (subject to a like lien for sums not presently payable as existed upon the Shares prior to the sale) be paid to the Person entitled to the Shares immediately prior to the sale. |
CALLS ON SHARES
25. | The Directors may from time to time make calls upon the Shareholders in respect of any moneys unpaid on their Shares, and each Shareholder shall (subject to receiving at least fourteen days clear notice specifying the time or times of payment) pay to the Company at the time or times so specified the amount called on such Shares. A call shall be deemed to have been made at the time when the resolution of the Directors authorising such call was passed. |
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26. | The joint holders of a Share shall be jointly and severally liable to pay calls in respect thereof. |
27. | If a sum called in respect of a Share is not paid before or on the day appointed for payment thereof, the Person from whom the sum is due shall pay interest upon the sum at the rate of eight percent per annum from the day appointed for the payment thereof to the time of the actual payment, but the Directors shall be at liberty to waive payment of that interest wholly or in part. |
28. | The provisions of these Articles as to the liability of joint holders and as to payment of interest shall apply in the case of non-payment of any sum which, by the terms of issue of a Share, becomes payable at a fixed time, whether on account of the amount of the Share, or by way of premium, as if the same had become payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified. |
29. | The Directors may make arrangements on the issue of partly paid Shares for a difference between the Shareholders, or the particular Shares, in the amount of calls to be paid and in the times of payment. |
30. | The Directors may, if they think fit, receive from any Shareholder willing to advance the same all or any part of the moneys uncalled and unpaid upon any partly paid Shares held by him, and upon all or any of the moneys so advanced may (until the same would, but for such advance, become presently payable) pay interest at such rate (not exceeding without the sanction by Ordinary Resolution, eight percent per annum) as may be agreed upon between the Shareholder paying the sum in advance and the Directors. No such sum paid in advance of calls shall entitle the Member paying such sum to any portion of a dividend declared in respect of any period prior to the date upon which such sum would, but for such payment, become presently payable. |
FORFEITURE OF SHARES
31. | If a Shareholder fails to pay any call or instalment of a call in respect of partly paid Shares on the day appointed for payment, the Directors may, at any time thereafter during such time as any part of such call or instalment remains unpaid, serve a notice on him requiring payment of so much of the call or instalment as is unpaid, together with any interest which may have accrued. |
32. | The notice shall name a further day (not earlier than the expiration of fourteen days from the date of the notice) on or before which the payment required by the notice is to be made, and shall state that in the event of non-payment at or before the time appointed the Shares in respect of which the call was made will be liable to be forfeited. |
33. | If the requirements of any such notice as aforesaid are not complied with, any Share in respect of which the notice has been given may at any time thereafter, before the payment required by notice has been made, be forfeited by a resolution of the Directors to that effect. |
34. | A forfeited Share may be sold or otherwise disposed of on such terms and in such manner as the Directors think fit, and at any time before a sale or disposition the forfeiture may be cancelled on such terms as the Directors think fit. |
35. | A Person whose Shares have been forfeited shall cease to be a Shareholder in respect of the forfeited Shares, but shall, notwithstanding, remain liable to pay to the Company all moneys which at the date of forfeiture were payable by him to the Company in respect of the Shares forfeited, but his liability shall cease if and when the Company receives payment in full of the amount unpaid on the Shares forfeited. A certificate in writing under the hand of a Director that a Share has been duly forfeited on a date stated in the certificate, shall be conclusive evidence of the facts in the certificate as against all Persons claiming to be entitled to the Share. |
36. | The Company may receive the consideration, if any, given for a Share on any sale or disposition thereof pursuant to the provisions of these Articles as to forfeiture and may execute a transfer of the Share in favour of the Person to whom the Share is sold or disposed of and that Person shall be registered as the holder of the Share, and shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money, if any, nor shall his title to the Shares be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in reference to the disposition or sale. |
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37. | The provisions of these Articles as to forfeiture shall apply in the case of non-payment of any sum which by the terms of issue of a Share becomes due and payable, whether on account of the amount of the Share, or by way of premium, as if the same had been payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified. |
TRANSFER OF SHARES
38. | The instrument of transfer of any Share shall be in any usual or common form or such other form as the Directors may determine and be executed by or on behalf of the transferor and if in respect of a nil or partly paid up Share, or if so required by the Directors, shall also be executed on behalf of the transferee and shall be accompanied by the certificate (if any) of the Shares to which it relates and such other evidence as the Directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer. The transferor shall be deemed to remain a Shareholder until the name of the transferee is entered in the Register in respect of the relevant Shares. |
39. |
(a) | Subject to the terms of issue thereof, the Directors may determine to decline to register any transfer of Shares without assigning any reason therefor. |
(b) | The Directors may also decline to register any transfer of any Share unless: |
(i) | the instrument of transfer is lodged with the Company, accompanied by the certificate for the Shares to which it relates and such other evidence as the Board may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer; |
(ii) | the instrument of transfer is in respect of only one Class of Shares; |
(iii) | the instrument of transfer is properly stamped, if required; |
(iv) | in the case of a transfer to joint holders, the number of joint holders to whom the Share is to be transferred does not exceed four; or |
(v) | a fee of such maximum sum as the Designated Stock Exchange may determine to be payable or such lesser sum as the Board of Directors may from time to time require, is paid to the Company in respect thereof. |
40. | The registration of transfers may, on ten calendar days notice being given by advertisement in such one or more newspapers or by electronic means or by any other means in accordance with the Designated Stock Exchange Rules, be suspended and the Register of Members closed at such times and for such periods as the Directors may, in their absolute discretion, from time to time determine, provided always that such registration of transfer shall not be suspended nor the Register of Members closed for more than 30 days in any year. |
41. | All instruments of transfer that are registered shall be retained by the Company. If the Directors refuse to register a transfer of any Shares, they shall within three months after the date on which the transfer was lodged with the Company send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of the refusal. |
TRANSMISSION OF SHARES
42. | The legal personal representative of a deceased sole holder of a Share shall be the only Person recognised by the Company as having any title to the Share. In the case of a Share registered in the name of two or more holders, the survivors or survivor, or the legal personal representatives of the deceased holder of the Share, shall be the only Person recognised by the Company as having any title to the Share. |
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43. | Any Person becoming entitled to a Share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Shareholder shall upon such evidence being produced as may from time to time be required by the Directors, have the right either to be registered as a Shareholder in respect of the Share or, instead of being registered himself, to make such transfer of the Share as the deceased or bankrupt Person could have made; but the Directors shall, in either case, have the same right to decline or suspend registration as they would have had in the case of a transfer of the Share by the deceased or bankrupt Person before the death or bankruptcy. |
44. | A Person becoming entitled to a Share by reason of the death or bankruptcy of a Shareholder shall be entitled to the same dividends and other advantages to which he would be entitled if he were the registered Shareholder, except that he shall not, before being registered as a Shareholder in respect of the Share, be entitled in respect of it to exercise any right conferred by membership in relation to meetings of the Company, provided however, that the Directors may at any time give notice requiring any such person to elect either to be registered himself or to transfer the Share, and if the notice is not complied with within ninety days, the Directors may thereafter withhold payment of all dividends, bonuses or other monies payable in respect of the Share until the requirements of the notice have been complied with. |
REGISTRATION OF EMPOWERING INSTRUMENTS
45. | The Company shall be entitled to charge a fee not exceeding one dollar (US$1.00) on the registration of every probate, letters of administration, certificate of death or marriage, power of attorney, notice in lieu of distringas, or other instrument. |
ALTERATION OF SHARE CAPITAL
46. | The Company may from time to time by Ordinary Resolution increase the share capital by such sum, to be divided into Shares of such Classes and amount, as the resolution shall prescribe and with such rights, priorities and privileges annexed thereto, as the Company in general meeting may determine. |
47. | The Company may by Ordinary Resolution: |
(a) | consolidate and divide all or any of its share capital into Shares of a larger amount than its existing Shares; |
(b) | subdivide its existing Shares, or any of them into Shares of a smaller amount provided that in the subdivision the proportion between the amount paid and the amount, if any, unpaid on each reduced Share shall be the same as it was in case of the Share from which the reduced Share is derived; |
(c) | convert all or any of its paid up Shares into stock and reconvert that stock into paid up Shares of any denomination; |
(d) | cancel any Shares that, at the date of the passing of the resolution, have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any Person and diminish the amount of its share capital by the amount of the Shares so cancelled. |
48. | The Company may by Special Resolution reduce its share capital and any capital redemption reserve in any manner authorised by law. |
REDEMPTION, PURCHASE AND SURRENDER OF SHARES
49. | Subject to the Companies Act and these Articles, the Company may: |
(a) | issue Shares on terms that they are to be redeemed or are liable to be redeemed at the option of the Company or the Shareholder on such terms and in such manner as may be determined, before the issue of such Shares, by either the Board or by the Shareholders by Special Resolution; |
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(b) | purchase its own Shares (including any redeemable Shares) on such terms and in such manner as have been approved by the Board or by the Members by Ordinary Resolution, or are otherwise authorised by these Articles; |
(c) | make a payment in respect of the redemption or purchase of its own Shares in any manner permitted by the Companies Act, including out of its capital; and |
(d) | accept the surrender for no consideration of any paid up Share (including any redeemable Share) on such terms and in such manner as the Directors may determine. |
50. | The holder of the Shares being purchased or redeemed shall be bound to deliver up to the Company the certificate(s) (if any) thereof. Any Share in respect of which notice of redemption has been given shall not be entitled to vote or participate in the profits of the Company in respect of the period after the date specified as the date of redemption in the notice of redemption. |
51. | The redemption, purchase or surrender of any Share shall not be deemed to give rise to the redemption, purchase or surrender of any other Share. |
52. | The Directors may when making payments in respect of redemption or purchase of Shares, if authorised by the terms of issue of the Shares being redeemed or purchased or with the agreement of the holder of such Shares, make such payment either in cash or in specie including without limitation, interests in a special purpose vehicle holding assets of the Company or holding entitlement to the proceeds of assets held by the Company or in a liquidation structure. |
TREASURY SHARES
53. | Shares that the Company purchases, redeems or acquires (by way of surrender or otherwise) may, at the option of the Company, be cancelled immediately or held as Treasury Shares in accordance with the Companies Act. In the event that the Directors do not specify that the relevant Shares are to be held as Treasury Shares, such Shares shall be cancelled. |
54. | No dividend may be declared or paid, and no other distribution (whether in cash or otherwise) of the Companys assets (including any distribution of assets to members on a winding up) may be declared or paid in respect of a Treasury Share. |
55. | The Company shall be entered in the Register as the holder of the Treasury Shares provided that: |
(a) | the Company shall not be treated as a member for any purpose and shall not exercise any right in respect of the Treasury Shares, and any purported exercise of such a right shall be void; |
(b) | a Treasury Share shall not be voted, directly or indirectly, at any meeting of the Company and shall not be counted in determining the total number of issued shares at any given time, whether for the purposes of these Articles or the Companies Act, save that an allotment of Shares as fully paid bonus shares in respect of a Treasury Share is permitted and Shares allotted as fully paid bonus shares in respect of a treasury share shall be treated as Treasury Shares. |
56. | Treasury Shares may be disposed of by the Company on such terms and conditions as determined by the Directors. |
GENERAL MEETINGS
57. | All general meetings other than annual general meetings shall be called extraordinary general meetings. |
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58. |
(a) | The Company may, but shall not (unless required by the Companies Act) be obliged to hold a general meeting in each year as its annual general meeting and shall specify the meeting as such in the notices calling it. The annual general meeting shall be held at such time and place as may be determined by the Directors. |
(b) | At these meetings the report of the Directors (if any) shall be presented. |
59. |
(a) | The Chairman or a majority of the Directors may call general meetings, and they shall on a Members requisition forthwith proceed to convene an extraordinary general meeting of the Company. |
(b) | A Members requisition is a requisition of Members of the Company holding at the date of deposit of the requisition not less than one-third of such of the paid-up capital of the Company as at that date of the deposit carries the right of voting at general meetings of the Company. |
(c) | The requisition must state the objects of the meeting and must be signed by the requisitionists and deposited at the registered office of the Company, and may consist of several documents in like form each signed by one or more requisitionists. |
(d) | If the Directors do not within 21 days from the date of the deposit of the requisition duly proceed to convene a general meeting to be held within a further twenty-one days, the requisitionists, or any of them representing more than one-half of the total voting rights of all of them, may themselves convene a general meeting, but any meeting so convened shall not be held after the expiration of three months after the expiration of the said 21 days. |
(e) | A general meeting convened as aforesaid by requisitionists shall be convened in the same manner as nearly as possible as that in which general meetings are to be convened by Directors. |
NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETINGS
60. | At least fifteen (15) calendar days notice shall be given for any general meeting. Every notice shall be exclusive of the day on which it is given or deemed to be given and of the day for which it is given and shall specify the place, the day and the hour of the meeting and the general nature of the business and shall be given in the manner hereinafter mentioned or in such other manner if any as may be prescribed by the Company, provided that a general meeting of the Company shall, whether or not the notice specified in this Article has been given and whether or not the provisions of these Articles regarding general meetings have been complied with, be deemed to have been duly convened if it is so agreed: |
(a) | in the case of an annual general meeting by all the Members (or their proxies) entitled to attend and vote thereat; and |
(b) | in the case of an extraordinary general meeting by a majority in number of the Members (or their proxies) having a right to attend and vote at the meeting, being a majority together holding not less than seventy five per cent (75%) in par value of the Shares giving that right. |
61. | The accidental omission to give notice of a meeting to or the non-receipt of a notice of a meeting by any Shareholder shall not invalidate the proceedings at any meeting. |
PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS
62. | No business shall be transacted at any general meeting without the consent of all Shareholders entitled to receive notice of that meeting unless notice of such business has been given in the notice convening that meeting. |
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63. | No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum of Members is present at the time when the meeting proceeds to business. The holders of Shares being not less than an aggregate of one-half of all votes attaching to all issued and outstanding Shares that carry the right to vote at such general meeting present in person or by proxy shall be a quorum for all purposes. |
64. | If within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting, if convened upon the requisition of Shareholders, shall be dissolved. In any other case it shall stand adjourned to the same day in the next week, at the same time and place, and if at the adjourned meeting a quorum is not present within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting the Shareholder or Shareholders present and entitled to vote shall form a quorum. |
65. | If the Directors wish to make this facility available for a specific general meeting or all general meetings of the Company, participation in any general meeting of the Company may be by means of a telephone or similar communication equipment by way of which all Persons participating in such meeting can communicate with each other and such participation shall be deemed to constitute presence in person at the meeting. |
66. | The chairman, if any, of the Directors shall preside as chairman at every general meeting of the Company. |
67. | If there is no such chairman, or if at any general meeting he is not present within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting or is unwilling to act as chairman, any Director or Person nominated by the Directors shall preside as chairman, failing which the Shareholders present in person or by proxy shall choose any Person present to be chairman of that meeting. |
The chairman of the general meeting may with the consent of any general meeting at which a quorum is present (and shall if so directed by the meeting) adjourn a meeting from time to time and from place to place, but no business shall be transacted at any adjourned meeting other than the business left unfinished at the meeting from which the adjournment took place. When a meeting, or adjourned meeting, is adjourned for fourteen days or more, notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given in the manner provided for the original meeting. Save as aforesaid, it shall not be necessary to give any notice of an adjournment or of the business to be transacted at an adjourned meeting.
68. | The Directors may cancel or postpone any duly convened general meeting at any time prior to such meeting, except for general meetings requisitioned by the Shareholders in accordance with these Articles, for any reason or for no reason, upon notice in writing to Shareholders. A postponement may be for a stated period of any length or indefinitely as the Directors may determine. |
69. | At any general meeting a resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be decided on a show of hands, unless a poll is (before or on the declaration of the result of the show of hands) demanded by the chairman or one or more Shareholders present in person or by proxy entitled to vote, and unless a poll is so demanded, a declaration by the chairman that a resolution has, on a show of hands, been carried, or carried unanimously, or by a particular majority, or lost, and an entry to that effect in the book of the proceedings of the Company, shall be conclusive evidence of the fact, without proof of the number or proportion of the votes recorded in favour of, or against, that resolution. |
70. | If a poll is duly demanded it shall be taken in such manner as the chairman directs, and the result of the poll shall be deemed to be the resolution of the meeting at which the poll was demanded. |
71. | In the case of an equality of votes, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, the chairman of the meeting at which the show of hands takes place or at which the poll is demanded, shall be entitled to a second or casting vote. |
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72. | All questions submitted to a meeting shall be decided by an Ordinary Resolution except where a greater majority is required by these Articles or by the Companies Act. A poll demanded on the election of a chairman of the meeting or on a question of adjournment shall be taken forthwith. A poll demanded on any other question shall be taken at such time as the chairman of the meeting directs. |
VOTES OF SHAREHOLDERS
73. | Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Share, on a show of hands every Shareholder present in person and every Person representing a Shareholder by proxy (or, if a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorized representative or proxy) shall, at a general meeting or extraordinary general meeting of the Company, each have one (1) vote for each Class A Ordinary Share and twenty (20) votes for each Class B Ordinary Share and on a poll every Shareholder and every Person representing a Shareholder by proxy (or, if a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorized representative or proxy) shall have one (1) vote for each for each Class A Ordinary Share and twenty (20) votes for each Class B Ordinary Share of which he or the Person represented by proxy is the holder. |
74. | In the case of joint holders the vote of the senior who tenders a vote, whether in person or by proxy (or, if a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorized representative or proxy), shall be accepted to the exclusion of the votes of the other joint holders and for this purpose seniority shall be determined by the order in which the names stand in the Register. |
75. | Shares carrying the right to vote are held by a Shareholder of unsound mind, or in respect of whom an order has been made by any court having jurisdiction in lunacy, may be voted in respect of Shares carrying the right to vote held by him, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, by his committee, or other Person in the nature of a committee appointed by that court, and any such committee or other Person, may vote in respect of such Shares by proxy. |
76. | No Shareholder shall be entitled to vote at any general meeting of the Company unless he is registered as a Shareholder on the record date for such meeting or unless all calls, if any, or other sums presently payable by him in respect of Shares carrying the right to vote held by him have been paid. |
77. | On a poll votes may be given either personally or by proxy. |
78. | Each Shareholder, other than a recognised clearing house (or its nominee(s)) or depositary (or its nominee(s)), may only appoint one proxy on a show of hand and on a poll, each such proxy is under no obligation to cast all his votes in the same way. The instrument appointing a proxy shall be in writing under the hand of the appointor or of his attorney duly authorised in writing or, if the appointor is a corporation, either under Seal or under the hand of an Officer or attorney duly authorised. A proxy need not be a Shareholder. On a poll a Shareholder entitled to more than one vote need not use all his votes or cast all his votes in the same way. |
79. | An instrument appointing a proxy may be in any usual or common form or such other form as the Directors may approve and may be expressed to be for a particular meeting or any adjournment thereof or generally until revoked. |
80. | The instrument appointing a proxy shall be deposited at the Office or at such other place as is specified for that purpose in the notice convening the meeting, or in any instrument of proxy sent out by the Company: |
(a) | not less than forty-eight (48) hours before the time for holding the meeting or adjourned meeting at which the person named in the instrument proposes to vote; or |
(b) | in the case of a poll taken more than forty-eight (48) hours after it is demanded, be deposited as aforesaid after the poll has been demanded and not less than twenty-four (24) hours before the time appointed for the taking of the poll; or |
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(c) | where the poll is not taken forthwith but is taken not more than forty-eight (48) hours after it was demanded be delivered at the meeting at which the poll was demanded to the chairman or to the secretary or to any director; |
provided that the Directors may in the notice convening the meeting, or in an instrument of proxy sent out by the Company, direct that the instrument appointing a proxy may be deposited (no later than the time for holding the meeting or adjourned meeting) at the Registered Office or at such other place as is specified for that purpose in the notice convening the meeting, or in any instrument of proxy sent out by the Company. The Chairman may in any event at his discretion direct that an instrument of proxy shall be deemed to have been duly deposited. An instrument of proxy that is not deposited in the manner permitted shall be invalid.
81. | The instrument appointing a proxy shall be deemed to confer authority to demand or join in demanding a poll. |
82. | A resolution in writing signed by all the Shareholders for the time being entitled to receive notice of and to attend and vote at general meetings of the Company (or being corporations by their duly authorised representatives) shall be as valid and effective as if the same had been passed at a general meeting of the Company duly convened and held. |
83. | Votes given in accordance with the terms of an instrument of proxy, which has been deposited in accordance with Article 79, shall be valid notwithstanding the previous death or insanity of the principal or revocation of the proxy or of the authority under which the proxy was executed, or the transfer of the Share in respect of which the proxy is given unless notice in writing of such death, insanity, revocation or transfer was received by the Company at the Registered Office before the commencement of the general meeting, or adjourned meeting at which it is sought to use the proxy. |
CORPORATIONS ACTING BY REPRESENTATIVES AT MEETINGS
84. | Any corporation which is a Shareholder or a Director may by resolution of its directors or other governing body authorise such Person as it thinks fit to act as its representative at any meeting of the Company or of any meeting of holders of a Class or of the Directors or of a committee of Directors, and the Person so authorised shall be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of the corporation which he represents as that corporation could exercise if it were an individual Shareholder or Director. |
CLEARING HOUSES
85. | If a clearing house (or its nominee) is a Member of the Company it may, by resolution of its directors or other governing body or by power of attorney, authorise such person or persons as it thinks fit to act as its representative or representatives at any general meeting of the Company or at any general meeting of any class of Members of the Company provided that, if more than one person is so authorised, the authorisation shall specify the number and class of Shares in respect of which each such person is so authorised. A person so authorised pursuant to this Article shall be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of the clearing house (or its nominee) which he represents as that clearing house (or its nominee) could exercise if it were an individual Member holding the number and Class of Shares specified in such authorisation. |
DIRECTORS
86. | Unless otherwise determined by the Company in general meeting, the number of Directors shall not be less than 3 and there shall be no maximum number of Directors, the exact number of Directors to be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors. |
87. | The Board of Directors shall have a Chairman elected and appointed by a majority of the Directors then in office. The Chairman shall preside as chairman at every meeting of the Board of Directors. To the extent the Chairman is not present at a meeting of the Board of Directors within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding the same, the attending Directors may choose one of their number to be the chairman of the meeting.] |
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88. | The Company may by Ordinary Resolution appoint any Person to be a Director. |
89. | The Directors may by the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the Directors present and voting at a Board meeting, appoint any person to be a Director either to fill a vacancy on the Board or as an addition to the existing Board. |
90. | An appointment of a Director may be on terms that the Director shall automatically retire from office (unless he has sooner vacated office) at the next or a subsequent annual general meeting or upon any specified event or after any specified period in a written agreement between the Company and the Director, if any; but no such term shall be implied in the absence of express provision. Each Director whose term of office expires shall be eligible for re-election at a meeting of the Members or re-appointment by the Board. A Director shall hold office until the expiration of his or her term or his or her successor shall have been elected and qualified, or until his or her office is otherwise vacated. |
91. | A Director may be removed from office by an Ordinary Resolution of the Company, notwithstanding anything in these Articles or in any agreement between the Company and such Director (but without prejudice to any claim for damages under such agreement). |
92. | A vacancy on the Board created by the removal of a Director under the previous sentence may be filled by Ordinary Resolution or by the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the remaining Directors present and voting at a Board meeting. The notice of any meeting at which a resolution to remove a Director shall be proposed or voted upon must contain a statement of the intention to remove that Director and such notice must be served on that Director not less than ten (10) calendar days before the meeting. Such Director is entitled to attend the meeting and be heard on the motion for his removal. |
93. | The Board may, from time to time, and except as required by applicable law or Designated Stock Exchange Rules, adopt, institute, amend, modify or revoke the corporate governance policies or initiatives, which shall be intended to set forth the policies of the Company and the Board on various corporate governance related matters as the Board shall determine by resolution from time to time. |
94. | Subject to applicable law, Designated Stock Exchange Rules and the Articles, the Board may establish any committee of the Board as it deems appropriate from time to time, and committees of the Board shall have the rights, powers and privileges delegated to such committees by the Board from time to time. |
95. | A Director shall not be required to hold any Shares in the Company by way of qualification. A Director who is not a member of the Company shall nevertheless be entitled to attend and speak at general meetings. |
96. | The remuneration of the Directors may be determined by the Directors or by Ordinary Resolution. |
97. | The Directors shall be entitled to be paid their travelling, hotel and other expenses properly incurred by them in going to, attending and returning from meetings of the Directors, or any committee of the Directors, or general meetings of the Company, or otherwise in connection with the business of the Company, or to receive such fixed allowance in respect thereof as may be determined by the Directors from time to time, or a combination partly of one such method and partly the other. |
ALTERNATE DIRECTOR
98. | Any Director may in writing appoint another Person to be his alternate and, save to the extent provided otherwise in the form of appointment, such alternate shall have authority to sign written resolutions on behalf of the appointing Director, but shall not be authorised to sign such written resolutions where they have been signed by the appointing Director, and to act in such Directors place at any meeting of the Directors. Every such alternate shall be entitled to attend and vote at meetings of the Directors as the alternate of the Director appointing him and where he is a Director to have a separate vote in addition to his own vote. A Director may at any time in writing revoke the appointment of an alternate appointed by him. Such alternate shall not be an Officer solely as a result of his appointment as an alternate other than in respect of such times as the alternate acts as a Director. The remuneration of such alternate shall be payable out of the remuneration of the Director appointing him and the proportion thereof shall be agreed between them. |
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POWERS AND DUTIES OF DIRECTORS
99. | Subject to the Companies Act, these Articles and to any resolutions passed in a general meeting, the business of the Company shall be managed by the Directors, who may pay all expenses incurred in setting up and registering the Company and may exercise all powers of the Company. No resolution passed by the Company in general meeting shall invalidate any prior act of the Directors that would have been valid if that resolution had not been passed. |
100. | Subject to these Article, the Directors may from time to time appoint any Person, whether or not a Director to hold such office in the Company as the Directors may think necessary for the administration of the Company, including but not limited to, chief executive officers, one or more other executive officers, the office of president, one or more vice-presidents, treasurer, assistant treasurer, manager or controller, and for such term and at such remuneration (whether by way of salary or commission or participation in profits or partly in one way and partly in another), and with such powers and duties as the Directors may think fit. Any Person so appointed by the Directors may be removed by the Directors. The Directors may also appoint one or more of their number to the office of managing director upon like terms, but any such appointment shall ipso facto terminate if any managing director ceases from any cause to be a Director, or if the Company by Ordinary Resolution resolves that his tenure of office be terminated. |
101. | The Directors may appoint any Person to be a Secretary (and if need be an assistant Secretary or assistant Secretaries) who shall hold office for such term, at such remuneration and upon such conditions and with such powers as they think fit. Any Secretary or assistant Secretary so appointed by the Directors may be removed by the Directors or by the Company by Ordinary Resolution. |
102. | The Directors may delegate any of their powers to committees consisting of such member or members of their body as they think fit; any committee so formed shall in the exercise of the powers so delegated conform to any regulations that may be imposed on it by the Directors. |
103. | The Directors may from time to time and at any time by power of attorney (whether under Seal or under hand) or otherwise appoint any company, firm or Person or body of Persons, whether nominated directly or indirectly by the Directors, to be the attorney or attorneys or authorised signatory (any such person being an Attorney or Authorised Signatory, respectively) of the Company for such purposes and with such powers, authorities and discretion (not exceeding those vested in or exercisable by the Directors under these Articles) and for such period and subject to such conditions as they may think fit, and any such power of attorney or other appointment may contain such provisions for the protection and convenience of Persons dealing with any such Attorney or Authorised Signatory as the Directors may think fit, and may also authorise any such Attorney or Authorised Signatory to delegate all or any of the powers, authorities and discretion vested in him. |
104. | The Directors may from time to time provide for the management of the affairs of the Company in such manner as they shall think fit and the provisions contained in the three next following Articles shall not limit the general powers conferred by this Article. |
105. | The Directors from time to time and at any time may establish any committees, local boards or agencies for managing any of the affairs of the Company and may appoint any Person to be a member of such committees or local boards and may appoint any managers or agents of the Company and may fix the remuneration of any such Person. |
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106. | The Directors from time to time and at any time may delegate to any such committee, local board, manager or agent any of the powers, authorities and discretions for the time being vested in the Directors and may authorise the members for the time being of any such local board, or any of them to fill any vacancies therein and to act notwithstanding vacancies and any such appointment or delegation may be made on such terms and subject to such conditions as the Directors may think fit and the Directors may at any time remove any Person so appointed and may annul or vary any such delegation, but no Person dealing in good faith and without notice of any such annulment or variation shall be affected thereby. |
107. | Any such delegates as aforesaid may be authorised by the Directors to sub-delegate all or any of the powers, authorities, and discretion for the time being vested in them. |
BORROWING POWERS OF DIRECTORS
108. | The Directors may from time to time at their discretion exercise all the powers of the Company to raise or borrow money and to mortgage or charge its undertaking, property and assets (present and future) and uncalled capital or any part thereof, or to otherwise provide for a security interest to be taken in such undertaking, property or uncalled capital, and to issue debentures, debenture stock, bonds and other securities, whether outright or as collateral, whenever money is borrowed or as security for any debt, liability or obligation of the Company or of any third party. |
THE SEAL
109. | The Seal shall not be affixed to any instrument except by the authority of a resolution of the Directors provided always that such authority may be given prior to or after the affixing of the Seal and if given after may be in general form confirming a number of affixings of the Seal. The Seal shall be affixed in the presence of a Director or a Secretary (or an assistant Secretary) or in the presence of any one or more Persons as the Directors may appoint for the purpose and every Person as aforesaid shall sign every instrument to which the Seal is so affixed in their presence. |
110. | The Company may maintain a facsimile of the Seal in such countries or places as the Directors may appoint and such facsimile Seal shall not be affixed to any instrument except by the authority of a resolution of the Directors provided always that such authority may be given prior to or after the affixing of such facsimile Seal and if given after may be in general form confirming a number of affixings of such facsimile Seal. The facsimile Seal shall be affixed in the presence of such Person or Persons as the Directors shall for this purpose appoint and such Person or Persons as aforesaid shall sign every instrument to which the facsimile Seal is so affixed in their presence and such affixing of the facsimile Seal and signing as aforesaid shall have the same meaning and effect as if the Seal had been affixed in the presence of and the instrument signed by a Director or a Secretary (or an assistant Secretary) or in the presence of any one or more Persons as the Directors may appoint for the purpose. |
111. | Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Secretary or any assistant Secretary shall have the authority to affix the Seal, or the facsimile Seal, to any instrument for the purposes of attesting authenticity of the matter contained therein but which does not create any obligation binding on the Company. |
DISQUALIFICATION OF DIRECTORS
112. | The office of Director shall be vacated, if the Director: |
(a) | becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors; |
(b) | dies or is found to be or becomes of unsound mind; |
(c) | resigns his office by notice in writing to the Company; or |
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(d) | is prohibited by any applicable Law or Designated Stock Exchange Rules from being a Director; |
(e) | without special leave of absence from the Board, is absent from meetings of the Board for three consecutive meetings and the Board resolves that his office be vacated; or |
(f) | is removed from office pursuant to any other provision of these Articles. |
PROCEEDINGS OF DIRECTORS
113. | The Directors may meet together (either within or outside the Cayman Islands) for the despatch of business, adjourn, and otherwise regulate their meetings and proceedings as they think fit. Questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by a majority of votes of the Directors present at a meeting. At any meeting of the Directors, each Director present in person or represented by his alternate shall be entitled to one vote. In case of an equality of votes the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote. A Director may, and a Secretary or assistant Secretary on the requisition of a Director shall, at any time summon a meeting of the Directors. |
114. | A Director may participate in any meeting of the Directors, or of any committee appointed by the Directors of which such Director is a member, by means of telephone or similar communication equipment by way of which all Persons participating in such meeting can communicate with each other and such participation shall be deemed to constitute presence in person at the meeting. |
115. | The quorum necessary for the transaction of the business of the Directors may be fixed by the Directors, and unless so fixed, if there be two or more Directors the quorum shall be two, and if there be one Director the quorum shall be one. A Director represented by an alternate Director at any meeting shall be deemed to be present for the purposes of determining whether or not a quorum is present. |
116. | A Director who is in any way, whether directly or indirectly, interested in a contract or transaction or proposed contract or transaction with the Company shall declare the nature of his interest at a meeting of the Directors. A general notice given to the Directors by any Director to the effect that he is a member of any specified company or firm or is to be regarded as interested in any contract or other arrangement which may thereafter be made with that company or firm shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of interest in regard to any contract so made. Subject to the Designated Stock Exchange Rules and disqualification by the chairman of the relevant Board meeting, a Director may vote in respect of any contract or proposed contract or arrangement notwithstanding that he may be interested therein and if he does so his vote shall be counted and he may be counted in the quorum at any meeting of the Directors at which any such contract or proposed contract or arrangement shall come before the meeting for consideration. |
117. | A Director may hold any other office or place of profit under the Company (other than the office of auditor) in conjunction with his office of Director for such period and on such terms (as to remuneration and otherwise) as the Directors may determine and no Director or intending Director shall be disqualified by his office from contracting with the Company either with regard to his tenure of any such other office or place of profit or as vendor, purchaser or otherwise, nor shall any such contract or arrangement entered into by or on behalf of the Company in which any Director is in any way interested, be liable to be avoided, nor shall any Director so contracting or being so interested be liable to account to the Company for any profit realised by any such contract or arrangement by reason of such Director holding that office or of the fiduciary relation thereby established. A Director, notwithstanding his interest, may be counted in the quorum present at any meeting of the Directors whereat he or any other Director is appointed to hold any such office or place of profit under the Company or whereat the terms of any such appointment are arranged and he may vote on any such appointment or arrangement. |
118. | Any Director may act by himself or his firm in a professional capacity for the Company, and he or his firm shall be entitled to remuneration for professional services as if he were not a Director; provided that nothing herein contained shall authorise a Director or his firm to act as auditor to the Company. |
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119. | The Directors shall cause minutes to be made in books or loose-leaf folders provided for the purpose of recording: |
(a) | all appointments of Officers made by the Directors; |
(b) | the names of the Directors present at each meeting of the Directors and of any committee of the Directors; and |
(c) | all resolutions and proceedings at all meetings of the Company, and of the Directors and of committees of Directors. |
120. | When the chairman of a meeting of the Directors signs the minutes of such meeting the same shall be deemed to have been duly held notwithstanding that all the Directors have not actually come together or that there may have been a technical defect in the proceedings. |
121. | A resolution in writing signed by all the Directors or all the members of a committee of Directors entitled to receive notice of a meeting of Directors or committee of Directors, as the case may be (an alternate Director, subject as provided otherwise in the terms of appointment of the alternate Director, being entitled to sign such a resolution on behalf of his appointer), shall be as valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a duly called and constituted meeting of Directors or committee of Directors, as the case may be. When signed a resolution may consist of several documents each signed by one or more of the Directors or his duly appointed alternate. |
122. | The continuing Directors may act notwithstanding any vacancy in their body but if and for so long as their number is reduced below the number fixed by or pursuant to these Articles as the necessary quorum of Directors, the continuing Directors may act for the purpose of increasing the number, or of summoning a general meeting of the Company, but for no other purpose. |
123. | The Directors may elect a chairman of their meetings and determine the period for which he is to hold office but if no such chairman is elected, or if at any meeting the chairman is not present within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting, or if the Chairman is unable to or unwilling to act as the chairman, the Directors present may choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting. |
124. | Subject to any regulations imposed on it by the Directors, a committee appointed by the Directors may elect a chairman of its meetings. If no such chairman is elected, or if at any meeting the chairman is not present within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting, or if the Chairman is unable to or unwilling to act as the chairman, the committee members present may choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting. |
125. | A committee appointed by the Directors may meet and adjourn as it thinks proper. Subject to any regulations imposed on it by the Directors, questions arising at any meeting shall be determined by a majority of votes of the committee members present and in case of an equality of votes the chairman shall have a second or casting vote. |
126. | All acts done by any meeting of the Directors or of a committee of Directors, or by any Person acting as a Director, shall notwithstanding that it be afterwards discovered that there was some defect in the appointment of any such Director or Person acting as aforesaid, or that they or any of them were disqualified, be as valid as if every such Person had been duly appointed and was qualified to be a Director. |
PRESUMPTION OF ASSENT
127. | A Director of the Company who is present at a meeting of the Board of Directors at which action on any Company matter is taken shall be presumed to have assented to the action taken unless his dissent shall be entered in the Minutes of the meeting or unless he shall file his written dissent from such action with the person acting as the chairman or secretary of the meeting before the adjournment thereof or shall forward such dissent by registered post to such person immediately after the adjournment of the meeting. Such right to dissent shall not apply to a Director who voted in favour of such action. |
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DIVIDENDS
128. | Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Shares, or as otherwise provided for in the Companies Act and these Articles, the Directors may from time to time declare dividends (including interim dividends) and other distributions on Shares in issue and authorise payment of the same out of the funds of the Company lawfully available therefor. |
129. | Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Shares, the Company by Ordinary Resolution may declare dividends, but no dividend shall exceed the amount recommended by the Directors. |
130. | The Directors may determine, before recommending or declaring any dividend, to set aside out of the funds legally available for distribution such sums as they think proper as a reserve or reserves which shall, in the absolute discretion of the Directors, be applicable for meeting contingencies, or for equalising dividends or for any other purpose to which those funds may be properly applied and pending such application may in the absolute discretion of the Directors, either be employed in the business of the Company or be invested in such investments as the Directors may from time to time think fit. |
131. | Any dividend may be paid in any manner as the Directors may determine. If paid by cheque it will be sent through the post to the registered address of the Shareholder or Person entitled thereto, or in the case of joint holders, to any one of such joint holders at his registered address or to such Person and such address as the Shareholder or Person entitled, or such joint holders as the case may be, may direct. Every such cheque shall be made payable to the order of the Person to whom it is sent or to the order of such other Person as the Shareholder or Person entitled, or such joint holders as the case may be, may direct. |
132. | The Directors when paying dividends to the Shareholders in accordance with the foregoing provisions of these Articles may make such payment either in cash or in specie and may determine the extent to which amounts may be withheld therefrom (including, without limitation, any taxes, fees, expenses or other liabilities for which a Shareholder (or the Company, as a result of any action or inaction of the Shareholder) is liable). |
133. | Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Shares, all dividends shall be declared and paid according to the amounts paid up on the Shares, but if and for so long as nothing is paid up on any of the Shares dividends may be declared and paid according to the par value of the Shares. No amount paid on a Share in advance of calls shall, while carrying interest, be treated for the purposes of this Article as paid on the Share. |
134. | If several Persons are registered as joint holders of any Share, any of them may give effectual receipts for any dividend or other moneys payable on or in respect of the Share. |
135. | No dividend shall bear interest against the Company. |
136. | Any dividend unclaimed after a period of six calendar years from the date of declaration of such dividend may be forfeited by the Board of Directors and, if so forfeited, shall revert to the Company. |
ACCOUNTS, AUDIT AND ANNUAL RETURN AND DECLARATION
137. | The books of account relating to the Companys affairs shall be kept in such manner as may be determined from time to time by the Directors. |
138. | The books of account shall be kept at the Office, or at such other place or places as the Directors think fit, and shall always be open to the inspection of the Directors. |
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139. | The Directors may from time to time determine whether and to what extent and at what times and places and under what conditions or regulations the accounts and books of the Company or any of them shall be open to the inspection of Shareholders not being Directors, and no Shareholder (not being a Director) shall have any right of inspecting any account or book or document of the Company except as conferred by law or authorised by the Directors or by Ordinary Resolution. |
140. | The accounts relating to the Companys affairs shall be audited in such manner and with such financial year end as may be determined from time to time by the Directors or failing any determination as aforesaid shall not be audited. |
141. | The Directors may appoint an Auditor of the Company who shall hold office until removed from office by a resolution of the Directors and may fix his or their remuneration. |
142. | Every Auditor of the Company shall have a right of access at all times to the books and accounts and vouchers of the Company and shall be entitled to require from the Directors and Officers of the Company such information and explanation as may be necessary for the performance of the duties of the auditors. |
143. | Auditors shall, if so required by the Directors, make a report on the accounts of the Company during their tenure of office at the next annual general meeting following their appointment, and at any time during their term of office, upon request of the Directors or any general meeting of the Members. |
144. | The Directors in each year shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, an annual return and declaration setting forth the particulars required by the Companies Act and deliver a copy thereof to the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands. |
CAPITALISATION OF RESERVES
145. | Subject to the Companies Act and these Articles, the Directors may: |
(a) | resolve to capitalise an amount standing to the credit of reserves (including a Share Premium Account, capital redemption reserve and profit and loss account), whether or not available for distribution; |
(b) | appropriate the sum resolved to be capitalised to the Shareholders in proportion to the nominal amount of Shares (whether or not fully paid) held by them respectively and apply that sum on their behalf in or towards: |
(i) | paying up the amounts (if any) for the time being unpaid on Shares held by them respectively, or |
(ii) | paying up in full unissued Shares or debentures of a nominal amount equal to that sum, |
and allot the Shares or debentures, credited as fully paid, to the Shareholders (or as they may direct) in those proportions, or partly in one way and partly in the other, but the Share Premium Account, the capital redemption reserve and profits which are not available for distribution may, for the purposes of this Article, only be applied in paying up unissued Shares to be allotted to Shareholders credited as fully paid;
(c) | make any arrangements they think fit to resolve a difficulty arising in the distribution of a capitalised reserve and in particular, without limitation, where Shares or debentures become distributable in fractions the Directors may deal with the fractions as they think fit; |
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(d) | authorise a Person to enter (on behalf of all the Shareholders concerned) into an agreement with the Company providing for either: |
(i) | the allotment to the Shareholders respectively, credited as fully paid, of Shares or debentures to which they may be entitled on the capitalisation, or |
(ii) | the payment by the Company on behalf of the Shareholders (by the application of their respective proportions of the reserves resolved to be capitalised) of the amounts or part of the amounts remaining unpaid on their existing Shares, |
and any such agreement made under this authority being effective and binding on all those Shareholders; and
(e) | generally do all acts and things required to give effect to any of the actions contemplated by this Article. |
146. | Notwithstanding any provisions in these Articles, the Directors may resolve to capitalise any sum standing to the credit of any of the Companys reserve accounts or funds (including the Share Premium Account and capital redemption reserve fund) or any sum standing to the credit of the profit and loss account or otherwise available for distribution by applying such sum in paying up in full unissued Shares to be allotted and issued to: |
(a). | employees (including Directors) or service providers of the Company or its Affiliates upon exercise or vesting of any options or awards granted under any share incentive scheme or employee benefit scheme or other arrangement which relates to such persons that has been adopted or approved by the Directors or the Members; |
(b). | any trustee of any trust or administrator of any share incentive scheme or employee benefit scheme to whom shares are to be allotted and issued by the Company in connection with the operation of any share incentive scheme or employee benefit scheme or other arrangement which relates to such persons that has been adopted or approved by the Directors or Members; or |
(a) | any depositary of the Company for the purposes of the issue, allotment and delivery by the depositary of ADSs to employees (including Directors) or service providers of the Company or its Affiliates upon exercise or vesting of any options or awards granted under any share incentive scheme or employee benefit scheme or other arrangement which relates to such persons that has been adopted or approved by the Directors or the Members. |
SHARE PREMIUM ACCOUNT
147. | The Directors shall in accordance with the Companies Act establish a Share Premium Account and shall carry to the credit of such account from time to time a sum equal to the amount or value of the premium paid on the issue of any Share. |
148. | There shall be debited to any Share Premium Account on the redemption or purchase of a Share the difference between the nominal value of such Share and the redemption or purchase price provided always that at the determination of the Directors such sum may be paid out of the profits of the Company or, if permitted by the Companies Act, out of capital. |
NOTICES
149. | Except as otherwise provided in these Articles, any notice or document may be served by the Company or by the Person entitled to give notice to any Shareholder either personally, or by posting it airmail or air courier service in a prepaid letter addressed to such Shareholder at his address as appearing in the Register, or by electronic mail to any electronic mail address such Shareholder may have specified in writing for the purpose of such service of notices, or by facsimile or by placing it on the Companys Website should the Directors deem it appropriate provided that the Company shall notify the Shareholders of the placement of such notice by any of the means set out above. In the case of joint holders of a Share, all notices shall be given to that one of the joint holders whose name stands first in the Register in respect of the joint holding, and notice so given shall be sufficient notice to all the joint holders. |
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150. | Notices posted to addresses outside the Cayman Islands shall be forwarded by prepaid airmail. |
151. | Any Shareholder present, either personally or by proxy, at any meeting of the Company shall for all purposes be deemed to have received due notice of such meeting and, where requisite, of the purposes for which such meeting was convened. |
152. | Any notice or other document, if served by: |
(a) | post, shall be deemed to have been served five days after the time when the letter containing the same is posted; |
(b) | facsimile, shall be deemed to have been served upon production by the transmitting facsimile machine of a report confirming transmission of the facsimile in full to the facsimile number of the recipient; |
(c) | recognised courier service, shall be deemed to have been served 48 hours after the time when the letter containing the same is delivered to the courier service; or |
(d) | electronic mail, shall be deemed to have been served immediately upon the time of the transmission by electronic mail. |
In proving service by post or courier service it shall be sufficient to prove that the letter containing the notice or documents was properly addressed and duly posted or delivered to the courier service.
153. | Any notice or document delivered or sent by post to or left at the registered address of any Shareholder in accordance with the terms of these Articles shall notwithstanding that such Shareholder be then dead or bankrupt, and whether or not the Company has notice of his death or bankruptcy, be deemed to have been duly served in respect of any Share registered in the name of such Shareholder as sole or joint holder, unless his name shall at the time of the service of the notice or document, have been removed from the Register as the holder of the Share, and such service shall for all purposes be deemed a sufficient service of such notice or document on all Persons interested (whether jointly with or as claiming through or under him) in the Share. |
154. | Notice of every general meeting of the Company shall be given to: |
(a) | all Shareholders holding Shares with the right to receive notice and who have supplied to the Company an address for the giving of notices to them; and |
(b) | every Person entitled to a Share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Shareholder, who but for his death or bankruptcy would be entitled to receive notice of the meeting. |
No other Person shall be entitled to receive notices of general meetings.
INFORMATION
155. | No Member shall be entitled to require discovery of any information in respect of any detail of the Companys trading or any information which is or may be in the nature of a trade secret or secret process which may relate to the conduct of the business of the Company and which in the opinion of the Board would not be in the interests of the Members of the Company to communicate to the public. |
156. | The Board shall be entitled to release or disclose any information in its possession, custody or control regarding the Company or its affairs to any of its Members including, without limitation, information contained in the Register and transfer books of the Company. |
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INDEMNITY
157. | Every Director (including for the purposes of this Article any alternate Director appointed pursuant to the provisions of these Articles), Secretary, assistant Secretary, or other Officer (but not including the Companys auditors) and the personal representatives of the same (each an Indemnified Person) shall be indemnified and secured harmless against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by such Indemnified Person, other than by reason of such Indemnified Persons own dishonesty, wilful default or fraud as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, in or about the conduct of the Companys business or affairs (including as a result of any mistake of judgment) or in the execution or discharge of his duties, powers, authorities or discretions, including without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by such Indemnified Person in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil proceedings concerning the Company or its affairs in any court whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere. |
158. | No Indemnified Person shall be liable: |
(a) | for the acts, receipts, neglects, defaults or omissions of any other Director or Officer or agent of the Company; or |
(b) | for any loss on account of defect of title to any property of the Company; or |
(c) | on account of the insufficiency of any security in or upon which any money of the Company shall be invested; or |
(d) | for any loss incurred through any bank, broker or other similar Person; or |
(e) | for any loss occasioned by any negligence, default, breach of duty, breach of trust, error of judgement or oversight on such Indemnified Persons part; or |
(f) | for any loss, damage or misfortune whatsoever which may happen in or arise from the execution or discharge of the duties, powers, authorities, or discretions of such Indemnified Persons office or in relation thereto; |
unless the same shall happen through such Indemnified Persons own dishonesty, wilful default or fraud as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction.
FINANCIAL YEAR
159. | Unless the Directors otherwise prescribe, the financial year of the Company shall end on December 31st in each year and shall begin on January 1st in each year. |
NON-RECOGNITION OF TRUSTS
160. | No Person shall be recognised by the Company as holding any Share upon any trust and the Company shall not, unless required by law, be bound by or be compelled in any way to recognise (even when having notice thereof) any equitable, contingent, future or partial interest in any Share or (except only as otherwise provided by these Articles or as the Companies Act requires) any other right in respect of any Share except an absolute right to the entirety thereof in each Shareholder registered in the Register. |
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WINDING UP
161. | If the Company shall be wound up the liquidator may, with the sanction of a Special Resolution of the Company and any other sanction required by the Companies Act, divide amongst the Members in kind the whole or any part of the assets of the Company (whether they shall consist of property of the same kind or not) and may for that purpose value any assets and determine how the division shall be carried out as between the Members or different classes of Members. The liquidator may, with the like sanction, vest the whole or any part of such assets in trustees upon such trusts for the benefit of the Members as the liquidator, with the like sanction, shall think fit, but so that no Member shall be compelled to accept any asset upon which there is a liability. |
162. | If the Company shall be wound up, and the assets available for distribution amongst the Members shall be insufficient to repay the whole of the share capital, such assets shall be distributed so that, as nearly as may be, the losses shall be borne by the Members in proportion to the par value of the Shares held by them. If in a winding up the assets available for distribution amongst the Members shall be more than sufficient to repay the whole of the share capital at the commencement of the winding up, the surplus shall be distributed amongst the Members in proportion to the par value of the Shares held by them at the commencement of the winding up subject to a deduction from those Shares in respect of which there are monies due, of all monies payable to the Company for unpaid calls or otherwise. This Article is without prejudice to the rights of the holders of Shares issued upon special terms and conditions. |
AMENDMENT OF ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
163. | Subject to the Companies Act and the rights attaching to the various Classes, the Company may at any time and from time to time by Special Resolution alter or amend these Articles in whole or in part. |
CLOSING OF REGISTER OR FIXING RECORD DATE
164. | For the purpose of determining those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at any meeting of Shareholders or any adjournment thereof, or those Shareholders that are entitled to receive payment of any dividend, or in order to make a determination as to who is a Shareholder for any other purpose, the Directors may provide that the Register shall be closed for transfers for a stated period which shall not exceed in any case 30 days. If the Register shall be so closed for the purpose of determining those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Shareholders the Register shall be so closed for at least ten days immediately preceding such meeting and the record date for such determination shall be the date of the closure of the Register. |
165. | In lieu of or apart from closing the Register, the Directors may fix in advance a date as the record date for any such determination of those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of the Shareholders and for the purpose of determining those Shareholders that are entitled to receive payment of any dividend the Directors may, at or within 90 days prior to the date of declaration of such dividend, fix a subsequent date as the record date for such determination. |
166. | If the Register is not so closed and no record date is fixed for the determination of those Shareholders entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Shareholders or those Shareholders that are entitled to receive payment of a dividend, the date on which notice of the meeting is posted or the date on which the resolution of the Directors declaring such dividend is adopted, as the case may be, shall be the record date for such determination of Shareholders. When a determination of those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Shareholders has been made as provided in this Article, such determination shall apply to any adjournment thereof. |
REGISTRATION BY WAY OF CONTINUATION
167. | The Company may by Special Resolution resolve to be registered by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands or such other jurisdiction in which it is for the time being incorporated, registered or existing. In furtherance of a resolution adopted pursuant to this Article, the Directors may cause an application to be made to the Registrar of Companies to deregister the Company in the Cayman Islands or such other jurisdiction in which it is for the time being incorporated, registered or existing and may cause all such further steps as they consider appropriate to be taken to effect the transfer by way of continuation of the Company. |
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DISCLOSURE
168. | The Directors, or any service providers (including the Officers, the Secretary and the registered office agent of the Company) specifically authorised by the Directors, shall be entitled to disclose to any regulatory or judicial authority or to any stock exchange on which securities of the Company may from time to time be listed any information regarding the affairs of the Company including without limitation information contained in the Register and books of the Company. |
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Exhibit 4.3
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
AND
THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON
As Depositary
AND
OWNERS AND HOLDERS OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES
Deposit Agreement
__________, 2024
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARTICLE 1. DEFINITIONS | 1 | |||||||
SECTION 1.1. | American Depositary Shares | 1 | ||||||
SECTION 1.2. | Commission | 2 | ||||||
SECTION 1.3. | Company | 2 | ||||||
SECTION 1.4. | Custodian | 2 | ||||||
SECTION 1.5. | Deliver; Surrender | 2 | ||||||
SECTION 1.6. | Deposit Agreement | 3 | ||||||
SECTION 1.7. | Depositary; Depositarys Office | 3 | ||||||
SECTION 1.8. | Deposited Securities | 3 | ||||||
SECTION 1.9. | Disseminate | 3 | ||||||
SECTION 1.10. | Dollars | 3 | ||||||
SECTION 1.11. | DTC | 4 | ||||||
SECTION 1.12. | Foreign Registrar | 4 | ||||||
SECTION 1.13. | Holder | 4 | ||||||
SECTION 1.14. | Owner | 4 | ||||||
SECTION 1.15. | Receipts | 4 | ||||||
SECTION 1.16. | Registrar | 4 | ||||||
SECTION 1.17. | Replacement | 4 | ||||||
SECTION 1.18. | Restricted Securities | 5 | ||||||
SECTION 1.19. | Securities Act of 1933 | 5 | ||||||
SECTION 1.20. | Shares | 5 | ||||||
SECTION 1.21. | SWIFT | 5 | ||||||
SECTION 1.22. | Termination Option Event | 5 | ||||||
ARTICLE 2. FORM OF RECEIPTS, DEPOSIT OF SHARES, DELIVERY, TRANSFER AND SURRENDER OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES |
6 | |||||||
SECTION 2.1. | Form of Receipts; Registration and Transferability of American Depositary Shares | 6 | ||||||
SECTION 2.2. | Deposit of Shares | 7 | ||||||
SECTION 2.3. | Delivery of American Depositary Shares | 8 | ||||||
SECTION 2.4. | Registration of Transfer of American Depositary Shares; Combination and Split-up of Receipts; Interchange of Certificated and Uncertificated American Depositary Shares | 9 | ||||||
SECTION 2.5. | Surrender of American Depositary Shares and Withdrawal of Deposited Securities | 10 | ||||||
SECTION 2.6. | Limitations on Delivery, Registration of Transfer and Surrender of American Depositary Shares | 11 | ||||||
SECTION 2.7. | Lost Receipts, etc. | 12 | ||||||
SECTION 2.8. |
Cancellation and Destruction of Surrendered Receipts | 12 | ||||||
SECTION 2.9. |
DTC Direct Registration System and Profile Modification System | 12 |
-i-
ARTICLE 3. CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS OF OWNERS AND HOLDERS OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES |
13 | |||||||
SECTION 3.1. |
Filing Proofs, Certificates and Other Information | 13 | ||||||
SECTION 3.2. |
Liability of Owner for Taxes | 13 | ||||||
SECTION 3.3. |
Warranties on Deposit of Shares | 14 | ||||||
SECTION 3.4. |
Disclosure of Interests | 14 | ||||||
ARTICLE 4. THE DEPOSITED SECURITIES |
14 | |||||||
SECTION 4.1. |
Cash Distributions | 14 | ||||||
SECTION 4.2. |
Distributions Other Than Cash, Shares or Rights | 15 | ||||||
SECTION 4.3. |
Distributions in Shares | 16 | ||||||
SECTION 4.4. |
Rights | 17 | ||||||
SECTION 4.5. |
Conversion of Foreign Currency | 18 | ||||||
SECTION 4.6. |
Fixing of Record Date | 20 | ||||||
SECTION 4.7. |
Voting of Deposited Shares | 20 | ||||||
SECTION 4.8. |
Tender and Exchange Offers; Redemption, Replacement or Cancellation of Deposited Securities | 21 | ||||||
SECTION 4.9. |
Reports | 23 | ||||||
SECTION 4.10. |
Lists of Owners | 23 | ||||||
SECTION 4.11. |
Withholding | 23 | ||||||
ARTICLE 5. THE DEPOSITARY, THE CUSTODIANS AND THE COMPANY |
24 | |||||||
SECTION 5.1. |
Maintenance of Office and Register by the Depositary | 24 | ||||||
SECTION 5.2. |
Prevention or Delay of Performance by the Company or the Depositary | 25 | ||||||
SECTION 5.3. |
Obligations of the Depositary and the Company | 26 | ||||||
SECTION 5.4. |
Resignation and Removal of the Depositary | 27 | ||||||
SECTION 5.5. |
The Custodians | 28 | ||||||
SECTION 5.6. |
Notices and Reports | 28 | ||||||
SECTION 5.7. |
Distribution of Additional Shares, Rights, etc. | 29 | ||||||
SECTION 5.8. |
Indemnification | 29 | ||||||
SECTION 5.9. |
Charges of Depositary | 31 | ||||||
SECTION 5.10. |
Retention of Depositary Documents | 32 | ||||||
SECTION 5.11. |
Exclusivity | 32 | ||||||
SECTION 5.12. |
Information for Regulatory Compliance | 32 |
-ii-
ARTICLE 6. AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION |
32 | |||||||
SECTION 6.1. |
Amendment | 32 | ||||||
SECTION 6.2. |
Termination | 33 | ||||||
ARTICLE 7. MISCELLANEOUS |
34 | |||||||
SECTION 7.1. |
Counterparts; Signatures; Delivery; Electronic Records | 34 | ||||||
SECTION 7.2. |
No Third Party Beneficiaries | 34 | ||||||
SECTION 7.3. |
Severability | 34 | ||||||
SECTION 7.4. |
Owners and Holders as Parties; Binding Effect | 35 | ||||||
SECTION 7.5. |
Notices | 35 | ||||||
SECTION 7.6. |
Arbitration; Settlement of Disputes | 36 | ||||||
SECTION 7.7. |
Appointment of Agent for Service of Process; Submission to Jurisdiction; Jury Trial Waiver | 36 | ||||||
SECTION 7.8. |
Waiver of Immunities | 37 | ||||||
SECTION 7.9. |
Governing Law | 38 |
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DEPOSIT AGREEMENT
DEPOSIT AGREEMENT dated as of __________, 2024 among YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (herein called the Company), THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, a New York banking corporation (herein called the Depositary), and all Owners and Holders (each as hereinafter defined) from time to time of American Depositary Shares issued hereunder.
W I T N E S S E T H:
WHEREAS, the Company desires to provide, as set forth in this Deposit Agreement, for the deposit of Shares (as hereinafter defined) of the Company from time to time with the Depositary or with the Custodian (as hereinafter defined) under this Deposit Agreement, for the creation of American Depositary Shares representing the Shares so deposited and for the execution and delivery of American Depositary Receipts evidencing the American Depositary Shares; and
WHEREAS, the American Depositary Receipts are to be substantially in the form of Exhibit A annexed to this Deposit Agreement, with appropriate insertions, modifications and omissions, as set forth in this Deposit Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises, it is agreed by and between the parties hereto as follows:
ARTICLE 1. DEFINITIONS
The following definitions shall for all purposes, unless otherwise clearly indicated, apply to the respective terms used in this Deposit Agreement:
SECTION 1.1. American Depositary Shares.
The term American Depositary Shares shall mean the securities created under this Deposit Agreement representing rights with respect to the Deposited Securities. American Depositary Shares may be certificated securities evidenced by Receipts or uncertificated securities. The form of Receipt annexed as Exhibit A to this Deposit Agreement shall be the prospectus required under the Securities Act of 1933 for sales of both certificated and uncertificated American Depositary Shares. Except for those provisions of this Deposit Agreement that refer specifically to Receipts, all the provisions of this Deposit Agreement shall apply to both certificated and uncertificated American Depositary Shares.
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Each American Depositary Share shall represent the number of Shares specified in Exhibit A to this Deposit Agreement, except that, if there is a distribution upon Deposited Securities covered by Section 4.3, a change in Deposited Securities covered by Section 4.8 with respect to which additional American Depositary Shares are not delivered or a sale of Deposited Securities under Section 3.2 or 4.8, each American Depositary Share shall thereafter represent the amount of Shares or other Deposited Securities that are then on deposit per American Depositary Share after giving effect to that distribution, change or sale.
SECTION 1.2. Commission.
The term Commission shall mean the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States or any successor governmental agency in the United States.
SECTION 1.3. Company.
The term Company shall mean YXT.COM Group Holding Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and its successors.
SECTION 1.4. Custodian.
The term Custodian shall mean The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, as custodian for the Depositary in Hong Kong for the purposes of this Deposit Agreement, and any other firm or corporation the Depositary appoints under Section 5.5 as a substitute or additional custodian under this Deposit Agreement, and shall also mean all of them collectively.
SECTION 1.5. Deliver; Surrender.
(a) The term deliver, or its noun form, when used with respect to Shares or other Deposited Securities, shall mean (i) book-entry transfer of those Shares or other Deposited Securities to an account maintained by an institution authorized under applicable law to effect transfers of such securities designated by the person entitled to that delivery or (ii) physical transfer of certificates evidencing those Shares or other Deposited Securities registered in the name of, or duly endorsed or accompanied by proper instruments of transfer to, the person entitled to that delivery.
(b) The term deliver, or its noun form, when used with respect to American Depositary Shares, shall mean (i) registration of those American Depositary Shares in the name of DTC or its nominee and book-entry transfer of those American Depositary Shares to an account at DTC designated by the person entitled to that delivery, (ii) registration of those American Depositary Shares not evidenced by a Receipt on the books of the Depositary in the name requested by the person entitled to that delivery and mailing to that person of a statement confirming that registration or (iii) if requested by the person entitled to that delivery, execution and delivery at the Depositarys Office to the person entitled to that delivery of one or more Receipts evidencing those American Depositary Shares registered in the name requested by that person.
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(c) The term surrender, when used with respect to American Depositary Shares, shall mean (i) one or more book-entry transfers of American Depositary Shares to the DTC account of the Depositary, (ii) delivery to the Depositary at its Office of an instruction to surrender American Depositary Shares not evidenced by a Receipt or (iii) surrender to the Depositary at its Office of one or more Receipts evidencing American Depositary Shares.
SECTION 1.6. Deposit Agreement.
The term Deposit Agreement shall mean this Deposit Agreement, as it may be amended from time to time in accordance with the provisions of this Deposit Agreement.
SECTION 1.7. Depositary; Depositarys Office.
The term Depositary shall mean The Bank of New York Mellon, a New York banking corporation, and any successor as depositary under this Deposit Agreement. The term Office, when used with respect to the Depositary, shall mean the office at which its depositary receipts business is administered, which, at the date of this Deposit Agreement, is located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286.
SECTION 1.8. Deposited Securities.
The term Deposited Securities as of any time shall mean Shares at such time deposited or deemed to be deposited under this Deposit Agreement, including without limitation, Shares that have not been successfully delivered upon surrender of American Depositary Shares, and any and all other securities, property and cash received by the Depositary or the Custodian in respect of Deposited Securities and at that time held under this Deposit Agreement.
SECTION 1.9. Disseminate.
The term Disseminate, when referring to a notice or other information to be sent by the Depositary to Owners, shall mean (i) sending that information to Owners in paper form by mail or another means or (ii) with the consent of Owners, another procedure that has the effect of making the information available to Owners, which may include (A) sending the information by electronic mail or electronic messaging or (B) sending in paper form or by electronic mail or messaging a statement that the information is available and may be accessed by the Owner on an Internet website and that it will be sent in paper form upon request by the Owner, when that information is so available and is sent in paper form as promptly as practicable upon request.
SECTION 1.10. Dollars.
The term Dollars shall mean United States dollars.
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SECTION 1.11. DTC.
The term DTC shall mean The Depository Trust Company or its successor.
SECTION 1.12. Foreign Registrar.
The term Foreign Registrar shall mean the entity that carries out the duties of registrar for the Shares and any other agent of the Company for the transfer and registration of Shares, including, without limitation, any securities depository for the Shares.
SECTION 1.13. Holder.
The term Holder shall mean any person holding a Receipt or a security entitlement or other interest in American Depositary Shares, whether for its own account or for the account of another person, but that is not the Owner of that Receipt or those American Depositary Shares.
SECTION 1.14. Owner.
The term Owner shall mean the person in whose name American Depositary Shares are registered on the books of the Depositary maintained for that purpose.
SECTION 1.15. Receipts.
The term Receipts shall mean the American Depositary Receipts issued under this Deposit Agreement evidencing certificated American Depositary Shares, as the same may be amended from time to time in accordance with the provisions of this Deposit Agreement.
SECTION 1.16. Registrar.
The term Registrar shall mean any corporation or other entity that is appointed by the Depositary to register American Depositary Shares and transfers of American Depositary Shares as provided in this Deposit Agreement.
SECTION 1.17. Replacement.
The term Replacement shall have the meaning assigned to it in Section 4.8.
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SECTION 1.18. Restricted Securities.
The term Restricted Securities shall mean Shares that (i) are restricted securities, as defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, except for Shares that could be resold in reliance on Rule 144 without any conditions, (ii) are beneficially owned by an officer, director (or person performing similar functions) or other affiliate of the Company, (iii) otherwise would require registration under the Securities Act of 1933 in connection with the public offer and sale thereof in the United States or (iv) are subject to other restrictions on sale or deposit under the laws of the Cayman Islands, a shareholder agreement or the memorandum and articles of association or similar document of the Company.
SECTION 1.19. Securities Act of 1933.
The term Securities Act of 1933 shall mean the United States Securities Act of 1933, as from time to time amended.
SECTION 1.20. Shares.
The term Shares shall mean Class A ordinary shares of the Company that are validly issued and outstanding, fully paid and nonassessable and that were not issued in violation of any pre-emptive or similar rights of the holders of outstanding securities of the Company; provided, however, that, if there shall occur any change in nominal or par value, a split-up or consolidation or any other reclassification or, upon the occurrence of an event described in Section 4.8, an exchange or conversion in respect of the Shares of the Company, the term Shares shall thereafter also mean the successor securities resulting from such change in nominal value, split-up or consolidation or such other reclassification or such exchange or conversion.
SECTION 1.21. SWIFT.
The term SWIFT shall mean the financial messaging network operated by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or its successor.
SECTION 1.22. Termination Option Event.
The term Termination Option Event shall mean any of the following events or conditions:
(i) the Company institutes proceedings to be adjudicated as bankrupt or insolvent, consents to the institution of bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings against it, files a petition or answer or consent seeking reorganization or relief under any applicable law in respect of bankruptcy or insolvency, consents to the filing of any petition of that kind or to the appointment of a receiver, liquidator, assignee, trustee, custodian or sequestrator (or other similar official) of it or any substantial part of its property or makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors, or if information becomes publicly available indicating that unsecured claims against the Company are not expected to be paid;
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(ii) the Shares are delisted, or the Company announces its intention to delist the Shares, from a stock exchange outside the United States, and the Company has not applied to list the Shares on any other stock exchange outside the United States;
(iii) the American Depositary Shares are delisted from a stock exchange in the United States on which the American Depositary Shares were listed and, 30 days after that delisting, the American Depositary Shares have not been listed on another stock exchange in the United States, nor is there a symbol available for over-the-counter trading of the American Depositary Shares in the United States;
(iv) the Depositary has received notice of facts that indicate, or otherwise has reason to believe, that the American Depositary Shares have become, or with the passage of time will become, ineligible for registration on Form F-6 under the Securities Act of 1933; or
(v) an event or condition that is defined as a Termination Option Event in Section 4.1, 4.2 or 4.8.
ARTICLE 2. FORM OF RECEIPTS, DEPOSIT OF SHARES, DELIVERY, TRANSFER AND SURRENDER OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES
SECTION 2.1. Form of Receipts; Registration and Transferability of American Depositary Shares.
Definitive Receipts shall be substantially in the form set forth in Exhibit A to this Deposit Agreement, with appropriate insertions, modifications and omissions, as permitted under this Deposit Agreement. No Receipt shall be entitled to any benefits under this Deposit Agreement or be valid or obligatory for any purpose, unless that Receipt has been (i) executed by the Depositary by the manual signature of a duly authorized officer of the Depositary or (ii) executed by the facsimile signature of a duly authorized officer of the Depositary and countersigned by the manual signature of a duly authorized signatory of the Depositary or the Registrar or a co-registrar. The Depositary shall maintain books on which (x) each Receipt so executed and delivered as provided in this Deposit Agreement and each transfer of that Receipt and (y) all American Depositary Shares delivered as provided in this Deposit Agreement and all registrations of transfer of American Depositary Shares, shall be registered. A Receipt bearing the facsimile signature of a person that was at any time a proper officer of the Depositary shall, subject to the other provisions of this paragraph, bind the Depositary, even if that person was not a proper officer of the Depositary on the date of issuance of that Receipt.
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The Receipts and statements confirming registration of American Depositary Shares may have incorporated in or attached to them such legends or recitals or modifications not inconsistent with the provisions of this Deposit Agreement as may be required by the Depositary or required to comply with any applicable law or regulations thereunder or with the rules and regulations of any securities exchange upon which American Depositary Shares may be listed or to conform with any usage with respect thereto, or to indicate any special limitations or restrictions to which any particular Receipts and American Depositary Shares are subject by reason of the date of issuance of the underlying Deposited Securities or otherwise.
American Depositary Shares evidenced by a Receipt, when the Receipt is properly endorsed or accompanied by proper instruments of transfer, shall be transferable as certificated registered securities under the laws of the State of New York. American Depositary Shares not evidenced by Receipts shall be transferable as uncertificated registered securities under the laws of the State of New York. The Depositary, notwithstanding any notice to the contrary, may treat the Owner of American Depositary Shares as the absolute owner thereof for the purpose of determining the person entitled to distribution of dividends or other distributions or to any notice provided for in this Deposit Agreement and for all other purposes, and neither the Depositary nor the Company shall have any obligation or be subject to any liability under this Deposit Agreement to any Holder of American Depositary Shares (but only to the Owner of those American Depositary Shares).
SECTION 2.2. Deposit of Shares.
Subject to the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement, Shares or evidence of rights to receive Shares may be deposited under this Deposit Agreement by delivery thereof to any Custodian, accompanied by any appropriate instruments or instructions for transfer, or endorsement, in form satisfactory to the Custodian.
As conditions of accepting Shares for deposit, the Depositary may require (i) any certification required by the Depositary or the Custodian in accordance with the provisions of this Deposit Agreement, (ii) a written order directing the Depositary to deliver to, or upon the written order of, the person or persons stated in that order American Depositary Shares representing those deposited Shares, (iii) evidence satisfactory to the Depositary that those Shares have been re-registered in the books of the Company or the Foreign Registrar in the name of the Depositary, a Custodian or a nominee of the Depositary or a Custodian, (iv) evidence satisfactory to the Depositary that any necessary approval for the transfer or deposit has been granted by any governmental body in each applicable jurisdiction and (v) an agreement or assignment, or other instrument satisfactory to the Depositary, that provides for the prompt transfer to the Custodian of any dividend, or right to subscribe for additional Shares or to receive other property, that any person in whose name those Shares are or have been recorded may thereafter receive upon or in respect of those Shares, or, in lieu thereof, such agreement of indemnity or other agreement as shall be satisfactory to the Depositary.
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The Depositary shall refuse, and shall instruct the Custodian to refuse, to accept Shares for deposit if the Depositary has received a notice from the Company that the Company has restricted transfer of those Shares under the Companys memorandum and articles of association, any agreement or any applicable laws or that the deposit would result in any violation of the Companys memorandum and articles of association, any agreement or any applicable laws.
At the request and risk and expense of a person proposing to deposit Shares, and for the account of that person, the Depositary may receive certificates for Shares to be deposited, together with the other instruments specified in this Section, for the purpose of forwarding those Share certificates to the Custodian for deposit under this Deposit Agreement.
The Depositary shall instruct each Custodian that, upon each delivery to a Custodian of a certificate or certificates for Shares to be deposited under this Deposit Agreement, together with the other documents specified in this Section, that Custodian shall, as soon as transfer and recordation can be accomplished, present that certificate or those certificates to the Company or the Foreign Registrar, if applicable, for transfer and recordation of the Shares being deposited in the name of the Depositary or its nominee or that Custodian or its nominee.
Deposited Securities shall be held by the Depositary or by a Custodian for the account and to the order of the Depositary or at such other place or places as the Depositary shall determine.
SECTION 2.3. Delivery of American Depositary Shares.
The Depositary shall instruct each Custodian that, upon receipt by that Custodian of any deposit pursuant to Section 2.2, together with the other documents or evidence required under that Section, that Custodian shall notify the Depositary of that deposit and the person or persons to whom or upon whose written order American Depositary Shares are deliverable in respect thereof. Upon receiving a notice of a deposit from a Custodian, or upon the receipt of Shares or evidence of the right to receive Shares by the Depositary, the Depositary, subject to the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement, shall deliver, to or upon the order of the person or persons entitled thereto, the number of American Depositary Shares issuable in respect of that deposit, but only upon payment to the Depositary of the fees and expenses of the Depositary for the delivery of those American Depositary Shares as provided in Section 5.9, and of all taxes and governmental charges and fees payable in connection with that deposit and the transfer of the deposited Shares. However, the Depositary shall deliver only whole numbers of American Depositary Shares.
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SECTION 2.4. Registration of Transfer of American Depositary Shares; Combination and Split-up of Receipts; Interchange of Certificated and Uncertificated American Depositary Shares.
The Depositary, subject to the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement, shall register a transfer of American Depositary Shares on its transfer books upon (i) in the case of certificated American Depositary Shares, surrender of the Receipt evidencing those American Depositary Shares, by the Owner or by a duly authorized attorney, properly endorsed or accompanied by proper instruments of transfer or (ii) in the case of uncertificated American Depositary Shares, receipt from the Owner of a proper instruction (including, for the avoidance of doubt, instructions through DRS and Profile as provided in Section 2.9), and, in either case, duly stamped as may be required by the laws of the State of New York and of the United States of America. Upon registration of a transfer, the Depositary shall deliver the transferred American Depositary Shares to or upon the order of the person entitled thereto.
The Depositary, subject to the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement, shall upon surrender of a Receipt or Receipts for the purpose of effecting a split-up or combination of such Receipt or Receipts, execute and deliver a new Receipt or Receipts for any authorized number of American Depositary Shares requested, evidencing the same aggregate number of American Depositary Shares as the Receipt or Receipts surrendered.
The Depositary, upon surrender of certificated American Depositary Shares for the purpose of exchanging for uncertificated American Depositary Shares, shall cancel the Receipt evidencing those certificated American Depositary Shares and send the Owner a statement confirming that the Owner is the owner of the same number of uncertificated American Depositary Shares. The Depositary, upon receipt of a proper instruction (including, for the avoidance of doubt, instructions through DRS and Profile as provided in Section 2.9) from the Owner of uncertificated American Depositary Shares for the purpose of exchanging for certificated American Depositary Shares, shall cancel those uncertificated American Depositary Shares and register and deliver to the Owner a Receipt evidencing the same number of certificated American Depositary Shares.
The Depositary may appoint one or more co-transfer agents for the purpose of effecting registration of transfers of American Depositary Shares and combinations and split-ups of Receipts at designated transfer offices on behalf of the Depositary. In carrying out its functions, a co-transfer agent may require evidence of authority and compliance with applicable laws and other requirements by Owners or persons entitled to American Depositary Shares and will be entitled to protection and indemnity to the same extent as the Depositary.
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SECTION 2.5. Surrender of American Depositary Shares and Withdrawal of Deposited Securities.
Upon surrender of American Depositary Shares for the purpose of withdrawal of the Deposited Securities represented thereby and payment of the fee of the Depositary for the surrender of American Depositary Shares as provided in Section 5.9 and payment of all taxes and governmental charges payable in connection with that surrender and withdrawal of the Deposited Securities, and subject to the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement, the Owner of those American Depositary Shares shall be entitled to delivery (to the extent delivery can then be lawfully and practicably made), to or as instructed by that Owner, of the amount of Deposited Securities at the time represented by those American Depositary Shares, but not any money or other property as to which a record date for distribution to Owners has passed (since money or other property of that kind will be delivered or paid on the scheduled payment date to the Owner as of that record date), and except that the Depositary shall not be required to accept surrender of American Depositary Shares for the purpose of withdrawal to the extent it would require delivery of a fraction of a Deposited Security. That delivery shall be made, as provided in this Section, without unreasonable delay.
As a condition of accepting a surrender of American Depositary Shares for the purpose of withdrawal of Deposited Securities, the Depositary may require (i) that each surrendered Receipt be properly endorsed in blank or accompanied by proper instruments of transfer in blank and (ii) that the surrendering Owner execute and deliver to the Depositary a written order directing the Depositary to cause the Deposited Securities being withdrawn to be delivered to or upon the written order of a person or persons designated in that order.
Thereupon, the Depositary shall direct the Custodian to deliver, subject to Sections 2.6, 3.1 and 3.2, the other terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement and local market rules and practices, to the surrendering Owner or to or upon the written order of the person or persons designated in the order delivered to the Depositary as above provided, the amount of Deposited Securities represented by the surrendered American Depositary Shares, and the Depositary may charge the surrendering Owner a fee and its expenses for giving that direction by cable (including SWIFT) or facsimile transmission. The Company agrees not to prevent, hinder or unreasonably delay any lawful delivery or registration of transfer of Deposited Securities upon surrender of American Depositary Shares for the purpose of withdrawal.
If Deposited Securities are delivered physically upon surrender of American Depositary Shares for the purpose of withdrawal, that delivery will be made at the Custodians office, except that, at the request, risk and expense of an Owner surrendering American Depositary Shares for withdrawal of Deposited Securities, and for the account of that Owner, the Depositary shall direct the Custodian to forward any cash or other property comprising, and forward a certificate or certificates, if applicable, and other proper documents of title, if any, for, the Deposited Securities represented by the surrendered American Depositary Shares to the Depositary for delivery at the Depositarys Office or to another address specified in the order received from the surrendering Owner.
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SECTION 2.6. Limitations on Delivery, Registration of Transfer and Surrender of American Depositary Shares.
As a condition precedent to the delivery, registration of transfer or surrender of any American Depositary Shares or split-up or combination of any Receipt or withdrawal of any Deposited Securities, the Depositary, Custodian or Registrar may require payment from the depositor of Shares or the presenter of the Receipt or instruction for registration of transfer or surrender of American Depositary Shares not evidenced by a Receipt of a sum sufficient to reimburse it for any tax or other governmental charge and any stock transfer or registration fee with respect thereto (including any such tax or charge and fee with respect to Shares being deposited or withdrawn) and payment of any applicable fees as provided in this Deposit Agreement, may require the production of proof satisfactory to it as to the identity and genuineness of any signature and may also require compliance with any regulations the Depositary may establish consistent with the provisions of this Deposit Agreement, including, without limitation, this Section 2.6.
The Depositary may refuse to accept deposits of Shares for delivery of American Depositary Shares or to register transfers of American Depositary Shares in particular instances, or may suspend deposits of Shares or registration of transfer generally, whenever it or the Company considers it necessary or advisable to do so. The Depositary may refuse surrenders of American Depositary Shares for the purpose of withdrawal of Deposited Securities in particular instances, or may suspend surrenders for the purpose of withdrawal generally, but, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Deposit Agreement, only for (i) temporary delays caused by closing of the Depositarys register or the register of holders of Shares maintained by the Company or the Foreign Registrar, or the deposit of Shares, in connection with voting at a shareholders meeting or the payment of dividends, (ii) the payment of fees, taxes and similar charges, (iii) compliance with any U.S. or foreign laws or governmental regulations relating to the American Depositary Shares or to the withdrawal of the Deposited Securities or (iv) any other reason that, at the time, is permitted under paragraph I(A)(1) of the General Instructions to Form F-6 under the Securities Act of 1933 or any successor to that provision.
The Depositary shall not knowingly accept for deposit under this Deposit Agreement any Shares that, at the time of deposit, are Restricted Securities.
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SECTION 2.7. Lost Receipts, etc.
If a Receipt is mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen, the Depositary shall deliver to the Owner the American Depositary Shares evidenced by that Receipt in uncertificated form or, if requested by the Owner, execute and deliver a new Receipt of like tenor in exchange and substitution for such mutilated Receipt, upon surrender and cancellation of that mutilated Receipt, or in lieu of and in substitution for that destroyed, lost or stolen Receipt. However, before the Depositary will deliver American Depositary Shares in uncertificated form or execute and deliver a new Receipt, in substitution for a destroyed, lost or stolen Receipt, the Owner must (a) file with the Depositary (i) a request for that replacement before the Depositary has notice that the Receipt has been acquired by a bona fide purchaser and (ii) a sufficient indemnity bond and (b) satisfy any other reasonable requirements imposed by the Depositary.
SECTION 2.8. Cancellation and Destruction of Surrendered Receipts.
The Depositary shall cancel all Receipts surrendered to it and is authorized to destroy Receipts so cancelled.
SECTION 2.9. DTC Direct Registration System and Profile Modification System.
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 2.4, the parties acknowledge that DTCs Direct Registration System (DRS) and Profile Modification System (Profile) apply to the American Depositary Shares upon acceptance thereof to DRS by DTC. DRS is the system administered by DTC that facilitates interchange between registered holding of uncertificated securities and holding of security entitlements in those securities through DTC and a DTC participant. Profile is a required feature of DRS that allows a DTC participant, claiming to act on behalf of an Owner of American Depositary Shares, to direct the Depositary to register a transfer of those American Depositary Shares to DTC or its nominee and to deliver those American Depositary Shares to the DTC account of that DTC participant without receipt by the Depositary of prior authorization from the Owner to register that transfer.
(b) In connection with DRS/Profile, the parties acknowledge that the Depositary will not determine whether the DTC participant that is claiming to be acting on behalf of an Owner in requesting a registration of transfer and delivery as described in paragraph (a) above has the actual authority to act on behalf of that Owner (notwithstanding any requirements under the Uniform Commercial Code). For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of Sections 5.3 and 5.8 apply to the matters arising from the use of the DRS/Profile. The parties agree that the Depositarys reliance on and compliance with instructions received by the Depositary through the DRS/Profile system and otherwise in accordance with this Deposit Agreement shall not constitute negligence or bad faith on the part of the Depositary.
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ARTICLE 3. CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS OF OWNERS AND HOLDERS OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES
SECTION 3.1. Filing Proofs, Certificates and Other Information.
Any person presenting Shares for deposit or any Owner or Holder may be required from time to time to file with the Depositary or the Custodian such proof of citizenship or residence, exchange control approval, or such information relating to the registration on the books of the Company or the Foreign Registrar, if applicable, to execute such certificates and to make such representations and warranties, as the Depositary may deem necessary or proper, or as the Company may reasonably require by written request to the Depositary. The Depositary may withhold the delivery or registration of transfer of American Depositary Shares, the distribution of any dividend or other distribution or of the proceeds thereof or the delivery of any Deposited Securities until that proof or other information is filed or those certificates are executed or those representations and warranties are made. The Depositary shall provide the Company, upon the Companys written request and at the Companys expense, as promptly as practicable, with copies of any information or other materials that the Depositary receives pursuant to this Section, to the extent that the requested disclosure is permitted under applicable law.
SECTION 3.2. Liability of Owner for Taxes.
If any tax or other governmental charge shall become payable by the Custodian or the Depositary with respect to or in connection with any American Depositary Shares or any Deposited Securities represented by any American Depositary Shares or in connection with a transaction to which Section 4.8 applies, that tax or other governmental charge shall be payable by the Owner of those American Depositary Shares to the Depositary. The Depositary may refuse to register any transfer of those American Depositary Shares or any withdrawal of Deposited Securities represented by those American Depositary Shares until that payment is made, and may withhold any dividends or other distributions or the proceeds thereof, or may sell for the account of the Owner any part or all of the Deposited Securities represented by those American Depositary Shares and apply those dividends or other distributions or the net proceeds of any sale of that kind in payment of that tax or other governmental charge but, even after a sale of that kind, the Owner of those American Depositary Shares shall remain liable for any deficiency. The Depositary shall distribute any net proceeds of a sale made under this Section that are not used to pay taxes or governmental charges to the Owners entitled to them in accordance with Section 4.1. If the number of Shares represented by each American Depositary Share decreases as a result of a sale of Deposited Securities under this Section, the Depositary may call for surrender of the American Depositary Shares to be exchanged on a mandatory basis for a lesser number of American Depositary Shares and may sell American Depositary Shares to the extent necessary to avoid distributing fractions of American Depositary Shares in that exchange and distribute the net proceeds of that sale to the Owners entitled to them.
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SECTION 3.3. Warranties on Deposit of Shares.
Every person depositing Shares under this Deposit Agreement shall be deemed thereby to represent and warrant that those Shares and each certificate therefor, if applicable, are validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and were not issued in violation of any preemptive or similar rights of the holders of outstanding securities of the Company and that the person making that deposit is duly authorized so to do. Every depositing person shall also be deemed to represent that the Shares, at the time of deposit, are not Restricted Securities. All representations and warranties deemed made under this Section shall survive the deposit of Shares and delivery of American Depositary Shares.
SECTION 3.4. Disclosure of Interests.
When required in order to comply with applicable laws and regulations or the memorandum and articles of association or similar document of the Company, the Company may from time to time request each Owner and Holder to provide to the Depositary information relating to: (a) the capacity in which it holds American Depositary Shares, (b) the identity of any Holders or other persons or entities then or previously interested in those American Depositary Shares and the nature of those interests and (c) any other matter where disclosure of such matter is required for that compliance. Each Owner and Holder agrees to provide all information known to it in response to a request made pursuant to this Section. Each Holder consents to the disclosure by the Depositary and the Owner or any other Holder through which it holds American Depositary Shares, directly or indirectly, of all information responsive to a request made pursuant to this Section relating to that Holder that is known to that Owner or other Holder. The Depositary agrees to use reasonable efforts to comply with written instructions requesting that the Depositary forward any request authorized under this Section to the Owners and to forward to the Company any responses it receives in response to that request. The Depositary may charge the Company a fee and its expenses for complying with requests under this Section 3.4.
ARTICLE 4. THE DEPOSITED SECURITIES
SECTION 4.1. Cash Distributions.
Whenever the Depositary receives any cash dividend or other cash distribution on Deposited Securities, the Depositary shall, subject to the provisions of Section 4.5, convert that dividend or other distribution into Dollars and distribute the amount thus received (net of the fees and expenses of the Depositary as provided in Section 5.9) to the Owners entitled thereto, in proportion to the number of American Depositary Shares representing those Deposited Securities held by them respectively; provided, however, that if the Custodian or the Depositary shall be required to withhold and does withhold from that cash dividend or other cash distribution an amount on account of taxes or other governmental charges, the amount distributed to the Owners of the American Depositary Shares representing those Deposited Securities shall be reduced accordingly. However, the Depositary will not pay any Owner a fraction of one cent, but will round each Owners entitlement to the nearest whole cent.
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The Company or its agent will remit to the appropriate governmental agency in each applicable jurisdiction all amounts withheld and owing to such agency.
If a cash distribution would represent a return of all or substantially all the value of the Deposited Securities underlying American Depositary Shares, the Depositary may:
(i) require payment of or deduct the fee for surrender of American Depositary Shares (whether or not it is also requiring surrender of American Depositary Shares) as a condition of making that cash distribution; or
(ii) sell all Deposited Securities other than the subject cash distribution and add any net cash proceeds of that sale to the cash distribution, call for surrender of all those American Depositary Shares and require that surrender as a condition of making that cash distribution.
If the Depositary acts under this paragraph, that action shall also be a Termination Option Event.
SECTION 4.2. Distributions Other Than Cash, Shares or Rights.
Subject to the provisions of Sections 4.11 and 5.9, whenever the Depositary receives any distribution other than a distribution described in Section 4.1, 4.3 or 4.4 on Deposited Securities (but not in exchange for or in conversion or in lieu of Deposited Securities), the Depositary shall cause the securities or property received by it to be distributed to the Owners entitled thereto, after deduction or upon payment of any fees and expenses of the Depositary and any taxes or other governmental charges, in proportion to the number of American Depositary Shares representing such Deposited Securities held by them respectively, in any manner that the Depositary deems equitable and practicable for accomplishing that distribution (which may be a distribution of depositary shares representing the securities received); provided, however, that if in the opinion of the Depositary such distribution cannot be made proportionately among the Owners entitled thereto, or if for any other reason (including, but not limited to, any requirement that the Company or the Depositary withhold an amount on account of taxes or other governmental charges or that securities received must be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 in order to be distributed to Owners or Holders) the Depositary deems such distribution not to be lawful and feasible, the Depositary, after consultation with the Company to the extent practicable, may adopt such other method as it may deem equitable and practicable for the purpose of effecting such distribution, including, but not limited to, the public or private sale of the securities or property thus received, or any part thereof, and distribution of the net proceeds of any such sale (net of the fees and expenses of the Depositary as provided in Section 5.9) to the Owners entitled thereto, all in the manner and subject to the conditions set forth in Section 4.1. The Depositary may withhold any distribution of securities under this Section 4.2 if it has not received satisfactory assurances from the Company that the distribution does not require registration under the Securities Act of 1933. The Depositary may sell, by public or private sale, an amount of securities or other property it would otherwise distribute under this Section 4.2 that is sufficient to pay its fees and expenses in respect of that distribution.
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If a distribution to be made under this Section 4.2 would represent a return of all or substantially all the value of the Deposited Securities underlying American Depositary Shares, the Depositary may:
(i) require payment of or deduct the fee for surrender of American Depositary Shares (whether or not it is also requiring surrender of American Depositary Shares) as a condition of making that distribution; or
(ii) sell all Deposited Securities other than the subject distribution and add any net cash proceeds of that sale to the distribution, call for surrender of all those American Depositary Shares and require that surrender as a condition of making that distribution.
If the Depositary acts under this paragraph, that action shall also be a Termination Option Event.
SECTION 4.3. Distributions in Shares.
Whenever the Depositary receives any distribution on Deposited Securities consisting of a dividend in, or free distribution of, Shares, the Depositary may, and, if the Company so request in writing, shall, deliver to the Owners entitled thereto, in proportion to the number of American Depositary Shares representing those Deposited Securities held by them respectively, an aggregate number of American Depositary Shares representing the amount of Shares received as that dividend or free distribution, subject to the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement with respect to the deposit of Shares and issuance of American Depositary Shares, including withholding of any tax or governmental charge as provided in Section 4.11 and payment of the fees and expenses of the Depositary as provided in Section 5.9 (and the Depositary may sell, by public or private sale, an amount of the Shares received (or American Depositary Shares representing those Shares) sufficient to pay its fees and expenses in respect of that distribution). In lieu of delivering fractional American Depositary Shares, the Depositary may sell the amount of Shares represented by the aggregate of those fractions (or American Depositary Shares representing those Shares) and distribute the net proceeds, all in the manner and subject to the conditions described in Section 4.1. If and to the extent that additional American Depositary Shares are not delivered and Shares or American Depositary Shares are not sold, each American Depositary Share shall thenceforth also represent the additional Shares distributed on the Deposited Securities represented thereby.
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If the Company declares a distribution in which holders of Deposited Securities have a right to elect whether to receive cash, Shares or other securities or a combination of those things, or a right to elect to have a distribution sold on their behalf, the Depositary may, after consultation with the Company, make that right of election available for exercise by Owners in any manner the Depositary considers to be lawful and practical. As a condition of making a distribution election right available to Owners, the Depositary may require satisfactory assurances from the Company that doing so does not require registration of any securities under the Securities Act of 1933 that has not been effected.
SECTION 4.4. Rights.
(a) If rights are granted to the Depositary in respect of deposited Shares to purchase additional Shares or other securities, the Company and the Depositary shall endeavor to consult as to the actions, if any, the Depositary should take in connection with that grant of rights. The Depositary may, to the extent deemed by it to be lawful and practical (i) if requested in writing by the Company, grant to all or certain Owners rights to instruct the Depositary to purchase the securities to which the rights relate and deliver those securities or American Depositary Shares representing those securities to Owners, (ii) if requested in writing by the Company, deliver the rights to or to the order of certain Owners, or (iii) sell the rights to the extent practicable and distribute the net proceeds of that sale to Owners entitled to those proceeds. To the extent rights are not exercised, delivered or disposed of under (i), (ii) or (iii) above, the Depositary shall permit the rights to lapse unexercised.
(b) If the Depositary will act under (a)(i) above, the Company and the Depositary will enter into a separate agreement setting forth the conditions and procedures applicable to the particular offering. Upon instruction from an applicable Owner in the form the Depositary specified and upon payment by that Owner to the Depositary of an amount equal to the purchase price of the securities to be received upon the exercise of the rights, the Depositary shall, on behalf of that Owner, exercise the rights and purchase the securities. The purchased securities shall be delivered to, or as instructed by, the Depositary. The Depositary shall (i) deposit the purchased Shares under this Deposit Agreement and deliver American Depositary Shares representing those Shares to that Owner or (ii) deliver or cause the purchased Shares or other securities to be delivered to or to the order of that Owner. The Depositary will not act under (a)(i) above unless the offer and sale of the securities to which the rights relate are registered under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Depositary has received an opinion of United States counsel that is satisfactory to it to the effect that those securities may be sold and delivered to the applicable Owners without registration under the Securities Act of 1933. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Deposit Agreement shall create any obligation on the part of the Company to file a registration statement with respect to rights or the underlying securities or to endeavor to have such a registration statement declared effective.
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(c) If the Depositary will act under (a)(ii) above, the Company and the Depositary will enter into a separate agreement setting forth the conditions and procedures applicable to the particular offering. Upon (i) the request of an applicable Owner to deliver the rights allocable to the American Depositary Shares of that Owner to an account specified by that Owner to which the rights can be delivered and (ii) receipt of such documents as the Company and the Depositary agreed to require to comply with applicable law, the Depositary will deliver those rights as requested by that Owner.
(d) If the Depositary will act under (a)(iii) above, the Depositary will use reasonable efforts to sell the rights in proportion to the number of American Depositary Shares held by the applicable Owners and pay the net proceeds to the Owners otherwise entitled to the rights that were sold, upon an averaged or other practical basis without regard to any distinctions among such Owners because of exchange restrictions or the date of delivery of any American Depositary Shares or otherwise.
(e) Payment or deduction of the fees of the Depositary as provided in Section 5.9 and payment or deduction of the expenses of the Depositary and any applicable taxes or other governmental charges shall be conditions of any delivery of securities or payment of cash proceeds under this Section 4.4.
(f) The Depositary shall not be responsible for any failure to determine that it may be lawful or feasible to make rights available to or exercise rights on behalf of Owners in general or any Owner in particular, or to sell rights.
SECTION 4.5. Conversion of Foreign Currency.
Whenever the Depositary or the Custodian receives foreign currency, by way of dividends or other distributions or the net proceeds from the sale of securities, property or rights, and if at the time of the receipt thereof the foreign currency so received can in the judgment of the Depositary be converted on a reasonable basis into Dollars and the resulting Dollars transferred to the United States, the Depositary or one of its agents or affiliates or the Custodian shall convert or cause to be converted by sale or in any other manner that it may determine that foreign currency into Dollars, and those Dollars shall be distributed to the Owners entitled thereto. A cash distribution may be made upon an averaged or other practicable basis without regard to any distinctions among Owners based on exchange restrictions, the date of delivery of any American Depositary Shares or otherwise and shall be net of any expenses of conversion into Dollars incurred by the Depositary as provided in Section 5.9.
If a conversion of foreign currency or the repatriation or distribution of Dollars can be effected only with the approval or license of any government or agency thereof, the Depositary may, but will not be required to, file an application for that approval or license.
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If the Depositary determines that in its judgment any foreign currency received by the Depositary or the Custodian is not convertible on a reasonable basis into Dollars transferable to the United States, or if any approval or license of any government or agency thereof that is required for such conversion is not filed or sought by the Depositary or is not obtained within a reasonable period as determined by the Depositary, the Depositary may distribute the foreign currency received by the Depositary to, or in its discretion may hold such foreign currency uninvested and without liability for interest thereon for the respective accounts of, the Owners entitled to receive the same.
If any conversion of foreign currency, in whole or in part, cannot be effected for distribution to some of the Owners entitled thereto, the Depositary may in its discretion make that conversion and distribution in Dollars to the extent practicable and permissible to the Owners entitled thereto and may distribute the balance of the foreign currency received by the Depositary to, or hold that balance uninvested and without liability for interest thereon for the account of, the Owners entitled thereto.
The Depositary may convert currency itself or through any of its affiliates, or the Custodian or the Company may convert currency and pay Dollars to the Depositary. Where the Depositary converts currency itself or through any of its affiliates, the Depositary acts as principal for its own account and not as agent, advisor, broker or fiduciary on behalf of any other person and earns revenue, including, without limitation, transaction spreads, that it will retain for its own account. The revenue is based on, among other things, the difference between the exchange rate assigned to the currency conversion made under this Deposit Agreement and the rate that the Depositary or its affiliate receives when buying or selling foreign currency for its own account. The Depositary makes no representation that the exchange rate used or obtained by it or its affiliate in any currency conversion under this Deposit Agreement will be the most favorable rate that could be obtained at the time or that the method by which that rate will be determined will be the most favorable to Owners, subject to the Depositarys obligations under Section 5.3. The methodology used to determine exchange rates used in currency conversions made by the Depositary is available upon request. Where the Custodian converts currency, the Custodian has no obligation to obtain the most favorable rate that could be obtained at the time or to ensure that the method by which that rate will be determined will be the most favorable to Owners, and the Depositary makes no representation that the rate is the most favorable rate and will not be liable for any direct or indirect losses associated with the rate. In certain instances, the Depositary may receive dividends or other distributions from the Company in Dollars that represent the proceeds of a conversion of foreign currency or translation from foreign currency at a rate that was obtained or determined by or on behalf of the Company and, in such cases, the Depositary will not engage in, or be responsible for, any foreign currency transactions and neither it nor the Company makes any representation that the rate obtained or determined by the Company is the most favorable rate and neither it nor the Company will be liable for any direct or indirect losses associated with the rate.
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SECTION 4.6. Fixing of Record Date.
Whenever a cash dividend, cash distribution or any other distribution is made on Deposited Securities or rights to purchase Shares or other securities are issued with respect to Deposited Securities (which rights will be delivered to or exercised or sold on behalf of Owners in accordance with Section 4.4) or the Depositary receives notice that a distribution or issuance of that kind will be made, or whenever the Depositary receives notice that a meeting of holders of Shares will be held in respect of which the Company has requested the Depositary to send a notice under Section 4.7, or whenever the Depositary will assess a fee or charge against the Owners, or whenever the Depositary causes a change in the number of Shares that are represented by each American Depositary Share, or whenever the Depositary otherwise finds it necessary or convenient, the Depositary shall fix a record date, which shall be the same as, or as near as practicable to, any corresponding record date set by the Company with respect to Shares, (a) for the determination of the Owners (i) who shall be entitled to receive the benefit of that dividend or other distribution or those rights, (ii) who shall be entitled to give instructions for the exercise of voting rights at that meeting, (iii) who shall be responsible for that fee or charge or (iv) for any other purpose for which the record date was set, or (b) on or after which each American Depositary Share will represent the changed number of Shares. Subject to the provisions of Sections 4.1 through 4.5 and to the other terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement, the Owners on a record date fixed by the Depositary shall be entitled to receive the amount distributable by the Depositary with respect to that dividend or other distribution or those rights or the net proceeds of sale thereof in proportion to the number of American Depositary Shares held by them respectively, to give voting instructions or to act in respect of the other matter for which that record date was fixed, or be responsible for that fee or charge, as the case may be.
SECTION 4.7. Voting of Deposited Shares.
(a) Upon receipt of notice of any meeting of holders of Shares at which holders of Shares will be entitled to vote, if requested in writing by the Company, the Depositary shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, Disseminate to the Owners a notice, the form of which shall be in the sole discretion of the Depositary, that shall contain (i) the information contained in the notice of meeting received by the Depositary, (ii) a statement that the Owners as of the close of business on a specified record date will be entitled, subject to any applicable provision of Cayman Islands law and of the memorandum and articles of association or similar documents of the Company, to instruct the Depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights pertaining to the amount of Shares represented by their respective American Depositary Shares, (iii) a statement as to the manner in which those instructions may be given and (iv) the last date on which the Depositary will accept instructions (the Instruction Cutoff Date).
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(b) Upon the written request of an Owner of American Depositary Shares, as of the date of the request or, if a record date was specified by the Depositary, as of that record date, received on or before any Instruction Cutoff Date established by the Depositary, the Depositary may, and if the Depositary sent a notice under the preceding paragraph shall, endeavor, in so far as practicable, to vote or cause to be voted the amount of deposited Shares represented by those American Depositary Shares in accordance with the instructions set forth in that request. The Depositary shall not vote or attempt to exercise the right to vote that attaches to the deposited Shares other than in accordance with instructions given by Owners and received by the Depositary. If
(i) the Company instructed the Depositary to Disseminate a notice under paragraph (a) above and complied with the paragraph (d) below,
(ii) no instructions are received by the Depositary from an Owner with respect to a matter and an amount of American Depositary Shares of that Owner on or before the Instruction Cutoff Date, and
(iii) the Depositary has received from the Company, by the business day following the Instruction Cutoff Date, a written confirmation that, as of the Instruction Cutoff Date, (x) the Company wishes a proxy to be given under this sentence, (y) the Company reasonably does not know of any substantial opposition to the matters and (z) the matters are not materially adverse to the interests of shareholders,
then, the Depositary shall deem that Owner to have instructed the Depositary to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by the Company with respect to that matter and the amount of deposited Shares represented by that amount of American Depositary Shares and the Depositary shall give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by the Company to vote that amount of deposited Shares as to that matter.
(c) There can be no assurance that Owners generally or any Owner in particular will receive the notice described in paragraph (a) above in time to enable Owners to give instructions to the Depositary prior to the Instruction Cutoff Date.
(d) In order to give Owners a reasonable opportunity to instruct the Depositary as to the exercise of voting rights relating to Shares, if the Company will request the Depositary to Disseminate a notice under paragraph (a) above, the Company shall give the Depositary notice of the meeting, details concerning the matters to be voted upon and copies of materials to be made available to holders of Shares in connection with the meeting not less than 30 days prior to the meeting date.
SECTION 4.8. Tender and Exchange Offers; Redemption, Replacement or Cancellation of Deposited Securities.
(a) The Depositary shall not tender any Deposited Securities in response to any voluntary cash tender offer, exchange offer or similar offer made to holders of Deposited Securities (a Voluntary Offer), except when instructed in writing to do so by an Owner surrendering American Depositary Shares and subject to any conditions or procedures the Depositary may require.
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(b) If the Depositary receives a written notice that Deposited Securities have been redeemed for cash or otherwise purchased for cash in a transaction that is mandatory and binding on the Depositary as a holder of those Deposited Securities (a Redemption), the Depositary, at the expense of the Company, shall (i) if required, surrender Deposited Securities that have been redeemed to the issuer of those securities or its agent on the redemption date, (ii) Disseminate a notice to Owners (A) notifying them of that Redemption, (B) calling for surrender of a corresponding number of American Depositary Shares and (C) notifying them that the called American Depositary Shares have been converted into a right only to receive the money received by the Depositary upon that Redemption and those net proceeds shall be the Deposited Securities to which Owners of those converted American Depositary Shares shall be entitled upon surrenders of those American Depositary Shares in accordance with Section 2.5 or 6.2 and (iii) distribute the money received upon that Redemption to the Owners entitled to it upon surrender by them of called American Depositary Shares in accordance with Section 2.5 (and, for the avoidance of doubt, Owners shall not be entitled to receive that money under Section 4.1). If the Redemption affects less than all the Deposited Securities, the Depositary shall call for surrender a corresponding portion of the outstanding American Depositary Shares and only those American Depositary Shares will automatically be converted into a right to receive the net proceeds of the Redemption. The Depositary shall allocate the American Depositary Shares converted under the preceding sentence among the Owners pro-rata to their respective holdings of American Depositary Shares immediately prior to the Redemption, except that the allocations may be adjusted so that no fraction of a converted American Depositary Share is allocated to any Owner. A Redemption of all or substantially all of the Deposited Securities shall be a Termination Option Event.
(c) If the Depositary is notified of or there occurs any change in nominal value or any subdivision, combination or any other reclassification of the Deposited Securities or any recapitalization, reorganization, sale of assets substantially as an entirety, merger or consolidation affecting the issuer of the Deposited Securities or to which it is a party that is mandatory and binding on the Depositary as a holder of Deposited Securities and, as a result, securities or other property have been or will be delivered in exchange, conversion, replacement or in lieu of, Deposited Securities (a Replacement), the Depositary shall, if required, surrender the old Deposited Securities affected by that Replacement of Shares and hold, as new Deposited Securities under this Deposit Agreement, the new securities or other property delivered to it in that Replacement. However, the Depositary may elect to sell those new Deposited Securities if in the opinion of the Depositary it is not lawful or not practical for it to hold those new Deposited Securities under this Deposit Agreement because those new Deposited Securities may not be distributed to Owners without registration under the Securities Act of 1933 or for any other reason, at public or private sale, at such places and on such terms as it deems proper and proceed as if those new Deposited Securities had been Redeemed under paragraph (b) above. A Replacement shall be a Termination Option Event.
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(d) In the case of a Replacement where the new Deposited Securities will continue to be held under this Deposit Agreement, the Depositary may call for the surrender of outstanding Receipts to be exchanged for new Receipts specifically describing the new Deposited Securities and the number of those new Deposited Securities represented by each American Depositary Share. If the number of Shares represented by each American Depositary Share decreases as a result of a Replacement, the Depositary may call for surrender of the American Depositary Shares to be exchanged on a mandatory basis for a lesser number of American Depositary Shares and may sell American Depositary Shares to the extent necessary to avoid distributing fractions of American Depositary Shares in that exchange and distribute the net proceeds of that sale to the Owners entitled to them.
(e) If there are no Deposited Securities with respect to American Depositary Shares, including if the Deposited Securities are cancelled, or the Deposited Securities with respect to American Depositary Shares have become apparently worthless, the Depositary may call for surrender of those American Depositary Shares or may cancel those American Depositary Shares, upon notice to Owners, and that condition shall be a Termination Option Event.
SECTION 4.9. Reports.
The Depositary shall make available for inspection by Owners at its Office any reports and communications, including any proxy solicitation material, received from the Company which are both (a) received by the Depositary as the holder of the Deposited Securities and (b) made generally available to the holders of those Deposited Securities by the Company. The Company shall furnish reports and communications, including any proxy soliciting material to which this Section applies, to the Depositary in English, to the extent those materials are required to be translated into English pursuant to any regulations of the Commission.
SECTION 4.10. Lists of Owners.
As promptly as practicable upon written request by the Company, the Depositary shall, at the expense of the Company, furnish to it a list, as of a recent date, of the names, addresses and American Depositary Share holdings of all Owners.
SECTION 4.11. Withholding.
If the Depositary determines that any distribution received or to be made by the Depositary (including Shares and rights to subscribe therefor) is subject to any tax or other governmental charge that the Depositary is obligated to withhold, the Depositary may sell, by public or private sale, all or a portion of the distributed property (including Shares and rights to subscribe therefor) in the amounts and manner the Depositary deems necessary and practicable to pay those taxes or charges, and the Depositary shall distribute the net proceeds of that sale, after deduction of those taxes or charges, to the Owners entitled thereto in proportion to the number of American Depositary Shares held by them respectively.
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Services for Owners and Holders that may permit them to obtain reduced rates of tax withholding at source or reclaim excess tax withheld, and the fees and costs associated with using services of that kind, are not provided under, and are outside the scope of, this Deposit Agreement.
Each Owner and Holder agrees to indemnify the Company, the Depositary, the Custodian and their respective directors, employees, agents and affiliates for, and hold each of them harmless against, any claim by any governmental authority with respect to taxes, additions to tax, penalties or interest arising out of any refund of taxes, reduced withholding at source or other tax benefit received by it.
ARTICLE 5. THE DEPOSITARY, THE CUSTODIANS AND THE COMPANY
SECTION 5.1. Maintenance of Office and Register by the Depositary.
Until termination of this Deposit Agreement in accordance with its terms, the Depositary shall maintain facilities for the delivery, registration of transfers and surrender of American Depositary Shares in accordance with the provisions of this Deposit Agreement.
The Depositary shall keep a register of all Owners and all outstanding American Depositary Shares, which shall be open for inspection by the Owners at the Depositarys Office during regular business hours, but only for the purpose of communicating with Owners regarding the business of the Company or a matter related to this Deposit Agreement or the American Depositary Shares.
The Depositary may close the register for delivery, registration of transfer or surrender for the purpose of withdrawal from time to time as provided in Section 2.6 or upon the Companys written request.
If any American Depositary Shares are listed on one or more stock exchanges, the Depositary shall act as Registrar or appoint a Registrar or one or more co-registrars for registration of those American Depositary Shares in accordance with any requirements of that exchange or those exchanges.
The Company shall have the right, at all reasonable times, upon written request, to inspect the transfer and registration records of the Depositary, the Registrar and any co-transfer agents or co-registrars and to require them to supply, at the Companys expense (unless otherwise agreed in writing between the Company and the Depositary), copies of such portion of their records as the Company may reasonably request.
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SECTION 5.2. Prevention or Delay of Performance by the Company or the Depositary.
Neither the Depositary nor the Company nor any of their respective directors, employees, agents or affiliates shall incur any liability to any Owner or Holder:
(i) if by reason of (A) any provision of any present or future law or regulation or other act or action of the government of the United States, any State of the United States or any other state or jurisdiction, or of any governmental or regulatory authority or stock exchange; (B) (in the case of the Depositary only) any provision, present or future, of the memorandum and articles of association or similar document of the Company, or any provision of any securities issued or distributed by the Company, or any offering or distribution thereof; or (C) any event or circumstance, whether natural or caused by a person or persons, that is beyond the ability of the Depositary or the Company, as the case may be, to prevent or counteract by reasonable care or effort (including, but not limited to, earthquakes, floods, severe storms, fires, explosions, war, terrorism, civil unrest, labor disputes, criminal acts or outbreaks of infectious disease; interruptions or malfunctions of utility services, Internet or other communications lines or systems; unauthorized access to or attacks on computer systems or websites; or other failures or malfunctions of computer hardware or software or other systems or equipment), the Depositary or the Company is, directly or indirectly, prevented from, forbidden to or delayed in, or could be subject to any civil or criminal penalty on account of doing or performing and therefore does not do or perform, any act or thing that, by the terms of this Deposit Agreement or the Deposited Securities, it is provided shall be done or performed;
(ii) for any exercise of, or failure to exercise, any discretion provided for in this Deposit Agreement (including any determination by the Depositary or the Company to take, or not take, any action that this Deposit Agreement provides the Depositary or the Company, as the case may be, may take);
(iii) for the inability of any Owner or Holder to benefit from any distribution, offering, right or other benefit that is made available to holders of Deposited Securities but is not, under the terms of this Deposit Agreement, made available to Owners or Holders; or
(iv) for any special, consequential or punitive damages for any breach of the terms of this Deposit Agreement.
Where, by the terms of a distribution to which Section 4.1, 4.2 or 4.3 applies, or an offering to which Section 4.4 applies, or for any other reason, that distribution or offering may not be made available to Owners, and the Depositary may not dispose of that distribution or offering on behalf of Owners and make the net proceeds available to Owners, then the Depositary shall not make that distribution or offering available to Owners, and shall allow any rights, if applicable, to lapse.
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SECTION 5.3. Obligations of the Depositary and the Company.
The Company assumes no obligation nor shall it be subject to any liability under this Deposit Agreement to any Owner or Holder, except that the Company agrees to perform its obligations specifically set forth in this Deposit Agreement without negligence or bad faith.
The Depositary assumes no obligation nor shall it be subject to any liability under this Deposit Agreement to any Owner or Holder (including, without limitation, liability with respect to the validity or worth of the Deposited Securities), except that the Depositary agrees to perform its obligations specifically set forth in this Deposit Agreement without negligence or bad faith, and the Depositary shall not be a fiduciary or have any fiduciary duty to Owners or Holders.
Neither the Depositary nor the Company shall be under any obligation to appear in, prosecute or defend any action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any Deposited Securities or in respect of the American Depositary Shares on behalf of any Owner or Holder or any other person.
Each of the Depositary and the Company may rely, and shall be protected in relying upon, any written notice, request, direction or other document believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or parties.
Neither the Depositary nor the Company shall be liable for any action or non-action by it in reliance upon the advice of or information from legal counsel, accountants, any person presenting Shares for deposit, any Owner or any other person believed by it in good faith to be competent to give such advice or information.
The Depositary shall not be liable for any acts or omissions made by a successor depositary whether in connection with a previous act or omission of the Depositary or in connection with any matter arising wholly after the removal or resignation of the Depositary, provided that in connection with the issue out of which such potential liability arises the Depositary performed its obligations without negligence or bad faith while it acted as Depositary.
The Depositary shall not be liable for the acts or omissions of any securities depository, clearing agency or settlement system in connection with or arising out of book-entry settlement of American Depositary Shares or Deposited Securities or otherwise.
In the absence of bad faith on its part, the Depositary shall not be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote any of the Deposited Securities, or for the manner in which any such vote is cast or the effect of any such vote.
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The Depositary shall have no duty to make any determination or provide any information as to the tax status of the Company. Neither the Depositary nor the Company shall have any liability for any tax consequences that may be incurred by Owners or Holders as a result of owning or holding American Depositary Shares. Neither the Depositary nor the Company shallbe liable for the inability or failure of an Owner or Holder to obtain the benefit of a foreign tax credit, reduced rate of withholding or refund of amounts withheld in respect of tax or any other tax benefit.
SECTION 5.4. Resignation and Removal of the Depositary.
The Depositary may at any time resign as Depositary hereunder by written notice of its election so to do delivered to the Company, to become effective upon the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of that appointment as provided in this Section. The effect of resignation if a successor depositary is not appointed is provided for in Section 6.2.
The Depositary may at any time be removed by the Company by 90 days prior written notice of that removal, to become effective upon the later of (i) the 90th day after delivery of the notice to the Depositary and (ii) the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of its appointment as provided in this Section.
If the Depositary resigns or is removed, the Company shall use its best efforts to appoint a successor depositary, which shall be a bank or trust company having an office in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York. Every successor depositary shall execute and deliver to the Company an instrument in writing accepting its appointment under this Deposit Agreement. If the Depositary receives notice from the Company that a successor depositary has been appointed following its resignation or removal, the Depositary, upon payment of all sums due it from the Company, shall deliver to its successor a register listing all the Owners and their respective holdings of outstanding American Depositary Shares and shall deliver the Deposited Securities to or to the order of its successor. When the Depositary has taken the actions specified in the preceding sentence (i) the successor shall become the Depositary and shall have all the rights and shall assume all the duties of the Depositary under this Deposit Agreement and (ii) the predecessor depositary shall cease to be the Depositary and shall be discharged and released from all obligations under this Deposit Agreement, except for its duties under Section 5.8 with respect to the time before that discharge. A successor Depositary shall notify the Owners of its appointment as soon as practical after assuming the duties of Depositary.
Any corporation or other entity into or with which the Depositary may be merged or consolidated shall be the successor of the Depositary without the execution or filing of any document or any further act.
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SECTION 5.5. The Custodians.
The Custodian shall be subject at all times and in all respects to the directions of the Depositary and shall be responsible solely to it. The Depositary in its discretion may at any time appoint a substitute or additional custodian or custodians, each of which shall thereafter be one of the Custodians under this Deposit Agreement. If the Depositary receives notice that a Custodian is resigning and, upon the effectiveness of that resignation there would be no Custodian acting under this Deposit Agreement, the Depositary shall, as promptly as practicable after receiving that notice, appoint a substitute custodian or custodians, each of which shall thereafter be a Custodian under this Deposit Agreement. The Depositary shall notify the Company of the appointment of a substitute or additional Custodian as promptly as practicable. The Depositary shall require any Custodian that resigns or is removed to deliver all Deposited Securities held by it to another Custodian.
SECTION 5.6. Notices and Reports.
If the Company takes or decides to take any corporate action of a kind that is addressed in Sections 4.1 to 4.4, or 4.6 to 4.8, or that effects or will effect a change of the name or legal structure of the Company, or that effects or will effect a change to the Shares, the Company shall notify the Depositary and the Custodian of that action or decision as soon as it is lawful and practical to give that notice. The notice shall be in English and shall include all details that the Company is required to include in any notice to any governmental or regulatory authority or securities exchange or is required to make available generally to holders of Shares by publication or otherwise.
The Company will arrange for the translation into English, if not already in English, to the extent required pursuant to any regulations of the Commission, and the prompt transmittal by the Company to the Depositary and the Custodian of all notices and any other reports and communications which are made generally available by the Company to holders of its Shares. If requested in writing by the Company, the Depositary will Disseminate, at the Companys expense, those notices, reports and communications to all Owners or otherwise make them available to Owners in a manner that the Company specifies as substantially equivalent to the manner in which those communications are made available to holders of Shares and compliant with the requirements of any securities exchange on which the American Depositary Shares are listed. The Company will timely provide the Depositary with the quantity of such notices, reports, and communications, as requested by the Depositary from time to time, in order for the Depositary to effect that Dissemination.
The Company represents, as of the date of this Deposit Agreement, that the statements in Article 11 of the form of Receipt appearing as Exhibit A to this Deposit Agreement or, if applicable, most recently filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933 with respect to the Companys obligation to file periodic reports under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or its qualification for exemption from registration under that Act pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under that Act, as the case may be, are true and correct. The Company agrees to promptly notify the Depositary upon becoming aware of any change in the truth of any of those statements or if there is any change in the Companys status regarding those reporting obligations or that qualification.
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SECTION 5.7. Distribution of Additional Shares, Rights, etc.
If the Company or any affiliate of the Company determines to make any issuance or distribution of (1) additional Shares, (2) rights to subscribe for Shares, (3) securities convertible into Shares, or (4) rights to subscribe for such securities (each a Distribution), the Company shall notify the Depositary in writing in English as promptly as practicable and in any event before the Distribution starts and, if reasonably requested in writing by the Depositary, the Company shall promptly furnish to the Depositary either (i) evidence satisfactory to the Depositary that the Distribution is registered under the Securities Act of 1933 or (ii) a written opinion from U.S. counsel for the Company that is reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary, stating that the Distribution does not require, or, if made in the United States, would not require, registration under the Securities Act of 1933.
The Company agrees with the Depositary that neither the Company nor any company controlled by, controlling or under common control with the Company will at any time deposit any Shares that, at the time of deposit, are Restricted Securities.
SECTION 5.8. Indemnification.
The Company agrees to indemnify the Depositary, its directors, employees, agents and affiliates and each Custodian against, and hold each of them harmless from, any liability or expense (including, but not limited to any documented fees and expenses incurred in seeking, enforcing or collecting such indemnity and the documented and reasonable fees and expenses of counsel) that may arise out of or in connection with (a) any registration with the Commission of American Depositary Shares or Deposited Securities or the offer or sale thereof or (b) acts performed or omitted, pursuant to the provisions of or in connection with this Deposit Agreement and the American Depositary Shares, as the same may be amended, modified or supplemented from time to time, (i) by either the Depositary or a Custodian or their respective directors, employees, agents and affiliates, except for any liability or expense arising out of the negligence or bad faith of either of them, or (ii) by the Company or any of its directors, employees, agents and affiliates.
The indemnities contained in the preceding paragraph shall not extend to any losses arising out of information relating to the Depositary or any Custodian, as the case may be, furnished in writing by the Depositary to the Company expressly for use in any registration statement, proxy statement, prospectus or preliminary prospectus or any other offering documents relating to the American Depositary Shares, the Shares or any other Deposited Securities.
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The Depositary agrees to indemnify the Company, its directors, employees, agents and affiliates and hold them harmless from any liability or expense (including, but not limited to, any documented fees and expenses incurred in seeking, enforcing or collecting such indemnity and the documented and reasonable fees and expenses of counsel) that may arise out of acts performed or omitted by the Depositary or any Custodian or their respective directors, employees, agents and affiliates due to their negligence or bad faith.
If a claim is asserted or an action is commenced against a person that is entitled to seek and intends to seek indemnification for that claim or action under this Section 5.8 (an Indemnifiable Claim), that person (an Indemnified Person) shall (i) promptly notify in writing the person obligated to provide that indemnification (the Indemnifying Person) of that assertion or commencement and (ii) consult in good faith with the Indemnifying Person as to the conduct of the defense of that Indemnifiable Claim. The failure of the Indemnified Person to so notify the Indemnifying Person shall not impair the Indemnified Persons ability to seek indemnification from the Indemnifying Person unless such failure materially adversely affects the Indemnifying Persons ability to adequately oppose or defend such Indemnifiable Claim. To the extent that (x) no conflict of interest exists in the conduct of the defense and (y) no legal defenses are available to the Indemnified Person that are different from or in addition to those available to the Indemnifying Person, the Indemnifying Person may, by written notice to the Indemnified Person, assume the defense of an Indemnifiable Claim with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnified Person. After notice from the Indemnifying Person to the Indemnified Person of its election to assume the defense of an Indemnifiable Claim, and provided no conflict of interest exists and no different or additional legal defenses are available, the Indemnifying Person shall not be liable to the Indemnified Person for any legal expenses of other counsel or any other expenses subsequently incurred by the Indemnified Person in connection with the defense other than reasonable costs of investigation. Neither the Indemnified Person nor the Indemnifying Person shall compromise or settle an Indemnifiable Claim without the consent of the other (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld). The Indemnifying Person shall have no obligation to indemnify and hold harmless the Indemnified Person from any loss, expense or liability incurred by the Indemnified Person as a result of a default judgment entered against the Indemnified Person in an Indemnifiable Claim unless that judgment was entered after the Indemnifying Person agreed, in writing, to assume the defense of that Indemnifiable Claim.
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SECTION 5.9. Charges of Depositary.
The following charges shall be incurred by any party depositing or withdrawing Shares or by any party surrendering American Depositary Shares or to whom American Depositary Shares are issued (including, without limitation, issuance pursuant to a stock dividend or stock split declared by the Company or an exchange of stock regarding the American Depositary Shares or Deposited Securities or a delivery of American Depositary Shares pursuant to Section 4.3), or by Owners, as applicable: (1) taxes and other governmental charges, (2) such registration fees as may from time to time be in effect for the registration of transfers of Shares generally on the Share register of the Company or Foreign Registrar and applicable to transfers of Shares to or from the name of the Depositary or its nominee or the Custodian or its nominee on the making of deposits or withdrawals hereunder, (3) such cable (including SWIFT) and facsimile transmission fees and expenses as are expressly provided in this Deposit Agreement, (4) such expenses as are incurred by the Depositary in the conversion of foreign currency pursuant to Section 4.5, (5) a fee of $5.00 or less per 100 American Depositary Shares (or portion thereof) for the delivery of American Depositary Shares pursuant to Section 2.3, 4.3 or 4.4 and the surrender of American Depositary Shares pursuant to Section 2.5 or 6.2, (6) a fee of $.05 or less per American Depositary Share (or portion thereof) for any cash distribution made pursuant to this Deposit Agreement, including, but not limited to Sections 4.1 through 4.4 and Section 4.8, (7) a fee for the distribution of securities pursuant to Section 4.2 or of rights pursuant to Section 4.4 (where the Depositary will not exercise or sell those rights on behalf of Owners), such fee being in an amount equal to the fee for the execution and delivery of American Depositary Shares referred to above which would have been charged as a result of the deposit of such securities under this Deposit Agreement (for purposes of this item 7 treating all such securities as if they were Shares) but which securities are instead distributed by the Depositary to Owners, (8) in addition to any fee charged under item 6 above, a fee of $.05 or less per American Depositary Share (or portion thereof) per annum for depositary services, which will be payable as provided in item 9 below, and (9) any other charges payable by the Depositary or the Custodian, any of the Depositarys or Custodians agents or the agents of the Depositarys or Custodians agents, in connection with the servicing of Shares or other Deposited Securities (which charges shall be assessed against Owners as of the date or dates set by the Depositary in accordance with Section 4.6 and shall be payable at the sole discretion of the Depositary by billing those Owners for those charges or by deducting those charges from one or more cash dividends or other cash distributions).
The Depositary may collect any of its fees by deduction from any cash distribution payable, or by selling a portion of any securities to be distributed, to Owners that are obligated to pay those fees.
In performing its duties under this Deposit Agreement, the Depositary may use brokers, dealers, foreign currency dealers or other service providers that are owned by or affiliated with the Depositary and that may earn or share fees, spreads or commissions.
The Depositary may own and deal in any class of securities of the Company and its affiliates and in American Depositary Shares.
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SECTION 5.10. Retention of Depositary Documents.
The Depositary is authorized to destroy those documents, records, bills and other data compiled during the term of this Deposit Agreement at the times permitted by the laws or regulations governing the Depositary, unless the Company, at the Companys expense, requests reasonably prior to such destruction that those papers be retained for a longer period or turned over to the Company.
SECTION 5.11. Exclusivity.
Without prejudice to the Companys rights under Section 5.4, the Company agrees not to appoint any other depositary for issuance of depositary shares, depositary receipts or any similar securities or instruments so long as The Bank of New York Mellon is acting as Depositary under this Deposit Agreement.
SECTION 5.12. Information for Regulatory Compliance.
Each of the Company and the Depositary shall provide to the other, as promptly as practicable, information from its records or otherwise available to it that is reasonably requested by the other to permit the other to comply with applicable law or requirements of governmental or regulatory authorities.
ARTICLE 6. AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION
SECTION 6.1. Amendment.
The form of the Receipts and any provisions of this Deposit Agreement may at any time and from time to time be amended by agreement between the Company and the Depositary without the consent of Owners or Holders in any respect that they may deem necessary or desirable. Any amendment that would impose or increase any fees or charges (other than taxes and other governmental charges, registration fees, cable (including SWIFT) or facsimile transmission costs, delivery costs or other such expenses), or that would otherwise prejudice any substantial existing right of Owners, shall, however, not become effective as to outstanding American Depositary Shares until the expiration of 30 days after notice of that amendment has been Disseminated to the Owners of outstanding American Depositary Shares. Every Owner and Holder, at the time any amendment so becomes effective, shall be deemed, by continuing to hold American Depositary Shares or any interest therein, to consent and agree to that amendment and to be bound by this Deposit Agreement as amended thereby. Upon the effectiveness of an amendment to the form of Receipt, including a change in the number of Shares represented by each American Depositary Share, the Depositary may call for surrender of Receipts to be replaced with new Receipts in the amended form or call for surrender of American Depositary Shares to effect that change of ratio. In no event shall any amendment impair the right of the Owner to surrender American Depositary Shares and receive delivery of the Deposited Securities represented thereby, except in order to comply with mandatory provisions of applicable law.
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SECTION 6.2. Termination.
(a) The Company may initiate termination of this Deposit Agreement by notice to the Depositary. The Depositary may initiate termination of this Deposit Agreement if (i) at any time 60 days shall have expired after the Depositary delivered to the Company a written resignation notice and a successor depositary has not been appointed and accepted its appointment as provided in Section 5.4 or (ii) a Termination Option Event has occurred. If termination of this Deposit Agreement is initiated, the Depositary shall Disseminate a notice of termination to the Owners of all American Depositary Shares then outstanding setting a date for termination (the Termination Date), which shall be at least 90 days after the date of that notice, and this Deposit Agreement shall terminate on that Termination Date.
(b) After the Termination Date, the Company shall be discharged from all obligations under this Deposit Agreement except for its obligations to the Depositary under Sections 5.8 and 5.9.
(c) At any time after the Termination Date, the Depositary may sell the Deposited Securities then held under this Deposit Agreement and may thereafter hold uninvested the net proceeds of any such sale, together with any other cash then held by it hereunder, unsegregated and without liability for interest, for the pro rata benefit of the Owners of American Depositary Shares that remain outstanding, and those Owners will be general creditors of the Depositary with respect to those net proceeds and that other cash. After making that sale, the Depositary shall be discharged from all obligations under this Deposit Agreement, except (i) to account for the net proceeds and other cash (after deducting, in each case, the fee of the Depositary for the surrender of American Depositary Shares, any expenses for the account of the Owner of such American Depositary Shares in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement and any applicable taxes or governmental charges) and (ii) for its obligations under Section 5.8 and (iii) to act as provided in paragraph (d) below.
(d) After the Termination Date, if any American Depositary Shares remain outstanding, the Depositary shall continue to receive dividends and other distributions pertaining to Deposited Securities (that have not been sold), may sell rights and other property as provided in this Deposit Agreement and shall deliver Deposited Securities (or sale proceeds) upon surrender of American Depositary Shares (after payment or upon deduction, in each case, of the fee of the Depositary for the surrender of American Depositary Shares, any expenses for the account of the Owner of those American Depositary Shares in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement and any applicable taxes or governmental charges). After the Termination Date, the Depositary shall not accept deposits of Shares or deliver American Depositary Shares. After the Termination Date, (i) the Depositary may refuse to accept surrenders of American Depositary Shares for the purpose of withdrawal of Deposited Securities (that have not been sold) or reverse previously accepted surrenders of that kind that have not settled if in its judgment the requested withdrawal would interfere with its efforts to sell the Deposited Securities, (ii) the Depositary will not be required to deliver cash proceeds of the sale of Deposited Securities until all Deposited Securities have been sold and (iii) the Depositary may discontinue the registration of transfers of American Depositary Shares and suspend the distribution of dividends and other distributions on Deposited Securities to the Owners and need not give any further notices or perform any further acts under this Deposit Agreement except as provided in this Section.
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ARTICLE 7. MISCELLANEOUS
SECTION 7.1. Counterparts; Signatures; Delivery; Electronic Records.
This Deposit Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original and all of those counterparts shall constitute one and the same instrument. Copies of this Deposit Agreement shall be filed with the Depositary and shall be open to inspection by any Owner or Holder during regular business hours.
This Deposit Agreement may be executed by manual or electronic signatures, including images of manually executed signatures, DocuSign, AdobeSign or a similar agreed-upon electronic signature system, and may be delivered by exchange of copies of this Deposit Agreement by facsimile or email including a pdf or similar bit-mapped image of the signature pages. The parties to this Deposit Agreement represent and agree that if it has been executed or delivered electronically as provided in the preceding sentence or subsequently stored in and retrieved from an electronic record-keeping system, it shall have the same legal effect, validity and enforceability as a manually executed agreement maintained in a paper-based record-keeping system to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act and any other applicable law, and that they shall not argue to the contrary.
SECTION 7.2. No Third Party Beneficiaries.
This Deposit Agreement is for the exclusive benefit of the Company, the Depositary, the Owners and the Holders and their respective successors and shall not be deemed to give any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim whatsoever to any other person.
SECTION 7.3. Severability.
In case any one or more of the provisions contained in this Deposit Agreement or in a Receipt should be or become invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions contained in this Deposit Agreement or that Receipt shall in no way be affected, prejudiced or disturbed thereby.
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SECTION 7.4. Owners and Holders as Parties; Binding Effect.
The Owners and Holders from time to time shall be parties to this Deposit Agreement and shall be bound by all of the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement and of the Receipts by acceptance of American Depositary Shares or any interest therein.
SECTION 7.5. Notices.
Any and all notices to be given to the Company shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if personally delivered or sent by domestic first class or international air mail or air courier or sent by facsimile transmission or email attaching a pdf or similar bit-mapped image of a signed writing, addressed to YXT.COM Group Holding Limited, Room 501-502, No. 78 East Jinshan Road, Huqiu District, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215011, Peoples Republic of China, Attention: _____________, or any other place to which the Company may have transferred its principal office with notice to the Depositary.
Any and all notices to be given to the Depositary shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if in English and personally delivered or sent by first class domestic or international air mail or air courier or sent by facsimile transmission or email attaching a pdf or similar bit-mapped image of a signed writing, addressed to The Bank of New York Mellon, 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, Attention: Depositary Receipt Administration, email: bnymdepositarynotices@bnymellon.com or any other place to which the Depositary may have transferred its Office with notice to the Company.
Delivery of a notice to the Company or Depositary by mail or air courier shall be deemed effected when deposited, postage prepaid, in a post-office letter box or received by an air courier service. Delivery of a notice to the Company or Depositary sent by facsimile transmission or email shall be deemed effected when the recipient acknowledges receipt of that notice.
A notice to be given to an Owner shall be deemed to have been duly given when Disseminated to that Owner. Dissemination in paper form will be effective when personally delivered or sent by first class domestic or international air mail or air courier, addressed to that Owner at the address of that Owner as it appears on the transfer books for American Depositary Shares of the Depositary, or, if that Owner has filed with the Depositary a written request that notices intended for that Owner be mailed to some other address, at the address designated in that request. Dissemination in electronic form will be effective when sent in the manner consented to by the Owner to the electronic address most recently provided by the Owner for that purpose.
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SECTION 7.6. Arbitration; Settlement of Disputes.
Any controversy, claim or cause of action brought by any party hereto against the Company arising out of or relating to the Shares or other Deposited Securities, the American Depositary Shares, the Receipts or this Deposit Agreement, or the breach hereof or thereof, if so elected by the claimant, shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the International Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, and judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrators may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
The place of the arbitration shall be The City of New York, State of New York, United States of America, and the language of the arbitration shall be English.
The number of arbitrators shall be three, each of whom shall be disinterested in the dispute or controversy, shall have no connection with any party thereto, and shall be an attorney experienced in international securities transactions. Each party shall appoint one arbitrator and the two arbitrators shall select a third arbitrator who shall serve as chairperson of the tribunal. If a dispute, controversy or cause of action shall involve more than two parties, the parties shall attempt to align themselves in two sides (i.e., claimant(s) and respondent(s)), each of which shall appoint one arbitrator as if there were only two parties to such dispute, controversy or cause of action. If such alignment and appointment shall not have occurred within thirty (30) calendar days after the initiating party serves the arbitration demand, the American Arbitration Association shall appoint the three arbitrators, each of whom shall have the qualifications described above. The parties and the American Arbitration Association may appoint from among the nationals of any country, whether or not a party is a national of that country.
The arbitral tribunal shall have no authority to award any consequential, special or punitive damages or other damages not measured by the prevailing partys actual damages and may not, in any event, make any ruling, finding or award that does not conform to the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement.
SECTION 7.7. Appointment of Agent for Service of Process; Submission to Jurisdiction; Jury Trial Waiver.
The Company hereby (i) designates and appoints the person named in Exhibit A to this Deposit Agreement as the Companys authorized agent in the United States upon which process may be served in any suit or proceeding (including any arbitration proceeding) arising out of or relating to the Shares or Deposited Securities, the American Depositary Shares, the Receipts or this Deposit Agreement (a Proceeding), (ii) consents and submits to the jurisdiction of any state or federal court in the State of New York in which any Proceeding may be instituted and (iii) agrees that service of process upon said authorized agent shall be deemed in every respect effective service of process upon the Company in any Proceeding. The Company agrees to deliver to the Depositary, upon the execution and delivery of this Deposit Agreement, a written acceptance by the agent named in Exhibit A to this Deposit Agreement of its appointment as process agent. The Company further agrees to take any and all action, including the filing of any and all such documents and instruments, as may be necessary to continue that designation and appointment in full force and effect, or to appoint and maintain the appointment of another process agent located in the United States as required above, and to deliver to the Depositary a written acceptance by that agent of that appointment, for so long as any American Depositary Shares or Receipts remain outstanding or this Deposit Agreement remains in force. In the event the Company fails to maintain the designation and appointment of a process agent in the United States in full force and effect, the Company hereby waives personal service of process upon it and consents that a service of process in connection with a Proceeding may be made by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, directed to the Company at its address last specified for notices under this Deposit Agreement, and service so made shall be deemed completed five (5) days after the same shall have been so mailed.
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EACH PARTY TO THIS DEPOSIT AGREEMENT (INCLUDING, FOR AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT, EACH OWNER AND HOLDER) HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING AGAINST THE COMPANY AND/OR THE DEPOSITARY DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SHARES OR OTHER DEPOSITED SECURITIES, THE AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES OR THE RECEIPTS, THIS DEPOSIT AGREEMENT OR ANY TRANSACTION CONTEMPLATED HEREIN OR THEREIN, OR THE BREACH HEREOF OR THEREOF, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY QUESTION REGARDING EXISTENCE, VALIDITY OR TERMINATION (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER THEORY) AND ANY CLAIM BASED ON U.S. FEDERAL SECURITIES LAWS.
No disclaimer of liability under the United States federal securities laws or the rules and regulations thereunder is intended by any provision of this Deposit Agreement, inasmuch as no person is able to effectively waive the duty of any other person to comply with its obligations under those laws, rules and regulations.
SECTION 7.8. Waiver of Immunities.
To the extent that the Company or any of its properties, assets or revenues may have or may hereafter become entitled to, or have attributed to it, any right of immunity, on the grounds of sovereignty or otherwise, from any duty of performance under this Deposit Agreement, claim, legal action, suit or proceeding, from the giving of any relief in any respect thereof, from setoff or counterclaim, from the jurisdiction of any court, from service of process, from attachment upon or prior to judgment, from attachment in aid of execution or judgment, or from execution of judgment, or other legal process or proceeding for the giving of any relief or for the enforcement of any judgment, in any jurisdiction in which proceedings may at any time be commenced, with respect to its obligations, liabilities or any other matter under or arising out of or in connection with the Shares or Deposited Securities, the American Depositary Shares, the Receipts or this Deposit Agreement, the Company, to the fullest extent permitted by law, hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, and agrees not to plead or claim, any immunity of that kind and consents to relief and enforcement as provided above.
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SECTION 7.9. Governing Law.
This Deposit Agreement and the Receipts shall be interpreted in accordance with and all rights hereunder and thereunder and provisions hereof and thereof shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED and THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON have duly executed this Deposit Agreement as of the day and year first set forth above and all Owners and Holders shall become parties hereto upon acceptance by them of American Depositary Shares or any interest therein.
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED | ||
By: | ||
Name: | ||
Title: | ||
THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, as Depositary | ||
By: | ||
Name: | ||
Title: |
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EXHIBIT A
AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES (Each American Depositary Share represents three deposited Shares) |
THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON
AMERICAN DEPOSITARY RECEIPT
FOR CLASS A ORDINARY SHARES OF
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
(INCORPORATED UNDER THE LAWS OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS)
The Bank of New York Mellon, as depositary (hereinafter called the Depositary), hereby certifies that_________________________________________, or registered assigns IS THE OWNER OF _____________________________
AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES
representing deposited Class A ordinary shares (herein called Shares) of YXT.COM Group Holding Limited, incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (herein called the Company). At the date hereof, each American Depositary Share represents three Shares deposited or subject to deposit under the Deposit Agreement (as such term is hereinafter defined) with a custodian for the Depositary (herein called the Custodian) that, as of the date of the Deposit Agreement, was The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited located in Hong Kong. The Depositarys Office and its principal executive office are located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, N.Y. 10286.
THE DEPOSITARYS OFFICE ADDRESS IS
240 GREENWICH STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10286
A-1
1. THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT.
This American Depositary Receipt is one of an issue (herein called Receipts), all issued and to be issued upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Deposit Agreement dated as of [__________], 2024 (herein called the Deposit Agreement) among the Company, the Depositary, and all Owners and Holders from time to time of American Depositary Shares issued thereunder, each of whom by accepting American Depositary Shares agrees to become a party thereto and become bound by all the terms and conditions thereof. The Deposit Agreement sets forth the rights of Owners and Holders and the rights and duties of the Depositary in respect of the Shares deposited thereunder and any and all other securities, property and cash from time to time received in respect of those Shares and held thereunder (those Shares, securities, property, and cash are herein called Deposited Securities). Copies of the Deposit Agreement are on file at the Depositarys Office in New York City and at the office of the Custodian.
The statements made on the face and reverse of this Receipt are summaries of certain provisions of the Deposit Agreement and are qualified by and subject to the detailed provisions of the Deposit Agreement, to which reference is hereby made. Capitalized terms defined in the Deposit Agreement and not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Deposit Agreement.
2. SURRENDER OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES AND WITHDRAWAL OF SHARES.
Upon surrender of American Depositary Shares for the purpose of withdrawal of the Deposited Securities represented thereby and payment of the fee of the Depositary for the surrender of American Depositary Shares as provided in Section 5.9 of the Deposit Agreement and payment of all taxes and governmental charges payable in connection with that surrender and withdrawal of the Deposited Securities, and subject to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement, the Owner of those American Depositary Shares shall be entitled to delivery (to the extent delivery can then be lawfully and practicably made), to or as instructed by that Owner, of the amount of Deposited Securities at the time represented by those American Depositary Shares, but not any money or other property as to which a record date for distribution to Owners has passed (since money or other property of that kind will be delivered or paid on the scheduled payment date to the Owner as of that record date), and except that the Depositary shall not be required to accept surrender of American Depositary Shares for the purpose of withdrawal to the extent it would require delivery of a fraction of a Deposited Security. The Depositary shall direct the Custodian with respect to delivery of Deposited Securities and may charge the surrendering Owner a fee and its expenses for giving that direction by cable (including SWIFT) or facsimile transmission. The Company agrees not to prevent, hinder or unreasonably delay any lawful delivery or registration of transfer of Deposited Securities upon surrender of American Depositary Shares for the purpose of withdrawal. If Deposited Securities are delivered physically upon surrender of American Depositary Shares for the purpose of withdrawal, that delivery will be made at the Custodians office, except that, at the request, risk and expense of the surrendering Owner, and for the account of that Owner, the Depositary shall direct the Custodian to forward any cash or other property comprising, and forward a certificate or certificates, if applicable, and other proper documents of title, if any, for, the Deposited Securities represented by the surrendered American Depositary Shares to the Depositary for delivery at the Depositarys Office or to another address specified in the order received from the surrendering Owner.
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3. REGISTRATION OF TRANSFER OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES; COMBINATION AND SPLIT-UP OF RECEIPTS; INTERCHANGE OF CERTIFICATED AND UNCERTIFICATED AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES.
The Depositary, subject to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement, shall register a transfer of American Depositary Shares on its transfer books upon (i) in the case of certificated American Depositary Shares, surrender of the Receipt evidencing those American Depositary Shares, by the Owner or by a duly authorized attorney, properly endorsed or accompanied by proper instruments of transfer or (ii) in the case of uncertificated American Depositary Shares, receipt from the Owner of a proper instruction (including, for the avoidance of doubt, instructions through DRS and Profile as provided in Section 2.9 of that Agreement), and, in either case, duly stamped as may be required by the laws of the State of New York and of the United States of America. Upon registration of a transfer, the Depositary shall deliver the transferred American Depositary Shares to or upon the order of the person entitled thereto.
The Depositary, subject to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement, shall upon surrender of a Receipt or Receipts for the purpose of effecting a split-up or combination of such Receipt or Receipts, execute and deliver a new Receipt or Receipts for any authorized number of American Depositary Shares requested, evidencing the same aggregate number of American Depositary Shares as the Receipt or Receipts surrendered.
The Depositary, upon surrender of certificated American Depositary Shares for the purpose of exchanging for uncertificated American Depositary Shares, shall cancel the Receipt evidencing those certificated American Depositary Shares and send the Owner a statement confirming that the Owner is the owner of the same number of uncertificated American Depositary Shares. The Depositary, upon receipt of a proper instruction (including, for the avoidance of doubt, instructions through DRS and Profile as provided in Section 2.9 of the Deposit Agreement) from the Owner of uncertificated American Depositary Shares for the purpose of exchanging for certificated American Depositary Shares, shall cancel those uncertificated American Depositary Shares and register and deliver to the Owner a Receipt evidencing the same number of certificated American Depositary Shares.
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As a condition precedent to the delivery, registration of transfer, or surrender of any American Depositary Shares or split-up or combination of any Receipt or withdrawal of any Deposited Securities, the Depositary, the Custodian, or Registrar may require payment from the depositor of the Shares or the presenter of the Receipt or instruction for registration of transfer or surrender of American Depositary Shares not evidenced by a Receipt of a sum sufficient to reimburse it for any tax or other governmental charge and any stock transfer or registration fee with respect thereto (including any such tax or charge and fee with respect to Shares being deposited or withdrawn) and payment of any applicable fees as provided in the Deposit Agreement, may require the production of proof satisfactory to it as to the identity and genuineness of any signature and may also require compliance with any regulations the Depositary may establish consistent with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement.
The Depositary may refuse to accept deposits of Shares for delivery of American Depositary Shares or to register transfers of American Depositary Shares in particular instances, or may suspend deposits of Shares or registration of transfer generally, whenever it or the Company considers it necessary or advisable to do so. The Depositary may refuse surrenders of American Depositary Shares for the purpose of withdrawal of Deposited Securities in particular instances, or may suspend surrenders for the purpose of withdrawal generally, but, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Deposit Agreement, only for (i) temporary delays caused by closing of the Depositarys register or the register of holders of Shares maintained by the Company or the Foreign Registrar, or the deposit of Shares, in connection with voting at a shareholders meeting or the payment of dividends, (ii) the payment of fees, taxes and similar charges, (iii) compliance with any U.S. or foreign laws or governmental regulations relating to the American Depositary Shares or to the withdrawal of the Deposited Securities or (iv) any other reason that, at the time, is permitted under paragraph I(A)(1) of the General Instructions to Form F-6 under the Securities Act of 1933 or any successor to that provision.
The Depositary shall not knowingly accept for deposit under the Deposit Agreement any Shares that, at the time of deposit, are Restricted Securities.
4. LIABILITY OF OWNER FOR TAXES.
If any tax or other governmental charge shall become payable by the Custodian or the Depositary with respect to or in connection with any American Depositary Shares or any Deposited Securities represented by any American Depositary Shares or in connection with a transaction to which Section 4.8 of the Deposit Agreement applies, that tax or other governmental charge shall be payable by the Owner of those American Depositary Shares to the Depositary. The Depositary may refuse to register any transfer of those American Depositary Shares or any withdrawal of Deposited Securities represented by those American Depositary Shares until that payment is made, and may withhold any dividends or other distributions or the proceeds thereof, or may sell for the account of the Owner any part or all of the Deposited Securities represented by those American Depositary Shares, and may apply those dividends or other distributions or the net proceeds of any sale of that kind in payment of that tax or other governmental charge but, even after a sale of that kind, the Owner shall remain liable for any deficiency. The Depositary shall distribute any net proceeds of a sale made under Section 3.2 of the Deposit Agreement that are not used to pay taxes or governmental charges to the Owners entitled to them in accordance with Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement. If the number of Shares represented by each American Depositary Share decreases as a result of a sale of Deposited Securities under Section 3.2 of the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary may call for surrender of the American Depositary Shares to be exchanged on a mandatory basis for a lesser number of American Depositary Shares and may sell American Depositary Shares to the extent necessary to avoid distributing fractions of American Depositary Shares in that exchange and distribute the net proceeds of that sale to the Owners entitled to them.
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5. WARRANTIES ON DEPOSIT OF SHARES.
Every person depositing Shares under the Deposit Agreement shall be deemed thereby to represent and warrant that those Shares and each certificate therefor, if applicable, are validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and were not issued in violation of any preemptive or similar rights of the holders of outstanding securities of the Company and that the person making that deposit is duly authorized so to do. Every depositing person shall also be deemed to represent that the Shares, at the time of deposit, are not Restricted Securities. All representations and warranties deemed made under Section 3.3 of the Deposit Agreement shall survive the deposit of Shares and delivery of American Depositary Shares.
6. FILING PROOFS, CERTIFICATES, AND OTHER INFORMATION.
Any person presenting Shares for deposit or any Owner or Holder may be required from time to time to file with the Depositary or the Custodian such proof of citizenship or residence, exchange control approval, or such information relating to the registration on the books of the Company or the Foreign Registrar, if applicable, to execute such certificates and to make such representations and warranties, as the Depositary may deem necessary or proper or as the Company may reasonably require by written request to the Depositary. The Depositary may withhold the delivery or registration of transfer of any American Depositary Shares, the distribution of any dividend or other distribution or of the proceeds thereof or the delivery of any Deposited Securities until that proof or other information is filed or those certificates are executed or those representations and warranties are made. As conditions of accepting Shares for deposit, the Depositary may require (i) any certification required by the Depositary or the Custodian in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement, (ii) a written order directing the Depositary to deliver to, or upon the written order of, the person or persons stated in that order, the number of American Depositary Shares representing those Deposited Shares, (iii) evidence satisfactory to the Depositary that those Shares have been re-registered in the books of the Company or the Foreign Registrar in the name of the Depositary, a Custodian or a nominee of the Depositary or a Custodian, (iv) evidence satisfactory to the Depositary that any necessary approval has been granted by any governmental body in each applicable jurisdiction and (v) an agreement or assignment, or other instrument satisfactory to the Depositary, that provides for the prompt transfer to the Custodian of any dividend, or right to subscribe for additional Shares or to receive other property, that any person in whose name those Shares are or have been recorded may thereafter receive upon or in respect of those Shares, or, in lieu thereof, such agreement of indemnity or other agreement as shall be satisfactory to the Depositary. The Depositary shall refuse, and shall instruct the Custodian to refuse, to accept Shares for deposit if the Depositary has received a notice from the Company that the Company has restricted transfer of those Shares under the Companys memorandum and articles of association or any applicable laws or that the deposit would result in any violation of the Companys memorandum and articles of association or any applicable laws.
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7. CHARGES OF DEPOSITARY.
The following charges shall be incurred by any party depositing or withdrawing Shares or by any party surrendering American Depositary Shares or to whom American Depositary Shares are issued (including, without limitation, issuance pursuant to a stock dividend or stock split declared by the Company or an exchange of stock regarding the American Depositary Shares or Deposited Securities or a delivery of American Depositary Shares pursuant to Section 4.3 of the Deposit Agreement), or by Owners, as applicable: (1) taxes and other governmental charges, (2) such registration fees as may from time to time be in effect for the registration of transfers of Shares generally on the Share register of the Company or Foreign Registrar and applicable to transfers of Shares to or from the name of the Depositary or its nominee or the Custodian or its nominee on the making of deposits or withdrawals hereunder, (3) such cable (including SWIFT) and facsimile transmission fees and expenses as are expressly provided in the Deposit Agreement, (4) such expenses as are incurred by the Depositary in the conversion of foreign currency pursuant to Section 4.5 of the Deposit Agreement, (5) a fee of $5.00 or less per 100 American Depositary Shares (or portion thereof) for the delivery of American Depositary Shares pursuant to Section 2.3, 4.3 or 4.4 of the Deposit Agreement and the surrender of American Depositary Shares pursuant to Section 2.5 or 6.2 of the Deposit Agreement, (6) a fee of $.05 or less per American Depositary Share (or portion thereof) for any cash distribution made pursuant to the Deposit Agreement, including, but not limited to Sections 4.1 through 4.4 and 4.8 of the Deposit Agreement, (7) a fee for the distribution of securities pursuant to Section 4.2 of the Deposit Agreement or of rights pursuant to Section 4.4 of that Agreement (where the Depositary will not exercise or sell those rights on behalf of Owners), such fee being in an amount equal to the fee for the execution and delivery of American Depositary Shares referred to above which would have been charged as a result of the deposit of such securities under the Deposit Agreement (for purposes of this item 7 treating all such securities as if they were Shares) but which securities are instead distributed by the Depositary to Owners, (8) in addition to any fee charged under item 6, a fee of $.05 or less per American Depositary Share (or portion thereof) per annum for depositary services, which will be payable as provided in item 9 below, and (9) any other charges payable by the Depositary or the Custodian, any of the Depositarys or Custodians agents or the agents of the Depositarys or Custodians agents, in connection with the servicing of Shares or other Deposited Securities (which charges shall be assessed against Owners as of the date or dates set by the Depositary in accordance with Section 4.6 of the Deposit Agreement and shall be payable at the sole discretion of the Depositary by billing those Owners for those charges or by deducting those charges from one or more cash dividends or other cash distributions).
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The Depositary may collect any of its fees by deduction from any cash distribution payable, or by selling a portion of any securities to be distributed, to Owners that are obligated to pay those fees.
The Depositary may own and deal in any class of securities of the Company and its affiliates and in American Depositary Shares.
From time to time, the Depositary may make payments to the Company to reimburse the Company for costs and expenses generally arising out of establishment and maintenance of the American Depositary Shares program, waive fees and expenses for services provided by the Depositary or share revenue from the fees collected from Owners or Holders. In performing its duties under the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary may use brokers, dealers, foreign currency dealers or other service providers that are owned by or affiliated with the Depositary and that may earn or share fees, spreads or commissions.
8. DISCLOSURE OF INTERESTS.
When required in order to comply with applicable laws and regulations or the memorandum and articles of association or similar document of the Company, the Company may from time to time request each Owner and Holder to provide to the Depositary information relating to: (a) the capacity in which it holds American Depositary Shares, (b) the identity of any Holders or other persons or entities then or previously interested in those American Depositary Shares and the nature of those interests and (c) any other matter where disclosure of such matter is required for that compliance. Each Owner and Holder agrees to provide all information known to it in response to a request made pursuant to Section 3.4 of the Deposit Agreement. Each Holder consents to the disclosure by the Depositary and the Owner or other Holder through which it holds American Depositary Shares, directly or indirectly, of all information responsive to a request made pursuant to that Section relating to that Holder that is known to that Owner or other Holder.
9. TITLE TO AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES.
It is a condition of the American Depositary Shares, and every successive Owner and Holder of American Depositary Shares, by accepting or holding the same, consents and agrees that American Depositary Shares evidenced by a Receipt, when the Receipt is properly endorsed or accompanied by proper instruments of transfer, shall be transferable as certificated registered securities under the laws of the State of New York, and that American Depositary Shares not evidenced by Receipts shall be transferable as uncertificated registered securities under the laws of the State of New York. The Depositary, notwithstanding any notice to the contrary, may treat the Owner of American Depositary Shares as the absolute owner thereof for the purpose of determining the person entitled to distribution of dividends or other distributions or to any notice provided for in the Deposit Agreement and for all other purposes, and neither the Depositary nor the Company shall have any obligation or be subject to any liability under the Deposit Agreement to any Holder of American Depositary Shares, but only to the Owner.
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10. VALIDITY OF RECEIPT.
This Receipt shall not be entitled to any benefits under the Deposit Agreement or be valid or obligatory for any purpose, unless this Receipt shall have been (i) executed by the Depositary by the manual signature of a duly authorized officer of the Depositary or (ii) executed by the facsimile signature of a duly authorized officer of the Depositary and countersigned by the manual signature of a duly authorized signatory of the Depositary or the Registrar or a co-registrar.
11. REPORTS; INSPECTION OF TRANSFER BOOKS.
The Company is subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and, accordingly, files certain reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Those reports will be available for inspection and copying through the Commissions EDGAR system or at public reference facilities maintained by the Commission in Washington, D.C.
The Depositary will make available for inspection by Owners at its Office any reports, notices and other communications, including any proxy soliciting material, received from the Company which are both (a) received by the Depositary as the holder of the Deposited Securities and (b) made generally available to the holders of those Deposited Securities by the Company. The Company shall furnish reports and communications, including any proxy soliciting material to which Section 4.9 of the Deposit Agreement applies, to the Depositary in English, to the extent such materials are required to be translated into English pursuant to any regulations of the Commission.
The Depositary will maintain a register of American Depositary Shares and transfers of American Depositary Shares, which shall be open for inspection by the Owners at the Depositarys Office during regular business hours, but only for the purpose of communicating with Owners regarding the business of the Company or a matter related to the Deposit Agreement or the American Depositary Shares.
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12. DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS.
Whenever the Depositary receives any cash dividend or other cash distribution on Deposited Securities, the Depositary will, if at the time of receipt thereof any amounts received in a foreign currency can in the judgment of the Depositary be converted on a reasonable basis into Dollars transferable to the United States, and subject to the Deposit Agreement, convert that dividend or other cash distribution into Dollars and distribute the amount thus received (net of the fees and expenses of the Depositary as provided in Article 7 hereof and Section 5.9 of the Deposit Agreement) to the Owners entitled thereto; provided, however, that if the Custodian or the Depositary is required to withhold and does withhold from that cash dividend or other cash distribution an amount on account of taxes or other governmental charges, the amount distributed to the Owners of the American Depositary Shares representing those Deposited Securities shall be reduced accordingly.
If a cash distribution would represent a return of all or substantially all the value of the Deposited Securities underlying American Depositary Shares, the Depositary may:
(i) require payment of or deduct the fee for surrender of American Depositary Shares (whether or not it is also requiring surrender of American Depositary Shares) as a condition of making that cash distribution; or
(ii) sell all Deposited Securities other than the subject cash distribution and add any net cash proceeds of that sale to the cash distribution, call for surrender of all those American Depositary Shares and require that surrender as a condition of making that cash distribution.
If the Depositary acts under this paragraph, that action shall also be a Termination Option Event.
Subject to the provisions of Section 4.11 and 5.9 of the Deposit Agreement, whenever the Depositary receives any distribution other than a distribution described in Section 4.1, 4.3 or 4.4 of the Deposit Agreement on Deposited Securities (but not in exchange for or in conversion or in lieu of Deposited Securities), the Depositary will cause the securities or property received by it to be distributed to the Owners entitled thereto, after deduction or upon payment of any fees and expenses of the Depositary and any taxes or other governmental charges, in any manner that the Depositary deems equitable and practicable for accomplishing that distribution (which may be a distribution of depositary shares representing the securities received); provided, however, that if in the opinion of the Depositary such distribution cannot be made proportionately among the Owners entitled thereto, or if for any other reason the Depositary deems such distribution not to be lawful and feasible, the Depositary, after consultation with the Company to the extent practicable, may adopt such other method as it may deem equitable and practicable for the purpose of effecting such distribution, including, but not limited to, the public or private sale of the securities or property thus received, or any part thereof, and distribution of the net proceeds of any such sale (net of the fees and expenses of the Depositary as provided in Article 7 hereof and Section 5.9 of the Deposit Agreement) to the Owners entitled thereto all in the manner and subject to the conditions set forth in Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary may withhold any distribution of securities under Section 4.2 of the Deposit Agreement if it has not received satisfactory assurances from the Company that the distribution does not require registration under the Securities Act of 1933. The Depositary may sell, by public or private sale, an amount of securities or other property it would otherwise distribute under this Article that is sufficient to pay its fees and expenses in respect of that distribution.
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If a distribution to be made under Section 4.2 of the Deposit Agreement would represent a return of all or substantially all the value of the Deposited Securities underlying American Depositary Shares, the Depositary may:
(i) require payment of or deduct the fee for surrender of American Depositary Shares (whether or not it is also requiring surrender of American Depositary Shares) as a condition of making that distribution; or
(ii) sell all Deposited Securities other than the subject distribution and add any net cash proceeds of that sale to the distribution, call for surrender of all those American Depositary Shares and require that surrender as a condition of making that distribution.
If the Depositary acts under this paragraph, that action shall also be a Termination Option Event.
Whenever the Depositary receives any distribution consisting of a dividend in, or free distribution of, Shares, the Depositary may, and, if the Company so request in writing, shall, deliver to the Owners entitled thereto, an aggregate number of American Depositary Shares representing the amount of Shares received as that dividend or free distribution, subject to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement with respect to the deposit of Shares and issuance of American Depositary Shares, including the withholding of any tax or other governmental charge as provided in Section 4.11 of the Deposit Agreement and the payment of the fees and expenses of the Depositary as provided in Article 7 hereof and Section 5.9 of the Deposit Agreement (and the Depositary may sell, by public or private sale, an amount of Shares received (or American Depositary Shares representing those Shares) sufficient to pay its fees and expenses in respect of that distribution). In lieu of delivering fractional American Depositary Shares, the Depositary may sell the amount of Shares represented by the aggregate of those fractions (or American Depositary Shares representing those Shares) and distribute the net proceeds, all in the manner and subject to the conditions described in Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement. If and to the extent that additional American Depositary Shares are not delivered and Shares or American Depositary Shares are not sold, each American Depositary Share shall thenceforth also represent the additional Shares distributed on the Deposited Securities represented thereby.
If the Company declares a distribution in which holders of Deposited Securities have a right to elect whether to receive cash, Shares or other securities or a combination of those things, or a right to elect to have a distribution sold on their behalf, the Depositary may, after consultation with the Company, make that right of election available for exercise by Owners in any manner the Depositary considers to be lawful and practical. As a condition of making a distribution election right available to Owners, the Depositary may require satisfactory assurances from the Company that doing so does not require registration of any securities under the Securities Act of 1933 that has not been effected.
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If the Depositary determines that any distribution received or to be made by the Depositary (including Shares and rights to subscribe therefor) is subject to any tax or other governmental charge that the Depositary is obligated to withhold, the Depositary may sell, by public or private sale, all or a portion of the distributed property (including Shares and rights to subscribe therefor) in the amounts and manner the Depositary deems necessary and practicable to pay those taxes or charges, and the Depositary shall distribute the net proceeds of that sale, after deduction of those taxes or charges, to the Owners entitled thereto in proportion to the number of American Depositary Shares held by them respectively.
Each Owner and Holder agrees to indemnify the Company, the Depositary, the Custodian and their respective directors, employees, agents and affiliates for, and hold each of them harmless against, any claim by any governmental authority with respect to taxes, additions to tax, penalties or interest arising out of any refund of taxes, reduced withholding at source or other tax benefit received by it. Services for Owners and Holders that may permit them to obtain reduced rates of tax withholding at source or reclaim excess tax withheld, and the fees and costs associated with using services of that kind, are not provided under, and are outside the scope of, the Deposit Agreement.
13. RIGHTS.
(a) If rights are granted to the Depositary in respect of deposited Shares to purchase additional Shares or other securities, the Company and the Depositary shall endeavor to consult as to the actions, if any, the Depositary should take in connection with that grant of rights. The Depositary may, to the extent deemed by it to be lawful and practical (i) if requested in writing by the Company, grant to all or certain Owners rights to instruct the Depositary to purchase the securities to which the rights relate and deliver those securities or American Depositary Shares representing those securities to Owners, (ii) if requested in writing by the Company, deliver the rights to or to the order of certain Owners, or (iii) sell the rights to the extent practicable and distribute the net proceeds of that sale to Owners entitled to those proceeds. To the extent rights are not exercised, delivered or disposed of under (i), (ii) or (iii) above, the Depositary shall permit the rights to lapse unexercised.
(b) If the Depositary will act under (a)(i) above, the Company and the Depositary will enter into a separate agreement setting forth the conditions and procedures applicable to the particular offering. Upon instruction from an applicable Owner in the form the Depositary specified and upon payment by that Owner to the Depositary of an amount equal to the purchase price of the securities to be received upon the exercise of the rights, the Depositary shall, on behalf of that Owner, exercise the rights and purchase the securities. The purchased securities shall be delivered to, or as instructed by, the Depositary. The Depositary shall (i) deposit the purchased Shares under the Deposit Agreement and deliver American Depositary Shares representing those Shares to that Owner or (ii) deliver or cause the purchased Shares or other securities to be delivered to or to the order of that Owner. The Depositary will not act under (a)(i) above unless the offer and sale of the securities to which the rights relate are registered under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Depositary has received an opinion of United States counsel that is satisfactory to it to the effect that those securities may be sold and delivered to the applicable Owners without registration under the Securities Act of 1933. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in the Deposit Agreement shall create any obligation on the part of the Company to file a registration statement with respect to rights or the underlying securities or to endeavor to have such a registration statement declared effective.
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(c) If the Depositary will act under (a)(ii) above, the Company and the Depositary will enter into a separate agreement setting forth the conditions and procedures applicable to the particular offering. Upon (i) the request of an applicable Owner to deliver the rights allocable to the American Depositary Shares of that Owner to an account specified by that Owner to which the rights can be delivered and (ii) receipt of such documents as the Company and the Depositary agreed to require to comply with applicable law, the Depositary will deliver those rights as requested by that Owner.
(d) If the Depositary will act under (a)(iii) above, the Depositary will use reasonable efforts to sell the rights in proportion to the number of American Depositary Shares held by the applicable Owners and pay the net proceeds to the Owners otherwise entitled to the rights that were sold, upon an averaged or other practical basis without regard to any distinctions among such Owners because of exchange restrictions or the date of delivery of any American Depositary Shares or otherwise.
(e) Payment or deduction of the fees of the Depositary as provided in Section 5.9 of the Deposit Agreement and payment or deduction of the expenses of the Depositary and any applicable taxes or other governmental charges shall be conditions of any delivery of securities or payment of cash proceeds under Section 4.4 of the Deposit Agreement.
(f) The Depositary shall not be responsible for any failure to determine that it may be lawful or feasible to make rights available to or exercise rights on behalf of Owners in general or any Owner in particular , or to sell rights.
14. CONVERSION OF FOREIGN CURRENCY.
Whenever the Depositary or the Custodian receives foreign currency, by way of dividends or other distributions or the net proceeds from the sale of securities, property or rights, and if at the time of the receipt thereof the foreign currency so received can in the judgment of the Depositary be converted on a reasonable basis into Dollars and the resulting Dollars transferred to the United States, the Depositary or one of its agents or affiliates or the Custodian shall convert or cause to be converted by sale or in any other manner that it may determine that foreign currency into Dollars, and those Dollars shall be distributed to the Owners entitled thereto. A cash distribution may be made upon an averaged or other practicable basis without regard to any distinctions among Owners based on exchange restrictions, the date of delivery of any American Depositary Shares or otherwise and shall be net of any expenses of conversion into Dollars incurred by the Depositary as provided in Section 5.9 of the Deposit Agreement.
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If a conversion of foreign currency or the repatriation or distribution of Dollars can be effected only with the approval or license of any government or agency thereof, the Depositary may, but will not be required to, file an application for that approval or license.
If the Depositary determines that in its judgment any foreign currency received by the Depositary or the Custodian is not convertible on a reasonable basis into Dollars transferable to the United States, or if any approval or license of any government or agency thereof that is required for such conversion is not filed or sought by the Depositary or is not obtained within a reasonable period as determined by the Depositary, the Depositary may distribute the foreign currency received by the Depositary to, or in its discretion may hold such foreign currency uninvested and without liability for interest thereon for the respective accounts of, the Owners entitled to receive the same.
If any conversion of foreign currency, in whole or in part, cannot be effected for distribution to some of the Owners entitled thereto, the Depositary may in its discretion make that conversion and distribution in Dollars to the extent practicable and permissible to the Owners entitled thereto and may distribute the balance of the foreign currency received by the Depositary to, or hold that balance uninvested and without liability for interest thereon for the account of, the Owners entitled thereto.
The Depositary may convert currency itself or through any of its affiliates, or the Custodian or the Company may convert currency and pay Dollars to the Depositary. Where the Depositary converts currency itself or through any of its affiliates, the Depositary acts as principal for its own account and not as agent, advisor, broker or fiduciary on behalf of any other person and earns revenue, including, without limitation, transaction spreads, that it will retain for its own account. The revenue is based on, among other things, the difference between the exchange rate assigned to the currency conversion made under the Deposit Agreement and the rate that the Depositary or its affiliate receives when buying or selling foreign currency for its own account. The Depositary makes no representation that the exchange rate used or obtained by it or its affiliate in any currency conversion under the Deposit Agreement will be the most favorable rate that could be obtained at the time or that the method by which that rate will be determined will be the most favorable to Owners, subject to the Depositarys obligations under Section 5.3 of that Agreement. The methodology used to determine exchange rates used in currency conversions made by the Depositary is available upon request. Where the Custodian converts currency, the Custodian has no obligation to obtain the most favorable rate that could be obtained at the time or to ensure that the method by which that rate will be determined will be the most favorable to Owners, and the Depositary makes no representation that the rate is the most favorable rate and will not be liable for any direct or indirect losses associated with the rate. In certain instances, the Depositary may receive dividends or other distributions from the Company in Dollars that represent the proceeds of a conversion of foreign currency or translation from foreign currency at a rate that was obtained or determined by or on behalf of the Company and, in such cases, the Depositary will not engage in, or be responsible for, any foreign currency transactions and neither it nor the Company makes any representation that the rate obtained or determined by the Company is the most favorable rate and neither it nor the Company will be liable for any direct or indirect losses associated with the rate.
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15. RECORD DATES.
Whenever a cash dividend, cash distribution or any other distribution is made on Deposited Securities or rights to purchase Shares or other securities are issued with respect to Deposited Securities (which rights will be delivered to or exercised or sold on behalf of Owners in accordance with Section 4.4 of the Deposit Agreement) or the Depositary receives notice that a distribution or issuance of that kind will be made, or whenever the Depositary receives notice that a meeting of holders of Shares will be held in respect of which the Company has requested the Depositary to send a notice under Section 4.7 of the Deposit Agreement, or whenever the Depositary will assess a fee or charge against the Owners, or whenever the Depositary causes a change in the number of Shares that are represented by each American Depositary Share, or whenever the Depositary otherwise finds it necessary or convenient, the Depositary shall fix a record date, which shall be the same as, or as near as practicable to, any corresponding record date set by the Company with respect to Shares, (a) for the determination of the Owners (i) who shall be entitled to receive the benefit of that dividend or other distribution or those rights, (ii) who shall be entitled to give instructions for the exercise of voting rights at that meeting, (iii) who shall be responsible for that fee or charge or (iv) for any other purpose for which the record date was set, or (b) on or after which each American Depositary Share will represent the changed number of Shares. Subject to the provisions of Sections 4.1 through 4.5 of the Deposit Agreement and to the other terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement, the Owners on a record date fixed by the Depositary shall be entitled to receive the amount distributable by the Depositary with respect to that dividend or other distribution or those rights or the net proceeds of sale thereof in proportion to the number of American Depositary Shares held by them respectively, to give voting instructions or to act in respect of the other matter for which that record date was fixed, or be responsible for that fee or charge, as the case may be.
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16. VOTING OF DEPOSITED SHARES.
(a) Upon receipt of notice of any meeting of holders of Shares at which holders of Shares will be entitled to vote, if requested in writing by the Company, the Depositary shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, Disseminate to the Owners a notice, the form of which shall be in the sole discretion of the Depositary, that shall contain (i) the information contained in the notice of meeting received by the Depositary, (ii) a statement that the Owners as of the close of business on a specified record date will be entitled, subject to any applicable provision of Cayman Islands law and of the memorandum and articles of association or similar documents of the Company, to instruct the Depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights pertaining to the amount of Shares represented by their respective American Depositary Shares, (iii) a statement as to the manner in which those instructions may be given and (iv) the last date on which the Depositary will accept instructions (the Instruction Cutoff Date).
(b) Upon the written request of an Owner of American Depositary Shares, as of the date of the request or, if a record date was specified by the Depositary, as of that record date, received on or before any Instruction Cutoff Date established by the Depositary, the Depositary may, and if the Depositary sent a notice under the preceding paragraph shall, endeavor, in so far as practicable, to vote or cause to be voted the amount of deposited Shares represented by those American Depositary Shares in accordance with the instructions set forth in that request. The Depositary shall not vote or attempt to exercise the right to vote that attaches to the deposited Shares other than in accordance with instructions given by Owners and received by the Depositary. If
(i) the Company instructed the Depositary to Disseminate a notice under paragraph (a) above and complied with the paragraph (d) below,
(ii) no instructions are received by the Depositary from an Owner with respect to a matter and an amount of American Depositary Shares of that Owner on or before the Instruction Cutoff Date, and
(iii) the Depositary has received from the Company, by the business day following the Instruction Cutoff Date, a written confirmation that, as of the Instruction Cutoff Date, (x) the Company wishes a proxy to be given under this sentence, (y) the Company reasonably does not know of any substantial opposition to the matters and (z) the matters are not materially adverse to the interests of shareholders,
then, the Depositary shall deem that Owner to have instructed the Depositary to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by the Company with respect to that matter and the amount of deposited Shares represented by that amount of American Depositary Shares and the Depositary shall give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by the Company to vote that amount of deposited Shares as to that matter.
(c) There can be no assurance that Owners generally or any Owner in particular will receive the notice described in paragraph (a) above in time to enable Owners to give instructions to the Depositary prior to the Instruction Cutoff Date.
(d) In order to give Owners a reasonable opportunity to instruct the Depositary as to the exercise of voting rights relating to Shares, if the Company will request the Depositary to Disseminate a notice under paragraph (a) above, the Company shall give the Depositary notice of the meeting, details concerning the matters to be voted upon and copies of materials to be made available to holders of Shares in connection with the meeting not less than 30 days prior to the meeting date.
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17. TENDER AND EXCHANGE OFFERS; REDEMPTION, REPLACEMENT OR CANCELLATION OF DEPOSITED SECURITIES.
(a) The Depositary shall not tender any Deposited Securities in response to any voluntary cash tender offer, exchange offer or similar offer made to holders of Deposited Securities (a Voluntary Offer), except when instructed in writing to do so by an Owner surrendering American Depositary Shares and subject to any conditions or procedures the Depositary may require.
(b) If the Depositary receives a written notice that Deposited Securities have been redeemed for cash or otherwise purchased for cash in a transaction that is mandatory and binding on the Depositary as a holder of those Deposited Securities (a Redemption), the Depositary, at the expense of the Company, shall (i) if required, surrender Deposited Securities that have been redeemed to the issuer of those securities or its agent on the redemption date, (ii) Disseminate a notice to Owners (A) notifying them of that Redemption, (B) calling for surrender of a corresponding number of American Depositary Shares and (C) notifying them that the called American Depositary Shares have been converted into a right only to receive the money received by the Depositary upon that Redemption and those net proceeds shall be the Deposited Securities to which Owners of those converted American Depositary Shares shall be entitled upon surrenders of those American Depositary Shares in accordance with Section 2.5 or 6.2 of the Deposit Agreement and (iii) distribute the money received upon that Redemption to the Owners entitled to it upon surrender by them of called American Depositary Shares in accordance with Section 2.5 of that Agreement (and, for the avoidance of doubt, Owners shall not be entitled to receive that money under Section 4.1 of that Agreement). If the Redemption affects less than all the Deposited Securities, the Depositary shall call for surrender a corresponding portion of the outstanding American Depositary Shares and only those American Depositary Shares will automatically be converted into a right to receive the net proceeds of the Redemption. The Depositary shall allocate the American Depositary Shares converted under the preceding sentence among the Owners pro-rata to their respective holdings of American Depositary Shares immediately prior to the Redemption, except that the allocations may be adjusted so that no fraction of a converted American Depositary Share is allocated to any Owner. A Redemption of all or substantially all of the Deposited Securities shall be a Termination Option Event.
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(c) If the Depositary is notified of or there occurs any change in nominal value or any subdivision, combination or any other reclassification of the Deposited Securities or any recapitalization, reorganization, sale of assets substantially as an entirety, merger or consolidation affecting the issuer of the Deposited Securities or to which it is a party that is mandatory and binding on the Depositary as a holder of Deposited Securities and, as a result, securities or other property have been or will be delivered in exchange, conversion, replacement or in lieu of, Deposited Securities (a Replacement), the Depositary shall, if required, surrender the old Deposited Securities affected by that Replacement of Shares and hold, as new Deposited Securities under the Deposit Agreement, the new securities or other property delivered to it in that Replacement. However, the Depositary may elect to sell those new Deposited Securities if in the opinion of the Depositary it is not lawful or not practical for it to hold those new Deposited Securities under the Deposit Agreement because those new Deposited Securities may not be distributed to Owners without registration under the Securities Act of 1933 or for any other reason, at public or private sale, at such places and on such terms as it deems proper and proceed as if those new Deposited Securities had been Redeemed under paragraph (b) above. A Replacement shall be a Termination Option Event.
(d) In the case of a Replacement where the new Deposited Securities will continue to be held under the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary may call for the surrender of outstanding Receipts to be exchanged for new Receipts specifically describing the new Deposited Securities and the number of those new Deposited Securities represented by each American Depositary Share. If the number of Shares represented by each American Depositary Share decreases as a result of a Replacement, the Depositary may call for surrender of the American Depositary Shares to be exchanged on a mandatory basis for a lesser number of American Depositary Shares and may sell American Depositary Shares to the extent necessary to avoid distributing fractions of American Depositary Shares in that exchange and distribute the net proceeds of that sale to the Owners entitled to them.
(e) If there are no Deposited Securities with respect to American Depositary Shares, including if the Deposited Securities are cancelled, or the Deposited Securities with respect to American Depositary Shares have become apparently worthless, the Depositary may call for surrender of those American Depositary Shares or may cancel those American Depositary Shares, upon notice to Owners, and that condition shall be a Termination Option Event.
18. LIABILITY OF THE COMPANY AND DEPOSITARY.
Neither the Depositary nor the Company nor any of their respective directors, employees, agents or affiliates shall incur any liability to any Owner or Holder:
(i) if by reason of (A) any provision of any present or future law or regulation or other act or action of the government of the United States, any State of the United States or any other state or jurisdiction, or of any governmental or regulatory authority or stock exchange; (B) (in the case of the Depositary only) any provision, present or future, of the memorandum and articles of association or similar document of the Company, or by reason of any provision of any securities issued or distributed by the Company, or any offering or distribution thereof; or (C) any event or circumstance, whether natural or caused by a person or persons, that is beyond the ability of the Depositary or the Company, as the case may be, to prevent or counteract by reasonable care or effort (including, but not limited to earthquakes, floods, severe storms, fires, explosions, war, terrorism, civil unrest, labor disputes, criminal acts or outbreaks of infectious disease; interruptions or malfunctions of utility services, Internet or other communications lines or systems; unauthorized access to or attacks on computer systems or websites; or other failures or malfunctions of computer hardware or software or other systems or equipment), the Depositary or the Company is, directly or indirectly, prevented from, forbidden to or delayed in, or could be subject to any civil or criminal penalty on account of doing or performing and therefore does not do or perform, any act or thing that, by the terms of the Deposit Agreement or the Deposited Securities, it is provided shall be done or performed;
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(ii) for any exercise of, or failure to exercise, any discretion provided for in the Deposit Agreement (including any determination by the Depositary or the Company to take, or not take, any action that the Deposit Agreement provides the Depositary or the Company, as the case may be, may take);
(iii) for the inability of any Owner or Holder to benefit from any distribution, offering, right or other benefit that is made available to holders of Deposited Securities but is not, under the terms of the Deposit Agreement, made available to Owners or Holders; or
(iv) for any special, consequential or punitive damages for any breach of the terms of the Deposit Agreement.
Where, by the terms of a distribution to which Section 4.1, 4.2 or 4.3 of the Deposit Agreement applies, or an offering to which Section 4.4 of that Agreement applies, or for any other reason, that distribution or offering may not be made available to Owners, and the Depositary may not dispose of that distribution or offering on behalf of Owners and make the net proceeds available to Owners, then the Depositary shall not make that distribution or offering available to Owners, and shall allow any rights, if applicable, to lapse.
Neither the Company nor the Depositary assumes any obligation or shall be subject to any liability under the Deposit Agreement to Owners or Holders, except that they agree to perform their obligations specifically set forth in the Deposit Agreement without negligence or bad faith. The Depositary shall not be a fiduciary or have any fiduciary duty to Owners or Holders. The Depositary shall not be subject to any liability with respect to the validity or worth of the Deposited Securities. Neither the Depositary nor the Company shall be under any obligation to appear in, prosecute or defend any action, suit, or other proceeding in respect of any Deposited Securities or in respect of the American Depositary Shares, on behalf of any Owner or Holder or other person. Neither the Depositary nor the Company shall be liable for any action or non-action by it in reliance upon the advice of or information from legal counsel, accountants, any person presenting Shares for deposit, any Owner or Holder, or any other person believed by it in good faith to be competent to give such advice or information. Each of the Depositary and the Company may rely, and shall be protected in relying upon, any written notice, request, direction or other document believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or parties. The Depositary shall not be liable for any acts or omissions made by a successor depositary whether in connection with a previous act or omission of the Depositary or in connection with a matter arising wholly after the removal or resignation of the Depositary, provided that in connection with the issue out of which such potential liability arises, the Depositary performed its obligations without negligence or bad faith while it acted as Depositary. The Depositary shall not be liable for the acts or omissions of any securities depository, clearing agency or settlement system in connection with or arising out of book-entry settlement of American Depositary Shares or Deposited Securities or otherwise. In the absence of bad faith on its part, the Depositary shall not be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote any of the Deposited Securities or for the manner in which any such vote is cast or the effect of any such vote. The Depositary shall have no duty to make any determination or provide any information as to the tax status of the Company. Neither the Depositary nor the Company shall have any liability for any tax consequences that may be incurred by Owners or Holders as a result of owning or holding American Depositary Shares. Neither the Depositary nor the Company shall be liable for the inability or failure of an Owner or Holder to obtain the benefit of a foreign tax credit, reduced rate of withholding or refund of amounts withheld in respect of tax or any other tax benefit.
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19. RESIGNATION AND REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITARY; APPOINTMENT OF SUCCESSOR CUSTODIAN.
The Depositary may at any time resign as Depositary under the Deposit Agreement by written notice of its election so to do delivered to the Company, to become effective upon the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment as provided in the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary may at any time be removed by the Company by 90 days prior written notice of that removal, to become effective upon the later of (i) the 90th day after delivery of the notice to the Depositary and (ii) the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of its appointment as provided in the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary in its discretion may at any time appoint a substitute or additional custodian or custodians.
20. AMENDMENT.
The form of the Receipts and any provisions of the Deposit Agreement may at any time and from time to time be amended by agreement between the Company and the Depositary without the consent of Owners or Holders in any respect which they may deem necessary or desirable. Any amendment that would impose or increase any fees or charges (other than taxes and other governmental charges, registration fees, cable (including SWIFT) or facsimile transmission costs, delivery costs or other such expenses), or that would otherwise prejudice any substantial existing right of Owners, shall, however, not become effective as to outstanding American Depositary Shares until the expiration of 30 days after notice of that amendment has been Disseminated to the Owners of outstanding American Depositary Shares. Every Owner and Holder, at the time any amendment so becomes effective, shall be deemed, by continuing to hold American Depositary Shares or any interest therein, to consent and agree to that amendment and to be bound by the Deposit Agreement as amended thereby. Upon the effectiveness of an amendment to the form of Receipt, including a change in the number of Shares represented by each American Depositary Share, the Depositary may call for surrender of Receipts to be replaced with new Receipts in the amended form or call for surrender of American Depositary Shares to effect that change of ratio. In no event shall any amendment impair the right of the Owner to surrender American Depositary Shares and receive delivery of the Deposited Securities represented thereby, except in order to comply with mandatory provisions of applicable law.
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21. TERMINATION OF DEPOSIT AGREEMENT.
(a) The Company may initiate termination of the Deposit Agreement by notice to the Depositary. The Depositary may initiate termination of the Deposit Agreement if (i) at any time 60 days shall have expired after the Depositary delivered to the Company a written resignation notice and a successor depositary has not been appointed and accepted its appointment as provided in Section 5.4 of that Agreement or (ii) a Termination Option Event has occurred. If termination of the Deposit Agreement is initiated, the Depositary shall Disseminate a notice of termination to the Owners of all American Depositary Shares then outstanding setting a date for termination (the Termination Date), which shall be at least 90 days after the date of that notice, and the Deposit Agreement shall terminate on that Termination Date.
(b) After the Termination Date, the Company shall be discharged from all obligations under the Deposit Agreement except for its obligations to the Depositary under Sections 5.8 and 5.9 of that Agreement.
(c) At any time after the Termination Date, the Depositary may sell the Deposited Securities then held under the Deposit Agreement and may thereafter hold uninvested the net proceeds of any such sale, together with any other cash then held by it hereunder, unsegregated and without liability for interest, for the pro rata benefit of the Owners of American Depositary Shares that remain outstanding, and those Owners will be general creditors of the Depositary with respect to those net proceeds and that other cash. After making that sale, the Depositary shall be discharged from all obligations under the Deposit Agreement, except (i) to account for the net proceeds and other cash (after deducting, in each case, the fee of the Depositary for the surrender of American Depositary Shares, any expenses for the account of the Owner of such American Depositary Shares in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement and any applicable taxes or governmental charges), (ii) for its obligations under Section 5.8 of that Agreement and (iii) to act as provided in paragraph (d) below.
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(d) After the Termination Date, the Depositary shall continue to receive dividends and other distributions pertaining to Deposited Securities (that have not been sold), may sell rights and other property as provided in the Deposit Agreement and shall deliver Deposited Securities (or sale proceeds) upon surrender of American Depositary Shares (after payment or upon deduction, in each case, of the fee of the Depositary for the surrender of American Depositary Shares, any expenses for the account of the Owner of those American Depositary Shares in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement and any applicable taxes or governmental charges). After the Termination Date, the Depositary shall not accept deposits of Shares or deliver American Depositary Shares. After the Termination Date, (i) the Depositary may refuse to accept surrenders of American Depositary Shares for the purpose of withdrawal of Deposited Securities (that have not been sold) or reverse previously accepted surrenders of that kind that have not settled if in its judgment the requested withdrawal would interfere with its efforts to sell the Deposited Securities, (ii) the Depositary will not be required to deliver cash proceeds of the sale of Deposited Securities until all Deposited Securities have been sold and (iii) the Depositary may discontinue the registration of transfers of American Depositary Shares and suspend the distribution of dividends and other distributions on Deposited Securities to the Owners and need not give any further notices or perform any further acts under the Deposit Agreement except as provided in Section 6.2 of that Agreement.
22. DTC DIRECT REGISTRATION SYSTEM AND PROFILE MODIFICATION SYSTEM.
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 2.4 of the Deposit Agreement, the parties acknowledge that DTCs Direct Registration System (DRS) and Profile Modification System (Profile) apply to the American Depositary Shares upon acceptance thereof to DRS by DTC. DRS is the system administered by DTC that facilitates interchange between registered holding of uncertificated securities and holding of security entitlements in those securities through DTC and a DTC participant. Profile is a required feature of DRS that allows a DTC participant, claiming to act on behalf of an Owner of American Depositary Shares, to direct the Depositary to register a transfer of those American Depositary Shares to DTC or its nominee and to deliver those American Depositary Shares to the DTC account of that DTC participant without receipt by the Depositary of prior authorization from the Owner to register that transfer.
(b) In connection with DRS/Profile, the parties acknowledge that the Depositary will not determine whether the DTC participant that is claiming to be acting on behalf of an Owner in requesting registration of transfer and delivery as described in paragraph (a) above has the actual authority to act on behalf of that Owner (notwithstanding any requirements under the Uniform Commercial Code). For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of Sections 5.3 and 5.8 of the Deposit Agreement apply to the matters arising from the use of the DRS/Profile. The parties agree that the Depositarys reliance on and compliance with instructions received by the Depositary through the DRS/Profile system and otherwise in accordance with the Deposit Agreement, shall not constitute negligence or bad faith on the part of the Depositary.
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23. ARBITRATION; SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES.
Any controversy, claim or cause of action brought by any party to the Deposit Agreement and hereto against the Company arising out of or relating to the Shares or other Deposited Securities, the American Depositary Shares, the Receipts or the Deposit Agreement, or the breach hereof or thereof, if so elected by the claimant, shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the International Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, and judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrators may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
The place of the arbitration shall be The City of New York, State of New York, United States of America, and the language of the arbitration shall be English.
The number of arbitrators shall be three, each of whom shall be disinterested in the dispute or controversy, shall have no connection with any party thereto, and shall be an attorney experienced in international securities transactions. Each party shall appoint one arbitrator and the two arbitrators shall select a third arbitrator who shall serve as chairperson of the tribunal. If a dispute, controversy or cause of action shall involve more than two parties, the parties shall attempt to align themselves in two sides (i.e., claimant(s) and respondent(s)), each of which shall appoint one arbitrator as if there were only two parties to such dispute, controversy or cause of action. If such alignment and appointment shall not have occurred within thirty (30) calendar days after the initiating party serves the arbitration demand, the American Arbitration Association shall appoint the three arbitrators, each of whom shall have the qualifications described above. The parties and the American Arbitration Association may appoint from among the nationals of any country, whether or not a party is a national of that country.
The arbitral tribunal shall have no authority to award any consequential, special or punitive damages or other damages not measured by the prevailing partys actual damages and may not, in any event, make any ruling, finding or award that does not conform to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement.
24. APPOINTMENT OF AGENT FOR SERVICE OF PROCESS; SUBMISSION TO JURISDICTION; JURY TRIAL WAIVER; WAIVER OF IMMUNITIES.
The Company has (i) appointed Cogency Global Inc., 122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, New York 10168 as the Companys authorized agent in the United States upon which process may be served in any suit or proceeding (including any arbitration proceeding) arising out of or relating to the Shares or Deposited Securities, the American Depositary Shares, the Receipts or the Deposit Agreement, (ii) consented and submitted to the jurisdiction of any state or federal court in the State of New York in which any such suit or proceeding may be instituted, and (iii) agreed that service of process upon said authorized agent shall be deemed in every respect effective service of process upon the Company in any such suit or proceeding.
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EACH PARTY TO THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT (INCLUDING, FOR AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT, EACH OWNER AND HOLDER) THEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING AGAINST THE COMPANY AND/OR THE DEPOSITARY DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SHARES OR OTHER DEPOSITED SECURITIES, THE AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES OR THE RECEIPTS, THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT OR ANY TRANSACTION CONTEMPLATED HEREIN OR THEREIN, OR THE BREACH HEREOF OR THEREOF, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY QUESTION REGARDING EXISTENCE, VALIDITY OR TERMINATION (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER THEORY) AND ANY CLAIM BASED ON U.S. FEDERAL SECURITIES LAWS.
No disclaimer of liability under the United States federal securities laws or the rules and regulations thereunder is intended by any provision of the Deposit Agreement, inasmuch as no person is able to effectively waive the duty of any other person to comply with its obligations under those laws, rules and regulations.
To the extent that the Company or any of its properties, assets or revenues may have or hereafter become entitled to, or have attributed to it, any right of immunity, on the grounds of sovereignty or otherwise, from any duty of performance under the Deposit Agreement, claim, legal action, suit or proceeding, from the giving of any relief in any respect thereof, from setoff or counterclaim, from the jurisdiction of any court, from service of process, from attachment upon or prior to judgment, from attachment in aid of execution or judgment, or other legal process or proceeding for the giving of any relief or for the enforcement of any judgment, in any jurisdiction in which proceedings may at any time be commenced, with respect to its obligations, liabilities or any other matter under or arising out of or in connection with the Shares or Deposited Securities, the American Depositary Shares, the Receipts or the Deposit Agreement, the Company, to the fullest extent permitted by law, hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, and agrees not to plead or claim, any such immunity and consents to such relief and enforcement.
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Exhibit 5.1
12 July 2024 | Our Ref: WPTL/KH/U0683-H22797 | |
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED Sertus Incorporations (Cayman) Limited Sertus Chambers, Governors Square Suite # 5-204, 23 Lime Tree Bay Avenue P.O. Box 2547, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104 Cayman Islands |
Dear Sir or Madam
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
We have acted as Cayman Islands legal advisers to YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED (the Company) in connection with the Companys registration statement on Form F-1, including all amendments or supplements thereto (the Registration Statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, relating to the offering (the Offering) by the Company of American Depositary Shares (ADSs) representing the Class A Ordinary Shares of the Company of a par value of US$0.0001 each (the Class A Ordinary Shares). We are furnishing this opinion as exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement.
For the purposes of giving this opinion, we have examined and relied upon the originals, copies or translations of the documents listed in Schedule 1.
In giving this opinion we have relied upon the assumptions set out in Schedule 2, which we have not independently verified.
We are Cayman Islands Attorneys at Law and express no opinion as to any laws other than the laws of the Cayman Islands in force and as interpreted at the date of this opinion. We have not, for the purposes of this opinion, made any investigation of the laws, rules or regulations of any other jurisdiction. Except as explicitly stated herein, we express no opinion in relation to any representation or warranty contained in any of the documents cited in this opinion nor upon matters of fact or the commercial terms of the transactions the subject of this opinion.
Based upon the examinations and assumptions stated herein and upon such searches as we have conducted and having regard to legal considerations which we consider relevant, and subject to the qualifications set out in Schedule 3, and under the laws of the Cayman Islands, we give the following opinions in relation to the matters set out below.
1. | The Company is an exempted company duly incorporated with limited liability, validly existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands and is in good standing with the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands (the Registrar). |
WALKERS |
2. | The authorised share capital of the Company, with effect immediately prior to the completion of the Offering, will be US$50,000 divided into 500,000,000 shares of a nominal or par value of US$0.0001 each, comprising of (i) 483,068,176 Class A Ordinary Shares, and (ii) 16,931,824 Class B Ordinary Shares. |
3. | The issue and allotment of the Class A Ordinary Shares pursuant to the Registration Statement have been duly authorised. When allotted, issued and fully paid for as contemplated in the Registration Statement and when appropriate entries have been made in the Register of Members of the Company, the Class A Ordinary Shares to be issued by the Company will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable (meaning that no additional sums may be levied in respect of such Class A Ordinary Shares on the holder thereof by the Company). |
4. | The statements under the caption Taxation Cayman Islands Taxation in the prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement, to the extent that they constitute statements of Cayman Islands law, are accurate in all material respects. |
We hereby consent to the use of this opinion in, and the filing hereof, as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the reference to our firm under the heading Legal Matters and elsewhere in the prospectus included in the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we come within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Rules and Regulations of the Commission thereunder.
This opinion is limited to the matters referred to herein and shall not be construed as extending to any other matter or document not referred to herein. This opinion is given solely for your benefit and the benefit of your legal advisers acting in that capacity in relation to this transaction and may not be relied upon by any other person without our prior written consent.
This opinion shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the Cayman Islands.
Yours faithfully
/s/ WALKERS (HONG KONG)
WALKERS (HONG KONG)
WALKERS |
SCHEDULE 1
LIST OF DOCUMENTS EXAMINED
1. | The Certificate of Incorporation dated 20 January 2017, the Certificate of Incorporation on Change of Name dated 9 July 2021, the Seventh Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association as adopted on 22 March 2021 (as amended by the special resolutions passed on 1 July 2024) (the Memorandum and Articles), the Eighth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association as adopted by a special resolution passed on 1 July 2024 and effective conditional and immediately prior to the Offering (the A&R M&A), the Register of Members and Register of Directors of the Company, copies of which have been provided to us by the Companys registered office in the Cayman Islands (together the Company Records). |
2. | A Certificate of Good Standing dated 10 July 2024 in respect of the Company issued by the Registrar (the Certificate of Good Standing). |
3. | A copy of executed written resolutions of the directors of the Company dated 1 July 2024 (the Board Resolutions) and a copy of the executed written resolutions of the shareholders of the Company dated 1 July 2024 (the Shareholder Resolutions and, together with the Board Resolutions, the Resolutions). |
4. | The Registration Statement. |
WALKERS |
SCHEDULE 2
ASSUMPTIONS
1. | The originals of all documents examined in connection with this opinion (the Documents and any Document) are authentic. The signatures, initials and seals on the documents are genuine and are those of a person or persons given power to execute the documents. All documents purporting to be sealed have been so sealed. All copies are complete and conform to their originals. |
2. | The Memorandum and Articles reviewed by us are the memorandum and articles of association of the Company that are in effect on the date hereof. The A&R M&A reviewed by us are the memorandum and articles of association of the Company that will be in effect on the issue and sale of the Class A Ordinary Shares. |
3. | The Company Records are complete and accurate and all matters required by law and the Memorandum and Articles and the A&R M&A to be recorded therein are completely and accurately so recorded. |
4. | The Registration Statement will be duly authorised, executed and delivered by or on behalf of all relevant parties prior to the issue and sale of the Class A Ordinary Shares and will be legal, valid, binding and enforceable against all relevant parties in accordance with their terms under the laws of the State of New York and all other relevant laws (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands). |
5. | The Board Resolutions have been duly executed (and where by a corporate entity such execution has been duly authorised if so required) by or on behalf of each director of the Company, the Shareholder Resolutions have been duly executed (and where by a corporate entity such execution has been duly authorised if so required) by or on behalf of each shareholder of the Company and in each case the signatures and initials thereon are those of a person or persons in whose name the relevant Resolutions have been expressed to be signed. |
6. | The Resolutions and any power of attorney given by the Company to execute the Documents remain in full force and effect and have not been revoked or varied. |
WALKERS |
SCHEDULE 3
QUALIFICATIONS
1. | The term enforceable and its cognates as used in this opinion means that the obligations assumed by any party under the documents cited in this opinion are of a type which the Courts enforce. This does not mean that those obligations will necessarily be enforced in all circumstances in accordance with their terms. In particular: |
(a) | enforcement of obligations and the priority of obligations may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, restructuring, reorganisation, readjustment of debts or moratorium and other laws of general application relating to or affecting the rights of creditors or by prescription or lapse of time; |
(b) | enforcement may be limited by general principles of equity and, in particular, the availability of certain equitable remedies such as injunction or specific performance of an obligation may be limited where a Court considers damages to be an adequate remedy; |
(c) | claims may become barred under statutes of limitation or may be or become subject to defences of set-off, counterclaim, estoppel and similar defences; |
(d) | where obligations are to be performed in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands, they may not be enforceable in the Cayman Islands to the extent that performance would be illegal under the laws of, or contrary to the public policy of, that jurisdiction; |
(e) | a judgment of a Court may be required to be made in Cayman Islands dollars; |
(f) | to the extent that any provision of the documents cited in this opinion is adjudicated to be penal in nature, it will not be enforceable in the Courts; in particular, the enforceability of any provision of the documents cited in this opinion that is adjudicated to constitute a secondary obligation which imposes a detriment on the contract-breaker out of all proportion to any legitimate interest of the innocent party in the enforcement of the primary obligation may be limited; |
(g) | to the extent that the performance of any obligation arising under the documents cited in this opinion would be fraudulent or contrary to public policy, it will not be enforceable in the Courts; |
(h) | in the case of an insolvent liquidation of the Company, its liabilities are required to be translated into the functional currency of the Company (being the currency of the primary economic environment in which it operated as at the commencement of the liquidation) at the exchange rates prevailing on the date of commencement of the voluntary liquidation or the day on which the winding up order is made (as the case may be); |
(i) | a Court will not necessarily award costs in litigation in accordance with contractual provisions in this regard; and |
(j) | the effectiveness of terms in the documents cited in this opinion excusing any party from a liability or duty otherwise owed or indemnifying that party from the consequences of incurring such liability or breaching such duty shall be construed in accordance with, and shall be limited by, applicable law, including generally applicable rules and principles of common law and equity. |
WALKERS |
2. | Our opinion as to good standing is based solely upon receipt of the Certificate of Good Standing issued by the Registrar. The Company shall be deemed to be in good standing under section 200A of the Companies Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands on the date of issue of the certificate if all fees and penalties under the Companies Act have been paid and the Registrar has no knowledge that the Company is in default under the Companies Act. |
3. | We express no opinion upon any provisions in the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the A&R M&A, or any document which contains a reference to any law or statute that is not a Cayman Islands law or statute. |
Exhibit 10.1
FORM OF INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
This Indemnification Agreement (this Agreement), made and entered into as of the day of , 202[ ], by and between YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, an exempted company with limited liability under the laws of Cayman Islands (the Company) and (Indemnitee).
W I T N E S S E T H:
WHEREAS, highly competent persons have become more reluctant to serve publicly-held corporations as directors or executive officers unless they are provided with adequate protection through insurance or adequate indemnification against risks of claims and actions against them arising out of their service to and activities on behalf of the corporation.
WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Company (the Board) has determined that, in order to attract and retain qualified individuals, the Company will attempt to maintain on an ongoing basis, at its sole expense, liability insurance to protect persons serving the Company and its subsidiaries from certain liabilities.
WHEREAS, the uncertainties relating to such insurance and to indemnification have increased the difficulty of attracting and retaining such persons.
WHEREAS, the Board has determined that the increased difficulty in attracting and retaining such persons is detrimental to the best interests of the Companys shareholders and that the Company should act to assure such persons that there will be increased certainty of such protection in the future.
WHEREAS, it is reasonable, prudent and necessary for the Company contractually to obligate itself to indemnify, and to advance expenses on behalf of, such persons to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law so that they will serve or continue to serve the Company free from undue concern that they will not be so indemnified.
WHEREAS, this Agreement is a supplement to and in furtherance of the memorandum and articles of association of the Company (as may from time to time be supplemented and amended) (the Memorandum and Articles) and any resolutions adopted pursuant thereto and shall not be deemed a substitute therefor, nor to diminish or abrogate any rights of Indemnitee thereunder.
WHEREAS, Indemnitee does not regard the protection available under the Memorandum and Articles and insurance as adequate in the present circumstances, and may not be willing to serve as an officer or director of the Company without adequate protection, and the Company desires Indemnitee to serve in such capacity. Indemnitee is willing to serve, continue to serve and take on additional service for or on behalf of the Company on the condition that he be so indemnified.
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NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the covenants contained herein, the Company and Indemnitee do hereby covenant and agree as follows:
ARTICLE 1
CERTAIN DEFINITIONS
(a) As used in this Agreement:
Change of Control means any one of the following circumstances occurring after the date hereof: (i) there shall have occurred an event required to be reported with respect to the Company in response to Item 6(e) of Schedule 14A of Regulation 14A (or in response to any similar item or any similar schedule or form) under the Exchange Act, regardless of whether the Company is then subject to such reporting requirement; (ii) any person or group (as such terms are used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act) shall have become, without prior approval of the Companys Board by approval of at least two-thirds of the Continuing Directors, the beneficial owner (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing 30% or more of the combined voting power of the Companys then outstanding voting securities (provided that, for purposes of this clause (ii), the term person shall exclude (x) the Company, (y) any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company, and (z) any corporation owned, directly or indirectly, by the shareholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of stock of the Company); (iii) there occurs a merger or consolidation of the Company with any other entity, other than a merger or consolidation which would result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior to such merger or consolidation continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity) more than 51% of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the surviving entity outstanding immediately after such merger or consolidation and with the power to elect at least a majority of the board of directors or other governing body of such surviving entity; (iv) all or substantially all the assets of the Company are sold or disposed of in a transaction or series of related transactions; (v) the approval by the shareholders of the Company of a complete liquidation of the Company; or (vi) the Continuing Directors cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the members of the Board.
Continuing Director means each director on the Board on the date hereof.
Corporate Status means the status of a person who is or was a director, officer, trustee, general partner, managing member, fiduciary, board of directors committee member, employee or agent of the Company or of any other Enterprise.
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Disinterested Director means a director of the Company who is not and was not a party to the Proceeding in respect of which indemnification is sought by Indemnitee.
Enterprise means (i) the Company, (ii) any of the Companys subsidiaries and affiliates, and (iii) any other corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise of which Indemnitee is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, trustee, general partner, managing member, fiduciary, board of directors committee member, employee or agent.
Exchange Act means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Expenses means all direct and indirect costs (including attorneys fees, retainers, court costs, transcripts, fees of experts, witness fees, travel expenses, duplicating costs, printing and binding costs, telephone charges, postage, delivery service fees, and all other disbursements or expenses) reasonably incurred in connection with (i) prosecuting, defending, preparing to prosecute or defend, investigating, being or preparing to be a witness in, or otherwise participating in, a Proceeding or (ii) establishing or enforcing a right to indemnification under this Agreement, the Memorandum and Articles, applicable law or otherwise. Expenses also shall include Expenses incurred in connection with any appeal resulting from any Proceeding, including the premium, security for, and other costs relating to any cost bond, supersedeas bond, or other appeal bond or its equivalent. For the avoidance of doubt, Expenses, however, shall not include any Liabilities.
Independent Counsel means a law firm, or a member of a law firm, that is experienced in matters of corporate law and neither currently is, nor in the five years previous to its selection or appointment has been, retained to represent (i) the Company or Indemnitee in any matter material to either such party (other than with respect to matters concerning Indemnitee under this Agreement or of other indemnitees under similar indemnification agreements) or (ii) any other party to the Proceeding giving rise to a claim for indemnification hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term Independent Counsel shall not include any person who, under the applicable standards of professional conduct then prevailing, would have a conflict of interest in representing either the Company or Indemnitee in an action to determine Indemnitees rights under this Agreement.
Liabilities means any losses or liabilities, including any judgments, fines, penalties and amounts paid in settlement, arising out of or in connection with any Proceeding (including all interest, assessments and other charges paid or payable in connection with or in respect of any such judgments, fines, penalties or amounts paid in settlement).
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Proceeding means any threatened, pending or completed action, derivative action, suit, claim, counterclaim, cross claim, arbitration, alternate dispute resolution mechanism, investigation, inquiry, administrative hearing or any other actual, threatened or completed proceeding, whether civil (including intentional and unintentional tort claims), criminal, administrative or investigative, including any appeal therefrom, and whether instituted by or on behalf of the Company or any other party, or any inquiry or investigation that Indemnitee in good faith believes might lead to the institution of any such action, suit or other proceeding hereinabove listed in which Indemnitee was, is or will be involved as a party, potential party, non-party witness or otherwise by reason of any Corporate Status of Indemnitee, or by reason of any action taken (or failure to act) by him or her or of any action (or failure to act) on his or her part while serving in any Corporate Status.
(b) For the purposes of this Agreement:
References to Company shall include, in addition to the resulting or surviving corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers, employees or agents, so that if Indemnitee is or was a director, officer, employee, or agent of such constituent corporation or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, then Indemnitee shall stand in the same position under the provisions of this Agreement with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as Indemnitee would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.
Reference to other enterprise shall include employee benefit plans; references to fines shall include any excise tax assessed with respect to any employee benefit plan; references to serving at the request of the Company shall include any service as a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director, officer, employee or agent with respect to any of the Companys subsidiaries, affiliates, an employee benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner not opposed to the best interests of the Company as referred to in this Agreement.
Reference to including shall mean including, without limitation, regardless of whether the words without limitation actually appear, references to the words herein, hereof and hereunder and other words of similar import shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular paragraph, subparagraph, section, subsection or other subdivision.
ARTICLE 2
SERVICES BY INDEMNITEE
Section 2.01. Services By Indemnitee. Indemnitee hereby agrees to serve or continue to serve as [for directors] a director of the Company, for so long as Indemnitee is duly elected or appointed or until Indemnitee tenders his or her resignation or is removed. [for officers] an officer of the Company until such time as Indemnitees employment is terminated for any reason.
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ARTICLE 3
INDEMNIFICATION
Section 3.01. General. (a) The Company hereby agrees to and shall indemnify Indemnitee and hold Indemnitee harmless from and against any and all Expenses and Liabilities, in either case, actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee or on Indemnitees behalf by reason of Indemnitees Corporate Status, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. The Companys indemnification obligations set forth in this Section 3.01 shall apply (i) in respect of Indemnitees past, present and future service in any Corporate Status and (ii) regardless of whether Indemnitee is serving in any Corporate Status at the time any such Expense or Liability is incurred.
For purposes of this Agreement, the meaning of the phrase to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law shall include, but not be limited to:
(i) to the fullest extent permitted by any provision of the applicable company law (the Companies Law) or the corresponding provision of any successor statute, and
(ii) to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by any amendments to or replacements of the Companies Law adopted after the date of this Agreement that increase the extent to which a corporation may indemnify its officers and directors.
(b) Witness Expenses. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, to the extent that Indemnitee is, by reason of his or her Corporate Status, a witness in any Proceeding to which Indemnitee is not a party, he shall be indemnified against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee or on his or her behalf in connection therewith.
(c) Expenses as a Party Where Wholly or Partly Successful. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Agreement, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, to the extent that Indemnitee is a party to (or a participant in) and is successful, on the merits or otherwise, in any Proceeding or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, in whole or in part, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection therewith. If Indemnitee is not wholly successful in such Proceeding, but is successful, on the merits or otherwise, as to one or more but less than all claims, issues or matters in such Proceeding, the Company shall, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, indemnify Indemnitee against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee or on his or her behalf in connection with each successfully resolved claim, issue or matter. All such indemnification against Expenses shall be offset by the amount of cash, if any, received by the Indemnitee resulting from his/her success therein. For purposes of this Section and without limitation, the termination of any claim, issue or matter in such a Proceeding by dismissal, with or without prejudice, shall be deemed to be a successful result as to such claim, issue or matter.
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Section 3.02. Exclusions. Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement and unless Indemnitee ultimately is successful on the merits with respect to any such claim, the Company shall not be obligated under this Agreement to make any indemnity in connection with any claim made against Indemnitee:
(a) for (i) an accounting of profits made from the purchase and sale (or sale and purchase) by Indemnitee of securities of the Company within the meaning of Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act or similar provisions of state statutory law or common law, regardless of whether the securities are subject to the requirements of such provisions; or (ii) any reimbursement of the Company by Indemnitee of any bonus or other incentive-based or equity-based compensation or of any profits realized by Indemnitee from the sale of securities of the Company, as required in each case under the Exchange Act (including any such reimbursements that arise from an accounting restatement of the Company pursuant to Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the Sarbanes-Oxley Act), or the payment to the Company of profits arising from the purchase and sale by Indemnitee of securities in violation of Section 306 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act);
(b) except as otherwise provided in Sections 6.01(e), prior to a Change of Control, in connection with any Proceeding (or any part of any Proceeding) initiated by Indemnitee, including any Proceeding (or any part of any Proceeding) initiated by Indemnitee against the Company or its directors, officers, employees or other indemnitees, unless (i) the Board authorized the Proceeding (or any part of any Proceeding) prior to its initiation or (ii) the Company provides the indemnification, in its sole discretion, pursuant to the powers vested in the Company under applicable law;
(c) to the extent that Indemnitee is indemnified and actually received such payment other than pursuant to this Agreement;
(d) in connection with a judicial action by or in the right of the Company, in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which the Indemnitee shall have been adjudicated by final judgment in a court of law to be liable for fraud or willful default in the performance of his duty to the Company unless and only to the extent that any court in which such action was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, the Indemnitee is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnification for such Expenses as such court shall deem proper; or
(e) for any judgment, fine or penalty which the Company is prohibited by applicable law from paying as indemnification.
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ARTICLE 4
ADVANCEMENT OF EXPENSES; DEFENSE OF CLAIMS
Section 4.01. Advances. Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, the Company shall advance any Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with any Proceeding within 30 business days after the receipt by the Company of each statement in writing requesting such advance from time to time, whether prior to or after final disposition of any Proceeding. Advances shall be unsecured and interest free. Advances shall be made without regard to Indemnitees ability to repay such amounts and without regard to Indemnitees ultimate entitlement to indemnification under the other provisions of this Agreement. Advances shall include any and all reasonable Expenses incurred pursuing an action to enforce this right of advancement, including Expenses incurred preparing and forwarding statements in writing to the Company to support the advances claimed. Any excess of the advanced Expenses over the actual Expenses will be promptly repaid to the Company. To the extent Indemnitee has not requested any advanced payment of Expenses from the Company, Indemnitee shall be entitled to receive reimbursement for the Expenses incurred in connection with a Proceeding from the Company as soon as practicable after Indemnitee makes a written request to the Company for reimbursement.
Section 4.02. Repayment of Advances or Other Expenses. Indemnitee agrees that Indemnitee shall reimburse the Company for all Expenses advanced by the Company pursuant to Section 4.01, in the event and only to the extent that it shall be determined by final judgment or other final adjudication under the provisions of any applicable law (as to which all rights of appeal therefrom have been exhausted or lapsed) that Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified by the Company for such Expenses.
Section 4.03. Defense of Claims. The Company will be entitled to participate in the Proceeding at its own expense. Upon the delivery of written notice by the Company to Indemnitee, the Company shall be entitled to assume the defense of any Proceeding with counsel consented to by Indemnitee (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld), except for such Proceeding brought by the Company or as to which the Indemnitee has reasonably concluded that there may be a conflict of interest between the Company and the Indemnitee. After delivery of such notice, consent to such counsel by Indemnitee and the retention of such counsel by the Company, the Company will not be liable to Indemnitee under this Agreement for any fees or expenses of counsel subsequently incurred by Indemnitee with respect to such Proceeding; provided that (i) Indemnitee shall have the right to employ separate counsel in respect of any Proceeding at Indemnitees expense and (ii) if (A) the employment of counsel by Indemnitee has been previously authorized in writing by the Company or (B) Indemnitee shall have reasonably concluded upon the advice of counsel that there is a conflict of interest between the Company and Indemnitee in the conduct of the defense of such Proceeding, then in each such case the fees and expenses of Indemnitees counsel shall be at the Companys expense. Neither party to this Agreement shall settle any Proceeding in any manner that would impose any Expense, judgment, fine, damages, penalty or limitation on Indemnitee without the other partys written consent. Neither the Company nor Indemnitee shall unreasonably withhold its consent to any proposed settlement.
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ARTICLE 5
PROCEDURES FOR NOTIFICATION OF AND DETERMINATION OF ENTITLEMENT TO INDEMNIFICATION
Section 5.01. Notification; Request For Indemnification. (a) As soon as reasonably practicable after receipt by Indemnitee of written notice that he is a party to or a participant (as a witness or otherwise) in any Proceeding or of any other matter in respect of which Indemnitee intends to seek indemnification or advancement of Expenses hereunder, Indemnitee shall provide to the Company written notice thereof, including the nature of and the facts underlying the Proceeding. The omission by Indemnitee to so notify the Company will not relieve the Company from any liability which it may have to Indemnitee hereunder or otherwise.
(b) As a condition precedent to an Indemnitees right to obtain indemnification under this Agreement, Indemnitee shall deliver to the Company a written request for indemnification, including therewith such information as is reasonably available to Indemnitee and reasonably necessary to determine Indemnitees entitlement to indemnification hereunder and such information as reasonably requested by the Company. Such request(s) may be delivered from time to time and at such time(s) as Indemnitee deems appropriate in his or her sole discretion. Indemnitees entitlement to indemnification shall be determined according to Section 5.02 of this Agreement and applicable law.
Section 5.02. Determination of Entitlement. (a) Where there has been a written request by Indemnitee for indemnification pursuant to Section 5.01(b), then as soon as is reasonably practicable (but in any event not later than 60 days) after final disposition of the relevant Proceeding, a determination, if required by applicable law, with respect to Indemnitees entitlement thereto shall be made in the specific case: (i) if a Change of Control shall not have occurred, (A) by a majority vote of the Disinterested Directors, even though less than a quorum of the Board, (B) by a committee of Disinterested Directors designated by a majority vote of the Disinterested Directors, even though less than a quorum of the Board, (C) if there are no such Disinterested Directors or, if such Disinterested Directors so direct, by Independent Counsel in a written opinion to the Board, a copy of which shall be delivered to Indemnitee; or (ii) if a Change of Control shall have occurred, by Independent Counsel in a written opinion to the Board, a copy of which shall be delivered to Indemnitee. If it is so determined that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification, payment to Indemnitee shall be made within ten (10) business days after such determination. Indemnitee shall reasonably cooperate with the person, persons or entity making such determination with respect to Indemnitees entitlement to indemnification, including providing to such person, persons or entity upon reasonable advance request any documentation or information which is not privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure and which is reasonably available to Indemnitee and reasonably necessary to such determination. Any costs or expenses (including attorneys fees and disbursements) actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in so cooperating with the person, persons or entity making such determination shall be borne by the Company (irrespective of the determination as to Indemnitees entitlement to indemnification).
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(b) If entitlement to indemnification is to be determined by Independent Counsel pursuant to Section 5.02(a)(ii), such Independent Counsel shall be selected by Indemnitee, and Indemnitee shall give written notice to the Company advising it of the identity of the Independent Counsel so selected. If entitlement to indemnification is to be determined by Independent Counsel pursuant to Section 5.02(a)(i)(C) (or if Indemnitee requests that such selection be made by the Board), such Independent Counsel shall be selected by the Company in which case the Company shall give written notice to Indemnitee advising him or her of the identity of the Independent Counsel so selected. In either event, Indemnitee or the Company, as the case may be, may, within ten (10) business days after such written notice of selection shall have been received, deliver to the Company or to Indemnitee, as the case may be, a written objection to such selection; provided, however, that such objection may be asserted only on the ground that the Independent Counsel so selected does not meet the requirements of Independent Counsel as defined in Section 1 of this Agreement, and the objection shall set forth with particularity the factual basis of such assertion. Absent a proper and timely objection, the person so selected shall act as Independent Counsel. If such written objection is so made and substantiated, the Independent Counsel so selected may not serve as Independent Counsel unless and until such objection is withdrawn or a court of competent jurisdiction has determined that such objection is without merit. If, within 20 days after the submission by Indemnitee of a written request for indemnification pursuant to Section 5.01(b) hereof, no Independent Counsel shall have been selected and not objected to, either the Company or Indemnitee may petition a court of competent jurisdiction for resolution of any objection which shall have been made by the Company or Indemnitee to the others selection of Independent Counsel and/or for the appointment as Independent Counsel of a person selected by the court or by such other person as the court shall designate, and the person with respect to whom all objections are so resolved or the person so appointed shall act as Independent Counsel under Section 5.02(a) hereof. Upon the due commencement of any judicial proceeding or arbitration pursuant to Section 6.01(a) of this Agreement, the Independent Counsel shall be discharged and relieved of any further responsibility in such capacity (subject to the applicable standards of professional conduct then prevailing).
(c) The Company agrees to pay the reasonable fees and expenses of any Independent Counsel serving under this Agreement.
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Section 5.03. Presumptions and Burdens of Proof; Effect of Certain Proceedings. (a) In making any determination with respect to entitlement to indemnification hereunder, the person or persons or entity making such determination shall, to the fullest extent not prohibited by law, presume that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification under this Agreement if Indemnitee has submitted a request for indemnification in accordance with Section 5.01(b) of this Agreement, and the Company shall, to the fullest extent not prohibited by law, have the burden of proof to overcome that presumption in connection with the making by any person, persons or entity of any determination contrary to that presumption. Neither the failure of any person, persons or entity to have made a determination prior to the commencement of any action pursuant to this Agreement that indemnification is proper in the circumstances because Indemnitee has met the applicable standard of conduct, nor an actual determination by any person, persons or entity that Indemnitee has not met such applicable standard of conduct, shall be a defense to the action or create a presumption that Indemnitee has not met the applicable standard of conduct.
(b) If the person, persons or entity empowered or selected under Section 5.02 of this Agreement to determine whether Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification shall not have made a determination within the sixty (60) day period referred to in Section 5.02(a), the requisite determination of entitlement to indemnification shall, to the fullest extent not prohibited by law, be deemed to have been made and Indemnitee shall be entitled to such indemnification , absent (i) a misstatement by Indemnitee of a material fact, or an omission of a material fact necessary to make Indemnitees statement not materially misleading, in connection with the request for indemnification, or (ii) a prohibition of such indemnification under applicable law; provided, however, that such 60-day period may be extended for a reasonable time, not to exceed an additional thirty (30) days, if the person, persons or entity making the determination with respect to entitlement to indemnification in good faith requires such additional time for the obtaining or evaluating of documentation and/or information relating thereto.
(c) The termination of any Proceeding or of any claim, issue or matter therein, by judgment, order, settlement or conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not (except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement) of itself adversely affect the right of Indemnitee to indemnification or create a presumption that Indemnitee did not act in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company or, with respect to any criminal Proceeding, that Indemnitee had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful.
(d) For purposes of any determination of good faith, Indemnitee shall be deemed to have acted in good faith if Indemnitees action is in good faith reliance on the records or books of account of any Enterprise, including financial statements, or on information supplied to Indemnitee by the officers of such Enterprise in the course of their duties, or on the advice of legal counsel for such Enterprise or on information or records given or reports made to such Enterprise by an independent certified public accountant or by an appraiser or other expert selected by such Enterprise. The provisions of this Section 5.03(d) shall not be deemed to be exclusive or to limit in any way the other circumstances in which Indemnitee may be deemed or found to have met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in this Agreement.
(e) The knowledge and/or actions, or failure to act, of any other director, trustee, partner, managing member, fiduciary, officer, agent or employee of any Enterprise shall not be imputed to Indemnitee for purposes of determining any right to indemnification under this Agreement.
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ARTICLE 6
REMEDIES OF INDEMNITEE
Section 6.01. Adjudication or Arbitration. (a) In the event of any dispute between Indemnitee and the Company hereunder as to entitlement to indemnification or advancement of Expenses (including where (i) a determination is made pursuant to Section 5.02 of this Agreement that Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification under this Agreement, (ii) advancement of Expenses is not timely made pursuant to Section 4.01 of this Agreement, (iii) payment of indemnification pursuant to Section 3.01 of this Agreement is not made within ten (10) business days after a determination has been made that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification, (iv) no determination as to entitlement to indemnification is timely made pursuant to Section 5.02 of this Agreement and no payment of indemnification is made within ten (10) business days after entitlement is deemed to have been determined pursuant to Section 5.03(b)) or (v) a contribution payment is not made in a timely manner pursuant to Section 8.04 of this Agreement, then Indemnitee shall be entitled to an adjudication by a court of his or her entitlement to such indemnification, contribution or advancement. Alternatively, in such case, Indemnitee, at his or her option, may seek an award in arbitration to be conducted by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. The Company shall not oppose Indemnitees right to seek any such adjudication or award in arbitration.
(b) In the event that a determination shall have been made pursuant to Section 5.02(a) of this Agreement that Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification, any judicial proceeding or arbitration commenced pursuant to this Section 6.01 shall be conducted in all respects as a de novo trial, or arbitration, on the merits, and Indemnitee shall not be prejudiced by reason of that adverse determination. In any judicial proceeding or arbitration commenced pursuant to this Section 6.01 the Company shall have the burden of proving Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification or advancement of Expenses, as the case may be, and the Company may not refer to or introduce into evidence any determination pursuant to Section 5.02(a) of this Agreement adverse to Indemnitee for any purpose. If Indemnitee commences a judicial proceeding or arbitration pursuant to this Section 6.01, Indemnitee shall not be required to reimburse the Company for any advances pursuant to Section 4.02 until a final determination is made with respect to Indemnitees entitlement to indemnification (as to which all rights of appeal have been exhausted or lapsed).
(c) If a determination shall have been made pursuant to Section 5.02(a) of this Agreement that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification, the Company shall be bound by such determination in any judicial proceeding or arbitration commenced pursuant to this Section 6.01, absent (i) a misstatement by Indemnitee of a material fact, or an omission of a material fact necessary to make Indemnitees statement not materially misleading, in connection with the request for indemnification, or (ii) a prohibition of such indemnification under applicable law.
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(d) The Company shall be precluded from asserting in any judicial proceeding or arbitration commenced pursuant to this Section 6.01 that the procedures and presumptions of this Agreement are not valid, binding and enforceable and shall stipulate in any such court or before any such arbitrator that the Company is bound by all the provisions of this Agreement.
(e) The Company shall indemnify Indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by law against all Expenses and, if requested by Indemnitee, shall (within ten (10) business days after the Companys receipt of such written request) advance such Expenses to Indemnitee, which are reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with any judicial proceeding or arbitration brought by Indemnitee for (i) indemnification or advances of Expenses by the Company (or otherwise for the enforcement, interpretation or defense of his or her rights) under this Agreement or any other agreement, including any other indemnification, contribution or advancement agreement, or any provision of the Memorandum and Articles now or hereafter in effect or (ii) recovery or advances under any directors and officers liability insurance policy maintained by the Company, regardless of whether Indemnitee ultimately is determined to be entitled to such indemnification, contribution, advancement or insurance recovery, as the case may be.
ARTICLE 7
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS LIABILITY INSURANCE
Section 7.01. D&O Liability Insurance. To the extent that the Company maintains a policy or policies of insurance (D&O Liability Insurance) providing liability insurance for directors and officers of the Company in their capacities as such (and for any capacity in which any director or officer of the Company serves any other Enterprise at the request of the Company), in respect of acts or omissions occurring while serving in such capacity, Indemnitee shall be covered by such policy or policies, in accordance with its or their terms, to the maximum extent of the coverage available for any other director or officer under such policy or policies.
Section 7.02. Evidence of Coverage. Upon request by Indemnitee, the Company shall provide copies of all policies of D&O Liability Insurance obtained and maintained in accordance with Section 7.01 of this Agreement. The Company shall promptly notify Indemnitee of any changes in such insurance coverage.
ARTICLE 8
MISCELLANEOUS
Section 8.01. Non-exclusivity of Rights. The rights of indemnification, contribution and advancement of Expenses as provided by this Agreement shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which Indemnitee may at any time be entitled to under applicable law, the Memorandum and Articles, any agreement, a vote of shareholders or a resolution of directors, or otherwise. No right or remedy herein conferred is intended to be exclusive of any other right or remedy, and every other right and remedy shall be cumulative and in addition to every other right and remedy given hereunder or now or hereafter existing at law or in equity or otherwise. The assertion or employment of any right or remedy hereunder, or otherwise, shall not prevent the concurrent assertion or employment of any other right or remedy.
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Section 8.02. Insurance and Subrogation. (a) If, at the time the Company receives notice of a claim hereunder, the Company has director and officer liability insurance in effect, the Company shall give prompt notice of such Proceeding to the insurers in accordance with the procedures set forth in the respective policies. The Company shall thereafter take all necessary or desirable action to cause such insurers to pay, on behalf of Indemnitee, all amounts payable as a result of such Proceeding in accordance with the terms of such policies. The failure or refusal of any such insurer to pay any such amount shall not affect or impair the obligations of the Company under this Agreement.
(b) In the event of any payment under this Agreement, the Company shall be subrogated to the extent of such payment to all of the rights of recovery of Indemnitee, who shall execute all papers required and take all action necessary to secure such rights, including execution of such documents as are necessary to enable the Company to bring suit to enforce such rights.
(c) The Company shall not be liable under this Agreement to make any payment of amounts otherwise indemnifiable (or for which advancement is provided) hereunder if and to the extent that Indemnitee has actually received such payment under any insurance policy or other indemnity provision.
Section 8.03 The Companys obligation to indemnify or advance Expenses hereunder to Indemnitee who is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, trustee, partner, managing member, fiduciary, board of directors committee member, employee or agent of any other Enterprise shall be reduced by any amount Indemnitee has actually received as indemnification or advancement of Expenses from such Enterprise.
Section 8.04. Contribution. To the fullest extent permissible under applicable law, if the indemnification provided for in this Agreement is unavailable to Indemnitee for any reason whatsoever, the Company, in lieu of indemnifying Indemnitee, shall contribute to the amount incurred by Indemnitee, whether for judgments, fines, penalties, excise taxes, amounts paid or to be paid in settlement and/or for Expenses, in connection with any claim relating to an indemnifiable event under this Agreement, in such proportion as is deemed fair and reasonable in light of all of the circumstances of such Proceeding in order to reflect (i) the relative benefits received by the Company and Indemnitee as a result of the event(s) and/or transaction(s) giving rise to such Proceeding; and/or (ii) the relative fault of the Company (and its directors, officers, employees and agents) and Indemnitee in connection with such event(s) and/or transaction(s). The relative fault of the Company on the one hand and of the Indemnitee on the other hand shall be determined by reference to, among other things, the parties relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent the circumstances resulting in such judgments, fines, penalties, excise taxes, amounts paid or to be paid in settlement and/or for Expenses. The Company agrees that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 8.04 were determined by pro rata allocation or any other method of allocation which does not take account of the foregoing equitable considerations.
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Section 8.05. Amendment. This Agreement may not be modified or amended except by a written instrument executed by or on behalf of each of the parties hereto. No amendment, alteration or repeal of this Agreement or of any provision hereof shall limit, restrict or reduce any right of Indemnitee under this Agreement in respect of any act or omission, or any event occurring, prior to such amendment, alteration or repeal. To the extent that a change in applicable law, whether by statute or judicial decision limits rights with respect to indemnification, contribution or advancement of Expenses, it is the intent of the parties hereto that the rights with respect to indemnification, contribution or advancement of Expenses in effect prior to such change shall remain in full force and effect to the extent permitted by applicable law.
Section 8.06. Waivers. The observance of any term of this Agreement may be waived (either generally or in a particular instance and either retroactively or prospectively) by the party entitled to enforce such term only by a writing signed by the party against which such waiver is to be asserted. Unless otherwise expressly provided herein, no delay on the part of any party hereto in exercising any right, power or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any waiver on the part of any party hereto of any right, power or privilege hereunder operate as a waiver of any other right, power or privilege hereunder nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right, power or privilege hereunder preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, power or privilege hereunder.
Section 8.07. Entire Agreement. This Agreement and the documents referred to herein constitute the entire agreement between the parties hereto with respect to the matters covered hereby, and any other prior or contemporaneous oral or written understandings or agreements with respect to the matters covered hereby are superseded by this Agreement, provided that this Agreement is a supplement to and in furtherance of the Memorandum and Articles and applicable law, and shall not be deemed a substitute therefor, nor to diminish or abrogate any rights of Indemnitee thereunder.
Section 8.08. Severability. If any provision or provisions of this Agreement shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason whatsoever: (a) the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement (including each portion of any Section of this Agreement containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that is not itself invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby and shall remain enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law; (b) such provision or provisions shall be deemed reformed to the extent necessary to conform to applicable law and to give the maximum effect to the intent of the parties hereto; and (c) to the fullest extent possible, the provisions of this Agreement (including each portion of any Section of this Agreement containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that is not itself invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall be construed so as to give effect to the intent manifested thereby.
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Section 8.09. Notices. All notices, requests, demands and other communications under this Agreement shall be in writing (which may be by facsimile transmission). All such notices, requests and other communications shall be deemed received on the date of receipt by the recipient thereof if received prior to 5:00 p.m. in the place of receipt and such day is a business day in the place of receipt. Otherwise, any such notice, request or communication shall be deemed not to have been received until the next succeeding business day in the place of receipt. The address for notice to a party is as shown on the signature page of this Agreement, or such other address as any party shall have given by written notice to the other party as provided above.
Section 8.10. Binding Effect. (a) The Company expressly confirms and agrees that it has entered into this Agreement and assumed the obligations imposed on it hereby in order to induce Indemnitee to serve as a director or officer of the Company, and the Company acknowledges that Indemnitee is relying upon this Agreement in serving as a director or officer of the Company.
(b) This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by the parties hereto and their respective successors, assigns, including any direct or indirect successor by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise to all or substantially all of the business and/or assets of the Company, spouses, heirs, and executors, administrators, personal and legal representatives. The Company shall require and cause any successor (whether direct or indirect by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise) to all or substantially all, or a substantial part of the business or assets of the Company, by written agreement in form and substance satisfactory to Indemnitee, expressly to assume and agree to perform this Agreement in the manner and to the same extent that the Company would be required to perform if no such succession had taken place.
(c) The indemnification, contribution and advancement of Expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to this Agreement shall continue during the period Indemnitee is an officer and/or a director of the Company or is or was serving at the request of the Company and shall continue thereafter so long as Indemnitee shall be subject to any Proceeding by reason of his former or current capacity at the Company or any other enterprise at the Companys request, whether or not he is acting or serving in any such capacity at the time any Expense is incurred for which indemnification can be provided under this Agreement. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors, administrators, legatees and assigns of such Indemnitee.
Section 8.11. Governing Law. This Agreement and the legal relations among the parties shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in accordance with, the laws of Cayman Islands, without regard to its conflict of laws rules.
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Section 8.12. Consent to Jurisdiction. Except with respect to any arbitration commenced by Indemnitee pursuant to Section 6.01(a) of this Agreement, each of the parties to this Agreement irrevocably agrees that the courts of Cayman Islands shall have nonexclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine any claim, suit, action or proceeding, and to settle any disputes, which may arise out of or are in any way related to or in connection with this Agreement, and, for such purposes, irrevocably submits to the nonexclusive jurisdiction of such courts.
Section 8.13. Headings. The Article and Section headings in this Agreement are for convenience of reference only, and shall not be deemed to alter or affect the meaning or interpretation of any provisions hereof.
Section 8.14. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original but all of which together shall constitute one and the same Agreement. Only one such counterpart signed by the party against whom enforceability is sought needs to be produced to evidence the existence of this Agreement.
Section 8.15. U.S. Federal Preemption. Notwithstanding the foregoing, both the Company and Indemnitee acknowledge that in certain instances, U.S. federal law or public policy may override applicable law and prohibit the Company from indemnifying its directors and officers under this Agreement or otherwise. Such instances include, but are not limited to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissions (the SEC) prohibition on indemnification for liabilities arising under certain U.S. federal securities laws. Indemnitee also understands and acknowledges that the Company has undertaken or may be required in the future to undertake with the SEC to submit the question of indemnification to a court in certain circumstances for a determination of the Companys right under public policy to indemnify Indemnitee.
Section 8.16. No Employment Rights. Nothing in this Agreement is intended to create in Indemnitee any right to continued employment with the Company.
Section 8.15. Use of Certain Terms. As used in this Agreement, the words herein, hereof, and hereunder and other words of similar import refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular paragraph, subparagraph, section, subsection, or other subdivision. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun used in this Agreement shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine or neuter forms, and the singular form of nouns, pronouns and verbs shall include the plural and vice versa.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Agreement has been duly executed and delivered to be effective as of the date first above written.
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YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED | ||
By: |
| |
Name: | ||
Title: | ||
Address: | ||
Facsimile: | ||
Attention: | ||
With a copy to: | ||
Address: | ||
Facsimile: | ||
Attention: | ||
INDEMNITEE | ||
| ||
Address: | ||
Facsimile: | ||
With a copy to: | ||
Address: | ||
Facsimile: | ||
Attention: |
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Exhibit 10.2
FORM OF EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
This Employment Agreement (the Agreement), dated as of [MONTH DATE], [YEAR] (the Effective Date), is entered between YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands (the Company) and [NAME] (the Executive).
WHEREAS, the Company and the Executive wish to enter into an employment agreement whereby the Executive will be employed by the Company in accordance with the terms and conditions stated below;
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereby agree as follows:
ARTICLE 1
EMPLOYMENT, DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Section 1.01. Employment. The Executive shall serve as the [TITLE] of the Company. The Executive hereby accepts such employment and agrees to devote substantially all of the Executives time and efforts to promoting the interests of the Company.
Section 1.02. Duties and Responsibilities. Subject to the supervision of and direction by the Board of Directors of the Company, the Executive shall perform such duties as are similar in nature to those duties and services customarily associated with the positions set forth above.
Section 1.03. Base of Operation. The Executives principal base of operation for the performance of his duties and responsibilities under this Agreement shall be the offices of the Company in Beijing, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), and at such other places as shall from time to time be reasonably necessary to fulfill the Executives obligations hereunder.
ARTICLE 2
TERM
Section 2.01. Term. (a) The term of this Agreement (the Term) shall be specified in a separate agreement between the Executive and the Companys designated subsidiary or affiliate entity (the PRC Agreement). The Term and this Agreement will be renewed automatically thereafter for successive one-year terms unless a one-month notice of non-renewal is given by one party to the other.
(b) The Executive represents and warrants to the Company that neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement nor the performance of the Executives duties hereunder violates or will violate the provisions of any other agreement to which the Executive is a party or by which the Executive is bound.
(c) If the PRC Agreement is terminated pursuant to the terms therein, the employment between the Executive and the Company pursuant to this Agreement shall also be terminated unless mutually agreed by both parties.
ARTICLE 3
COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES
Section 3.01. Salary And Benefits. The Executives salary and benefits shall be determined by the Company and shall be specified in the PRC Agreement. Unless otherwise provided in such separate agreement, the Executives salary and benefits are subject to annual review and adjustment by the Company.
Section 3.02 Expenses. The Company will reimburse the Executive for reasonable documented business-related expenses incurred by the Executive in connection with the performance of the Executives duties hereunder during the Term, subject, however, to the Companys policies relating to business-related expenses as in effect from time to time during the Term.
Section 3.03. Share Incentive Plan. The Executive shall be entitled to participate during the Term in the 2021 Share Incentive Plan of the Company, and any successors thereto, subject to the terms and provisions of such plans and the execution of the award agreements between the Company and the Executive.
Section 3.04 Payer of Compensation. All compensation, salary, benefits and remuneration in this Agreement may be paid by the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliated entities, as decided by the Company in its sole discretion.
ARTICLE 4
EXCLUSIVITY, ETC.
Section 4.01. Exclusivity. The Executive agrees to perform his duties, responsibilities and obligations hereunder efficiently and to the best of his ability. The Executive agrees to devote substantially all of his working time, care and attention and best efforts to such duties, responsibilities and obligations throughout the Term. The Executive agrees that all of his activities as an employee of the Company shall be in conformity with all present and future policies, rules and regulations and directions of the Company not inconsistent with this Agreement.
Section 4.02. Intellectual Property. The Executive agrees that Intellectual Property under this Agreement is the sole and exclusive property of the Company and further agrees to assign to the Company the ownership of all right, title and interest in Intellectual Property, including any Intellectual Property conceived, created, and otherwise obtained by the Executive (i) during the term of this Agreement relating to the work he performs within the scope of such Executives employment with the Company, (ii) within twelve (12) months after the Executive retires or ends employment with the Company under the circumstances that such Intellectual Property relates to such Executives employment scope with the Company, and (iii) by using the resources of the Company during the term of this Agreement. During the Executives employment with the Company and within twelve (12) months after his employment with the Company terminates, the Executive has the obligation to inform the Company of any Intellectual Property within ten days of its creation and the Executive has the obligation to assist the Company in its patent, copyright or trademark application related to the Intellectual Property.
Intellectual Property under this Section 4.02 means any and all intellectual property in any form or stage of development, including but not limited to any idea, concept, design, invention, method, process, system, model, software, know-how and any other subject matter, material or information that qualifies and/or is considered by the Company to qualify for patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, or any other protection under the laws of PRC or Cayman Islands providing or creating intellectual property rights.
Section 4.03. Non-Competition and Confidentiality.
(a) Non-compete. During the Executives employment with the Company and for twenty-four (24) months after his employment with the Company terminates for any reason, the Executive will not (i) directly or indirectly engage in (whether as an officer, principal, agent, director, employee, partner, affiliate, consultant or other participant), or hold an equity interest of 5% or more in, any business or activity that is in competition with the Company, its subsidiaries or affiliated entities (the Group), (ii) solicit, encourage or assist other employees of the Company to seek employment with any business or organization in competition with the Group, or (iii) engage in other activities that may cause conflicts with the interests of the Company during the term of the employment agreement.
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(b) Confidentiality. Throughout the course of the Executives employment with the Company and thereafter, the Executive shall keep in strict confidence and not to use all non-public information relating to the business, financial condition and other aspects of the Company, including but not limited to trade secrets, business methods, products, processes, procedures, development or experimental projects, plans, service providers, customers and users, intellectual property, information technology and any other information which is material to the Companys business operations, and except as authorized by the Company in writing, may not disclose or provide to any person, firm, corporation or entity such non-public information, and may not use such non-public information for any purpose other than to fulfill his responsibilities in the best interest of the Company. The Executive shall also comply with the Companys corporate policies and any other agreements on confidentiality that the Executive may enter into with the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliated entities. This provision and such other confidentiality policies and agreements are hereinafter collectively referred to as the Confidentiality Terms.
(c) No Solicitation. During the Executives employment with the Company and for twenty-four (24) months after his employment with the Company terminates for any reason, the Executive will not, directly or indirectly, solicit or attempt to solicit (either in his or her own name or on behalf of any other party) any person who, within a period of one year preceding the termination of the Executives employment with the Company, is a customer, supplier, agent, employee or consultant of the Company or any of its affiliated entities, to terminate its relationship with the Company or any of its affiliated entities.
(d) Notwithstanding anything to the foregoing, nothing in this agreement shall be construed as limiting or affecting the non-compete, confidentiality and no solicitation clause in the PRC Agreement.
ARTICLE 5
TERMINATION AND INDEMNIFICATION
Section 5.01. Termination by the Company. The Company shall have the right to terminate the Executives employment at any time with Cause without any advance notice pursuant to the terms hereof. For purposes of this Agreement, Cause shall have the meanings ascribed to it in the PRC Agreement. For purposes of this Section 5.01, no act or failure to act, on the part of the Executive shall be deemed willful unless done, or omitted to be done, by the Executive not in good faith and without reasonable belief that the act or omission of the Executive was in the best interest of the Company. The Company may also terminate the Executives employment at any time with or without Cause by giving a 30 days advance notice in writing.
Section 5.02. Termination by the Executive. The Executive shall have the right to terminate this Agreement at any time by giving a 30 days advance notice in writing pursuant to the terms hereof. If the Executive terminates the employment under this Section 5.02, the Company is not obliged to pay to the Executive any financial compensation for such termination.
Section 5.03. Death. In the event the Executive passes away during the Term, this Agreement shall automatically terminate, such termination to be effective on the date of the Executives death.
Section 5.04. Effect of Termination. (a) In the event of termination of the Executives employment, whether before or after the Term, by either party for any reason, or by reason of the Executives death or disability, the Company shall pay to the Executive (or his beneficiary in the event of his death) any base salary or other compensation earned but not paid to the Executive prior to the effective date of such termination. All other benefits due the Executive following his termination of employment shall be determined in accordance with the plans, policies and practices of the Company.
(b) In the event of termination of the Executives employment by the Company other than for Cause, the Company shall pay to the Executive any additional amount as provided by applicable law.
ARTICLE 6
MISCELLANEOUS
Section 6.01. Benefit Assignment; Assignment; Beneficiary. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Company and its successors and assigns, including, without limitation, any corporation or person which may acquire all or substantially all of the Companys assets or business, or with or into which the Company may be consolidated or merged. This Agreement shall also inure to the benefit of, and be enforceable by, the Executive and his personal or legal representatives, executors, administrators, successors, heirs, distributees, devisees and legatees. If the Executive should die while any amount would still be payable to him or her hereunder if the Executive had continued to live, all such amounts shall be paid in accordance with the terms of this Agreement to the Executives beneficiary, devisee, legatee or other designee, or if there is no such designee, to the Executives estate.
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Section 6.02. Notices. Any notice required or permitted hereunder shall be in writing and shall be sufficiently given if personally delivered or if sent by registered or certified mail, national overnight courier, or email. In the case of the Company, to the office or email account of the Human Resource Department; and in the case of the Executive, to the address or email account appearing on the employment records of the Company, from time to time. Any notice given hereunder shall be deemed to have been given at the time of receipt thereof by the person to whom such notice is given.
Section 6.03. Entire Agreement; Amendment. This Agreement contains the entire agreement and understanding between the Executive and the Company with respect to the terms and conditions of the Executives employment with the Company during the Term and supersedes any and all prior agreements and understandings, whether written or oral, between the parties hereto with respect to compensation due for services rendered hereunder. Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing to the contrary, nothing in this agreement shall be construed as limiting or affecting the validity and effectiveness of any clause in the PRC Agreement. This Agreement may not be changed or modified except by an instrument in writing signed by both of the parties hereto.
Section 6.04. Waiver. The waiver by either party of a breach of any provision of this Agreement shall not operate or be construed as a continuing waiver or as a consent to or waiver of any subsequent breach hereof.
Section 6.05. Headings. The article and section headings herein are for convenience of reference only, do not constitute a part of this Agreement and shall not be deemed to limit or affect any of the provisions hereof.
Section 6.06. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed and interpreted in accordance with, the laws of the PRC.
Section 6.07. Agreement To Take Actions. Each party hereto shall execute and deliver such documents, certificates, agreements and other instruments, and shall take such other actions, as may be reasonably necessary or desirable in order to perform his, her or its obligations under this Agreement or to effectuate the purposes hereof.
Section 6.08. Arbitration. Any dispute between the parties hereto respecting the meaning and intent of this Agreement or any of its terms and provisions shall be submitted to arbitration in Hong Kong, in accordance with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre Administered Arbitration Rules then in effect, and the arbitration determination resulting from any such submission shall be final and binding upon the parties hereto. The arbitrator shall have no authority to award reasonable attorneys fees to any party in any dispute subject to this Section 6.08. Judgment upon any arbitration award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Section 6.09. Survivorship. The respective rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall survive any termination of this Agreement to the extent necessary to the intended preservation of such rights and obligations.
Section 6.10. Severability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any particular provision or provisions of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision or provisions of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 6.11. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original but all of which together will constitute one and the same instrument.
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Section 6.12. Corporate Authorization. The Company hereby represents that the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement are within the corporate powers of the Company, and that the Chairman of its Board of Directors has the requisite authority to bind the Company hereby.
Section 6.13. Withholding. All payments to the Executive hereunder shall be subject to withholding to the extent required by applicable law.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto has duly executed this Agreement as of the date first above written.
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED | ||
By: | ||
Name: | ||
Title: | ||
EXECUTIVE | ||
| ||
Name: | ||
Title: |
6
Exhibit 10.3
***Certain information in this document has been excluded pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10). Such excluded information is not material and is the type the registrant treats as private or confidential. Such omitted information is indicated by brackets ([Redacted]) in this exhibit.***
Equity Interest Pledge Agreement
The Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (the Agreement) was made and entered into by and between the following parties (the Parties to the Agreement or the Parties) in Suzhou, the Peoples Republic of China (the PRC) on June 1, 2020:
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (the Pledgee)
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Party B: (the Pledgors)
Lu Xiaoyan
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
Ding Jie
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Address: [Redacted]
Wu Bin
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
Chen Hongbo
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
Xu Naihan
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
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Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd.
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Liang Xianhong
Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙))
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Principal premise: [Redacted]
Executive partner: Lu Xiaoyan
Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙))
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Principal premise: [Redacted]
Executive partner: Lu Xiaoyan
Shanghai Himalaya Technology Co., Ltd. (上海喜马拉雅科技有限公司)
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Yu Jianjun
Shen Jinhua
Address: [Redacted]
ID card No.: [Redacted]
Gao Qi
Address: [Redacted]
ID card No.: [Redacted]
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Whereas:
1. | The Pledgee is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise legally incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
2. | Party C is a limited liability company legally incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
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3. | The Pledgors hold the entire equity in Party C, of which Lu Xiaoyan holds 45.7217% (equal to capital contribution of RMB28,452,538), Ding Jie holds 4.1601% (equal to capital contribution of RMB2,588,813), Wu Bin holds 2.4120% (equal to capital contribution of RMB1,501,006), Chen Hongbo holds 1.2946% (equal to capital contribution of RMB805,657), Xu Naihan holds 1.2946% (equal to capital contribution of RMB805,657), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. holds 19.7148% (equal to capital contribution of RMB12,268,519), Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) holds 9.8359% (equal to capital contribution of RMB6,120,849), Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) holds 5.8440% (equal to capital contribution of RMB3,636,736), Shanghai Himalaya Technology Co., Ltd. (上海喜马拉雅科技有限公司) holds 4.1667% (equal to capital contribution of RMB2,592,913), Shen Jinhua holds 2.7778% (equal to capital contribution of RMB1,728,608), and Gao Qi holds 2.7778% (equal to capital contribution of RMB1,728,608). |
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4. | On June 1, 2020, the Pledgee and the Pledgors made and entered into the Exclusive Option Agreement, and Power of Attorney Agreement with Party C, and the spouse of several Pledgors issued the Spouse Letter of Commitment on June 1, 2020; the Pledgee made and entered into the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement with Party C on October 9, 2017. |
5. | On September 5, 2018, the Pledgee and the Pledgors made and entered into the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement with Party C (the Original Equity Interest Pledge Agreement). |
6. | In order to ensure the Pledgees regular receipt of the service fee from Party C under the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement and the performance of each agreement (as defined below), the Pledgors are willing to provide a pledge guarantee to the Pledgee with all of its equity in Party C and proposes to replace the Original Equity Interest Pledge Agreement with the Agreement. |
Accordingly, the Parties to the Agreement, upon friendly consultation and on the principles of equality and mutual benefit, agree as follows:
1. | Definition |
Unless otherwise provided in the Agreement, the following terms shall be construed as defined below:
1.1 | Pledge Rights: refer to all of the contents specified in Article 2 of the Agreement. |
1.2 | Equity: refers to 100% equity jointly and legally held by the Pledgors in Party C and all current or future rights or benefits based on such equity. |
1.3 | Each agreement: refers to the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Power of Attorney Agreement between the Pledgee, Pledgors and Party C on June 1, 2020, the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement between the Pledgee and Party C on October 9, 2017, and the Spouse Letter of Commitment issued by the spouse of several Pledgors. |
1.4 | Event of default: refers to any of the circumstances stipulated in Article 7 of the Agreement. |
1.5 | Notice of default: refers to the notice issued by the Pledgee under the Agreement to announce the event of default. |
2. | Pledge |
2.1 Lu Xiaoyan, the Pledgor, pledge to the Pledgee 18.0556% of the equity (i.e. RMB11,235,955) held by the Pledgor in Party C and the dividends accruing from such equity during the term of the Agreement as the guarantee for (i) the performance of the obligations of the Pledgors and Party C under each agreement and (ii) the expenses incurred by the Pledgee in exercising its rights hereunder. The obligations set forth above are collectively referred to as the Guarantee Obligations. The maximum amount of secured claims is RMB11,235,955.
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2.2 | The guarantee scope of the equity pledge under the Agreement shall be all of the Guarantee Obligations, including but not limited to all fees (including legal fees) payable by Party C and/or the Pledgors to the Pledgee under each Agreement, the service fees payable by Party C to the Pledgee under the Exclusive Option Agreement, the losses caused to Party A due to the default of Party C and/or the Pledgors, interest, liquidated damages, indemnity, costs of realizing claims, and the liability of Party C and/or the Pledgors to the Pledgee in the event that each agreement becomes invalidated in whole or in part for any reason. |
2.3 | The Pledge Rights under this Agreement refer to the rights of the Pledgee to first receive the service fees, liquidated damages, indemnities, penalties and other forms of payments due to the Pledgee under each agreement in connection with the execution of the pledge of the pledged equity, and to first receive the proceeds from discounting, auction or sale of the equity pledged by the Pledgors to the Pledgee. |
2.4 | After the Agreement comes into effect, the pledge under the Agreement shall not be removed until Party C and the Pledgors have duly performed all of their obligations under each agreement and the Pledgee has approved them in writing, unless the Pledgee has expressly agreed in writing. If Party C or the Pledgors have not fully performed all or any part of their obligations under each agreement by the expiration of the period specified therein, the Pledgee shall continue to have the Pledge Rights provided herein until such obligations and liabilities have been fully performed to the reasonable satisfaction of the Pledgee, and then the pledge hereunder shall be removed. |
3. | Effectiveness |
3.1 | The Agreement shall come into effect on the date the Parties to the Agreement execute it (in case of non-natural persons in the PRC, their official seals shall also be affixed). The Pledge Rights under the Agreement shall be established on the date the competent registration authority governing Party C completes the registration of the equity pledge and shall remain in force until the Guarantee Obligations are fully and appropriately performed (the Pledge Rights Term). If the term of each agreement is extended, the Pledge Rights Term under the Agreement shall be extended accordingly. |
3.2 | During the term of the Agreement, if Party C fails to pay the service fee in accordance with the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement or fails to perform other obligations under each agreement, the Pledgee shall have the right to exercise the Pledge Rights in accordance with the stipulations hereof upon reasonable notice. |
4. | Possession and Safekeeping of Certifications of Pledge Rights and Registration of Pledge Rights |
4.1 | The Pledgors shall, within twenty (20) business days after the Agreement is signed, or other periods as agreed on by the Parties to the Agreement, deliver to the Pledgee for safekeeping the certification of the equity contribution to Party C (original), submit to the Pledgee the proof that the pledge hereunder has been duly registered in the register of shareholders of Party C, and register the equity pledge with the responsible registration authorities governing Party C. |
4.2 | If the items recorded in the pledge have changed and the record needs to be changed according to law, the Pledgee and the Pledgors shall, within twenty (20) business days from the date of change of the recorded items, change the corresponding records, submit the relevant change registration documents, and go through the relevant change registration formalities with the responsible registration authorities governing Party C. |
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4.3 | During the term of the equity pledge, the Pledgors shall instruct Party C not to distribute any dividends or bonuses or approve any profit distribution plans; if the Pledgors shall receive any economic benefits of any nature other than dividends, bonuses or other profit distribution plans in respect of the pledged equity, the Pledgor shall, at the request of the Pledgee, instruct Party C to remit the relevant (realized) amount directly to the bank account designated by the Pledgee, which shall not be used by the Pledgors without the Pledgees prior written consent. |
4.4 | If a Pledgor subscribes for the new registered capital of Party C or purchase the equity held by other Pledgors in Party C (the New Equity) during the term of equity pledge, such New Equity shall automatically become the pledged equity hereunder, and the Pledgor shall complete all the procedures necessary to create a pledge on the New Equity within twenty (20) business days after acquiring the New Equity. If the Pledgor fails to complete the relevant procedures in accordance with the foregoing stipulations, the Pledgee shall have the right to realize the Pledge Right immediately according to Article 8 of the Agreement. |
5. | Representations and Warranties of the Pledgors |
In signing the Agreement, the Pledgors represent and warrant to the Pledgee as follows, and acknowledge that the Pledgee is executing and performing the Agreement in reliance on such representations and warranties:
5.1 | The Pledgors legally hold the equity under the Agreement and have the right to pledge such equity to the Pledgee as a guarantee. |
5.2 | The execution and performance of the Agreement by each Pledgor will not violate and will not be inconsistent with any and all applicable laws in force, any judgment made by any court, any award by any arbitration body, any decision of any administrative body, any agreement to which it is a party or by which it is bound with respect to its assets. |
5.3 | The Pledgors have obtained all necessary corporate authorizations to execute the Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder and they have not violated any applicable laws or regulations. The authorized representatives to sign the Agreement have been legally and validly authorized to do so. |
5.4 | Except for the pledge hereunder or otherwise agreed in each agreement, the equity held by the Pledgors is not subject to any other encumbrances or third-party security interests of any kind (including but not limited to pledge). |
5.5 | There are no civil, administrative or criminal proceedings, administrative penalties or arbitrations in progress related to the equity. |
5.6 | There are no outstanding taxes, charges, or legal proceedings or procedures related to the equity that should have been completed. |
5.7 | The terms of the Agreement are the true intention of the Pledgors and are legally binding on them. The execution of this Agreement shall constitute a legally valid and binding obligation enforceable to each Pledgor in accordance with the Agreement. |
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6. | Undertakings of the Pledgors |
6.1 | The Pledgors hereby undertake to the Pledgee that during the term of the Agreement: |
6.1.1 | Except for the transfer of the equity to the Pledgee or the person designated by the Pledgee at the request of the Pledgee, the equity will not be transferred without the prior written consent of the Pledgee, nor will any other encumbrances or third-party interests of any kind be created or allowed to exist on the equity, such as pledge, which may affect the rights and interests of the Pledgee, until the obligations under each Agreement have been fully performed. Without the prior written consent of the Pledgee, no action will be taken that would or might result in a change in the equity or rights attaching to the equity, and such change would or might materially and adversely affect the Pledgees rights under the Agreement. |
6.1.2 | The Pledgors comply with and execute all applicable laws and regulations relating to the Pledge Rights, and will, within five (5) business days upon the receipt of the notice, instruction or recommendation issued by the relevant responsible authorities in respect of the pledge, present the aforesaid notice, instruction or recommendation to the Pledgee, and act in accordance with the reasonable instructions of the Pledgee. |
6.1.3 | The Pledgor will promptly notify the Pledgee of any event or notice that may affect the equity of the Pledgors or any other right hereunder, and any event or notice which may alter any of the Pledgors obligations hereunder or that may affect the performance of the Pledgors obligations hereunder, and act in accordance with the reasonable instructions of the Pledgee. |
6.2 | The Pledgors undertake that they will not commit or permit any action that may have a material adverse effect on the rights of the Pledgee under each agreement and the Agreement, or that may affect the validity and enforceability of each agreement and the Agreement. |
6.3 | The Pledgors warrant to the Pledgee that to protect or improve the guarantee hereunder for the obligations of the Pledgee and/or Party C under each agreement, the Pledgors will make all amendments (if required) to the Articles of Association of Party C, will execute in good faith, and cause other parties interested in the Pledge Rights to execute, all the certificates of title and covenants as the Pledgee may require, and/or perform, and cause other interested parties to perform, all acts reasonably required by the Pledgee, and facilitate the exercise of the Pledge Rights by the Pledgee, execute all documents relating to changes in certificates of title with the Pledgee or any third party designated by the Pledgee, and to provide the Pledgee with all documents relating to the Pledge Rights as the Pledgee deems necessary within a reasonable period of time. |
6.4 | The Pledgors warrant to the Pledgee that the Pledgors will comply with and perform all warranties, commitments, agreements and representations for the benefit of the Pledgee. If the Pledgors fail to perform or fully perform their warranties, commitments, agreements and representations, the Pledgors shall compensate the Pledgee for all losses suffered thereby. |
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7. | Event of Default |
7.1 Any of the followings shall be deemed an event of default:
7.1.1 | The Pledgors, Party C or its successors or assigns fail to pay in full and in time any amounts due under each agreement or to perform its obligations under each agreement; |
7.1.2 | Any representation or warranty made by the Pledgors in Article 5 of the Agreement is untrue, inaccurate or misleading in any material respect, or the Pledgors are in breach of their undertakings under Article 6 of the Agreement; |
7.1.3 | The Pledgors or Party C breach any stipulation of the Agreement, which prevents the Pledgee from realizing the Pledge Rights; |
7.1.4 | Except as provided in Article 6.1.1 of the Agreement, the Pledgors transfer or dispose of the pledged equity without the written consent of the Pledgee; |
7.1.5 | The Pledgors are required to repay or perform early any of their loans, guarantees, indemnities, commitments or other debts or liabilities for any reason, or cannot repay or perform them as scheduled when the time limit expires, so that the Pledgee reasonably believe that the Pledgors capacity to perform the obligations hereunder has been affected and, and as a result, the interests of the Pledgee are affected; |
7.1.6 | The material adverse change in the property owned by the Pledgors cause the Pledgee to reasonably believe that the Pledgors capacity to perform the obligations hereunder has been affected. |
7.2 | The Pledgors and/or Party C shall immediately notify the Pledgee in writing if they know or discover that any of the matters referred to in Article 7.1 or the events that may lead to the aforesaid matters have occurred or may occur. |
7.3 | Unless the event of default stipulated in Article 7.1 has been satisfactorily resolved to the satisfaction of the Pledgee, or the Pledgee may, at any time upon or after the occurrence of the default, give written notice of default to the Pledgors and/or Party C requiring the Pledgors and/or Party C to immediately pay the amounts due under each agreement and other payables, or to promptly perform the obligations under each agreement. If, within ten (10) business days from the date of such written notice, the Pledgors or Party C fails to promptly correct the default or take remedial action, the Pledgee shall be entitled to exercise its Pledge Rights as provided in Article 8 hereof. |
8. | Exercise of the Pledge Rights |
8.1 | The Pledgee shall give a default notice to the Pledgors in accordance with Article 7.3 of the Agreement when exercising the Pledge Rights. |
8.2 | Subject to the stipulations of Article 7.3, the Pledgee may exercise the Pledge Rights at any time after the default notice is given in accordance with Article 7.3. |
8.3 | The Pledgee shall be entitled to first receive the proceeds from the discounted sale, auction or disposal of all or part of the equity under the Agreement in accordance with the statutory procedures, until the outstanding service fees and all other amounts due under each agreement have been satisfied, and all other obligations under each agreement have been fulfilled. |
8.4 | When the Pledgee exercises the Pledge Rights in accordance with the Agreement, the Pledgors and/or Party C shall not create any obstacles and shall provide necessary assistance to enable the Pledgee to realize its Pledge Rights. |
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9. | Transfer |
9.1 | The Pledgors have no right to transfer their rights and/or obligations to the third parties under the Agreement except with the prior explicit consent of the Pledgee. |
9.2 | The Agreement shall be binding upon the Pledgors and their successors and shall be effective to the Pledgee and its successors and assigns. |
9.3 | The Pledgee may at any time assign all or any of its rights and obligations in each agreement to any third party designated by the Pledgee, and in this case, the assign shall have and assume such rights and obligations of the Pledgee under the Agreement. When the Pledgee transfers its rights and obligations under each Agreement, the Pledgors shall execute the relevant agreements and/or documents related to the transfer at the request of the Pledgee. |
9.4 | If the Pledgee changes as a result of the transfer of the rights and obligations as specified in Article 9.3 of the Agreement, the new pledgee and pledgor shall sign a new pledge agreement and the Pledgors shall be responsible for completing all relevant registration procedures. |
10. | Commission Charges and Other Expenses |
Costs and actual expenses related to the Agreement, including but not limited to legal fees, cost of production, stamp duty, and any other taxes and expenses, shall be borne by Party C.
11. | Confidentiality Obligations |
The Parties acknowledge and confirm that the existence of the Agreement, the terms of the Agreement and any oral or written information exchanged with each other in connection with the preparation or performance of the Agreement shall be considered confidential information. The Parties shall keep all the confidential information confidential and shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties without the prior written consent of the other parties, except the following information: (a) any information that is in the public domain (provided that it is not disclosed by any of the Parties without permission); (b) any information required to be disclosed under applicable laws and regulations, any stock trading rules, or orders of government authorities or courts with jurisdiction; or (c) information that needs to be disclosed by either Party to its legal or financial advisers in connection with the transactions contemplated under the Agreement, provided that such legal or financial advisers shall be subject to the confidentiality obligations similar to those in Article 13. The disclosure of any confidential information by the staff or organization employed by any of the Parties shall be deemed the disclosure of confidential information by such party, which shall be held legally accountable for the breach of the Agreement.
12. | Force Majeure |
12.1 | Force Majeure Event means any event beyond the reasonable control of a party that could not have been avoided with reasonable care by the affected party, including, but not limited to, acts of government, forces of nature, fire, explosions, storms, floods, earthquakes, tidal waves, lightning or wars. However, inadequate credit, funds or financing shall not be deemed beyond the reasonable control of a party. The party affected by a Force Majeure Event (Affected Party) shall be relieved from liability under this Agreement in whole or in part based on the impact of the Force Majeure Event, and the Affected Party seeking to be relieved from the obligation of performance under the Agreement as a result of the Force Majeure Event shall notify the other party of such Force Majeure Event no later than ten (10) days after the occurrence of the Force Majeure Event, and the Parties to the Agreement shall consult a modification of the Agreement in light of the impact of such Force Majeure Event and a release of the Affected Party from its obligations under the Agreement, in whole or in part. |
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12.2 | The Affected Party shall take measures to mitigate or eliminate the impact of such Force Majeure Event and shall endeavor to restore the performance of its obligations delayed or impeded by such Force Majeure Event. Once the Force Majeure Event ends, the Parties agree to use their best efforts to restore the performance of their rights and obligations under the Agreement. |
13. | Applicable Laws and Dispute Resolution |
13.1 | The Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the PRC. |
13.2 | In case the Parties to the Agreement have any dispute concerning the interpretation and performance of the stipulations of the Agreement, they shall consult in good faith to resolve such dispute. If the consultation fails, either party may submit the dispute to the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (Shanghai International Arbitration Center) for arbitration in accordance with its arbitration rules in force at that time. The place of arbitration shall be Shanghai, and the arbitration language shall be Chinese. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on the Parties. This Article shall not be affected by the termination or cancellation of this Agreement. |
13.3 | Except for the matters in dispute, the Parties to the Agreement shall continue to perform their respective obligations in accordance with the stipulations of the Agreement in good faith. |
14. | Notice |
14.1 | All notices given by the Parties to the Agreement for the performance of their rights and obligations under the Agreement shall be made in writing and delivered by personal delivery, registered mail, prepaid mail or approved courier service to the Parties concerned or each party at the following address or such other address as a party may from time to time notify the other parties in writing. |
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15 | No waiver |
The failure of Pledgee to exercise or delay in exercising any right, remedy, power or privilege hereunder shall not operate as a waiver of such right, remedy, power or privilege, and any single or partial exercise by Pledgee of any right, remedy, power or privilege shall not preclude the exercise by Pledgee of any other right, remedy, power or privilege. The rights, remedies, powers and privileges stipulated herein are cumulative and do not preclude the application of any right, remedy, power and privilege provided by any law.
16. | Miscellaneous |
17.1 | Any amendment, alteration and supplement to the Agreement shall be made in writing and shall come into effect after Parties to the Agreement execute them (in case of legal persons, their official seals shall also be affixed). The Original Equity Interest Pledge Agreement shall be terminated upon the Agreement takes effect. |
17.2 | The Parties to the Agreement hereby acknowledge that the Agreement is a fair and reasonable agreement between them on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. If any stipulation of the Agreement is invalid or unenforceable due to inconsistency with any applicable law, such stipulation shall be invalid or unenforceable only within the jurisdiction of the applicable law and shall not affect the legal effect of other stipulations of the Agreement. |
17.3 | The Agreement shall be done in fifteen (15) duplicates in Chinese, with each party holding such one (1) duplicate as shall have the equal legal effect. The remaining duplicates shall be retained by Party C for the necessary registration or filing procedures. |
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(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement)
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
(Seal) |
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Legal Representative: Lu Xiaoyan (Signature) |
Signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement)
Party B: |
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Lu Xiaoyan (Signature) |
Signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement)
Party B: |
/s/ Ding Jie |
Ding Jie (Signature) |
Signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement)
Party B: |
/s/ Wu Bin |
Wu Bin (Signature) |
Signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement)
Party B: |
/s/ Chen Hongbo |
Chen Hongbo (Signature) |
Signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement)
Party B: |
/s/ Xu Naihan |
Xu Naihan (Signature) |
Signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement)
Party B: Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. (Seal)
/s/ Liang Xiaohong |
Legal representative: Liang Xianhong (Signature) |
Signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement)
Party B: Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) (Seal)
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Executive Partner: Lu Xiaoyan (Signature) |
Signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement)
Party B: Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙) (Seal)
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Executive Partner: Lu Xiaoyan (Signature) |
Signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement)
Party B: |
/s/ Shen Jinhua |
Shen Jinhua (Signature) |
Signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement by Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd.-equity was pledged to Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
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Party B: |
/s/ Gao Qi |
Gao Qi (Signature) |
Signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement
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Party B: Shanghai Himalaya Technology Co., Ltd. (上海喜马拉雅科技有限公司) (Seal)
/s/ Yu Jianjun |
Legal representative: Yu Jianjun (Signature) |
Signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement)
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (Seal)
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan (Signature) |
Signature page of Equity Interest Pledge Agreement
Exhibit 10.4
***Certain information in this document has been excluded pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10). Such excluded information is not material and is the type the registrant treats as private or confidential. Such omitted information is indicated by brackets ([Redacted]) in this exhibit.***
Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement
This Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement (hereinafter referred to as this Agreement) is signed by and between both parties hereto below (hereinafter referred to as Both Parties to this Agreement or Both Parties) in Suzhou City, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) on October 9, 2017:
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Party B: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Whereas:
1. | Party A is an exclusively foreign-owned enterprise legally incorporated and effectively existing within the territory of the Peoples Republic of China; |
2. | Party B is a limited liability company registered and incorporated within the territory of China; |
3. | Party A agrees to provide Party B with technical consulting, support and related services, Party B agrees to accept the technical consulting, support and services provided by Party A, and Both Parties agree to enter into business cooperation in the aforesaid manner. |
THEREFORE, Both Parties to this Agreement have, through equitable and amicable consultation, reached the following agreement for common compliance in the principle of equality and mutual benefit:
1. | Technical consulting, support and service: Exclusive rights |
1.1 | During the term of this Agreement, Party A will agree to provide Party B with relevant technical consulting, support and services (see Appendix 1 for concrete contents) as the exclusive service provider of Party B upon the terms and conditions set forth hereunder. Party A shall be entitled to adjust such contents from time to time after furnishing a written notice to Party B ten (10) business days in advance. |
1.2 | During the term of this Agreement, Party B will agree to accept the technical consulting, support and services provided by Party A. Considering the values of the technical consulting, support and services provided by Party A as well as the good cooperation between Both Parties to this Agreement, Party B further agrees that Party B will not accept the same technical consulting, support and services provided by any third party within the business scope involved under this Agreement during the term of this Agreement, unless obtaining a prior written consent from Party A. |
1.3 | Party A shall enjoy the exclusive right to and interest in any right, ownership, interest and intellectual property (including without limitation to copyright, patent, technical secret, business secret and others) derived from the performance of this Agreement, either developed by Party A in house, or developed by Party B based on the intellectual property of Party A or developed by Party A based on the intellectual property of Party B, and Party B shall not claim any right, ownership, interest or intellectual property against Party A. |
1.4 | Where Party B makes an improvement to an intellectual property item provided by Party A, such improvement shall constitute the exclusive property of Party A. Where Party B shall enjoy any right to any intellectual property item provided by Party A in accordance with relevant applicable laws, Party B shall hereby agree to transfer all such rights, ownerships and interests at the lowest prices allowed by laws to Party A. |
1.5 | Where any third party or competent government authority claims or accuses in writing that the intellectual property item provided by Party A violates or infringes on the rights of other persons, Party B shall immediately notify Party A after receiving such claim or accusation or otherwise actually learning such claim or accusation. Party A shall exclusively conduct defense, consultation and reconciliation with respect to such claim and accusation and exclusively assume relevant expense. When required by Party A, Party B shall provide necessary assistance for Party A in the defense, consultation and reconciliation with respect to such claim and accusation. |
1.6 | Nevertheless, if the intellectual property is developed by Party A based on the intellectual property of Party B, Party B shall assure that there is no flaw in such intellectual property, or Party B shall assume the loss so suffered by Party A. Where Party A bears the liability of indemnity to any third party for this reason, Party A shall be entitled to recover all losses from Party B after paying such indemnity. |
1.7 | Considering the good relationship between Both Parties to this Agreement, Party B warrants that if Party B wants to enter into cooperation outside the business scope involved hereunder with any other enterprise, Party A or its related companies shall have the priority of cooperation. |
2. | Calculation and payment of technical consulting, support and Service Fee (hereinafter referred to as Service Fee) |
2.1 | Both Parties to this Agreement agree to determine and pay the Service Fee under this Agreement in the manner as listed in Appendix 2. |
2.2 | Where Party B fails to pay the Service Fee and other fees in accordance with the stipulations of this Agreement, Party B shall separately pay a liquidated damage at 0.05% per day of the amount in arrears to Party A. |
2.3 | Party B shall provide its financial statements for the previous quarter to Party A within twenty (20) days after the end of every quarter. Party A shall be entitled to assign its employees or certified public accountants from China or other countries (hereinafter referred to as the Authorized Representative of Party A) to audit the accounts of Party B to review the calculation method and amount of the Service Fee. To this end, Party B shall provide documents, accounts, records, data and other materials required by the Authorized Representative of Party A in order for the Authorized Representative of Party A to audit the accounts of Party B and determine the amount of the Service Fee. The amount of Service Fee shall be subject to the amount determined by the Authorized Representative of Party A. |
2.4 | The Service Fee paid by Party B to Party A under this Agreement shall not be deducted or offset in whatever form, unless Both Parties to this Agreement agree otherwise. Party B shall be exclusively responsible for relevant expenses derived from the payment of the Service Fee (such as bank fee). |
2.5 | In addition, while paying the Service Fee, Party B shall also pay the actual expenses to Party A for providing the consulting, support and services under this Agreement, including without limitation to various travel expenses, communication expenses, printing expenses and postages. |
3. | Representations and Warrants |
3.1 | Party A hereby presents and warrants the following: |
3.1.1 | Party A is a corporate entity lawfully incorporated and effectively existing in accordance with the laws of the PRC; |
3.1.2 | Party A will perform this Agreement within its corporate power and business scope; Party A has obtained necessary corporate authorization and obtained the consent and approval from third parties and government authorities, and will not violate the restrictions of the laws or contracts that are binding upon or have the influence on Party A; |
3.1.3 | Once signed, this Agreement will constitute a legitimate, effective, binding and enforceable legal document against Party A; |
3.2 | Party B hereby presents and warrants the following: |
3.2.1 | Party B is a corporate entity lawfully incorporated and effectively existing in accordance with the laws of the PRC; |
3.2.2 | Party B will sign and perform this Agreement within its corporate power and business scope; Party B has obtained necessary corporate authorization and obtained the consent and approval from third parties and government authorities, and will not violate the restrictions of the laws or contracts that are binding upon or have the influence on Party B; |
3.2.3 | There are no pending or possible claims, disputes, litigations, arbitrations, administrative procedures or any other legal procedures that involve Party B or will involve Party B and will deliver a serious or adverse impact on the capacity of Party B to perform this Agreement. |
3.2.4 | Once signed, this Agreement will constitute a legitimate, effective, binding and enforceable legal document against Party B; |
4. | Warranties of Party B |
4.1 | Party B hereby warrants to Party A that unless obtaining the written consent (including the control agreement signed by Both Parties to this Agreement), Party B shall not perform the following conducts: |
4.1.1 | Revise the Articles of Association and other organizational documents, and increase or reduce the registered capital or change its registered capital structure; |
4.1.2 | Sell, transfer, mortgage or otherwise dispose of any asset, business or income, or allow to set any other guarantee interest on the same (unless it is generated in the daily work or daily business process, or has been disclosed to Party A and a prior explicit written consent has been obtained from Party A); |
4.1.3 | Enter a transaction that will or may deliver a substantive negative impact on its asset, responsibility, operation, equity or any other legitimate right (unless it is generated in the daily work or daily business process, or has been disclosed to Party A and a prior explicit written consent has been obtained from Party A); |
4.1.4 | Distribute dividends or bonuses to shareholders in whatever manner; |
4.1.5 | Incur, inherit, secure or allow the existence of any debt, provided that (i) the debt is generated normally or in the daily business process but not generated through borrowing; and (ii) the debt has been disclosed to Party A and a prior explicit written consent has been obtained from Party A; |
4.1.6 | Provide any loan or credit for any person. |
4.2 | Until the signing date of this Agreement, Party B doesnt have any pending debt, except (i) the debt generated normally or in the daily business process but not generated through borrowing; and (ii) the debt that has been disclosed to Party A and a prior explicit written consent has been obtained from Party A. |
4.3 | Until the signing date of this Agreement, Party B doesnt have any ongoing or possible litigation, arbitration or administrative procedure that will deliver a substantive negative impact on the equity, asset or other capacities of Party B to perform this Agreement, excluding the litigation, arbitration or administrative procedure that has been disclosed to Party A and to which an explicit written consent has been obtained from Party A. |
4.4 | To maintain the ownership of Party B to all of its assets, Party B shall sign all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, submit all necessary or appropriate indictments or conduct necessary and appropriate defense against all claims. |
4.5 | As required by Party A, Party B shall buy and maintain insurances for its assets and businesses, and the amounts and types of such insurances shall be kept consistent with those of the insurances bought by third parties having similar businesses. |
5. | Confidentiality Clause |
5.1 | Both Parties to Agreement agree that they will take every possible reasonable confidentiality measure to keep confidential the confidential data and information (hereinafter referred to as Confidential Information. When providing the data and information, the data and information provider shall explicitly notify the other party that such data and information are the Confidential Information) learned or accessed in the signing and performance of this Agreement; such Confidential Information shall not be disclosed, given or transferred to any third party (including where the recipient of the Confidential Information merges with, is merged with, or is directly or indirectly controlled by a third party) without the prior written consent of the provider of the Confidential Information. Upon the termination of this Agreement, Party A and Party B shall return any document, material or software containing the Confidential Information to the original owner or provider of Confidential Information, or destroy such Confidential Information on their own after obtaining the consent from the original owner or provider, including deleting any Confidential Information from the relevant memory device, and shall not continue to use such Confidential Information. Party A and Party B shall take necessary measures to disclose the Confidential Information only to the employees, agents or professional advisors of Party B who are necessary to learn such information and cause such employees, agents or professional advisors of Party B to observe the obligation of confidentiality under this Agreement. Party A shall sign concrete confidentiality agreement with the employees, agents or professional advisors of Party B to assure the compliance and implementation by all parties. |
5.2 | The aforesaid restriction is not applicable to: |
5.2.1 | Data that have come into the public domain at the time of disclosure; |
5.2.2 | Data that have come into the public domain after the disclosure not at the fault of the recipient of the Confidential Information; |
5.2.3 | The recipient of Confidential Information can prove that it has learned such information prior to disclosure and has not obtained the data directly or indirectly from the provider of Confidential Information; |
5.2.4 | The recipient of Confidential Information has the obligation to disclose the aforesaid Confidential Information to relevant government authority, stock exchange or other parties as required by laws or discloses the same to its direct legal advisor and financial advisor out of the need of normal operation; |
5.3 | Both Parties to Agreement agree that this Article shall survive the change, termination or revocation of this Agreement. |
6. | Indemnity |
6.1 | In case of any loss, damage, liability or expense (including without limitation to lawyers fee and arbitration fee) incurred or suffered by Party A in the provision of consulting, support and services to Party B under this Agreement, and caused by any litigation, claim or any other requirement imposed against Party A, Party B shall indemnify Party A against the same and hold Party A harmless from the same, provided that the loss, damage, liability or expense arises out of the gross negligence or intentional misconduct of Party A). |
6.2 | Where Party B fails to conduct its business in line with the instruction of Party A or misuses the intellectual property of Party A or conducts improper technical operation, thereby triggering a third-party claim, Party B shall bear all the liability thereof. When finding any third party uses the intellectual property of Party A without the legitimate license, Party B shall immediately notify Party A and cooperate with any action taken by Party A. |
7. | Validity, Performance and Effective Period |
7.1 | This Agreement is signed and has simultaneously taken effect on the date indicated at the top of this Agreement. |
7.2 | This Agreement is written in the Chinese language, and made in quadruplicate with each party having two (2) copies, each of which shall have the same legal effect. |
7.3 | Unless Party A furnishes a prior written notice on the termination of this Agreement to Party B, this Agreement shall keep in effect until Party B is dissolved in accordance with the laws of the Peoples Republic of China. If requested by Party A prior to the expiration of this Agreement, Both Parties to this Agreement shall extend the term of this Agreement based on Party As request to continue the performance of this Agreement or otherwise sign an exclusive technology and consulting service agreement as required by Party A. |
8. | Termination |
8.1 | This Agreement shall be terminated on the expiration date of effective period, unless it is extended in line with relevant articles hereof. |
8.2 | This Agreement may be terminated by mutual consultation. Without the written consent from Party A, Party B shall not terminate this Agreement at its own discretion during the effective period of this Agreement. Party A shall be entitled to furnish at any time a written notice to Party B thirty (30) days in advance to terminate this Agreement. |
8.3 | After the termination of this Agreement, the rights and obligations of Both Parties to this Agreement under Articles 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 5, 6, 9 and 11 shall keep in effect. |
9. | Settlement of Dispute |
9.1 | In case the parties have any dispute concerning the interpretation and performance of the stipulations of this Agreement, Both Parties to this Agreement shall consult in good faith to resolve such dispute. If the consultation fails, either party may submit the dispute to the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (Shanghai International Arbitration Center) for arbitration in accordance with its arbitration rules in force at that time. The place of arbitration shall be Shanghai, and the arbitration language shall be Chinese. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on Both Parties to this Agreement. This Article shall not be affected by the termination or cancellation of this Agreement. |
9.2 | Except for the matters in dispute, Both Parties to this Agreement shall continue to perform their respective obligations in accordance with the stipulations of this Agreement in good faith. |
10. | Force Majeure |
10.1 | A force majeure event means any event that goes beyond the reasonable control by one party and remains unavoidable even after the affected party pays reasonable attention to, and includes but is not limited to government act, natural force, fire, explosion, storm, flood, earthquake, tide, thunder or war. However, credit standing, fund or insufficient financing shall not be considered as an event beyond reasonable control by one party. The party affected by the force majeure event (hereinafter referred to as the Affected Party) shall be exempted from the liability in whole or in party in line with the impact of the force majeure event on this Agreement. The Affected Party seeking to exempt the responsibility of performance under this Agreement due to the force majeure event shall notify the other party of the force majeure event no later than ten (10) days after the occurrence of such force majeure event, and Both Parties to this Agreement shall consult to modify this Agreement based on the impact of such force majeure event and exempt all or part of the obligations of the Affected Party under this Agreement. |
10.2 | The Affected Party shall take appropriate measures to alleviate or eliminate the impact of such force majeure event and exhaust every possible effort to resume the performance of the obligations delayed or hindered by such force majeure event. Once the force majeure event disappears, Both Parties to this Agreement agree that they will make every possible effort to resume the performance of the rights and obligations under this Agreement. |
11. | Notice |
All notices given by Both Parties to this Agreement for the performance of their rights and obligations under the Agreement shall be made in writing and delivered by personal delivery, registered mail, prepaid mail or approved courier service to the parties concerned or each party at the following address or such other address as one party may from time to time notify the other parties in writing.
[Redacted]
[Redacted]
[Redacted]
[Redacted]
[Redacted]
[Redacted]
[Redacted]
[Redacted]
12. | Assignment of Agreement |
12.1 | Without the prior written consent from Party A, Party B shall not assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement to any third party. |
12.2 | Party B hereby agrees that after sending a prior written notice to Party B (without the need to obtain the consent from Party B), Party A can assign any and all of its rights and obligations under this Agreement to any third party. |
13. | Severability of Agreement |
Both Parties to Agreement hereby confirm that this Agreement is a fair and reasonable arrangement made by Both Parties to this Agreement on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. Where any article of this Agreement conflicts with relevant law and becomes invalid or unenforceable, such article shall be invalid or unenforceable to the extent governed by relevant law without affecting the legal effect of the other articles of this Agreement.
14. | Modification and Supplement of Agreement |
This Agreement shall be amended and supplemented by Both Parties to this Agreement in writing. Amendments and supplements duly signed by Both Parties to this Agreement shall constitute an integral part of and bear the same legal force as this Agreement.
15. | Governing Laws |
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the PRC.
16. | Entire Agreement |
Except for the written amendment, supplement or revision made after the signing of this Agreement, this Agreement constitutes the entire agreement on the subject matter under this Agreement entered by Both Parties to this Agreement and supersedes all prior consultations, statements and agreements, written or oral, conducted on the subject matter under this Agreement.
(No text below on this page)
(This page contains no main text and is the signing page for the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement)
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
(Seal)
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Legal Representative or Authorized Representative (Signature) |
Party B: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd.
(Seal)
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Legal Representative or Authorized Representative (Signature) |
Appendix I
List of Technical Consulting, Support and Service Contents
1. Provide product development and research service.
2. Provide website design service and the design, installation, debugging and maintenance service for the computer network system.
3. Provide database support and software services.
4. Provide economic information consulting, project investment consulting, information technology consulting, enterprise management consulting and other consulting
5. Provide orientation and incumbent training services for the technical staff.
6. Provide technical development, consultation and technical transfer services.
7. Provide medium and short-term market development and market planning services.
8. Provide other various relevant technical services.
Appendix II
Calculation and Payment Method Service Fee
1. | During the term of this Agreement, the amount of the service fee paid by Party B to Party A for the technical consulting and services provided by Party A in accordance with this Agreement shall be 100% of the pretax profit of Party B in the current month before such service fee is calculated. |
2. | Party A will consolidate and calculate the service fee on a quarterly basis, send the technical service statement for the previous quarter to Party B within thirty (30) days after the starting date of any quarter and notify Party B. Party B shall pay such service fee to the bank account designated by Party A within ten (10) business days after receiving such notice. Party B shall send the duplicate of the remittance voucher by fax or mail to Party A within ten (10) business days after the remittance. |
3. | When deeming it necessary to adjust the determination mechanism for service price in this Article for certain reason, Party A shall notify Party B in writing in a timely manner and such written notice shall take effect after it reaches Party B. |
Exhibit 10.5
***Certain information in this document has been excluded pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10). Such excluded information is not material and is the type the registrant treats as private or confidential. Such omitted information is indicated by brackets ([Redacted]) in this exhibit.***
Exclusive Option Agreement
This Exclusive Option Agreement (the Agreement) was made and entered into by and between the following parties (the Parties to the Agreement or the Parties) in Suzhou, the Peoples Republic of China (the PRC) on June 1, 2020:
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Party B:
Lu Xiaoyan
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
Ding Jie
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Address: [Redacted]
Wu Bin
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
Chen Hongbo
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
Xu Naihan
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd.
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Liang Xianhong
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Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙))
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Principal premise: [Redacted]
Executive partner: Lu Xiaoyan
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Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙))
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Principal premise: [Redacted]
Executive partner: Lu Xiaoyan
Shanghai Ximalaya Technology Co., Ltd.
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Yu Jianjun
Shen Jinhua
Address: [Redacted]
ID card No.: [Redacted]
Gao Qi
Address: [Redacted]
ID card No.: [Redacted]
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Whereas:
1. | Party A is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
2. | Party C is a limited liability company incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
3. | Each of Party B (the Authorizing Parties) directly holds the entire equity interest in Party C (Equity), of which Lu Xiaoyan holds 45.7217% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB28,452,538), Ding Jie holds 4.1601% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB2,588,813), Wu Bin holds 2.4120% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB1,501,006), Chen Hongbo holds 1.2946% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB805,657), Xu Naihan holds 1.2946% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB805,657), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. holds 19.7148% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB12,268,519), Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) holds 9.8359% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB6,120,849), Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) holds 5.8440% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB3,636,736), Shanghai Ximalaya Technology Co., Ltd. holds 4.1667% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB2,592,913), Shen Jinhua holds 2.7778% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB1,728,608), and Gao Qi holds 2.7778% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB1,728,608). |
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4. | Party A and Party C entered into the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement on October 9, 2017; the Parties to the Agreement entered into the Power of Attorney Agreement and the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement on June 1, 2020; the spouses of certain of Party B signed the Spousal Consent on June 1, 2020 (the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement, the Power of Attorney Agreement, the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement, the Spousal Consent and this Agreement are collectively referred to as the Control Agreements herein ). |
5. | The Parties entered into the Exclusive Option Agreement (the Original Exclusive Option Agreement) on September 5, 2018. |
6. | To ensure that each of Party B and Party C performs their obligations and commitments under the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement, the Power of Attorney Agreement and the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement, Party A has required each of Party B, and each of Party B has agreed to grant Party A or the qualified entity designated by Party A the exclusive option to purchase all or part of the Equity in Party C held by each or one of Party B at any time to the maximum extent as permitted by the laws issued by the PRC, and the Parties intend to replace the Original Exclusive Option Agreement with this Agreement. |
Therefore, the Parties hereto agree as follows:
1. | Granting of Stock Option |
1.1 | Granting |
The Authorizing Parties have agreed that on the date of the Agreement, they shall irrevocably grant Party A an exclusive right to, at their sole discretion, purchase or designate a third party to purchase the entire equity interest (Stock Option) in Party C held by the Authorizing Parties in installments or in lump sum at the lowest price as permitted by the laws issued by the PRC at any time when exercising the right. The Stock Option shall be granted to Party A once the Agreement is signed by the Parties, and shall be irrevocable once granted during the term of the Agreement. No person other than Party A and its designated third party shall have any option or other rights over the Equity.
1.2 | Term |
The Agreement shall take effect as of the date when signed by the Parties to the Agreement and shall terminate upon the completion of the acquisition of the Equity in Party C held by the Authorized Parties to the extent permitted by the laws issued by the PRC. After the Agreement takes effect, the Original Exclusive Option Agreement was terminated.
Party A shall have the right to terminate the Agreement at any time for convenience for any reason upon ten (10) business days prior written notice to each of the Authorizing Parties and Party C.
2. | Exercise of Stock Option and Completion |
2.1 | Exercise time |
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2.1.1 | The Authorizing Parties agree that Party A may exercise part or all of the Stock Option under the Agreement at any time during the term of the Agreement to the extent permitted by the laws issued by the PRC. |
2.1.2 | The Authorizing Parties agree that there is no restriction on the number of exercise of Party A unless it has completed the acquisition of the Equity in Party C. |
2.1.3 | The Authorizing Parties agree that Party A may designate a third party to exercise the Stock Option subject to the prior written notice to the Authorizing Parties. |
2.2 | Granting of exercise price |
The Authorizing Parties agree that the purchase price of the Equity shall be the lowest as permitted by the laws issued by the PRC at the time of exercise, and the specific price and payment method shall be subject to the written notice issued by Party A to Party B.
The Authorizing Parties hereby agree and undertake that the exercise price obtained from Party A or its designated third party in exercising the Stock Option shall be immediately returned and granted to Party C for free, to fulfill the obligations of each of the Authorizing Parties under the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and the Power of Attorney Agreement.
2.3 | Transfer |
The Authorizing Parties agree that Party As Stock Option under the Agreement can be transferred in part or in full to a third party without the approval of the Authorizing Parties. The transferee shall be deemed a party to the Agreement, and may exercise the Stock Option in respect of the Stock Option share transferred to it in accordance with the stipulations of the Agreement, and enjoy and assume the rights and obligations of Party A hereunder, subject to the prior written notice to the Authorizing Parties.
2.4 | Exercise notice |
2.4.1 | To exercise the right, Party A shall notify the Authorizing Parties in writing twenty (20) business days prior to the Completion Date (as defined below). The notice shall set out the following terms: |
(a) | Decision of Party A or the Designee to exercise the option; |
(b) | Upon exercise of the Stock Option, the effective completion date of the Equity shall be the date on which the registration of change of the Equity with the relevant administration for industry and commerce is duly made (the Completion Date); |
(c) | Name of the registered holder of the Equity upon exercise of the Stock Option; |
(d) | Number of Equity purchased from each of the Authorizing Parties; |
(e) | Exercise price and payment method thereof; and |
(f) | Power of attorney (if exercised by a third party). |
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2.4.2 | Each of the Parties agrees that Party A may at any time designate a third party to exercise the Stock Option, acquire and register the Equity in the name of the third party. The Authorizing Parties agree that, as long as Party A or its designated third party requests the exercise, the Authorizing Parties shall sign the Equity Transfer Agreement and other relevant documents in accordance with the Exercise Notice and this Agreement within twenty (20) business days after receiving the Exercise Notice. |
2.5 | Equity transfer and completion |
2.5.1 | When Party A exercises the Stock Option, within twenty (20) business days from the date of receipt of the Exercise Notice issued by Party A in accordance with Article 2.4 of the Agreement: |
(a) | The Authorizing Parties shall procure Party C to hold the shareholders meeting in time and approve the resolution on the transfer of the Equity by the Authorizing Parties to Party A and/or its designated third party; |
(b) | The Authorizing Parties shall obtain the written statements of other shareholders of Party C to agree to the transfer and waive the right of preemption for its transfer of the purchased Equity to Party A and/or the Designee; |
(c) | According to the Agreement and the Exercise Notice, for each transfer, each of the Authorizing Parties shall enter into an equity transfer agreement (the Transfer Agreement) with Party A and/or its designated third party (if applicable) in form and content satisfactory to Party A; |
(d) | Each of the Authorizing Parties shall sign all necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary governmental approvals and consent, and take all necessary action to transfer the ownership of the Equity designated to be purchased by Party A and all the rights attached thereto to Party A and/or its designated third party free from any encumbrances (other than those stipulated under the Control Agreements), and shall procure Party A and/or its designated third party to become the registered owner(s) of the Equity to be purchased and deliver to Party A or its designated third party the latest business license, articles of association and other relevant documents issued or registered by the relevant PRC competent authorities, which shall reflect the change of the Equity in Party C and change of directors and legal representatives (if applicable). |
3. | Representation, Warranties and Undertakings |
3.1 | Each of the Authorizing Parties has given the following representations and warranties respectively: |
3.1.1 | At the date of signing this Agreement and on each Completion Date, each of the Authorizing Parties shall have the power, right, authority and capacity to sign and deliver this Agreement and such Transfer Agreement to which it is a party as is entered into for each Equity transfer in accordance with this Agreement, and to perform its obligations under this Agreement and the Transfer Agreement. This Agreement together with the Transfer Agreement to which it is a party, when executed, shall constitute a legal, valid and binding obligation on it and shall be enforceable in accordance with its terms; |
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3.1.2 | The execution and delivery of this Agreement or the Transfer Agreement, or the performance by each of the Authorizing Parties of the obligations under the Agreement or the Transfer Agreement will not: (i) violate any relevant laws and regulations of the PRC; (ii) contravene the articles of association or other constitutional documents of Party C; (iii) result in a breach of any agreement or document to which it is a party or binding on it or constitute a breach of any agreement or document to which it is a party or binding on it; (iv) result in the breach of any license or approval granted by the governmental authorities to it; or (v) result in termination or cancellation or imposition of additional conditions of any license or approval granted by the governmental authorities to it; |
3.1.3 | There is no litigation, arbitration or other judicial or administrative proceedings pending or threatened which may materially affect the performance of this Agreement or any transfer agreement; |
3.1.4 | The Authorizing Parties hold 100% equity interest in Party C (Equity) in total, of which Lu Xiaoyan holds 45.7217%, Ding Jie holds 4.1601%, Wu Bin holds 2.4120%, Chen Hongbo holds 1.2946%, Xu Naihan holds 1.2946%, Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. holds 19.7148%, Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) holds 9.8359%, Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) holds 5.8440%, Shanghai Ximalaya Technology Co., Ltd. holds 4.1667%, Shen Jinhua holds 2.7778%, and Gao Qi holds 2.7778%. Each of the Authorizing Parties has good and marketable ownership of the Equity in Party C. Save as agreed under the Control Agreements, the Equity in Party C held by the Authorizing Parties are not subject to any pledges, liabilities or other third-party encumbrances; |
3.1.5 | The Authorizing Parties have disclosed to Party A all the circumstances that may materially and adversely affect the performance of this Agreement; |
3.1.6 | The Stock Option granted by the Authorizing Parties to Party A is exclusive. The Authorizing Parties did not grant the same or similar rights to other third parties in any other way prior to or upon the granting of the Stock Option to Party A. |
3.2 | Each of the Authorizing Parties has given the following commitments: |
3.2.1 | During the term of the Agreement, except as agreed under the Control Agreements, the Authorizing Parties will not create any pledge, liability and any other third-party encumbrances over the Equity held by it, or transfer or grant to a third party other than that in the Agreement or dispose of the Equity held by it in any other way; |
3.2.2 | The Authorizing Parties will not grant the Stock Option or similar rights to any third parties in any form during the term of this Agreement; |
3.2.3 | During the term of the Agreement, the Authorizing Parties shall use reasonable commercial efforts to procure and ensure that the business operated by Party C conforms with the relevant applicable laws, regulations, rules and other administrative rules and documents promulgated by competent government authorities, and ensure that there is no violation of the above stipulations that may have a material adverse effect on the business or assets operated by the Company; |
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3.2.4 | The Authorizing Parties shall maintain the valid existence of Party C in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, prudently and effectively operate its business and handle affairs, use its best efforts to obtain and maintain the permits, licenses and approvals required by Party C for its continuous operation, and ensure that such permits, licenses and approvals are not canceled, revoked or declared invalid; |
3.2.5 | The Authorizing Parties shall provide all the information concerning the operations and financial position of Party C to Party A upon its request; |
3.2.6 | Before Party A (or its designated third party) exercises the Stock Option to acquire the entire Equity or assets of Party C, except as agreed under the Control Agreements and with the express written consent of Party A, each of the Authorizing Parties shall not: |
(a) | procure Party C to enter into or effect transactions or acts that will materially and adversely affect the assets, responsibilities, operations, Equity and other legal rights of Party C (except for those that incurred in the normal or ordinary course of business and that have been disclosed to and approved in writing by Party A); |
(b) | procure the shareholders meeting of Party C to adopt resolutions on the distribution of dividends and bonuses; |
(c) | sell, transfer, mortgage or otherwise dispose of any legal or beneficial interest in the Equity of Party C, or allow any other security interest to be created thereon; |
(d) | procure the shareholders meeting of Party C to sell, transfer, mortgage or otherwise dispose of any legal or beneficial interest in the Equity of Party C, or allow any other security interest to be created thereon; |
(e) | procure the shareholders meeting of Party C to approve matters such as the termination, liquidation or dissolution of Party C. |
3.2.7 | Before Party A (or its designated third party) exercises the Stock Option to acquire the entire Equity or assets of Party C, the Authorizing Parties undertake that: |
(a) | They will immediately notify Party A in writing of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings that have occurred or may occur in relation to the Equity owned by Party A, or circumstances that may have any adverse effect on the Equity; |
(b) | They will procure the shareholders meeting of Party C to consider and approve the transfer of the purchased Equity under the Agreement, procure Party C to amend its articles of association to reflect the changes in Party Cs Equity after Party A and/or its designated third party exercise(s) the right under the Agreement and other changes as stated in the Agreement, and immediately apply to the relevant PRC competent authorities for approval (if such approval is required by law) and change of registration, and procure Party C to approve the appointment of Party A and/or its designated third partys designated person as the director and legal representative of Party C (if necessary) by way of resolution of the shareholders meeting; |
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(c) | Before Party A and/or its designated third party exercise(s) the right, in order to maintain the legal and valid ownership of the relevant Equity by the Authorizing Parties, they will execute all necessary or proper documents, take all necessary or proper action, and file all necessary or proper complaints or defend all necessary and proper claims to maintain its ownership of the underlying assets; |
(d) | Upon the request of Party A at any time, they will unconditionally transfer its Equity to Party A and/or its designated third party at the time specified by Party A and waive its right of preemption with respect to the transfer of the Equity by other shareholders of Party C based on the instructions of Party A; |
(e) | They shall comply with the stipulations of the Agreement and other agreements entered into jointly or separately by each of the Authorizing Parties and Party A, and earnestly perform all obligations under such agreements, and shall not perform any action or omission that may affect the validity and enforceability of such agreements. |
3.3 | Party C and the Authorizing Parties hereby jointly and severally make the following representations, warranties and undertakings to Party A: |
3.3.1 | Before Party A (or its designated third party) exercises the Stock Option and obtains all the Equity or interest in Party C, other than in accordance with the stipulations of the Control Agreements or with the written consent of Party A, Party C shall not: |
(a) | modify the articles of association or other constitutional documents of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or otherwise change its registered capital structure; |
(b) | sell, transfer, mortgage or otherwise dispose of any assets, business or income, or allow any other security interest to be created thereon (except for those that incurred in the normal or ordinary course of business and that have been disclosed to and approved in writing by Party A); |
(c) | enter into transactions that will or may have a material adverse effect on its assets, responsibilities, operations, Equity and other legal rights (except for those that incurred in the normal or ordinary course of business and that have been disclosed to and approved in writing by Party A); |
(d) | distribute dividends and bonuses in any form to shareholders; |
(e) | incur, assume, guarantee or permit the existence of any liability, except for (i) the liabilities arising in the normal or ordinary course of business other than by borrowing money; (ii) the liabilities that have been disclosed to and approved in writing by Party A; |
(f) | any loan or credit granted to any person. |
3.3.2 | As at the date of the Agreement and each Completion Date, except for (i) the liabilities incurred in the ordinary course of its business; and (ii) the liabilities that have been disclosed to and expressly agreed in writing by Party A in advance, Party C does not have any outstanding liabilities. |
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3.3.3 | As at the date of the Agreement and each Completion Date, except for the litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings that have been disclosed to and expressly agreed in writing by Party A in advance, there is no ongoing or possible litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings in relation to the Equity, the assets of Party C or other matters that may have a material adverse effect on Party Cs performance of the Agreement. |
3.3.4 | Party C hereby undertakes to Party A that it will, during the term of the Agreement, comply with all laws and regulations applicable to the acquisition of Equity and assets, bear all expenses arising from the Equity transfer, and complete all necessary procedures for Party A or its designated third party to become a shareholder of Party C, including but not limited to, assisting Party A to obtain the necessary approval from the approval authority for the Equity transfer, submitting the relevant application documents required for the registration of the change of the Equity to the competent administration for industry and commerce, and revising the register of members. |
4. | Taxation |
All taxes arising from the performance of this Agreement shall be borne by Party C.
5. | Breach |
Unless as otherwise provided in this Agreement, if any party fails to perform in full or suspends the performance of its obligations under this Agreement and fails to rectify such action within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of notice from the other parties, or any representation and warranty made by it under this Agreement is false, inaccurate or misleading, it shall be deemed in breach of this Agreement.
If any party breaches this Agreement or any of its representations and warranties made herein, the non-breaching party may notify the breaching party in writing and require it to correct the breach within ten (10) days from the date of receipt of the notice, take corresponding measures to effectively and timely avoid damages and continue to perform this Agreement. In case of any damage, the breaching party shall compensate the non-breaching party, so as to enable the non-breaching party to obtain all rights and interests it is entitled to upon the performance of this Agreement.
If each party breaches this Agreement, the amount of compensation to be paid shall be determined according to the extent of the breach.
6. | Governing Law and Dispute Resolution |
6.1 | Governing Laws |
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the PRC.
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6.2 | Arbitration |
In case the Parties hereto have any disputes concerning the interpretation and performance of the stipulations of this Agreement, the Parties shall consult in good faith to resolve such dispute. If the consultation fails, either party may submit the dispute to the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (Shanghai International Arbitration Center) for arbitration in accordance with its arbitration rules in force at that time. The place of arbitration shall be Shanghai, and the arbitration language shall be Chinese. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on the Parties. This Article shall not be affected by the termination or cancellation of this Agreement.
6.3 | Continued performance |
Except for the matters in dispute, the Parties shall continue to perform their respective obligations in accordance with the stipulations of this Agreement in good faith.
7. | Confidentiality |
7.1 | Confidential information |
The Parties acknowledge and confirm that the existence of this Agreement, the terms of this Agreement and any oral or written information exchanged with each other in connection with the preparation or performance of this Agreement shall be considered confidential information. Each party shall keep confidential of such confidential information. Any party shall not disclose any confidential information to any third party except with the prior written consent of other parties. This Article shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
7.2 | Exception |
Where disclosure of confidential information is required by law, court judgments, arbitral awards, or decisions of the governmental authorities, such disclosure shall not be deemed a violation of Article 7.1 above.
8. | Miscellaneous |
8.1 | Entire agreement |
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the Parties with respect to the matters covered herein. In case there is any inconsistency between the prior discussions, consultations and agreements and this Agreement, this Agreement shall prevail.
8.2 | Notice |
8.2.1 | All notices given by the Parties to the Agreement for the performance of their rights and obligations under the Agreement shall be made in writing and delivered by personal delivery, registered mail, prepaid mail or approved courier service to the Parties concerned or each party at the following address or such other address as a party may from time to time notify the other parties in writing: |
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8.2.2 | Notices and letters shall be deemed to have been served: |
(a) | on the date of receipt if delivered by personal delivery or courier service; |
(b) | on the fifteenth (15) day after the date on the registered mail return receipt if delivered by registered mail. |
8.3 | Language and text |
This Agreement shall be done in fourteen (14) duplicates in Chinese, with each party holding such one (1) duplicate as shall have the equal legal effect.
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8.4 | Day and business day |
Day(s) as referred to in this Agreement refer(s) to a calendar date; Business days referred to in the Agreement shall be Monday to Friday (excluding statutory holidays).
8.5 | Headings |
The headings are for convenience only and shall not be used as the construction or interpretation of this Agreement.
8.6 | Outstanding matters |
For matters not stipulated in the Agreement, the Parties hereto shall resolve such matters through friendly consultation in accordance with the laws of the PRC.
8.7 | Effectiveness of the Agreement |
This Agreement shall be binding on the Parties hereto and their respective inheritors, successors and permitted assignees and shall be entered into for the sole benefit of the above parties.
8.8 | Transfer of rights and obligations |
Without the prior written consent of Party A, each of the Authorizing Parties shall not transfer its rights, benefits or obligations under the Agreement.
Each of the Authorizing Parties hereby agrees that Party A may transfer its rights and obligations under this Agreement to other third parties when necessary. Party A is only required to give written notice to each of the Authorizing Parties and Party C without the consent thereof for such transfer.
8.9 | Severability |
If one or more stipulations of this Agreement are held invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect under any law or regulation, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining stipulations of this Agreement shall not be affected or prejudiced in any way. The Parties shall seek to replace the invalid, illegal or unenforceable stipulations with those which are legally permissible and effective to the fullest extent permitted by law and the intent of the Parties in good faith, provided that the economic effects of such effective stipulations shall be as close as possible to those of ineffective, illegal or unenforceable stipulations.
8.10 | No waiver |
A waiver by a party of its right to pursue a breach of this Agreement by another party under certain circumstances shall not be deemed a waiver of a similar breach of this Agreement by another party under other circumstances.
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8.11 | Amendment of this Agreement |
The Parties may amend or supplement this Agreement through a written agreement. The written amendments and supplementary agreements to this Agreement shall be an integral part of this Agreement and have the equal legal effect as this Agreement.
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(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement)
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
(Seal)
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan (Signature) |
Signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement)
Party B:
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Lu Xiaoyan (Signature) |
Signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement)
Party B:
/s/ Ding Jie |
Ding Jie (Signature) |
Signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement
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Party B:
/s/ Wu Bin |
Wu Bin (Signature) |
Signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement
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Party B:
/s/ Chen Hongbo |
Chen Hongbo (Signature) |
Signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement
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Party B:
/s/ Xu Naihan |
Xu Naihan (Signature) |
Signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement
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Party B: Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. (北京朗玛峰创业投资管理有限公司) (Seal)
/s/ Liang Xianhong |
Legal representative: Liang Xianhong (Signature) |
Signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement)
Party B: Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) (Seal)
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Executive Partner: Lu Xiaoyan (Signature) |
Signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement)
Party B: Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) (Seal)
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Executive Partner: Lu Xiaoyan (Signature) |
Signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement)
Party B: Shanghai Zendai Himalaya Network Technology Co., Ltd. (Seal)
/s/ Yu Jianjun |
Legal representative: Yu Jianjun (Signature) |
Signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement of Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. - Granting the Exclusive Stock Option to Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.)
Party B:
/s/ Shen Jinhua |
Shen Jinhua (Signature) |
Signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement of Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. - Granting the Exclusive Stock Option to Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
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Party B:
/s/ Gao Qi |
Gao Qi (Signature) |
Signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement
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Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (Seal)
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan (Signature) |
Signature page of Exclusive Option Agreement
Exhibit 10.6
***Certain information in this document has been excluded pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10). Such excluded information is not material and is the type the registrant treats as private or confidential. Such omitted information is indicated by brackets ([Redacted]) in this exhibit.***
Power of Attorney Agreement
The Power of Attorney Agreement (the Agreement) was made and entered into by and between the following parties (the Parties to the Agreement or the Parties) in Suzhou, the Peoples Republic of China (the PRC) on June 1, 2020:
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Party B:
Lu Xiaoyan
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
Ding Jie
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
Wu Bin
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
Chen Hongbo
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
Xu Naihan
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd.
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Domicile: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Liang Xianhong
Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙))
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Principal premise: [Redacted]
Executive partner: Lu Xiaoyan
Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙))
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Principal premise: [Redacted]
Executive partner: Lu Xiaoyan
Shanghai Himalaya Technology Co., Ltd.
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Principal premise: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Yu Jianjun
Shen Jinhua
Address: [Redacted]
ID card No.: [Redacted]
Gao Qi
Address: [Redacted]
ID card No.: [Redacted]
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Unified social credit code: [Redacted]
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Whereas:
1. | Party A is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
2. | Party C is a limited liability company incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
3. | Each of Party B (the Authorizing Parties) directly holds the entire equity interest in Party C (Equity), of which Lu Xiaoyan holds 45.7217% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB28.452538 million), Ding Jie holds 4.1601% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB2.588813 million), Wu Bin holds 2.4120% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB1.501006 million), Chen Hongbo holds 1.2946% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB805,657), Xu Naihan holds 1.2946% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB805,657), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. holds 19.7148% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB12.268519 million), Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) holds 9.8359% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB6.120849 million), Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) holds 5.8440% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB3.636736 million), ShanghaiHimalaya Technology Co., Ltd. holds 4.1667% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB2.592913 million), Shen Jinhua holds 2.7778% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB1.728608 million), and Gao Qi holds 2.7778% (the corresponding capital contribution is RMB1.728608 million). |
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4. | Party A and Party C entered into the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement on October 9, 2017, the Parties to the Agreement entered into the Exclusive Option Agreement and the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement on June 1, 2020, and some spouses of Party B entered into the Spousal Consent on June 1, 2020 (the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement, Exclusive Option Agreement, Equity Interest Pledge Agreement, Spousal Consent and this Agreement are collectively referred to as the Control Agreements herein). |
5. | The Parties entered into the Power of Attorney Agreement on September 5, 2018 (the Original Power of Attorney Agreement). |
6. | To ensure each of Party B and Party C performs their obligations and commitments under the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement, Exclusive Option Agreement, and Equity Interest Pledge Agreement, Party A has required each of Party B, and each of Party B has agreed to authorize Party A or the third party designated by Party A to exercise any and all of its shareholder rights as a shareholder of Party C under this Agreement, and the Parties intends to replace the Original Power of Attorney Agreement with this Agreement.. |
Therefore, the Parties hereto agree as follows:
Article 1 Entrusted Rights
1.1 | To the fullest extent permitted by law, each Authorizing Party hereby irrevocably entrusts and authorizes Party A or the person designated by Party A (the Trustee) to exercise all and any shareholder rights (the Entrusted Rights) entitled to each Authorizing Party as a shareholder of Party C under the laws of the PRC and the Articles of Association of Party C, including but not limited to the following: |
(1) | To propose the convening of general meetings and to accept any notice of the convening and procedures of general meetings; |
(2) | To attend the general meetings of the Company and sign the resolutions of the general meetings on behalf of each Authorizing Party; |
(3) | To exercise the voting rights of the shareholders of the Company, including but not limited to deciding on the Companys operating policies and investment plans, reviewing and approving the Companys annual financial budget plans and final accounting plans, reviewing and approving the Companys profit distribution plans and loss compensation plans, making decisions on increasing or reducing the Companys registered capital, amending the Articles of Association, etc.; |
(4) | To decide on the sales, transfer, pledge or otherwise disposal of all or any part of the equity of each Authorizing Party; |
(5) | To designate and appoint the chairman, director, supervisor, general manager, chief financial officer and other senior executives of the Company as the authorized representative of each Authorizing Party at the general meeting of the Company; |
(6) | To obtain the information about the operations, customers, financial status and employees of the Company, and have the right to access other materials related to the Company; and |
(7) | To execute shareholder resolutions and any other documents required to be executed in the name of shareholders in connection with the exercise of the above rights. |
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1.2 | Each Authorizing Party hereby acknowledges that it will be liable for any and all liabilities arising out of or in connection with the exercise of the entrusted rights by the Trustee, except in the case of the Trustees willful or gross negligence in violation of laws. |
1.3 | Each Authorizing Party hereby acknowledges that the Trustee is not required to seek the opinion or consent of any Authorizing Party in any case when exercising the entrusted rights. All acts performed by the Trustee in exercising the entrusted rights shall be deemed those of each Authorizing Party, and all documents signed by the Trustee shall be deemed signed by each Authorizing Party, which shall be irrevocably recognized by each Authorizing Party herein. |
1.4 | Each Authorizing Party shall provide full assistance for the Trustees exercise of the Entrusted Rights, including but not limited to signing the general meeting resolution or other relevant legal documents in a timely manner when necessary (including to meet the requirements for documents required for the approval, registration and record by the governmental authorities). Each Authorizing Party hereby acknowledges that its undertaking under Article 1.4 will not limit the authorization it may grant to the Trustee in respect of the entrusted rights. |
1.5 | All the authorization agreements issued by each Authorizing Party prior to the date of this Agreement in relation to any of the Equity of Party C held by the Authorizing Party are irrevocably revoked, and each Authorizing Party hereby warrants that it will not issue any additional authorization documents for any of the Equity of Party C it holds. This Agreement and any power, right or benefit granted by it in connection with the Equity of Party C are irrevocable. |
Article 2 Information Rights
In order to exercise the entrusted rights, the Trustee shall have the right to obtain information related to the operation, customers, financial status and employees of Party C, and to access other relevant materials of Party C. Such information rights shall be the same as the rights of shareholders of Party C to access Party Cs information. Party C shall provide sufficient facilities for this purpose and shall not create any obstacles of any kind under any circumstances.
Article 3 Sub-entrustment and Succession of Power
3.1 | The Authorizing Parties and Party C irrevocably agree that Party A shall have the right to assign and delegate the rights granted to Party A by the Authorizing Parties under Article 1 and Article 2 of this Agreement to Party As directors or other persons designated by Party A without prior notice to or consent of the Authorizing Parties. The directors authorized by Party A or other persons designated by Party A shall be deemed to be the trustees under this Agreement and shall enjoy all the rights stipulated in Article 1 and Article 2 hereof. Party A shall have the right to replace such designated person at any time with prior notice to the Authorizing Parties. |
3.2 | Each Authorizing Party irrevocably agrees that the successor or liquidator who inherits any relevant civil rights due to the division, merger or liquidation of Party A shall have the right to exercise all rights hereunder in place of Party A. |
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Article 4 Representations and Warranties of the Authorizing Parties
4.1 | Each Authorizing Party has the power, right, authority and capacity to execute and deliver this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder. This Agreement, when executed, shall constitute a legal, valid and binding obligation on it and shall be enforceable in accordance with its terms. |
4.2 | Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement nor the performance of the obligations of each Authorizing Party under this Agreement will: (i) violate any applicable Chinese laws or regulations; (ii) contravene the articles of association or other constitutional documents of Party C; (iii) result in a breach of any contract or document to which it is a Party or binding on it or constitute a breach of any contract or document to which it is a Party or binding on it; (iv) result in the breach of any license or approval granted by the governmental authorities to it; or (v) result in termination or cancellation or imposition of additional conditions of any license or approval granted by the governmental authorities to it. |
4.3 | There is no litigation, arbitration or other judicial or administrative proceedings pending or threatened which may materially affect the performance of this Agreement. |
4.4 | The Authorizing Parties have disclosed to Party A all the circumstances which may materially and adversely affect the performance of this Agreement. |
4.5 | The entrusted rights granted by the Authorizing Parties to Party A are exclusive. The Authorizing Parties did not grant the same or similar entrusted rights to other third parties in any other way prior to or upon the granting of the entrusted rights to Party A. |
Article 5 Presentations and Guarantees of Party C
5.1 | Party C is a limited liability company incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
5.2 | Party C has obtained all necessary and appropriate approvals and authorizations to enter into and perform this Agreement. |
5.3 | Party C shall strictly comply with the terms of this Agreement, perform its responsibilities under this Agreement and refrain from any act or omission that may affect the validity and enforceability of this Agreement. |
Article 6 Notice
6.1 | All notices given by the Parties to perform their rights and obligations hereunder shall be made in writing, and delivered by personal delivery, registered mail, prepaid mail or approved courier service to the Parties concerned or each party at the following address or such other address as a party may from time to time notify the other parties in writing: |
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6.2 | Notices and letters shall be deemed to have been served: |
(a) | on the date of receipt if delivered by personal delivery or courier service; |
(b) | on the fifteenth (15) day after the date on the registered mail return receipt if delivered by registered mail. |
Article 7 Governing Laws and Dispute Resolution
7.1 | Governing Laws |
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the PRC.
7.2 | Arbitration |
In case the Parties hereto have any disputes concerning the interpretation and performance of the stipulations of this Agreement, the Parties shall consult in good faith to resolve such dispute. If the consultation fails, either party may submit the dispute to the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (Shanghai International Arbitration Center) for arbitration in accordance with its arbitration rules in force at that time. The place of arbitration shall be Shanghai, and the arbitration language shall be Chinese. The arbitration award shall be final and binding on the Parties. This Article shall not be affected by the termination or cancellation of this Agreement.
7.3 | Continued performance |
Except for the matters in dispute, the Parties shall continue to perform their respective obligations in accordance with the stipulations of this Agreement in good faith.
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Article 8 Confidentiality
8.1 | Confidential information |
The Parties acknowledge and confirm that the existence of this Agreement, the terms of this Agreement and any oral or written information exchanged with each other in connection with the preparation or performance of this Agreement shall be considered confidential information. Each party shall keep confidential of such confidential information. Any party shall not disclose any confidential information to any third party except with the prior written consent of other parties. This Article shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
8.2 | Exception |
Where disclosure of confidential information is required by law, court judgments, arbitral awards, or decisions of the governmental authorities, such disclosure shall not be deemed a violation of Article 8.1 above.
Article 9 Breach
Unless as otherwise provided in this Agreement, if any party fails to perform in full or suspends the performance of its obligations under this Agreement and fails to rectify such actions within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of notice from the other parties, or any representation and warranty made by it under this Agreement is false, inaccurate or misleading, it shall be deemed in breach of this Agreement.
If any party breaches this Agreement or any of its representations and warranties made herein, the non-breaching party may notify the breaching party in writing and require it to correct the breach within ten (10) days from the date of receipt of the notice, work to timely avoid damages and continue to perform this Agreement. In case of any damage, the breaching party shall compensate the non-breaching party, so as to enable the non-breaching party to obtain all rights and interests it is entitled to upon the performance of this Agreement.
If each party breaches this Agreement, the amount of compensation to be paid shall be determined according to the extent of the breach.
Article 10 Effectiveness and Term of the Agreement
This Agreement shall be effective and enforceable on the first day of execution. This Agreement shall remain in force for ten (10) years unless the Control Agreements are terminated early for any reason or the Authorizing Parties cease to be shareholders of Party C. Upon the expiration of this Agreement, if requested by Party A in writing, the Parties shall extend the term of this Agreement according to Party As request. The prior Power of Attorney Agreement shall be terminated upon this Agreement takes effect.
During the term of this Agreement, neither the Authorizing Parties nor Party C shall have the right to require early termination of this Agreement in any way. Party A shall have the right to terminate the Agreement at any time for convenience for any reason upon ten (10) business days prior written notice to each of the Authorizing Parties and Party C.
9
Article 11 Miscellaneous
11.1 | Entire agreement |
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the Parties with respect to the matters covered herein. In case there is any inconsistency between the prior discussions, consultations and agreements and this Agreement, this Agreement shall prevail. This Agreement shall be amended by the Parties in writing.
11.2 | Language and text |
This Agreement shall be done in thirteen (13) duplicates in Chinese, with each party holding such one (1) duplicate as shall have the equal legal effect.
11.3 | Effectiveness of this Agreement |
This Agreement shall be binding on each of the Authorizing Parties and their respective inheritors, successors, agents, all the officers, directors and permitted assignees.
11.4 | Severability |
If one or more stipulations of this Agreement are held invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect under any law or regulation, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining stipulations of this Agreement shall not be affected or prejudiced in any way. The Parties shall seek to replace the invalid, illegal or unenforceable stipulations with those which are legally permissible and effective to the fullest extent permitted by law and the intent of the Parties in good faith, provided that the economic effects of such effective stipulations shall be as close as possible to those of ineffective, illegal or unenforceable stipulations.
11.5 | No waiver |
A waiver by a party of its right to pursue a breach of this Agreement by another party under certain circumstances shall not be deemed a waiver of a similar breach of this Agreement by another party under other circumstances.
11.6 | Amendment of this Agreement |
The Parties may amend or supplement this Agreement through a written agreement. The written amendments and supplementary agreements to this Agreement shall be an integral part of this Agreement and shall have the equal legal effect as this Agreement.
(No text below on this page)
10
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement)
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
(Seal) |
/s/ Lu Xioayan |
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan (Signature) |
Signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement)
Party B:
/s/ Lu Xioayan |
Lu Xiaoyan (Signature) |
Signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement)
Party B:
/s/ Ding Jie |
Ding Jie (Signature) |
Signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement)
Party B:
/s/ Wu Bin |
Wu Bin (signature) |
Signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement)
Party B:
/s/ Chen Hongbo |
Chen Hongbo (Signature) |
Signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement)
Party B:
/s/ Xu Naihan |
Xu Naihan (Signature) |
Signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement)
Party B: Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. (Seal)
/s/ Liang Xianhong |
Legal representative: Liang Xianhong (Signature) |
Signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement)
Party B: Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) (Seal)
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Executive Partner: Lu Xiaoyan (Signature) |
Signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement)
Party B: Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (Seal)
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Executive Partner: Lu Xiaoyan (Signature) |
Signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement)
Party B: Shanghai Himalaya Technology Co., Ltd. (Seal)
/s/ Yu Jianjun |
Legal representative: Yu Jianjun (Signature) |
Signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement of Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd.Granting Shareholder Rights to Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.)
Party B:
/s/ Shen Jinhua |
Shen Jinhua (Signature) |
Signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement of Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. - Granting Shareholder Rights to Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement)
Party B:
/s/ Gao Qi |
Gao Qi (Signature) |
Signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement
(No text on this page, which is the signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement)
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (Seal)
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan (Signature) |
Signature page of Power of Attorney Agreement
Exhibit 10.7
***Certain information in this document has been excluded pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10). Such excluded information is not material and is the type the registrant treats as private or confidential. Such omitted information is indicated by brackets ([Redacted]) in this exhibit.***
Spousal Consent
I, Chen Yong (ID card number of the Peoples Republic of China: [Redacted]), am the legal spouse of Ding Jie (ID card number of the Peoples Republic of China: [Redacted]). I hereby unconditionally and irrevocably agree on September 5, 2018 to Ding Jies execution of the following documents (the Restructuring Documents) on September 5, 2018 and the disposal of the equity of Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (the Domestic Company) held by and registered in the name of Ding Jie in accordance with the following documents:
(1) | The Equity Interest Pledge Agreement entered into by Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (the WFOE), Lu Xiaoyan, Ding Jie, Wu Bin, Li Xue, Chen Hongbo, Xu Naihan, Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., Shanghai Zendai Himalaya Network Technology Co., Ltd., Shen Jinhua, Gao Qi and the Domestic Company; |
(2) | The Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by the WFOE, Lu Xiaoyan, Ding Jie, Wu Bin, Li Xue, Chen Hongbo, Xu Naihan, Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., Shanghai Zendai Himalaya Network Technology Co., Ltd., Shen Jinhua, Gao Qi and the Domestic Company; and |
(3) | The Power of Attorney Agreement entered into by the WFOE, Lu Xiaoyan, Ding Jie, Wu Bin, Li Xue, Chen Hongbo, Xu Naihan, Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., Shanghai Zendai Himalaya Network Technology Co., Ltd., Shen Jinhua, Gao Qi and the Domestic Company. |
I undertake that I will not make any claims with respect to the equity held by Ding Jie in the Domestic Company, including but not limited to the claim that such equity constitutes the property or common property between me and my spouse. I hereby unconditionally and irrevocably waive any right or interest that may be granted to me by any applicable law in respect of such equity. I further acknowledge that Ding Jie does not need my further authorization or consent to perform, further amend or terminate the Restructuring Documents.
I undertake that I will execute all the necessary documents and take all action to ensure the proper performance of the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time).
I agree and undertake that if I acquire any equity of the Domestic Company held by Ding Jie for any reason, I shall be bound by the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time), and comply with the obligations under the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time) as a shareholder of the Domestic Company, and for this purpose, once requested by the WFOE, I shall execute the written documents in substantially the same form and content as the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time).
(No text below)
[Signature page of Spousal Consent below]
Promiser: Chen Yong (Spouse of Ding Jie)
Signature: Chen Yong
Spousal Consent
I, Huang Ling (ID card number of the Peoples Republic of China: [Redacted]), am the legal spouse of Wu Bin (ID card number of the Peoples Republic of China: [Redacted]). I hereby unconditionally and irrevocably agree on September 5, 2018 to Wu Bins execution of the following documents (the Restructuring Documents) on September 5, 2018 and the disposal of the equity of Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (the Domestic Company) held by and registered in the name of Wu Bin in accordance with the following documents:
(1) | The Equity Interest Pledge Agreement entered into by Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (the WFOE), Lu Xiaoyan, Ding Jie, Wu Bin, Li Xue, Chen Hongbo, Xu Naihan, Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., Shanghai Zendai Himalaya Network Technology Co., Ltd., Shen Jinhua, Gao Qi and the Domestic Company; |
(2) | The Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by the WFOE, Lu Xiaoyan, Ding Jie, Wu Bin, Li Xue, Chen Hongbo, Xu Naihan, Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., Shanghai Zendai Himalaya Network Technology Co., Ltd., Shen Jinhua, Gao Qi and the Domestic Company; and |
(3) | The Power of Attorney Agreement entered into by the WFOE, Lu Xiaoyan, Ding Jie, Wu Bin, Li Xue, Chen Hongbo, Xu Naihan, Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., Shanghai Zendai Himalaya Network Technology Co., Ltd., Shen Jinhua, Gao Qi and the Domestic Company. |
I undertake that I will not make any claims with respect to the equity held by Wu Bin in the Domestic Company, including but not limited to the claim that such equity constitutes the property or common property between me and my spouse. I hereby unconditionally and irrevocably waive any right or interest that may be granted to me by any applicable law in respect of such equity. I further acknowledge that Wu Bin does not need my further authorization or consent to perform, further amend or terminate the Restructuring Documents.
I undertake that I will execute all the necessary documents and take all action to ensure the proper performance of the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time).
I agree and undertake that if I acquire any equity of the Domestic Company held by Wu Bin for any reason, I shall be bound by the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time), and comply with the obligations under the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time) as a shareholder of the Domestic Company, and for this purpose, once requested by the WFOE, I shall execute the written documents in substantially the same form and content as the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time).
(No text below)
[Signature page of Spousal Consent below]
Promiser: Huang Ling (Spouse of Wu Bin)
Signature: Huang Ling
Spousal Consent
I, Ren Qiaohong (ID card number of the Peoples Republic of China: [Redacted]), am the legal spouse of Chen Hongbo (ID card number of the Peoples Republic of China: [Redacted]). I hereby unconditionally and irrevocably agree on September 5, 2018 to Chen Hongbos execution of the following documents (the Restructuring Documents) on September 5, 2018 and the disposal of the equity of Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (the Domestic Company) held by and registered in the name of Chen Hongbo in accordance with the following documents:
(1) | The Equity Interest Pledge Agreement entered into by Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (the WFOE), Lu Xiaoyan, Ding Jie, Wu Bin, Li Xue, Chen Hongbo, Xu Naihan, Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., Shanghai Zendai Himalaya Network Technology Co., Ltd., Shen Jinhua, Gao Qi and the Domestic Company; |
(2) | The Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by the WFOE, Lu Xiaoyan, Ding Jie, Wu Bin, Li Xue, Chen Hongbo, Xu Naihan, Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., Shanghai Zendai Himalaya Network Technology Co., Ltd., Shen Jinhua, Gao Qi and the Domestic Company; and |
(3) | The Power of Attorney Agreement entered into by the WFOE, Lu Xiaoyan, Ding Jie, Wu Bin, Li Xue, Chen Hongbo, Xu Naihan, Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., Shanghai Zendai Himalaya Network Technology Co., Ltd., Shen Jinhua, Gao Qi and the Domestic Company. |
I undertake that I will not make any claims with respect to the equity held by Chen Hongbo in the Domestic Company, including but not limited to the claim that such equity constitutes the property or common property between me and my spouse. I hereby unconditionally and irrevocably waive any right or interest that may be granted to me by any applicable law in respect of such equity. I further acknowledge that Chen Hongbo does not need my further authorization or consent to perform, further amend or terminate the Restructuring Documents.
I undertake that I will execute all the necessary documents and take all action to ensure the proper performance of the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time).
I agree and undertake that if I acquire any equity of the Domestic Company held by Chen Hongbo for any reason, I shall be bound by the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time), and comply with the obligations under the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time) as a shareholder of the Domestic Company, and for this purpose, once requested by the WFOE, I shall execute the written documents in substantially the same form and content as the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time).
(No text below)
[Signature page of Spousal Consent below]
Promiser: Ren Qiaohong (Spouse of Chen Hongbo)
Signature: Ren Qiaohong
Spousal Consent
I, Liu Wenshan (ID card number of the Peoples Republic of China: [Redacted]), am the legal spouse of Xu Naihan (ID card number of the Peoples Republic of China: [Redacted]). I hereby unconditionally and irrevocably agree on September 5, 2018 to Xu Naihans execution of the following documents (the Restructuring Documents) on September 5, 2018 and the disposal of the equity of Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (the Domestic Company) held by and registered in the name of Xu Naihan in accordance with the following documents:
(1) | The Equity Interest Pledge Agreement entered into by Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (the WFOE), Lu Xiaoyan, Ding Jie, Wu Bin, Li Xue, Chen Hongbo, Xu Naihan, Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., Shanghai Zendai Himalaya Network Technology Co., Ltd., Shen Jinhua, Gao Qi and the Domestic Company; |
(2) | The Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by the WFOE, Lu Xiaoyan, Ding Jie, Wu Bin, Li Xue, Chen Hongbo, Xu Naihan, Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., Shanghai Zendai Himalaya Network Technology Co., Ltd., Shen Jinhua, Gao Qi and the Domestic Company; and |
(3) | The Power of Attorney Agreement entered into by the WFOE, Lu Xiaoyan, Ding Jie, Wu Bin, Li Xue, Chen Hongbo, Xu Naihan, Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership), Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., Shanghai Zendai Himalaya Network Technology Co., Ltd., Shen Jinhua, Gao Qi and the Domestic Company. |
I undertake that I will not make any claims with respect to the equity held by Xu Naihan in the Domestic Company, including but not limited to the claim that such equity constitutes the property or common property between me and my spouse. I hereby unconditionally and irrevocably waive any right or interest that may be granted to me by any applicable law in respect of such equity. I further acknowledge that Xu Naihan does not need my further authorization or consent to perform, further amend or terminate the Restructuring Documents.
I undertake that I will execute all the necessary documents and take all action to ensure the proper performance of the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time).
I agree and undertake that if I acquire any equity of the Domestic Company held by Xu Naihan for any reason, I shall be bound by the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time), and comply with the obligations under the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time) as a shareholder of the Domestic Company, and for this purpose, once requested by the WFOE, I shall execute the written documents in substantially the same form and content as the Restructuring Documents (as amended from time to time).
(No text below)
Letter of Commitment
[Signature page of Spousal Consent below]
Promiser: Liu Wenshan (Spouse of Xu Naihan)
Signature: Liu Wenshan
Letter of Confirmation
I, Lu Xiaoyan (ID card No.: [Redacted]) confirm that I have no spouse as of the date of issuance of this confirmation letter.
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Signatory: Lu Xiaoyan |
Signing date: September 10, 2018 |
Letter of Confirmation
I, Li Xue (ID card No.: [Redacted]) confirm that I have no spouse as of the date of issuance of this confirmation letter.
/s/ Li Xue |
Signatory: Li Xue |
Signing date: August 5, 2018 |
Letter of Confirmation
I, Gao Qi (ID card No.: [Redacted]) confirm that I have no spouse as of the date of issuance of this confirmation letter.
/s/ Gao Qi |
Signatory: Gao Qi |
Signing date: September 10, 2018 |
Exhibit 10.8
***Certain information in this document has been excluded pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10). Such excluded information is not material and is the type the registrant treats as private or confidential. Such omitted information is indicated by brackets ([Redacted]) in this exhibit.***
Supplemental Agreement to the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Party B: Lu Xiaoyan
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Whereas:
1. | Party A is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
2. | Party C is a limited liability company incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
3. | Party B is one of the shareholders of Party C. Prior to the signing of this Agreement, the shareholders of Party C and the amount of their capital contributions are shown in the table below. |
1
Shareholder |
Registered capital contribution (RMB) |
|||
Lu Xiaoyan |
28,452,538 | |||
Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) |
6,120,849 | |||
Ding Jie |
2,588,813 | |||
Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) |
3,636,736 | |||
Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. |
12,268,519 | |||
Wu Bin |
1,501,006 | |||
Chen Hongbo |
805,657 | |||
Xu Naihan |
805,657 | |||
Shanghai Ximalaya Technology Co., Ltd. |
2,592,913 | |||
Shen Jinhua |
1,728,608 | |||
Gao Qi |
1,728,608 | |||
|
|
|||
Total |
62,229,904 | |||
|
|
4. | All the shareholders of Party C (Pledgor) and Party A (Pledgee) and Party C entered into the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (the Original Agreement) on June 1, 2020. Party B, as one of the shareholders of Party C, also signed the Original Agreement in respect of the registered capital contribution held by it. |
5. | Now Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., a shareholder of Party C, intends to transfer its registered capital contribution of RMB11,646,220 to Party B (the Beijing Langmafeng Equity Transfer), and shareholder Wu Bin intends to transfer his registered capital contribution of RMB1,501,006 to Party B (the Wu Bin Equity Transfer, and together with the Beijing Langmafeng Equity Transfer, the Equity Transfer). Following the Equity Transfer, Wu Bin shall no longer hold any Equity in Party C, Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. shall continue to hold the registered capital contribution of RMB622,299, and Party B shall hold an additional registered capital contribution of RMB13,147,226 (the Newly-transferred Equity). |
Now Party A, Party B and Party C reached a consensus through consultation and made and entered into the Supplemental Agreement in Suzhou, the Peoples Republic of China on July 12, 2024:
I. In respect of the Newly-transferred Equity, Party B voluntarily joins the Original Agreement as the Pledgor and accepts all the terms and conditions of the Original Agreement, including but not limited to the pledge of the Newly-transferred Equity and the dividends generated from such Equity during the validity period of the Agreement to Party A (the Pledgee) as a security for the (1) fulfillment of the obligations of the Pledgor and Party C under each of the Agreements and (2) the expenses incurred by the Pledgee for the purpose of exercising his/her rights hereunder.
2
II. This Supplementary Agreement shall be an integral part of the Original Agreement. Following the execution of this Supplemental Agreement, the Original Agreement shall, unless otherwise agreed in this Supplemental Agreement, remain in full effect. In the event of any discrepancy between this Supplemental Agreement and the Original Agreement, this Supplemental Agreement shall prevail. For any matter not specified in this Supplemental Agreement (including, but not limited to, the application of law, dispute resolution, etc.) shall be subject to the stipulation of the Original Agreement.
(No text below on this page)
3
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to sign this Supplemental Agreement on the date first set forth above for observation.
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. | ||||
Signature of Authorized Representative: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
|||
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||||
Title: Chairman |
Party B: Lu Xiaoyan | ||||
Signature: |
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. | ||||
Signature of Authorized Representative: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
|||
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||||
Title: Chairman |
4
Exhibit 10.9
***Certain information in this document has been excluded pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10). Such excluded information is not material and is the type the registrant treats as private or confidential. Such omitted information is indicated by brackets ([Redacted]) in this exhibit.***
Supplemental Agreement to the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Party B: Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd.
Address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Xiao Jiancong
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Whereas:
1. | Party A is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
2. | Party C is a limited liability company incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
3. | Party B is one of the shareholders of Party C. Prior to the signing of this Agreement, the shareholders of Party C and the amount of their capital contributions are shown in the table below. |
1
Shareholder |
Registered capital contribution (RMB) |
|||
Lu Xiaoyan |
28,452,538 | |||
Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) |
6,120,849 | |||
Ding Jie |
2,588,813 | |||
Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) |
3,636,736 | |||
Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. |
12,268,519 | |||
Wu Bin |
1,501,006 | |||
Chen Hongbo |
805,657 | |||
Xu Naihan |
805,657 | |||
Shanghai Ximalaya Technology Co., Ltd. |
2,592,913 | |||
Shen Jinhua |
1,728,608 | |||
Gao Qi |
1,728,608 | |||
|
|
|||
Total |
62,229,904 | |||
|
|
4. | All the shareholders of Party C (Pledgor) and Party A (Pledgee) and Party C entered into the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (the Original Agreement) on June 1, 2020. Party B, as one of the shareholders of Party C, also signed the Original Agreement in respect of the registered capital contribution held by it. |
5. | Party B intends to transfer the registered capital contribution of RMB11,646,220 held by it to Mr. Lu Xiaoyan, a natural person (the Equity Transfer). Following the Equity Transfer, Party B shall continue to hold the registered capital contribution of RMB622,299 (the Post-transfer Equity). |
Now Party A, Party B and Party C reached a consensus through consultation and made and entered into the Supplemental Agreement in Suzhou, the Peoples Republic of China on July 12, 2024:
I. In respect of the Post-transfer Equity, Party B voluntarily joins the Original Agreement as the Pledgor and accepts all the terms and conditions of the Original Agreement, including but not limited to the pledge of the Post-transfer Equity and the dividends generated from such Equity during the validity period of the Agreement to Party A (the Pledgee) as a security for the (1) fulfillment of the obligations of the Pledgor and Party C under each of the Agreements and (2) the expenses incurred by the Pledgee for the purpose of exercising his/her rights hereunder.
2
II. This Supplementary Agreement shall be an integral part of the Original Agreement. Following the execution of this Supplemental Agreement, the Original Agreement shall, unless otherwise agreed in this Supplemental Agreement, remain in full effect. In the event of any discrepancy between this Supplemental Agreement and the Original Agreement, this Supplemental Agreement shall prevail. For any matter not specified in this Supplemental Agreement (including, but not limited to, the application of law, dispute resolution, etc.) shall be subject to the stipulation of the Original Agreement.
(No text below on this page)
3
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to sign this Supplemental Agreement on the date first set forth above for observation.
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. | ||
Signature of Authorized Representative: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Title: Chairman | ||
Party B: Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. | ||
Signature of Authorized Representative: | /s/ Xiao Jiancong | |
Name: Xiao Jiancong | ||
Title: Legal representative | ||
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. | ||
Signature of Authorized Representative: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Title: Chairman |
4
Exhibit 10.10
***Certain information in this document has been excluded pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10). Such excluded information is not material and is the type the registrant treats as private or confidential. Such omitted information is indicated by brackets ([Redacted]) in this exhibit.***
Supplemental Agreement to the Exclusive Option Agreement
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Party B: Lu Xiaoyan
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Whereas:
1. | Party A is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
2. | Party C is a limited liability company incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
3. | Party B is one of the shareholders of Party C. Prior to the signing of this Agreement, the shareholders of Party C and the amount of their capital contributions are shown in the table below. |
1
Shareholder |
Registered capital contribution (RMB) |
|||
Lu Xiaoyan |
28,452,538 | |||
Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) |
6,120,849 | |||
Ding Jie |
2,588,813 | |||
Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) |
3,636,736 | |||
Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. |
12,268,519 | |||
Wu Bin |
1,501,006 | |||
Chen Hongbo |
805,657 | |||
Xu Naihan |
805,657 | |||
Shanghai Ximalaya Technology Co., Ltd. |
2,592,913 | |||
Shen Jinhua |
1,728,608 | |||
Gao Qi |
1,728,608 | |||
|
|
|||
Total |
62,229,904 | |||
|
|
4. | All the shareholders of Party C and Party A and Party C entered into the Exclusive Option Agreement (the Original Agreement) on June 1, 2020. Party B, as one of the shareholders of Party C, also signed the Original Agreement in respect of the registered capital contribution of RMB28,452,538 held by it. |
5. | Now Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., a shareholder of Party C, intends to transfer its registered capital contribution of RMB11,646,220 to Party B (the Beijing Langmafeng Equity Transfer), and shareholder Wu Bin intends to transfer his registered capital contribution of RMB1,501,006 to Party B (the Wu Bin Equity Transfer, and together with the Beijing Langmafeng Equity Transfer, the Equity Transfer). Following the Equity Transfer, Wu Bin shall no longer hold any Equity in Party C, Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. shall continue to hold the registered capital contribution of RMB622,299, and Party B shall hold an additional registered capital contribution of RMB13,147,226 (the Newly-transferred Equity). |
Now Party A, Party B and Party C reached a consensus through consultation and made and entered into the Supplemental Agreement in Suzhou, the Peoples Republic of China on July 12, 2024:
In respect of the Newly-transferred Equity, Party B voluntarily joins the Original Agreement as the Authorizing Party and accepts all the terms and conditions of the Original Agreement, including but not limited to irrevocably granting Party A an exclusive right to purchase, at any time and at its own discretion, all the Equity (including the Newly-transferred Equity) held by Party B (the Authorizing Party) in Party C in installments or in a lump sum by Party A or such a third party as designated by Party A, at the lowest price permissible by the PRC laws at the time of the exercise of the right.
2
II. This Supplementary Agreement shall be an integral part of the Original Agreement. Following the execution of this Supplemental Agreement, the Original Agreement shall, unless otherwise agreed in this Supplemental Agreement, remain in full effect. In the event of any discrepancy between this Supplemental Agreement and the Original Agreement, this Supplemental Agreement shall prevail. For any matter not specified in this Supplemental Agreement (including, but not limited to, the application of law, dispute resolution, etc.) shall be subject to the stipulation of the Original Agreement.
(No text below on this page)
3
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to sign this Supplemental Agreement on the date first set forth above for observation.
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. | ||||
Signature of Authorized Representative: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
|||
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||||
Title: Chairman |
Party B: Lu Xiaoyan | ||||
Signature: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. | ||||
Signature of Authorized Representative: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
|||
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||||
Title: Chairman |
4
Exhibit 10.11
***Certain information in this document has been excluded pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10). Such excluded information is not material and is the type the registrant treats as private or confidential. Such omitted information is indicated by brackets ([Redacted]) in this exhibit.***
Supplemental Agreement to the Exclusive Option Agreement
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Party B: Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd.
Address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Xiao Jiancong
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Whereas:
1. | Party A is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
2. | Party C is a limited liability company incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
3. | Party B is one of the shareholders of Party C. Prior to the signing of this Agreement, the shareholders of Party C and the amount of their capital contributions are shown in the table below. |
1
Shareholder |
Registered capital contribution (RMB) |
|||
Lu Xiaoyan |
28,452,538 | |||
Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) |
6,120,849 | |||
Ding Jie |
2,588,813 | |||
Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) |
3,636,736 | |||
Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. |
12,268,519 | |||
Wu Bin |
1,501,006 | |||
Chen Hongbo |
805,657 | |||
Xu Naihan |
805,657 | |||
Shanghai Ximalaya Technology Co., Ltd. |
2,592,913 | |||
Shen Jinhua |
1,728,608 | |||
Gao Qi |
1,728,608 | |||
|
|
|||
Total |
62,229,904 | |||
|
|
4. | All the shareholders of Party C and Party A and Party C entered into the Exclusive Option Agreement (the Original Agreement) on June 1, 2020. Party B, as one of the shareholders of Party C, also signed the Original Agreement in respect of the registered capital contribution of RMB12,268,519 held by it. |
5. | Party B intends to transfer the registered capital contribution of RMB11,646,220 held by it to Mr. Lu Xiaoyan, a natural person (the Equity Transfer). Following the Equity Transfer, Party B shall continue to hold the registered capital contribution of RMB622,299 (the Post-transfer Equity). |
Now Party A, Party B and Party C reached a consensus through consultation and made and entered into the Supplemental Agreement in Suzhou, the Peoples Republic of China on July 12, 2024:
I. In respect of the Post-transfer Equity, Party B voluntarily joins the Original Agreement as the Authorizing Party and accepts all the terms and conditions of the Original Agreement, including but not limited to irrevocably granting Party A an exclusive right to purchase, at any time and at its own discretion, all the Equity held by Party B (the Authorizing Party) in Party C in installments or in a lump sum by Party A or such a third party as designated by Party A, at the lowest price permissible by the PRC laws at the time of the exercise of the right.
2
II. This Supplementary Agreement shall be an integral part of the Original Agreement. Following the execution of this Supplemental Agreement, the Original Agreement shall, unless otherwise agreed in this Supplemental Agreement, remain in full effect. In the event of any discrepancy between this Supplemental Agreement and the Original Agreement, this Supplemental Agreement shall prevail. For any matter not specified in this Supplemental Agreement (including, but not limited to, the application of law, dispute resolution, etc.) shall be subject to the stipulation of the Original Agreement.
(No text below on this page)
3
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to sign this Supplemental Agreement on the date first set forth above for observation.
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. | ||||
Signature of Authorized Representative: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
|||
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||||
Title: Chairman |
Party B: Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. | ||||
Signature of Authorized Representative: | /s/ Xiao Jiancong |
|||
Name: Xiao Jiancong | ||||
Title: Legal representative |
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. | ||||
Signature of Authorized Representative: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
|||
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||||
Title: Chairman |
4
Exhibit 10.12
***Certain information in this document has been excluded pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10). Such excluded information is not material and is the type the registrant treats as private or confidential. Such omitted information is indicated by brackets ([Redacted]) in this exhibit.***
Supplemental Agreement to the Power of Attorney Agreement
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Party B: Lu Xiaoyan
ID Card No.: [Redacted]
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Whereas:
1. | Party A is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
2. | Party C is a limited liability company incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
3. | Party B is one of the shareholders of Party C. Prior to the signing of this Agreement, the shareholders of Party C and the amount of their capital contributions are shown in the table below. |
1
Shareholder |
Registered capital contribution (RMB) |
|||
Lu Xiaoyan |
28,452,538 | |||
Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) |
6,120,849 | |||
Ding Jie |
2,588,813 | |||
Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) |
3,636,736 | |||
Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. |
12,268,519 | |||
Wu Bin |
1,501,006 | |||
Chen Hongbo |
805,657 | |||
Xu Naihan |
805,657 | |||
Shanghai Ximalaya Technology Co., Ltd. |
2,592,913 | |||
Shen Jinhua |
1,728,608 | |||
Gao Qi |
1,728,608 | |||
|
|
|||
Total |
62,229,904 | |||
|
|
4. | All the shareholders of Party C and Party A and Party C entered into the Power of Attorney Agreement (the Original Agreement) on June 1, 2020. Party B, as one of the shareholders of Party C, also signed the Original Agreement in respect of the registered capital contribution of RMB28,452,538 held by it. |
5. | Now Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd., a shareholder of Party C, intends to transfer its registered capital contribution of RMB11,646,220 to Party B (the Beijing Langmafeng Equity Transfer), and shareholder Wu Bin intends to transfer his registered capital contribution of RMB1,501,006 to Party B (the Wu Bin Equity Transfer, and together with the Beijing Langmafeng Equity Transfer, the Equity Transfer). Following the Equity Transfer, Wu Bin shall no longer hold any Equity in Party C, Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. shall continue to hold the registered capital contribution of RMB622,299, and Party B shall hold an additional registered capital contribution of RMB13,147,226 (the Newly-transferred Equity). |
2
Now Party A, Party B and Party C reached a consensus through consultation and made and entered into the Supplemental Agreement in Suzhou, the Peoples Republic of China on July 12, 2024:
I. In respect of the Newly-transferred Equity, Party B voluntarily joins the Original Agreement as the Authorizing Party and accepts all the terms and conditions of the Original Agreement, including but not limited to irrevocably entrusting and authorizing Party A or the person designated by Party A to exercise all and any of the shareholders rights conferred on Party B (the Authorizing Party) by the laws of the PRC and the Articles of Association of Party C as a shareholder of the Newly-transferred Equity to the fullest extent permitted by the law.
II. This Supplementary Agreement shall be an integral part of the Original Agreement. Following the execution of this Supplemental Agreement, the Original Agreement shall, unless otherwise agreed in this Supplemental Agreement, remain in full effect. In the event of any discrepancy between this Supplemental Agreement and the Original Agreement, this Supplemental Agreement shall prevail. For any matter not specified in this Supplemental Agreement (including, but not limited to, the application of law, dispute resolution, etc.) shall be subject to the stipulation of the Original Agreement.
(No text below on this page)
3
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to sign this Supplemental Agreement on the date first set forth above for observation.
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. | ||||
Signature of Authorized Representative: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
|||
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||||
Title: Chairman |
Party B: Lu Xiaoyan | ||||
Signature: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. | ||||
Signature of Authorized Representative: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
|||
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||||
Title: Chairman |
4
Exhibit 10.13
***Certain information in this document has been excluded pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10). Such excluded information is not material and is the type the registrant treats as private or confidential. Such omitted information is indicated by brackets ([Redacted]) in this exhibit.***
Supplemental Agreement to the Power of Attorney Agreement
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Party B: Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd.
Address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Xiao Jiancong
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Registered address: [Redacted]
Legal representative: Lu Xiaoyan
Whereas:
1. | Party A is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
2. | Party C is a limited liability company incorporated and existing under the laws of the PRC. |
3. | Party B is one of the shareholders of Party C. Prior to the signing of this Agreement, the shareholders of Party C and the amount of their capital contributions are shown in the table below. |
1
Shareholder |
Registered capital contribution (RMB) |
|||
Lu Xiaoyan |
28,452,538 | |||
Suzhou New Zhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) |
6,120,849 | |||
Ding Jie |
2,588,813 | |||
Suzhou Dazhi Qihong Enterprise Management Consulting Center (limited partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) |
3,636,736 | |||
Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. |
12,268,519 | |||
Wu Bin |
1,501,006 | |||
Chen Hongbo |
805,657 | |||
Xu Naihan |
805,657 | |||
Shanghai Ximalaya Technology Co., Ltd. |
2,592,913 | |||
Shen Jinhua |
1,728,608 | |||
Gao Qi |
1,728,608 | |||
|
|
|||
Total |
62,229,904 | |||
|
|
4. | All the shareholders of Party C and Party A and Party C entered into the Power of Attorney Agreement (the Original Agreement) on June 1, 2020. Party B, as one of the shareholders of Party C, also signed the Original Agreement in respect of the registered capital contribution of RMB12,268,519 held by it. |
5. | Party B intends to transfer the registered capital contribution of RMB11,646,220 held by it to Mr. Lu Xiaoyan, a natural person (the Equity Transfer). Following the Equity Transfer, Party B shall continue to hold the registered capital contribution of RMB622,299 (the Post-transfer Equity). |
Now Party A, Party B and Party C reached a consensus through consultation and made and entered into the Supplemental Agreement in Suzhou, the Peoples Republic of China on July 12, 2024:
I. In respect of the Post-transfer Equity, Party B voluntarily joins the Original Agreement as the Authorizing Party and accepts all the terms and conditions of the Original Agreement, including but not limited to irrevocably entrusting and authorizing Party A or the person designated by Party A to exercise all and any of the shareholders rights conferred on Party B (the Authorizing Party) by the laws of the PRC and the Articles of Association of Party C as a shareholder of the Post-transfer Equity to the fullest extent permitted by the law.
2
II. This Supplementary Agreement shall be an integral part of the Original Agreement. Following the execution of this Supplemental Agreement, the Original Agreement shall, unless otherwise agreed in this Supplemental Agreement, remain in full effect. In the event of any discrepancy between this Supplemental Agreement and the Original Agreement, this Supplemental Agreement shall prevail. For any matter not specified in this Supplemental Agreement (including, but not limited to, the application of law, dispute resolution, etc.) shall be subject to the stipulation of the Original Agreement.
(No text below on this page)
3
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to sign this Supplemental Agreement on the date first set forth above for observation.
Party A: Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. | ||||
Signature of Authorized Representative: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
|||
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||||
Title: Chairman |
Party B: Beijing Langmafeng Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. | ||||
Signature of Authorized Representative: | /s/ Xiao Jiancong |
|||
Name: Xiao Jiancong | ||||
Title: Legal representative |
Party C: Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. | ||||
Signature of Authorized Representative: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan |
|||
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||||
Title: Chairman |
4
Exhibit 10.14
***Certain information in this document has been excluded pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10). Such excluded information is not material and is the type the registrant treats as private or confidential. Such omitted information is indicated by brackets ([Redacted]) in this exhibit.***
UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
YXT.COM HOLDING LIMITED
YXT.COM (HK) LIMITED (雲學堂控股(香港)有限公司)
YUNXUETANG INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (JIANGSU) CO., LTD. (云学堂信息科技(江苏)有限公司)
JIANGSU YUNXUETANG NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (江苏云学堂网络科技有限公司)
BEIJING YUNXUETANG NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (北京云学堂网络科技有限公司)
SUZHOU XUANCAI NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (苏州炫彩网络科技有限公司)
THE PERSONS LISTED IN SCHEDULE I
SIG CHINA INVESTMENTS MASTER FUND IV, LLLP
AND
JUMP SHOT HOLDINGS LIMITED
SERIES D PREFERRED SHARE PURCHASE AGREEMENT
DATED DECEMBER 31, 2019
THIS SERIES D PREFERRED SHARE PURCHASE AGREEMENT (this Agreement) is made and entered into as of December 31, 2019 by and among:
(1) | UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability (the Company); |
(2) | YXT.COM Holding Limited, a business company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the British Virgin Islands (the BVI Subsidiary); |
(3) | YXT.COM (HK) LIMITED (雲學堂控股(香港)有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of Hong Kong (the HK Subsidiary); |
(4) | Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (云学堂信息科技(江苏)有限公司), a wholly foreign owned enterprise incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (the WFOE); |
(5) | Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (江苏云学堂网络科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Jiangsu Yunxuetang); |
(6) | Beijing Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (北京云学堂网络科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Beijing Yunxuetang); |
(7) | Suzhou Xuancai Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州炫彩网络科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Souzhou Xuancai, together with Jiangsu Yunxuetang and Beijing Yunxuetang, the Domestic Companies, and each a Domestic Company); |
(8) | Lu Xiaoyan (卢小燕) (a/k/a 卢睿泽), a PRC citizen with the PRC ID Card No. being [Redacted] (Founder Lu); |
(9) | Ding Jie (丁捷), a PRC citizen with the PRC ID Card No. being [Redacted] (Founder Ding, together with Founder Lu, the Founders, and each a Founder); |
(10) | Unicentury Holdings Limited, a business company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands with limited liability which is wholly owned by Founder Lu (Lu Holdco); |
(11) | Dingding Holdings Limited, a business company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands with limited liability which is wholly owned by Founder Ding (Ding Holdco, together with Lu Holdco, the Founder Holdcos, and each a Founder Holdco, the Founder Holdcos and the Founders, collectively the Founder Parties, and each a Founder Party); |
(12) | SIG China Investments Master Fund IV, LLLP, a limited liability limited partnership incorporated and existing under the Laws of the State of Delaware (SIG); and |
1
(13) | Jump Shot Holdings Limited, a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the Cayman Islands (the Lead Investor, together with SIG, the Investors and each an Investor). |
RECITALS
WHEREAS:
A. The Company holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of the BVI Subsidiary. The BVI Subsidiary holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of the HK Subsidiary. The HK Subsidiary holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of the WFOE, which in turn controls Jiangsu Yunxuetang through the Cooperative Agreements (as defined below). Further particulars of the Group Companies are set out in Schedule III to this Agreement.
B. The Group Companies will collectively engage in the business of the R&D of software and online technologies relating to professional training/education and provision of the related consulting and supporting services as well production and sale of multimedia training/educational materials, and other business as approved by the Board (the Business). The Company seeks expansion capital to grow the Business and, correspondingly, seeks to secure investment from the Investors, on the terms and conditions set forth herein.
C. The Company and YF Elite Alliance Limited (Yunfeng) entered into a Warrant to Purchase Warrant Shares of Unicentury Group Holding Limited dated September 10, 2018 (the Series C Warrant), pursuant to which Yunfeng is entitled to, subject to the terms and conditions therein, purchase at the Closing from the Company certain series C convertible redeemable preferred shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, of the Company (the Series C Preferred Shares) at eighty-five percent (85%) of the per share purchase price of the Series D Preferred Shares to be issued by the Company herein for an aggregate purchase price of up to US$20,000,000. Yunfeng desires to exercise the Series C Warrant in full and purchase from the Company, and the Company desires to issue to Yunfeng, at the Closing, certain Series C Preferred Shares for an aggregate purchase price of US$20,000,000 pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Series C Warrant.
D. The Company desires to issue and sell to each Investor, and each Investor desires to purchase from the Company, certain number of series D convertible redeemable preferred shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, of the Company (the Series D Preferred Shares) on the terms and conditions herein.
AGREEMENT
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing recitals, the mutual promises hereinafter set forth, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:
2
1. | DEFINITIONS. |
1.1. Certain Defined Terms. As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following respective meanings:
Action means any notice, charge, claim, action, complaint, petition, investigation, suit or other proceeding, whether administrative, civil or criminal, whether at law or in equity, and whether or not before any mediator, arbitrator or Governmental Authority.
Affiliate means, with respect to a Person, any other Person that, directly or indirectly, controls, is controlled by or is under common control with such Person. For the avoidance of doubt, in the case of the Lead Investor, the term Affiliate includes (i) any direct or indirect controlling shareholder of the Lead Investor, (ii) any of such direct or indirect controlling shareholders or the Lead Investors general partners, (iii) the fund manager managing such direct or indirect controlling shareholder or the Lead Investor (and general partners and officers thereof) and other funds or Person managed or controlled by such fund manager, and (iv) trusts controlled by or for the benefit of any such Person referred to in (i), (ii) or (iii).
Anti-Corruption Laws means Laws relating to anti-bribery or anticorruption (governmental or commercial), which are applicable to the business and dealings of any Group Company, and their respective shareholders, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the UK Bribery Act of 2010, as amended, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the PRC, the Criminal Law of the PRC, and the Provision Regulations on Anti-Commercial Bribery.
Anti-Money Laundering Laws means Laws relating to money laundering, including, without limitation, financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, which apply to the business and dealings of any Group Company, and their shareholders; such as, without limitation, the U.S. Currency and Foreign Transaction Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the U.S. Money Laundering Control Act of 1986, as amended, the UK Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the UK Terrorism Act 2000, as amended, all money laundering-related laws of other jurisdictions where any Group Company conducts business or own asset.
Associate means, in relation to an individual, his or her spouse, his or her child or step-child, brother, sister, parent, nominee or trustee of any trust in which such individual or any of his or her foregoing mentioned family members is a beneficiary or a discretionary object, or any Affiliate of any of the aforesaid persons or any person acting under his or her instructions (pursuant to an agreement or arrangement, formal or otherwise) in each case from time to time.
Balance Sheet Date means September 30, 2019.
Board means the board of directors of the Company.
Business Day means any day, other than a Saturday, Sunday or any public holidays, on which banks are ordinarily open for business in the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, the State of New York and the PRC.
Centurium Director means the director of the Board or the board of any other Group Company appointed by the Lead Investor.
3
Company Owned Intellectual Property means any Intellectual Property owned by the Group Companies.
Compliance Laws means Laws relating to anti-bribery, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and trade control, including the Anti-Corruption Laws, the Anti-Money Laundering Laws and the Trade Control Laws.
Contract means, a contract, agreement, understanding, indenture, note, bond, loan, instrument, lease, mortgage, franchise, license, commitment, purchase order, and other legally binding arrangement, whether written or oral.
control means, with respect to any Person, the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities or by contract or otherwise, and such power shall conclusively be presumed to exist upon (i) the possession, directly or indirectly, of more than fifty percent (50%) ownership interest of such Person; (ii) the possession, directly or indirectly, of more than fifty percent (50%) of voting securities of such Person; or (iii) the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to nominate or appoint a majority of the members of the board of directors or similar governing body of such Person; and the terms controlling and controlled and under common control with have meanings correlative to the foregoing.
Cooperative Agreements means (i) the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement (独家技术咨询服务协议) by and between the WFOE and Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated October 9, 2017, (ii) Exclusive Option Agreement (独家购股选择权协议) by and among the WFOE, Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the equity holders of Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated September 5, 2018, (iii) the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (股权质押协议) by and among the WFOE, Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the equity holders of Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated September 5, 2018, (iv) the Power of Attorney Agreement (股东权利委托协议) by and among the WFOE, Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the shareholders of Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated September 5, 2018, (v) the Spousal Consents (配偶承诺函) dated September 5, 2018 by each of Chen Yong (陈勇, spouse of Ding Jie (丁捷)), Huang Ling (黄玲, spouse of 吴彬)), Ren Qiaohong (任巧红, spouse of 陈红波) and Liu Wenshan (刘文珊, spouse of 许乃汉), and the Spousal Consent (配偶承诺函) dated September 10, 2018 by Liu Jie (刘洁, spouse of 沈锦华), and (vi) the Confirmation Letters (确认函) dated September 10, 2018 by each of Founder Lu and Gao Qi (高琪), and the Confirmation Letter (确认函) by Li Xue (李雪) dated August 5, 2018.
Circular 7 means the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Foreign Exchange Administration of Domestic Individuals Participation in Share Incentive Plan of Offshore Public Companies (《关於境内个人参与境外上市公司股权激励计划外汇管理有关问题的通知》) and its successor regulations, implementing rules and guidelines under the Laws of the PRC.
Circular 37 means the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Issues concerning Foreign Exchange Administration of Offshore Financing, Investment and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Companies by PRC Residents (《关於境内居民通过特殊目的公司境外投融资及返程投资外汇管理有关问题的通知》)and its successor regulations, implementing rules and guidelines under the Laws of the PRC.
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Course Materials means any course materials, including but not limited to, handouts, presentation materials and downloadable contents, that are used by the Domestic Companies in connection with the conduct of the Business, whether or not developed (i) independently by the Domestic Companies, (ii) jointly with any third parties, or (iii) independently by any third parties.
ESOP means the employee stock option plan of the Company, which, as of the date hereof and immediately after the Closing, means the Existing ESOP only.
Existing Articles means the Third Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company adopted by a special resolution passed on September 10, 2018.
Existing Shareholders Agreement means the Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement dated September 10, 2018 by and among the Company, the BVI Subsidiary, the HK Subsidiary, the WFOE, the Domestic Companies, the Founders, the existing shareholders of the Company and other parties thereto.
Employee Benefit Plan means any employment Contract, deferred compensation Contract, bonus plan, incentive plan, profit sharing plan, retirement Contract or other employment compensation Contract or any other plan which provides or provided benefits for any past or present employee, officer, consultant, and/or director of any Group Company or with respect to which contributions are or have been made on account of any past or present employee, officer, consultant, and/or director of any Group Company.
Financial Statements means, collectively, (i) the consolidated and audited income statements and statements of cash flows of Jiangsu Yunxuetang for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and the consolidated and audited balance sheets of Jiangsu Yunxuetang as at the end of December 31, 2017, (ii) pro forma consolidated and unaudited income statements and statements of cash flows for the WFOE for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2017 and 2018 respectively and for nine (9) months ended September 30, 2019 and pro forma consolidated and unaudited balance sheets for the WFOE as at (x) December 31, 2017, (y) December 31, 2018, and (z) September 30, 2019 respectively, and (iii) unaudited income statements for each of the Company, the BVI Subsidiary and the HK Subsidiary for fiscal years ended December 31, 2017 and 2018 respectively and for nine (9) months ended September 30, 2019 and unaudited balance sheets for each of the Company, the BVI Subsidiary and the HK Subsidiary as at (x) December 31, 2017, (y) December 31, 2018, and (z) September 30, 2019 respectively.
Group Companies or the Group means collectively the Company, the BVI Subsidiary, the HK Subsidiary, the WFOE, the Domestic Companies and any other entity whose financial statements are consolidated with those of the Company in accordance with the IFRS and are recorded on the books of the Company for financial reporting purposes (each a Group Company).
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Governmental Authority(ies) means any government of any nation or any federation, province or state or any other political subdivision thereof; any entity, authority or body exercising executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or administrative functions of or pertaining to government, including any Governmental Authority, agency, department, board, commission or instrumentality of the PRC or any other country, or any political subdivision thereof, any court, tribunal or arbitrator, and any self-regulatory organization.
Hong Kong means the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China.
IFRS means the International Financial Reporting Standards, as may be amended from time to time.
Intellectual Property means all patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names, domain names, copyrights, copyright registrations and applications and all other rights corresponding thereto, inventions, databases and all rights therein, all computer software including all source code, object code, firmware, development tools, files, records and data, including all media on which any of the foregoing is stored, formulas, designs, trade secrets, confidential and proprietary information, proprietary rights, know-how and processes of a company, and all documentation related to any of the foregoing.
Law or Laws means any and all provisions of any applicable constitution, treaty, statute, law, regulation, ordinance, code, rule, or rule of common law, any governmental approval, concession, grant, franchise, license, agreement, directive, requirement, or other governmental restriction or any similar form of decision of, or determination by, or any interpretation or administration of any of the foregoing by, any Governmental Authority, in each case as amended, and any and all applicable governmental orders.
Lien means any claim, charge, easement, encumbrance, lease, covenant, security interest, lien, option, pledge, rights of others, or restriction (whether on voting, sale, transfer, disposition or otherwise), whether imposed by contract, understanding, Law, equity or otherwise.
Material Adverse Effect means (i) a material adverse effect on the business, assets (including intangible assets), liabilities, financial condition, prospects, property or results of operations of the Group Companies taken as a whole, or (ii) a material impairment of the ability of the Company, any other Group Company or the Founder Parties to perform the material obligations of such Person hereunder or under any other Transaction Document, as applicable, other than effects due to or resulting from (a) changes in general economic or market conditions; (b) matters generally affecting the industries in which the Group Companies operate; (c) changes in generally accepted accounting principles or standards applicable to any member of the Group Companies; (d) changes in Laws; and (e) acts taken or omissions made in accordance with Transaction Documents or at the request of the Lead Investor; provided that (i) effects due to or resulting from the foregoing clause (a) or (b) shall be excluded from the definition of Material Adverse Effect only to the extent that the Group Companies are not disproportionately affected by comparison to other companies with the same or similar level of valuation operating in the industries in which the Group Companies operate, and (ii) effects due to or resulting from the foregoing clause (d) shall be excluded from the definition of Material Adverse Effect only to the extent that the Group Companies are not disproportionately affected by comparison to other companies whose principal business is the same as or similar to that of the Group.
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Ordinary Shares shall mean, the Companys ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share.
Permit means any consent, approval, authorization, waiver, permit, grant, franchise, concession, agreement, license, exemption or order of, registration, certificate, declaration or filing with, or report or notice to, any Person, including any Governmental Authority.
Person means, any individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, proprietorship, association, limited liability company, firm, trust, estate or other enterprise or entity.
PRC means the Peoples Republic of China, but solely for the purposes of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents, excluding Hong Kong, the Macau Special Administrative Region and the islands of Taiwan.
PRC GAAP means the PRC generally accepted accounting principles.
Preferred Shares means the Series A Preferred Shares, the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series C Preferred Shares and the Series D Preferred Shares collectively.
Prior Financing Documents means collectively, (i) the Series A Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of November 3, 2017 by and among SIG, the Company and other parties thereto (the Series A SPA), (ii) the Series B Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of September 10, 2018 by and among the Company, Ximalaya (Hong Kong) Limited, Potato Capital Holding Limited, Bronze Shield Limited and other parties thereto, (iii) the Series C Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of September 10, 2018 by and among the Company, Yunfeng and other parties thereto, and (iv) the other agreements and documents contemplated by or required for implementing the transactions contemplated by any of the foregoing (other than those agreements or documents without any outstanding rights and obligations).
Public Official means any executive, official, or employee of a Governmental Authority, political party or member of a political party, political candidate; executive, employee or officer of a public international organization; or director, officer or employee or agent of a wholly owned or partially state-owned or controlled enterprise, including a PRC state-owned or controlled enterprise.
Qualified Public Offering has the meaning set forth in the Shareholders Agreement.
Registered Intellectual Property means all Intellectual Property solely owned by any Group Company, wherever located, that is the subject of an application, certificate, filing, registration or other document issued by, filed with or recorded by any Governmental Authority.
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Restated Articles means the Fourth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company to be adopted on or prior to the Closing with respect to the Lead Investor, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A.
SAFE means the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the PRC and its local counterparts.
Sanctioned Person means any Person that is the subject or target of sanctions or restrictions under the Trade Control Laws, including (i) a national or resident of any U.S. embargoed or restricted country or other Sanctioned Country, (ii) included on, or affiliated with any Person on, the United States Commerce Departments Denied Parties List, Entities and Unverified Lists; the U.S. Department of Treasurys Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers or Specially Designated Terrorists, or the Annex to Executive Order No. 13224; the Department of States Debarred List; UN Sanctions, or (iii) a Person with whom business transactions, including exports and re-exports, are restricted by a U.S. Governmental Authority, including, in each clause above, any updates or revisions to the foregoing and any newly published rule.
Sanctioned Country means any country or region that is, or has been in the last five years, the subject or target of a comprehensive embargo under Trade Control Laws (including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and the Crimea region of Ukraine).
Securities Act means the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended and interpreted from time to time.
Shareholders Agreement means the Second Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement to be entered into by and among the parties hereto on or prior to the Closing, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B.
Tax means any national, provincial, municipal, or local taxes, charges, fees, levies, or other assessments, including all net income (including enterprise income tax and individual income withholding tax), turnover (including value-added tax, business tax, and consumption tax), resource (including urban and township land use tax), special purpose (including land value-added tax, urban maintenance and construction tax, and additional education tax), property (including urban real estate tax and land use taxes), documentation (including stamp duty and deed tax), filing, recording, social insurance (including pension, medical, unemployment, housing, and other social insurance withholding), tariffs (including import duty and import value-added tax), and estimated and provisional taxes of any kind whatsoever, and all interest, penalties (administrative, civil or criminal), or additional amounts imposed by any Governmental Authority in connection with any of the foregoing tax items.
Tax Return means any return, report or statement showing taxes, used to pay taxes, or required to be filed with respect to any tax (including any elections, declarations, schedules or attachments thereto, and any amendment thereof), including any information return, claim for refund, amended return or declaration of estimated or provisional tax.
Trade Control Laws means all U.S. and non-U.S. Laws relating to (i) economic or trade sanctions (including Laws administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasury OFAC or the U.S. Department of State), (ii) export, re-export, transfer, and import controls (including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations, and the Laws administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection) and (iii) the anti-boycott requirements administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Treasurys Internal Revenue Service.
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Warrantors means collectively the Group Companies and the Founder Parties, and each a Warrantor.
1.2. Other Defined Terms. The following terms shall have the meanings defined for such terms in the sections set forth below:
Affiliation Relationship | Section 8.10(a) | |
Agreement | Preamble | |
Ancillary Agreements | Section 4.4(a) | |
Business | Recitals | |
CFC | Section 4.17(f) | |
Closing | Section 3.1 | |
Closing Date | Section 3.1 | |
Code | Section 4.17(f) | |
Company | Preamble | |
Company Intellectual Property | Section 4.8(a) | |
Constitutional Documents | Section 4.4(a) | |
Conversion Shares | Section 2.1 | |
Cooperative Agreements | Recitals | |
Ding Holdco | Preamble | |
Disclosure Schedule | Section 4 | |
Director Indemnification Agreement | Section 6.1(m) | |
Domestic Company(ies) | Preamble | |
Domestic Residents | Section 4.11(b) | |
Employee Share Restriction | Section 6.1(u) | |
Agreements | ||
Existing ESOP | Section 4.2(b) | |
External Representatives | Section 4.18 | |
Founder | Preamble | |
Founder Ding | Preamble | |
Founder Holdcos | Preamble | |
Founder Lu | Preamble | |
Founder Parties | Preamble | |
Group Representatives | Section 4.18 | |
HKIAC | Section 9.15(b) | |
HKIAC Rules | Section 9.15(b) | |
HK Subsidiary | Preamble | |
Indemnitee | Section 9.1(a) | |
Indemnifiable Loss | Section 9.1(a) | |
Injunction | Section 6.1(a) | |
Internet Publication Permit | Section 8.5(a) | |
Investor(s) | Preamble | |
Investors Partners | Section 8.18(b) |
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Key Employee(s) | Section 4.22(b) | |
Lead Investor | Preamble | |
Lease | Section 4.7(b) | |
Licenses | Section 4.8(e) | |
Lu Holdco | Preamble | |
Material Contract | Section 4.9(a) | |
Network Culture License | Section 8.5(a) | |
Online Broadcasting License | Section 8.5(a) | |
PFIC | Section 4.17(g) | |
Proceeds | Section 8.1 | |
Public Software | Section 4.8(g) | |
Purchase Price | Section 2.1 | |
Purchased Shares | Section 2.1 | |
Relevant Jurisdiction | Section 8.10(e) | |
Restriction Period | Section 8.10(a) | |
Share Restriction Agreement | Section 6.1(l) | |
School Permit | Section 8.5(a) | |
Series A Preferred Shares | Recitals | |
Series A Warrant | Recitals | |
Series B Preferred Shares | Recitals | |
Series C Warrant | Recitals | |
Series C Preferred Shares | Recitals | |
Series D Preferred Shares | Recitals | |
SIG | Preamble | |
Subpart F Income | Section 8.18(b) | |
Suzhou Yunzheng | Section 6.1(v) | |
Suzhou Xinzhi | Section 6.1(u) | |
Termination Date | Section 9.17 | |
Transaction Documents | Section 4.4(a) | |
WFOE | Preamble | |
XWLJ | Section 6.1(t) | |
XWLJ Acquisition | Section 6.1(t) | |
XWLJ Acquisition Agreement | Section 6.1(t) | |
Yunfeng | Recitals |
2. | AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE AND SELL SHARES. |
2.1. Agreement to Purchase and Sell Shares. Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, at the Closing, the Company shall issue and sell to each Investor, and each Investor shall purchase from the Company, such number of Series D Preferred Shares (the Purchased Shares) for such amount of aggregate purchase price (the Purchase Price), each as set forth opposite such Investors name on Schedule II attached hereto. The Series D Preferred Shares shall have the rights, privileges and restrictions as set forth in the Restated Articles attached hereto as Exhibit A. The Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of the Series D Preferred Shares pursuant to the Restated Articles will be hereinafter referred to as the Conversion Shares.
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2.2. Transfer of Purchase Price. Each Investor shall pay the aggregate Purchase Price as set forth opposite such Investors name in Schedule II attached hereto to the Company for its Purchased Shares, which shall be payable in cash by wire transfer of United States dollars in immediately available funds to a designated account of the Company at the Closing, provided that the Company shall deliver a wire transfer instruction in form and substance attached hereto as Exhibit E to each Investor at least five (5) Business Days prior to the Closing.
2.3. Post-Closing Capitalization Structure. Immediately after the issuance and sale of the Purchased Shares pursuant to the terms hereof and the full exercise of the Series C Warrant pursuant to its terms, the post-closing capitalization table of the Company is as set out in Schedule IV hereto.
3. | CLOSINGS; DELIVERIES. |
3.1. Closing. The closing of the purchase and sale of the Purchased Shares of each Investor (each, a Closing) shall be conducted by remote exchange of documents or electronic documents on the date when such Investor delivers a written confirmation of fulfillment or waiver of the conditions to its Closing as set forth in Section 6, or at such other time as the Company and the Investor may mutually agree upon in writing (the date of any Closing, the Closing Date).
3.2. Deliveries. At the Closing of an Investor, the Company shall deliver to such Investor: (i) a copy of the updated register of members of the Company, certified by the registered office provider of the Company as true and complete as of the applicable Closing Date, reflecting the issuance to such Investor of the Purchased Shares being purchased by it, (ii) solely with respect to the Lead Investor, a copy of the updated register of directors of each of the Company, the BVI Subsidiary and the HK Subsidiary, certified by the registered officer provider, registered agent or company secretary (as applicable) of the Company, the BVI Subsidiary and the HK Subsidiary respectively as true and complete as of the applicable Closing Date, evidencing the appointment of the Centurium Director to the board of such Group Company, and (iii) a copy of the duly executed share certificate dated as of the applicable Closing Date representing such Investors ownership of the Purchased Shares being purchased by it in accordance with Section 2 as registered in the name of such Investor as of such Closing Date, with the original to be delivered to such Investor within five (5) Business Days following its Closing.
3.3. Several and Not Joint Obligations. The respective rights and obligations of the Investors hereunder, including the rights and obligations set forth in Section 2 and this Section 3 shall be several and not joint. For the avoidance of doubt, an Investor shall be entitled to, whether alone or along with the other Investor(s), proceed to its Closing and purchase the number of the Purchased Shares set forth opposite its name on Schedule II pursuant to the terms hereof. The Closing of one Investor shall not be conditional upon the simultaneous Closing by any other Investor.
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4. | REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE WARRANTORS. |
The Warrantors hereby jointly and severally represent and warrant to each Investor, subject to the disclosures set forth in the disclosure schedule attached to this Agreement as Schedule V (the Disclosure Schedule) (which Disclosure Schedule shall be deemed to be representations and warranties to the Investors), as of the date hereof and as of each Closing (except for representations and warranties that address matters only as of a particular date, will only need to be true and correct as of such particular date), as set forth in this Section 4.
Where any representation, warranty or undertaking of the Warrantors is expressed to be given to the best knowledge of the Warrantors or similar expressions, such representation, warranty or undertaking shall be deemed to have been made or given based on the current actual knowledge of the Founders and the directors of the Group Companies and their actual knowledge after due and diligent inquiries of officers and other employees of the Group Companies.
4.1. Organization, Standing and Qualification. Each of the Group Companies and the Founder Holdcos is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing (or equivalent status in the relevant jurisdiction) under, and by virtue of, the Laws of the place of its incorporation or establishment and has all the requisite power and authority to own its properties and assets and to carry on its business as now conducted and as currently proposed to be conducted, and to perform each of its obligations hereunder and under each other Transaction Document to which it is a party. Each Group Company is qualified to do business and is in good standing (or equivalent status in the relevant jurisdiction) in each jurisdiction in which it conducts its business. Each of the WFOE and the Domestic Companies has a valid business license issued by the competent Governmental Authority, and has, since its establishment, carried on its business in compliance with the business scope set forth in its business license.
4.2. Capitalization.
(a) As of the date hereof, the Company is authorized to issue a total of 500,000,000 shares, par value 0.0001 per share, which shall consist of the following:
(i) Ordinary Shares. The Company is authorized to issue a total of 467,924,867 Ordinary Shares, of which 56,179,775 Ordinary Shares are issued and outstanding.
(ii) Series A Preferred Shares. The Company is authorized to issue a total of 9,787,847 Series A Preferred Shares, all of which are issued and outstanding.
(iii) Series B Preferred Shares. The Company is authorized to issue a total of 7,085,330 Series B Preferred Shares, all of which are issued and outstanding.
(iv) Series C Preferred Shares. The Company is authorized to issue a total of 15,201,956 Series C Preferred Shares, all of which are issued and outstanding.
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Immediately prior to the Closing, but after the adoption of the Restated Articles, the Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 500,000,000 shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, which shall consist of the following:
(i) Ordinary Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 433,071,252 Ordinary Shares, of which 56,179,775 Ordinary Shares shall be issued and outstanding.
(ii) Series A Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 9,787,847 Series A Preferred Shares, all of which shall be issued and outstanding.
(iii) Series B Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 7,085,330 Series B Preferred Shares, all of which shall be issued and outstanding.
(iv) Series C Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 23,786,590 Series C Preferred Shares, of which 15,201,956 Series C Preferred Shares shall be issued and outstanding].
(v) Series D Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 26,268,981 Series D Preferred Shares, none of which shall be issued and outstanding prior to the Closing.
(b) Options, Warrants, Reserved Shares. As of the Closing, the Company will have reserved (i) a sufficient number of Series D Preferred Shares for the issuance of the Purchased Shares, (ii) a sufficient number of Series C Preferred Shares for the issues of Series C Preferred Shares upon full exercise of the Series C Warrant, and (iii) a sufficient number of Ordinary Shares for issuance upon the conversion of all Purchased Shares. Except for (A) the preemptive rights, right of first refusal, right of co-sale and other rights of the Preferred Shares, as provided in the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles, (B) the Series C Warrant (which will be fully exercised upon the Closing), the Ordinary Shares and Preferred Shares as set forth in Section 4.2(a), (C) 2,956,830 Ordinary Shares (and options and warrants therefor) reserved for issuance to employees and consultants of the Group Companies pursuant to the shareholders resolutions and the sole director resolutions of the Company each dated November 3, 2017 (the Existing ESOP) and (D) those as disclosed in Section 4.2 (b) of the Disclosure Schedule, there are no (x) options, warrants, conversion privileges, agreements or rights of any kind with respect to the issuance, sale or purchase of the shares or any other securities of any Group Company, or (y) securities or rights of any Group Company convertible into or exchangeable for equity or other securities of any Group Company. Apart from the exceptions noted in this Section 4.2(b), the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles, no shares (including the Purchased Shares and the Conversion Shares) of the outstanding share capital of any Group Company, or shares issuable upon exercise or exchange of any outstanding options, warrant or other securities of any Group Company, or any other rights or securities issued or issuable by any Group Company, are subject to any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights or resections of any kind with respect to purchase, sale or issuance of such shares or securities (whether in favor of any Group Company or any other Person).
(c) Outstanding Security Holders. A complete and accurate list of all shareholders, option holders and other security holders of the Company immediately prior to and after the Closing Date, indicating the type and number of shares, options or other securities held by each such shareholder, option holder or other security holder is set forth in the capitalization tables in Schedule IV. The information set out in Schedule IV is true and complete in all respects and there is no information the omission of which might make such information misleading or inaccurate in any respect.
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(d) Vesting of Shares. Except as described in this Agreement, the Shareholders Agreement and the Share Restriction Agreements (as defined below), no share plan, share purchase, share option or other agreement or understanding between the Company and any holder of any securities or rights exercisable or convertible for securities provides for acceleration or other changes in the vesting provisions or other terms of such agreement or understanding as the result of the occurrence of any event. The proposed transactions under this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents do not and will not result in any acceleration or changes in any such vesting provisions or terms.
(e) Issuance and Status. All presently outstanding shares and other equity securities of each Group Company were duly and validly issued (or subscribed for) in compliance with all applicable Laws, preemptive rights of any Person, and applicable contracts, and are fully paid or credited as fully paid (which, in the case of each PRC entity, shall be fully paid in accordance with its articles of association) and non-assessable, and are free and clear of all Liens (except for any restrictions on transfer under the Cooperative Agreements, the Existing Shareholders Agreement, the Existing Articles or applicable Laws). All share capital or registered capital, as the case may be, of each Group Company have been duly and validly issued and fully paid (or subscribed for) in accordance with its articles of association, is non-assessable, and is and as of the Closing shall be free of any and all Liens (except for any restrictions on transfer under the Cooperative Agreements, the Existing Shareholders Agreement, the Existing Articles or applicable Laws). No share capital or registered capital of any Group Company was issued or subscribed to in violation of the preemptive rights of any Person, terms of any contract (whether written or oral), or any Laws, by which each such Group Company at the time of issuance or subscription was bound. Except as expressly and specifically contemplated under the Transaction Documents, there are no (i) resolutions pending to increase the share capital or registered capital of any Group Company, (ii) dividends which have accrued or been declared but are unpaid by any Group Company, or (iii) outstanding or authorized equity appreciation, phantom equity, equity plans or similar rights with respect to any Group Company. Except for those set forth in the Cooperative Agreements, the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles, there is no voting, nominee, agency or entrustment or other similar arrangement with respect to the shares or equity interest of any Group Company.
4.3. Subsidiaries; Group Structure.
(a) As of the Closing, except for the BVI Subsidiary, the HK Subsidiary, the WFOE, the Domestic Companies and as set out under Section 4.3(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, the Company does not presently own or control, directly or indirectly, any equity securities or other interest in any other corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture, association, or other entity. Except as described in Section 4.3(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, none of the Domestic Companies has any subsidiary or own or control, directly or indirectly, any interest in any other corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture, association or other entity, nor maintains any offices or branches or subsidiaries. As of the Closing, the information relating to each Group Company as set out in Schedule IV is true and accurate in all respects and there is no information the omission of which might make such information misleading or inaccurate in any respect.
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(b) Except as described in Section 4.3(b) of the Disclosure Schedule, as of the Closing, each Domestic Company shall possess all requisite Permits that are material for the conduct of the Business as currently conducted or the business as set forth in the business scope of such entity and for the ownership and operation of its assets and property.
4.4. Due Authorization.
(a) All corporate actions on the part of the Group Companies and, as applicable, their respective officers, directors and shareholders necessary for (i) the authorization of the Restated Articles, the certificate of incorporation or other equivalent corporate charter documents of any of the Group Companies (collectively with the Restated Articles, the Constitutional Documents), (ii) the authorization, execution and delivery by the Group Companies of, the performance of the obligations of the Group Companies under, and the consummation by the Group Companies of the transactions contemplated by (x) this Agreement, (y) the Shareholders Agreement, the Share Restriction Agreements, the Director Indemnification Agreement (as defined below), and the various agreements attached to this Agreement (collectively, the Ancillary Agreements), and (z) the Cooperative Agreements (together with this Agreement, the Restated Articles and the Ancillary Agreements, the Transaction Documents), and (iii) the authorization, issuance, reservation for issuance and delivery of all of the Purchased Shares under this Agreement and of the Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of the Purchased Shares, have been taken or will be taken prior to the Closing. Each of the Transaction Documents and the Constitutional Documents to which such Group Company is a party or is subject to is a valid and binding obligation of each such Group Company enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, subject, as to the enforcement of remedies, to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and similar Laws affecting creditors rights generally and to general equitable principles.
(b) As to each Founder Party, (i) such party has all requisite power, authority and capacity to, and if applicable, has taken or will prior to the Closing take all corporate actions to enter into the Transaction Documents, perform its obligations under the Transaction Documents and consummate the transactions contemplated under the Transaction Documents, in each case, to which it is a party, and (ii) each of the Transaction Documents to which it is a party, when executed and delivered by it, will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of it and be enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, subject, as to enforcement of remedies, to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and similar Laws affecting creditors rights generally and to general equitable principles.
4.5. Valid Issuance of Purchased Shares.
(a) The Purchased Shares and the Conversion Shares, when issued and delivered in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the Restated Articles, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable, and free and clear of any Liens (except for those set forth under the Shareholders Agreement or the Restated Articles).
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(b) All currently outstanding shares of the Company are duly and validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable, and all outstanding shares, options, warrants and other securities of the Company and each other Group Company have been issued in full compliance with the requirements of all applicable securities Laws including, to the extent applicable, the registration and prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act, or in compliance with applicable exemptions therefrom, and all other provisions of applicable securities Laws, including, without limitation, anti-fraud provisions.
4.6. Liabilities. Except as disclosed in Section 4.6 of the Disclosure Schedule or under the Financial Statements, no Group Company has any indebtedness (whether for borrowed money or otherwise, other than the indebtedness incurred in the ordinary course of business of the Group Companies) that it has directly or indirectly created, incurred, assumed, or guaranteed, or with respect to which the Group Company has otherwise become directly or indirectly liable.
4.7. Title to Properties and Assets.
(a) Each Group Company has valid title to, or a valid leasehold interest in or right to the properties and assets currently held and used by it, and has full right to use the offices currently used by it, in each case subject to no Liens except for encumbrances and Liens that arise in the ordinary course of business and do not materially impair the Group Companys ownership or use of such property or assets. The foregoing properties, assets and rights collectively represent in all material respects all properties, assets and rights necessary for the conduct of the business of the Group Companies in the manner conducted during the periods covered by the Financial Statements and as presently conducted. Except for leased items, no Person other than a Group Company owns any interest in any such assets. All machinery, vehicles, equipment and other tangible personal property owned or leased by a Group Company are (i) in good condition and repair in all material respects (reasonable wear and tear excepted) and (ii) not obsolete or in need in any material respect of renewal or replacement, except for renewal or replacement in the ordinary course of business.
(b) No Group Company owns or has legal or equitable title or other right or interest in any real property other than as held pursuant to Leases. Section 4.7(b) of the Disclosure Schedule sets forth each leasehold interest pursuant to which any Group Company holds any real property (a Lease), indicating the parties to such Lease, the address of the property demised under the Lease, the rent payable under the Lease and the term of the Lease. The particulars of the Leases as set forth in Section 4.7(b) of the Disclosure Schedule are true and complete. Each Lease constitutes the entire agreement with respect to the property demised thereunder. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, the lessor under each Lease is qualified and has obtained all Permits (as defined below) necessary to enter into such Lease, including without limitation any Permits required from the owner of the property demised pursuant to the Lease if the lessor is not such owner. There is no claim asserted or, to the best Knowledge of the Warrantors, threatened by any Person regarding the lessors ownership of the property demised pursuant to each Lease. Except as disclosed in Section 4.7(b) of the Disclosure Schedule, each Lease is in compliance in all material respects with applicable Laws, including with respect to the ownership and operation of property and conduct of business as now conducted by the applicable Group Company which is a party to such Lease, and each party to each Lease is in full compliance with the terms of the relevant Leases. Each Group Company which is a party to a Lease has accepted possession of the property demised pursuant to the Lease and is in actual possession thereof and has not sublet, assigned or hypothecated its leasehold interest. No Group Company uses any real property in the conduct of its business except insofar as it has secured a Lease with respect thereto. The leasehold interests under the Leases held by each Group Company are adequate for the conduct of the business of such Group Company as currently conducted. There exists no pending or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, threatened condemnation, confiscation, eminent domain proceeding, dispute, claim, demand or similar proceeding with respect to, or which could materially and adversely affect, the continued use and enjoyment of such leasehold interests. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there are no circumstances that would entitle any Governmental Authority or other Person to take possession or otherwise restrict use, possession or occupation of any property subject to any Leases.
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(c) To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, the use, distribution, licensing, sale, or disposal of any asset or property of any Group Company does not infringe, misappropriate or violate any rights of any other party.
(d) No action, suit, investigation or government proceeding (i) challenging the validity, enforceability, or ownership of any asset or property of any Group Company, or (ii) alleging that the use, distribution, licensing, sale, or disposal of any asset or property of any Group Company infringes, misappropriates or violates any right of any third party, is pending or is threatened by any Person against any of the Group Companies. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no unauthorized use, infringement or misappropriation of any of the assets or properties of the Group Companies by any third party, employee or former employee.
4.8. Intellectual Property.
(a) Company Intellectual Property. Each Group Company owns or has the rights to use or otherwise has the sufficient rights (including but not limited to the rights of development, maintenance, licensing and sale) to, all Intellectual Property that is material for the conduct of the Business (Company Intellectual Property) without any conflict with or infringement of the rights of any other Person. Section 4.8(a) of the Disclosure Schedule sets forth a complete and accurate list of all Company Intellectual Property (including all Registered Intellectual Property) for each Group Company, including for each the relevant name or description, registration/certification or application number, and filing, registration or issue date.
(b) Intellectual Property Ownership. Except as disclosed in Section 4.8(b) of the Disclosure Schedule, all Registered Intellectual Property is owned by and registered or applied for solely in the name of a Group Company, is valid and subsisting and has not been abandoned, and all necessary registration, maintenance and renewal fees with respect thereto and currently due have been satisfied. No Group Company or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, any of its employees, officers or directors has taken any actions or failed to take any actions that would cause any material Registered Intellectual Property owned by the Group Companies to be invalid, unenforceable or not subsisting. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, no funding or facilities of a Governmental Authority or a university, college, other educational institution or research center was used in the development of any material Company Owned Intellectual Property. No Company Owned Intellectual Property is the subject of any Lien, encumbrance, license or other contract (whether written or oral) to which any Group Company is a party granting rights therein to any other Person. No Group Company is or has been a member or promoter of, or contributor to, any industry standards bodies, patent pooling organizations or similar organizations that could require or obligate a Group Company to grant or offer to any Person any license or right to any Company Owned Intellectual Property. No Registered Intellectual Property is subject to any proceeding or outstanding governmental order or settlement agreement or stipulation that restricts in any manner the use, transfer or licensing thereof, or any Group Companys products or services, by any Group Company or may affect the validity, use or enforceability of such Registered Intellectual Property. The Founders have assigned and transferred to a Group Company any and all of their Intellectual Property related to the business conducted by the Group Companies. No Group Company has (i) transferred or assigned any material Company Owned Intellectual Property; (ii) authorized the joint ownership of, any material Company Owned Intellectual Property; or (iii) permitted the rights of any Group Company in any Registered Intellectual Property to lapse or enter the public domain.
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(c) Infringement, Misappropriation and Claims. No Group Company has violated, infringed or misappropriated any Intellectual Property of any other Person, provided that the forgoing representations and warranties under this Section 4.8(c) shall not be applied to any violation, infringement or misappropriation of any Intellectual Property of any other Person caused by or arising from any products produced by any third party and distributed or sold by any Group Company, provided that such Group Company shall have duly inquired such third party with respect to the ownership of/licensed rights to use the Intellectual Property applied in the products, nor has any Group Company received any written notice alleging any of the foregoing. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, no Person has violated, infringed or misappropriated any Company Owned Intellectual Property of any Group Company, and no Group Company has given any written notice to any other Person alleging any of the foregoing. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, no Person has challenged the ownership of the Company Owned Intellectual Property or the use of other Company Intellectual Property by any Group Company. No Group Company has agreed to indemnify any Person for any infringement, violation or misappropriation of any Intellectual Property by such Person.
(d) Assignments and Prior Intellectual Property. All material inventions and material know-how conceived by employees, consultants and independent contractors of a Group Company related to the business of such Group Company (other than the Course Materials developed jointly with or independently by any third parties) are currently owned exclusively by a Group Company. All employees, consultants and independent contractors of a Group Company who are or were involved in the creation of any Intellectual Property for such Group Company have executed an assignment of inventions agreement that vests in a Group Company exclusive ownership of all right, title and interest in and to such Intellectual Property, to the extent not already provided by Law. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, it will not be necessary to utilize any Intellectual Property of any such Persons, except for those that are exclusively owned by a Group Company, and none of such Intellectual Property has been utilized by any Group Company. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, none of the employees, consultants or independent contractors currently or previously employed or otherwise engaged by any Group Company, (i) is in violation of any current or prior confidentiality, non-competition or non-solicitation obligations to such Group Company or to any other Persons, including former employers or (ii) is obligated under any contract, or subject to any governmental order, that would interfere with the use of his or her best efforts to promote the interests of the Group Companies or that would conflict with the business of such Group Company as presently conducted.
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(e) Licenses. Section 4.8(e) of the Disclosure Schedule contains a complete and accurate list of (i) all licenses, sublicenses, and other contracts to which any Group Company is a party and pursuant to which any third party is authorized to use, exercise or receive any benefit from any Company Owned Intellectual Property, and (ii) all licenses, sublicenses and other Contracts to which any Group Company is a party and pursuant to which such Group Company is authorized to use, exercise, or receive any benefit from any Intellectual Property of another Person, in each case except for (1) agreements involving off-the-shelf commercially available software, (2) non-exclusive licenses to customers of the business conducted by the Group Companies in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, and (3) license of copyright of the contents and information contained in the Course Materials ((i) and (ii) collectively (for the avoidance of doubt, including those referred to in above (1), (2) and (3)), the Licenses). The Group Companies have paid all license and royalty fees (if any) required to be paid under the Licenses.
(f) Protection of Intellectual Property. Each Group Company has taken reasonable and appropriate steps to register, protect, maintain and safeguard the Company Owned Intellectual Property and made all appropriate filings, registrations and payments of fees in connection with the foregoing. To the extent that any Company Owned Intellectual Property has been developed or created independently or jointly by an independent contractor or other third party for any Group Company, or is incorporated into any products or services of any Group Company, such Group Company has a written agreement with such independent contractor or third party and has thereby obtained ownership of, and is the exclusive owner of all such independent contractors or third partys Intellectual Property in such work, material or invention by operation of law or valid assignment.
(g) No Public Software. No material software included in any Company Owned Intellectual Property has been or is being distributed, in whole or in part, or was used, or is being used in conjunction with any Public Software in a manner which would require that such software be disclosed or distributed in source code form or made available at no charge. For the purpose of this Agreement, Public Software means any software that contains, or is derived in any manner (in whole or in part) from, any software that is distributed as free software, open source software (e.g., Linux) or similar licensing or distribution models, including, without limitation, software licensed or distributed under any of the following licenses or distribution models, or licenses or distribution models similar to any of the following: (i) GNUs General Public License (GPL) or Lesser/Library GPL (LGPL), (ii) the Artistic License (e.g., PERL), (iii) the Mozilla Public License, (iv) the Netscape Public License, (v) the Sun Community Source License (SCSL), (vi) the Sun Industry Standards License (SISL), (vii) the BSD License, and (viii) the Apache License.
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4.9. Material Contracts and Obligations.
(a) All Material Contracts are listed in Section 4.9 of the Disclosure Schedule (each, a Material Contract). For purposes of this Section 4.9, Material Contracts means collectively, each contract to which a Group Company or any of its properties or assets is bound or subject to that (i) involves obligations (contingent or otherwise) or payments in excess of US$50,000 individually or US$100,000 in the aggregate per annum or that is not terminable upon thirty (30) day-notice without incurring any penalty or obligation, (ii) involves Intellectual Property that is material to a Group Company (other than generally- available off- the-shelf shrink-wrap software licenses obtained by the Group Companies on non-exclusive and non-negotiated terms), including without limitation, the Licenses, (iii) restricts the ability of a Group Company to compete or to conduct or engage in any business or activity or in any territory, (iv) relates to the sale, issuance, grant, exercise, award, purchase, repurchase or redemption of any equity securities, (v) involves any provisions providing exclusivity, change in control, most favored nations, rights of first refusal or first negotiation or similar rights, or grants a power of attorney, agency or similar authority, (vi) is with a related party except for the employment or retainer agreements between the Group Companies and their officers, consultants, or employees, (vii) involves indebtedness, an extension of credit, a guaranty or assumption of any obligation, or the grant of a Lien, (viii) involves the lease, license, sale, use, disposition or acquisition of a material amount of assets or of a business, (ix) involves the waiver, compromise, or settlement of any material dispute, claim, litigation or arbitration, (x) involves the ownership or lease of, title to, use of, or any leasehold or other interest in, any real or personal property (except for personal property leases involving payments of less than US$50,000 per annum), (k) involves the establishment, contribution to, or operation of a partnership, joint venture or involving a sharing of profits or losses, or any investment in, loan to or acquisition or sale of the securities, equity interest or assets of any Person, (xi) is with a Governmental Authority, state-owned enterprise, or sole-source supplier of any material product or service (other than utilities), (xii) is an employee benefits plan, (xiii) is a Cooperative Agreement, (xiv) is not in the ordinary course of business, or is not consistent with a Group Companys past practice, or (xv) otherwise material to a Group Company or is one on which a Group Company is substantially dependent. No party to any such Material Contracts or obligations is in default thereunder, which would be material in the context of the Group Companies financial position; and there are no circumstances giving rise to such a default.
(b) A true, fully-executed copy of each Material Contract has been delivered to the Investors. All of the Material Contracts are valid, subsisting, in full force and effect and binding upon the Group Company to which it is a party, and the performance of such Material Contracts does not and will not violate any applicable Laws. No threat or claim of default under any such Material Contracts to which a Group Company is a party, has been made or is outstanding against it. Each Group Company has in all material respects satisfied or provided for all of its liabilities and obligations under each Material Contract to which it is a party or by which it is bound which requires performance prior to the date of this Agreement, and is not in default in any respect under any Material Contract to which it is a party or by which it is bound. There does not exist any circumstance due to the action or inaction of any Group Company that with notice or lapse of time or both would constitute a default of the obligations by a Group Company under a Material Contract to which it is a party or by which it is bound. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, none of the officers or directors of any Group Company has given or received from any Person any notice or communication (whether oral or written) regarding any actual, alleged, possible or potential breach of, or default under, any Material Contract.
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4.10. Litigation. There is no Action pending or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, currently threatened against any of the Group Companies, any Group Companys activities, properties or assets or to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, against any officer, director or employee of each Group Company in connection with such officers, directors or employees relationship with, or actions taken on behalf of any Group Company. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no factual or legal basis for any such Action that is likely to result, individually or in the aggregate, in any material adverse effect on the Group Companies. For the sole purpose of the preceding sentence, an Action shall be deemed as having a material adverse effect on the Group Company only when (i) the amount or value of claims involved in such Action is in excess of RMB500,000 or (ii) the potential result of such Action may or will impact the normal conduct of business of the affected Group Company. By way of example, but not by way of limitation, there are no Actions pending against any of the Group Companies or threatened against any of the Group Companies, relating to the use by any employee of any Group Company of any information, technology or techniques allegedly proprietary to any of their former employers, clients or other parties. None of the Group Companies is a party to or subject to the provisions of any order, writ, injunction, judgment or decree of any court or government agency or instrumentality and there is no Action by any Group Company currently pending or which it intends to initiate.
4.11. Compliance with Laws; Permits.
(a) Except as disclosed in Section 4.11(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, each Group Company is, and has been, in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Laws. None of the Group Companies has conducted any activity in violation of any applicable statute, rule, regulation, order or restriction of any domestic or foreign government or any agency thereof in respect of the conduct of its business or the ownership of its properties in any material respect. No event has occurred and no circumstance exists that (with or without notice or lapse of time) (i) may constitute or result in a violation by any Group Company of, or a failure on the part of such entity to comply with, any applicable Laws in any material respect, or (ii) may give rise to any obligation on the part of any Group Company to undertake, or to bear all or any portion of the cost of, any remedial action of any nature. None of the Group Companies has received any notice from any Governmental Authority regarding any of the foregoing. No Group Company has received any written or oral notice indicating that or is otherwise aware that it is under investigation with respect to any material violation of any Law. Except as disclosed in Section 4.11(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, each Group Company has all material Permits issued or granted by the competent Governmental Authorities that are necessary for the due and proper establishment and conduct of its business as currently conducted and as proposed to be conducted, or is able to obtain such Permits from the competent Governmental Authorities without undue burden or expense. None of the Group Companies is in default under any of such Permit issued or granted by the competent Governmental Authorities. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, no Governmental Authority is considering modifying, suspending, revoking or denying upon expiration the renewal of any of such Permits. No Permits issued or granted by the competent Governmental Authorities contain any materially burdensome restrictions or conditions, and each Permit is in full force and effect and will remain in full force and effect upon the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. None of the Group Companies is in default in any material respect under any Permit issued or granted by the competent Governmental Authorities. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no reason to believe that any Permit which is subject to periodic renewal will not be granted or renewed. No Group Company has received any letter or other communication from any Governmental Authority threatening or providing notice of revocation of any such Permit issued to any Group Company or the need for compliance or remedial actions in respect of the activities carried out directly or indirectly by any Group Company. There are no fines or penalties asserted against the Group Companies under any applicable Law, and neither of the Group Companies has received any notice from any Governmental Authorities with respect to any violation of any applicable Law.
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(b) All Permits issued or granted by or filed with the Governmental Authorities and any other Persons which are required to be obtained or made by each Group Company and each Founder Party in connection with the consummation of the transactions contemplated under the Transaction Documents shall have been obtained or made prior to and be effective as of the Closing. None of the Warrantors and, to the knowledge of the Warrantors, nor any other registered shareholder or ultimate beneficial owners of the Company who are citizens and permanent residents of the PRC defined under the Circular 37 (the Domestic Residents) is or has been in violation of any applicable statute, rule, regulation, order or restriction of any domestic or foreign government or any instrumentality or agency thereof in respect of (i) the conduct of the business or the ownership of Group Companies properties, including but not limited to the registration requirement for the Founders and, (ii) to the knowledge of the Warrantors, any other Domestic Residents (indirect) investment in the Company under the Circular 37. Each of the Founders is a citizen and permanent resident of the PRC and did not hold and does not hold any identification that may require the registration of each of the Domestic Companies as a foreign invested enterprise pursuant to applicable Law of the PRC in effect at and from the time of the incorporation of such Domestic Company through the Closing Date.
4.12. Compliance with Other Instruments and Agreements. None of the Group Companies is or has been in, nor shall the conduct of its business as currently conducted result in, violation, breach or default of any term of its Constitutional Documents and its business scope of the respective Group Company, or in any respect of any term or provision of Material Contract or of any provision of any judgment, decree, order, statute, rule or regulation applicable to or binding upon the Group Company. None of the activities, agreements, commitments or rights of any Group Company is ultra vires or invalid, or unauthorized. The execution, delivery and performance of and compliance with this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, will not result in any such violation, breach or default, or be in conflict with or constitute, with or without the passage of time or the giving of notice or both, either a default under any Group Companys Constitutional Documents or any Material Contracts, or a violation of any Laws, or an event which results in the creation of any Lien upon any asset of any Group Company.
4.13. Registration Rights. Except as provided in the Shareholders Agreement, no Warrantor has granted or agreed to grant any Person any registration rights (including piggyback registration rights) with respect to, nor is the Company obliged to list, any of the Companys shares (or shares of the WFOE or the Domestic Companies) on any securities exchange. Except as contemplated under this Agreement, the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles, there are no voting or similar agreements which relate to the share capital of the Company or any equity interest of the WFOE or the Domestic Companies.
4.14. Financial Advisor Fees. There exists no agreement or understanding between any Group Company and any investment bank or other financial advisor under which such Group Company may owe any brokerage, placement or other fees relating to the offer or sale of the Purchased Shares.
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4.15. Financial Statements. Except as disclosed in Section 4.15 of the Disclosure Schedule, the Financial Statements are (a) in accordance with the books and records of the applicable Group Company, (b) true, correct and complete and present fairly in all material respects the financial condition of such Group Company or Group Companies at the date or dates therein indicated and the results of operations for the period or periods therein specified, and (c) have been prepared in accordance with the PRC GAAP (with respect to the WFOE and the Domestic Companies) or the IFRS or any internationally recognized accounting standards (with respect to the Company, BVI Subsidiary, HK Subsidiary, or the Group Companies taken as a whole), applied on a consistent basis (solely with respect to the unaudited Financial Statements, except for the omission of notes thereto and normal year-end provision and audit adjustments). All the Financial Statements referred to under this Section 4.15 have been or shall be delivered to the Investors before the Closing. Specifically, but not by way of limitation, the respective balance sheets of the Financial Statements disclose all of the Group Companies respective debts, liabilities and obligations of any nature, whether due or to become due, as of their respective dates (including, without limitation, absolute liabilities, accrued liabilities, and contingent liabilities) to the extent such debts, liabilities and obligations are required to be disclosed in accordance with PRC GAAP or the IFRS or any internationally recognized accounting standards, as applicable. The Group Companies have valid title to all assets set forth on the balance sheets of the respective Financial Statements, except for such assets as have been spent, sold or transferred in the ordinary course of business since their respective dates. Except as disclosed in the Financial Statements, none of the Group Companies is a guarantor or indemnitor of any indebtedness of any other Person. Each Group Company maintains and will continue to maintain a standard system of accounting established and administered in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles as required in the jurisdiction where it is incorporated. Each Group Company (i) maintains its books of accounts and records in the usual, regular and ordinary manner, on a basis consistent with prior practice and generally in compliance with applicable Laws and applicable generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis, (ii) does not make any fraudulent or fictitious entries in its books or records other than accounting errors occurring unintentionally in book-keeping which can be easily identified and immediately fixed or corrected, and (iii) does not use any assets of such Group Company to establish any unlawful or unrecorded fund of monies or other assets, or make any unlawful or undisclosed payment.
4.16. Activities since Balance Sheet Date. Since the Balance Sheet Date, with respect to each Group Company, except as disclosed in the Disclosure Schedule, there has not been:
(a) any change in the business, assets, liabilities, financial condition or operating results of such Group Company from that reflected in the Financial Statements, except changes in the ordinary course of business which are made consistent with past practice;
(b) any insolvency or any requirement for prepayment by such Group Company;
(c) any purchase, acquisition, sale, lease, transfer or disposition of any assets (i) individually in excess of US$50,000 or in excess of US$100,000 in the aggregate, or (ii) that are individually or in the aggregate material to its business, except for the sale of inventory in the ordinary course of business consistent with its past practice, and no acquisition (by merger, consolidation or other combination, or acquisition of stock or assets, or otherwise) of any business or other Person or division thereof;
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(d) capital expenditure or commitment of capital expenditure beyond the annual budget in excess of US$100,000;
(e) any material change in the contingent obligations of such Group Company by way of guarantee, endorsement, indemnity, warranty or otherwise;
(f) any damage, destruction or loss, whether or not covered by insurance, materially and adversely affecting the assets, properties, financial condition, operating results, prospects or business of such Group Company (as presently conducted and as presently proposed to be conducted);
(g) any waiver, termination, settlement or compromise by such Group Company of a valuable right or of a debt, other than those in the ordinary course of business which are given, made or dealt with consistent with past practice;
(h) any satisfaction or discharge of any Lien or payment of any obligation by such Group Company, except such satisfaction, discharge or payment made in the ordinary course of business that is not material to the assets, properties, financial condition, operating results or business of such Group Company;
(i) any change or amendment to any Material Contract or material arrangement by or to which such Group Company or any of its assets or properties is bound or subject, any entering of any new Material Contract, or any termination of any contract that would have been a Material Contract if in effect on the date hereof, or any amendment to any Constitutional Document, or any amendment to or waiver under any Constitutional Document;
(j) any material change in any compensation arrangement or agreement with any present or prospective employee, officer or director, or adoption of any new employee benefit plan, or made any material change in any existing employee benefit plan, other than any change incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with its past practice;
(k) any sale, assignment or transfer of any Intellectual Property or other material intangible assets of such Group Company other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with its past practice;
(l) the resignation or termination of employment of any Founder, any director, officer or key employee, or any material group of employees of such Group Company with such Group Company;
(m) any mortgage, pledge or transfer of or any Lien created by such Group Company with respect to any of such Group Companys properties or assets, except Liens for taxes not yet due or payable;
(n) any debt, obligation, or liability incurred, assumed or guaranteed by such Group Company individually in excess of US$100,000 or in excess of US$200,000 in the aggregate;
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(o) any sale, issuance, transfer, pledge or other disposition of any equity securities of any Group Company, except for those necessary to complete the transactions expressly contemplated under the Transaction Documents;
(p) any declaration, setting aside or payment or other distribution in respect of any of such Group Companys equity securities, or any direct or indirect issuance, transfer, redemption, purchase or acquisition of any of such equity securities by such Group Company;
(q) any failure to conduct the Business in the ordinary course, consistent with such Group Companys past practices;
(r) any material change in accounting methods or practices or any revaluation of any of its assets;
(s) except in the ordinary course of business consistent with its past practice, entry into any closing agreement in respect of material taxes, settlement of any claim or assessment in respect of any material taxes, or consent to any extension or waiver of the limitation period applicable to any claim or assessment in respect of any material taxes, entry or change of any material tax election, change of any method of accounting resulting in a material amount of additional tax or filing of any material amended Tax Return;
(t) any commencement or settlement of any material Action;
(u) any transactions with any of the Founder Parties, the officers, directors or employees of any Group Company, or any Affiliates or Associates of such Persons;
(v) any other event or condition of any character which could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the business of the Group Companies; or
(w) any agreement or commitment by such Group Company or any Founder Party to do any of the things described in this Section 4.16.
4.17. Tax Matters.
(a) Each Group Company (i) has timely filed all Tax Returns that are required to have been filed by it with any Governmental Authority, (ii) has timely paid all taxes owed by it which are due and payable (whether or not shown on any Tax Return) and withheld and remitted to the appropriate Governmental Authority all taxes which it is obligated to withhold and remit from amounts owing to any employee, creditor, customer or third party, and (iii) has not waived any statute of limitations with respect to taxes or agreed to any extension of time with respect to a tax assessment or deficiency other than, in the case of clauses (i) and (ii), unpaid taxes that are in contest with tax authorities by Group Company in good faith or nonmaterial in amount.
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(b) Each Tax Return referred to in paragraph (a) above was properly prepared in compliance with applicable Law and was (and will be) true, correct and complete in all material respects. None of such Tax Returns contains a statement that is false or misleading or omits any matter that is required to be included or without which the statement would be false or misleading. No reporting position was taken on any such Tax Return which has not been disclosed to the appropriate tax authority or in such Tax Return, as may be required by Law. All records relating to such Tax Returns or to the preparation thereof required by applicable Law to be maintained by applicable Group Company have been duly maintained. No written claim has been made by a Governmental Authority in a jurisdiction where any Group Company is or may be subject to taxation by that jurisdiction and such Group Company does not file Tax Returns.
(c) The assessment of any additional taxes with respect to the applicable Group Company for periods for which Tax Returns have been filed is not expected to materially exceed the recorded liability therefor in the most recent balance sheet in the Financial Statements, and there are no unresolved questions or claims concerning any tax liability of any Group Company. Since the Balance Sheet Date, no Group Company has incurred any liability for taxes outside the ordinary course of business or otherwise inconsistent with past custom and practice. There is no pending dispute with, or notice from, any tax authority relating to any of the Tax Returns filed by any Group Company, and to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no proposed liability for a deficiency in any tax to be imposed upon the properties or assets of any Group Company.
(d) No Group Company has been the subject of any examination or investigation by any tax authority relating to the conduct of its business or the payment or withholding of taxes that has not been resolved or is currently the subject of any examination or investigation by any tax authority relating to the conduct of its business or the payment or withholding of taxes. Except for the withholding duties of taxes in accordance with applicable Laws, no Group Company is responsible for the taxes of any other Person by reason of contract, successor liability or otherwise.
(e) All tax credits, tax holidays or tax preferential treatments enjoyed by the Group Company established under the Laws of the PRC or under other applicable Laws since its establishment have been in compliance with all applicable Laws and is not subject to reduction, revocation, cancellation or any other changes (including retroactive changes) in the future, except through change in applicable Laws published by relevant Governmental Authority.
(f) To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, immediately after the Closing, the Company will not be a Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) as defined in the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (or any successor thereto) (the Code) with respect to the shares held by the Investors.
(g) The Company does not expect to be a passive foreign investment company (PFIC) within the meaning of Section 1297 of the Code in the current taxable year. The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to avoid being a PFIC.
(h) None of the Group Companies has filed (whether by itself or by any other Person on its behalf) any Form 8832 (Entity Classification Election) or Form SS-4 (Application for Employer Identification Number) or made (whether by itself or by any other Person on its behalf) any Tax election for U.S. Tax purposes.
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4.18. Sanctions Law Compliance. None of the Group Companies, other Warrantors or their respective Affiliates and directors, officers, managers and employees (collectively, Group Representatives), and to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, none of the independent contractors, representatives, agents and other persons expressly authorized to act on behalf of the Group Companies or other Warrantors (collectively, External Representatives) is an Sanctioned Person, or is organized, resident or located in a Sanctioned Country, and no Sanctioned Person will be given an offer to become an employee, officer, consultant or director of any Group Company. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, no Group Company has conducted or agreed to conduct any business, or entered into or agreed to enter into any transaction with any Sanctioned Person. No Group Company has conducted or agreed to conduct any business, or entered into or agreed to enter into any transaction in any Sanctioned Country. None of (i) the purchase and sale of the Purchased Shares and the Conversion Shares, (ii) the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, the other Transaction Documents and the Constitutional Documents, or (iii) the consummation of any transaction contemplated hereby or thereby, or the fulfillment of the terms hereof or thereof, will result in a violation by anyone, including without limitation the Investors, of any of the Compliance Laws.
4.19. Anti-Bribery, Anti-Corruption, Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions; Absence of Government Interests. Each of the Group Companies, other Warrantor and Group Representatives, and to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, each of the External Representatives are and have been in compliance with all applicable Compliance Laws in all material respects, provided that the representation and warranty in this sentence shall not apply to any personal affairs of any employee of any Group Company who is not a director, officer or manager of a Group Company. Furthermore, no Public Official (a) holds an ownership or other economic interest in any of the Group Companies or in the contractual relationship formed by this Agreement directly, or to the best knowledge of the Warrantors holds an ownership or other economic in any of the Group Companies or in the contractual relationship formed by this Agreement indirectly, or (b) serves as an officer, director or employee of any Group Company. Without limiting the foregoing, neither any Group Company nor any Group Representatives, or to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, any External Representative has, directly or indirectly, offered, authorized, promised, condoned, participated in, consummated, or received notice of any allegation of (x) the making of any gift or payment of anything of value to any Public Official or any other Person to obtain any improper advantage, affect or influence any act or decision of any such Public Official, or assist any Group Company in obtaining or retaining business for, or with, or directing business to, any Person, provided that the representation and warranty for this (x) shall not apply to the personal affairs of any employee of any Group Company who is not a director, officer or manager of a Group Company, (y) the making of any false or fictitious entries in the books or records of any Group Company by any Person for the foregoing purpose under (x), or (z) the using of any assets of any Group Company for the establishment of any unlawful or unrecorded fund of monies or other assets, or the making of any unlawful or undisclosed payment for the foregoing purpose under (x).
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4.20. Related Party Transactions. Except for the related party transactions as disclosed in Section 4.20 of Disclosure Schedule which are conducted on an arms length basis, and except as contemplated by this Agreement, no Warrantor, officer or director of a Group Company or any Affiliate or Associate of any such Person has any agreement (whether oral or written), understanding, proposed transaction with, or is indebted to, any Group Company, nor is any Group Company indebted (or committed to make loans or extend or guarantee credit) to any of such Persons (other than for accrued salaries, reimbursable out-of- pocket expenses for employees or other standard employee benefits). No officer or director of a Warrantor has any direct or indirect ownership interest in, or any agreement or other arrangement or undertaking, with, any firm or corporation with which a Group Company is affiliated or with which a Group Company has a business relationship, or any firm or corporation that competes with a Group Company. No Affiliate or Associate of any officer or director of a Warrantor is directly or indirectly interested in any contract with a Group Company. No officer or director of a Warrantor or any Affiliate or Associate of any such Person has had, either directly or indirectly, an interest in: (a) any Person which purchases from or sells, licenses or furnishes to a Group Company any goods, property, intellectual or other property rights or services; or (b) any Contract or agreement to which a Group Company is a party or by which it may be bound or affected. There is no agreement between any shareholder of the Company with respect to the ownership or control of any Group Company.
4.21. Environmental and Safety Laws. None of the Group Companies is in violation of any applicable Law relating to the environment or occupational health and safety in any material respects and no material expenditures are or will be required in order to comply with any such existing Law.
4.22. Employee Matters.
(a) Except as disclosed in Section 4.22 of the Disclosure Schedule, (a) each Group Company has complied in all material respects with all applicable employment and labor Laws, including provisions thereof relating to employment contracts, wages, hours, housing funds, social welfare, social insurance contribution and collective bargaining, (b) there is no pending or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, threatened legal proceeding relating to the violation or alleged violation of any applicable employment and labor Laws; (c) each Group Company has duly entered into legal and valid written employment contracts with its employees in accordance with applicable Laws, and (d) each Group Company is in compliance in all material respects with all Laws relating to its provision of any form of social insurance, and has paid, or made provision for the payment of, all social insurance contributions required under applicable Laws.
(b) No officer or the employees listed in Schedule VI attached hereto (collectively, the Key Employees) intends to, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, terminate their employment with any Group Company, and no Group Company has a present intention to terminate the employment of any officer or Key Employee. None of the Group Companies is a party to or bound by any currently effective employment contract that is or will be regarded as an incentive plan, profit sharing plan, retirement agreement or other employee compensation agreement. None of the Warrantors is aware, after reasonable investigation, that any of such employees, officers, directors or consultants are in violation thereof. The Founders are currently devoting all of their business time to the conduct of the business of the applicable Group Company. Neither the Founders nor, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, any of the Key Employees are involved in any daily business, operation, management and administration of any entity other than the Group Companies. The Founders or the Key Employees are not subject to any covenant restricting him from working for any Group Company. None of the Founders or the Key Employees was subject to any non-compete, confidentiality or other similar obligations towards a third party when he or she commenced employment with the Group Companies.
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(c) No employees of any Group Company are represented by a labor union, works council, or other labor organization. Neither the Company nor any other Group Company is party to, or bound by, any collective bargaining agreement, Contract or other agreement or understanding, or bargaining relationship with a labor union, works council, or labor organization. The Group Companies are not, and for the past three (3) years have not been, subject to a pending or threatened strike, lockout, walkout, work stoppage or other material labor dispute.
(d) Each Employee Benefit Plan (and each related trust, insurance Contract or other funding vehicle) has been established, maintained, funded, and administered in all material respects in accordance with its terms and in a manner not in violation of the requirements of all applicable Laws. Each Group Company has complied with all applicable Laws (including funding requirements) relating to social insurance contributions, housing funds contributions and any other labor related plans that are mandatorily required to be funded or sponsored by the Group Companies under applicable Laws.
4.23. Exempt Offering. The offer and sale of the Purchased Shares under this Agreement and the issuance of the Conversion Shares upon conversion thereof are or shall be exempt from the registration requirements and prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act, and from the registration or qualification requirements of any other applicable securities Laws.
4.24. No Other Business. Each of the Company, the BVI Subsidiary and the HK Subsidiary was formed solely to acquire and hold directly or indirectly the equity interest in the WFOE, and since its formation has not engaged in any business and has not incurred any liability in the course of its business, other than acquiring and holding equity interest in the WFOE and, unless otherwise agreed by the Lead Investor, shall not incur any liability in the course of carrying out such purpose. The WFOE is intended to be engaged in and the Domestic Companies are engaged solely in the Business and have no other activities. Except as contemplated under the Transaction Documents, neither the Founder Parties nor any of their respective Affiliates or Associates (other than a Group Company), is engaged in any activities that are same or similar to or otherwise compete with the Business.
4.25. Minute Books. All available minute books of each Group Company (as applicable) have been made available to the Investors and each such minute books contain a summary of such meetings and actions taken by directors and shareholders or owners of such Group Company since its time of formation, and reflects all transactions referred to in such minutes accurately in all material respects.
4.26. Insurance. Except as disclosed in Section 4.26 of the Disclosure Schedule, each Group Company has in full force and effect insurance policies, with extended coverage, sufficient in amount (subject to reasonable deductibles) to allow it to reasonably replace any of its properties and material assets that might be damaged or destroyed or to recover from risks related to accident, business interruption, public, personal or product liability or other risks, that are in categories and amounts customary for companies similarly situated. There is no material claim pending thereunder as to which coverage has been questioned, denied or disputed. All premiums due and payable under all such policies and bonds have been timely paid, and each Group Company is otherwise in compliance in all material respects with the terms of such policies and bonds.
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4.27. Other Representations and Warranties relating to the WFOE and the Domestic Companies.
(a) The Constitutional Documents and Permits of each of the WFOE and each Domestic Company are valid and have been duly approved or issued by, or filed with (as applicable) the competent Governmental Authorities of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization.
(b) Except for those expressly contemplated under the Transaction Documents, there are no outstanding rights, or commitments made by any of the WFOE or the Domestic Companies to sell any of its equity interest, and none of the outstanding equity interest in the WFOE or the Domestic Companies is subject to any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase such shares (whether in favor of such subsidiaries or any other Persons).
(c) The registered capital of each of the WFOE and the Domestic Companies has been fully paid up and maintained in accordance with the schedule of payment stipulated in its respective articles of association, approval document, certificate of approval and business license and in compliance with PRC Laws and regulations, and there is no outstanding capital contribution commitment. For each of the WFOE and the Domestic Companies, all the historical changes to the share capital of such PRC Company and historical transfers of equity interest in such PRC Company were made in compliance with the applicable Laws. There are no outstanding rights, or commitments made by any Group Company or the Founders to sell any of its equity interest in the Domestic Companies.
(d) Except for those contemplated under the Cooperative Agreements, there are no outstanding commitments made by any of the WFOE or the Domestic Companies to sell any of its assets, properties or business to any third party.
(e) Except for the WFOEs call option right to purchase the shares of Jiangsu Yunxuetang pursuant to the Cooperative Agreements, none of the WFOE or the Domestic Companies has any share option plan.
(f) Except for those contemplated under the Cooperative Agreements, none of the WFOE or the Domestic Companies has delegated any power or issued any powers of attorney in favor of any Person, other than powers of attorney issued to its directors, officers, or employees for purpose of executing contracts or agreements for and on behalf of the WFOE or the Domestic Companies, as the case may be, in the ordinary course of business.
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(g) The Cooperative Agreements, in the aggregate, has established and maintain a captive structure through which (i) the WFOE, to the extent permitted by applicable Laws, can acquire control over Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the other Domestic Companies, and (ii) the financial statements of Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the other Domestic Company can be consolidated with those of the Company and the WFOE. The Cooperative Agreements constitute valid and binding obligations of the parties thereto enforceable in accordance with their respective terms, subject, as to enforcement of remedies, to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and similar Laws affecting creditors rights generally and to general equitable principles. None of the Warrantors has received any oral or written inquiries, notifications or any other form of official correspondence from any Governmental Authorities challenging or questioning the legality or enforceability of any of the Cooperative Agreements.
4.28. Other Representations and Warranties Relating to the Founders.
(a) Except as disclosed in Section 4.28(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, the Founders do not presently own or control, or will, as of the Closing own or control, directly or indirectly, any interest in any corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture, association, or other entity other than the Group Companies and the Founder Holdcos.
(b) None of the Founders presently and will, as of the Closing own, manage, operate, finance, join, control, or participate in the ownership, management, operation, financing or control of, or be associated as a director, senior management, partner, lender, investor or representative in connection with, any business or corporation, partnership, or organization which competes with the Business or with which a Group Company has a business relationship.
(c) There is no action, suit, proceeding, claim, arbitration or investigation pending against the Founders in connection with his or her involvement with any of the Group Companies. None of the Founders is a party to or is subject to the provisions of any order, writ, injunction, judgment or decree of any court or Governmental Authority and there is no action, suit, proceeding, claim, arbitration or investigation which any Founder Party intends to initiate in connection with his/her/its involvement with any of the Group Companies.
(d) Each of the Founders has all requisite power, authority and capacity to enter into the Transaction Documents and to perform his obligations thereunder.
(e) No proceedings have commenced or are pending for the bankruptcy, insolvency, winding up, liquidation or reorganization of any Founder Party, if applicable. No Founder Party is bankrupt or insolvent. Each Founder Party is able to pay its debts as they fall due and has sufficient assets to repay all of its debts.
(f) Founder Lu is the sole shareholder on record and sole beneficial owner of the Lu Holdco, and Founder Ding is the sole shareholder on record and sole beneficial owners of the Ding Holdco.
4.29. Disclosure. Each Warrantor has fully provided the Investors with all the information that each Investor has requested for deciding whether to purchase the Purchased Shares. No representation or warranty in writing provided by any Warrantor in this Agreement and no information or materials in writing provided by any Warrantor to the Investors in connection with the negotiation or execution of this Agreement or any agreement contemplated hereby contains any untrue statement of a material fact, or omits to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances in which they are made, not misleading.
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5. | REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE INVESTORS. |
Each Investor represents and warrants to the Company hereto as follows:
5.1. Organization. Such Investor is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of the jurisdiction of its formation.
5.2. Authorization. Such Investor has all requisite power, authority and capacity to enter into the Transaction Agreements to which it is a party, and to perform its obligations under the Transaction Agreements to which it is a party. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by such Investor. This Agreement and the Shareholders Agreement, when executed and delivered by such Investor, will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of such Investor, subject, as to enforcement of remedies, to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and similar Laws affecting creditors rights generally and to general equitable principles. No consent, approval, authorization, order, filing, registration or qualification of or with any court, governmental authority or third person is required to be obtained by such Investor in connection with the execution and delivery of the Transaction Agreements by such Investor or the performance of such Investors obligations hereunder or thereunder.
5.3. Purchase for Own Account. The Purchased Shares will be acquired for such Investors own account, not as a nominee or agent, and not with a view to or in connection with the sale or distribution of any part thereof.
6. | CONDITIONS TO THE INVESTORS OBLIGATIONS AT THE CLOSING. |
6.1. The obligations of each Investor with respect to the purchase of its respective Purchased Shares at the Closing are subject to the fulfillment, to the satisfaction of such Investor (or written waiver thereof given by such Investor) on or prior to the Closing Date, of the following conditions:
(a) No Injunction. No applicable Laws shall have been adopted or promulgated after the date of this Agreement by any Governmental Authority, and no temporary restraining order, preliminary or permanent injunction or other order issued by any Governmental Authority of competent jurisdiction (an Injunction) shall be in effect, in any case having the effect of making the transactions contemplated hereby illegal or otherwise prohibiting the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.
(b) No Legal Proceeding. No Action shall have been initiated or threatened by any Governmental Authority seeking an Injunction having the effect of making the transactions contemplated hereby illegal or otherwise prohibiting the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.
(c) Representations and Warranties True and Correct. The representations and warranties made by the Warrantors in Section 4 hereof shall be true and correct and complete when made, and shall be true and correct and complete as of the Closing Date with the same force and effect as if they had been made on and as of such date, subject to changes expressly contemplated by this Agreement.
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(d) Performance of Obligations. The Warrantors shall have performed and complied with all covenants, obligations and conditions contained in this Agreement that are required to be performed or complied with by the Warrantors on or before the Closing.
(e) Proceedings and Documents. All corporate and other proceedings in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and all documents and instruments incident thereto, including without limitation the written approval from all of the then current holders of equity interest of each Group Company, as applicable, with respect to this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, shall have been completed in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such Investor, and such Investor shall have received all copies of such documents as it may reasonably request in a form as agreed by such Investor.
(f) Permits. The Warrantors shall have obtained any and all Permits (if needed) from the competent Governmental Authorities and any other Persons necessary for consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, including waivers by the then existing shareholders of the Company of any anti-dilution rights, rights of first refusal, preemptive rights and all similar rights in connection with the issuance of the Purchased Shares at the Closing.
(g) Compliance Certificate. The Company shall have delivered to such Investor a certificate, dated the Closing Date, signed by a director of the Company, a director of each Founder Holdco, a director of the BVI Subsidiary, a director of the HK Subsidiary, the legal representative of each of the WFOE and the Domestic Companies and the Founders certifying that (i) the conditions specified in this Section 6.1 have been fulfilled; (ii) that the resolutions of the board of directors and resolutions of the shareholders of each Group Company (as applicable) approving the transactions contemplated hereby remain un-amended and in full force and effect, and (iii) that the resolutions of the shareholders of the Company adopting the Restated Articles and electing the Centurium Director to the Board remain un-amended and in full force and effect.
(h) Amendment to Constitutional Documents. The Restated Articles (in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A) shall have been duly adopted by the Company by all necessary corporate action of its Board and its shareholders and shall have been duly submitted for filing with the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands as evidenced by an email confirmation from the registered office provider of the Company.
(i) Board of Directors. As of the Closing, the size and composition of the Board and the board of directors of the BVI Subsidiary, the HK Subsidiary, the WFOE and Jiangsu Yunxuetang shall be in compliance with Section 2.2(a) of the Shareholders Agreement and shall include one (1) director nominated or appointed by the Lead Investor. The Company, the BVI Subsidiary, the HK Subsidiary, the WFOE and Jiangsu Yunxuetang shall have passed board and shareholders resolutions to approve, inter alia, the appointment of the Centurium Director to the Board and board of directors of the BVI Subsidiary, the HK Subsidiary, the WFOE and Jiangsu Yunxuetang respectively. To avoid doubt, the filing of board and/or shareholders resolutions on appointment of new director(s) for the WFOE and Jiangsu Yunxuetang with the competent Governmental Authority shall be completed after the Closing within the time limit set forth in Section 8.14 hereof.
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(j) Register of Members; Register of Directors. Such Investor shall have received a copy of the Companys updated register of members, certified by the registered office provider of the Company as true and complete as of the Closing, reflecting such Investor as the holder of the Purchased Shares as set forth opposite such Investors name in Schedule II attached hereto at the Closing. The Lead Investor shall have received a copy of the updated register of directors of the Company, the BVI Subsidiary and the HK Subsidiary, certified by the registered office provider, registered agent or company secretary (as applicable) of the Company, the BVI Subsidiary and the HK Subsidiary as true and complete as of the Closing, evidencing that the Centurium Director has been duly appointed to the Board and the board of directors of the BVI Subsidiary and the HK Subsidiary.
(k) Execution of Second Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement. The Shareholders Agreement (in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B) shall have been duly executed and delivered by all parties thereto (except for the Investors).
(l) Execution of Second Amended and Restated Share Restriction Agreements. The Company shall have delivered to such Investor the Second Amended and Restated Share Restriction Agreements (in the form attached hereto as Exhibit C) (the Share Restriction Agreements), duly executed by the Company, each of the Founders and all other parties thereto (except for the Investors).
(m) Execution of Director Indemnification Agreement. The Company shall have delivered to the Lead Investor the Director Indemnification Agreement with respect to Centurium Director in the form and substance attached hereto as Exhibit D (the Director Indemnification Agreement), duly executed by the Company.
(n) Legal Opinions. Such Investor shall have received from the PRC counsel of the Company a PRC legal opinion in the form attached hereto as Exhibit F, addressed to such Investor, dated the Closing Date.
(o) Good Standing. Such Investor shall have received a copy of certificate of good standing issued by the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands dated no earlier than ten (10) Business Days prior to the Closing Date, certifying that the Company was duly constituted, paid all required fees and is in good legal standing.
(p) Waivers. The current shareholders of the Company that hold Preferred Shares shall have issued a waiver letter to the Group Companies and the Founder Parties, substantially in form attached hereto as Exhibit G, to waive any and all of their respective claims against the Group Companies and the Founder Parties resulting from, in connection with or relating to any actual or potential breach by the Group Companies or the Founder Parties of certain covenants, agreements or other provisions under the Prior Financing Documents and to confirm that they do not have any outstanding claim against any Group Company or any Founder Party under the Prior Financing Documents.
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(q) Full Exercise of Series C Warrant. At the Closing, Yunfeng shall have exercised the Series C Warrant in full pursuant to its terms, upon which the Company shall have issued to Yunfeng, 8,584,634 Series C Preferred Shares and the aggregate exercise price in the amount of US$20,000,000 for such Series C Preferred Shares shall have been paid by Yunfeng to the Company in cash in immediately available funds.
(r) No Material Adverse Effect. There shall have been no Material Adverse Effect since the date of this Agreement and no change or revision to the current applicable Laws that would result in such Material Adverse Effect.
(s) Termination of Onshore Financing Agreement. On or prior to the Closing, the share purchase agreement signed by Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Shanghai Zhengda Ximalaya Network Technology Co., Ltd. (上海证大喜马拉雅网络科技有限公司), Jinhua Shen and Qi Gao dated as of December 1, 2017 shall have been duly terminated by the parties thereto and evidence with respect to such termination in form and substance satisfactory to the Lead Investor shall have been provided to such Investor.
(t) Acquisition of XWLJ. On or prior to the Closing, Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Zu Teng (祖腾), and Suzhou Jincheng Enterprise Management Consulting Center (L.P.) (苏州锦橙企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) (Suzhou Jincheng) shall have entered into a binding and effective agreement, in form and substance satisfactory to the Lead Investor (the XWLJ Acquisition Agreement), with respect to the acquisition by Jiangsu Yunxuetang of all of the equity interest respectively held by Zu Teng (祖腾) and Suzhou Jincheng in Suzhou Xiwenlejian Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州喜闻乐见网络科技有限公司) (XWLJ) for an aggregate consideration of no more than RMB8,000,000 in cash, such that XWLJ will upon the completion of such acquisition become a wholly owned subsidiary of Jiangsu Yunxuetang (the XWLJ Acquisition), with a copy of such XWLJ Acquisition Agreement provided to the Lead Investor.
(u) Suzhou Xinzhi. On or prior to the Closing, each of the Yunxuetang Employee Shareholding Agreement (《云学堂员工持股协议》) by and among Jiangsu Yunxuetang, (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) (Suzhou Xinzhi) and each of its partners shall have been duly terminated, and XZY Holdings Limited shall enter into an employee share restriction agreement with each of its shareholders (other than Zhang Jian (张戬) and Cheng Xiaowei (程晓伟)) in form and substance satisfactory to the Lead Investor in accordance with the requirements under Section 6.1(t) of the Series A SPA (such agreements, the Employee Share Restriction Agreements), and a copy of such Employee Share Restriction Agreements shall have been provided to the Lead Investor.
(v) Suzhou Yunzheng Confirmation. On or prior to the Closing, Suzhou Yunzheng Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州云政网络科技有限公司) (Suzhou Yunzheng) shall have issued a written confirmation to the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to the Lead Investor, confirming that all the Intellectual Properties developed or derived under or in connection with the Technology Development (Commission) Agreement (技术开发(委托)合同书) entered into by and between Suzhou Yunzheng and Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated September 10, 2019 shall belong to and be solely owned by Jiangsu Yunxuetang, free of any Liens.
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6.2. The Warrantors shall use all reasonable efforts to procure the satisfaction of the conditions set out in Section 6.1 above as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event before the Termination Date (as defined below). If at any time any of the Warrantors becomes aware of a fact or circumstance that might prevent a condition from being satisfied, it shall immediately notify the Investors in writing.
6.3. Each Investor may at any time waive in writing any of the conditions set out in Section 6.1 above that is applicable to such Investor, on such terms as it may decide and proceed to Closing without the satisfaction of such condition; provided that the Group Companies and the Founder Parties shall ensure that any such condition so waived shall be fulfilled as soon as practicable following the Closing.
6.4. If any of the conditions (which have not previously been waived by the applicable Investor) have not been satisfied on or before the Termination Date, then each Investor may on that date, at its option (but without prejudice to any other right or remedy it may have), by notice to the Warrantors:
(a) waive the conditions then unsatisfied (provided that the Group Companies and the Founder Parties shall ensure that any such conditions so waived shall be fulfilled as soon as practicable following the Closing);
(b) postpone Closing to a date (being a Business Day) following not more than seven (7) Business Days after the initial Termination Date; or
(c) terminate this Agreement without being liable to any of the Warrantors subject to Section 9.17.
7. | CONDITIONS TO THE COMPANYS OBLIGATIONS AT THE CLOSING. |
The obligations of the Company under this Agreement with respect to each Investor are subject to the fulfillment, on or prior to the Closing Date of the following conditions:
7.1. Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties of such Investor contained in Section 5 hereof shall be true and correct when made, and shall be true and correct as of the Closing Date with the same force and effect as if they had been made on and as of such date.
7.2. Proceedings and Documents. All corporate and other proceedings on the part of such Investor in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and all documents and instruments incident to such transactions shall have been completed.
7.3. Execution of Transaction Documents. Each Investor shall have delivered to the Company the Shareholders Agreement, the Share Restriction Agreements and the Director Indemnification Agreement to which such Investor or the director appointed by such Investor is a party as duly executed by such Investor or the director appointed by it.
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8. | COVENANTS OF THE WARRANTORS. |
The Warrantors jointly and severally covenants to each Investor as follows:
8.1. Use of Proceeds. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, the Company shall use the proceeds from the issuance and sale of the Purchased Shares and the exercise price of the Series C Warrant paid to the Company (collectively, the Proceeds) for the growth and expansion, the capital expenditure and working capital of the Group Companies relating to the Business, including with respect to the market expansion, product contents, artificial intelligence/big data and team building, except approved otherwise by all the Investors and Yunfeng in advance in writing. Other than as provided above and items approved in advance by all the Investors and Yunfeng in writing, the Proceeds shall not be used to repurchase, redeem or cancel any junior securities or to make any payments to shareholders, directors or officers of the Group Companies, or for repayment of any loans guaranteed by the directors of the Group Companies except for the payment for a bona fide arms- length transaction approved by the Board (which approval shall include the affirmative votes of the SIG Director (as defined in the Shareholders Agreement), Yunfeng Director (as defined in the Shareholders Agreement) and Centurium Director).
8.2. Availability of Ordinary Shares. The Company hereby covenants that at all times there shall be made available, free of any Liens, for issuance and delivery upon conversion of the Purchased Shares such number of Ordinary Shares in the share capital of the Company as are from time to time issuable upon conversion of the Purchased Shares, and will take all steps necessary to increase its authorized share capital to provide sufficient number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of the Purchased Shares.
8.3. Compliance by Founder Parties. The Founder Parties shall fully comply with all applicable Laws on a continuing basis. The Founder Parties undertake that each of them shall act in the best interest of the Group Companies, and in no event shall any of them conduct any action or inaction that could harm the interests of, or infringe the lawful rights or interests of the Group Companies.
8.4. Business of Group Companies. The business of the Company, the BVI Subsidiary and the HK Subsidiary shall be restricted to the holding, management and disposition of equity interest in the WFOE. The business of the WFOE and the Domestic Companies shall be restricted to the Business.
8.5. Regulatory Compliance. The Group Companies shall, and the Founders Parties shall procure the Group Companies to comply with applicable Laws (including without limitation Laws relating to value-added telecommunications business, internet video business, internet publishing business, foreign investment, foreign exchange control, anti-monopoly, anti-corruption, taxation, employment, social insurance and intellectual property) in all material respects and obtain and maintain in effect all Permits from the competent Governmental Authorities and other Persons required for conducting the Business. Without limiting the foregoing:
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(a) Certain Operation Permits. Jiangsu Yunxuetang shall use its best commercial efforts to, (i) prior to the earlier of (A) the date of submitting application to the relevant stock exchange for initial public offering of the Company or (B) the date of expiry of the rectification period required by the relevant Governmental Authority, apply for and obtain the Online Broadcasting Audio-visual Programs License (信息网络传播视听节目许可证) (the Online Broadcasting License) or take other alternative actions satisfactory to the Lead Investor for the purpose of complying with the applicable PRC Laws in connection with the disseminating of audio- video programs through information network, (ii) as soon as practicable after the Closing, in no event later than six (6) months after the Closing, apply for and obtain the Network Culture Operation License (网络文化经营许可证) (the Network Culture License), (iii) to the extent required by applicable Laws or needed for the operations of the Group Companies, procure the Internet Publication Permit (互联网出版服务许可证) (the Internet Publication Permit), and (iv) as soon as practicable after the Closing, apply for permit to run schools (办学许可证) (the School Permit) with relevant Governmental Authority, or to the extent that the relevant Governmental Authority promulgates rules or regulations making such permit not necessary for Jiangsu Yunxuetang to continue to conduct the Business, make filings and registrations (if required) with relevant Governmental Authority and take such other actions in compliance with the applicable Laws (including but not limited to the Non-state Education Promotion Law (《中华人民共和国民办教育促进法》)). In each of the above sub-clauses (i) through (iv), the Online Broadcasting License, the Network Culture License, the Internet Publication Permit and the School Permit shall be issued by the competent Governmental Authorities in accordance with applicable Laws.
(b) Application and Registration of Intellectual Properties. Any future material Intellectual Property of the Group Companies shall be applied by and registered under the name of the Group Companies.
(c) Continuous Compliance with Circular 37. As soon as practicable but no later than six (6) months after the Closing, Founder Lu shall file and complete the modification registrations and/or other foreign exchange registrations required under applicable Laws (including without limitation Circular 37) with the competent Governmental Authorities in connection with his interests in the Company and WFOE indirectly held through the Lu Holdco, and shall deliver to the Lead Investor satisfactory evidence for completion of such modification registrations.
(d) Compliance Mechanism. The Group Companies shall, as soon as practicable but in no event later than six (6) months after the Closing, establish, implement and maintain a proper inspection and monitoring system or policy, to the satisfaction of the Lead Investor, to ensure that the Group Companies will review, inspect and monitor the copyright of the contents and information contained in the Course Materials and other materials used in its Business operation both before and after them being offered to users and customers for the purpose of preventing the Group Companies from being held liable for any legal non-compliance of such contents or information.
8.6. Qualified Public Offering. Subject to necessary approvals required therefor, the Company and the Founder Parties shall use their best effort to consummate a Qualified Public Offering before the fifth (5th) anniversary of the Closing. Details of the Qualified Public Offering, including without limitation the exchange on which such public offering is to be effected, will be determined by the Board. The Founder Parties shall ensure that, prior to the commencement of a Qualified Public Offering by the Company, each Group Company and the Founder Parties are in compliance with all applicable Laws and legal requirements in all material respects and that there is no barrier to repatriation of profits, dividends and other distributions from the WFOE (or any successor entity) to the Company.
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8.7. Lock-up. Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, following a Qualified Public Offering, the Founder Parties and the principal and management holders of Ordinary Shares (other than the Ordinary Shares upon conversion of the Preferred Shares) shall be subject to any customary lock-up period to the extent requested by the lead underwriter of securities of the Company in connection with the registration relating to such Qualified Public Offering. In the event of any initial public offering by the Company or any member of the Group Companies, each of the Company and the Founders agrees to take all reasonable steps consistent with all legal requirements to facilitate minimizing any restrictions on the transfer of any Purchased Shares (or the Conversion Shares) held by the Investors.
8.8. Intellectual Property.
(a) Except with the written consent of the Lead Investor, the Group Companies shall take all reasonable steps to protect their respective Intellectual Property rights, including without limitation (i) registering their material respective trademarks, brand names, domain names, copyrights and patents (as applicable); (ii) requiring each employee and consultant of each Group Company to enter into a confidential and intellectual property assignment agreement, which shall contain requirements to (x) protect trade secret or proprietary information, and (y) to refrain from using any intellectual property of third parties including prior employers without authorization, in each case with applicable Group Company; and (iii) requiring each key employees (other than the Key Employees who have already entered into such agreement) to enter into a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement requiring such persons to protect and keep confidential such Group Companys confidential information, intellectual property, technical know-how and trade secrets, prohibiting such persons from competing with such Group Company for a reasonable time after their tenure with any Group Company, and requiring such persons to assign all ownership rights in their work product to such Group Company, in each case in form and substance satisfactory to the Board.
(b) In the event that there is any potential or threatened claim of third parties against any Group Company in connection with or arising out of its usage of any trademarks/application of any self-developed software/application of any self-developed technology, the Group Companies undertake to, and the Founders shall cause the Group Companies to use their commercially reasonable efforts to, take any and all necessary actions to protect their Intellectual Property rights to use such trademarks/in such software/in such technology and mitigate the negative influence resulting from such claim. In the event that there is any actual claim of third parties against any Group Company in connection with or arising out of its usage of any Intellectual Property, the Warrantors shall notify the Lead Investor as soon as practicable after such claim is brought against any Group Company and, without the prior written consent of the Lead Investor, the Warrantors undertake not to withdraw or settle any relevant legal actions, not to grant any waiver, and not to agree to any termination or compromise in relation to any of the above-mentioned claims.
8.9. Employment Matters. As soon as practicable and in no event later than twelve (12) months after the Closing, each Warrantor shall ensure that each of the Domestic Companies and the WFOE will take all necessary actions to rectify any non-compliance under Laws related to labor dispatch, social security funds and housing funds, including but without limitation to reduce the proportion of its dispatched employees in accordance with applicable Laws and make contributions of social security funds and housing funds in such manner and amount as prescribed by applicable Laws.
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8.10. Non-Compete.
(a) The Founders acknowledge that each Investor has agreed to invest in the Company on the basis of the continued and exclusive services of and full devotion and commitment by the Founders and the Key Employees to the Group Companies, and agrees that the Investors should have reasonable assurance of such basis of investment. The Founders undertake to each Investor that they shall devote their full time and attention to the business of the Group Companies and shall use their best efforts to develop the business and interests of the Group Companies, and that they shall make their reasonable efforts to procure that each of the Key Employees shall devote his or her full time and attention to the business of the Group Companies and shall use his or her best efforts to develop the business and interests of the Group Companies. Each of the Founders undertakes to each Investor that, unless with the prior written consent of the Lead Investor, (i) during the period he or she holds (including through his or her Affiliates or Associates) any equity interest in, or is employed by, or serves as a director or officer of, any of the Group Companies (the Affiliation Relationship), whichever period is longer, and within two (2) years after the termination of such Affiliation Relationship, and (ii) during the period the Lead Investor holds any Series D Preferred Share of the Company (the total period in (i) and (ii), the Restriction Period), such Founder will not, and will procure that any of such Founders Affiliate (especially Suzhou Yunzheng) or any of such Founders Associates (as defined below) will not, in any Relevant Jurisdiction, directly or indirectly:
(i) conduct any action or inaction that could harm the interests of, or infringe the lawful rights and interests of, any of the Group Companies and/or its Affiliates;
(ii) solicit or entice away, or endeavor to solicit or entice away, any director, officer or employee of any Group Company;
(iii) render consulting services or any other services or assistance to any Person in conducting business that is same or similar to, or otherwise competing with the Business of the Group Companies, either in his individual capacity or as a representative or employee of another individual or entity; and
(iv) control, conduct or participate in, or invest or hold interests in any entity, business operation or activities that is same or similar to, or otherwise competes or would compete with the Business of the Group Companies as currently or subsequently being conducted during the Restriction Period, in any form (including without limitation, investment, acquisition, co-operation, joint venture, operation, partnership, contractual operation, lease operation, equity holding), whether for its own account or for the benefit of any other Person, except for the holding, as a passive and public investor, of no more than one percent (1%) of the shares in publicly traded companies that may compete with any Group Company.
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(b) Each of the Founders further undertakes to each Investor that he or she will use his or her reasonable efforts to procure that the directors nominated by such Founder, the senior management members of the Group Companies, or the Key Employees, will not, directly or indirectly, compete with the Business carried on by any Group Company in the above manner during the period that the foregoing persons are direct or indirect shareholders, directors, senior management members or Key Employees of the Company and within two (2) years after each such person or each of them ceases to be a direct or indirect shareholder of the Group Companies or leaves his or her director or senior management post or terminates his or her employment with the Group Companies.
(c) Each of the Founders further undertakes to each Investor that in the event that the operation of any of the Founders Affiliates (to the extent such operation is permitted pursuant to the other provisions under this Section 8.10) adversely affects the Qualified Public Offering of the Group Companies, the Founders shall eliminate such adverse effects in a proper and timely manner to the reasonable satisfaction of the Lead Investor.
(d) During the Restriction Period, in the event any entity directly or indirectly established or managed by the Founders, engages or will engage in any business which is the same or similar to or otherwise competes with the Business of the Group Companies, the Founders shall cause such entity, to disclose any relevant information to the Lead Investor upon request and transfer such entity or business to any of the Domestic Companies or any subsidiary designated by the Domestic Companies immediately thereafter.
(e) For purpose of this Section 8.10, Relevant Jurisdiction means a jurisdiction in which any Group Company carries on or conducts any business, including but not limited to the PRC, Hong Kong, the Macau Special Administrative Region of the PRC and Taiwan.
8.11. Use of Investors Names or Logos. Without prior written consent of the concerning Investor, and whether or not such Investor is then a shareholder of the Company, none of the Group Companies, their registered and beneficiary shareholders (excluding such Investor), the Founder Parties or any Affiliates or Associates of the foregoing shall (i) use, publish or reproduce the name or brand of such Investor or its Affiliates (with respect to the Lead Investor, including Centurium, Centurium Capital, 大钲 and 大钲资本) or any similar names, trademarks or logos for any purposes, except for the reference to the name or brand of such Investor under this Agreement or any other Transaction Documents and factual statement that the Company is a portfolio company of such Investor (to the extent such information is by then in the public domain), or (ii) claim itself as a partner of such Investor or its Affiliates or make any similar representations.
8.12. Equity Compensation. The Company shall not, and shall procure the other Group Companies not to, directly or indirectly issue Ordinary Shares, share options or other forms of equity of the Company to any employee, director or consultant of any of the Group Companies except pursuant to the ESOP adopted by the Company from time to time in accordance with the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles. Immediately prior to and after the Closing, the Company shall have only one ESOP, which is the Existing ESOP, under which a pool for share options to be granted to the employees, directors or consultants of the Group Companies have been reserved in the share capital of the Company, representing 3.2417% of the fully-diluted share capital of the Company immediately prior to the Closing and 2.3455% of the fully-diluted share capital of the Company upon the Closing (assuming the Closing of the Lead Investor and SIG occurs simultaneously), the exercise price and the vesting schedule of which shall be determined by the Board of the Company (subject to such approvals as required under the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles). Should recipients of such option fail to exercise such option in a manner not in conflict with applicable PRC Laws, including Circular 37 and Circular 7, no option under any ESOP (including the Existing ESOP) may be actually exercised, and no shares thereunder may be issued to such recipients, unless and until after the requisite filing, if applicable, with SAFE pursuant to Circular 37 or Circular 7 (as the case may be) has been completed. Each recipient of an option to purchase Ordinary Shares under the ESOP shall enter into a share option agreement with the Company in the form and substance reasonably acceptable to all the Investors. Without the prior written consents of all the Investors, no additional securities shall be reserved for ESOP (including the Existing ESOP).
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8.13. Board Meeting. Unless otherwise approved by the majority of the votes of the directors (which majority shall include the SIG Director, Yunfeng Director and Centurium Director), the Company shall hold meetings of the Board at least every six (6) months.
8.14. Board of Directors. The board of directors of the WFOE and Jiangsu Yunxuetang shall have the same board composition as that of the Board within thirty (30) days following the Closing. The Warrantors shall, according to the foregoing sentence, cause the Centurium Director to be registered with the relevant Governmental Authority, including without limitation, the filing with the competent local branches of the State Administration for Market Regulation (国家市场监督管理总局) and the Ministry of Commerce (商务部). The Company shall not grant any additional Board seats without the prior written consents of all the Investors.
8.15. Independent Auditors. The Company shall engage one of the Big Four accounting firms (i.e., Deloitte & Touche or Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers) or other reputable accounting firms acceptable to the Lead Investor and shall cause such accounting firm to audit the Companys annual consolidated financial statements.
8.16. Cash Deposit. All the Group Companies cash shall be deposited with sound international or PRC financial institutions, and all such cash deposits shall be short-term with free liquidity unless otherwise approved by the Board.
8.17. D&O Insurance. Upon request by the Lead Investor and if determined by the Board to be commercially reasonable, the Company shall obtain for the director(s) nominated by the Lead Investor insurance against liability for negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust incurred in the course of discharging his or her duties as a director or officer of the Company, including without limitation, directors and officers liability insurance with a carrier and in an insured amount that is customary for similarly suited and structured PRC based companies to the satisfaction of the Board.
8.18. Tax Covenants.
(a) Each Group Company shall comply with all applicable tax Laws in all material respects, including without limitation, Laws pertaining to corporate income tax, individual income tax, value added tax and business tax.
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(b) In the event that the Company is determined by counsels or accountants for the Company or any Investor to be a CFC with respect to the shares held by such Investor, the Company agrees (a) to use commercially reasonable efforts to avoid generating Subpart F Income (as defined in Section 952 of the Code) (Subpart F Income) and (b) to the extent permitted by the applicable Laws, to annually make dividend distributions to such Investor in an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of any income deemed distributed to such Investor that would have been deemed distributed to such Investor pursuant to Section 951(a) of the Code had such Investor been a United States person as such term is defined in Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code (or such lesser amount determined by such Investor in its sole discretion). No later than forty-five (45) days following the end of each taxable year of the Company, the Company shall provide to such Investor the Companys capitalization table as of the end of the last day of such taxable year. The Company shall provide to such Investor upon request (i) any information in its possession concerning its shareholders and, to the Companys actual knowledge, the direct and indirect interest holders in each shareholder, sufficient for such Investor to determine the Companys status as a CFC and (ii) in the event that the Company is determined to be a CFC, any information in the possession of the Company to determine whether such Investor or any of such Investors Partners is required to report its pro rata portion of the Companys Subpart F Income on its United States federal income Tax Return, or to allow such Investor or such Investors Partners to otherwise comply with applicable United States federal income tax Laws. For purposes of this Section 8.18, (i) the term Investors Partners shall mean such Investors shareholders, partners, members or other equity holders and any direct or indirect equity owners of such entities and (ii) the Company shall mean the Company and each of its subsidiaries.
(c) The Company shall assist each Investors in its inquiry on whether such Investors or such Investors Partners direct or indirect interest in the Company is subject to the reporting requirements of either or both of Sections 6038 and 6038B of the Code (and the Company shall duly inform such Investor of the results of such determination), and in the event that such Investors or such Investors Partners direct or indirect interest in Company is determined by the Companys tax advisors or such Investors tax advisors to be subject to the reporting requirements of either or both of Sections 6038 and 6038B, the Company agrees, upon a request from such Investor, to provide such information as may be necessary to fulfill such Investors or such Investors Partners obligations thereunder.
8.19. Business Operation. During the period between the date hereof and the Closing with respect to any Investor, except as the Lead Investor otherwise agrees in writing or as expressly contemplated under this Agreement or as required by applicable Laws, each of the Group Companies shall (and the Warrantors shall use best endeavors to cause each of the Group Companies to) (i) conduct its business in the ordinary course consistent with past practice, as a going concern and in compliance with all applicable Laws and Contracts of the Group Companies in all material respects, (ii) pay or perform its debts, Taxes, and other obligations when due, (iii) maintain its assets in a condition comparable to their current condition, with reasonable wear, tear and depreciation excepted, (iv) preserve intact its current business organizations and keep available the services of its current officers and employees and preserve its relationships with customers, suppliers and others having business dealings with, (v) periodically report to the Lead Investor concerning the status of its business, operations and finance, and (vi) promptly take all actions reasonably necessary to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the taking of all reasonable acts necessary to cause all of the conditions set out under Section 6 to be satisfied.
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8.20. Covenants regarding Activities prior to Closing. Except as required or expressly permitted by this Agreement, no resolution of the directors, owners, members, partners or shareholders of any of the Group Companies shall be passed, nor shall any action, contract or commitment be entered into, with respect the following, in each case, prior to the Closing without the prior written consent of the Lead Investor:
(a) any amendment to the memorandum of association and/or articles of association of any Group Company;
(b) any action by any of the Group Company to authorize, create or issue or redeem or repurchase or reclassify or shares of any class or series of securities of such Group Company;
(c) the declaration and/or payment of any and all dividends on any securities of any Group Company;
(d) any merger, consolidation, scheme of arrangement, recapitalization or sale, transfer, lease or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of any Group Company;
(e) any change in the number of directors of any Group Company;
(f) any filing by or against any Group Company for the appointment of a receiver, administrator or other form of external manager, or the winding up, liquidation, bankruptcy or insolvency of any Group Company;
(g) any expenditure, any purchase and disposal of assets and businesses, or any purchase and disposal of assets and businesses worth, in the aggregate, more than US$200,000 by any Group Company;
(h) other than in the ordinary business, any business transactions of the Group Companies (taken as a whole) exceeding the amount of US$200,000 or out of scope of principal business;
(i) any capital commitment, loan transaction or mortgage or pledge transaction of the Group Companies (taken as a whole) exceeding the amount of US$200,000 in a transaction or a series of related transaction;
(j) establishment of any subsidiary or Affiliates (including any non-legal person branch) and the signing of any shareholders agreement or joint venture agreement or cooperation agreement by any Group Company; and
(k) any purchase or lease by any Group Company of any real estate properties not in the ordinary course of business.
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8.21. Information. If at any time before the Closing, any of the Warrantors comes to know of any material fact or event which:
(a) is in any way materially inconsistent with any of the representations and warranties given by any Warrantor, and/or
(b) suggests that any material fact warranted may not be as warranted or may be materially misleading, and/or
(c) might affect the willingness of a reasonable investor in making a prudent decision to purchase the Purchased Shares or the amount of consideration which such Investor would be prepared to pay for the Purchased Shares, then such Warrantor shall give immediate written notice thereof to each Investor in which event, in addition to any other rights or remedy that is available to such Investor under this Agreement or applicable Law, such Investor may within five (5) Business Days of receiving such notice terminate this Agreement with respect to itself, as far as such Investor is concerned, by written notice to the other parties hereto without any penalty whatsoever on such Investor.
8.22. Exclusivity. From the date hereof until the Closing, without the prior written consent of the Lead Investor, the Warrantors shall not, and they shall cause any of their representatives or any member of the Group Companies not to, solicit, initiate, facilitate, engage in any discussions or negotiations with respect to, adopt, approve, commit to, or conclude any investment transaction with, or any sale of any member of the Group Companies or the business or equity thereof to, any third party, whether directly or indirectly. Except as has been disclosed to the Lead Investor in writing, the Warrantors shall, and shall cause their representatives and the other members of the Group Companies to, terminate all existing activities as soon as practicable, discussions and negotiations with any third parties with respect to the foregoing, and if any of them hereafter receives any correspondence or communication that constitutes, or could reasonably be expected to lead to, any such transaction they shall give notice thereof as soon as practicable (including the third party and the material terms of such transaction) to the Lead Investor.
8.23. Other Issues in the Disclosure Schedule. As soon as practicable after the Closing, the Warrantors shall, in a manner reasonably acceptable to the Lead Investor, resolve the other issues which are disclosed in the Disclosure Schedule or identified by the Lead Investor in the due diligence process but not expressly specified as a specific covenant under this Section 8 or a specific condition for the Closing under Section 6 hereof. The covenants under this Section 8.23 shall not preclude, be prejudice to, or otherwise limit in any way, the Warrantors indemnification liabilities under Section 9.1 below or any other right of or remedy available to the Investors.
8.24. Performance of Transaction Documents and Other Documents. After the Closing, each of the Warrantors shall duly perform their respective obligations pursuant to the Transaction Documents and all other ancillary documents, the forms of which are attached thereto, and any other instrument or documents for or in connection with consummation of the transactions contemplated in the Transaction Documents.
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8.25. Liquidation or Disposition of Related Companies of Founder Lu. As soon as practicable but in any event no later than six (6) months after the Closing, Founder Lu shall (a) cause Suzhou Ou Suo Ai Si Software Co., Ltd. (苏州欧索艾思软件有限公司) to be liquidated in accordance with Law and de-registered with the relevant Governmental Authorities, (b) dispose of all of his equity interests in Jiangsu Ousuo Software Co., Ltd. (江苏欧索软件有限公司) and Suzhou Yunzheng respectively to any third party that is not his Affiliate or Associate, in each case in a manner satisfactory to the Lead Investor, and shall provide the Lead Investor with documents evidencing such liquidation/de-registration and/or disposition (which shall be in form and substance satisfactory to the Lead Investor).
8.26. Tax Declaration. To the extent a Form 8832 (Entity Classification Election) or Form SS-4 (Application for Employer Identification Number) is proposed to be filed by or on behalf of any Group Company with the relevant Governmental Authorities (whether pursuant to any Prior Financing Documents or otherwise), the relevant Group Company shall obtain the Lead Investors prior written consent before making any filing of the aforesaid forms, and any such form to be filed shall be in form and substance satisfactory to the Lead Investor.
8.27. Acquisition of XWLJ. As soon as practicable and in no event later than six (6) months after the Closing, Jiangsu Yunxuetang shall complete XWLJ Acquisition pursuant to the XWLJ Acquisition Agreement so that XWLJ shall by then become a wholly owned subsidiary of Jiangsu Yunxuetang, with documents evidencing the completion of such acquisition, in form and substance satisfactory to the Lead Investor, provided to the Lead Investor. At any time prior to the completion of the XWLJ Acquisition, the Lead Investors prior written consent shall be required for (i) any entry into, modification or amendment to or termination of any Contracts or transactions between any Group Company, on the one hand, and XWLJ or its Affiliates (other than the Group Companies themselves), on the other hand, and (ii) any transaction(s) or payment(s) (whether as a result of performing any existing Contracts or transactions or otherwise) between any Group Company, on the one hand, and XWLJ or its Affiliates (other than the Group Companies themselves), on the other hand, with an amount exceeding RMB500,000 individually or in aggregate.
8.28. Registration with Competent Governmental Authorities. As soon as practicable but in any event no later than six (6) months after the Closing of the Lead Investor, Beijing Yunxuetang shall and the other Warrantors shall cause Beijing Yunxuetang to, at its election, (a) register the change of its legal address to its actual place of business with competent Governmental Authorities and obtain an updated business license thereof, or (b) be liquidated and de-registered with the relevant Governmental Authorities, in each case in accordance with the applicable PRC Laws, with evidence thereof to be delivered to the Lead Investor.
8.29. Filing of Lease. As soon as practicable after the Closing, the Group Companies shall register all their current lease agreements with the competent Governmental Authorities for record, with evidence thereof to delivered to the Lead Investor.
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8.30. Management System of the Intellectual Property of Courses. As soon as practicable but in any event no later than six (6) months after the Closing, the Group Companies shall, and the other Warrantors shall cause the Group Companies to, prepare and launch a management system of all the Intellectual Properties used in the Courses Materials, under which, including without limitation, (i) with regard to any Intellectual Property solely owned or jointly owned by any Group Company, the Group Companies will claim their ownership of such Intellectual Property in a visible manner showing on the Course Materials or otherwise and make sure that such Intellectual Property will not infringe, violate or misappropriate any third partys rights; and (ii) with regard to any Intellectual Property not owned by any Group Company, the Group Companies will present a disclaimer in a visible manner showing on the Course Materials or otherwise to the audiences of the courses, clearly stating that the Group Companies do not own such Intellectual Property and will not take any responsibility for any actual or alleged infringement, violation or misappropriation of such Intellectual Property.
8.31. Business Plan and Budget. The Company shall as soon as practicable but within two (2) months after the Closing or any other longer period approved in writing by the Centurium Director provide to the Lead Investor the business plan and budget for the twelve (12) months following the Closing to the Investors satisfaction.
8.32. Capital Injection and Tax Filing. Unless otherwise agreed to by the all the Investors in writing, all Proceeds shall be injected into the registered capital of the WFOE as soon as practicable but in any event within ninety (90) days after the applicable Closing, provided that US$ 500,000 can be reserved in the offshore bank of the Company to facilitate its overseas payment of relevant professional service charges incurred in connection with the transactions contemplated hereunder. In the event of a subsequent sale of equity securities in the Company by any Investor in which event such Investor is required to file any income Tax, capital gain Tax or any other transfer Tax with any PRC Governmental Authorities under applicable PRC Laws, each of the Founder Parties, the Company and the WFOE agrees that, upon the reasonable request of such Investor, he/she/it will exercise reasonable best endeavor to provide or cause to be provided such Investor with necessary information and assistance to facilitate such Investor in its negotiation or communication with the competent PRC Governmental Authorities with respect to such Investors indirect Tax basis or equity cost in the Group Companies for the purposes of determining any income Tax, capital gain Tax or other transfer Tax calculated with reference to gains made through the subscription, purchase and sale of such Investors equity securities in the Company.
8.33. Shareholder Confirmation. As soon as practicable but in any event within three (3) months after the Closing of the Lead Investor, the Warrantors shall cause each of the Persons who is a shareholder of the Company to execute and issue a confirmation letter to the Company in form and substance satisfactory to the Lead Investor, stating and confirming that, such shareholder of the Company agrees to use its investment amount actually paid into the share capital (and/or share premium) of the Company to calculate its own tax cost basis for equity investment in the Company, provided that the foregoing tax cost basis shall be subject to final determination of the relevant PRC tax authorities. The Company shall not agree to any amendment, revocation, withdrawal or waiver of such confirmation letter without the prior written consent of the Lead Investor, and a copy of such confirmation letter shall be provided to the Lead Investor.
8.34. Access. During the period between the date hereof and the Closing with respect to the Lead Investor, upon the Companys receipt of prior written notice issued by the Lead Investor at least three (3) days in advance, the Warrantors shall permit the Lead Investor, or any representative thereof, to (i) visit and inspect the properties of the Group Companies, (ii) inspect the contracts, books of account, records, ledgers, and other documents and data of 47 the Group Companies, (iii) discuss the business, affairs, finances and accounts of the Group Companies with officers and employees of the Group Companies, and (iv) review such other information as the Lead Investor may reasonably request, in such a manner so as not to unreasonably interfere with their normal operations.
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8.35. Compliance with Anti-Corruption, Anti-Money Laundering and Trade Control Laws. Each of the Group Companies and the Founder Parties shall not, and shall not permit explicitly or implicitly any of its or their respective directors, officers, managers or employees or permit explicitly any of its independent contractors, representatives or agents to, promise, authorize or make any payment to, or otherwise contribute any item of value to, directly or indirectly, any third party, including any Public Official, in each case, in violation of any Anti-Corruption Laws. Each of the Group Companies shall not, and the Founder Parties shall cause each of the Group Companies not to, take or permit any actions that is in violation of applicable Compliance Laws, and each of the Group Companies shall, and the Founder Patties shall cause each of the Group Companies to, cease all of its or their respective activities or actions, as well as remediate any actions taken by the Group Companies, or any of their respective directors, officers, managers, employees, independent contractors, representatives or agents, that are in violation of any Compliance Laws. As soon as practicable and in any event within six (6) months after the Closing with respect to the Lead Investor, each of the Group Companies shall, and the Founder Parties shall cause each of the Group Companies to, maintain systems of internal controls (including, but not limited to, accounting systems, purchasing systems and billing systems) to the reasonable satisfaction of the Lead Investor to ensure compliance with the Compliance Laws and other applicable Laws.
9. | MISCELLANEOUS. |
9.1.Indemnity.
(a) The Warrantors shall, jointly and severally, indemnify each Investor, and its Affiliates, directors, officers and assigns (each, an Indemnitee) from and against any losses, liabilities, damages, Liens, Taxes, penalties, necessary costs and expenses, including reasonable advisors fees and other reasonable expenses of investigation and defense of any of the foregoing, incurred by such Indemnitee (the Indemnifiable Loss) as a result of (i) any breach of any representation or warranty made by any Warrantor in this Agreement, the Disclosure Schedule, any other Transaction Document or any other schedule, instrument or certificate delivered pursuant to this Agreement or any other Transaction Document; (ii) any breach or default in performance by any Warrantor of any covenant, agreement or obligation of any Warrantor as set forth in this Agreement, any other Transaction Document or any schedule, instrument or certificate delivered pursuant to this Agreement or any other Transaction Document; and (iii) any non-compliance (whether before or after the Closing) with applicable Laws (including without limitation, conducting the Business without obtaining proper Permits from the competent Governmental Authorities or holders of copyright or related rights, and failure to withhold/pay any tax for the employees or make full contributions and payments for the employees in respect of all statutory social insurance and housing plans on a timely basis as required by the applicable Laws).
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(b) If an Indemnitee believes that it has a claim that may give rise to an indemnity obligation hereunder, it shall promptly notify the Warrantor stating specifically the basis on which such claim is being made, the material facts related thereto, and (if ascertainable or quantifiable) the amount of the claim asserted; provided that failure to provide such notice shall not relieve the Warrantor from its indemnification obligation hereunder except to the extent such Warrantor has been actually and materially prejudiced by such failure. For purposes hereof, notice delivered to the Company at the Companys address pursuant to Section 9.6 shall constitute effective notice to all Warrantors. In the event of a third party claim against an Indemnitee for which such Indemnitee seeks indemnification from the Warrantors, no settlement shall be deemed conclusive with respect whether there was an Indemnifiable Loss or the amount of such Indemnifiable Loss unless such settlement is consented to by the Warrantors. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, any undisputed portion of Indemnifiable Loss claimed by an Indemnitee shall be indemnified by the Warrantors within twenty (20) Business Days upon delivery of the notice by such Indemnitee without further action on its part. Any dispute related to this Section 9.1(b) shall be resolved pursuant to Section 9.15 hereof.
(c) Specifically, but not by way of limitation, the Warrantors shall jointly and severally indemnify any Indemnitee for any Indemnifiable Losses suffered by such Indemnitee as a result of or arising out of: (i) any Warrantors failure to withhold any tax, or pay any tax or social insurance or housing funds (including any non-payment or underpayment thereof) in accordance with the applicable Laws for all tax periods or contribution periods (as applicable); (ii) any Founder Partys and/or Group Companys failure to comply with any applicable Laws (including without limitation any Founder Partys and/or Group Companys failure to comply with any tax or labor related Laws) in any material respects that incurred or existed on or prior to the Closing Date; (iii) liability incurred by any Group Company arising out of or in connection with any infringement upon any other Persons rights to Intellectual Property, including without limitation, (A) the infringement, violation or misappropriation of the Intellectual Property of any third party in connection with the use of any trademarks used by the Group Companies; or (B) the infringement, violation or misappropriation of the Intellectual Property of any third party owning the Course Materials used by the Group Companies; (iv) any Group Companys failure to timely obtain or maintain any Permit from the competent Governmental Authority in accordance with the applicable Laws (including but not limited to the Online Broadcasting License, the Network Culture License, the Internet Publication Permit and the School Permit to the extent such Permit is required by applicable Law); (v) any of the Founders Affiliates conduct of any business that is same or similar to or otherwise competes with the Business of the Group Companies (the Affiliates Competition) or the Group Companies failure to consummate a Qualified Public Offering due to the Affiliates Competition; and (vi) any failure of the Founder or Domestic Residents to register and/or update his/her respective holding of equity interest in the Group Companies with the competent Governmental Authorities as required under Circular 37 and/or any other applicable Laws of the PRC. For the avoidance of doubt, the indemnification referenced in sub-clauses (i) through (vi) under this Section 9.1(c) shall not be prejudiced by or be otherwise subject to any disclosure (in the Disclosure Schedule or otherwise) and shall apply regardless of whether the Warrantors or Indemnitees have any actual or constructive knowledge with respect thereto.
(d) The indemnification provisions contained in this Section 9.1 are in addition to, and not in derogation of, any statutory, equitable or common-law remedy any party or Indemnitee may otherwise have.
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(e) The representations and warranties as they were made on the respective dates by the Warrantors herein shall survive the Closing. Such representations and warranties of the Warrantors shall in no way be affected by any investigation of the subject matter thereof made by or on behalf of the Investors. All covenants or agreements shall survive the Closing and remain in full force and effect in accordance with their terms.
9.2. Limitation of Indemnity. The indemnification provided in Section 9.1 is subject to the following limitations: the Indemnitee shall: (i) first seek for indemnification from the Group Companies with respect to the whole and entire amount of the Indemnifiable Losses; and (ii) only in the event that the Group Companies are unable to (or have otherwise failed to) compensate the Indemnitee for the whole and entire amount of such Indemnifiable Losses within ninety (90) days, and to the extent the Indemnifiable Losses were resulted from any decision or action made or taken by the Warrantors that is not approved by the Board in advance and constitutes gross negligence or willful misconduct of the Warrantors, the Indemnitee may seek for indemnification with respect to the remaining amount of the Indemnifiable Losses from such Warrantors other than the Group Companies.
9.3. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the Laws of Hong Kong as to matters within the scope thereof, without regard to its principles of conflicts of laws.
9.4. Successors and Assigns. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, the provisions hereof shall inure to the benefit of, and be binding upon, the successors, assigns, heirs, executors and administrators of the parties hereto. This Agreement and the rights and obligations herein may not be assigned by any of the Warrantors without the written consent of all Investors. For the avoidance of doubt, this Agreement and the rights and obligations therein may be assigned by each Investor to any of its Affiliates or any transferee of the Purchased Shares in a transfer that complies with the Shareholders Agreement without any consent of the other parties. Except as expressly provided in this Agreement (including under Section 9.1 and Section 9.2 with respect to the Indemnitee) and other than the parties hereto or their respective successors and assigns, a Person who is not a party to this Agreement shall not have any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Ordinance (Chapter 623 of the Laws of Hong Kong) to enforce, or to enjoy the benefit of, any term of this Agreement.
9.5. Entire Agreement. This Agreement, the other Transaction Documents, and the schedules and exhibits hereto and thereto, which are hereby expressly incorporated herein by this reference constitute the entire understanding and agreement between the parties with regard to the subjects hereof and thereof; provided however, that nothing in this Agreement or related agreements shall be deemed to terminate or supersede the provisions of any confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements executed by the parties hereto prior to the date hereof, which agreements shall continue in full force and effect until terminated in accordance with their respective terms.
9.6. Notices. Except as may be otherwise provided herein, all notices, requests, waivers and other communications made pursuant to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be conclusively deemed to have been duly given (a) when hand delivered to the other party, upon delivery; (b) when sent by facsimile at the number set forth in Schedule VII hereto, upon receipt of confirmation of error-free transmission; (c) when sent by electronic-mail at the e-mail address set forth in Schedule VII hereto, upon being sent unless failure delivery notice is received; (d) seven (7) Business Days after deposit in the mail as air mail or certified mail, receipt requested, postage prepaid and addressed to the relevant party or parties as set forth in Schedule VII; or (e) three (3) Business Days after deposit with an overnight delivery service, postage prepaid, addressed to the relevant parties as set forth in Schedule VII with next business day delivery guaranteed, provided that the sending party receives a confirmation of delivery from the delivery service provider. Each Person making a communication hereunder by facsimile or electronic-mail shall promptly confirm by telephone to the Person to whom such communication was addressed each communication made by it by facsimile or electronic-mail pursuant hereto, but the absence of such confirmation shall not affect the validity of any such communication. A party may change or supplement the addresses set forth in Schedule VII, or designate additional addresses, for purposes of this Section 9.6, by giving the other parties written notice of the new address in the manner set forth above.
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9.7. Amendments and Waivers. Any term of this Agreement may be amended and the observance of any term of this Agreement may be waived (either generally or in a particular instance and either retroactively or prospectively), only with the written consents of the Company, the Founders and the Investors. Any amendment effected in accordance with this Section 9.7 shall be binding upon each party hereto and each of their respective successors and assigns. Any term of this Agreement and the observance of any term of this Agreement may be waived (either generally or in a particular instance and either retroactively or prospectively) only with the written consent of the party against whom such wavier is sought. No waivers of or exceptions to any term, condition or provision of this Agreement, in any one or more instances, shall be deemed to be, or construed as, a further or continuing waiver of any such term, condition or provision.
9.8. Waivers of Certain Shareholders Rights. Each of the Warrantors by executing this Agreement, hereby waives any anti-dilution rights, rights of first refusal, preemptive rights and all other similar rights in connection with the issuance of the Purchased Shares.
9.9. Delays or Omissions. No delay or omission to exercise any right, power or remedy accruing to any Warrantor or Investor, upon any breach or default of any party hereto under this Agreement, shall impair any such right, power or remedy of such Warrantor or Investor, nor shall it be construed to be a waiver of any such breach or default, or an acquiescence therein, or of any similar breach of default thereafter occurring; nor shall any waiver of any other breach or default theretofore or thereafter occurring. Any waiver, permit, consent or approval of any kind or character on the part of any Warrantor or Investor of any breach of default under this Agreement or any waiver on the part of any Warrantor or Investor of any provisions or conditions of this Agreement, must be in writing and shall be effective only to the extent specifically set forth in such writing. Subject to Section 9.1 and Section 9.2, all remedies, either under this Agreement, or by Law or otherwise afforded to the Warrantors and the Investors shall be cumulative and not alternative.
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9.10. Interpretation; Titles and Subtitles. This Agreement shall be construed according to its fair language. The rule of construction to the effect that ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in interpreting this Agreement. The titles of the sections and subsections of this Agreement are for convenience of reference only and are not to be considered in construing this Agreement. Unless otherwise expressly provided herein, (i) all references to Sections and Exhibits herein are to Sections and Exhibits of this Agreement; (ii) the words include and including, and variations thereof, shall not be deemed to be terms of limitation, but rather shall be deemed to be followed by the words without limitation; (iii) the term or is not exclusive; (iv) words in the singular include the plural, and words in the plural include the singular; (v) the terms herein, hereof, and other similar words refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular section, subsection, paragraph, clause, or other subdivision; (vi) the masculine, feminine, and neuter genders will each be deemed to include the others; (vii) the terms shall, will, and agrees are mandatory, and the term may is permissive; (viii) the term day shall mean calendar day, and month shall mean calendar month, (ix) all references in this Agreement to designated Schedules, Exhibits and Appendices are to the Schedules, Exhibits and Appendices attached to this Agreement unless the context otherwise requires, (x) the phrase directly or indirectly shall mean directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediate Persons or through contractual or other arrangements, and direct or indirect has the correlative meaning, (xi) references to Laws include any such law modifying, reenacting, extending or made pursuant to the same or which is modified, reenacted, or extended by the same or pursuant to which the same is made, (xii) each representation, warranty, agreement, and covenant contained herein will have independent significance, regardless of whether also addressed by a different or more specific representation, warranty, agreement, or covenant, (xiii) references to this Agreement, any other Transaction Documents and any other document shall be construed as references to such document as the same may be amended, supplemented or novated from time to time, (xiv) all references to dollars or to US$ are to currency of the United States of America and all references to RMB are to currency of the PRC (and each shall be deemed to include reference to the equivalent amount in other currencies), and (xv) references to a Party includes a reference to that Partys successors and permitted assigns.
9.11. Language and Counterparts. This Agreement has been negotiated, concluded and executed in English language. This Agreement may be executed (including facsimile signature) in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be an original, but all of which together shall constitute one instrument. Facsimile and emailed copies of signatures shall be deemed to be originals for the purposes of the effectiveness of this Agreement.
9.12. Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, then such provision shall be construed, to the extent feasible, so as to render the provision enforceable and to provide for the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby on substantially the same terms as originally set forth herein, and if no feasible interpretation would save such provision, it shall be severed from the remainder of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect unless the severed provision is essential to the rights or benefits intended by the parties. In such event, the parties shall use best efforts to negotiate, in good faith, a substitute, valid and enforceable provision or agreement which most nearly effects the parties intent in entering into this Agreement.
9.13. Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure. The parties hereto agree to be bound by the confidentiality and non-disclosure provisions of Section 8 of the Shareholders Agreement, which shall mutatis mutandis apply.
9.14. Further Assurances. Each party shall from time to time and at all times hereafter make, do, execute, or cause or procure to be made, done and executed such further acts, deeds, conveyances, consents and assurances without further consideration, which may reasonably be required to effect the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
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9.15. Dispute Resolution.
(a) Negotiation Between Parties. The parties agree to negotiate in good faith to resolve any dispute between them regarding this Agreement. If the negotiations do not resolve the dispute to the reasonable satisfaction of all parties within thirty (30) days, Section 9.15(b) shall apply.
(b) Arbitration. In the event the parties are unable to settle a dispute between them regarding this Agreement in accordance with subsection (a) above, such dispute, including the validity, invalidity, breach or termination of this Agreement, shall be referred to and finally settled by arbitration at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) in accordance with the HKIAC Arbitration Rules (the HKIAC Rules) then in effect, which rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference into this subsection (b). There shall be three (3) arbitrators. Where there are more than one (1) party to one (1) side of the dispute, the parties whose interests are aligned shall jointly select one (1) arbitrator. The other party to such a dispute shall select one (1) arbitrator. The HKIAC shall select the third arbitrator. Any such arbitration shall be administered by HKIAC in accordance with HKIAC Procedures for Arbitration in force at the date of this Agreement including such additions to the HKIAC Rules as are therein contained. The decision of the arbitrators (by rule of majority) shall be final and binding on the parties (including any decision on their fees) and their fees shall be borne and paid by the parties in such proportions as the arbitrators shall determine.
9.16. Expenses. If the Closing with respect to the Lead Investor occurs, the Company shall reimburse and/or pay all legal, due diligence, administrative and other expenses and costs actually incurred by the Lead Investor in connection with the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby (including out-of-pocket expenses, third party consulting or advisory expenses and legal, accounting and other costs and expenses), for up to US$283,000. In any other circumstances, each Party shall bear all of its own costs and expenses incurred or to be incurred by it in connection with the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby respectively.
9.17. Termination. Unless otherwise agreed herein, this Agreement may be terminated (i) by any Investor with respect to itself on or after March 31, 2020 or any later date as mutually agreed upon by the Lead Investor and the Company in writing (the Termination Date), by written notice to the other parties, if the Closing has not occurred on or prior to the Termination Date provided that such Investor is not in material default of any of its obligations hereunder, or (ii) by the Lead Investor in the event of any material breach or violation of any representation or warranty, covenant or agreement contained herein or in any of the other Transaction Documents by any Warrantor that is not curable or if curable, is not cured within twenty (20) Business Days of written notice given by the Lead Investor. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section 9.17, this Agreement will be of no further force or effect, and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall terminate and expire without any liability on any party to any other party; provided that Section 1 and this Section 9 shall survive the termination of this Agreement and shall continue in full force and effect pursuant to their terms. Such termination under this Section 9.17 shall be without prejudice to any claims for damages or other remedies that the parties may have under this Agreement or applicable Law and shall not relieve any party from any liability for any breach or violation of this Agreement.
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9.18. No Recourse. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement or any other Transaction Documents, each Warrantor agrees and covenants that it shall not, and shall cause each of its Affiliates, directors, officers or employees not to, seek any remedy from, make any claim against, or otherwise have any recourse against, any of the Lead Investors current or future Affiliates or its and their respective equityholders, directors, officers, employees, representatives, members, agents, or general or limited partners, whether by legal or equitable proceeding, or by virtue of any statute, regulation or other applicable Laws, with respect to any matters under or in connection with this Agreement or any other Transaction Documents, provided that the Lead Investor shall not voluntarily initiate any liquidation, dissolution or winding-up proceeding for so long as it holds any equity interests in the Group Companies.
9.19. Specific Performance. The parties hereto acknowledge and agree that irreparable harm may occur for which money damages may not be an adequate remedy in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. It is accordingly agreed that the parties shall be entitled to seek injunction to prevent breaches of this Agreement and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions of this Agreement.
[The remainder of this page has been intentionally left blank.]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE GROUP COMPANIES:
UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |||
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan | |||
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
YXT.COM Holding Limited
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |||
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan | |||
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
YXT.COM (HK) LIMITED (雲學堂控股(香港)有限公司)
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |||
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan | |||
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
(云学堂信息科技(江苏)有限公司)
(Corporate seal affixed hereto)
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |||
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan | |||
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd.
(江苏云学堂网络科技有限公司)
(Corporate seal affixed hereto)
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |||
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan | |||
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Series D Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE GROUP COMPANIES: | ||||
Beijing Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. | ||||
(北京云学堂网络科技有限公司) | ||||
(corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |||
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan | |||
Title: | Authorized Signatory | |||
Suzhou Xuancai Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州炫彩网络科技有限公司) (corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |||
Name: |
Lu Xiaoyan | |||
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Series D Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE FOUNDER PARTIES: | ||||
Founders | ||||
Lu Xiaoyan | ||||
(卢小燕) | ||||
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | ||||
Ding Jie | ||||
(丁捷) | ||||
/s/ Ding Jie | ||||
Founder Holdcos | ||||
UNICENTURY HOLDINGS LIMITED | ||||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |||
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan (卢小燕) | |||
Title: | Director | |||
DINGDING HOLDINGS LIMITED | ||||
By: | /s/ Ding Jie | |||
Name: | Ding Jie (丁捷) | |||
Title: | Director |
Signature Page to Series D Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||||
Jump Shot Holdings Limited | ||||
By: | /s/ David Li | |||
Name: | David Li | |||
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Series D Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||
SIG CHINA INVESTMENTS MASTER FUND IV, LLLP | ||
By: | SIG Asia Investment, LLLP, | |
Its Authorized Agent | ||
By: | Heights Capital Management, INC., | |
Its Authorized Agent | ||
By: | /s/ Michael Spolan | |
Name: | Michael Spolan | |
Title: | General Counsel |
LIST OF SCHEDULES AND EXHIBITS
Schedule I | List of Founder Parties | |
Schedule II | Purchased Shares and Purchase Price | |
Schedule III | Particulars of Group Companies | |
Schedule IV | Capitalization Table | |
Schedule V | Disclosure Schedule | |
Schedule VI | List of Key Employees | |
Schedule VII | Notices | |
Exhibit A | Form of Restated Articles | |
Exhibit B | Form of Second Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement | |
Exhibit C | Form of Second Amended and Restated Share Restriction Agreements | |
Exhibit D | Form of Director Indemnification Agreement | |
Exhibit E | Form of Wire Transfer Instructions | |
Exhibit F | Form of Legal Opinion | |
Exhibit G | Form of Waiver Letter |
SCHEDULE I
List of Founder Parties
SCHEDULE II
Purchased Shares and Purchase Price
SCHEDULE III
Particulars of Group Companies
SCHEDULE IV
Capitalization Table
SCHEDULE V
Disclosure Schedule
SCHEDULE VI
List of Key Employees
SCHEDULE VII
Notices
EXHIBIT A
Form of Restated Articles
EXHIBIT B
Form of Second Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement
EXHIBIT C
Form of Second Amended and Restated Share Restriction Agreements
EXHIBIT D
Form of Director Indemnification Agreement
EXHIBIT E
Form of Wire Transfer Instructions
EXHIBIT F
Form of Legal Opinion
EXHIBIT G
Form of Waiver Letter
Exhibit 10.15
***Certain information in this document has been excluded pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10). Such excluded information is not material and is the type the registrant treats as private or confidential. Such omitted information is indicated by brackets ([Redacted]) in this exhibit.***
UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
YXT.COM HOLDING LIMITED
YXT.COM (HK) LIMITED (雲學堂控股(香港)有限公司)
YUNXUETANG INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (JIANGSU) CO., LTD. (云学堂信息科技(江苏)有限公司)
JIANGSU YUNXUETANG NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (江苏云学堂网络科技有限公司)
BEIJING YUNXUETANG NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (北京云学堂网络科技有限公司)
SUZHOU XUANCAI NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (苏州炫彩网络科技有限公司)
SUZHOU XIWENLEJIAN NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (苏州喜闻乐见网络科技有限公司)
BEIJING GUOSHI TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (北京果识科技有限公司)
DIGITAL B-SCHOOL CHINA LIMITED
CEIBS MANAGEMENT LTD.
THE PERSONS LISTED IN SCHEDULE I
AND
IMAGE FRAME INVESTMENT (HK) LIMITED
SERIES E PREFERRED SHARE PURCHASE AGREEMENT
DATED January 9, 2021
Table of Content
1. |
DEFINITIONS. |
3 | ||||
2. |
AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE AND SELL SHARES. |
14 | ||||
3. |
ISSUANCE OF ADDITIONAL SERIES E PREFERRED SHARES. |
14 | ||||
4. |
CLOSINGS; DELIVERIES. |
15 | ||||
5. |
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE WARRANTORS. |
15 | ||||
6. |
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE INVESTOR. |
42 | ||||
7. |
CONDITIONS TO THE INVESTORS OBLIGATIONS AT THE CLOSING. |
43 | ||||
8. |
CONDITIONS TO THE COMPANYS OBLIGATIONS AT THE CLOSING. |
46 | ||||
9. |
COVENANTS OF THE WARRANTORS. |
47 | ||||
10. |
MISCELLANEOUS. |
58 | ||||
LIST OF SCHEDULES AND EXHIBITS |
71 |
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THIS SERIES E PREFERRED SHARE PURCHASE AGREEMENT (this Agreement) is made and entered into as of January 9, 2021, by and among:
(1) | UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability (the Company); |
(2) | YXT.COM Holding Limited, a business company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the British Virgin Islands (the BVI Subsidiary I); |
(3) | YXT.COM (HK) LIMITED (雲學堂控股(香港)有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of Hong Kong (the HK Subsidiary I); |
(4) | Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (云学堂信息科技(江苏)有限公司), a wholly foreign owned enterprise incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (the WFOE I); |
(5) | Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (江苏云学堂网络科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Jiangsu Yunxuetang); |
(6) | Beijing Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (北京云学堂网络科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Beijing Yunxuetang); |
(7) | Suzhou Xuancai Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州炫彩网络科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Suzhou Xuancai); |
(8) | Suzhou Xiwenlejian Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州喜闻乐见网络科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (XWLJ); |
(9) | Beijing Guoshi Technology Co., Ltd. (北京果识科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Beijing Guoshi); |
(10) | Digital B-School China Limited, an exempted company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the Cayman Islands (the Cayman Subsidiary); |
(11) | CEIBS Management Ltd., a limited company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the British Virgin Islands (the BVI Subsidiary II); |
(12) | Lu Xiaoyan (卢小燕) (a/k/a 卢睿泽), a PRC citizen with the PRC ID Card No. being [Redacted] (Founder Lu); |
(13) | Unicentury Holdings Limited, a business company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands with limited liability which is wholly owned by Founder Lu (Founder Lu Holdco, together with Founder Lu, the Founder Parties, and each a Founder Party); and |
1
(14) | Image Frame Investment (HK) Limited, a limited liability company incorporated and existing under the Laws of Hong Kong (Tencent or the Investor). |
RECITALS
WHEREAS:
A. The Company holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of the BVI Subsidiary I. The BVI Subsidiary I holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of the HK Subsidiary I. The HK Subsidiary I holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of the WFOE I, which in turn controls Jiangsu Yunxuetang through the Yunxuetang Cooperative Agreements (as defined below).
B. The Company holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of the Cayman Subsidiary and BVI Subsidiary II, respectively. The Cayman Subsidiary and the BVI Subsidiary II together hold sixty percent (60%) of the equity interest of CEIBS Publishing Group Limited, a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of Hong Kong (the HK Subsidiary II, together with the HK Subsidiary I, the HK Subsidiaries, and each a HK Subsidiary). The HK Subsidiary II holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of Fenghe Corporation Management Consulting CO., Ltd. (枫合企业管理咨询(上海)有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of PRC (the WFOE II, together with the WFOE I, the WFOEs, and each a WFOE), which in turn controls Shanghai Fenghe Culture Communication Co., Ltd. (上海峰禾文化传播有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of PRC (Shanghai Fenghe) through the Fenghe Cooperative Agreements (as defined below) and Shanghai Zhong Ou International Culture Communication Co., Ltd. (上海中欧国际文化传播有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of PRC (Shanghai Zhong Ou, together with Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Beijing Yunxuetang, Suzhou Xuancai, XWLJ, Beijing Guoshi, and Shanghai Fenghe, the Domestic Companies, and each a Domestic Company) through the Zhong Ou Cooperative Agreements (as defined below, together with the Yunxuetang Cooperative Agreements and the Fenghe Cooperative Agreements, the Cooperative Agreements). Further particulars of the Group Companies as of the date hereof are set out in Schedule II to this Agreement.
C. The Group Companies collectively engage in the business of research and development of software (including Software-as-a-Service or SaaS), development and operation of internet or mobile network platforms and design, production, distribution and sale of multimedia courses, in each case, related to professional/skill training or education and enterprise informatization, and providing of related technical, consulting and supporting services, and other business as approved by the Board (the Business). The Company seeks expansion capital to grow the Business and, correspondingly, seeks to secure investment from the Investor, on the terms and conditions set forth herein.
D. The Company desires to issue and sell to the Investor, and the Investor desires to purchase from the Company, certain number of series E convertible redeemable preferred shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, of the Company (the Series E Preferred Shares) on the terms and conditions herein.
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E. Tencent and Langmafeng Holdings Limited (Langmafeng), an existing shareholder of the Company, intend to enter into a share transfer agreement (the Langmafeng Share Transfer Agreement) on or around the date hereof, pursuant to which, Langmafeng desires to transfer to Tencent, and Tencent desires to purchase from Langmafeng, certain number of Ordinary Shares (the Transferred Shares), which will be re-designated as the same number of Series D Preferred Shares (the Re-designated Transferred Shares) immediately upon completion of such transfer. It is expected that the closing of such transfer and the Closing hereunder will occur concurrently and shall be conditional on the occurrence of each other.
AGREEMENT
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing recitals, the mutual promises hereinafter set forth, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:
1. | DEFINITIONS. |
1.1 | Certain Defined Terms. As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following respective meanings: |
Action means any notice, charge, claim, action, complaint, petition, investigation, suit or other proceeding, whether administrative, civil or criminal, whether at law or in equity, and whether or not before any mediator, arbitrator or Governmental Authority.
Affiliate means, with respect to a Person, any other Person that, directly or indirectly, controls, is controlled by or is under common control with such Person.
Anti-Corruption Laws means Laws relating to anti-bribery or anticorruption (governmental or commercial), which are applicable to the business and dealings of any Group Company, and their respective shareholders, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the UK Bribery Act of 2010, as amended, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the PRC, the Criminal Law of the PRC, and the Provision Regulations on Anti-Commercial Bribery.
Anti-Money Laundering Laws means Laws relating to money laundering, including, without limitation, financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, which apply to the business and dealings of any Group Company, and their shareholders; such as, without limitation, the U.S. Currency and Foreign Transaction Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the U.S. Money Laundering Control Act of 1986, as amended, the UK Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the UK Terrorism Act 2000, as amended, all money laundering-related laws of other jurisdictions where any Group Company conducts business or own asset.
Associate means, in relation to an individual, any of his or her Family Members, nominee or trustee of any trust in which such individual or any of his or her Family Members is a beneficiary or a discretionary object, or any Affiliate of any of the aforesaid persons or any person acting under his or her instructions (pursuant to an agreement or arrangement, formal or otherwise) in each case from time to time.
Balance Sheet Date means September 30, 2020.
Board means the board of directors of the Company.
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Business Cooperation Agreements means (i) the Business Cooperation Agreement to be entered into by and between Shenzhen Tencent Computer System Co., Ltd. (深圳市 腾讯计算机系统有限公司) (an affiliate of Tencent) and Jiangsu Yunxuetang on or prior to the Closing, and (ii) the Business Cooperation Agreement to be entered into by and between Tencent and the Company on or prior to the Closing.
Business Day means any day, other than a Saturday, Sunday or any public holidays, on which banks are ordinarily open for business in the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, and the PRC.
Company Owned Intellectual Property means any Intellectual Property owned by the Group Companies.
Compliance Laws means Laws relating to anti-bribery, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and trade control, including the Anti-Corruption Laws, the Anti-Money Laundering Laws and the Trade Control Laws.
Contract means, a contract, agreement, understanding, indenture, note, bond, loan, instrument, lease, mortgage, franchise, license, commitment, purchase order, and other legally binding arrangement, whether written or oral.
control means, with respect to any Person, the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities or by contract or otherwise, and such power shall conclusively be presumed to exist upon (i) the possession, directly or indirectly, of more than fifty percent (50%) ownership interest of such Person; (ii) the possession, directly or indirectly, of more than fifty percent (50%) of voting securities of such Person; or (iii) the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to nominate or appoint a majority of the members of the board of directors or similar governing body of such Person; and the terms controlling and controlled and under common control with have meanings correlative to the foregoing.
Circular 7 means the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Foreign Exchange Administration of Domestic Individuals Participation in Share Incentive Plan of Offshore Public Companies (《关于境内个人参与境外上市公司股权激励计划外汇管理有关问题的通知》) and its successor regulations, implementing rules and guidelines under the Laws of the PRC.
Circular 37 means the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Issues concerning Foreign Exchange Administration of Offshore Financing, Investment and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Companies by PRC Residents (《关于境内居民通过特殊目的公司境外投融资及返程投资外汇管理有关问题的通知》) and its successor regulations, implementing rules and guidelines under the Laws of the PRC.
Course Materials means any course materials, including but not limited to, handouts, presentation materials and downloadable contents, that are used by the Domestic Companies in connection with the conduct of the Business, whether or not developed (i) independently by the Domestic Companies, (ii) jointly with any third parties, or (iii) independently by any third parties.
Existing Articles means the Fifth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company adopted by a special resolution passed on June 24, 2020.
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Existing Shareholders Agreement means the Third Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement dated June 24, 2020 by and among the Company, the BVI Subsidiary I, the HK Subsidiary I, the WFOE I, Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Beijing Yunxuetang, Suzhou Xuancai, Founder Lu, the existing shareholders of the Company and other parties thereto.
Employee Benefit Plan means any employment Contract, deferred compensation Contract, bonus plan, incentive plan, profit sharing plan, retirement Contract or other employment compensation Contract or any other plan which provides or provided benefits for any past or present employee, officer, consultant, and/or director of any Group Company or with respect to which contributions are or have been made on account of any past or present employee, officer, consultant, and/or director of any Group Company.
Equity Securities means, with respect to any Person that is a legal entity, any and all shares of capital stock, membership interests, units, profits interests, ownership interest, equity interest, registered capital, and other equity securities of such Person, and any right, warrant, option, call, commitment, conversion privilege, preemptive right or other right to acquire any of the foregoing, or security convertible into, exchangeable or exercisable for any of the foregoing, or any contract providing for the acquisition of any of the foregoing.
ESOP means an employee stock option, equity incentive, purchase or participation plan or equivalent for the benefit of the employees, officers, directors, advisors, contractors and consultants of the Group Companies.
Family Members of an individual means his or her spouse, children or step-children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, in-laws and each person who lives together with this individual in the same household.
Fenghe Cooperative Agreements means:
(i) the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement (独家技术与咨询服务协议) by and between the WFOE II and Shanghai Fenghe dated June 24, 2020;
(ii) the Exclusive Option Agreement (独家购买权协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Fenghe and the equity holders of Shanghai Fenghe dated June 24, 2020;
(iii) the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (股权质押协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Fenghe and the equity holders of Shanghai Fenghe dated June 24, 2020; and
(iv) the Shareholders Voting Rights Proxy Agreement (股东表决权委托协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Fenghe and the equity holders of Shanghai Fenghe dated June 24, 2020.
Financial Statements means, collectively:
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(i) the consolidated and audited income statements and statements of cash flows of Jiangsu Yunxuetang for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2019, the consolidated and audited balance sheets of Jiangsu Yunxuetang as at the end of December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2019;
(ii) pro forma consolidated and unaudited income statements and statements of cash flows for the WFOE I for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2019 respectively and for nine (9) months ended September 30, 2020 and pro forma consolidated and unaudited balance sheets for the WFOE I as at (x) December 31, 2018, (y) December 31, 2019, and (z) September 30, 2020 respectively;
(iii) unaudited income statements for each of the Company, the BVI Subsidiary I and the HK Subsidiary I for fiscal years ended December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2019 and for nine (9) months ended September 30, 2020 and unaudited balance sheets for each of the Company, the BVI Subsidiary I and the HK Subsidiary I as at (x) December 31, 2018, (y) December 31, 2019, and (z) September 30, 2020 respectively; and
(iv) unaudited income statements for each of Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai Zhong Ou for fiscal years ended December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2019 and for nine (9) months ended September 30, 2020 and unaudited balance sheets for each of Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai Zhong Ou as at (x) December 31, 2018,
(y) December 31, 2019, and (z) September 30, 2020 respectively.
Group Companies or the Group means collectively the Company, the Cayman Subsidiary, the BVI Subsidiary I, the BVI Subsidiary II, the HK Subsidiary I, , the HK Subsidiary II, the WFOEs, the Domestic Companies and each other entity which is directly or indirectly controlled by the Company or whose financial statements are consolidated with those of the Company in accordance with the IFRS and are recorded on the books of the Company for financial reporting purposes (each, a Group Company).
Governmental Authority(ies) means any government of any nation or any federation, province or state or any other political subdivision thereof; any entity, authority or body exercising executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or administrative functions of or pertaining to government, including any Governmental Authority, agency, department, board, commission or instrumentality of the PRC or any other country, or any political subdivision thereof, any court, tribunal or arbitrator, and any self-regulatory organization.
Hong Kong means the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China.
IFRS means the International Financial Reporting Standards, as may be amended from time to time.
Intellectual Property means all patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names, domain names, copyrights, copyright registrations and applications and all other rights corresponding thereto, inventions, databases and all rights therein, all computer software including all source code, object code, firmware, development tools, files, records and data, including all media on which any of the foregoing is stored, formulas, designs, trade secrets, confidential and proprietary information, proprietary rights, know-how and processes of a company, and all documentation related to any of the foregoing.
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Law or Laws means any and all provisions of any applicable constitution, treaty, statute, law, regulation, ordinance, code, rule, or rule of common law, any governmental approval, concession, grant, franchise, license, agreement, directive, requirement, or other governmental restriction or any similar form of decision of, or determination by, or any interpretation or administration of any of the foregoing by, any Governmental Authority, in each case as amended, and any and all applicable governmental orders.
Lien means any claim, charge, easement, encumbrance, lease, covenant, security interest, lien, option, pledge, rights of others, or restriction (whether on voting, sale, transfer, disposition or otherwise), whether imposed by contract, understanding, Law, equity or otherwise.
Material Adverse Effect means any change, effect, event, occurrence, state of fact or development that, individually or together with any one or more changes, effects events, occurrences, states of facts or developments, has had or would be reasonably expected to have a material adverse impact on (i) the business, operation, assets (including intangible assets), liabilities, financial position, earnings, financial or other condition, prospects, properties, or results of operations of the Group Companies taken as a whole, or (ii) the ability of the Company, any other Group Company or the Founder Parties to perform the material obligations of such Person hereunder or under any other Transaction Document in accordance with their terms, as applicable, other than effects due to or resulting from (a) changes in general economic or market conditions; (b) matters generally affecting the industries in which the Group Companies operate; (c) changes in generally accepted accounting principles or standards applicable to any member of the Group Companies; (d) changes in Laws; and (e) acts taken or omissions made in accordance with Transaction Documents or at the request of the Investor; provided that (i) effects due to or resulting from the foregoing clause (a) or (b) shall be excluded from the definition of Material Adverse Effect only to the extent that the Group Companies are not disproportionately affected by comparison to other companies with the same or similar level of valuation operating in the industries in which the Group Companies operate, and (ii) effects due to or resulting from the foregoing clause (d) shall be excluded from the definition of Material Adverse Effect only to the extent that the Group Companies are not disproportionately affected by comparison to other companies whose principal business is the same as or similar to that of the Group.
Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries means the Group Companies whose equity interests are not one-hundred percent (100%) held or controlled (whether directly or indirectly) by the Company, including without limitation the HK Subsidiary II, the WFOE II, Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai Zhong Ou, and a Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary means any of them.
Offshore Group Companies means the Company, the BVI Subsidiary I, the HK Subsidiary I, the Cayman Subsidiary, the BVI Subsidiary II and the HK Subsidiary II collectively, and Offshore Group Company means any of the foregoing.
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Ordinary Shares shall mean, the Companys ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share.
Permit means any consent, approval, authorization, waiver, permit, grant, franchise, concession, agreement, license, exemption or order of, registration, certificate, declaration or filing with, or report or notice to, any Person, including any Governmental Authority.
Person means, any individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, proprietorship, association, limited liability company, firm, trust, estate or other enterprise or entity.
PRC means the Peoples Republic of China, but solely for the purposes of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents, excluding Hong Kong, the Macau Special Administrative Region and the islands of Taiwan.
PRC GAAP means the PRC generally accepted accounting principles.
Per Share Purchase Price means US$90,000,000 divided by 16,883,753, i.e., US$5.3306.
Preferred Shares means the Series A Preferred Shares, the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series C Preferred Shares, the Series D Preferred Shares and the Series E Preferred Shares collectively.
Prior Financing Documents means collectively:
(i) the Series A Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of November 3, 2017 by and among SIG China Investments Master Fund IV, LLLP (SIG), the Company and other parties thereto (the Series A SPA);
(iii) the Series B Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of September 10, 2018 by and among the Company, Ximalaya (Hong Kong) Limited, Potato Capital Holding Limited, Bronze Shield Limited and other parties thereto;
(iv) the Series C Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of September 10, 2018 by and among the Company, YF Elite Alliance Limited and other parties thereto;
(v) the Series D Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of December 31, 2019 by and among the Company, SIG, Jump Shot Holdings Limited and other parties thereto; and
(vi) the other agreements and documents contemplated by or required for implementing the transactions contemplated by any of the foregoing (other than those agreements or documents without any outstanding rights and obligations).
Public Official means any executive, official, or employee of a Governmental Authority, political party or member of a political party, political candidate; executive, employee or officer of a public international organization; or director, officer or employee or agent of a wholly owned or partially state-owned or controlled enterprise, including a PRC state-owned or controlled enterprise.
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Qualified Public Offering has the meaning set forth in the Shareholders Agreement.
Registered Intellectual Property means all Intellectual Property solely owned by any Group Company, wherever located, that is the subject of an application, certificate, filing, registration or other document issued by, filed with or recorded by any Governmental Authority.
Related Party means, with respect to any Group Company:
(i) any holder of any Equity Securities of any Group Company;
(ii) any director, officer, supervisory board member or key employee of any Group Company;
(iii) any Affiliate of any of the foregoing persons specified in (i) or (ii);
(iv) any Person in which any of the foregoing persons specified in (i) or (ii) has any interest, other than a passive shareholding of less than 10%;
(v) any other Affiliate of any Group Company; or
(vi) any Person in which Founder Lu has any interest other than any Equity Securities in any other Group Company or passive shareholding of less than 5%.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be deemed as a Related Party to any Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary and any Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary shall not be deemed as a Related Party to the Company, and one Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary shall not be deemed as a Related Party to another Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary.
Restated Articles means the Sixth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company to be adopted on or prior to the Closing, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A.
SAFE means the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the PRC and its local counterparts.
Sanctioned Person means any Person that is the subject or target of sanctions or restrictions under the Trade Control Laws, including (i) a national or resident of any U.S. embargoed or restricted country or other Sanctioned Country, (ii) included on, or affiliated with any Person on, the United States Commerce Departments Denied Parties List, Entities and Unverified Lists; the U.S. Department of Treasurys Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers or Specially Designated Terrorists, or the Annex to Executive Order No. 13224; the Department of States Debarred List; UN Sanctions, or (iii) a Person with whom business transactions, including exports and re-exports, are restricted by a U.S. Governmental Authority, including, in each clause above, any updates or revisions to the foregoing and any newly published rule.
Sanctioned Country means any country or region that is, or has been in the last five years, the subject or target of a comprehensive embargo under Trade Control Laws (including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and the Crimea region of Ukraine).
Securities Act means the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended and interpreted from time to time.
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Shareholders Agreement means the Fourth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement to be entered into by and among the parties hereto and certain other parties thereto on or prior to the Closing and effective as of the Closing, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B.
Share Restriction Agreements means (i) the Founder Lu Share Restriction Agreement to be entered into by and among the Company, Founder Lu and all other parties thereto on or prior to the Closing, and (ii) the Share Restriction Agreement executed by and among the Company, Ding Jie and all other parties thereto on January 15, 2020.
Tax means any national, provincial, municipal, or local taxes, charges, fees, levies, or other assessments, including all net income (including enterprise income tax and individual income withholding tax), turnover (including value-added tax, business tax, and consumption tax), resource (including urban and township land use tax), special purpose (including land value-added tax, urban maintenance and construction tax, and additional education tax), property (including urban real estate tax and land use taxes), documentation (including stamp duty and deed tax), filing, recording, social insurance (including pension, medical, unemployment, housing, and other social insurance withholding), tariffs (including import duty and import value-added tax), and estimated and provisional taxes of any kind whatsoever, and all interest, penalties (administrative, civil or criminal), or additional amounts imposed by any Governmental Authority in connection with any of the foregoing tax items.
Tax Return means any return, report or statement showing taxes, used to pay taxes, or required to be filed with respect to any tax (including any elections, declarations, schedules or attachments thereto, and any amendment thereof), including any information return, claim for refund, amended return or declaration of estimated or provisional tax.
Tencent Director means the director of the Board appointed by the Investor.
Trade Control Laws means all U.S. and non-U.S. Laws relating to (i) economic or trade sanctions (including Laws administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasury OFAC or the U.S. Department of State), (ii) export, re-export, transfer, and import controls (including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations, and the Laws administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection) and (iii) the anti-boycott requirements administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Treasurys Internal Revenue Service.
Warrantors means collectively the Group Companies other than the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries and the Founder Parties, and each a Warrantor.
Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries means the subsidiaries of the Company other than the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries, and a Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary means any of them.
Yunxuetang Cooperative Agreements means:
(i) the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement (独家技术咨询服务协议) by and between the WFOE and Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated October 9, 2017;
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(ii) the Exclusive Option Agreement (独家购股选择权协议) by and among the WFOE, Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the equity holders of Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated September 5, 2018;
(iii) the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (股权质押协议) by and among the WFOE, Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the equity holders of Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated September 5, 2018;
(iv) the Power of Attorney Agreement (股东权利委托协议) by and among the WFOE, Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the shareholders of Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated September 5, 2018;
(v) the Spousal Consents (配偶承诺函) dated September 5, 2018 by each of Chen Yong (陈勇, spouse of Ding Jie (丁捷)), Huang Ling (黄玲, spouse of 吴彬)), Ren Qiaohong (任巧红, spouse of 陈红波) and Liu Wenshan (刘文珊, spouse of 许乃汉); and the Spousal Consent (配偶承诺函) dated September 10, 2018 by Liu Jie (刘洁, spouse of 沈锦华); and
(vi) the Confirmation Letters (确认函) dated September 10, 2018 by each of Founder Lu and Gao Qi (高琪), and the Confirmation Letter (确认函) by Li Xue (李雪) dated August 5, 2018.
Zhong Ou Acquisition Agreements means:
(i) the master agreement dated as of June 8, 2020 by and among the Company, CW MBA Digital Limited, Chengwei Capital HK Limited, Cayman Subsidiary, BVI Subsidiary II and Zhou Xuelin (周雪林);
(ii) the share purchase agreement dated as of June 24, 2020 by and among Chengwei Capital HK Limited, the Company and the BVI Subsidiary II;
(iii) the share purchase agreement dated as of June 24, 2020 by and among CW MBA Digital Limited, the Company and the Cayman Subsidiary;
(iv) the share transfer agreement dated as of June 24, 2020 by and among Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Zhou Xuelin (周雪林), Ma Ying (马瑛) and Shanghai Fenghe;
(v) the share transfer agreement dated as of June 24, 2020 by and among Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Zhou Xuelin (周雪林), Ma Ying (马瑛) and Shanghai Zhong Ou; and
(iv) the other agreements contemplated by or entered into in connection with the foregoing agreements.
Zhong Ou Cooperative Agreements means:
(i) the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement (独家技术与咨询服务协议) by and between the WFOE II and Shanghai Zhong Ou dated June 24, 2020;
(ii) the Exclusive Option Agreement (独家购买权协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Zhong Ou and the equity holders of Shanghai Zhong Ou dated June 24, 2020;
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(iii) the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (股权质押协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Zhong Ou and the equity holders of Shanghai Zhong Ou dated June 24, 2020; and
(iv) the Shareholders Voting Rights Proxy Agreement (股东表决权委托协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Zhong Ou and the equity holders of Shanghai Zhong Ou dated June 24, 2020.
1.2 | Other Defined Terms. The following terms shall have the meanings defined for such terms in the sections set forth below: |
Term |
Section | |
Affiliates Competition |
10.1(c)(v) | |
Affiliation Relationship |
9.9(a) | |
Agreement |
Preamble | |
Ancillary Agreements |
5.4(a) | |
Beijing Guoshi |
Preamble | |
Beijing Yunxuetang |
Preamble | |
Business |
Recitals | |
BVI Subsidiary I |
Preamble | |
BVI Subsidiary II |
Preamble | |
Cayman Subsidiary |
Preamble | |
Centurium |
7.1(s) | |
CFC |
5.18(h) | |
Claim Notice |
10.1(b) | |
Closing |
4.1 | |
Closing Date |
4.1 | |
Code |
5.18(h) | |
Company |
Exhibit | |
Company |
Preamble | |
Company Intellectual Property |
5.9(a) | |
Constitutional Documents |
5.4(a) | |
Conversion Shares |
2.1 | |
Cooperative Agreements |
Recitals | |
directly or indirectly |
10.10 | |
Director Indemnification Agreement |
7.1(m) | |
Disclosure Schedule |
5 | |
Domestic Companies |
Recitals | |
Domestic Company |
Recitals | |
Domestic Residents |
5.12(b) | |
Existing ESOP Shares |
5.2(c) | |
External Representatives |
5.19 | |
Follow-on Investor |
3.1 | |
Follow-on Issuance |
3.1 | |
Follow-on Issuance SSA |
3.1 | |
Founder Lu |
Preamble | |
Founder Lu Holdco |
Preamble | |
Founder Lu Share Restriction Agreement |
7.1(l) | |
Founder Parties |
Preamble |
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Term |
Section | |
Founder Party |
Preamble | |
Group Representatives |
5.19 | |
HK Subsidiaries |
Recitals | |
HK Subsidiary |
Recitals | |
HK Subsidiary I |
Preamble | |
HK Subsidiary II |
Recitals | |
HKIAC |
10.15(b) | |
HKIAC Rules |
10.15(b) | |
Indemnifiable Loss |
10.1(a) | |
Indemnitee |
10.1(a) | |
Injunction |
7.1(a) | |
Internet Publication Permit |
9.5(a)(iv) | |
Intra-Shareholders Agreements of HK Subsidiary II |
5.2(b) | |
Investor |
Preamble | |
Jiangsu Yunxuetang |
Preamble | |
Key Employees |
5.23(c) | |
Langmafeng |
Recitals | |
Langmafeng Share Transfer Agreement |
Recitals | |
Lease |
5.8(b) | |
Licenses |
5.9(e) | |
Material Contract |
5.10(a) | |
Material Contracts |
5.10(a) | |
Network Culture License |
9.5(a)(iii) | |
Online Broadcasting License |
9.5(a)(i) | |
PFIC |
5.18(i) | |
Proceeds |
9.1 | |
Public Software |
5.9(g) | |
Purchase Price |
2.1 | |
Purchased Shares |
2.1 | |
Re-designated Transferred Shares |
Recitals | |
Relevant Jurisdiction |
9.9(e) | |
Restriction Period |
9.9(a) | |
SaaS |
Recitals | |
School Permit |
9.5(a)(v) | |
Series E Preferred Shares |
Recitals | |
Shanghai Fenghe |
Recitals | |
Shanghai Zhong Ou |
Recitals | |
SP License |
7.1(t) | |
Subsidiary Agreements |
5.2(b) | |
Suzhou Xuancai |
Preamble | |
Suzhou Yunzheng |
9.9(a) | |
Tencent |
Preamble | |
Termination Date |
10.17 | |
Transaction Documents |
5.4(a) | |
Transferred Shares |
Recitals | |
WFOE |
Recitals | |
WFOE I |
Preamble | |
WFOE II |
Recitals | |
WFOEs |
Recitals | |
XWLJ |
Preamble | |
Zhong Ou Acquisition |
5.31 |
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2. | AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE AND SELL SHARES. |
2.1 | Agreement to Purchase and Sell Shares. Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, at the Closing, the Company shall issue and sell to the Investor, and the Investor shall purchase from the Company, 16,883,753 Series E Preferred Shares, free and clear of all Liens (except as set forth in any other Transaction Documents) (the Purchased Shares) for an aggregate purchase price of US$90,000,000 (the Purchase Price). The Series E Preferred Shares shall have the rights, privileges and restrictions as set forth in the Restated Articles attached hereto as Exhibit A. The Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of the Series E Preferred Shares pursuant to the Restated Articles will be hereinafter referred to as the Conversion Shares. |
2.2 | Post-Closing Capitalization Structure. Immediately after the issuance and sale of the Purchased Shares pursuant to the terms hereof and the sale of the Transferred Shares pursuant to the Langmafeng Share Transfer Agreement, the post-closing capitalization table of the Company shall be as set out in Schedule III hereto. |
3. | ISSUANCE OF ADDITIONAL SERIES E PREFERRED SHARES. |
3.1 | Post-Closing Issuance of Series E Preferred Shares. Within three (3) months following the date of this Agreement, the Company may enter into one or multiple share subscription agreements (each, a Follow-on Issuance SSA) with any Person which is not a Tencent Restricted Person (as defined in the Shareholders Agreement) (each, a Follow-on Investor) for issuance and sale of additional Series E Preferred Shares to the extent each of the following conditions are satisfied (each, a Follow-on Issuance): |
(a) | the issuance price per Series E Preferred Share shall be no lower than the Per Share Purchase Price; |
(b) | not more than 11,255,835 Series E Preferred Shares in aggregate (for an aggregate purchase price of not more than US$60,000,000) may be issued to the Follow-on Investors; |
(c) | issuance of Series E Preferred Shares to each Follow-on Investor in accordance with the relevant Follow-on Issuance SSA shall occur no later than four (4) months after the Closing Date (as defined below); |
(d) | except as otherwise agreed in writing by the Investor, none of the Follow-on Issuance SSAs shall contain terms and conditions which are more favorable to a Follow-on Investor than those applicable to the Investor hereunder; and |
(e) | each Follow-on Investor shall be required to enter into a joinder agreement in the form attached to the Shareholders Agreement in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Tencent, to become a party to, and be bound by, the Shareholders Agreement concurrently with issuance of Series E Preferred Shares to such Follow-on Investor, or each Follow-on Investor shall enter into a new shareholders agreement in respect of the Company with all parties hereto to amend and restate the Shareholders Agreement with no substantial changes. |
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4. | CLOSINGS; DELIVERIES. |
4.1 | Closing. The closing of the purchase and sale of the Purchased Shares of the Investor (the Closing) shall be conducted by remote exchange of documents or electronic documents within ten (10) Business Days after satisfaction or waiver of all of the conditions to the Closing as set forth in Section 7 (except for those conditions which by their nature may not be satisfied until the Closing, but subject to the satisfaction or waiver thereof at the Closing), or at such other time as the Company and the Investor may mutually agree upon in writing (the date of the Closing, the Closing Date). |
4.2 | Deliverables. |
(a) | Deliverables by the Company. At the Closing, the Company shall deliver to the Investor: |
(i) | a copy of the updated register of members of the Company, certified by the registered office provider of the Company as true and complete as of the Closing Date, reflecting the issuance to the Investor of the Purchased Shares and the Re-designated Transferred Shares; |
(ii) | a copy of the updated register of directors of the Company, certified by the registered officer provider of the Company as true and complete as of the Closing Date, evidencing the appointment of the Tencent Director to the Board of the Company; and |
(iii) | a copy of the duly executed share certificates issued in the name of the Investor dated as of the Closing Date representing the Investors ownership of the Purchased Shares and the Re-designated Transferred Shares, with the originals to be delivered to the Investor within five (5) Business Days following the Closing. |
(b) | Payment of Purchase Price. Against compliance by the Company of its obligations under Section 4.2(a), the Investor shall pay the Purchase Price to the Company at the Closing in cash by wire transfer of United States dollars in immediately available funds to a designated account of the Company, provided that the Company shall deliver a wire transfer instruction in form and substance attached hereto as Exhibit E to the Investor at least ten (10) Business Days prior to the Closing. |
5. | REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE WARRANTORS. |
The Warrantors hereby jointly and severally represent and warrant to the Investor, subject to full and fair disclosures with respect to certain matters as set forth in the disclosure schedule attached to this Agreement as Schedule IV (the Disclosure Schedule) (which Disclosure Schedule shall constitute representations and warranties to the Investor), that each of the statements set forth in this Section 5 is true and correct, and not, in material respects, misleading, as of the date hereof, and shall be true and correct, and not, in material respects, misleading as of the Closing (except for those representations and warranties that address matters only as of a particular date, which shall be true and correct, and not, in material respects, misleading only, as of such particular date).
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Where any representation or warranty of the Warrantors is expressed to be given to the best knowledge of the Warrantors or similar expressions, such representation or warranty shall be deemed to have been made or given based on the actual knowledge of Founder Lu, the directors of the Group Companies appointed by Founder Lu, or the officers of the Group Companies, in each case, after making such due inquiry and exercising such due diligence as a prudent business person would have made or exercised in the management of his or her business affairs, including due inquiry of all employees and professional advisors (including attorneys, accountants and auditors) of each Group Company who could reasonably be expected to have knowledge of the matters in question.
5.1 | Organization, Standing and Qualification; Solvency. |
(a) | Each of the Group Companies and the Founder Lu Holdco is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing (or equivalent status in the relevant jurisdiction) under, and by virtue of, the Laws of the place of its incorporation or establishment and has all the requisite power and authority to own its properties and assets and to carry on its business as now conducted and as currently proposed to be conducted, and to perform each of its obligations hereunder and under each other Transaction Document to which it is a party. Each Group Company is qualified to do business and is in good standing (or equivalent status in the relevant jurisdiction) in each jurisdiction in which it conducts its business. Each of the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies has a valid business license issued by the competent Governmental Authority, and has, since its establishment, carried on its business in compliance with the business scope set forth in its business license. |
(b) | No Group Company is insolvent or is in liquidation under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization. No order has been made or petition presented or resolution passed for the winding up, liquidation or dissolution of any Group Company and no distress, execution or other process has been levied on any Group Companys assets. No creditor of any Group Company has enforced any security over any material assets of any Group Company. |
5.2 | Capitalization. |
(a) | As of the date hereof, the Company is authorized to issue a total of 500,000,000 shares, par value 0.0001 per share, which consists of the following: |
(i) | Ordinary Shares. The Company is authorized to issue a total of 420,874,891 Ordinary Shares, of which 49,236,137 Ordinary Shares are issued and outstanding. |
(ii) | Series A Preferred Shares. The Company is authorized to issue a total of 15,040,570 Series A Preferred Shares, all of which are issued and outstanding. |
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(iii) | Series B Preferred Shares. The Company is authorized to issue a total of 7,085,330 Series B Preferred Shares, all of which are issued and outstanding. |
(iv) | Series C Preferred Shares. The Company is authorized to issue a total of 23,786,590 Series C Preferred Shares, all of which are issued and outstanding. |
(v) | Series D Preferred Shares. The Company is authorized to issue a total of 33,212,619 Series D Preferred Shares, all of which are issued and outstanding. |
Immediately upon the Closing, the Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 500,000,000 shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, which shall consist of the following:
(i) | Ordinary Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 388,795,761 Ordinary Shares, of which 45,296,595 Ordinary Shares shall be issued and outstanding. |
(ii) | Series A Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 15,040,570 Series A Preferred Shares, all of which shall be issued and outstanding. |
(iii) | Series B Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 7,085,330 Series B Preferred Shares, all of which shall be issued and outstanding. |
(iv) | Series C Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 23,786,590 Series C Preferred Shares, all of which shall be issued and outstanding. |
(v) | Series D Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 37,152,161 Series D Preferred Shares, all of which shall be issued and outstanding. |
(vi) | Series E Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 28,139,588 Series E Preferred Shares, 16,883,753 of which shall be issued and outstanding. |
(b) | Options, Warrants, Reserved Shares. As of the Closing, the Company will have reserved (i) a sufficient number of Series E Preferred Shares for the issuance of the Purchased Shares, and (ii) a sufficient number of Ordinary Shares for issuance upon the conversion of all Purchased Shares. Except for the preemptive rights, right of first refusal, right of co-sale and other rights attaching to the Preferred Shares as provided in the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles, there are no (x) options, warrants, conversion privileges, agreements or rights of any kind with respect to the issuance, sale or purchase of the shares or any other securities of any Group Company (other than those shares or other securities in the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries not held or controlled by the Company, whether directly or |
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indirectly), or (y) securities or rights convertible into or exchangeable for equity or other securities of any Group Company. Except for (A) conversion privileges attaching to the Preferred Shares and (B) the Transaction Documents, there are no options, warrants, conversion privileges or other rights, or agreements with respect to the issuance thereof, presently outstanding to purchase any Equity Security in any Group Company (other than those shares or other securities in the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries not held or controlled by the Company, whether directly or indirectly) and no unissued share capital of any Group Company is under option or agreed conditionally or unconditionally to be put under option. Except for those set forth under the Shareholders Agreement, the Restated Articles, the Cooperative Agreements, that certain Investors Rights Agreement, Voting Agreement and Share Restrictions Agreement (the Intra-Shareholders Agreements of HK Subsidiary II) executed in April 2007 by the HK Subsidiary II and certain of its former shareholders setting forth the rights and obligations of relevant shareholders with respect to the HK Subsidiary II or the constitutional documents of the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries (together with the Intra-Shareholders Agreements of HK Subsidiary II, the Subsidiary Agreements), no shares (including the Purchased Shares and the Conversion Shares) in the share capital of any Group Company, or shares issuable upon exercise or exchange of any outstanding options, warrant or other securities of any Group Company, or any other rights or securities issued or issuable by any Group Company (other than those shares or other securities in the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries not held or controlled by the Company, whether directly or indirectly), are subject to any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights or resections of any kind with respect to purchase, sale or issuance of such shares or securities (whether in favor of any Group Company or any other Person).
(c) | ESOP. 2,956,830 Ordinary Shares have been reserved for issuance to employees and consultants of the Group Companies pursuant to the shareholders resolutions and the sole director resolutions of the Company each dated November 3, 2017 (the Existing ESOP Shares). No option, warrant or award for any such Ordinary Shares have been granted to any Person. No ESOP for the benefit of the employees, officers, directors, advisors, contractors and consultants of the Group Companies has been adopted by any Group Company (for the avoidance of about, reservation of the Existing ESOP Shares does not constitute adoption of an ESOP by the Company). |
(d) | Outstanding Security Holders. A complete and accurate list of all shareholders of the Company immediately prior to and after the Closing Date, indicating the type and number of shares held by each such shareholder is set forth in the capitalization tables in Schedule III. The information set out in Schedule III is true and complete in all respects and there is no information the omission of which might make such information misleading or inaccurate in any respect. Immediately prior to and after the Closing Date, other than such shareholders, there shall be no other holder of any Equity Securities in the Company. |
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(e) | Vesting of Shares. Except as described in this Agreement, the Shareholders Agreement and the Share Restriction Agreements (as defined below), no share plan or share purchase, share option or other agreement or understanding between the Company and any holder of any securities or rights exercisable or convertible for securities provides for acceleration or other changes in the vesting provisions or other terms of such agreement or understanding as the result of the occurrence of any event. The proposed transactions under this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents do not and will not result in any acceleration or changes in any such vesting provisions or terms. |
(f) | Issuance and Status. All presently outstanding shares and other Equity Securities of the Company and each other Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary were duly and validly issued (or subscribed for), and all Equity Securities held or controlled (whether directly or indirectly) by the Company in the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries were subscribed for, in compliance with all applicable Laws, preemptive rights of any Person, and applicable contracts, and are fully paid or credited as fully paid (which, in the case of each PRC entity, shall be fully paid in accordance with its articles of association) and non-assessable, and are free and clear of all Liens (except for any restrictions on transfer under the Cooperative Agreements, the Existing Shareholders Agreement, the Existing Articles, applicable Laws or the Subsidiary Agreements). All share capital or registered capital, as the case may be, of each Group Company have been duly and validly issued and fully paid (or subscribed for) in accordance with its articles of association, is non-assessable, and is and as of the Closing shall be free of any and all Liens (except for any restrictions on transfer under the Cooperative Agreements, the Existing Shareholders Agreement, the Existing Articles, applicable Laws or the Subsidiary Agreements). No share capital or registered capital of the Company or any Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary was issued or subscribed for, and no Equity Securities held or controlled (whether directly or indirectly) by the Company in the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries were subscribed for, in violation of the preemptive rights of any Person, terms of any contract (whether written or oral), or any Laws, by which each such Group Company at the time of issuance or subscription was bound. Except as expressly and specifically contemplated under the Transaction Documents, there are no (i) resolutions pending to increase the share capital or registered capital of any Group Company or to cause the liquidation, winding up or dissolution of any Group Company, (ii) dividends which have accrued or been declared but are unpaid by any Group Company, (iii) obligations, contingent or otherwise, of any Group Company to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any Equity Securities held by any Person, except as provided in the Subsidiary Agreements, or (iv) outstanding or authorized equity appreciation, phantom equity, equity plans or similar rights with respect to any Group Company. Except for those set forth in the Cooperative Agreements, the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles, there is no voting, nominee, agency or entrustment or other similar arrangement with respect to the shares or other Equity Securities of any Group Company. |
5.3 | Subsidiaries; Group Structure. |
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(a) | As of the Closing, except for the Offshore Group Companies (other than the Company), the WFOEs, the Domestic Companies and as set out under Section 5.3(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, the Company does not presently own or control, directly or indirectly, any Equity Securities or other interest in any other corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture, association, or other entity. Except as described in Section 5.3(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, none of the Domestic Companies has any subsidiary or own or control, directly or indirectly, any interest in any other corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture, association or other entity, nor maintains any branches or subsidiaries. As of the Closing, the information relating to each Group Company as set out in Schedule II is true and accurate in all respects and there is no information the omission of which might make such information misleading or inaccurate in any respect. There is no agreement among the Founder Parties, the Group Companies and/or any other Person with respect to the ownership or control of any of the Group Companies, except as set forth in the Transaction Documents. No Group Company is obligated to make any investment or capital contribution in or on behalf of any other Person. |
(b) | Except as described in Section 5.3(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, as of the Closing, each Domestic Company shall possess all requisite Permits that are material for the conduct of the Business as currently conducted or the business as set forth in the business scope of such entity and for the ownership and operation of its assets and property. |
5.4 | Due Authorization. |
(a) | All corporate actions on the part of the Group Companies which are parties hereto and, as applicable, their respective officers, directors and shareholders necessary for (i) the authorization of the Restated Articles, the certificate of incorporation or other equivalent corporate charter documents of any of the Group Companies (collectively with the Restated Articles, the Constitutional Documents), (ii) the authorization, execution and delivery by such Group Companies of, the performance of the obligations of such Group Companies under, and the consummation by such Group Companies of the transactions contemplated by (x) this Agreement, (y) the Shareholders Agreement, the Share Restriction Agreements, the Director Indemnification Agreement (as defined below) and the Business Cooperation Agreements, and the various agreements attached to this Agreement (collectively, the Ancillary Agreements), and (z) the Cooperative Agreements (together with this Agreement, the Restated Articles and the Ancillary Agreements, the Transaction Documents), and (iii) the authorization, issuance, reservation for issuance and delivery of all of the Purchased Shares under this Agreement and of the Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of the Purchased Shares, have been taken or will be taken prior to the Closing. Each of the Transaction Documents and the Constitutional Documents to which such Group Company is a party or is subject to is a valid and binding obligation of each such Group Company enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, subject, as to the enforcement of remedies, to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and similar Laws affecting creditors rights generally and to general equitable principles. |
(b) | As to each Founder Party, (i) such party has all requisite power, authority and capacity to, and if applicable, has taken or will prior to the Closing take all corporate actions to enter into the Transaction Documents, perform its obligations under the Transaction Documents and consummate the transactions contemplated under the Transaction Documents, in each case, to which it is a party, and (ii) each of the Transaction Documents to which it is a party, when executed and delivered by it, will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of it and be enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, subject, as to enforcement of remedies, to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and similar Laws affecting creditors rights generally and to general equitable principles. |
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5.5 | Consents. No consent, clearance, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any Governmental Authority having jurisdiction over the Group Companies and Founder Parties is required and no other action or thing is required to be taken, fulfilled or done for the issue or offer of the Purchased Shares, the execution and delivery by the Group Companies and Founder Parties of this Agreement, or the implementation and performance by the Group Companies and Founder Parties of any of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement as the case may be except for those which have been, or will, as expressly contemplated by this Agreement, on or prior to the Closing Date be, obtained and are, or will on the Closing Date be, in full force and effect. |
5.6 | Valid Issuance of Purchased Shares. |
(a) | The Purchased Shares and the Conversion Shares, when allotted and issued in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the Restated Articles, will be duly and validly allotted and issued, fully paid and non-assessable, freely transferable, and free and clear of any Liens (except for those set forth under the Shareholders Agreement or the Restated Articles) and will not be subject to calls for further funds so long as the Purchase Price has been paid in full in accordance with this Agreement. |
(b) | All currently outstanding shares of the Company and each other Group Company (other than outstanding shares of the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries not held or controlled by the Company, whether directly or indirectly) are duly and validly issued or subscribed for, fully paid and non-assessable, and have been issued or subscribed for in full compliance with the requirements of all applicable securities Laws including, to the extent applicable, the registration and prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act, or in compliance with applicable exemptions therefrom, and all other provisions of applicable securities Laws, including, without limitation, anti-fraud provisions. |
5.7 | Liabilities. Except as disclosed in Section 5.7 of the Disclosure Schedule or under the Financial Statements, no Group Company has any indebtedness (whether for borrowed money or otherwise, other than the indebtedness incurred in the ordinary course of business of the Group Companies) that it has directly or indirectly created, incurred, assumed, or guaranteed, or with respect to which the Group Company has otherwise become directly or indirectly liable. |
5.8 | Title to Properties and Assets. |
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(a) | Each Group Company has valid title to, or a valid leasehold interest in or right to the properties and assets currently held and used by it, and has full right to use the offices currently used by it, in each case subject to no Liens except for encumbrances and Liens that arise in the ordinary course of business and do not materially impair the Group Companys ownership or use of such property or assets. The foregoing properties, assets and rights collectively represent in all material respects all properties, assets and rights necessary for the conduct of the business of the Group Companies in the manner conducted during the periods covered by the Financial Statements and as presently conducted. Except for leased items, no Person other than a Group Company owns any interest in any such assets. All machinery, vehicles, equipment and other tangible personal property owned or leased by a Group Company are (i) in good condition and repair in all material respects (reasonable wear and tear excepted) and (ii) not obsolete or in need in any material respect of renewal or replacement, except for renewal or replacement in the ordinary course of business. |
(b) | No Group Company owns or has legal or equitable title or other right or interest in any real property other than as held pursuant to Leases. Section 5.8 of the Disclosure Schedule sets forth each leasehold interest pursuant to which any Group Company holds any real property (a Lease), indicating the parties to such Lease, the address of the property demised under the Lease, the rent payable under the Lease and the term of the Lease. The particulars of the Leases as set forth in Section 5.8 of the Disclosure Schedule are true and complete. Each Lease constitutes the entire agreement with respect to the property demised thereunder. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, the lessor under each Lease is qualified and has obtained all Permits (as defined below) necessary to enter into such Lease, including without limitation any Permits required from the owner of the property demised pursuant to the Lease if the lessor is not such owner. There is no claim asserted or, to the best Knowledge of the Warrantors, threatened by any Person regarding the lessors ownership of the property demised pursuant to each Lease. Except as disclosed in Section 5.8 of the Disclosure Schedule, each Lease is in compliance in all material respects with applicable Laws, including with respect to the ownership and operation of property and conduct of business as now conducted by the applicable Group Company which is a party to such Lease, and each party to each Lease is in full compliance with the terms of the relevant Leases. No Lease contains any restriction on the business currently operated by relevant Group Company on such property or any right for the lessor or landlord to unilaterally terminate such Lease prior to expiration of its term (unless the lessee defaults on any rental payment or breaches any lease term). Each Group Company which is a party to a Lease has accepted possession of the property demised pursuant to the Lease and is in actual possession thereof and has not sublet, assigned or hypothecated its leasehold interest. No Group Company uses any real property in the conduct of its business except insofar as it has secured a Lease with respect thereto. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no zoning or other applicable Law currently in effect that may prevent or limit any Group Company from conducting its operations on the leased properties as they are currently conducted or contemplated to be conducted. The leasehold interests under the Leases held by each Group Company are adequate for the conduct of the business of such Group Company as currently conducted. There exists no pending or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, threatened condemnation, confiscation, eminent domain proceeding, dispute, claim, demand or similar proceeding with respect to, or which could materially and adversely affect, the continued use and enjoyment of such leasehold interests. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there are no circumstances that would entitle any Governmental Authority or other Person to take possession or otherwise restrict use, possession or occupation of any property subject to any Leases. |
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(c) | To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, the use, distribution, licensing, sale, or disposal of any asset or property of any Group Company does not infringe, misappropriate or violate any rights of any other party. |
(d) | No action, suit, investigation or government proceeding (i) challenging the validity, enforceability, or ownership of any asset or property of any Group Company, or (ii) alleging that the use, distribution, licensing, sale, or disposal of any asset or property of any Group Company infringes, misappropriates or violates any right of any third party, is pending or is threatened by any Person against any of the Group Companies. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no unauthorized use, infringement or misappropriation of any of the assets or properties of the Group Companies by any third party, employee or former employee. |
5.9 | Intellectual Property. |
(a) | Company Intellectual Property. Each Group Company owns or has the rights to use or otherwise has sufficient rights (including but not limited to the rights of development, maintenance, licensing and sale) to, all Intellectual Property that is material for the conduct of the Business (Company Intellectual Property) without infringement of the rights of any other Person. Section 5.9(a) of the Disclosure Schedule sets forth a complete and accurate list of all Company Intellectual Property (including all Registered Intellectual Property) for each Group Company, including for each the relevant name or description, registration/certification or application number, and filing, registration or issue date. |
(b) | Intellectual Property Ownership. Except as disclosed in Section 5.9(b) of the Disclosure Schedule, all Registered Intellectual Property is owned by and registered or applied for solely in the name of a Group Company, is valid and subsisting and has not been abandoned, and all necessary registration, maintenance and renewal fees with respect thereto and currently due have been satisfied. No Group Company or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, any of its employees, officers or directors has taken any actions or failed to take any actions that would cause any material Registered Intellectual Property owned by the Group Companies to be invalid, unenforceable or not subsisting. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, no funding or facilities of a Governmental Authority or a university, college, other educational institution or research center was used in the development of any material Company Owned Intellectual Property. No Company Owned Intellectual Property is the subject of any Lien, encumbrance, license or other contract (whether written or oral) to which any Group Company is a party granting rights therein to any other Person (other than the non-exclusive license occurred in the ordinary course of business of the Group Companies). No Group Company is or has been a member or promoter of, or contributor to, any industry standards bodies, patent pooling organizations or similar organizations that could require or obligate a Group Company to grant or offer to any Person any license or right to any Company Owned Intellectual Property. No Registered Intellectual Property is subject to any proceeding or outstanding governmental order or settlement agreement or stipulation that restricts in any manner the use, transfer or licensing thereof, or any Group Companys products or services, by any Group Company or may affect the validity, use or enforceability of such Registered Intellectual Property. Founder Lu has assigned and transferred to a Group Company any and all of his Intellectual Property related to the business conducted by the Group Companies. No Group Company has (i) transferred or assigned any material Company Owned Intellectual Property; (ii) authorized the joint ownership of, any material Company Owned Intellectual Property; or (iii) permitted the rights of any Group Company in any Registered Intellectual Property to lapse or enter the public domain. |
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(c) | Infringement, Misappropriation and Claims. No Group Company has violated, infringed or misappropriated any Intellectual Property of any other Person, provided that the forgoing representations and warranties under this Section 5.9(c) shall not be applied to any violation, infringement or misappropriation of any Intellectual Property of any other Person caused by or arising from any products produced by any third party and distributed or sold by any Group Company, provided that such Group Company shall have duly inquired such third party with respect to the ownership of/licensed rights to use the Intellectual Property applied in the products, nor has any Group Company received any written notice alleging any of the foregoing. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, no Person has violated, infringed or misappropriated any Company Owned Intellectual Property of any Group Company, and no Group Company has given any written notice to any other Person alleging any of the foregoing. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, no Person has challenged the ownership of the Company Owned Intellectual Property or the use of other Company Intellectual Property by any Group Company. No Group Company has agreed to indemnify any Person for any infringement, violation or misappropriation of any Intellectual Property by such Person. |
(d) | Assignments and Prior Intellectual Property. All material inventions and material know-how conceived by employees, consultants and independent contractors of a Group Company related to the business of such Group Company (other than the Course Materials developed jointly with or independently by any third parties) are currently owned exclusively by a Group Company. All employees, consultants and independent contractors of a Group Company who are or were involved in the creation of any Intellectual Property for such Group Company have executed an assignment of inventions agreement that vests in a Group Company exclusive ownership of all right, title and interest in and to such Intellectual Property, to the extent not already provided by Law. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, it will not be necessary to utilize any Intellectual Property of any such Persons, except for those that are exclusively owned by a Group Company, and none of such Intellectual Property has been utilized by any Group Company. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, none of the employees, consultants or independent contractors currently or previously employed or otherwise engaged by any Group Company, (i) is in violation of any current or prior confidentiality, non-competition or non-solicitation obligations to such Group Company or to any other Persons, including former employers or (ii) is obligated under any contract, or subject to any governmental order, that would interfere with the use of his or her best efforts to promote the interests of the Group Companies or that would conflict with the business of such Group Company as presently conducted. |
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(e) | Licenses. Section 5.9(e) of the Disclosure Schedule contains a complete and accurate list of (i) all licenses, sublicenses, and other contracts to which any Group Company is a party and pursuant to which any third party is authorized to use, exercise or receive any benefit from any Company Owned Intellectual Property, and (ii) all licenses, sublicenses and other Contracts to which any Group Company is a party and pursuant to which such Group Company is authorized to use, exercise, or receive any benefit from any Intellectual Property of another Person, in each case except for (1) agreements involving off-the-shelf commercially available software, (2) non-exclusive licenses to customers of the business conducted by the Group Companies in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, and (3) license of copyright of the contents and information contained in the Course Materials ((i) and (ii) collectively (for the avoidance of doubt, including those referred to in above (1), (2) and (3)), the Licenses). The Group Companies have paid all license and royalty fees (if any) required to be paid under the Licenses. |
(f) | Protection of Intellectual Property. Each Group Company has taken reasonable and appropriate steps to register, protect, maintain and safeguard the Company Owned Intellectual Property and made all appropriate filings, registrations and payments of fees in connection with the foregoing. To the extent that any Company Owned Intellectual Property has been developed or created independently or jointly by an independent contractor or other third party for any Group Company, or is incorporated into any products or services of any Group Company, such Group Company has a written agreement with such independent contractor or third party and has reached mutual consent on the ownership of the relevant Intellectual Property developed or created in such work, material or invention. |
(g) | No Public Software. No material software included in any Company Owned Intellectual Property has been or is being distributed, in whole or in part, or was used, or is being used in conjunction with any Public Software in a manner which would require that such software be disclosed or distributed in source code form or made available at no charge. For the purpose of this Agreement, Public Software means any software that contains, or is derived in any manner (in whole or in part) from, any software that is distributed as free software, open source software (e.g., Linux) or similar licensing or distribution models, including, without limitation, software licensed or distributed under any of the following licenses or distribution models, or licenses or distribution models similar to any of the following: (i) GNUs General Public License (GPL) or Lesser/Library GPL (LGPL), (ii) the Artistic License (e.g., PERL), (iii) the Mozilla Public License, (iv) the Netscape Public License, (v) the Sun Community Source License (SCSL), (vi) the Sun Industry Standards License (SISL), (vii) the BSD License, and (viii) the Apache License. |
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5.10 | Material Contracts and Obligations. |
(a) | For purposes of this Section 5.10, a Material Contract means each contract to which a Group Company or any of its properties or assets is bound or subject to, that: |
(i) | involves obligations (contingent or otherwise) or payments in excess of US$100,000 individually or US$500,000 in the aggregate per annum; |
(ii) | involves Intellectual Property that is material to a Group Company (other than generally-available off-the-shelf shrink-wrap software licenses obtained by the Group Companies on non-exclusive and non-negotiated terms), including without limitation, the Licenses; |
(iii) | restricts the ability of a Group Company to compete or to conduct or engage in any business or activity or in any territory; |
(iv) | relates to the sale, issuance, grant, exercise, award, purchase, repurchase or redemption of any Equity Securities; |
(v) | involves any provisions providing exclusivity, change in control, most favored nations, rights of first refusal or first negotiation or similar rights, or grants a power of attorney, agency or similar authority; |
(vi) | is with a Related Party of any Group Company except for customary employment or retainer agreements between the Group Companies and their officers, consultants, or employees entered into in the ordinary course of business; |
(vii) | involves indebtedness for borrowed money, an extension of credit; |
(viii) | involves the lease, license, sale, use, disposition or acquisition of a material amount of assets or of a business; |
(ix) | involves the waiver, compromise, or settlement of any material dispute, claim, litigation or arbitration; |
(x) | involves the ownership or lease of, title to, use of, or any leasehold or other interest in, any real or personal property (except for personal property leases involving payments of less than US$50,000 per annum); |
(xi) | involves the establishment, contribution to, or operation of a partnership, joint venture, or involves a sharing of profits or losses, or any investment in, loan to or acquisition or sale of the securities, equity interest or assets of any Person; |
(xii) | is with a Governmental Authority, state-owned enterprise, or sole-source supplier of any material product or service (other than utilities); |
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(xiii) | is or relates to any employee benefits plan; |
(xiv) | is a Cooperative Agreement; |
(xv) | is not in the ordinary course of business, or is not consistent with a Group Companys past practice; |
(xvi) | is a Prior Financing Documents; or |
(xvii) | is otherwise material to a Group Company or is one on which a Group Company is substantially dependent. |
Certain Material Contracts are listed in Section 5.10 of the Disclosure Schedule.
(b) | No party to any such Material Contracts or obligations is in material default thereunder, which would be material in the context of the Group Companies financial positions; and there are no circumstances giving rise to such a default. |
(c) | A true, fully-executed copy of each Material Contract has been delivered to the Investor. All of the Material Contracts are valid, subsisting, in full force and effect and binding upon the Group Company to which it is a party, and the performance of such Material Contracts does not and will not violate any applicable Laws. No threat or claim of default under any such Material Contracts to which a Group Company is a party, has been made or is outstanding against it. Each Group Company has in all material respects satisfied or provided for all of its liabilities and obligations under each Material Contract to which it is a party or by which it is bound which requires performance prior to the date of this Agreement, and is not in default in any material respect under any Material Contract to which it is a party or by which it is bound. There does not exist any circumstance due to the action or inaction of any Group Company that with notice or lapse of time or both would constitute a material default of the obligations by a Group Company under a Material Contract to which it is a party or by which it is bound. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, none of the officers or directors of any Group Company has given or received from any Person any notice or communication (whether oral or written) regarding any actual, alleged, possible or potential breach of, or default under, any Material Contract. |
(d) | None of the Group Companies has given any powers of attorney or other authority express or implied which is still outstanding or effective to any Person to enter into any contract or commitment to do anything on its behalf other than the authority given to (i) legal representatives, board members, officers or employees to enter into agreements in the normal course of their duties and (ii) authorized representatives and agents to undertake certain governmental filings. |
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5.11 | Litigation, Claims and Proceedings. |
(a) | There is no Action pending or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, currently threatened against any of the Group Companies, any Group Companys activities, properties or assets or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, against any officer, director or employee of any Group Company in connection with such officers, directors or employees relationship with, or actions taken on behalf of any Group Company. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no factual or legal basis for any such Action that is likely to result, individually or in the aggregate, in any material adverse effect on the Group Companies. For the sole purpose of the preceding sentence, an Action shall be deemed as having a material adverse effect on the Group Company only when (i) the amount or value of claims involved in such Action is in excess of RMB500,000 or (ii) the potential result of such Action may or will impact the normal conduct of business of the affected Group Company. By way of example, but not by way of limitation, there are no Actions pending against any of the Group Companies or threatened against any of the Group Companies, relating to the use by any employee of any Group Company of any information, technology or techniques allegedly proprietary to any of their former employers, clients or other parties. None of the Group Companies is a party to or subject to the provisions of any order, writ, injunction, judgment or decree of any court or government agency or instrumentality and there is no Action by any Group Company currently pending or which it intends to initiate. |
(b) | None of the directors of any Group Company has been (i) to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, subject to any voluntary or involuntary petition under any applicable bankruptcy any insolvency Laws or the appointment of a manager, receiver or similar officer by a court for his or her business or property, (ii) convicted in a criminal proceeding or named as a subject of a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offenses), (iii) to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, subject to any order, judgement or decree (not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated) of any court of competent jurisdiction permanently or temporarily enjoining him or her from engaging, or otherwise imposing limits or conditions on his or her engagement, in any type of business or acting as an officer or director of a public company or (iv) to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, found by a court of competent jurisdiction in a civil action or by any relevant regulatory organization to have violated any applicable securities, commodities, or unfair trade practices Law, which such judgement or finding has not been subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated. |
5.12 | Compliance with Laws; Permits. |
(a) | Except as disclosed in Section 5.12(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, each Group Company is, and has been, in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Laws. None of the Group Companies has conducted any activity in violation of any applicable statute, rule, regulation, order or restriction of any domestic or foreign government or any agency thereof in respect of the conduct of its business or the ownership of its properties in any material respect. No event has occurred and no circumstance exists that (with or without notice or lapse of time) (i) may constitute or result in a violation by any Group Company of, or a failure on the part of such entity to comply with, any applicable Laws in any material respect, or (ii) may give rise to any obligation on the part of any Group Company to undertake, or to bear all or any portion of the cost of, any remedial action of any nature. None of the Group Companies has received any notice from any Governmental Authority regarding any of the foregoing. No Group Company has received any written or oral notice indicating that or is otherwise aware that it is under investigation with respect to any violation of any Law. Except as disclosed in Section 5.12(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, each Group Company has duly obtained and maintained all Permits from the competent Governmental Authorities that are necessary for or material to the due and proper establishment and conduct of its business as currently conducted and as proposed to be conducted. None of the Group Companies is in default in any material aspect under any of such Permits issued or granted by the competent Governmental Authorities. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, no Governmental Authority is considering modifying, suspending, revoking or denying upon expiration the renewal of any of such Permits. No Permits issued or granted by the competent Governmental Authorities contain any materially burdensome restrictions or conditions, and each Permit is in full force and effect and will remain in full force and effect upon the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. None of the Group Companies is in default under any Permit issued or granted by the competent Governmental Authorities. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no reason to believe that any Permit which is subject to periodic renewal will not be granted or renewed. No Group Company has received any letter or other communication from any Governmental Authority threatening or providing notice of revocation of any such Permit issued to any Group Company or the need for compliance or remedial actions in respect of the activities carried out directly or indirectly by any Group Company. There are no fines or penalties asserted against the Group Companies under any applicable Law, and none of the Group Companies has received any written notice from any Governmental Authorities with respect to any violation of any applicable Law. |
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(b) | All Permits issued or granted by or filed with the Governmental Authorities and any other Persons which are required to be obtained or made by each Group Company and each Founder Party in connection with the consummation of the transactions contemplated under the Transaction Documents shall have been obtained or made prior to and be effective as of the Closing. None of the Warrantors and, to the knowledge of the Warrantors, nor any other registered shareholder or ultimate beneficial owners of the Company who are citizens and permanent residents of the PRC defined under the Circular 37 (the Domestic Residents) was, is or has been in violation of any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, order or restriction of any domestic or foreign government or any instrumentality or agency thereof (including the Circular 37) in respect of or in connection with (i) the conduct of the business by the any Group Company or the ownership of any properties or Equity Securities in Group Company, including but not limited to any approval, registration, filing or reporting requirement applicable to Founder Lu or, (ii) to the knowledge of the Warrantors, any other Domestic Residents (indirect) investment in the Company or direct or indirect holding, acquisition, transfer or disposal of any Equity Securities in any Group Company. Founder Lu is a citizen and permanent resident of the PRC and did not hold and does not hold any identification that may require the registration of each of the Domestic Companies as a foreign invested enterprise pursuant to applicable Law of the PRC in effect at and from the time of the incorporation of such Domestic Company through the Closing Date. |
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5.13 | Compliance with Other Instruments and Agreements. None of the Group Companies is or has been in, nor shall the conduct of its business as currently conducted result in, violation, breach or default of any term of its Constitutional Documents, its registered business scope, or any term or provision of any Material Contracts or of any provision of any judgment, decree, order, statute, rule or regulation applicable to or binding upon such Group Company. None of the activities, agreements, commitments or rights of any Group Company is ultra vires or invalid, or unauthorized. The execution, delivery and performance of and compliance with this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby by the Group Companies have been duly authorized, and will not result in any violation, breach or default, or be in conflict with or constitute, with or without the passage of time or the giving of notice or both, either a default under any Group Companys Constitutional Documents or any Material Contracts, or a violation of any Laws, or an event which results in the creation of any Lien upon any asset of any Group Company. |
5.14 | Registration Rights. Except as provided in the Shareholders Agreement, no Warrantor has granted or agreed to grant any Person any registration rights (including piggyback registration rights) with respect to, nor is the Company obliged to list, any of the Companys shares (or shares of the WFOEs or the Domestic Companies) on any securities exchange. Except as contemplated under this Agreement, the Shareholders Agreement, the Restated Articles and the Cooperative Agreements, there are no voting or similar agreements which relate to the share capital of the Company or any equity interest of the WFOEs or the Domestic Companies. |
5.15 | Financial Advisor Fees. Except as disclosed in Section 5.15 of the Disclosure Schedule, there exists no agreement or understanding between any Group Company and any investment bank or other financial advisor under which such Group Company may owe any brokerage, placement or other fees relating to the offer or sale of the Purchased Shares. |
5.16 | Financial Statements and Other Financial Matters. |
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(a) | Except as disclosed in Section 5.16 of the Disclosure Schedule, the Financial Statements (a) have been prepared in accordance with the books and records of the applicable Group Company, (b) are true, correct and complete and present fairly in all material respects the financial condition and the results of operations and cash flows of such Group Company or Group Companies at the date or dates therein indicated and for the period or periods therein specified, and (c) have been prepared in accordance with the PRC GAAP (with respect to the WFOE and the Domestic Companies) or the IFRS or any internationally recognized accounting standards (with respect to the Offshore Group Companies or the Group Companies taken as a whole), applied on a consistent basis (solely with respect to the unaudited Financial Statements, except for the omission of notes thereto and normal year-end provision and audit adjustments). All the Financial Statements referred to under this Section 5.16 have been delivered to the Investor. Specifically, but not by way of limitation, the respective balance sheets in the Financial Statements disclose all of the Group Companies respective debts, liabilities and obligations of any nature, whether due or to become due, as of their respective dates (including, without limitation, absolute liabilities, accrued liabilities, and contingent liabilities) to the extent such debts, liabilities and obligations are required to be disclosed in accordance with PRC GAAP or the IFRS or any internationally recognized accounting standards, as applicable. The Group Companies have valid title to all assets set forth on the balance sheets in the respective Financial Statements, except for such assets as have been spent, sold or transferred in the ordinary course of business since their respective dates. Except as fairly disclosed in the Financial Statements, none of the Group Companies is a guarantor or indemnitor of any indebtedness of any other Person and each Group Company is in compliance with all of its obligations under all outstanding guarantees or contingent payment obligations (if any) in material respects. Each Group Company maintains and will continue to maintain a standard system of accounting established and administered in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles as required in the jurisdiction where it is incorporated. Each Group Company (i) maintains its books of accounts and records in the usual, regular and ordinary manner, on a basis consistent with prior practice and generally in compliance with applicable Laws and applicable generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis, (ii) does not make any fraudulent or fictitious entries in its books or records other than accounting errors occurring unintentionally in book-keeping which can be easily identified and immediately fixed or corrected, and (iii) does not use any assets of such Group Company to establish any unlawful or unrecorded fund of monies or other assets, or make any unlawful or undisclosed payment. |
(b) | Each Group Company maintains systems of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with managements general or specific authorizations, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with applicable Laws and with accounting standards applicable to and adopted by it in the relevant jurisdiction and to maintain asset accountability, (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with managements general or specific authorization, (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences, and (v) each Group Company has made and kept books, records and accounts which, in reasonable detail, correctly and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of assets of such entity and provide a sufficient basis for the preparation of the Group Companies consolidated financial statements in accordance with PRC GAAP or the IFRS or any other internationally recognized accounting standards, as applicable, and the Companys current management information and accounting control system has been in operation and no Group Company has experienced any difficulties with regard to (i) through (v) above. |
(c) | No subsidiary of any Group Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to such Group Company, from making any other distributions on such subsidiarys share capital to such Group Company, from repaying such Group Company any loans or advances borrowed or received by such subsidiary from such Group Company. |
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5.17 | Activities since Balance Sheet Date. Since the Balance Sheet Date, with respect to each Group Company, except as disclosed in the Disclosure Schedule, there has not been: |
(a) | any change in the business, assets, liabilities, financial condition or operating results of such Group Company from that reflected in the Financial Statements, except changes in the ordinary course of business which are made consistent with past practice; |
(b) | any insolvency or any requirement for prepayment by such Group Company; |
(c) | any purchase, acquisition, sale, lease, transfer or disposition of any assets (i) individually in excess of US$50,000 or in excess of US$100,000 in the aggregate, or (ii) that are individually or in the aggregate material to its business, except for the sale of inventory in the ordinary course of business consistent with its past practice, and no acquisition (by merger, consolidation or other combination, or acquisition of stock or assets, or otherwise) of any business or other Person or division thereof; |
(d) | capital expenditure or commitment of capital expenditure beyond the annual budget in excess of US$100,000; |
(e) | any material change in the contingent obligations of such Group Company by way of guarantee, endorsement, indemnity, warranty or otherwise; |
(f) | any damage, destruction or loss, whether or not covered by insurance, materially and adversely affecting the assets, properties, financial condition, operating results, prospects or business of such Group Company (as presently conducted and as presently proposed to be conducted); |
(g) | any waiver, termination, settlement or compromise by such Group Company of a valuable right or of a debt, other than those in the ordinary course of business which are given, made or dealt with consistent with past practice; |
(h) | any satisfaction or discharge of any Lien or payment of any obligation by such Group Company, except such satisfaction, discharge or payment made in the ordinary course of business that is not material to the assets, properties, financial condition, operating results or business of such Group Company; |
(i) | any change or amendment to any Material Contract or material arrangement by or to which such Group Company or any of its assets or properties is bound or subject, any entering of any new Material Contract, or any termination of any contract that would have been a Material Contract if in effect on the date hereof, or any amendment to any Constitutional Document, or any amendment to or waiver under any Constitutional Document; |
(j) | any material change in any compensation arrangement or agreement with any present or prospective employee, officer or director, or adoption of any new employee benefit plan, or made any material change in any existing employee benefit plan, other than any change incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with its past practice; |
(k) | any sale, assignment or transfer of any Intellectual Property or other material intangible assets of such Group Company other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with its past practice; |
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(l) | the resignation or termination of employment of Founder Lu, any director, officer or key employee, or any material group of employees of such Group Company with such Group Company; |
(m) | any mortgage, pledge or transfer of or any Lien created by such Group Company with respect to any of such Group Companys properties or assets, except Liens for taxes not yet due or payable; |
(n) | any debt, obligation, or liability incurred, assumed or guaranteed by such Group Company individually in excess of US$100,000 or in excess of US$200,000 in the aggregate; |
(o) | any sale, issuance, transfer, pledge or other disposition of any Equity Securities of any Group Company, except for those necessary to complete the transactions expressly contemplated under the Transaction Documents; |
(p) | any declaration, setting aside or payment or other distribution in respect of any of such Group Companys Equity Securities, or any direct or indirect issuance, transfer, redemption, purchase or acquisition of any of such Equity Securities by such Group Company; |
(q) | any failure to conduct the Business in the ordinary course, consistent with such Group Companys past practices; |
(r) | any material change in accounting methods or practices or any revaluation of any of its assets; |
(s) | except in the ordinary course of business consistent with its past practice, entry into any closing agreement in respect of taxes, settlement of any material claim or assessment in respect of any taxes, or consent to any extension or waiver of the limitation period applicable to any material claim or assessment in respect of any taxes, entry or change of any tax election, change of any method of accounting which may result in a material amount of additional tax or filing of any amended Tax Return which may result in material tax exposure (for the purpose of this Section 5.17(s), any amount of US$100,000 or more shall be deemed material); |
(t) | any commencement or settlement of any material Action; |
(u) | any transactions with any of the Founder Parties, the officers, directors or employees of any Group Company, or any Affiliates or Associates of such Persons; |
(v) | any other event or condition of any character which could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the business of the Group Companies; or |
(w) | any agreement or commitment by such Group Company or any Founder Party to do any of the things described in this Section 5.17. |
5.18 | Tax Matters. |
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(a) | No stamp duty or other Taxes is assessable or payable in, and no withholding or deduction for any Taxes is imposed or made for or on account of any income, registration, transfer or turnover Taxes, customs or other duties or taxes of any kind, levied, collected, withheld or assessed by or within the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, or any other jurisdiction in connection with the creation, issuance or offering of the Purchased Shares, the execution or delivery of this Agreement, or the performance of the obligations of the Group Companies under the Agreement. |
(b) | Each Group Company (i) has timely filed all Tax Returns that are required to have been filed by it with any Governmental Authority, (ii) has timely paid all taxes owed by it which are due and payable (whether or not shown on any Tax Return) and withheld and remitted to the appropriate Governmental Authority all taxes which it is obligated to withhold and remit from amounts owing to any employee, creditor, customer or third party, and (iii) has not waived any statute of limitations with respect to taxes or agreed to any extension of time with respect to a tax assessment or deficiency other than, in the case of clauses (i) and (ii), unpaid taxes that are in contest with tax authorities by Group Company in good faith or not material in amount (for the purpose of this Section 5.18(b), any amount of US$100,000 or more shall be deemed material). |
(c) | Each Tax Return referred to in paragraph (a) above was properly prepared in compliance with applicable Law and was (and will be) true, correct and complete in all material respects. None of such Tax Returns contains a statement that is false or misleading or omits any matter that is required to be included or without which the statement would be false or misleading. No reporting position was taken on any such Tax Return which has not been disclosed to the appropriate tax authority or in such Tax Return, as may be required by Law. All records relating to such Tax Returns or to the preparation thereof required by applicable Law to be maintained by applicable Group Company have been duly maintained. No written claim has been made by a Governmental Authority in a jurisdiction where any Group Company is or may be subject to taxation by that jurisdiction and such Group Company does not file Tax Returns. |
(d) | The assessment of any additional taxes with respect to the applicable Group Company for periods for which Tax Returns have been filed is not expected to exceed the recorded liability therefor in the most recent balance sheet in the Financial Statements by US$100,000 or more, and there are no unresolved questions or claims concerning any tax liability of any Group Company. Since the Balance Sheet Date, no Group Company has incurred any liability for taxes outside the ordinary course of business or otherwise inconsistent with past custom and practice. There is no pending dispute with, or notice from, any tax authority relating to any of the Tax Returns filed by any Group Company, and to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no proposed liability for a deficiency in any tax to be imposed upon the properties or assets of any Group Company. |
(e) | No Group Company has been the subject of any examination or investigation by any tax authority relating to the conduct of its business or the payment or withholding of taxes that has not been resolved or is currently the subject of any examination or investigation by any tax authority relating to the conduct of its business or the payment or withholding of taxes. Except for the withholding duties of taxes in accordance with applicable Laws, no Group Company is responsible for the taxes of any other Person by reason of contract, successor liability or otherwise. |
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(f) | None of the Group Companies has entered into or been engaged in or been a party to any transaction which is artificial or fictitious or any transaction or series of transactions or scheme or arrangement of which the main or dominant purpose or one of the main or dominant purposes was the avoidance or deferral of or reduction in the liability to tax of any Group Company. |
(g) | All tax credits, tax holidays or tax preferential treatments enjoyed by the Group Company established under the Laws of the PRC or under other applicable Laws since its establishment have been in compliance with all applicable Laws and is not subject to reduction, revocation, cancellation or any other changes (including retroactive changes) in the future, except through change in applicable Laws published by relevant Governmental Authority. |
(h) | To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, immediately after the Closing, the Company will not be a Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) as defined in the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (or any successor thereto) (the Code) with respect to the shares held by the Investor. |
(i) | The Company does not expect to be a passive foreign investment company (PFIC) within the meaning of Section 1297 of the Code in the current taxable year. The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to avoid being a PFIC. |
(j) | None of the Group Companies has filed (whether by itself or by any other Person on its behalf) any Form 8832 (Entity Classification Election) or Form SS-4 (Application for Employer Identification Number) or made (whether by itself or by any other Person on its behalf) any Tax election for U.S. Tax purposes. |
5.19 | Sanctions Law Compliance. None of the Group Companies, other Warrantors or their respective Affiliates and directors, officers, managers and employees (collectively, Group Representatives), and to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, none of the independent contractors, representatives, agents and other persons expressly authorized to act on behalf of the Group Companies or other Warrantors (collectively, External Representatives) is an Sanctioned Person, or is organized, resident or located in a Sanctioned Country, and no Sanctioned Person will be given an offer to become an employee, officer, consultant or director of any Group Company. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, no Group Company has conducted or agreed to conduct any business, or entered into or agreed to enter into any transaction with any Sanctioned Person. No Group Company has conducted or agreed to conduct any business, or entered into or agreed to enter into any transaction in any Sanctioned Country. None of (i) the purchase and sale of the Purchased Shares and the Conversion Shares, (ii) the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, the other Transaction Documents and the Constitutional Documents, or (iii) the consummation of any transaction contemplated hereby or thereby, or the fulfillment of the terms hereof or thereof, will result in a violation by anyone, including without limitation the Investor, of any of the Compliance Laws. |
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5.20 | Anti-Bribery, Anti-Corruption, Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions; Absence of Government Interests. |
(a) | Each of the Group Companies, the other Warrantors and the Group Representatives, and to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, each of the External Representatives are and have been in compliance with all applicable Compliance Laws in all material respects, provided that the representation and warranty in this sentence shall not apply to any personal affairs of any employee of any Group Company who is not a director, officer or manager of a Group Company. |
(b) | Furthermore, no Public Official (a) holds an ownership or other economic interest in any of the Group Companies or in the contractual relationship formed by this Agreement directly, or to the best knowledge of the Warrantors holds an ownership or other economic in any of the Group Companies or in the contractual relationship formed by this Agreement indirectly, or (b) serves as an officer, director or employee of any Group Company. Without limiting the foregoing, neither any Group Company nor any Group Representatives, or to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, any External Representative has, directly or indirectly, offered, authorized, promised, condoned, participated in, consummated, or received notice of any allegation of (x) the making of any gift or payment of anything of value to any Public Official or any other Person to obtain any improper advantage, affect or influence any act or decision of any such Public Official, or assist any Group Company in obtaining or retaining business for, or with, or directing business to, any Person, provided that the representation and warranty for this (x) shall not apply to the personal affairs of any employee of any Group Company who is not a director, officer or manager of a Group Company, (y) the making of any false or fictitious entries in the books or records of any Group Company by any Person for the foregoing purpose under (x), or (z) the using of any assets of any Group Company for the establishment of any unlawful or unrecorded fund of monies or other assets, or the making of any unlawful or undisclosed payment for the foregoing purpose under (x). |
(c) | To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, the operations of each Group Company are, and have at all times been, conducted in compliance with all Anti-Money Laundering Laws and no investigation, action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving any Group Company with respect to Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending, and no such actions, suits or proceedings are threatened or contemplated. |
5.21 | Related Party Transactions. Except for the related party transactions as disclosed in Section 5.21 of Disclosure Schedule which are conducted on an arms length basis, and except as contemplated by this Agreement, no Warrantor, officer or director of a Group Company or any Affiliate or Associate of any such Person has any agreement (whether oral or written), understanding, proposed transaction with, or is indebted to, any Group Company, nor is any Group Company indebted (or committed to make loans or extend or guarantee credit) to any of such Persons (other than for accrued salaries, reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses for employees or other standard employee benefits). No officer or director of a Warrantor has any direct or indirect ownership interest in, or any agreement or other arrangement or undertaking, with, any firm or corporation with which a Group Company is affiliated or with which a Group Company has a business relationship, or any firm or corporation that competes with a Group Company. No Affiliate or Associate of any officer or director of a Warrantor is directly or indirectly interested in any contract with a Group Company. No officer or director of a Warrantor or any Affiliate or Associate of any such Person has had, either directly or indirectly, an interest in: (a) any Person which purchases from or sells, licenses or furnishes to a Group Company any goods, property, intellectual or other property rights or services; or (b) any Contract or agreement to which a Group Company is a party or by which it may be bound or affected. There is no agreement between any shareholder of the Company with respect to the ownership or control of any Group Company. |
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5.22 | Environmental and Safety Laws. None of the Group Companies is in violation of any applicable Law relating to the environment or occupational health and safety in any material respects and no material expenditures are or will be required in order to comply with any such existing Law. |
5.23 | Employee Matters. |
(a) | Except as disclosed in Section 5.23 of the Disclosure Schedule, (a) each Group Company has complied in all material respects with all applicable employment and labor Laws, including provisions thereof relating to employment contracts, wages, hours, housing funds, social welfare, social insurance contribution and collective bargaining, (b) there is no pending or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, threatened legal proceeding relating to the violation or alleged violation of any applicable employment and labor Laws; (c) each Group Company has duly entered into legal and valid written employment contracts with its employees in accordance with applicable Laws, and (d) each Group Company is in compliance in all material respects with all Laws relating to its provision of any form of social insurance, and has paid, or made provision for the payment of, all social insurance contributions required under applicable Laws. |
(b) | Except as required by Law, none of the Group Companies is a party to or is bound by any currently effective employment Contract (other than contracts that can be terminated on an at-will basis), deferred compensation agreement, pension, provident, superannuation, life assurance, disability or other similar schemes or arrangements, bonus plan, incentive plan, profit sharing plan, retirement agreement or other employee compensation agreement providing any Employee Benefit Plan. To the extent that any such arrangements as described in the foregoing are required to be entered into by Law, the Company have provided copies of such arrangements to the Investor prior to the date hereof. |
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(c) | No officer or the employees listed in Schedule V attached hereto (collectively, the Key Employees) intends to, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, terminate their employment with any Group Company, and no Group Company has a present intention to terminate the employment of any officer or Key |
Employee. None of the Group Companies is a party to or bound by any currently effective employment contract that is or will be regarded as an incentive plan, profit sharing plan, retirement agreement or other employee compensation agreement. None of the Warrantors is aware, after reasonable investigation, that any of such employees, officers, directors or consultants are in violation thereof. Founder Lu is currently devoting all of his business time to the conduct of the business of the applicable Group Company. Neither Founder Lu is, nor, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, any of the other Key Employees are, involved in any daily business, operation, management and administration of any entity other than the Group Companies. Founder Lu and the other Key Employees are not subject to any covenant restricting him from working for any Group Company. None of Founder Lu or any other Key Employees was subject to any non-compete, confidentiality or other similar obligations towards a third party when he or she commenced employment with the Group Companies. Founder Lu and each of the other Key Employees have entered into a non-compete agreement with the relevant Group Company respectively, which is valid and effective. Neither Founder Lu nor any other Key Employees is in violation of such non-compete agreement applicable to or binding upon such persons. |
(d) | No employees of any Group Company are represented by a labor union, works council, or other labor organization. Neither the Company nor any other Group Company is party to, or bound by, any collective bargaining agreement, Contract or other agreement or understanding, or bargaining relationship with a labor union, works council, or labor organization. The Group Companies are not, and for the past three (3) years have not been, subject to a pending or threatened strike, lockout, walkout, work stoppage or other material labor dispute. |
(e) | Each Employee Benefit Plan (if any, and each related trust, insurance Contract or other funding vehicle) has been established, maintained, funded, and administered in all material respects in accordance with its terms and in a manner not in violation of the requirements of all applicable Laws. Each Group Company has complied with all applicable Laws (including funding requirements) relating to social insurance contributions, housing funds contributions and any other labor related plans that are mandatorily required to be funded or sponsored by the Group Companies under applicable Laws. |
(f) | Jiangsu Ousuo Software Co., Ltd. (江苏欧索软件有限公司), Suzhou Zancheng Network Technology Co., Ltd.(苏州赞橙网络科技有限公司), Suzhou Gaoqi Investment Management Co., Ltd.(苏州高企投资管理有限公司), Suzhou DZQH Enterprise Management Consulting Center (Limited Partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) and Suzhou XZY Enterprise Management Consulting Center (Limited Partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) do not engage in any business which competes directly or indirectly with the Business of the Group Companies. Holding of Equity Securities in any of the foregoing entities by Founder Lu does not, and could not be reasonably expected to, adversely impede or interfere with his engagement with the Group Companies or participation in the management or the business operations of the Group Companies. |
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5.24 | Exempt Offering. The offer and sale of the Purchased Shares under this Agreement and the issuance of the Conversion Shares upon conversion thereof are or shall be exempt from the registration requirements and prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act, and from the registration or qualification requirements of any other applicable securities Laws. |
5.25 | No Other Business. Each of the Offshore Group Companies was formed solely to acquire and hold directly or indirectly the equity interest in the WFOEs, and since its formation has not engaged in any business and has not incurred any liability in the course of its business, other than acquiring and holding equity interest in the WFOEs and, unless otherwise agreed by the Investor, shall not incur any liability in the course of carrying out such purpose. The WFOEs are intended to be engaged in and the Domestic Companies are engaged solely in the Business and have no other activities. Except as contemplated under the Transaction Documents, neither the Founder Parties nor any of their respective Affiliates or Associates (other than a Group Company), is engaged in any activities that are same or similar to or otherwise compete with the Business. |
5.26 | Constitutional Documents. The memorandum of association, articles of association, by-laws and all other constitutional documents (or analogous constitutional documents) of each Group Company are in the form provided to the Investor. |
5.27 | Minute Books. All available minute books of each Group Company (as applicable) have been made available to the Investor and each such minute books contain a summary of such meetings and actions taken by directors and shareholders or owners of such Group Company since its time of formation, and reflects all transactions referred to in such minutes accurately in all material respects. |
5.28 | Insurance. Except as disclosed in Section 5.28 of the Disclosure Schedule, each Group Company has in full force and effect insurance policies, with extended coverage, sufficient in amount (subject to reasonable deductibles) to allow it to reasonably replace any of its properties and material assets that might be damaged or destroyed or to recover from risks related to accident, business interruption, public, personal or product liability or other risks, that are in categories and amounts customary for companies similarly situated. There is no material claim pending thereunder as to which coverage has been questioned, denied or disputed. All premiums due and payable under all such policies and bonds have been timely paid, and each Group Company is otherwise in compliance in all material respects with the terms of such policies and bonds. |
5.29 | Other Representations and Warranties relating to the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies. |
(a) | The Constitutional Documents and Permits of each of the WFOEs and Domestic Companies are valid and have been duly approved or issued by, or filed with (as applicable) the competent Governmental Authorities of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization. |
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(b) | Except for those expressly contemplated under the Transaction Documents or the Subsidiary Agreements, there are no outstanding rights, or commitments made by any of the WFOEs or the Domestic Companies to sell any of its equity interest, and none of the outstanding equity interest in the WFOEs or the Domestic Companies (other than the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries) and no Equity Securities held or controlled (whether directly or indirectly) by the Company in the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries is subject to any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase such shares (whether in favor of such subsidiaries or any other Persons). |
(c) | The registered capital of each of the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies has been fully paid up and maintained in accordance with the schedule of payment stipulated in its respective articles of association, approval document, certificate of approval and business license and in compliance with PRC Laws and regulations, and there is no outstanding capital contribution commitment. For each of the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies, all the historical changes to the share capital of such PRC Company and historical transfers of equity interest in such PRC Company were made in compliance with the applicable Laws. There are no outstanding rights, or commitments made by any Group Company or Founder Lu to sell any of its equity interest in the Domestic Companies. |
(d) | Except for those contemplated under the Cooperative Agreements, there are no outstanding commitments made by any of the WFOEs or the Domestic Companies to sell any of its assets, properties or business to any third party. |
(e) | Except for the WFOEs call option right to purchase the shares of Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai Zhong Ou pursuant to the corresponding Cooperative Agreements, the equity interests in the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies are not subject to any call option or similar rights of any other Person. |
(f) | Except for those contemplated under the Cooperative Agreements, none of the WFOEs or the Domestic Companies has delegated any power or issued any powers of attorney in favor of any Person, other than powers of attorney issued to its directors, officers, or employees for purpose of executing contracts or agreements for and on behalf of the WFOEs or the Domestic Companies, as the case may be, in the ordinary course of business. |
(g) | The Cooperative Agreements, in the aggregate, have established and maintain a captive structure through which (i) the WFOE I, to the extent permitted by applicable Laws, can acquire control over Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the other Domestic Companies controlled by Jiangsu Yunxuetang, (ii) the WFOE II, to the extent permitted by applicable Laws, can acquire control over Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai Zhong Ou and the other Domestic Companies controlled by them respectively, (iii) the financial statements of Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the other Domestic Companies controlled by it can be consolidated with those of the Company and the WFOE I, and (iv) the financial statements of Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai Zhong Ou and the other Domestic Companies controlled by them respectively can be consolidated with those of the Company and the WFOE II. The Cooperative Agreements constitute valid and binding obligations of the parties thereto enforceable in accordance with their respective terms, subject, as to enforcement of remedies, to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and similar Laws affecting creditors rights generally and to general equitable principles. None of the Warrantors has received any oral or written inquiries, notifications or any other form of official correspondence from any Governmental Authorities challenging or questioning the legality or enforceability of any of the Cooperative Agreements. |
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5.30 | Other Representations and Warranties Relating to Founder Parties. |
(a) | Except as disclosed in Section 5.30(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, Founder Lu does not presently own or control, or will, as of the Closing own or control, directly or indirectly, any interest in any corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture, association, or other entity other than the Group Companies and the Founder Lu Holdco. |
(b) | Founder Lu does not presently and will not, as of the Closing own, manage, operate, finance, join, control, or participate in the ownership, management, operation, financing or control of, or be associated as a director, senior management, partner, lender, investor or representative in connection with, any business or corporation, partnership, or organization which competes with the Business or with which a Group Company has a business relationship. |
(c) | There is no action, suit, proceeding, claim, arbitration or investigation pending against Founder Lu in connection with his involvement with any of the Group Companies. Founder Lu is not a party to or subject to the provisions of any order, writ, injunction, judgment or decree of any court or Governmental Authority and there is no action, suit, proceeding, claim, arbitration or investigation which any Founder Party intends to initiate in connection with his/her/its involvement with any of the Group Companies. |
(d) | Founder Lu has all requisite power, authority and capacity to enter into the Transaction Documents and to perform his obligations thereunder. |
(e) | No proceedings have commenced or are pending for the bankruptcy, insolvency, winding up, liquidation or reorganization of any Founder Party, if applicable. No Founder Party is bankrupt or insolvent. Each Founder Party is able to pay its debts as they fall due and has sufficient assets to repay all of its debts. |
(f) | Founder Lu is the sole shareholder on record and sole beneficial owner of the Founder Lu Holdco. |
(g) | The execution, delivery and performance of and compliance with this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents by Founder Lu Holdco to which it is a party and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby by Founder Lu Holdco have been duly authorized, and will not result in any violation or breach or default under any constitutional documents, any material contracts or applicable Laws binding on Founder Lu Holdco. |
(h) | The Founder Parties are not in violation, breach or default under of any material contracts binding on such parties (including without limitation the Founder Lu Holdco Loan Documents as defined in the Shareholders Agreement). |
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5.31 | Zhong Ou Acquisition. The transactions (the Zhong Ou Acquisition) contemplated by the Zhong Ou Acquisition Agreements which have been completed as of the date hereof have been completed in accordance with applicable Laws and the Zhong Ou Acquisition Agreements, and all necessary approvals, authorizations and consents from Governmental Authorities and other Persons required to be obtained by the Company and Jiangsu Yunxuetang in connection with Zhong Ou Acquisition have been timely obtained. All corporate actions on the part of each of the Company and Jiangsu Yunxuetang, their respective officers, directors and shareholders necessary for the authorization and the implementation of the Zhong Ou Acquisition has been taken. There is no actual, pending or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, threatened Action or dispute against the Company and/or Jiangsu Yunxuetang relating to the Zhong Ou Acquisition. |
5.32 | Disclosure. Each Warrantor has fully provided the Investor with all the information that the Investor has requested for deciding whether to purchase the Purchased Shares. There is no fact or circumstance relating to the affairs of any Group Company which has not been disclosed to the Investor and which if disclosed would influence the decision of the Investor to subscribe for the Purchased Shares. No representation, warranty or statement in writing provided by any Warrantor in this Agreement (including the Disclosure Schedule) and no information or materials provided by any Warrantor to the Investor in connection with the negotiation or execution of this Agreement or any other Transaction Document or any agreement contemplated hereby or thereby contains any untrue statement of a material fact, or omits to state any material fact necessary to make the statements herein or therein, in light of the circumstances in which they are made, not misleading. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no fact that would materially adversely affect the assets, business, prospects, financial condition or results of operations of the Group Companies that has not been set forth in this Agreement or the Disclosure Schedule. |
6. | REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE INVESTOR. |
The Investor represents and warrants to the Company as of the date and as of the Closing as follows:
6.1 | Organization. The Investor is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of the jurisdiction of its formation. |
6.2 | Authorization. The Investor has all requisite power, authority and capacity to enter into the Transaction Agreements to which it is a party, and to perform its obligations under the Transaction Agreements to which it is a party. This Agreement has been, or will be immediately prior to the Closing be, duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Investor. This Agreement and the Shareholders Agreement, when executed and delivered by the Investor, will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Investor, subject, as to enforcement of remedies, to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and similar Laws affecting creditors rights generally and to general equitable principles. No consent, approval or authorization of, or filing or registration with any governmental authority is required to be obtained by the Investor in connection with the execution and delivery of the Transaction Agreements by the Investor or the performance of the Investors obligations hereunder or thereunder. |
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6.3 | Purchase for Own Account. The Purchased Shares will be acquired for the Investors own account, not as a nominee or agent, and not with a view to or in connection with the sale or distribution of any part thereof. |
7. | CONDITIONS TO THE INVESTORS OBLIGATIONS AT THE CLOSING. |
7.1 | The obligations of the Investor to purchase the Purchased Shares at the Closing are subject to the fulfillment, on or prior to the Closing Date, to the satisfaction of the Investor (or written waiver thereof given by the Investor) of the following conditions: |
(a) | No Injunction. No applicable Laws shall have been adopted or promulgated after the date of this Agreement by any Governmental Authority, and no temporary restraining order, preliminary or permanent injunction or other order issued by any Governmental Authority of competent jurisdiction (an Injunction) shall be in effect, in any case having the effect of making the transactions contemplated hereby illegal or otherwise prohibiting the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. |
(b) | No Legal Proceeding. No Action shall have been initiated or threatened by any Governmental Authority seeking an Injunction having the effect of making the transactions contemplated hereby illegal or otherwise prohibiting the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. |
(c) | Representations and Warranties True and Correct. The representations and warranties made by the Warrantors in Section 5 hereof shall be true and correct, and not, in material respects, misleading when made, and shall be true and correct, and not, in material respects, misleading as of the Closing Date with the same force and effect as if they had been made on and as of such date, subject to changes expressly contemplated by this Agreement. |
(d) | Performance of Obligations. The Warrantors shall have performed and complied with all covenants, obligations and conditions contained in this Agreement that are required to be performed or complied with by the Warrantors on or before the Closing. |
(e) | Proceedings and Documents. All corporate and other proceedings in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and all documents and instruments incident thereto, including without limitation the written approval from all of the then current holders of equity interest of each Group Company that is a party to this Agreement and/or the other Transaction Documents, as applicable, with respect to this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, shall have been completed in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Investor, and the Investor shall have received all copies of such documents as it may reasonably request in a form as agreed by the Investor. |
(f) | Permits. The Warrantors shall have obtained any and all Permits (if needed) from the competent Governmental Authorities and any other Persons necessary for consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, including waivers by the then existing shareholders of the Company of any anti-dilution rights, rights of first refusal, preemptive rights and all similar rights in connection with the issuance of the Purchased Shares at the Closing. |
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(g) | Compliance Certificate. The Company shall have delivered to the Investor a certificate, dated the Closing Date, signed by a director of the Company, a director of the BVI Subsidiary I, a director of the BVI Subsidiary II, a director of the Cayman Subsidiary, a director of the HK Subsidiary I, a director of the Founder Lu Holdco, the legal representatives of each of the WFOE I, Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Beijing Yunxuetang, Suzhou Xuancai, XWLJ and Beijing Guoshi and Founder Lu certifying that (i) the conditions specified in this Section 7.1 have been fulfilled; (ii) that the resolutions of the board of directors and resolutions of the shareholders of each Group Company that is a party to this Agreement and/or the other Transaction Documents (as applicable) approving the transactions contemplated hereby remain un-amended and in full force and effect, and (iii) that the resolutions of the shareholders of the Company adopting the Restated Articles and electing the Tencent Director to the Board remain un-amended and in full force and effect. |
(h) | Amendment to Constitutional Documents. The Restated Articles (in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A) shall have been duly adopted by the Company by all necessary corporate action of its Board and its shareholders and shall have been duly submitted for filing with the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands as evidenced by an email confirmation from the registered office provider of the Company. |
(i) | Board of Directors. As of the Closing, the size and composition of the Board shall be in compliance with Section 2.2 of the Shareholders Agreement and shall include one (1) director nominated or appointed by Tencent. The Company shall have passed board and shareholders resolutions to approve, inter alia, the appointment of the Tencent Director to the Board. |
(j) | Register of Members; Register of Directors. |
(i) | The Investor shall have received a copy of the Companys updated register of members, certified by the registered office provider of the Company as true and complete as of the Closing, reflecting the Investor as the holder of the Purchased Shares and the Re-designated Transferred Shares at the Closing. |
(ii) | The Investor shall have received a copy of the updated register of directors of the Company certified by the registered office provider of the Company as true and complete as of the Closing, evidencing that the Tencent Director has been duly appointed to the Board. |
(k) | Execution of Fourth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement. The Shareholders Agreement (in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B) shall have been duly executed and delivered by all parties thereto (except for the Investor). |
(l) | Execution of Third Amended and Restated Share Restriction Agreement. The Company shall have delivered to the Investor the Third Amended and Restated Share Restriction Agreement (in the form attached hereto as Exhibit C) (the Founder Lu Share Restriction Agreement), duly executed by the Company, Founder Lu and all other parties thereto (except for the Investor). |
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(m) | Execution of Director Indemnification Agreement. The Company shall have delivered to the Investor the Director Indemnification Agreement with respect to Tencent Director in the form and substance attached hereto as Exhibit D (the Director Indemnification Agreement), duly executed by the Company. |
(n) | Execution of Business Cooperation Agreements. The Company shall have delivered to the Investor the Business Cooperation Agreements in the form and substance satisfactory to the Investor, duly executed by the applicable Group Company. |
(o) | Legal Opinions. The Investor shall have received from the PRC counsel of the Company a PRC legal opinion and from the Cayman Islands counsel of the Company a Cayman Islands legal opinion, each addressed to the Investor, dated the Closing Date, in the form and substance satisfactory to the Investor. |
(p) | Good Standing. The Investor shall have received a copy of certificate of good standing issued by the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands dated no earlier than ten (10) Business Days prior to the Closing Date, certifying that the Company was duly constituted, paid all required fees and is in good legal standing. |
(q) | Waivers by Existing Shareholders. The existing shareholders of the Company that hold Preferred Shares shall have issued and delivered a waiver letter to the Group Companies and the Founder Parties, in the form and substance satisfactory to the Investor, to waive any and all of their respective claims against the Group Companies and the Founder Parties resulting from, in connection with or relating to any breach by the Group Companies or the Founder Parties of certain covenants, agreements or other provisions under the Prior Financing Documents and to confirm that they do not have any outstanding claim against any Group Company or any Founder Party under the Prior Financing Documents. |
(r) | No Material Adverse Effect. There shall have been no Material Adverse Effect since the date of this Agreement and no change or revision to the current applicable Laws that would result in such Material Adverse Effect. |
(s) | Waiver by Centurium. Jump Shot Holdings Limited (Centurium) shall have issued and delivered a waiver letter to the Company to waive all of its rights under section 6.3 (Performance Based Drag Rights) of the Existing Shareholders Agreement, in the form and substance satisfactory to the Investor. |
(t) | Application for Renewal of SP License. Jiangsu Yunxuetang shall have duly submitted application to the competent Governmental Authorities for renewal of the Type II Value-Added Telecommunications Business Operation License (第二类增值电信业务经营许可证) (the SP License) prior to the expiry of the SP License (i.e., December 28, 2020). |
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7.2 | The Warrantors shall use all reasonable efforts to procure the satisfaction of the conditions set out in Section 7.1 above as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event before the Termination Date (as defined below). If at any time any of the Warrantors becomes aware of a fact or circumstance that might prevent a condition from being satisfied, it shall immediately notify the Investor in writing. |
7.3 | The Investor may at any time waive in writing any of the conditions set out in Section 7.1 above, on such terms as it may decide and proceed to Closing without the satisfaction of such condition; provided that the Warrantors shall ensure that any such condition so waived shall be fulfilled as soon as practicable following the Closing. |
7.4 | If any of the conditions (which have not previously been waived by the Investor) have not been satisfied on or before the Termination Date, then the Investor may at any time on or after the Termination Date, at its option (but without prejudice to any other right or remedy it may have), by notice to the Company: |
(a) | waive any conditions then unsatisfied (provided that the Warrantors shall ensure that any such conditions so waived shall be fulfilled as soon as practicable following the Closing or by a date specified in writing by the Investor following the Closing); |
(b) | postpone Closing to a date (being a Business Day) which is not more than seven (7) Business Days after the initial Termination Date; or |
(c) | without any prejudice to Section 10.17, terminate this Agreement without being liable to any of the Warrantors. |
8. | CONDITIONS TO THE COMPANYS OBLIGATIONS AT THE CLOSING. |
The obligation of the Company to allot and issue the Purchased Shares to the Investor pursuant to this Agreement is subject to the fulfillment, on or prior to the Closing Date, of the following conditions:
8.1 | Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties of the Investor contained in Section 6 hereof shall be true and correct when made, and shall be true and correct as of the Closing Date with the same force and effect as if they had been made on and as of such date. |
8.2 | Proceedings and Documents. All corporate and other proceedings on the part of the Investor in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and all documents and instruments incident to such transactions shall have been completed. |
8.3 | Execution of Transaction Documents. The Investor shall have delivered to the Company the Shareholders Agreement, the Founder Lu Share Restriction Agreement, the Director Indemnification Agreement and the Business Cooperation Agreements to which the Investor or its Affiliate or the director appointed by the Investor is a party as duly executed by the Investor or its Affiliate or the director appointed by it. |
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9. | COVENANTS OF THE WARRANTORS. |
The Warrantors jointly and severally covenants to the Investor as follows:
9.1 | Use of Proceeds. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, the Company shall use the proceeds from the issuance and sale of the Purchased Shares (the Proceeds) for the growth and expansion, the capital expenditure and working capital of the Group Companies relating to the Business, including with respect to the market expansion, product contents, artificial intelligence/big data and team building, except approved otherwise by the Investor in advance in writing. Other than as provided above and items approved in advance by the Investor in writing, the Proceeds shall not be used to repurchase, redeem or cancel any junior securities or to make any payments to shareholders, directors or officers of the Group Companies, or for repayment of any loans guaranteed by the directors of the Group Companies except for the payment for a bona fide arms-length transaction approved by the Board (which approval shall include the affirmative vote of the Tencent Director). |
9.2 | Availability of Ordinary Shares. The Company hereby covenants that at all times there shall be made available, free of any Liens, for issuance and delivery upon conversion of the Purchased Shares such number of Ordinary Shares in the share capital of the Company as are from time to time issuable upon conversion of the Purchased Shares, and will take all steps necessary to increase its authorized share capital to provide sufficient number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of the Purchased Shares. |
9.3 | Compliance by Founder Parties. The Founder Parties shall fully comply with all applicable Laws on a continuing basis. The Founder Parties undertake that each of them shall act in the best interest of the Group Companies, and in no event shall any of them conduct any action or inaction that could harm the interests of, or infringe the lawful rights or interests of the Group Companies. |
9.4 | Business of Group Companies. The business of the Offshore Group Companies shall be restricted to the direct or indirect holding, management and disposition of equity interest in the WFOEs. The business of the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies shall be restricted to the Business. |
9.5 | Regulatory Compliance. The Group Companies shall, and the Founder Parties shall procure the Group Companies to, comply with applicable Laws (including without limitation Laws relating to value-added telecommunications business, internet audio-video business, internet publishing business, foreign investment, foreign exchange control, anti-monopoly, anti-corruption, taxation, employment, social insurance and intellectual property) in all material respects and obtain and maintain in effect all Permits from the competent Governmental Authorities and other Persons required for conducting the Business. Without limiting the foregoing: |
(a) | Certain Operation Permits. Jiangsu Yunxuetang shall use its best commercial efforts to: |
(i) | prior to the earlier of (A) the date of submitting application to the relevant stock exchange for initial public offering of the Company or (B) the date of expiry of the rectification period required by the relevant Governmental Authority, apply for and obtain the Online Broadcasting Audio-visual Programs License (信息网络传播视听节目许可证) (the Online Broadcasting License) or take other alternative actions satisfactory to the Investor for the purpose of complying with the applicable PRC Laws in connection with the disseminating of audio-video programs through information network; |
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(ii) | as soon as practicable after the Closing, in no event later than two (2) months after the Closing, complete renewal of the SP License; |
(iii) | as soon as practicable after the Closing, in no event later than three (3) months after the Closing, (x) apply for and obtain the Network Culture Operation License (网络文化经营许可证) (the Network Culture License), and (y) apply for and obtain the Type B22 Value-Added Telecommunications Business Operation License (i.e. Value-Added Business Operation License for domestic multi-party communication service business) (the Type B22 License). |
(iv) | to the extent required by applicable Laws or needed for the operations of the Group Companies, procure the Internet Publication Permit (互联网出版服务许可证) (the Internet Publication Permit); and |
(v) | as soon as practicable after the Closing, apply for permit to run schools (办学许可证) (the School Permit) with relevant Governmental Authority, or to the extent that the relevant Governmental Authority promulgates rules or regulations making such permit not necessary for Jiangsu Yunxuetang to continue to conduct the Business, make filings and registrations (if required) with relevant Governmental Authority and take such other actions in compliance with the applicable Laws (including but not limited to the Non-state Education Promotion Law (《中华人民共和国民办教育促进法》)). |
In each of the above sub-clauses (i) through (v), the Online Broadcasting License, the SP License, the Type B22 License, the Network Culture License, the Internet Publication Permit and the School Permit shall be issued by the competent Governmental Authorities in accordance with applicable Laws.
(b) | Application and Registration of Intellectual Properties. Any future material Intellectual Property of the Group Companies shall be applied by and registered under the name of the Group Companies. |
(c) | Compliance Mechanism. The Group Companies shall, pursuant to a time schedule reasonably proposed by the Board, implement and maintain a proper inspection and monitoring system or policy to ensure that the Group Companies will review, inspect and monitor the copyright of the contents and information contained in the Course Materials and other materials used in its Business operation both before and after them being offered to users and customers for the purpose of preventing the Group Companies from being held liable for any legal non-compliance of such contents or information. |
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9.6 | Qualified Public Offering. Subject to necessary approvals required therefor, the Company and the Founder Parties shall use their best effort to consummate a Qualified Public Offering before the fourth (4th) anniversary of the Closing. Details of the Qualified Public Offering, including without limitation the exchange on which such public offering is to be effected, will be determined by the Board. The Founder Parties shall ensure that, prior to the commencement of a Qualified Public Offering by the Company, each Group Company and the Founder Parties are in compliance with all applicable Laws and legal requirements in all material respects and that there is no barrier to repatriation of profits, dividends and other distributions from the WFOEs (or any successor entity) to the Company. |
9.7 | Lock-up. Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, following a Qualified Public Offering, transfer of shares in the Company by any Founder Party or any holder of Ordinary Shares (other than the Ordinary Shares upon conversion of the Preferred Shares) who is a principal or a management member of any Group Company shall be subject to any customary lock-up restriction to the extent requested by the lead underwriter of securities of the Company in connection with the registration relating to such Qualified Public Offering. In the event of any initial public offering by the Company or any member of the Group Companies, each of the Company and Founder Lu agrees to take all reasonable steps consistent with all legal requirements to facilitate minimizing any restrictions on the transfer of any Purchased Shares (or the Conversion Shares) held by the Investor. |
9.8 | Intellectual Property. |
(a) | Except with the written consent of the Investor, the Group Companies shall, and the Warrantors shall cause the Group Companies to take all reasonable steps to protect their respective Intellectual Property rights, including without limitation (i) registering their respective material trademarks, brand names, domain names, copyrights and patents (as applicable); (ii) requiring each employee and consultant of each Group Company to enter into a confidential and intellectual property assignment agreement, which shall contain requirements to (x) protect trade secret or proprietary information, and (y) to refrain from using any intellectual property of third parties including prior employers without authorization, in each case with applicable Group Company; and (iii) requiring each key employees (other than the Key Employees who have already entered into such agreement) to enter into a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement requiring such persons to protect and keep confidential such Group Companys confidential information, intellectual property, technical know-how and trade secrets, prohibiting such persons from competing with such Group Company for a reasonable time after their tenure with any Group Company, and requiring such persons to assign all ownership rights in their work product to such Group Company, in each case in form and substance satisfactory to the Board. |
(b) | In the event that there is any potential or threatened claim of third parties against any Group Company in connection with or arising out of its usage of any trademarks/application of any self-developed software/application of any self-developed technology, the Group Companies undertake to, and the Founder Parties shall cause the Group Companies to, use their commercially reasonable efforts to, take any and all necessary actions to protect their Intellectual Property rights to use such trademarks/in such software/in such technology and mitigate the negative influence resulting from such claim. In the event that there is any actual claim of third parties against any Group Company in connection with or arising out of its usage of any Intellectual Property, the Warrantors shall notify the Investor as soon as practicable after such claim is brought against any Group Company and, without the prior written consent of the Investor, the Warrantors undertake not to withdraw or settle any relevant legal actions, not to grant any waiver, and not to agree to any termination or compromise in relation to any of the above-mentioned claims. |
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9.9 | Non-Compete. |
(a) | The Warrantors acknowledge that the Investor has agreed to invest in the Company on the basis of the continued and exclusive services of and full devotion and commitment by Founder Lu and the other Key Employees to the Group Companies, and agrees that the Investor should have reasonable assurance of such basis of investment. Founder Lu undertakes to the Investor that he shall devote his full time and attention to the business of the Group Companies and shall use his best efforts to develop the business and interests of the Group Companies. The Warrantors undertake to make their reasonable efforts to procure that each of the Key Employees shall devote his or her full time and attention to the business of the Group Companies and shall use his or her best efforts to develop the business and interests of the Group Companies. Founder Lu undertakes to the Investor that, unless with the prior written consent of the Investor, (i) during the period he, directly or indirectly, holds (including through his Affiliates or Associates) any equity interest in, or is employed by, or serves as a director or officer of, any of the Group Companies (the Affiliation Relationship), whichever period is longer, and within two (2) years after the termination of such Affiliation Relationship, and (ii) during the period the Investor holds any Series E Preferred Share of the Company (the total period in (i) and (ii), the Restriction Period), Founder Lu will not, and will procure that each of Founder Lus Affiliate (especially Suzhou Yunzheng Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州云政网络科技有限公司) (Suzhou Yunzheng)) or each of Founder Lus Associates will not, in any Relevant Jurisdiction, directly or indirectly: |
(i) | conduct any action or inaction that could harm the interests of, or infringe the lawful rights and interests of, any of the Group Companies and/or its Affiliates; |
(ii) | solicit or entice away, or endeavor to solicit or entice away, any director, officer or employee of any Group Company; |
(iii) | render consulting services or any other services or assistance to any Person in conducting business that is the same or similar to, or otherwise competing with the Business of the Group Companies, either in his individual capacity or as a representative or employee of another individual or entity; and |
(iv) | control, conduct or participate in, or invest or hold interests in any entity, business operation or activities that is the same or similar to, or otherwise competes or would compete with the Business of the Group Companies as currently or subsequently being conducted during the Restriction Period, in any form (including without limitation, investment, acquisition, co-operation, joint venture, operation, partnership, contractual operation, lease operation, equity holding), whether for its own account or for the benefit of any other Person, except for the holding, as a passive and public investor, of no more than one percent (1%) of the shares in publicly traded companies that may compete with any Group Company. |
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(b) | The Warrantors further undertake to the Investor to use their reasonable efforts to procure that the directors nominated by Founder Lu, the senior management members of the Group Companies, and the other Key Employees, will not, directly or indirectly, compete with the Business carried on by any Group Company in the above manner during the period that the foregoing persons are direct or indirect shareholders, directors, senior management members or Key Employees of the Group Companies and within two (2) years after each such person or each of them ceases to be a direct or indirect shareholder of the Group Companies or leaves his or her director or senior management post or terminates his or her employment with the Group Companies. |
(c) | Founder Lu further undertakes to the Investor that in the event that the operation of any of Founder Lus Affiliates (to the extent such operation is permitted pursuant to the other provisions under this Section 9.9) or the fact that Founder Lu directly or indirectly holds Equity Securities in any Person other than a Group Company could adversely affect the Qualified Public Offering of the Group Companies, Founder Lu shall eliminate such adverse effects in a proper and timely manner to the reasonable satisfaction of the Investor. |
(d) | During the Restriction Period, in the event any entity directly or indirectly established or managed by Founder Lu or his Affiliates, engages or will engage in any business which is the same or similar to or otherwise competes with the Business of the Group Companies, Founder Lu shall cause such entity, to disclose any relevant information to the Investor upon request and transfer such entity or business to any of the Domestic Companies or any subsidiary designated by the Domestic Companies immediately thereafter. |
(e) | For purpose of this Section 9.9, Relevant Jurisdiction means a jurisdiction in which any Group Company carries on or conducts any business, including but not limited to the PRC, Hong Kong, the Macau Special Administrative Region of the PRC and Taiwan. |
9.10 | Related Party Transactions. The Warrantors shall cause each Group Company to, improve management regarding Related Party transactions and shall not conduct any transaction with any Related Party of any Group Company unless on arms length basis and with due corporate approval in accordance with the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles. The Warrantors shall cause the Group Companies to, (i) no later than the 30th day prior to the end of each fiscal year of the Company, prepare and deliver to the Board a pricing policy for related party transactions for the following fiscal year, which shall include the basis of such pricing policy and a projected maximum contract value of each type of related party transactions, (ii) within ninety (90) days after the end of each fiscal year of the Company, prepare and deliver to the Board a report by the auditor on its review of the related party transactions conducted by the Group Companies during such fiscal year (including with respect to the transfer pricing methodology and the compliance by the Group Companies with applicable transfer pricing laws, accounting standards and the duly adopted transfer pricing policies), and (iii) take appropriate rectification measures if any Related Party transactions would adversely affect the Qualified Public Offering of Group Companies. |
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9.11 | Use of Investors Brands and Marks. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, without a prior written consent of Tencent, and whether or not Tencent or any of its Affiliates are then a shareholder of the Company, the Warrantors shall not, and shall cause the Affiliates of the Group Companies not to, use in advertising, publicity, announcements, or otherwise the name of Tencent, 腾讯 , QQ,Wechat, 微信 or that of any Affiliate of Tencent, either alone or in combination thereof, including 微信, wechat, RTX, 腾讯企业邮 EXMAIL.QQ.COM, 微信朋友圈, 微信电视, Tencent 腾讯, QQ, imqq.com, QQ 秀/QQSHOW, WWW.QQ.COM, QQmusic/QQ 音乐, QQ 空间, tencent image, 小 Q, QQ 彩贝 / 彩贝联盟 , 小 Q 书桌 , 微云 / 腾讯微云 , QQ 会员 , 爱 马 哥 , QQShowSHOW.QQ.COM, Q 影, 腾讯印象, 同步助手, 腾讯云, 应用宝, 财付通, QQ 电脑管家, 腾讯手机管家, 安全管家, 酷抠族 COOL, 路宝/腾讯路宝, QQ 浏览器, 微众, 腾讯游戏/腾讯互动娱乐 Tencent Interactive Entertainment, 洛克王国 Roco Kingdom, 斗战神 ASURA, QQ 炫舞, QQ 西游 QQXY.QQ.COM, QQ 飞车, 英雄杀 YXS.QQ.COM, AI 战士 AI.QQ.COM, 功夫西游, 逆战 NZ.QQ.COM, QQ 游戏 QQGAME.QQ.COM, Q 游记, 功夫企鹅, Q 游记 17Q.QQ.COM, 腾讯原创动漫 AC.QQ.COM, 趣西游, 众神争霸, 天天酷跑, 天天爱消除, 天天连萌, 全民三国, 天天飞车, 腾讯文学 Tencent Literature, 腾讯网, FUN 秀, 小拇指, 腾讯微漫画, 碰星球PUNG, 翻秀 , 腾 讯 儿 童 DIY 微漫画 , 潮 童 范 儿 , 广 点 通 , 微彩票 518.qq.com, QQ 彩票 888.QQ.COM, 腾讯微公益基金, 新年新衣, 筑梦新乡村, 米大师, 铜关 Tongguan, 益行家, 王者荣耀 , 腾讯地图, 天天快报, TIM, FOXMAIL, 自选股, 疾风之刃, JOOX, VOOV, 理财通, Ipick, any associated logos of the above brands, or any company name, trade name, trademark, service mark, domain name, device, design, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof owned or used by Tencent or any of its Affiliates; except for (i) the reference to Tencent and/or (腾讯) in a factual statement that the Company is a portfolio company of Tencent (to the extent such information is by then in the public domain) and (ii) a permitted use of the relevant logo(s), brand(s) or trademark(s) or cooperate name(s)/products name(s) of Tencent or its Affiliate(s) by an applicable Group Company as authorized in a business cooperation agreement entered into between Tencent or its Affiliate(s) and such Group Company; or represent, directly or indirectly, that any product or services provided by any Warrantor or any of its Affiliates have been approved or endorsed by Tencent or any of its Affiliates. |
9.12 | Equity Compensation; ESOP. |
(a) | The Company shall not, and shall procure the other Group Companies not to, directly or indirectly issue Ordinary Shares, share options or other forms of equity of the Company to any employee, director or consultant of any of the Group Companies except pursuant to an employee stock option plan duly adopted by the Company from time to time in accordance with the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles. |
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(b) | With respect to the Existing ESOP Shares (representing 2.2517% of the fully-diluted share capital of the Company immediately prior to the Closing and 1.9951% of the fully-diluted share capital of the Company upon the Closing) which have been reserved for share options to be granted to the employees, directors or consultants of the Group Companies, a formal ESOP (including terms on the exercise price and the vesting schedule of the options) shall not be adopted prior to the Closing and shall be determined and adopted by the Board of the Company after the Closing (subject to such approvals as required under the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles). Should recipients of any option under any ESOP fail to exercise such option in a manner not in conflict with applicable PRC Laws, including Circular 37 and Circular 7, no option under any ESOP may be actually exercised, and no shares thereunder may be issued to such recipients, unless and until after the requisite filing, if applicable, with SAFE pursuant to Circular 37 or Circular 7 (as the case may be) has been completed. Each recipient of an option to purchase Ordinary Shares under the ESOP shall enter into a share option agreement with the Company in the form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Investor. Except as may be expressly set forth in the Shareholders Agreement, without the prior written consent of the Investor, no securities other than Existing ESOP Shares shall be reserved by any Group Company for any ESOP. |
9.13 | Board Meeting. Unless otherwise approved by the majority of the affirmative votes of the directors (which majority shall include affirmative vote of the Tencent Director), the Company shall hold meetings of the Board at least every six (6) months. |
9.14 | Independent Auditors. The Company shall engage one of the Big Four accounting firms (i.e., Deloitte & Touche or Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers) or other reputable accounting firms acceptable to the Investor and shall cause such accounting firm to audit the Companys annual consolidated financial statements. |
9.15 | Cash Deposit. All the Group Companies cash shall be deposited with sound international or PRC financial institutions, and all such cash deposits shall be short-term with free liquidity unless otherwise approved by the Board. |
9.16 | D&O Insurance. Upon request by the Investor and if determined by the Board to be commercially reasonable, the Company shall obtain for the Tencent Director insurance against liability for negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust incurred in the course of discharging his or her duties as a director or officer of the Company, including without limitation, directors and officers liability insurance with a carrier and in an insured amount that is customary for similarly suited and structured PRC based companies to the satisfaction of the Board. |
9.17 | Tax Covenants. The Warrantors shall cause each Group Company to comply with all applicable tax Laws in all material respects, including without limitation, Laws pertaining to corporate income tax, individual income tax, value added tax and business tax. |
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9.18 | Business Operation. During the period between the date hereof and the Closing, except as the Investor otherwise agrees in writing or as expressly contemplated under this Agreement or as required by applicable Laws, each of the Group Companies who is a party to this Agreement and/or the other Transaction Documents shall (and the Warrantors shall use best endeavors to cause each of the Group Companies to) (i) conduct its business in the ordinary course consistent with past practice, as a going concern and in compliance with all applicable Laws and all Contracts of the Group Companies in all material respects, (ii) pay or perform its debts, Taxes, and other obligations when due, (iii) maintain its assets in a condition comparable to their current condition, with reasonable wear, tear and depreciation excepted, (iv) preserve intact its current business organizations and keep available the services of its current officers and employees and preserve its relationships with customers, suppliers and others having business dealings with, (v) periodically report to the Investor concerning the status of its business, operations and finance, and (vi) promptly take all actions reasonably necessary to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the taking of all reasonable acts necessary to cause all of the conditions set out under Section 7 to be satisfied. |
9.19 | Covenants regarding Activities prior to Closing. Except as required or expressly permitted by this Agreement, no resolution of the directors, owners, members, partners or shareholders of any of the Group Companies shall be passed, nor shall any action, contract or commitment be entered into, with respect the following, in each case, prior to the Closing without the prior written consent of the Investor: |
(a) | any amendment to the memorandum of association and/or articles of association of any Group Company; |
(b) | any action by any of the Group Company to authorize, create or issue or redeem or repurchase or reclassify any shares or securities of any class or series of such Group Company; |
(c) | the declaration and/or payment of any and all dividends on any securities of any Group Company or payment of any other distributions to any shareholder of any Group Company; |
(d) | any merger, consolidation, scheme of arrangement, recapitalization or sale, transfer, lease or other disposition of any material assets of any Group Company; |
(e) | any change in the number of directors of any Group Company; |
(f) | any filing by or against any Group Company for the appointment of a receiver, administrator or other form of external manager, or the winding up, liquidation, bankruptcy or insolvency of any Group Company; |
(g) | any expenditure, any purchase and disposal of assets and businesses, or any purchase and disposal of assets and businesses worth, in the aggregate, more than US$200,000 by any Group Company; |
(h) | other than in the ordinary business, any business transactions of the Group Companies (taken as a whole) exceeding the amount of US$200,000 or out of scope of principal business; |
(i) | any capital commitment, loan transaction or mortgage or pledge transaction of the Group Companies (taken as a whole) exceeding the amount of US$200,000 in a transaction or a series of related transaction; |
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(j) | establishment of any subsidiary or Affiliates (including any non-legal person branch) and the signing of any shareholders agreement or joint venture agreement or cooperation agreement by any Group Company; and |
(k) | any purchase or lease by any Group Company of any real estate properties not in the ordinary course of business. |
9.20 | Information. If at any time before the Closing, any of the Warrantors comes to know of any material fact or event which: |
(a) | is in any way materially inconsistent with any of the representations and warranties given by any Warrantor, and/or |
(b) | suggests that any material fact warranted may not be as warranted or may be materially misleading, and/or |
(c) | might affect the willingness of a reasonable investor in making a prudent decision to purchase the Purchased Shares or the amount of consideration which the Investor would be prepared to pay for the Purchased Shares, then such Warrantor shall give immediate written notice thereof to the Investor in which event, in addition to any other rights or remedy that is available to the Investor under this Agreement or applicable Law, the Investor may within five (5) Business Days of receiving such notice terminate this Agreement by written notice to the other parties hereto without any penalty whatsoever on the Investor. |
9.21 | Other Issues in the Disclosure Schedule. As soon as practicable after the Closing, the Warrantors shall, in a manner reasonably acceptable to the Investor, resolve the other issues which are disclosed in the Disclosure Schedule or identified by the Investor in the due diligence process but not expressly specified as a specific covenant under this Section 9 or a specific condition for the Closing under Section 7 hereof. The covenants under this Section 9.21 shall not preclude, be prejudice to, or otherwise limit in any way, the Warrantors indemnification liabilities under Section 10.1 below or any other right of or remedy available to the Investor. |
9.22 | Performance of Transaction Documents and Other Documents. After the Closing, each of the Warrantors shall duly perform their respective obligations pursuant to the Transaction Documents and all other ancillary documents, the forms of which are attached thereto, and any other instrument or documents for or in connection with consummation of the transactions contemplated in the Transaction Documents. |
9.23 | Performance of Cooperative Agreements. Each Group Company which is a party hereto shall duly perform, and the Warrantors shall cause each Group Company to duly perform, the Cooperative Agreements entered into by such Group Company. WFOE I shall, and the Warrantors shall cause each WFOE to, and promptly and diligently enforce its rights under the Cooperative Agreements entered into by such Group Company in the event of any breach or violation thereof by any other party thereto. |
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9.24 | Disposition of Related Companies of Founder Lu. As soon as practicable but in any event no later than December 31, 2021, Founder Lu shall dispose of all of his equity interests in Jiangsu Ousuo Software Co., Ltd. (江苏欧索软件有限公司) and Suzhou Yunzheng respectively to a third party that is not his Affiliate or Associate, in each case in a manner satisfactory to the Investor, and shall provide the Investor with documents evidencing such disposition (which shall be in form and substance satisfactory to the Investor). |
9.25 | Tax Declaration. To the extent a Form 8832 (Entity Classification Election) or Form SS-4 (Application for Employer Identification Number) is proposed to be filed by or on behalf of any Group Company with the relevant Governmental Authorities (whether pursuant to any Prior Financing Documents or otherwise), the relevant Group Company shall obtain the Investors prior written consent before making any filing of the aforesaid forms, and any such form to be filed shall be in form and substance satisfactory to the Investor. |
9.26 | Zhong Ou Acquisition. The Warrantors shall duly perform their obligations under the Zhong Ou Acquisition Agreements in accordance with the terms thereof. |
9.27 | Registration with Competent Governmental Authorities. As soon as practicable but in any event no later than December 31, 2021, Beijing Yunxuetang shall and the other Warrantors shall cause Beijing Yunxuetang to, at its election, (a) register the change of its legal address to its actual place of business with competent Governmental Authorities and obtain an updated business license thereof, or (b) be liquidated and de-registered with the relevant Governmental Authorities, in each case in accordance with the applicable PRC Laws, with evidence thereof to be delivered to the Investor. |
9.28 | Filing of Lease. As soon as practicable after the Closing, the Warrantors shall cause the Group Companies to register all their current lease agreements with the competent Governmental Authorities for record, with evidence thereof to delivered to the Investor. |
9.29 | Management System of the Intellectual Property of Courses. The Warrantors shall cause the Group Companies to implement and maintain a management system of all the Intellectual Properties used in the Courses Materials, under which, including without limitation, (i) with regard to any Intellectual Property solely owned or jointly owned by any Group Company, the Group Companies will claim their ownership of such Intellectual Property in a visible manner showing on the Course Materials or otherwise and make sure that such Intellectual Property will not infringe, violate or misappropriate any third partys rights; and (ii) with regard to any Intellectual Property not owned by any Group Company, the Group Companies will present a disclaimer in a visible manner showing on the Course Materials or otherwise to the audiences of the courses, clearly stating that the Group Companies do not own such Intellectual Property and will not take any responsibility for any actual or alleged infringement, violation or misappropriation of such Intellectual Property. |
9.30 | Business Plan and Budget. The Company shall as soon as practicable but within three (3) months after the Closing or any other longer period approved in writing by the Tencent Director provide to the Investor the business plan and budget for the twelve (12) months following the Closing to the Investors satisfaction. |
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9.31 | Capital Injection and Tax Filing. Unless otherwise agreed to by the Investor in writing, all Proceeds shall be injected into the registered capital of the WFOE I, provided that US$10,000,000 can be reserved in the offshore bank of the Company to facilitate its overseas payment of relevant professional service charges incurred in connection with the transactions contemplated hereunder and a proposed initial public offering of the Company. In the event of a subsequent sale of Equity Securities in the Company by the Investor in which event the Investor is required to file any income Tax, capital gain Tax or any other transfer Tax with any PRC Governmental Authorities under applicable PRC Laws, each of the Founder Parties, the Company and the WFOE I agrees that, upon the reasonable request of the Investor, he/she/it will exercise reasonable best endeavor to provide or cause to be provided the Investor with necessary information and assistance to facilitate the Investor in its negotiation or communication with the competent PRC Governmental Authorities with respect to the Investors indirect Tax basis or equity cost in the Group Companies for the purposes of determining any income Tax, capital gain Tax or other transfer Tax calculated with reference to gains made through the subscription, purchase and sale of the Investors Equity Securities in the Company. |
9.32 | Shareholder Confirmation. As soon as practicable but in any event within three (3) months after the Closing, the Warrantors shall cause each of the Persons who is a shareholder of the Company to execute and issue a confirmation letter to the Company in form and substance satisfactory to the Investor, stating and confirming that, such shareholder of the Company agrees to use its investment amount actually paid into the share capital (and/or share premium) of the Company to calculate its own tax cost basis for equity investment in the Company, provided that the foregoing tax cost basis shall be subject to final determination of the relevant PRC tax authorities. The Company shall not agree to any amendment, revocation, withdrawal or waiver of such confirmation letter without the prior written consent of the Investor, and a copy of such confirmation letter shall be provided to the Investor. |
9.33 | Access. During the period between the date hereof and the Closing, upon the Companys receipt of prior written notice issued by the Investor at least three (3) days in advance, the Warrantors shall permit the Investor, or any representative thereof, to (i) visit and inspect the properties of the Group Companies, (ii) inspect the contracts, books of account, records, ledgers, and other documents and data of the Group Companies, (iii) discuss the business, affairs, finances and accounts of the Group Companies with officers and employees of the Group Companies, and (iv) review such other information as the Investor may reasonably request, in such a manner so as not to unreasonably interfere with their normal operations. |
9.34 | Compliance with Anti-Corruption, Anti-Money Laundering and Trade Control Laws. The Warrantors shall not and shall cause other Group Companies not to, and shall not permit explicitly or implicitly any of its or their respective directors, officers, managers or employees or permit explicitly any of its independent contractors, representatives or agents to, promise, authorize or make any payment to, or otherwise contribute any item of value to, directly or indirectly, any third party, including any Public Official, in each case, in violation of any Anti-Corruption Laws. The Warrantors shall cause each of the Group Companies not to, take or permit any actions that is in violation of applicable Compliance Laws, and the Warrantors shall cause each of the Group Companies to, cease all of its or their respective activities or actions, as well as remediate any actions taken by the Group Companies, or any of their respective directors, officers, managers, employees, independent contractors, representatives or agents, that are in violation of any Compliance Laws. As soon as practicable and in any event within six (6) months after the Closing, the Warrantors shall cause each of the Group Companies to, maintain systems of internal controls (including, but not limited to, accounting systems, purchasing systems and billing systems) to the reasonable satisfaction of the Investor to ensure compliance with the Compliance Laws and other applicable Laws. |
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9.35 | Establishment of Subsidiaries or Branches in Qingdao and Chengdu. As soon as practicable after the Closing, the existing offices in Qingdao and Chengdu operated by the Group Companies shall be registered as a subsidiary or branch of a Group Company. |
9.36 | Contribution of Registered Capital of Suzhou Xuancai. As soon as practicable but in any event within three (3) months after the Closing, Suzhou Xuancai shall, the Warrantors shall cause Suzhou Xuancai to, amend the deadline for contribution of the registered capital of Suzhou Xuancai in its articles of association to a later date in light of the estimated contribution schedule determined by the Board. |
10. | MISCELLANEOUS. |
10.1 | Indemnity. |
(a) | The Warrantors shall, jointly and severally, indemnify the Investor, and its Affiliates, each of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and assigns (each, an Indemnitee) from and against any losses, liabilities, damages, Liens, Taxes, penalties, necessary costs and expenses, including reasonable advisors fees and other reasonable expenses of investigation and defense of any of the foregoing, incurred by such Indemnitee (the Indemnifiable Loss) as a result of (i) any breach of any representation or warranty made by any Warrantor in this Agreement, the Disclosure Schedule, any other Transaction Document or any other schedule, instrument or certificate delivered pursuant to this Agreement or any other Transaction Document; (ii) any breach or default in performance by any Warrantor of any covenant, agreement or obligation of any Warrantor as set forth in this Agreement, any other Transaction Document or any schedule, instrument or certificate delivered pursuant to this Agreement or any other Transaction Document; and (iii) any non-compliance (whether before or after the Closing) with applicable Laws (including without limitation, conducting the Business without obtaining proper Permits from the competent Governmental Authorities or holders of Intellectual Property rights, and failure to withhold/pay any tax for or on behalf of the employees or make full contributions and payments for or on behalf of the employees in respect of all statutory social insurance and housing plans on a timely basis as required by the applicable Laws). |
(b) | If an Indemnitee believes that it has a claim that may give rise to an indemnity obligation of any Warrantor hereunder, it shall promptly notify the Warrantors stating specifically the basis on which such claim is being made, the material facts related thereto, and (if ascertainable or quantifiable) the amount of the claim asserted; provided that failure to provide such notice (each, a Claim Notice) shall not relieve any Warrantor from its indemnification obligation hereunder except to the extent such Warrantor has been actually and materially prejudiced by such failure. For purposes hereof, notice delivered to the Company at the Companys address pursuant to Section 10.6 shall constitute effective notice to all Warrantors. In the event of a third party claim against an Indemnitee for which such Indemnitee seeks indemnification from the Warrantors, no settlement shall be deemed conclusive with respect whether there was an Indemnifiable Loss or the amount of such Indemnifiable Loss unless such settlement is consented to by the Warrantors. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, any undisputed portion of Indemnifiable Loss claimed by an Indemnitee shall be indemnified and paid by the Warrantors to such Indemnitee within twenty (20) Business Days upon delivery of the notice by such Indemnitee without further action on its part. Any dispute related to this Section 10.1(b) shall be resolved pursuant to Section 10.15 hereof. |
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(c) | Specifically, but not by way of limitation, the Warrantors shall jointly and severally indemnify any Indemnitee for any Indemnifiable Losses suffered by such Indemnitee as a result of or arising out of: |
(i) | any Warrantors failure to withhold any tax, or pay any tax or social insurance or housing funds (including any non-payment or underpayment thereof) in accordance with the applicable Laws for all tax periods or contribution periods (as applicable); |
(ii) | any Founder Partys and/or any Group Companys failure to comply with any applicable Laws (including without limitation any Founder Partys and/or Group Companys failure to comply with any tax or labor related Laws) in any material respects that incurred or existed on or prior to the Closing Date; |
(iii) | any liability incurred by any Group Company arising out of or in connection with any infringement upon any other Persons rights to Intellectual Property, including without limitation, (A) infringement, violation or misappropriation of any Intellectual Property of any third party in connection with the use of any trademarks by the Group Companies; or (B) infringement, violation or misappropriation of any Intellectual Property of any third party in or to any Course Materials used by the Group Companies; |
(iv) | any Group Companys failure to timely obtain from the competent Governmental Authorities or duly maintain any Permit in accordance with the applicable Laws (including but not limited to lacking of the Online Broadcasting License, the Network Culture License, the Internet Publication Permit, the School Permit or the SP License, or insufficiency in the scope of permitted business covered by any value-added telecommunication permit held by any Group Company, in each case, to the extent such Permit or scope of business is required by applicable Law), or any Group Companys breach of or default under any such Permit; |
(v) | any of the Founders Affiliates or Associates conduct of any business that is the same or similar to or otherwise competes with the Business of the Group Companies (the Affiliates Competition) or the Group Companies failure to consummate a Qualified Public Offering due to the Affiliates Competition; |
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(vi) | any failure of Founder Lu or any other Domestic Resident to register and/or update his/her respective holding of equity interest in the Group Companies with the competent Governmental Authorities as required under Circular 37 and/or any other applicable Laws of the PRC. |
(d) | Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the indemnification obligations of the Warrantors under sub-clauses (i) through (vi) under Section 10.1(c) shall not be prejudiced or qualified by or be otherwise subject to any disclosure (in the Disclosure Schedule or otherwise) and shall apply regardless of whether the Warrantors or Indemnitees have any actual or constructive knowledge with respect thereto. |
(e) | The indemnification provisions contained in this Section 10.1 are in addition to, and not in derogation of, any statutory, equitable or common-law remedy any party or Indemnitee may otherwise have. No information (other than as disclosed in the Disclosure Schedule) relating to the Group Companies or the Founder Parties of which any Indemnitee has knowledge (actual or constructive) and no investigation by or on behalf of any Indemnitee shall prejudice any claim made by any Indemnitee under the indemnity contained in this Section 10.1 or operate to reduce any amount recoverable thereunder. It shall not be a defense to any claim against the Warrantors that an Indemnitee knew or ought to have known or had constructive knowledge of any information (other than as disclosed in the Disclosure Schedule) relating to the circumstances giving rise to such claim. |
(f) | The representations and warranties as they were made on the respective dates by the Warrantors herein shall survive the Closing. Such representations and warranties of the Warrantors shall in no way be affected by any investigation of the subject matter thereof made by or on behalf of the Investor. All covenants or agreements shall survive the Closing and remain in full force and effect in accordance with their terms. |
10.2 | Limitation of Indemnity. The indemnification provided in Section 10.1 is subject to the following limitations: an Indemnitee shall: (i) first seek indemnification from the Group Companies with respect to the whole and entire amount of the Indemnifiable Losses; and (ii) only in the event that the Group Companies are unable to (or have otherwise failed to) pay the Indemnitee the whole and entire amount of such Indemnifiable Losses within ninety (90) days after receipt of a Claim Notice, and to the extent the Indemnifiable Losses were resulted from any decision or action made or taken by the Warrantors without the approval of the Board (including the approval of Tencent Director only with respect to such decisions or actions made or taken after the Closing) in advance and constitutes gross negligence, willful misconduct or fraud of the Warrantors, the Indemnitee may seek indemnification with respect to any unpaid portion of the Indemnifiable Losses from the Founder Parties. |
10.3 | Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the Laws of Hong Kong as to matters within the scope thereof, without regard to its principles of conflicts of laws. |
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10.4 | Successors and Assigns. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, the provisions hereof shall inure to the benefit of, and be binding upon, the successors, assigns, heirs, executors and administrators of the parties hereto. This Agreement and the rights and obligations herein may not be assigned by any of the Warrantors without the written consent of the Investor. This Agreement and the rights and obligations therein may be assigned by the Investor to any of its Affiliates or any transferee of the Purchased Shares in a transfer that complies with the Shareholders Agreement without any consent of the other parties. Any Person who is not a party to this Agreement shall not have any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Ordinance (Chapter 623 of the Laws of Hong Kong) to enforce, or to enjoy the benefit of, any term of this Agreement, provided that each Indemnitee shall be an express third party beneficiary who may enforce this Agreement pursuant to Section 10.1 and Section 10.2. |
10.5 | Entire Agreement. This Agreement, the other Transaction Documents, and the schedules and exhibits hereto and thereto, which are hereby expressly incorporated herein by this reference constitute the entire understanding and agreement between the parties with regard to the subjects hereof and thereof; provided however, that nothing in this Agreement or related agreements shall be deemed to terminate or supersede the provisions of any confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements executed by the parties hereto prior to the date hereof, which agreements shall continue in full force and effect until terminated in accordance with their respective terms. |
10.6 | Notices. Except as may be otherwise provided herein, all notices, requests, waivers and other communications made pursuant to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be conclusively deemed to have been duly given (a) when hand delivered to the other party, upon delivery; (b) when sent by facsimile at the number set forth in Schedule VI hereto, upon receipt of confirmation of error-free transmission; (c) when sent by electronic-mail at the e-mail address set forth in Schedule VI hereto, upon being sent unless failure delivery notice is received; (d) seven (7) Business Days after deposit in the mail as air mail or certified mail, receipt requested, postage prepaid and addressed to the relevant party or parties as set forth in Schedule VI; or (e) three (3) Business Days after deposit with an overnight delivery service, postage prepaid, addressed to the relevant parties as set forth in Schedule VI with next business day delivery guaranteed, provided that the sending party receives a confirmation of delivery from the delivery service provider. Each Person making a communication hereunder by facsimile shall promptly confirm by telephone to the Person to whom such communication was addressed each communication made by it by facsimile pursuant hereto, but the absence of such confirmation shall not affect the validity of any such communication. A party may change or supplement the addresses set forth in Schedule VI, or designate additional addresses, for purposes of this Section 10.6, by giving the other parties written notice of the new address in the manner set forth above. |
10.7 | Amendments and Waivers. Any term of this Agreement may be amended and the observance of any term of this Agreement may be waived (either generally or in a particular instance and either retroactively or prospectively), only with the written consents of the Company, Founder Lu and the Investor. Any amendment effected in accordance with this Section 10.7 shall be binding upon each party hereto and each of their respective successors and assigns. Any term of this Agreement and the observance of any term of this Agreement may be waived (either generally or in a particular instance and either retroactively or prospectively) only with the written consent of the party against whom such wavier is sought. No waivers of or exceptions to any term, condition or provision of this Agreement, in any one or more instances, shall be deemed to be, or construed as, a further or continuing waiver of any such term, condition or provision. |
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10.8 | Waivers of Certain Shareholders Rights. Each of the Founder Parties by executing this Agreement, hereby waives any anti-dilution rights, rights of first refusal, preemptive rights and all other similar rights in connection with the issuance of the Purchased Shares. |
10.9 | Delays or Omissions. No delay or omission to exercise any right, power or remedy accruing to any Warrantor or Investor, upon any breach or default of any party hereto under this Agreement, shall impair any such right, power or remedy of such Warrantor or Investor, nor shall it be construed to be a waiver of any such breach or default, or an acquiescence therein, or of any similar breach of default thereafter occurring; nor shall any waiver of any other breach or default theretofore or thereafter occurring. Any waiver, permit, consent or approval of any kind or character on the part of any Warrantor or Investor of any breach of default under this Agreement or any waiver on the part of any Warrantor or Investor of any provisions or conditions of this Agreement, must be in writing and shall be effective only to the extent specifically set forth in such writing. Subject to Section 10.1 and Section 10.2, all remedies, either under this Agreement, or by Law or otherwise afforded to the Warrantors and the Investor shall be cumulative and not alternative. |
10.10 | Interpretation; Titles and Subtitles. This Agreement shall be construed according to its fair language. The rule of construction to the effect that ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in interpreting this Agreement. The titles of the sections and subsections of this Agreement are for convenience of reference only and are not to be considered in construing this Agreement. Unless otherwise expressly provided herein, (i) all references to Sections and Exhibits herein are to Sections and Exhibits of this Agreement; (ii) the words include and including, and variations thereof, shall not be deemed to be terms of limitation, but rather shall be deemed to be followed by the words without limitation; (iii) the term or is not exclusive; (iv) words in the singular include the plural, and words in the plural include the singular; (v) the terms herein, hereof, and other similar words refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular section, subsection, paragraph, clause, or other subdivision; (vi) the masculine, feminine, and neuter genders will each be deemed to include the others; (vii) the terms shall, will, and agrees are mandatory, and the term may is permissive; (viii) the term day shall mean calendar day, and month shall mean calendar month, (ix) all references in this Agreement to designated Schedules, Exhibits and Appendices are to the Schedules, Exhibits and Appendices attached to this Agreement unless the context otherwise requires, (x) the phrase directly or indirectly shall mean directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediate Persons or through contractual or other arrangements, and direct or indirect has the correlative meaning, (xi) references to Laws include any such law modifying, reenacting, extending or made pursuant to the same or which is modified, reenacted, or extended by the same or pursuant to which the same is made, (xii) each representation, warranty, agreement, and covenant contained herein will have independent significance, regardless of whether also addressed by a different or more specific representation, warranty, agreement, or covenant, (xiii) references to this Agreement, any other Transaction Documents and any other document shall be construed as references to such document as the same may be amended, supplemented or novated from time to time, (xiv) all references to dollars or to US$ are to currency of the United States of America and all references to RMB are to currency of the PRC (and each shall be deemed to include reference to the equivalent amount in other currencies), and (xv) references to a Party includes a reference to that Partys successors and permitted assigns. |
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10.11 | Language and Counterparts. This Agreement has been negotiated, concluded and executed in English language. This Agreement may be executed (including facsimile signature) in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be an original, but all of which together shall constitute one instrument. Facsimile and emailed copies of signatures shall be deemed to be originals for the purposes of the effectiveness of this Agreement. |
10.12 | Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, then such provision shall be construed, to the extent feasible, so as to render the provision enforceable and to provide for the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby on substantially the same terms as originally set forth herein, and if no feasible interpretation would save such provision, it shall be severed from the remainder of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect unless the severed provision is essential to the rights or benefits intended by the parties. In such event, the parties shall use best efforts to negotiate, in good faith, a substitute, valid and enforceable provision or agreement which most nearly effects the parties intent in entering into this Agreement. |
10.13 | Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure. The parties hereto agree to be bound by the confidentiality and non-disclosure provisions of Section 8 of the Shareholders Agreement, which shall mutatis mutandis apply. |
10.14 | Further Assurances. Each party shall from time to time and at all times hereafter make, do, execute, or cause or procure to be made, done and executed such further acts, deeds, conveyances, consents and assurances without further consideration, which may reasonably be required to effect the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. |
10.15 | Dispute Resolution. |
(a) | Negotiation Between Parties. The parties agree to negotiate in good faith to resolve any dispute between them regarding this Agreement. If the negotiations do not resolve the dispute to the reasonable satisfaction of all parties within thirty (30) days, Section 10.15(b) shall apply. |
(b) | Arbitration. In the event the parties are unable to settle a dispute between them regarding this Agreement in accordance with subsection (a) above, such dispute, including the validity, invalidity, breach or termination of this Agreement, shall be referred to and finally settled by arbitration at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) in accordance with the HKIAC Arbitration Rules (the HKIAC Rules) then in effect, which rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference into this subsection (b). There shall be three (3) arbitrators. Where there are more than one (1) party to one (1) side of the dispute, the parties whose interests are aligned shall jointly select one (1) arbitrator. The other party to such a dispute shall select one (1) arbitrator. The HKIAC shall select the third arbitrator. Any such arbitration shall be administered by HKIAC in accordance with HKIAC Procedures for Arbitration in force at the date of this Agreement including such additions to the HKIAC Rules as are therein contained. The decision of the arbitrators (by rule of majority) shall be final and binding on the parties (including any decision on their fees) and their fees shall be borne and paid by the parties in such proportions as the arbitrators shall determine. |
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10.16 | Expenses. If the Closing occurs or fails to occur for reasons solely attributable to the Group Companies and/or the Founder Parties, the Company shall reimburse and/or pay all legal, accounting, due diligence, administrative and other expenses and costs actually incurred by the Investor in connection with the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby (including out-of-pocket expenses, third party consulting or advisory expenses and legal, accounting and other costs and expenses), for up to US$180,000. In any other circumstances, each Party shall bear all of its own costs and expenses incurred or to be incurred by it in connection with the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby respectively. |
10.17 | Termination. Unless otherwise agreed herein, this Agreement may be terminated (i) by the Investor on or after January 31, 2021 or any later date as mutually agreed upon by the Investor and the Company in writing (the Termination Date), by written notice to the Company, if the Closing has not occurred on or prior to the Termination Date, provided that the Investor is not in material default of any of its obligations hereunder, or (ii) by the Investor in the event of any material breach or violation of any representation or warranty, covenant or agreement contained herein or in any of the other Transaction Documents by any Warrantor that is not curable or if curable, is not cured within twenty (20) Business Days of written notice given by the Investor. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section 10.17, this Agreement will be of no further force or effect, and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall terminate and expire without any liability on any party to any other party; provided that Section 1 and this Section 10 shall survive the termination of this Agreement and shall continue in full force and effect pursuant to their terms. Such termination under this Section 10.17 shall be without prejudice to any claims for damages or other remedies that the parties may have under this Agreement or applicable Law and shall not relieve any party from any liability for any breach or violation of this Agreement. |
10.18 | No Recourse. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement or any other Transaction Documents, each Warrantor agrees and covenants that it shall not, and shall cause each of its Affiliates, directors, officers or employees not to, seek any remedy from, make any claim against, or otherwise have any recourse against, any of the Investors current or future Affiliates or its and their respective equity holders, directors, officers, employees, representatives, members, agents, or general or limited partners, whether by legal or equitable proceeding, or by virtue of any statute, regulation or other applicable Laws, with respect to any matters under or in connection with this Agreement or any other Transaction Documents, provided that the Investor shall not voluntarily initiate any liquidation, dissolution or winding-up proceeding for so long as it holds any equity interests in the Group Companies. |
10.19 | Specific Performance. The parties hereto acknowledge and agree that irreparable harm may occur for which monetary damages may not be an adequate remedy in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. It is accordingly agreed that the parties shall be entitled to seek injunction to prevent breaches of this Agreement and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions of this Agreement. |
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE GROUP COMPANIES: | ||
UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory | |
YXT.COM Holding Limited | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory | |
YXT.COM (HK) LIMITED (雲學堂控股(香港)有限公司) | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory | |
Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (云学堂信息科技(江苏)有限公司) | ||
(corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory | |
Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (江苏云学堂网络科技有限公司) | ||
(corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Series E Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE GROUP COMPANIES: | ||
Beijing Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (北京云学堂网络科技有限公司) | ||
(corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory | |
Suzhou Xuancai Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州炫彩网络科技有限公司) | ||
(corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory | |
Suzhou Xiwenlejian Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州喜闻乐见网络科技有限公司) | ||
(corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: | /s/ Zu Teng | |
Name: | Zu Teng | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory | |
Beijing Guoshi Technology Go., Ltd. (北京果识科技有限公司) | ||
(corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: | /s/ Zu Teng | |
Name: | Zu Teng | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Series E Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE GROUP COMPANIES: | ||
Digital B-School China Limited | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory | |
CEIBS Management Ltd. | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Series E Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE FOUNDER PARTIES: | ||
Founder Lu | ||
Lu Xiaoyan (卢小燕) | ||
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Founder Lu Holdco | ||
UNICENTURY HOLDINGS LIMITED | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: | Lu Xiaoyan (卢小燕) | |
Title: | Director |
Signature Page to Series E Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group Holding Limited
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTOR: | ||
Image Frame Investment (HK) Limited | ||
By: | /s/ Ma Huateng | |
Name: | Ma Huateng | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Series E Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group Holding Limited
LIST OF SCHEDULES AND EXHIBITS
Schedule I | List of Founder Parties | |
Schedule II | Particulars of Group Companies | |
Schedule III | Capitalization Table | |
Schedule IV | Disclosure Schedule | |
Schedule V | List of Key Employees | |
Schedule VI | Notices | |
Exhibit A | Form of Restated Articles | |
Exhibit B | Form of Fourth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement | |
Exhibit C | Form of Third Amended and Restated Share Restriction Agreement | |
Exhibit D | Form of Director Indemnification Agreement | |
Exhibit E | Form of Wire Transfer Instructions |
SCHEDULE I
List of Founder Parties
SCHEDULE II
Particulars of Group Companies
SCHEDULE III
Capitalization Table
SCHEDULE IV
Disclosure Schedule
SCHEDULE V
List of Key Employees
SCHEDULE VI
Notices
EXHIBIT A
Form of Restated Articles
EXHIBIT B
Form of Fourth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement
EXHIBIT C
Form of Third Amended and Restated Share Restriction Agreement
EXHIBIT D
Form of Director Indemnification Agreement
EXHIBIT E
Form of Wire Transfer Instructions
Exhibit 10.16
***Certain information in this document has been excluded pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10). Such excluded information is not material and is the type the registrant treats as private or confidential. Such omitted information is indicated by brackets ([Redacted]) in this exhibit.***
UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
YXT.COM HOLDING LIMITED
YXT.COM (HK) LIMITED (雲學堂控股(香港)有限公司)
YUNXUETANG INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (JIANGSU) CO., LTD. (云学堂信息科技(江苏)有限公司)
JIANGSU YUNXUETANG NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (江苏云学堂网络科技有限公司)
BEIJING YUNXUETANG NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (北京云学堂网络科技有限公司)
SUZHOU XUANCAI NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (苏州炫彩网络科技有限公司)
SUZHOU XIWENLEJIAN NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (苏州喜闻乐见网络科技有限公司)
BEIJING GUOSHI TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (北京果识科技有限公司)
DIGITAL B-SCHOOL CHINA LIMITED
CEIBS MANAGEMENT LTD.
THE PERSONS LISTED IN SCHEDULE I-A
AND
MATRIX PARTNERS CHINA VI HONG KONG LIMITED
Hundreds Three Fund Limited Partnership
SCC Growth VI Holdco E, Ltd.
SERIES E2 PREFERRED SHARE PURCHASE AGREEMENT
DATED MARCH 22, 2021
Table of Content
1. |
DEFINITIONS | 3 | ||||
2. |
AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE AND SELL SHARES | 13 | ||||
3. |
CLOSINGS; DELIVERIES | 14 | ||||
4. |
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE WARRANTORS | 14 | ||||
5. |
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE INVESTOR | 42 | ||||
6. |
CONDITIONS TO THE INVESTORS OBLIGATIONS AT THE CLOSING | 42 | ||||
7. |
CONDITIONS TO THE COMPANYS OBLIGATIONS AT THE CLOSING | 44 | ||||
8. |
COVENANTS OF THE WARRANTORS | 45 | ||||
9. |
MISCELLANEOUS | 55 | ||||
LIST OF SCHEDULES AND EXHIBITS |
70 |
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THIS SERIES E2 PREFERRED SHARE PURCHASE AGREEMENT (this Agreement) is made and entered into as of March 22, 2021, by and among:
(1) | UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability (the Company); |
(2) | YXT.COM Holding Limited, a business company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the British Virgin Islands (the BVI Subsidiary I); |
(3) | YXT.COM (HK) LIMITED (雲學堂控股(香港)有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of Hong Kong (the HK Subsidiary I); |
(4) | Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (云学堂信息科技(江苏)有限公司), a wholly foreign owned enterprise incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (the WFOE I); |
(5) | Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (江苏云学堂网络科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Jiangsu Yunxuetang); |
(6) | Beijing Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (北京云学堂网络科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Beijing Yunxuetang); |
(7) | Suzhou Xuancai Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州炫彩网络科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Suzhou Xuancai); |
(8) | Suzhou Xiwenlejian Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州喜闻乐见网络科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (XWLJ); |
(9) | Beijing Guoshi Technology Co., Ltd. (北京果识科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Beijing Guoshi); |
(10) | Digital B-School China Limited, an exempted company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the Cayman Islands (the Cayman Subsidiary); |
(11) | CEIBS Management Ltd., a limited company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the British Virgin Islands (the BVI Subsidiary II); |
(12) | Lu Xiaoyan (卢小燕) (a/k/a 卢睿泽), a PRC citizen with the PRC ID Card No. being [Redacted] (Founder Lu); |
(13) | Unicentury Holdings Limited, a business company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands with limited liability which is wholly owned by Founder Lu (Founder Lu Holdco, together with Founder Lu, the Founder Parties, and each a Founder Party); and |
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(14) | The Persons as set forth on Schedule I-B (each an Investor and collectively, the Investors). |
RECITALS
WHEREAS:
A. The Company holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of the BVI Subsidiary I. The BVI Subsidiary I holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of the HK Subsidiary I. The HK Subsidiary I holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of the WFOE I, which in turn controls Jiangsu Yunxuetang through the Yunxuetang Cooperative Agreements (as defined below).
B. The Company holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of the Cayman Subsidiary and BVI Subsidiary II, respectively. The Cayman Subsidiary and the BVI Subsidiary II together hold sixty percent (60%) of the equity interest of CEIBS Publishing Group Limited, a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of Hong Kong (the HK Subsidiary II, together with the HK Subsidiary I, the HK Subsidiaries, and each a HK Subsidiary). The HK Subsidiary II holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of Fenghe Corporation Management Consulting CO., Ltd. (枫合企业管理咨询(上海)有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of PRC (the WFOE II, together with the WFOE I, the WFOEs, and each a WFOE), which in turn controls Shanghai Fenghe Culture Communication Co., Ltd. (上海峰禾文化传播有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of PRC (Shanghai Fenghe) through the Fenghe Cooperative Agreements (as defined below) and Shanghai Zhong Ou International Culture Communication Co., Ltd. (上海中欧国际文化传播有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of PRC (Shanghai Zhong Ou, together with Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Beijing Yunxuetang, Suzhou Xuancai, XWLJ, Beijing Guoshi, and Shanghai Fenghe, the Domestic Companies, and each a Domestic Company) through the Zhong Ou Cooperative Agreements (as defined below, together with the Yunxuetang Cooperative Agreements and the Fenghe Cooperative Agreements, the Cooperative Agreements). Further particulars of the Group Companies as of the date hereof are set out in Schedule II to this Agreement.
C. The Group Companies collectively engage in the business of research and development of software (including Software-as-a-Service or SaaS), development and operation of internet or mobile network platforms and design, production, distribution and sale of multimedia courses, in each case, related to professional/skill training or education and enterprise informatization, and providing of related technical, consulting and supporting services, and other business as approved by the Board (the Business). The Company seeks expansion capital to grow the Business and, correspondingly, seeks to secure investment from the Investors, on the terms and conditions set forth herein.
D. The Company desires to issue and sell to each Investor, and each Investor desires to purchase from the Company, certain number of series E2 convertible redeemable preferred shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, of the Company (the Series E2 Preferred Shares) on the terms and conditions herein.
E. Matrix, April Sky Management Limited (April Sky) and the Company entered into a share transfer agreement (the April Share Transfer Agreement) on February 5, 2021, pursuant to which, Matrix has purchased from April Sky 1,501,006 Ordinary Shares of the Company (the April Transferred Shares);
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F. Matrix and Founder Lu Holdco intend to enter into a share transfer agreement (the Founder Lu Share Transfer Agreement) on the date hereof, pursuant to which, Founder Lu Holdco desires to transfer to Matrix, and Matrix desires to purchase from Founder Lu Holdco, certain number of Ordinary Shares of the Company (the Founder Lu Transferred Shares, together with the April Transferred Shares, the Transferred Shares). It is expected that the closing of such transfer and the Closing hereunder will occur concurrently and shall be conditional on the occurrence of each other.
AGREEMENT
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing recitals, the mutual promises hereinafter set forth, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:
1. | DEFINITIONS. |
1.1 | Certain Defined Terms. As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following respective meanings: |
Action means any notice, charge, claim, action, complaint, petition, investigation, suit or other proceeding, whether administrative, civil or criminal, whether at law or in equity, and whether or not before any mediator, arbitrator or Governmental Authority.
Affiliate means, with respect to a Person, any other Person that, directly or indirectly, controls, is controlled by or is under common control with such Person.
Anti-Corruption Laws means Laws relating to anti-bribery or anticorruption (governmental or commercial), which are applicable to the business and dealings of any Group Company, and their respective shareholders, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the UK Bribery Act of 2010, as amended, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the PRC, the Criminal Law of the PRC, and the Provision Regulations on Anti-Commercial Bribery.
Anti-Money Laundering Laws means Laws relating to money laundering, including, without limitation, financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, which apply to the business and dealings of any Group Company, and their shareholders; such as, without limitation, the U.S. Currency and Foreign Transaction Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the U.S. Money Laundering Control Act of 1986, as amended, the UK Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the UK Terrorism Act 2000, as amended, all money laundering-related laws of other jurisdictions where any Group Company conducts business or own asset.
Associate means, in relation to an individual, any of his or her Family Members, nominee or trustee of any trust in which such individual or any of his or her Family Members is a beneficiary or a discretionary object, or any Affiliate of any of the aforesaid persons or any person acting under his or her instructions (pursuant to an agreement or arrangement, formal or otherwise) in each case from time to time.
Balance Sheet Date means December 31, 2020.
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Board means the board of directors of the Company.
Business Day means any day, other than a Saturday, Sunday or any public holidays, on which banks are ordinarily open for business in the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, and the PRC.
Company Owned Intellectual Property means any Intellectual Property owned by the Group Companies.
Compliance Laws means Laws relating to anti-bribery, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and trade control, including the Anti-Corruption Laws, the Anti-Money Laundering Laws and the Trade Control Laws.
Contract means, a contract, agreement, understanding, indenture, note, bond, loan, instrument, lease, mortgage, franchise, license, commitment, purchase order, and other legally binding arrangement, whether written or oral.
control means, with respect to any Person, the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities or by contract or otherwise, and such power shall conclusively be presumed to exist upon (i) the possession, directly or indirectly, of more than fifty percent (50%) ownership interest of such Person; (ii) the possession, directly or indirectly, of more than fifty percent (50%) of voting securities of such Person; or (iii) the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to nominate or appoint a majority of the members of the board of directors or similar governing body of such Person; and the terms controlling and controlled and under common control with have meanings correlative to the foregoing.
Circular 7 means the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Foreign Exchange Administration of Domestic Individuals Participation in Share Incentive Plan of Offshore Public Companies (《关于境内个人参与境外上市公司股权激励计划外汇管理有关问题的通知》) and its successor regulations, implementing rules and guidelines under the Laws of the PRC.
Circular 37 means the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Issues concerning Foreign Exchange Administration of Offshore Financing, Investment and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Companies by PRC Residents (《关于境内居民通过特殊目的公司境外投融资及返程投资外汇管理有关问题的通知》) and its successor regulations, implementing rules and guidelines under the Laws of the PRC.
Course Materials means any course materials, including but not limited to, handouts, presentation materials and downloadable contents, that are used by the Domestic Companies in connection with the conduct of the Business, whether or not developed (i) independently by the Domestic Companies, (ii) jointly with any third parties, or (iii) independently by any third parties.
Existing Articles means the Sixth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company adopted by a special resolution passed on January 25, 2021.
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Existing Shareholders Agreement means the Fourth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement dated January 25, 2021 by and among the Company, the Cayman Subsidiary, the BVI Subsidiaries, the HK Subsidiary I, the WFOE I, Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Beijing Yunxuetang, Suzhou Xuancai, XWLJ, Beijing Guoshi, Founder Lu, the existing shareholders of the Company and other parties thereto.
Employee Benefit Plan means any employment Contract, deferred compensation Contract, bonus plan, incentive plan, profit sharing plan, retirement Contract or other employment compensation Contract or any other plan which provides or provided benefits for any past or present employee, officer, consultant, and/or director of any Group Company or with respect to which contributions are or have been made on account of any past or present employee, officer, consultant, and/or director of any Group Company.
Equity Securities means, with respect to any Person that is a legal entity, any and all shares of capital stock, membership interests, units, profits interests, ownership interest, equity interest, registered capital, and other equity securities of such Person, and any right, warrant, option, call, commitment, conversion privilege, preemptive right or other right to acquire any of the foregoing, or security convertible into, exchangeable or exercisable for any of the foregoing, or any contract providing for the acquisition of any of the foregoing.
ESOP means an employee stock option, equity incentive, purchase or participation plan or equivalent for the benefit of the employees, officers, directors, advisors, contractors and consultants of the Group Companies.
Family Members of an individual means his or her spouse, children or step-children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, in-laws and each person who lives together with this individual in the same household.
Fenghe Cooperative Agreements means:
(i) the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement (独家技术与咨询服务协议) by and between the WFOE II and Shanghai Fenghe dated June 24, 2020;
(ii) the Exclusive Option Agreement (独家购买权协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Fenghe and the equity holders of Shanghai Fenghe dated June 24, 2020;
(iii) the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (股权质押协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Fenghe and the equity holders of Shanghai Fenghe dated June 24, 2020; and
(iv) the Shareholders Voting Rights Proxy Agreement (股东表决权委托协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Fenghe and the equity holders of Shanghai Fenghe dated June 24, 2020.
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Financial Statements means, collectively:
(i) the consolidated and unaudited income statements, statements of cash flows and balance sheets of the Company (without incorporating the Cayman Subsidiary, the BVI Subsidiary II, the HK Subsidiary II, the WFOE II, Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai Zhong Ou in the scope of its consolidated financial statements) for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020;
(ii) the consolidated and unaudited income statements, statements of cash flows and balance sheets of the Company for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020; and
(iii) unaudited income statements, statements of cash flows and balance sheets for each of Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai Zhong Ou for fiscal years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020.
Group Companies or the Group means collectively the Company, the Cayman Subsidiary, the BVI Subsidiary I, the BVI Subsidiary II, the HK Subsidiary I, the HK Subsidiary II, the WFOEs, the Domestic Companies and each other entity which is directly or indirectly controlled by the Company or whose financial statements are consolidated with those of the Company in accordance with the IFRS and are recorded on the books of the Company for financial reporting purposes (each, a Group Company).
Governmental Authority(ies) means any government of any nation or any federation, province or state or any other political subdivision thereof; any entity, authority or body exercising executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or administrative functions of or pertaining to government, including any Governmental Authority, agency, department, board, commission or instrumentality of the PRC or any other country, or any political subdivision thereof, any court, tribunal or arbitrator, and any self-regulatory organization.
Hong Kong means the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China.
IFRS means the International Financial Reporting Standards, as may be amended from time to time.
Intellectual Property means all patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names, domain names, copyrights, copyright registrations and applications and all other rights corresponding thereto, inventions, databases and all rights therein, all computer software including all source code, object code, firmware, development tools, files, records and data, including all media on which any of the foregoing is stored, formulas, designs, trade secrets, confidential and proprietary information, proprietary rights, know-how and processes of a company, and all documentation related to any of the foregoing.
Law or Laws means any and all provisions of any applicable constitution, treaty, statute, law, regulation, ordinance, code, rule, or rule of common law, any governmental approval, concession, grant, franchise, license, agreement, directive, requirement, or other governmental restriction or any similar form of decision of, or determination by, or any interpretation or administration of any of the foregoing by, any Governmental Authority, in each case as amended, and any and all applicable governmental orders.
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Lien means any claim, charge, easement, encumbrance, lease, covenant, security interest, lien, option, pledge, rights of others, or restriction (whether on voting, sale, transfer, disposition or otherwise), whether imposed by contract, understanding, Law, equity or otherwise.
Material Adverse Effect means any change, effect, event, occurrence, state of fact or development that, individually or together with any one or more changes, effects events, occurrences, states of facts or developments, has had or would be reasonably expected to have a material adverse impact on (i) the business, operation, assets (including intangible assets), liabilities, financial position, earnings, financial or other condition, prospects, properties, or results of operations of the Group Companies taken as a whole, or (ii) the ability of the Company, any other Group Company or the Founder Parties to perform the material obligations of such Person hereunder or under any other Transaction Document in accordance with their terms, as applicable, other than effects due to or resulting from (a) changes in general economic or market conditions; (b) matters generally affecting the industries in which the Group Companies operate; (c) changes in generally accepted accounting principles or standards applicable to any member of the Group Companies; (d) changes in Laws; and (e) acts taken or omissions made in accordance with Transaction Documents or at the request of the Investors; provided that (i) effects due to or resulting from the foregoing clause (a) or (b) shall be excluded from the definition of Material Adverse Effect only to the extent that the Group Companies are not disproportionately affected by comparison to other companies with the same or similar level of valuation operating in the industries in which the Group Companies operate, and (ii) effects due to or resulting from the foregoing clause (d) shall be excluded from the definition of Material Adverse Effect only to the extent that the Group Companies are not disproportionately affected by comparison to other companies whose principal business is the same as or similar to that of the Group.
Matrix means Matrix Partners China VI Hong Kong Limited.
Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries means the Group Companies whose equity interests are not one-hundred percent (100%) held or controlled (whether directly or indirectly) by the Company, including without limitation the HK Subsidiary II, the WFOE II, Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai Zhong Ou, and a Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary means any of them.
Offshore Group Companies means the Company, the BVI Subsidiary I, the HK Subsidiary I, the Cayman Subsidiary, the BVI Subsidiary II and the HK Subsidiary II collectively, and Offshore Group Company means any of the foregoing.
Ordinary Shares shall mean, the Companys ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share.
Permit means any consent, approval, authorization, waiver, permit, grant, franchise, concession, agreement, license, exemption or order of, registration, certificate, declaration or filing with, or report or notice to, any Person, including any Governmental Authority.
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Person means, any individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, proprietorship, association, limited liability company, firm, trust, estate or other enterprise or entity.
PRC means the Peoples Republic of China, but solely for the purposes of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents, excluding Hong Kong, the Macau Special Administrative Region and the islands of Taiwan.
PRC GAAP means the PRC generally accepted accounting principles.
Preferred Shares means the Series A Preferred Shares, the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series C Preferred Shares, the Series D Preferred Shares, the Series E Preferred Shares and the Series E2 Preferred Shares collectively.
Prior Financing Documents means collectively:
(i) the Series A Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of November 3, 2017 by and among SIG China Investments Master Fund IV, LLLP (SIG), the Company and other parties thereto (the Series A SPA);
(iii) the Series B Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of September 10, 2018 by and among the Company, Ximalaya (Hong Kong) Limited, Potato Capital Holding Limited, Bronze Shield Limited and other parties thereto;
(iv) the Series C Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of September 10, 2018 by and among the Company, YF Elite Alliance Limited and other parties thereto;
(v) the Series D Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of December 31, 2019 by and among the Company, SIG, Jump Shot Holdings Limited and other parties thereto;
(vi) the Series E Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of January 9, 2021 by and among the Company, Image Frame Investment (HK) Limited and other parties thereto; and
(vii) the other agreements and documents contemplated by or required for implementing the transactions contemplated by any of the foregoing (other than those agreements or documents without any outstanding rights and obligations).
Public Official means any executive, official, or employee of a Governmental Authority, political party or member of a political party, political candidate; executive, employee or officer of a public international organization; or director, officer or employee or agent of a wholly owned or partially state-owned or controlled enterprise, including a PRC state-owned or controlled enterprise.
Qualified Public Offering has the meaning set forth in the Shareholders Agreement.
Registered Intellectual Property means all Intellectual Property solely owned by any Group Company, wherever located, that is the subject of an application, certificate, filing, registration or other document issued by, filed with or recorded by any Governmental Authority.
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Related Party means, with respect to any Group Company:
(i) any holder of any Equity Securities of any Group Company;
(ii) any director, officer, supervisory board member or key employee of any Group Company;
(iii) any Affiliate of any of the foregoing persons specified in (i) or (ii);
(iv) any Person in which any of the foregoing persons specified in (i) or (ii) has any interest, other than a passive shareholding of less than 10%;
(v) any other Affiliate of any Group Company; or
(vi) any Person in which Founder Lu has any interest other than any Equity Securities in any other Group Company or passive shareholding of less than 5%.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be deemed as a Related Party to any Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary and any Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary shall not be deemed as a Related Party to the Company, and one Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary shall not be deemed as a Related Party to another Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary.
Restated Articles means the Seventh Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company to be adopted on or prior to the Closing, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A.
SAFE means the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the PRC and its local counterparts.
Sanctioned Person means any Person that is the subject or target of sanctions or restrictions under the Trade Control Laws, including (i) a national or resident of any U.S. embargoed or restricted country or other Sanctioned Country, (ii) included on, or affiliated with any Person on, the United States Commerce Departments Denied Parties List, Entities and Unverified Lists; the U.S. Department of Treasurys Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers or Specially Designated Terrorists, or the Annex to Executive Order No. 13224; the Department of States Debarred List; UN Sanctions, or (iii) a Person with whom business transactions, including exports and re-exports, are restricted by a U.S. Governmental Authority, including, in each clause above, any updates or revisions to the foregoing and any newly published rule.
Sanctioned Country means any country or region that is, or has been in the last five years, the subject or target of a comprehensive embargo under Trade Control Laws (including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and the Crimea region of Ukraine).
Securities Act means the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended and interpreted from time to time.
Shareholders Agreement means the Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement to be entered into by and among the parties hereto and certain other parties thereto on or prior to the Closing and effective as of the Closing, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B.
Share Restriction Agreements means (i) the Founder Lu Share Restriction Agreement to be entered into by and among the Company, Founder Lu and all other parties thereto on or prior to the Closing, and (ii) the Share Restriction Agreement executed by and among the Company, Ding Jie and all other parties thereto on January 15, 2020.
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Tax means any national, provincial, municipal, or local taxes, charges, fees, levies, or other assessments, including all net income (including enterprise income tax and individual income withholding tax), turnover (including value-added tax, business tax, and consumption tax), resource (including urban and township land use tax), special purpose (including land value-added tax, urban maintenance and construction tax, and additional education tax), property (including urban real estate tax and land use taxes), documentation (including stamp duty and deed tax), filing, recording, social insurance (including pension, medical, unemployment, housing, and other social insurance withholding), tariffs (including import duty and import value-added tax), and estimated and provisional taxes of any kind whatsoever, and all interest, penalties (administrative, civil or criminal), or additional amounts imposed by any Governmental Authority in connection with any of the foregoing tax items.
Tax Return means any return, report or statement showing taxes, used to pay taxes, or required to be filed with respect to any tax (including any elections, declarations, schedules or attachments thereto, and any amendment thereof), including any information return, claim for refund, amended return or declaration of estimated or provisional tax.
Trade Control Laws means all U.S. and non-U.S. Laws relating to (i) economic or trade sanctions (including Laws administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasury OFAC or the U.S. Department of State), (ii) export, re-export, transfer, and import controls (including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations, and the Laws administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection) and (iii) the anti-boycott requirements administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Treasurys Internal Revenue Service.
Warrantors means collectively the Group Companies other than the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries and the Founder Parties, and each a Warrantor.
Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries means the subsidiaries of the Company other than the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries, and a Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary means any of them.
Yunxuetang Cooperative Agreements means:
(i) the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement (独家技术咨询服务协议) by and between the WFOE and Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated October 9, 2017;
(ii) the Exclusive Option Agreement (独家购股选择权协议) by and among the WFOE, Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the equity holders of Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated September 5, 2018;
(iii) the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (股权质押协议) by and among the WFOE, Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the equity holders of Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated September 5, 2018;
(iv) the Power of Attorney Agreement (股东权利委托协议) by and among the WFOE, Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the shareholders of Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated September 5, 2018;
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(v) the Spousal Consents (配偶承诺函) dated September 5, 2018 by each of Chen Yong (陈勇, spouse of Ding Jie (丁捷)), Huang Ling (黄玲, spouse of 吴彬)), Ren Qiaohong (任巧红, spouse of 陈红波) and Liu Wenshan (刘文珊, spouse of 许乃汉); and the Spousal Consent (配偶承诺函) dated September 10, 2018 by Liu Jie (刘洁, spouse of 沈锦华); and
(vi) the Confirmation Letters (确认函) dated September 10, 2018 by each of Founder Lu and Gao Qi (高琪), and the Confirmation Letter (确认函) by Li Xue (李雪) dated August 5, 2018.
Zhong Ou Acquisition Agreements means:
(i) the master agreement dated as of June 8, 2020 by and among the Company, CW MBA Digital Limited, Chengwei Capital HK Limited, Cayman Subsidiary, BVI Subsidiary II and Zhou Xuelin (周雪林);
(ii) the share purchase agreement dated as of June 24, 2020 by and among Chengwei Capital HK Limited, the Company and the BVI Subsidiary II;
(iii) the share purchase agreement dated as of June 24, 2020 by and among CW MBA Digital Limited, the Company and the Cayman Subsidiary;
(iv) the share transfer agreement dated as of June 24, 2020 by and among Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Zhou Xuelin (周雪林), Ma Ying (马瑛) and Shanghai Fenghe;
(v) the share transfer agreement dated as of June 24, 2020 by and among Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Zhou Xuelin (周雪林), Ma Ying (马瑛) and Shanghai Zhong Ou; and
(iv) the other agreements contemplated by or entered into in connection with the foregoing agreements.
Zhong Ou Cooperative Agreements means:
(i) the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement (独家技术与咨询服务协议) by and between the WFOE II and Shanghai Zhong Ou dated June 24, 2020;
(ii) the Exclusive Option Agreement (独家购买权协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Zhong Ou and the equity holders of Shanghai Zhong Ou dated June 24, 2020;
(iii) the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (股权质押协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Zhong Ou and the equity holders of Shanghai Zhong Ou dated June 24, 2020; and
(iv) the Shareholders Voting Rights Proxy Agreement (股东表决权委托协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Zhong Ou and the equity holders of Shanghai Zhong Ou dated June 24, 2020.
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1.2 | Other Defined Terms. The following terms shall have the meanings defined for such terms in the sections set forth below: |
Term |
Section | |
Affiliates Competition | 9.1(c)(v) | |
Affiliation Relationship | 8.9(a) | |
Agreement | Preamble | |
Ancillary Agreements | 4.4(a) | |
Beijing Guoshi | Preamble | |
Beijing Yunxuetang | Preamble | |
Business | Recitals | |
BVI Subsidiary I | Preamble | |
BVI Subsidiary II | Preamble | |
Cayman Subsidiary | Preamble | |
CFC | 4.18(h) | |
Claim Notice | 9.1(b) | |
Closing | 3.1 | |
Closing Date | 3.1 | |
Code | 4.18(h) | |
Company | Exhibit | |
Company | Preamble | |
Company Intellectual Property | 4.9(a) | |
Constitutional Documents | 4.4(a) | |
Conversion Shares | 2.1 | |
Cooperative Agreements | Recitals | |
directly or indirectly | 9.10 | |
Disclosure Schedule | 4 | |
Domestic Companies | Recitals | |
Domestic Company | Recitals | |
Domestic Residents | 4.12(b) | |
Existing ESOP Shares | 4.2(c) | |
External Representatives | 4.19 | |
Founder Lu | Preamble | |
Founder Lu Holdco | Preamble | |
Founder Lu Share Restriction Agreement | 6.1(k) | |
Founder Parties | Preamble | |
Founder Party | Preamble | |
Group Representatives | 4.19 | |
HK Subsidiaries | Recitals | |
HK Subsidiary | Recitals | |
HK Subsidiary I | Preamble | |
HK Subsidiary II | Recitals | |
HKIAC | 9.15(b) | |
HKIAC Rules | 9.15(b) | |
Indemnifiable Loss | 9.1(a) | |
Indemnitee | 9.1(a) | |
Injunction | 6.1(a) | |
Internet Publication Permit | 8.5(a)(iv) | |
Intra-Shareholders Agreements of HK Subsidiary II | 4.2(b) | |
Investor | Preamble | |
Jiangsu Yunxuetang | Preamble | |
Key Employees | 4.23(c) | |
Lease 12 | 4.8(b) |
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Term |
Section | |
Licenses | 4.9(e) | |
Material Contract | 4.10(a) | |
Material Contracts | 4.10(a) | |
Online Broadcasting License | 8.5(a)(i) | |
PFIC | 4.18(i) | |
Proceeds | 8.1 | |
Public Software | 4.9(g) | |
Purchase Price | 2.1 | |
Purchased Shares | 2.1 | |
Relevant Jurisdiction | 8.9(e) | |
Restriction Period | 8.9(a) | |
SaaS | Recitals | |
School Permit | 8.5(a)(v) | |
Series E2 Preferred Shares | Recitals | |
Shanghai Fenghe | Recitals | |
Shanghai Zhong Ou | Recitals | |
Subsidiary Agreements | 4.2(b) | |
Suzhou Xuancai | Preamble | |
Suzhou Yunzheng | 8.9(a) | |
Termination Date | 9.17 | |
Transaction Documents | 4.4(a) | |
Transferred Shares | Recitals | |
WFOE | Recitals | |
WFOE I | Preamble | |
WFOE II | Recitals | |
WFOEs | Recitals | |
XWLJ | Preamble | |
Zhong Ou Acquisition | 4.31 |
2. | AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE AND SELL SHARES. |
2.1 | Agreement to Purchase and Sell Shares. Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, at the Closing, the Company shall issue and sell to each Investor, and each Investor shall purchase from the Company, that number of Series E2 Preferred Shares, free and clear of all Liens (except as set forth in any other Transaction Documents) (the Purchased Shares for such Investor) as set forth opposite such Investors name on Schedule I-B under the heading Number of Purchased Shares, for the aggregate purchase price as set forth opposite such Investors name on Schedule I-B under the heading Aggregate Purchase Price (the Purchase Price for such Investor). The Series E2 Preferred Shares shall have the rights, privileges and restrictions as set forth in the Restated Articles attached hereto as Exhibit A. The Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of the Series E2 Preferred Shares pursuant to the Restated Articles will be hereinafter referred to as the Conversion Shares. |
2.2 | Post-Closing Capitalization Structure. Immediately after the issuance and sale of the Purchased Shares pursuant to the terms hereof and the sale of the Founder Lu Transferred Shares pursuant to the Founder Lu Share Transfer Agreement, the post-closing capitalization table of the Company shall be as set out in Schedule III hereto. |
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3. | CLOSINGS; DELIVERIES. |
3.1 | Closing. The closing of the purchase and sale of the Purchased Shares of each Investor (the Closing) shall be conducted by remote exchange of documents or electronic documents within ten (10) Business Days after satisfaction or waiver of all of the conditions to the Closing as set forth in Section 6 (except for those conditions which by their nature may not be satisfied until the Closing, but subject to the satisfaction or waiver thereof at the Closing), or at such other time as the Company and such Investor may mutually agree upon in writing (the date of the Closing, the Closing Date). |
3.2 | Deliverables. |
(a) | Deliverables by the Company. At the Closing, the Company shall deliver to each Investor: |
(i) | a copy of the updated register of members of the Company, certified by the registered office provider of the Company as true and complete as of the Closing Date, reflecting the issuance to such Investor of the Purchased Shares and Matrix as the holder of the Founder Lu Transferred Shares; |
(ii) | a copy of the duly executed share certificates issued in the name of such Investor dated as of the Closing Date representing such Investors ownership of the Purchased Shares, with the originals to be delivered to such Investor within five (5) Business Days following the Closing; and |
(iii) | with respect to Matrix, in addition to the share certificate provided in subsection (ii) above, a copy of the duly executed share certificate issued in the name of Matrix dated as of the Closing Date representing Matrixs ownership of the Founder Lu Transferred Shares, with the originals to be delivered to Matrix within five (5) Business Days following the Closing. |
(b) | Payment of Purchase Price. Against compliance by the Company of its obligations under Section 3.2(a), each Investor shall pay the Purchase Price to the Company at the Closing in cash by wire transfer of United States dollars in immediately available funds to a designated account of the Company, provided that the Company shall deliver a wire transfer instruction in form and substance attached hereto as Exhibit D to such Investor at least ten (10) Business Days prior to the Closing. |
4. | REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE WARRANTORS. |
The Warrantors hereby jointly and severally represent and warrant to the Investors, subject to full and fair disclosures with respect to certain matters as set forth in the disclosure schedule attached to this Agreement as Schedule IV (the Disclosure Schedule) (which Disclosure Schedule shall constitute representations and warranties to the Investors), that each of the statements set forth in this Section 4 is true and correct, and not, in material respects, misleading, as of the date hereof, and shall be true and correct, and not, in material respects, misleading as of the Closing (except for those representations and warranties that address matters only as of a particular date, which shall be true and correct, and not, in material respects, misleading only, as of such particular date).
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Where any representation or warranty of the Warrantors is expressed to be given to the best knowledge of the Warrantors or similar expressions, such representation or warranty shall be deemed to have been made or given based on the actual knowledge of Founder Lu, the directors of the Group Companies appointed by Founder Lu, or the officers of the Group Companies, in each case, after making such due inquiry and exercising such due diligence as a prudent business person would have made or exercised in the management of his or her business affairs, including due inquiry of all employees and professional advisors (including attorneys, accountants and auditors) of each Group Company who could reasonably be expected to have knowledge of the matters in question.
4.1 | Organization, Standing and Qualification; Solvency. |
(a) | Each of the Group Companies and the Founder Lu Holdco is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing (or equivalent status in the relevant jurisdiction) under, and by virtue of, the Laws of the place of its incorporation or establishment and has all the requisite power and authority to own its properties and assets and to carry on its business as now conducted and as currently proposed to be conducted, and to perform each of its obligations hereunder and under each other Transaction Document to which it is a party. Each Group Company is qualified to do business and is in good standing (or equivalent status in the relevant jurisdiction) in each jurisdiction in which it conducts its business. Each of the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies has a valid business license issued by the competent Governmental Authority, and has, since its establishment, carried on its business in compliance with the business scope set forth in its business license. |
(b) | No Group Company is insolvent or is in liquidation under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization. No order has been made or petition presented or resolution passed for the winding up, liquidation or dissolution of any Group Company and no distress, execution or other process has been levied on any Group Companys assets. No creditor of any Group Company has enforced any security over any material assets of any Group Company. |
4.2 | Capitalization. |
(a) | As of the date hereof, the Company is authorized to issue a total of 500,000,000 shares, par value 0.0001 per share, which consists of the following: |
(i) | Ordinary Shares. The Company is authorized to issue a total of 388,795,761 Ordinary Shares, of which 45,296,595 Ordinary Shares are issued and outstanding. |
(ii) | Series A Preferred Shares. The Company is authorized to issue a total of 15,040,570 Series A Preferred Shares, all of which are issued and outstanding. |
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(iii) | Series B Preferred Shares. The Company is authorized to issue a total of 7,085,330 Series B Preferred Shares, all of which are issued and outstanding. |
(iv) | Series C Preferred Shares. The Company is authorized to issue a total of 23,786,590 Series C Preferred Shares, all of which are issued and outstanding. |
(v) | Series D Preferred Shares. The Company is authorized to issue a total of 37,152,161 Series D Preferred Shares, all of which are issued and outstanding. |
(vi) | Series E Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 28,139,588 Series E Preferred Shares, 16,883,753 of which shall be issued and outstanding. |
Immediately upon the Closing, the Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 500,000,000 shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, which shall consist of the following:
(i) | Ordinary Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 390,518,031 Ordinary Shares, of which 45,296,595 Ordinary Shares shall be issued and outstanding. |
(ii) | Series A Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 15,040,570 Series A Preferred Shares, all of which shall be issued and outstanding. |
(iii) | Series B Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 7,085,330 Series B Preferred Shares, all of which shall be issued and outstanding. |
(iv) | Series C Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 23,786,590 Series C Preferred Shares, all of which shall be issued and outstanding. |
(v) | Series D Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 37,152,161 Series D Preferred Shares, all of which shall be issued and outstanding. |
(vi) | Series E Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 16,883,753 Series E Preferred Shares, all of which shall be issued and outstanding. |
(vii) | Series E2 Preferred Shares. The Company shall be authorized to issue a total of 9,533,565 Series E2 Preferred Shares, all of which shall be issued and outstanding. |
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(b) | Options, Warrants, Reserved Shares. As of the Closing, the Company will have reserved (i) a sufficient number of Series E2 Preferred Shares for the issuance of the Purchased Shares, and (ii) a sufficient number of Ordinary Shares for issuance upon the conversion of all Purchased Shares. Except for the preemptive rights, right of first refusal, right of co-sale and other rights attaching to the Preferred Shares as provided in the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles, there are no (x) options, warrants, conversion privileges, agreements or rights of any kind with respect to the issuance, sale or purchase of the shares or any other securities of any Group Company (other than those shares or other securities in the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries not held or controlled by the Company, whether directly or indirectly), or (y) securities or rights convertible into or exchangeable for equity or other securities of any Group Company. Except for (A) conversion privileges attaching to the Preferred Shares and (B) the Transaction Documents, there are no options, warrants, conversion privileges or other rights, or agreements with respect to the issuance thereof, presently outstanding to purchase any Equity Security in any Group Company (other than those shares or other securities in the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries not held or controlled by the Company, whether directly or indirectly) and no unissued share capital of any Group Company is under option or agreed conditionally or unconditionally to be put under option. Except for those set forth under the Shareholders Agreement, the Restated Articles, the Cooperative Agreements, that certain Investors Rights Agreement, Voting Agreement and Share Restrictions Agreement (the Intra-Shareholders Agreements of HK Subsidiary II) executed in April 2007 by the HK Subsidiary II and certain of its former shareholders setting forth the rights and obligations of relevant shareholders with respect to the HK Subsidiary II or the constitutional documents of the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries (together with the Intra-Shareholders Agreements of HK Subsidiary II, the Subsidiary Agreements), no shares (including the Purchased Shares and the Conversion Shares) in the share capital of any Group Company, or shares issuable upon exercise or exchange of any outstanding options, warrant or other securities of any Group Company, or any other rights or securities issued or issuable by any Group Company (other than those shares or other securities in the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries not held or controlled by the Company, whether directly or indirectly), are subject to any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights or resections of any kind with respect to purchase, sale or issuance of such shares or securities (whether in favor of any Group Company or any other Person). |
(c) | ESOP. 2,956,830 Ordinary Shares have been reserved for issuance to employees and consultants of the Group Companies pursuant to the shareholders resolutions and the sole director resolutions of the Company each dated November 3, 2017 (the Existing ESOP Shares). No option, warrant or award for any such Ordinary Shares have been granted to any Person. No ESOP for the benefit of the employees, officers, directors, advisors, contractors and consultants of the Group Companies has been adopted by any Group Company (for the avoidance of about, reservation of the Existing ESOP Shares does not constitute adoption of an ESOP by the Company). |
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(d) | Outstanding Security Holders. A complete and accurate list of all shareholders of the Company immediately prior to and after the Closing Date, indicating the type and number of shares held by each such shareholder is set forth in the capitalization tables in Schedule III. The information set out in Schedule III is true and complete in all respects and there is no information the omission of which might make such information misleading or inaccurate in any respect. Immediately prior to and after the Closing Date, other than such shareholders, there shall be no other holder of any Equity Securities in the Company. |
(e) | Vesting of Shares. Except as described in this Agreement, the Shareholders Agreement and the Share Restriction Agreements (as defined below), no share plan or share purchase, share option or other agreement or understanding between the Company and any holder of any securities or rights exercisable or convertible for securities provides for acceleration or other changes in the vesting provisions or other terms of such agreement or understanding as the result of the occurrence of any event. The proposed transactions under this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents do not and will not result in any acceleration or changes in any such vesting provisions or terms. |
(f) | Issuance and Status. All presently outstanding shares and other Equity Securities of the Company and each other Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary were duly and validly issued (or subscribed for), and all Equity Securities held or controlled (whether directly or indirectly) by the Company in the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries were subscribed for, in compliance with all applicable Laws, preemptive rights of any Person, and applicable contracts, and are fully paid or credited as fully paid (which, in the case of each PRC entity, shall be fully paid in accordance with its articles of association) and non-assessable, and are free and clear of all Liens (except for any restrictions on transfer under the Cooperative Agreements, the Existing Shareholders Agreement, the Existing Articles, applicable Laws or the Subsidiary Agreements). All share capital or registered capital, as the case may be, of each Group Company have been duly and validly issued and fully paid (or subscribed for) in accordance with its articles of association, is non-assessable, and is and as of the Closing shall be free of any and all Liens (except for any restrictions on transfer under the Cooperative Agreements, the Existing Shareholders Agreement, the Existing Articles, applicable Laws or the Subsidiary Agreements). No share capital or registered capital of the Company or any Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary was issued or subscribed for, and no Equity Securities held or controlled (whether directly or indirectly) by the Company in the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries were subscribed for, in violation of the preemptive rights of any Person, terms of any contract (whether written or oral), or any Laws, by which each such Group Company at the time of issuance or subscription was bound. Except as expressly and specifically contemplated under the Transaction Documents, there are no (i) resolutions pending to increase the share capital or registered capital of any Group Company or to cause the liquidation, winding up or dissolution of any Group Company, (ii) dividends which have accrued or been declared but are unpaid by any Group Company, (iii) obligations, contingent or otherwise, of any Group Company to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any Equity Securities held by any Person, except as provided in the Subsidiary Agreements, or (iv) outstanding or authorized equity appreciation, phantom equity, equity plans or similar rights with respect to any Group Company. Except for those set forth in the Cooperative Agreements, the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles, there is no voting, nominee, agency or entrustment or other similar arrangement with respect to the shares or other Equity Securities of any Group Company. |
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4.3 | Subsidiaries; Group Structure. |
(a) | As of the Closing, except for the Offshore Group Companies (other than the Company), the WFOEs, the Domestic Companies and as set out under Section 4.3(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, the Company does not presently own or control, directly or indirectly, any Equity Securities or other interest in any other corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture, association, or other entity. Except as described in Section 4.3(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, none of the Domestic Companies has any subsidiary or own or control, directly or indirectly, any interest in any other corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture, association or other entity, nor maintains any branches or subsidiaries. As of the Closing, the information relating to each Group Company as set out in Schedule II is true and accurate in all respects and there is no information the omission of which might make such information misleading or inaccurate in any respect. There is no agreement among the Founder Parties, the Group Companies and/or any other Person with respect to the ownership or control of any of the Group Companies, except as set forth in the Transaction Documents. No Group Company is obligated to make any investment or capital contribution in or on behalf of any other Person. |
(b) | Except as described in Section 4.3(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, as of the Closing, each Domestic Company shall possess all requisite Permits that are material for the conduct of the Business as currently conducted or the business as set forth in the business scope of such entity and for the ownership and operation of its assets and property. |
4.4 | Due Authorization. |
(a) | All corporate actions on the part of the Group Companies which are parties hereto and, as applicable, their respective officers, directors and shareholders necessary for (i) the authorization of the Restated Articles, the certificate of incorporation or other equivalent corporate charter documents of any of the Group Companies (collectively with the Restated Articles, the Constitutional Documents), (ii) the authorization, execution and delivery by such Group Companies of, the performance of the obligations of such Group Companies under, and the consummation by such Group Companies of the transactions contemplated by (x) this Agreement, (y) the Shareholders Agreement, the Share Restriction Agreements, and the various agreements attached to this Agreement (collectively, the Ancillary Agreements), and (z) the Cooperative Agreements (together with this Agreement, the Restated Articles and the Ancillary Agreements, the Transaction Documents), and (iii) the authorization, issuance, reservation for issuance and delivery of all of the Purchased Shares under this Agreement and of the Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of the Purchased Shares, have been taken or will be taken prior to the Closing. Each of the Transaction Documents and the Constitutional Documents to which such Group Company is a party or is subject to is a valid and binding obligation of each such Group Company enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, subject, as to the enforcement of remedies, to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and similar Laws affecting creditors rights generally and to general equitable principles. |
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(b) | As to each Founder Party, (i) such party has all requisite power, authority and capacity to, and if applicable, has taken or will prior to the Closing take all corporate actions to enter into the Transaction Documents, perform its obligations under the Transaction Documents and consummate the transactions contemplated under the Transaction Documents, in each case, to which it is a party, and (ii) each of the Transaction Documents to which it is a party, when executed and delivered by it, will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of it and be enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, subject, as to enforcement of remedies, to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and similar Laws affecting creditors rights generally and to general equitable principles. |
4.5 | Consents. No consent, clearance, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any Governmental Authority having jurisdiction over the Group Companies and Founder Parties is required and no other action or thing is required to be taken, fulfilled or done for the issue or offer of the Purchased Shares, the execution and delivery by the Group Companies and Founder Parties of this Agreement, or the implementation and performance by the Group Companies and Founder Parties of any of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement as the case may be except for those which have been, or will, as expressly contemplated by this Agreement, on or prior to the Closing Date be, obtained and are, or will on the Closing Date be, in full force and effect. |
4.6 | Valid Issuance of Purchased Shares. |
(a) | The Purchased Shares and the Conversion Shares, when allotted and issued in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the Restated Articles, will be duly and validly allotted and issued, fully paid and non-assessable, freely transferable, and free and clear of any Liens (except for those set forth under the Shareholders Agreement or the Restated Articles) and will not be subject to calls for further funds so long as the Purchase Price has been paid in full in accordance with this Agreement. |
(b) | All currently outstanding shares of the Company and each other Group Company (other than outstanding shares of the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries not held or controlled by the Company, whether directly or indirectly) are duly and validly issued or subscribed for, fully paid and non-assessable, and have been issued or subscribed for in full compliance with the requirements of all applicable securities Laws including, to the extent applicable, the registration and prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act, or in compliance with applicable exemptions therefrom, and all other provisions of applicable securities Laws, including, without limitation, anti-fraud provisions. |
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4.7 | Liabilities. |
(a) | Except as disclosed in Section 4.7(a) of the Disclosure Schedule or under the Financial Statements, no Group Company has any indebtedness (whether for borrowed money or otherwise, other than the indebtedness incurred in the ordinary course of business of the Group Companies) that it has directly or indirectly created, incurred, assumed, or guaranteed, or with respect to which the Group Company has otherwise become directly or indirectly liable. |
(b) | Neither the Founder nor the Founder Holdco has any indebtedness (whether for borrowed money or otherwise) that he/it has directly or indirectly created, incurred, assumed, or guaranteed, or with respect to which Founder Lu or Founder Lu Holdco has otherwise become directly or indirectly liable that would adversely affect the Qualified Public Offering of the Group Companies. Except as disclosed in Section 4.7(b) of the Disclosure Schedule, there are no outstanding loans, amounts payable or any other Liabilities between any Group Company and Founder Lu or any of his Affiliates. |
4.8 | Title to Properties and Assets. |
(a) | Each Group Company has valid title to, or a valid leasehold interest in or right to the properties and assets currently held and used by it, and has full right to use the offices currently used by it, in each case subject to no Liens except for encumbrances and Liens that arise in the ordinary course of business and do not materially impair the Group Companys ownership or use of such property or assets. The foregoing properties, assets and rights collectively represent in all material respects all properties, assets and rights necessary for the conduct of the business of the Group Companies in the manner conducted during the periods covered by the Financial Statements and as presently conducted. Except for leased items, no Person other than a Group Company owns any interest in any such assets. All machinery, vehicles, equipment and other tangible personal property owned or leased by a Group Company are (i) in good condition and repair in all material respects (reasonable wear and tear excepted) and (ii) not obsolete or in need in any material respect of renewal or replacement, except for renewal or replacement in the ordinary course of business. |
(b) | No Group Company owns or has legal or equitable title or other right or interest in any real property other than as held pursuant to Leases. Section 4.8 of the Disclosure Schedule sets forth each leasehold interest pursuant to which any Group Company holds any real property (a Lease), indicating the parties to such Lease, the address of the property demised under the Lease, the rent payable under the Lease and the term of the Lease. The particulars of the Leases as set forth in Section 4.8 of the Disclosure Schedule are true and complete. Each Lease constitutes the entire agreement with respect to the property demised thereunder. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, the lessor under each Lease is qualified and has obtained all Permits (as defined below) necessary to enter into such Lease, including without limitation any Permits required from the owner of the property demised pursuant to the Lease if the lessor is not such owner. There is no claim asserted or, to the best Knowledge of the Warrantors, threatened by any Person regarding the lessors ownership of the property demised pursuant to each Lease. Except as disclosed in Section 4.8 of the Disclosure Schedule, each Lease is in compliance in all material respects with applicable Laws, including with respect to the ownership and operation of property and conduct of business as now conducted by the applicable Group Company which is a party to such Lease, and each party |
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to each Lease is in full compliance with the terms of the relevant Leases. No Lease contains any restriction on the business currently operated by relevant Group Company on such property or any right for the lessor or landlord to unilaterally terminate such Lease prior to expiration of its term (unless the lessee defaults on any rental payment or breaches any lease term). Each Group Company which is a party to a Lease has accepted possession of the property demised pursuant to the Lease and is in actual possession thereof and has not sublet, assigned or hypothecated its leasehold interest. No Group Company uses any real property in the conduct of its business except insofar as it has secured a Lease with respect thereto. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no zoning or other applicable Law currently in effect that may prevent or limit any Group Company from conducting its operations on the leased properties as they are currently conducted or contemplated to be conducted. The leasehold interests under the Leases held by each Group Company are adequate for the conduct of the business of such Group Company as currently conducted. There exists no pending or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, threatened condemnation, confiscation, eminent domain proceeding, dispute, claim, demand or similar proceeding with respect to, or which could materially and adversely affect, the continued use and enjoyment of such leasehold interests. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there are no circumstances that would entitle any Governmental Authority or other Person to take possession or otherwise restrict use, possession or occupation of any property subject to any Leases.
(c) | To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, the use, distribution, licensing, sale, or disposal of any asset or property of any Group Company does not infringe, misappropriate or violate any rights of any other party. |
(d) | No action, suit, investigation or government proceeding (i) challenging the validity, enforceability, or ownership of any asset or property of any Group Company, or (ii) alleging that the use, distribution, licensing, sale, or disposal of any asset or property of any Group Company infringes, misappropriates or violates any right of any third party, is pending or is threatened by any Person against any of the Group Companies. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no unauthorized use, infringement or misappropriation of any of the assets or properties of the Group Companies by any third party, employee or former employee. |
4.9 | Intellectual Property. |
(a) | Company Intellectual Property. Each Group Company owns or has the rights to use or otherwise has sufficient rights (including but not limited to the rights of development, maintenance, licensing and sale) to, all Intellectual Property that is material for the conduct of the Business (Company Intellectual Property) without infringement of the rights of any other Person. Section 4.9(a) of the Disclosure Schedule sets forth a complete and accurate list of all Company Intellectual Property (including all Registered Intellectual Property) for each Group Company, including for each the relevant name or description, registration/certification or application number, and filing, registration or issue date. |
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(b) | Intellectual Property Ownership. Except as disclosed in Section 4.9(b) of the Disclosure Schedule, all Registered Intellectual Property is owned by and registered or applied for solely in the name of a Group Company, is valid and subsisting and has not been abandoned, and all necessary registration, maintenance and renewal fees with respect thereto and currently due have been satisfied. No Group Company or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, any of its employees, officers or directors has taken any actions or failed to take any actions that would cause any material Registered Intellectual Property owned by the Group Companies to be invalid, unenforceable or not subsisting. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, no funding or facilities of a Governmental Authority or a university, college, other educational institution or research center was used in the development of any material Company Owned Intellectual Property. No Company Owned Intellectual Property is the subject of any Lien, encumbrance, license or other contract (whether written or oral) to which any Group Company is a party granting rights therein to any other Person (other than the non-exclusive license occurred in the ordinary course of business of the Group Companies). No Group Company is or has been a member or promoter of, or contributor to, any industry standards bodies, patent pooling organizations or similar organizations that could require or obligate a Group Company to grant or offer to any Person any license or right to any Company Owned Intellectual Property. No Registered Intellectual Property is subject to any proceeding or outstanding governmental order or settlement agreement or stipulation that restricts in any manner the use, transfer or licensing thereof, or any Group Companys products or services, by any Group Company or may affect the validity, use or enforceability of such Registered Intellectual Property. Founder Lu has assigned and transferred to a Group Company any and all of his Intellectual Property related to the business conducted by the Group Companies. No Group Company has (i) transferred or assigned any material Company Owned Intellectual Property; (ii) authorized the joint ownership of, any material Company Owned Intellectual Property; or (iii) permitted the rights of any Group Company in any Registered Intellectual Property to lapse or enter the public domain. |
(c) | Infringement, Misappropriation and Claims. No Group Company has violated, infringed or misappropriated any Intellectual Property of any other Person, provided that the forgoing representations and warranties under this Section 4.9(c) shall not be applied to any violation, infringement or misappropriation of any Intellectual Property of any other Person caused by or arising from any products produced by any third party and distributed or sold by any Group Company, provided that such Group Company shall have duly inquired such third party with respect to the ownership of/licensed rights to use the Intellectual Property applied in the products, nor has any Group Company received any written notice alleging any of the foregoing. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, no Person has violated, infringed or misappropriated any Company Owned Intellectual Property of any Group Company, and no Group Company has given any written notice to any other Person alleging any of the foregoing. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, no Person has challenged the ownership of the Company Owned Intellectual Property or the use of other Company Intellectual Property by any Group Company. No Group Company has agreed to indemnify any Person for any infringement, violation or misappropriation of any Intellectual Property by such Person. |
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(d) | Assignments and Prior Intellectual Property. All material inventions and material know-how conceived by employees, consultants and independent contractors of a Group Company related to the business of such Group Company (other than the Course Materials developed jointly with or independently by any third parties) are currently owned exclusively by a Group Company. All employees, consultants and independent contractors of a Group Company who are or were involved in the creation of any Intellectual Property for such Group Company have executed an assignment of inventions agreement that vests in a Group Company exclusive ownership of all right, title and interest in and to such Intellectual Property, to the extent not already provided by Law. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, it will not be necessary to utilize any Intellectual Property of any such Persons, except for those that are exclusively owned by a Group Company, and none of such Intellectual Property has been utilized by any Group Company. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, none of the employees, consultants or independent contractors currently or previously employed or otherwise engaged by any Group Company, (i) is in violation of any current or prior confidentiality, non-competition or non-solicitation obligations to such Group Company or to any other Persons, including former employers or (ii) is obligated under any contract, or subject to any governmental order, that would interfere with the use of his or her best efforts to promote the interests of the Group Companies or that would conflict with the business of such Group Company as presently conducted. |
(e) | Licenses. Section 4.9(e) of the Disclosure Schedule contains a complete and accurate list of (i) all licenses, sublicenses, and other contracts to which any Group Company is a party and pursuant to which any third party is authorized to use, exercise or receive any benefit from any Company Owned Intellectual Property, and (ii) all licenses, sublicenses and other Contracts to which any Group Company is a party and pursuant to which such Group Company is authorized to use, exercise, or receive any benefit from any Intellectual Property of another Person, in each case except for (1) agreements involving off-the-shelf commercially available software, (2) non-exclusive licenses to customers of the business conducted by the Group Companies in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, and (3) license of copyright of the contents and information contained in the Course Materials ((i) and (ii) collectively (for the avoidance of doubt, including those referred to in above (1), (2) and (3)), the Licenses). The Group Companies have paid all license and royalty fees (if any) required to be paid under the Licenses. |
(f) | Protection of Intellectual Property. Each Group Company has taken reasonable and appropriate steps to register, protect, maintain and safeguard the Company Owned Intellectual Property and made all appropriate filings, registrations and payments of fees in connection with the foregoing. To the extent that any Company Owned Intellectual Property has been developed or created independently or jointly by an independent contractor or other third party for any Group Company, or is incorporated into any products or services of any Group Company, such Group Company has a written agreement with such independent contractor or third party and has reached mutual consent on the ownership of the relevant Intellectual Property developed or created in such work, material or invention. |
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(g) | No Public Software. No material software included in any Company Owned Intellectual Property has been or is being distributed, in whole or in part, or was used, or is being used in conjunction with any Public Software in a manner which would require that such software be disclosed or distributed in source code form or made available at no charge. For the purpose of this Agreement, Public Software means any software that contains, or is derived in any manner (in whole or in part) from, any software that is distributed as free software, open source software (e.g., Linux) or similar licensing or distribution models, including, without limitation, software licensed or distributed under any of the following licenses or distribution models, or licenses or distribution models similar to any of the following: (i) GNUs General Public License (GPL) or Lesser/Library GPL (LGPL), (ii) the Artistic License (e.g., PERL), (iii) the Mozilla Public License, (iv) the Netscape Public License, (v) the Sun Community Source License (SCSL), (vi) the Sun Industry Standards License (SISL), (vii) the BSD License, and (viii) the Apache License. |
4.10 | Material Contracts and Obligations. |
(a) | For purposes of this Section 4.10, a Material Contract means each contract to which a Group Company or any of its properties or assets is bound or subject to, that: |
(i) | involves obligations (contingent or otherwise) or payments in excess of US$100,000 individually or US$500,000 in the aggregate per annum; |
(ii) | involves Intellectual Property that is material to a Group Company (other than generally-available off-the-shelf shrink-wrap software licenses obtained by the Group Companies on non-exclusive and non-negotiated terms), including without limitation, the Licenses; |
(iii) | restricts the ability of a Group Company to compete or to conduct or engage in any business or activity or in any territory; |
(iv) | relates to the sale, issuance, grant, exercise, award, purchase, repurchase or redemption of any Equity Securities; |
(v) | involves any provisions providing exclusivity, change in control, most favored nations, rights of first refusal or first negotiation or similar rights, or grants a power of attorney, agency or similar authority; |
(vi) | is with a Related Party of any Group Company except for customary employment or retainer agreements between the Group Companies and their officers, consultants, or employees entered into in the ordinary course of business; |
(vii) | involves indebtedness for borrowed money, an extension of credit; |
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(viii) | involves the lease, license, sale, use, disposition or acquisition of a material amount of assets or of a business; |
(ix) | involves the waiver, compromise, or settlement of any material dispute, claim, litigation or arbitration; |
(x) | involves the ownership or lease of, title to, use of, or any leasehold or other interest in, any real or personal property (except for personal property leases involving payments of less than US$50,000 per annum); |
(xi) | involves the establishment, contribution to, or operation of a partnership, joint venture, or involves a sharing of profits or losses, or any investment in, loan to or acquisition or sale of the securities, equity interest or assets of any Person; |
(xii) | is with a Governmental Authority, state-owned enterprise, or sole-source supplier of any material product or service (other than utilities); |
(xiii) | is or relates to any employee benefits plan; |
(xiv) | is a Cooperative Agreement; |
(xv) | is not in the ordinary course of business, or is not consistent with a Group Companys past practice; |
(xvi) | is a Prior Financing Documents; or |
(xvii) | is otherwise material to a Group Company or is one on which a Group Company is substantially dependent. |
Certain Material Contracts are listed in Section 4.10 of the Disclosure Schedule.
(b) | No party to any such Material Contracts or obligations is in material default thereunder, which would be material in the context of the Group Companies financial positions; and there are no circumstances giving rise to such a default. |
(c) | A true, fully-executed copy of each Material Contract has been delivered to the Investors. All of the Material Contracts are valid, subsisting, in full force and effect and binding upon the Group Company to which it is a party, and the performance of such Material Contracts does not and will not violate any applicable Laws. No threat or claim of default under any such Material Contracts to which a Group Company is a party, has been made or is outstanding against it. Each Group Company has in all material respects satisfied or provided for all of its liabilities and obligations under each Material Contract to which it is a party or by which it is bound which requires performance prior to the date of this Agreement, and is not in default in any material respect under any Material Contract to which it is a party or by which it is bound. There does not exist any circumstance due to the action or inaction of any Group Company that with notice or lapse of time or both would constitute a material default of the obligations by a Group Company under a Material Contract to which it is a party or by which it is bound. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, none of the officers or directors of any Group Company has given or received from any Person any notice or communication (whether oral or written) regarding any actual, alleged, possible or potential breach of, or default under, any Material Contract. |
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(d) | None of the Group Companies has given any powers of attorney or other authority express or implied which is still outstanding or effective to any Person to enter into any contract or commitment to do anything on its behalf other than the authority given to (i) legal representatives, board members, officers or employees to enter into agreements in the normal course of their duties and (ii) authorized representatives and agents to undertake certain governmental filings. |
4.11 | Litigation, Claims and Proceedings. |
(a) | There is no Action pending or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, currently threatened against any of the Group Companies, any Group Companys activities, properties or assets or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, against any officer, director or employee of any Group Company in connection with such officers, directors or employees relationship with, or actions taken on behalf of any Group Company. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no factual or legal basis for any such Action that is likely to result, individually or in the aggregate, in any material adverse effect on the Group Companies. For the sole purpose of the preceding sentence, an Action shall be deemed as having a material adverse effect on the Group Company only when (i) the amount or value of claims involved in such Action is in excess of RMB500,000 or (ii) the potential result of such Action may or will impact the normal conduct of business of the affected Group Company. By way of example, but not by way of limitation, there are no Actions pending against any of the Group Companies or threatened against any of the Group Companies, relating to the use by any employee of any Group Company of any information, technology or techniques allegedly proprietary to any of their former employers, clients or other parties. None of the Group Companies is a party to or subject to the provisions of any order, writ, injunction, judgment or decree of any court or government agency or instrumentality and there is no Action by any Group Company currently pending or which it intends to initiate. |
(b) | None of the directors of any Group Company has been (i) to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, subject to any voluntary or involuntary petition under any applicable bankruptcy any insolvency Laws or the appointment of a manager, receiver or similar officer by a court for his or her business or property, (ii) convicted in a criminal proceeding or named as a subject of a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offenses), (iii) to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, subject to any order, judgement or decree (not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated) of any court of competent jurisdiction permanently or temporarily enjoining him or her from engaging, or otherwise imposing limits or conditions on his or her engagement, in any type of business or acting as an officer or director of a public company or (iv) to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, found by a court of competent jurisdiction in a civil action or by any relevant regulatory organization to have violated any applicable securities, commodities, or unfair trade practices Law, which such judgement or finding has not been subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated. |
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4.12 | Compliance with Laws; Permits. |
(a) | Except as disclosed in Section 4.12(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, each Group Company is, and has been, in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Laws. None of the Group Companies has conducted any activity in violation of any applicable statute, rule, regulation, order or restriction of any domestic or foreign government or any agency thereof in respect of the conduct of its business or the ownership of its properties in any material respect. No event has occurred and no circumstance exists that (with or without notice or lapse of time) (i) may constitute or result in a violation by any Group Company of, or a failure on the part of such entity to comply with, any applicable Laws in any material respect, or (ii) may give rise to any obligation on the part of any Group Company to undertake, or to bear all or any portion of the cost of, any remedial action of any nature. None of the Group Companies has received any notice from any Governmental Authority regarding any of the foregoing. No Group Company has received any written or oral notice indicating that or is otherwise aware that it is under investigation with respect to any violation of any Law. Except as disclosed in Section 4.12(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, each Group Company has duly obtained and maintained all Permits from the competent Governmental Authorities that are necessary for or material to the due and proper establishment and conduct of its business as currently conducted and as proposed to be conducted. None of the Group Companies is in default in any material aspect under any of such Permits issued or granted by the competent Governmental Authorities. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, no Governmental Authority is considering modifying, suspending, revoking or denying upon expiration the renewal of any of such Permits. No Permits issued or granted by the competent Governmental Authorities contain any materially burdensome restrictions or conditions, and each Permit is in full force and effect and will remain in full force and effect upon the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. None of the Group Companies is in default under any Permit issued or granted by the competent Governmental Authorities. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no reason to believe that any Permit which is subject to periodic renewal will not be granted or renewed. No Group Company has received any letter or other communication from any Governmental Authority threatening or providing notice of revocation of any such Permit issued to any Group Company or the need for compliance or remedial actions in respect of the activities carried out directly or indirectly by any Group Company. There are no fines or penalties asserted against the Group Companies under any applicable Law, and none of the Group Companies has received any written notice from any Governmental Authorities with respect to any violation of any applicable Law. |
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(b) | All Permits issued or granted by or filed with the Governmental Authorities and any other Persons which are required to be obtained or made by each Group Company and each Founder Party in connection with the consummation of the transactions contemplated under the Transaction Documents shall have been obtained or made prior to and be effective as of the Closing. None of the Warrantors and, to the knowledge of the Warrantors, nor any other registered shareholder or ultimate beneficial owners of the Company who are citizens and permanent residents of the PRC defined under the Circular 37 (the Domestic Residents) was, is or has been in violation of any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, order or restriction of any domestic or foreign government or any instrumentality or agency thereof (including the Circular 37) in respect of or in connection with (i) the conduct of the business by the any Group Company or the ownership of any properties or Equity Securities in Group Company, including but not limited to any approval, registration, filing or reporting requirement applicable to Founder Lu or, (ii) to the knowledge of the Warrantors, any other Domestic Residents (indirect) investment in the Company or direct or indirect holding, acquisition, transfer or disposal of any Equity Securities in any Group Company. Founder Lu is a citizen and permanent resident of the PRC and did not hold and does not hold any identification that may require the registration of each of the Domestic Companies as a foreign invested enterprise pursuant to applicable Law of the PRC in effect at and from the time of the incorporation of such Domestic Company through the Closing Date. |
4.13 | Compliance with Other Instruments and Agreements. None of the Group Companies is or has been in, nor shall the conduct of its business as currently conducted result in, violation, breach or default of any term of its Constitutional Documents, its registered business scope, or any term or provision of any Material Contracts or of any provision of any judgment, decree, order, statute, rule or regulation applicable to or binding upon such Group Company. None of the activities, agreements, commitments or rights of any Group Company is ultra vires or invalid, or unauthorized. The execution, delivery and performance of and compliance with this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby by the Group Companies have been duly authorized, and will not result in any violation, breach or default, or be in conflict with or constitute, with or without the passage of time or the giving of notice or both, either a default under any Group Companys Constitutional Documents or any Material Contracts, or a violation of any Laws, or an event which results in the creation of any Lien upon any asset of any Group Company. |
4.14 | Registration Rights. Except as provided in the Shareholders Agreement, no Warrantor has granted or agreed to grant any Person any registration rights (including piggyback registration rights) with respect to, nor is the Company obliged to list, any of the Companys shares (or shares of the WFOEs or the Domestic Companies) on any securities exchange. Except as contemplated under this Agreement, the Shareholders Agreement, the Restated Articles and the Cooperative Agreements, there are no voting or similar agreements which relate to the share capital of the Company or any equity interest of the WFOEs or the Domestic Companies. |
4.15 | Financial Advisor Fees. Except as disclosed in Section 4.15 of the Disclosure Schedule, there exists no agreement or understanding between any Group Company and any investment bank or other financial advisor under which such Group Company may owe any brokerage, placement or other fees relating to the offer or sale of the Purchased Shares. |
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4.16 | Financial Statements and Other Financial Matters. |
(a) | Except as disclosed in Section 4.16 of the Disclosure Schedule, the Financial Statements (a) have been prepared in accordance with the books and records of the applicable Group Company, (b) are true, correct and complete and present fairly in all material respects the financial condition and the results of operations and cash flows of such Group Company or Group Companies at the date or dates therein indicated and for the period or periods therein specified, and (c) have been prepared in accordance with the PRC GAAP (with respect to the WFOE and the Domestic Companies) or the IFRS or any internationally recognized accounting standards (with respect to the Offshore Group Companies or the Group Companies taken as a whole), applied on a consistent basis (solely with respect to the unaudited Financial Statements, except for the omission of notes thereto and normal year-end provision and audit adjustments). All the Financial Statements referred to under this Section 4.16 have been delivered to the Investors. Specifically, but not by way of limitation, the respective balance sheets in the Financial Statements disclose all of the Group Companies respective debts, liabilities and obligations of any nature, whether due or to become due, as of their respective dates (including, without limitation, absolute liabilities, accrued liabilities, and contingent liabilities) to the extent such debts, liabilities and obligations are required to be disclosed in accordance with PRC GAAP or the IFRS or any internationally recognized accounting standards, as applicable. The Group Companies have valid title to all assets set forth on the balance sheets in the respective Financial Statements, except for such assets as have been spent, sold or transferred in the ordinary course of business since their respective dates. Except as fairly disclosed in the Financial Statements, none of the Group Companies is a guarantor or indemnitor of any indebtedness of any other Person and each Group Company is in compliance with all of its obligations under all outstanding guarantees or contingent payment obligations (if any) in material respects. Each Group Company maintains and will continue to maintain a standard system of accounting established and administered in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles as required in the jurisdiction where it is incorporated. Each Group Company (i) maintains its books of accounts and records in the usual, regular and ordinary manner, on a basis consistent with prior practice and generally in compliance with applicable Laws and applicable generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis, (ii) does not make any fraudulent or fictitious entries in its books or records other than accounting errors occurring unintentionally in book-keeping which can be easily identified and immediately fixed or corrected, and (iii) does not use any assets of such Group Company to establish any unlawful or unrecorded fund of monies or other assets, or make any unlawful or undisclosed payment. |
(b) | Each Group Company maintains systems of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with managements general or specific authorizations, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with applicable Laws and with accounting standards applicable to and adopted by it in the relevant jurisdiction and to maintain asset accountability, (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with managements general or specific authorization, (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences, and (v) each Group Company has made and kept books, records and accounts which, in reasonable detail, correctly and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of assets of such entity and provide a sufficient basis for the preparation of the Group Companies consolidated financial statements in accordance with PRC GAAP or the IFRS or any other internationally recognized accounting standards, as applicable, and the Companys current management information and accounting control system has been in operation and no Group Company has experienced any difficulties with regard to (i) through (v) above. |
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(c) | No subsidiary of any Group Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to such Group Company, from making any other distributions on such subsidiarys share capital to such Group Company, from repaying such Group Company any loans or advances borrowed or received by such subsidiary from such Group Company. |
4.17 | Activities since Balance Sheet Date. Since the Balance Sheet Date, with respect to each Group Company, except as disclosed in the Disclosure Schedule, there has not been: |
(a) | any change in the business, assets, liabilities, financial condition or operating results of such Group Company from that reflected in the Financial Statements, except changes in the ordinary course of business which are made consistent with past practice; |
(b) | any insolvency or any requirement for prepayment by such Group Company; |
(c) | any purchase, acquisition, sale, lease, transfer or disposition of any assets (i) individually in excess of US$50,000 or in excess of US$100,000 in the aggregate, or (ii) that are individually or in the aggregate material to its business, except for the sale of inventory in the ordinary course of business consistent with its past practice, and no acquisition (by merger, consolidation or other combination, or acquisition of stock or assets, or otherwise) of any business or other Person or division thereof; |
(d) | capital expenditure or commitment of capital expenditure beyond the annual budget in excess of US$100,000; |
(e) | any material change in the contingent obligations of such Group Company by way of guarantee, endorsement, indemnity, warranty or otherwise; |
(f) | any damage, destruction or loss, whether or not covered by insurance, materially and adversely affecting the assets, properties, financial condition, operating results, prospects or business of such Group Company (as presently conducted and as presently proposed to be conducted); |
(g) | any waiver, termination, settlement or compromise by such Group Company of a valuable right or of a debt, other than those in the ordinary course of business which are given, made or dealt with consistent with past practice; |
(h) | any satisfaction or discharge of any Lien or payment of any obligation by such Group Company, except such satisfaction, discharge or payment made in the ordinary course of business that is not material to the assets, properties, financial condition, operating results or business of such Group Company; |
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(i) | any change or amendment to any Material Contract or material arrangement by or to which such Group Company or any of its assets or properties is bound or subject, any entering of any new Material Contract, or any termination of any contract that would have been a Material Contract if in effect on the date hereof, or any amendment to any Constitutional Document, or any amendment to or waiver under any Constitutional Document; |
(j) | any material change in any compensation arrangement or agreement with any present or prospective employee, officer or director, or adoption of any new employee benefit plan, or made any material change in any existing employee benefit plan, other than any change incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with its past practice; |
(k) | any sale, assignment or transfer of any Intellectual Property or other material intangible assets of such Group Company other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with its past practice; |
(l) | the resignation or termination of employment of Founder Lu, any director, officer or key employee, or any material group of employees of such Group Company with such Group Company; |
(m) | any mortgage, pledge or transfer of or any Lien created by such Group Company with respect to any of such Group Companys properties or assets, except Liens for taxes not yet due or payable; |
(n) | any debt, obligation, or liability incurred, assumed or guaranteed by such Group Company individually in excess of US$100,000 or in excess of US$200,000 in the aggregate; |
(o) | any sale, issuance, transfer, pledge or other disposition of any Equity Securities of any Group Company, except for those necessary to complete the transactions expressly contemplated under the Transaction Documents; |
(p) | any declaration, setting aside or payment or other distribution in respect of any of such Group Companys Equity Securities, or any direct or indirect issuance, transfer, redemption, purchase or acquisition of any of such Equity Securities by such Group Company; |
(q) | any failure to conduct the Business in the ordinary course, consistent with such Group Companys past practices; |
(r) | any material change in accounting methods or practices or any revaluation of any of its assets; |
(s) | except in the ordinary course of business consistent with its past practice, entry into any closing agreement in respect of taxes, settlement of any material claim or assessment in respect of any taxes, or consent to any extension or waiver of the limitation period applicable to any material claim or assessment in respect of any taxes, entry or change of any tax election, change of any method of accounting which may result in a material amount of additional tax or filing of any amended Tax Return which may result in material tax exposure (for the purpose of this Section 4.17(s), any amount of US$100,000 or more shall be deemed material); |
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(t) | any commencement or settlement of any material Action; |
(u) | any transactions with any of the Founder Parties, the officers, directors or employees of any Group Company, or any Affiliates or Associates of such Persons; |
(v) | any other event or condition of any character which could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the business of the Group Companies; or |
(w) | any agreement or commitment by such Group Company or any Founder Party to do any of the things described in this Section 4.17. |
4.18 | Tax Matters. |
(a) | No stamp duty or other Taxes is assessable or payable in, and no withholding or deduction for any Taxes is imposed or made for or on account of any income, registration, transfer or turnover Taxes, customs or other duties or taxes of any kind, levied, collected, withheld or assessed by or within the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, or any other jurisdiction in connection with the creation, issuance or offering of the Purchased Shares, the execution or delivery of this Agreement, or the performance of the obligations of the Group Companies under the Agreement. |
(b) | Each Group Company (i) has timely filed all Tax Returns that are required to have been filed by it with any Governmental Authority, (ii) has timely paid all taxes owed by it which are due and payable (whether or not shown on any Tax Return) and withheld and remitted to the appropriate Governmental Authority all taxes which it is obligated to withhold and remit from amounts owing to any employee, creditor, customer or third party, and (iii) has not waived any statute of limitations with respect to taxes or agreed to any extension of time with respect to a tax assessment or deficiency other than, in the case of clauses (i) and (ii), unpaid taxes that are in contest with tax authorities by Group Company in good faith or not material in amount (for the purpose of this Section 4.18(b), any amount of US$100,000 or more shall be deemed material). |
(c) | Each Tax Return referred to in paragraph (a) above was properly prepared in compliance with applicable Law and was (and will be) true, correct and complete in all material respects. None of such Tax Returns contains a statement that is false or misleading or omits any matter that is required to be included or without which the statement would be false or misleading. No reporting position was taken on any such Tax Return which has not been disclosed to the appropriate tax authority or in such Tax Return, as may be required by Law. All records relating to such Tax Returns or to the preparation thereof required by applicable Law to be maintained by applicable Group Company have been duly maintained. No written claim has been made by a Governmental Authority in a jurisdiction where any Group Company is or may be subject to taxation by that jurisdiction and such Group Company does not file Tax Returns. |
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(d) | The assessment of any additional taxes with respect to the applicable Group Company for periods for which Tax Returns have been filed is not expected to exceed the recorded liability therefor in the most recent balance sheet in the Financial Statements by US$100,000 or more, and there are no unresolved questions or claims concerning any tax liability of any Group Company. Since the Balance Sheet Date, no Group Company has incurred any liability for taxes outside the ordinary course of business or otherwise inconsistent with past custom and practice. There is no pending dispute with, or notice from, any tax authority relating to any of the Tax Returns filed by any Group Company, and to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no proposed liability for a deficiency in any tax to be imposed upon the properties or assets of any Group Company. |
(e) | No Group Company has been the subject of any examination or investigation by any tax authority relating to the conduct of its business or the payment or withholding of taxes that has not been resolved or is currently the subject of any examination or investigation by any tax authority relating to the conduct of its business or the payment or withholding of taxes. Except for the withholding duties of taxes in accordance with applicable Laws, no Group Company is responsible for the taxes of any other Person by reason of contract, successor liability or otherwise. |
(f) | None of the Group Companies has entered into or been engaged in or been a party to any transaction which is artificial or fictitious or any transaction or series of transactions or scheme or arrangement of which the main or dominant purpose or one of the main or dominant purposes was the avoidance or deferral of or reduction in the liability to tax of any Group Company. |
(g) | All tax credits, tax holidays or tax preferential treatments enjoyed by the Group Company established under the Laws of the PRC or under other applicable Laws since its establishment have been in compliance with all applicable Laws and is not subject to reduction, revocation, cancellation or any other changes (including retroactive changes) in the future, except through change in applicable Laws published by relevant Governmental Authority. |
(h) | To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, immediately after the Closing, the Company will not be a Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) as defined in the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (or any successor thereto) (the Code) with respect to the shares held by the Investors. |
(i) | The Company does not expect to be a passive foreign investment company (PFIC) within the meaning of Section 1297 of the Code in the current taxable year. The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to avoid being a PFIC. |
(j) | None of the Group Companies has filed (whether by itself or by any other Person on its behalf) any Form 8832 (Entity Classification Election) or Form SS-4 (Application for Employer Identification Number) or made (whether by itself or by any other Person on its behalf) any Tax election for U.S. Tax purposes. |
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4.19 | Sanctions Law Compliance. None of the Group Companies, other Warrantors or their respective Affiliates and directors, officers, managers and employees (collectively, Group Representatives), and to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, none of the independent contractors, representatives, agents and other persons expressly authorized to act on behalf of the Group Companies or other Warrantors (collectively, External Representatives) is an Sanctioned Person, or is organized, resident or located in a Sanctioned Country, and no Sanctioned Person will be given an offer to become an employee, officer, consultant or director of any Group Company. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, no Group Company has conducted or agreed to conduct any business, or entered into or agreed to enter into any transaction with any Sanctioned Person. No Group Company has conducted or agreed to conduct any business, or entered into or agreed to enter into any transaction in any Sanctioned Country. None of (i) the purchase and sale of the Purchased Shares and the Conversion Shares, (ii) the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, the other Transaction Documents and the Constitutional Documents, or (iii) the consummation of any transaction contemplated hereby or thereby, or the fulfillment of the terms hereof or thereof, will result in a violation by anyone, including without limitation the Investors, of any of the Compliance Laws. |
4.20 | Anti-Bribery, Anti-Corruption, Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions; Absence of Government Interests. |
(a) | Each of the Group Companies, the other Warrantors and the Group Representatives, and to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, each of the External Representatives are and have been in compliance with all applicable Compliance Laws in all material respects, provided that the representation and warranty in this sentence shall not apply to any personal affairs of any employee of any Group Company who is not a director, officer or manager of a Group Company. |
(b) | Furthermore, no Public Official (a) holds an ownership or other economic interest in any of the Group Companies or in the contractual relationship formed by this Agreement directly, or to the best knowledge of the Warrantors holds an ownership or other economic in any of the Group Companies or in the contractual relationship formed by this Agreement indirectly, or (b) serves as an officer, director or employee of any Group Company. Without limiting the foregoing, neither any Group Company nor any Group Representatives, or to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, any External Representative has, directly or indirectly, offered, authorized, promised, condoned, participated in, consummated, or received notice of any allegation of (x) the making of any gift or payment of anything of value to any Public Official or any other Person to obtain any improper advantage, affect or influence any act or decision of any such Public Official, or assist any Group Company in obtaining or retaining business for, or with, or directing business to, any Person, provided that the representation and warranty for this (x) shall not apply to the personal affairs of any employee of any Group Company who is not a director, officer or manager of a Group Company, (y) the making of any false or fictitious entries in the books or records of any Group Company by any Person for the foregoing purpose under (x), or (z) the using of any assets of any Group Company for the establishment of any unlawful or unrecorded fund of monies or other assets, or the making of any unlawful or undisclosed payment for the foregoing purpose under (x). |
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(c) | To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, the operations of each Group Company are, and have at all times been, conducted in compliance with all Anti-Money Laundering Laws and no investigation, action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving any Group Company with respect to Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending, and no such actions, suits or proceedings are threatened or contemplated. |
4.21 | Related Party Transactions. Except for the related party transactions as disclosed in Section 4.21 of Disclosure Schedule which are conducted on an arms length basis, and except as contemplated by this Agreement, no Warrantor, officer or director of a Group Company or any Affiliate or Associate of any such Person has any agreement (whether oral or written), understanding, proposed transaction with, or is indebted to, any Group Company, nor is any Group Company indebted (or committed to make loans or extend or guarantee credit) to any of such Persons (other than for accrued salaries, reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses for employees or other standard employee benefits). No officer or director of a Warrantor has any direct or indirect ownership interest in, or any agreement or other arrangement or undertaking, with, any firm or corporation with which a Group Company is affiliated or with which a Group Company has a business relationship, or any firm or corporation that competes with a Group Company. No Affiliate or Associate of any officer or director of a Warrantor is directly or indirectly interested in any contract with a Group Company. No officer or director of a Warrantor or any Affiliate or Associate of any such Person has had, either directly or indirectly, an interest in: (a) any Person which purchases from or sells, licenses or furnishes to a Group Company any goods, property, intellectual or other property rights or services; or (b) any Contract or agreement to which a Group Company is a party or by which it may be bound or affected. There is no agreement between any shareholder of the Company with respect to the ownership or control of any Group Company. |
4.22 | Environmental and Safety Laws. None of the Group Companies is in violation of any applicable Law relating to the environment or occupational health and safety in any material respects and no material expenditures are or will be required in order to comply with any such existing Law. |
4.23 | Employee Matters. |
(a) | Except as disclosed in Section 4.23 of the Disclosure Schedule, (a) each Group Company has complied in all material respects with all applicable employment and labor Laws, including provisions thereof relating to employment contracts, wages, hours, housing funds, social welfare, social insurance contribution and collective bargaining, (b) there is no pending or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, threatened legal proceeding relating to the violation or alleged violation of any applicable employment and labor Laws; (c) each Group Company has duly entered into legal and valid written employment contracts with its employees in accordance with applicable Laws, and (d) each Group Company is in compliance in all material respects with all Laws relating to its provision of any form of social insurance, and has paid, or made provision for the payment of, all social insurance contributions required under applicable Laws. |
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(b) | Except as required by Law, none of the Group Companies is a party to or is bound by any currently effective employment Contract (other than contracts that can be terminated on an at-will basis), deferred compensation agreement, pension, provident, superannuation, life assurance, disability or other similar schemes or arrangements, bonus plan, incentive plan, profit sharing plan, retirement agreement or other employee compensation agreement providing any Employee Benefit Plan. To the extent that any such arrangements as described in the foregoing are required to be entered into by Law, the Company have provided copies of such arrangements to the Investors prior to the date hereof. |
(c) | No officer or the employees listed in Schedule V attached hereto (collectively, the Key Employees) intends to, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, terminate their employment with any Group Company, and no Group Company has a present intention to terminate the employment of any officer or Key Employee. None of the Group Companies is a party to or bound by any currently effective employment contract that is or will be regarded as an incentive plan, profit sharing plan, retirement agreement or other employee compensation agreement. None of the Warrantors is aware, after reasonable investigation, that any of such employees, officers, directors or consultants are in violation thereof. Founder Lu is currently devoting all of his business time to the conduct of the business of the applicable Group Company. Neither Founder Lu is, nor, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, any of the other Key Employees are, involved in any daily business, operation, management and administration of any entity other than the Group Companies. Founder Lu and the other Key Employees are not subject to any covenant restricting him from working for any Group Company. None of Founder Lu or any other Key Employees was subject to any non-compete, confidentiality or other similar obligations towards a third party when he or she commenced employment with the Group Companies. Founder Lu and each of the other Key Employees have entered into a non-compete agreement with the relevant Group Company respectively, which is valid and effective. Neither Founder Lu nor any other Key Employees is in violation of such non-compete agreement applicable to or binding upon such persons. |
(d) | No employees of any Group Company are represented by a labor union, works council, or other labor organization. Neither the Company nor any other Group Company is party to, or bound by, any collective bargaining agreement, Contract or other agreement or understanding, or bargaining relationship with a labor union, works council, or labor organization. The Group Companies are not, and for the past three (3) years have not been, subject to a pending or threatened strike, lockout, walkout, work stoppage or other material labor dispute. |
(e) | Each Employee Benefit Plan (if any, and each related trust, insurance Contract or other funding vehicle) has been established, maintained, funded, and administered in all material respects in accordance with its terms and in a manner not in violation of the requirements of all applicable Laws. Each Group Company has complied with all applicable Laws (including funding requirements) relating to social insurance contributions, housing funds contributions and any other labor related plans that are mandatorily required to be funded or sponsored by the Group Companies under applicable Laws. |
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(f) | Jiangsu Ousuo Software Co., Ltd. (江苏欧索软件有限公司), Suzhou Zancheng Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州赞橙网络科技有限公司), Suzhou Gaoqi Investment Management Co., Ltd. (苏州高企投资管理有限公司), Suzhou DZQH Enterprise Management Consulting Center (Limited Partnership) (苏州大致启宏企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) and Suzhou XZY Enterprise Management Consulting Center (Limited Partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)) do not engage in any business which competes directly or indirectly with the Business of the Group Companies. Holding of Equity Securities in any of the foregoing entities by Founder Lu does not, and could not be reasonably expected to, adversely impede or interfere with his engagement with the Group Companies or participation in the management or the business operations of the Group Companies. |
4.24 | Exempt Offering. The offer and sale of the Purchased Shares under this Agreement and the issuance of the Conversion Shares upon conversion thereof are or shall be exempt from the registration requirements and prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act, and from the registration or qualification requirements of any other applicable securities Laws. |
4.25 | No Other Business. Each of the Offshore Group Companies was formed solely to acquire and hold directly or indirectly the equity interest in the WFOEs, and since its formation has not engaged in any business and has not incurred any liability in the course of its business, other than acquiring and holding equity interest in the WFOEs and, unless otherwise agreed by the Investors, shall not incur any liability in the course of carrying out such purpose. The WFOEs are intended to be engaged in and the Domestic Companies are engaged solely in the Business and have no other activities. Except as contemplated under the Transaction Documents, neither the Founder Parties nor any of their respective Affiliates or Associates (other than a Group Company), is engaged in any activities that are same or similar to or otherwise compete with the Business. |
4.26 | Constitutional Documents. The memorandum of association, articles of association, by-laws and all other constitutional documents (or analogous constitutional documents) of each Group Company are in the form provided to the Investors. |
4.27 | Minute Books. All available minute books of each Group Company (as applicable) have been made available to the Investors and each such minute books contain a summary of such meetings and actions taken by directors and shareholders or owners of such Group Company since its time of formation, and reflects all transactions referred to in such minutes accurately in all material respects. |
4.28 | Insurance. Except as disclosed in Section 4.28 of the Disclosure Schedule, each Group Company has in full force and effect insurance policies, with extended coverage, sufficient in amount (subject to reasonable deductibles) to allow it to reasonably replace any of its properties and material assets that might be damaged or destroyed or to recover from risks related to accident, business interruption, public, personal or product |
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liability or other risks, that are in categories and amounts customary for companies similarly situated. There is no material claim pending thereunder as to which coverage has been questioned, denied or disputed. All premiums due and payable under all such policies and bonds have been timely paid, and each Group Company is otherwise in compliance in all material respects with the terms of such policies and bonds.
4.29 | Other Representations and Warranties relating to the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies. |
(a) | The Constitutional Documents and Permits of each of the WFOEs and Domestic Companies are valid and have been duly approved or issued by, or filed with (as applicable) the competent Governmental Authorities of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization. |
(b) | Except for those expressly contemplated under the Transaction Documents or the Subsidiary Agreements, there are no outstanding rights, or commitments made by any of the WFOEs or the Domestic Companies to sell any of its equity interest, and none of the outstanding equity interest in the WFOEs or the Domestic Companies (other than the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries) and no Equity Securities held or controlled (whether directly or indirectly) by the Company in the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries is subject to any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase such shares (whether in favor of such subsidiaries or any other Persons). |
(c) | The registered capital of each of the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies has been fully paid up and maintained in accordance with the schedule of payment stipulated in its respective articles of association, approval document, certificate of approval and business license and in compliance with PRC Laws and regulations, and there is no outstanding capital contribution commitment. For each of the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies, all the historical changes to the share capital of such PRC Company and historical transfers of equity interest in such PRC Company were made in compliance with the applicable Laws. There are no outstanding rights, or commitments made by any Group Company or Founder Lu to sell any of its equity interest in the Domestic Companies. |
(d) | Except for those contemplated under the Cooperative Agreements, there are no outstanding commitments made by any of the WFOEs or the Domestic Companies to sell any of its assets, properties or business to any third party. |
(e) | Except for the WFOEs call option right to purchase the shares of Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai Zhong Ou pursuant to the corresponding Cooperative Agreements, the equity interests in the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies are not subject to any call option or similar rights of any other Person. |
(f) | Except for those contemplated under the Cooperative Agreements, none of the WFOEs or the Domestic Companies has delegated any power or issued any powers of attorney in favor of any Person, other than powers of attorney issued to its directors, officers, or employees for purpose of executing contracts or agreements for and on behalf of the WFOEs or the Domestic Companies, as the case may be, in the ordinary course of business. |
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(g) | The Cooperative Agreements, in the aggregate, have established and maintain a captive structure through which (i) the WFOE I, to the extent permitted by applicable Laws, can acquire control over Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the other Domestic Companies controlled by Jiangsu Yunxuetang, (ii) the WFOE II, to the extent permitted by applicable Laws, can acquire control over Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai Zhong Ou and the other Domestic Companies controlled by them respectively, (iii) the financial statements of Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the other Domestic Companies controlled by it can be consolidated with those of the Company and the WFOE I, and (iv) the financial statements of Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai Zhong Ou and the other Domestic Companies controlled by them respectively can be consolidated with those of the Company and the WFOE II. The Cooperative Agreements constitute valid and binding obligations of the parties thereto enforceable in accordance with their respective terms, subject, as to enforcement of remedies, to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and similar Laws affecting creditors rights generally and to general equitable principles. None of the Warrantors has received any oral or written inquiries, notifications or any other form of official correspondence from any Governmental Authorities challenging or questioning the legality or enforceability of any of the Cooperative Agreements. |
4.30 | Other Representations and Warranties Relating to Founder Parties. |
(a) | Except as disclosed in Section 4.30(a) of the Disclosure Schedule, Founder Lu does not presently own or control, or will, as of the Closing own or control, directly or indirectly, any interest in any corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture, association, or other entity other than the Group Companies and the Founder Lu Holdco. |
(b) | Founder Lu does not presently and will not, as of the Closing own, manage, operate, finance, join, control, or participate in the ownership, management, operation, financing or control of, or be associated as a director, senior management, partner, lender, investor or representative in connection with, any business or corporation, partnership, or organization which competes with the Business or with which a Group Company has a business relationship. |
(c) | There is no action, suit, proceeding, claim, arbitration or investigation pending against Founder Lu in connection with his involvement with any of the Group Companies. Founder Lu is not a party to or subject to the provisions of any order, writ, injunction, judgment or decree of any court or Governmental Authority and there is no action, suit, proceeding, claim, arbitration or investigation which any Founder Party intends to initiate in connection with his/her/its involvement with any of the Group Companies. |
(d) | Founder Lu has all requisite power, authority and capacity to enter into the Transaction Documents and to perform his obligations thereunder. |
(e) | No proceedings have commenced or are pending for the bankruptcy, insolvency, winding up, liquidation or reorganization of any Founder Party, if applicable. |
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No Founder Party is bankrupt or insolvent. Each Founder Party is able to pay its debts as they fall due and has sufficient assets to repay all of its debts.
(f) | Founder Lu is the sole shareholder on record and sole beneficial owner of the Founder Lu Holdco. |
(g) | The execution, delivery and performance of and compliance with this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents by Founder Lu Holdco to which it is a party and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby by Founder Lu Holdco have been duly authorized, and will not result in any violation or breach or default under any constitutional documents, any material contracts or applicable Laws binding on Founder Lu Holdco. |
(h) | The Founder Parties are not in violation, breach or default under of any material contracts binding on such parties (including without limitation the Founder Lu Holdco Loan Documents as defined in the Shareholders Agreement). |
4.31 | Zhong Ou Acquisition. The transactions (the Zhong Ou Acquisition) contemplated by the Zhong Ou Acquisition Agreements which have been completed as of the date hereof have been completed in accordance with applicable Laws and the Zhong Ou Acquisition Agreements, and all necessary approvals, authorizations and consents from Governmental Authorities and other Persons required to be obtained by the Company and Jiangsu Yunxuetang in connection with Zhong Ou Acquisition have been timely obtained. All corporate actions on the part of each of the Company and Jiangsu Yunxuetang, their respective officers, directors and shareholders necessary for the authorization and the implementation of the Zhong Ou Acquisition has been taken. There is no actual, pending or, to the best knowledge of the Warrantors, threatened Action or dispute against the Company and/or Jiangsu Yunxuetang relating to the Zhong Ou Acquisition. |
4.32 | Disclosure. Each Warrantor has fully provided the Investors with all the information that the Investors has requested for deciding whether to purchase the Purchased Shares. There is no fact or circumstance relating to the affairs of any Group Company which has not been disclosed to the Investors and which if disclosed would influence the decision of the Investors to subscribe for the Purchased Shares. No representation, warranty or statement in writing provided by any Warrantor in this Agreement (including the Disclosure Schedule) and no information or materials provided by any Warrantor to the Investors in connection with the negotiation or execution of this Agreement or any other Transaction Document or any agreement contemplated hereby or thereby contains any untrue statement of a material fact, or omits to state any material fact necessary to make the statements herein or therein, in light of the circumstances in which they are made, not misleading. To the best knowledge of the Warrantors, there is no fact that would materially adversely affect the assets, business, prospects, financial condition or results of operations of the Group Companies that has not been set forth in this Agreement or the Disclosure Schedule. |
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5. | REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE INVESTOR. |
Each Investor hereby, severally and not jointly, represents and warrants to the Company as of the date and as of the Closing as follows:
5.1 | Organization. Such Investor is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of the jurisdiction of its formation. |
5.2 | Authorization. Such Investor has all requisite power, authority and capacity to enter into the Transaction Agreements to which it is a party, and to perform its obligations under the Transaction Agreements to which it is a party. This Agreement has been, or will be immediately prior to the Closing be, duly authorized, executed and delivered by such Investor. This Agreement and the Shareholders Agreement, when executed and delivered by such Investor, will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of such Investor, subject, as to enforcement of remedies, to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and similar Laws affecting creditors rights generally and to general equitable principles. No consent, approval or authorization of, or filing or registration with any governmental authority is required to be obtained by such Investor in connection with the execution and delivery of the Transaction Agreements by such Investor or the performance of such Investors obligations hereunder or thereunder. |
5.3 | Purchase for Own Account. The Purchased Shares will be acquired for such Investors own account, not as a nominee or agent, and not with a view to or in connection with the sale or distribution of any part thereof. |
6. | CONDITIONS TO THE INVESTORS OBLIGATIONS AT THE CLOSING. |
6.1 | The obligations of each Investor to purchase the Purchased Shares at the Closing are subject to the fulfillment, on or prior to the Closing Date, to the satisfaction of such Investor (or written waiver thereof given by such Investor) of the following conditions: |
(a) | No Injunction. No applicable Laws shall have been adopted or promulgated after the date of this Agreement by any Governmental Authority, and no temporary restraining order, preliminary or permanent injunction or other order issued by any Governmental Authority of competent jurisdiction (an Injunction) shall be in effect, in any case having the effect of making the transactions contemplated hereby illegal or otherwise prohibiting the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. |
(b) | No Legal Proceeding. No Action shall have been initiated or threatened by any Governmental Authority seeking an Injunction having the effect of making the transactions contemplated hereby illegal or otherwise prohibiting the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. |
(c) | Representations and Warranties True and Correct. The representations and warranties made by the Warrantors in Section 4 hereof shall be true and correct, and not, in material respects, misleading when made, and shall be true and correct, and not, in material respects, misleading as of the Closing Date with the same force and effect as if they had been made on and as of such date, subject to changes expressly contemplated by this Agreement. |
(d) | Performance of Obligations. The Warrantors shall have performed and complied with all covenants, obligations and conditions contained in this Agreement that are required to be performed or complied with by the Warrantors on or before the Closing. |
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(e) | Proceedings and Documents. All corporate and other proceedings in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and all documents and instruments incident thereto, including without limitation the written approval from all of the then current holders of equity interest of each Group Company that is a party to this Agreement and/or the other Transaction Documents, as applicable, with respect to this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, shall have been completed in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Investors, and the Investors shall have received all copies of such documents as it may reasonably request in a form as agreed by the Investors. |
(f) | Permits. The Warrantors shall have obtained any and all Permits (if needed) from the competent Governmental Authorities and any other Persons necessary for consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, including waivers by the then existing shareholders of the Company of any anti-dilution rights, rights of first refusal, preemptive rights and all similar rights in connection with the issuance of the Purchased Shares at the Closing. |
(g) | Compliance Certificate. The Company shall have delivered to such Investor a certificate, dated the Closing Date, signed by a director of the Company, a director of the BVI Subsidiary I, a director of the BVI Subsidiary II, a director of the Cayman Subsidiary, a director of the HK Subsidiary I, a director of the Founder Lu Holdco, the legal representatives of each of the WFOE I, Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Beijing Yunxuetang, Suzhou Xuancai, XWLJ and Beijing Guoshi and Founder Lu certifying that (i) the conditions specified in this Section 6.1 have been fulfilled; (ii) that the resolutions of the board of directors and resolutions of the shareholders of each Group Company that is a party to this Agreement and/or the other Transaction Documents (as applicable) approving the transactions contemplated hereby remain un-amended and in full force and effect, and (iii) that the resolutions of the shareholders of the Company adopting the Restated Articles remain un-amended and in full force and effect. |
(h) | Amendment to Constitutional Documents. The Restated Articles (in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A) shall have been duly adopted by the Company by all necessary corporate action of its Board and its shareholders and shall have been duly submitted for filing with the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands as evidenced by an email confirmation from the registered office provider of the Company. |
(i) | Register of Members. Such Investor shall have received a copy of the Companys updated register of members, certified by the registered office provider of the Company as true and complete as of the Closing, reflecting such Investor as the holder of the Purchased Shares and Matrix as the holder of the Founder Lu Transferred Shares at the Closing. |
(j) | Execution of Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement. The Shareholders Agreement (in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B) shall have been duly executed and delivered by all parties thereto (except for the Investors). |
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(k) | Execution of Fourth Amended and Restated Share Restriction Agreement. The Company shall have delivered to the Investors the Fourth Amended and Restated Share Restriction Agreement (in the form attached hereto as Exhibit C) (the Founder Lu Share Restriction Agreement), duly executed by the Company, Founder Lu and all other parties thereto (except for the Investors). |
(l) | No Material Adverse Effect. There shall have been no Material Adverse Effect since the date of this Agreement and no change or revision to the current applicable Laws that would result in such Material Adverse Effect. |
6.2 | The Warrantors shall use all reasonable efforts to procure the satisfaction of the conditions set out in Section 6.1 above as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event before the Termination Date (as defined below). If at any time any of the Warrantors becomes aware of a fact or circumstance that might prevent a condition from being satisfied, it shall immediately notify the Investors in writing. |
6.3 | Each Investor may at any time waive in writing any of the conditions set out in Section 6.1 above, on such terms as it may decide and proceed to Closing without the satisfaction of such condition; provided that the Warrantors shall ensure that any such condition so waived shall be fulfilled as soon as practicable following the Closing. |
6.4 | If any of the conditions (which have not previously been waived by the Investors) have not been satisfied on or before the Termination Date, then each Investor may at any time on or after the Termination Date, at its option (but without prejudice to any other right or remedy it may have), by notice to the Company: |
(a) | waive any conditions then unsatisfied (provided that the Warrantors shall ensure that any such conditions so waived shall be fulfilled as soon as practicable following the Closing or by a date specified in writing by such Investor following the Closing); |
(b) | postpone Closing to a date (being a Business Day) which is not more than seven (7) Business Days after the initial Termination Date; or |
(c) | without any prejudice to Section 9.17, terminate this Agreement without being liable to any of the Warrantors. |
7. | CONDITIONS TO THE COMPANYS OBLIGATIONS AT THE CLOSING. |
The obligation of the Company to allot and issue the Purchased Shares to any Investor pursuant to this Agreement is subject to the fulfillment, on or prior to the Closing Date, of the following conditions:
7.1 | Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties of such Investor contained in Section 5 hereof shall be true and correct when made, and shall be true and correct as of the Closing Date with the same force and effect as if they had been made on and as of such date. |
7.2 | Proceedings and Documents. All corporate and other proceedings (if applicable) on the part of such Investor in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and all documents and instruments incident to such transactions shall have been completed. |
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7.3 | Execution of Transaction Documents. Such Investor shall have delivered to the Company the Shareholders Agreement and the Founder Lu Share Restriction Agreement to which such Investor is a party as duly executed by such Investor. |
8. | COVENANTS OF THE WARRANTORS. |
The Warrantors jointly and severally covenants to the Investors as follows:
8.1 | Use of Proceeds. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, the Company shall use the proceeds from the issuance and sale of the Purchased Shares (the Proceeds) for the growth and expansion, the capital expenditure and working capital of the Group Companies relating to the Business, including with respect to the market expansion, product contents, artificial intelligence/big data and team building, except approved otherwise by the Investors in advance in writing. Other than as provided above and items approved in advance by the Investors in writing, the Proceeds shall not be used to repurchase, redeem or cancel any junior securities or to make any payments to shareholders, directors or officers of the Group Companies, or for repayment of any loans guaranteed by the directors of the Group Companies except for the payment for a bona fide arms-length transaction approved by the Board in accordance with the Shareholders Agreement. |
8.2 | Availability of Ordinary Shares. The Company hereby covenants that at all times there shall be made available, free of any Liens, for issuance and delivery upon conversion of the Purchased Shares such number of Ordinary Shares in the share capital of the Company as are from time to time issuable upon conversion of the Purchased Shares, and will take all steps necessary to increase its authorized share capital to provide sufficient number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of the Purchased Shares. |
8.3 | Compliance by Founder Parties. The Founder Parties shall fully comply with all applicable Laws on a continuing basis. The Founder Parties undertake that each of them shall act in the best interest of the Group Companies, and in no event shall any of them conduct any action or inaction that could harm the interests of, or infringe the lawful rights or interests of the Group Companies. Founder Lu further covenants and undertakes to the Investors that, after the Closing, Founder Lu shall not, directly or indirectly, create, incur, assume or guarantee, or with respect to which Founder Lu will otherwise become directly or indirectly liable for, any Liability that would adversely affect the Qualified Public Offering of the Group Companies. |
8.4 | Business of Group Companies. The business of the Offshore Group Companies shall be restricted to the direct or indirect holding, management and disposition of equity interest in the WFOEs. The business of the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies shall be restricted to the Business. |
8.5 | Regulatory Compliance. The Group Companies shall, and the Founder Parties shall procure the Group Companies to, comply with applicable Laws (including without limitation Laws relating to value-added telecommunications business, internet audio-video business, internet publishing business, foreign investment, foreign exchange control, anti-monopoly, anti-corruption, taxation, employment, social insurance and intellectual property) in all material respects and obtain and maintain in effect all Permits from the competent Governmental Authorities and other Persons required for conducting the Business. Without limiting the foregoing: |
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(a) | Certain Operation Permits. Jiangsu Yunxuetang shall use its best commercial efforts to: |
(i) | prior to the earlier of (A) the date of submitting application to the relevant stock exchange for initial public offering of the Company or (B) the date of expiry of the rectification period required by the relevant Governmental Authority, apply for and obtain the Online Broadcasting Audio-visual Programs License (信息网络传播视听节目许可证) (the Online Broadcasting License) or take other alternative actions satisfactory to Matrix for the purpose of complying with the applicable PRC Laws in connection with the disseminating of audio-video programs through information network; |
(ii) | as soon as practicable after the Closing, in no event later than two (2) months after January 25, 2021, complete renewal of the SP License; |
(iii) | as soon as practicable after the Closing, in no event later than three (3) months after January 25, 2021, apply for and obtain the Type B22 Value-Added Telecommunications Business Operation License (i.e. Value-Added Telecommunications Business Operation License for domestic multi-party communication service business) (the Type B22 License). |
(iv) | to the extent required by applicable Laws or needed for the operations of the Group Companies, procure the Internet Publication Permit (互联网出版服务许可证) (the Internet Publication Permit); and |
(v) | as soon as practicable after the Closing, apply for permit to run schools (办学许可证) (the School Permit) with relevant Governmental Authority, or to the extent that the relevant Governmental Authority promulgates rules or regulations making such permit not necessary for Jiangsu Yunxuetang to continue to conduct the Business, make filings and registrations (if required) with relevant Governmental Authority and take such other actions in compliance with the applicable Laws (including but not limited to the Non-state Education Promotion Law (《中华人民共和国民办教育促进法》)). |
In each of the above sub-clauses (i) through (v), the Online Broadcasting License, the SP License, the Type B22 License, the Internet Publication Permit and the School Permit shall be issued by the competent Governmental Authorities in accordance with applicable Laws.
(b) | Application and Registration of Intellectual Properties. Any future material Intellectual Property of the Group Companies shall be applied by and registered under the name of the Group Companies. |
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(c) | Compliance Mechanism. The Group Companies shall, pursuant to a time schedule reasonably proposed by the Board, implement and maintain a proper inspection and monitoring system or policy to ensure that the Group Companies will review, inspect and monitor the copyright of the contents and information contained in the Course Materials and other materials used in its Business operation both before and after them being offered to users and customers for the purpose of preventing the Group Companies from being held liable for any legal non-compliance of such contents or information. |
8.6 | Qualified Public Offering. Subject to necessary approvals required therefor, the Company and the Founder Parties shall use their best effort to consummate a Qualified Public Offering before the fourth (4th) anniversary of January 25, 2021. Details of the Qualified Public Offering, including without limitation the exchange on which such public offering is to be effected, will be determined by the Board. The Founder Parties shall ensure that, prior to the commencement of a Qualified Public Offering by the Company, each Group Company and the Founder Parties are in compliance with all applicable Laws and legal requirements in all material respects and that there is no barrier to repatriation of profits, dividends and other distributions from the WFOEs (or any successor entity) to the Company. |
8.7 | Lock-up. Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, following a Qualified Public Offering, transfer of shares in the Company by any Founder Party or any holder of Ordinary Shares (other than the Ordinary Shares upon conversion of the Preferred Shares) who is a principal or a management member of any Group Company shall be subject to any customary lock-up restriction to the extent requested by the lead underwriter of securities of the Company in connection with the registration relating to such Qualified Public Offering. In the event of any initial public offering by the Company or any member of the Group Companies, each of the Company and Founder Lu agrees to take all reasonable steps consistent with all legal requirements to facilitate minimizing any restrictions on the transfer of any Purchased Shares (or the Conversion Shares) held by the Investors. |
8.8 | Intellectual Property. |
(a) | Except with the written consent of the Investors, the Group Companies shall, and the Warrantors shall cause the Group Companies to take all reasonable steps to protect their respective Intellectual Property rights, including without limitation (i) registering their respective material trademarks, brand names, domain names, copyrights and patents (as applicable); (ii) requiring each employee and consultant of each Group Company to enter into a confidential and intellectual property assignment agreement, which shall contain requirements to (x) protect trade secret or proprietary information, and (y) to refrain from using any intellectual property of third parties including prior employers without authorization, in each case with applicable Group Company; and (iii) requiring each key employees (other than the Key Employees who have already entered into such agreement) to enter into a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement requiring such persons to protect and keep confidential such Group Companys confidential information, intellectual property, technical know-how and trade secrets, prohibiting such persons from competing with such Group Company for a reasonable time after their tenure with any Group Company, and requiring such persons to assign all ownership rights in their work product to such Group Company, in each case in form and substance satisfactory to the Board. |
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(b) | In the event that there is any potential or threatened claim of third parties against any Group Company in connection with or arising out of its usage of any trademarks/application of any self-developed software/application of any self-developed technology, the Group Companies undertake to, and the Founder Parties shall cause the Group Companies to, use their commercially reasonable efforts to, take any and all necessary actions to protect their Intellectual Property rights to use such trademarks/in such software/in such technology and mitigate the negative influence resulting from such claim. In the event that there is any actual claim of third parties against any Group Company in connection with or arising out of its usage of any Intellectual Property, the Warrantors shall notify Matrix as soon as practicable after such claim is brought against any Group Company and, without the prior written consent of Matrix, the Warrantors undertake not to withdraw or settle any relevant legal actions, not to grant any waiver, and not to agree to any termination or compromise in relation to any of the above-mentioned claims. |
8.9 | Non-Compete. |
(a) | The Warrantors acknowledge that each Investor has agreed to invest in the Company on the basis of the continued and exclusive services of and full devotion and commitment by Founder Lu and the other Key Employees to the Group Companies, and agrees that the Investors should have reasonable assurance of such basis of investment. Founder Lu undertakes to the Investors that he shall devote his full time and attention to the business of the Group Companies and shall use his best efforts to develop the business and interests of the Group Companies. The Warrantors undertake to make their reasonable efforts to procure that each of the Key Employees shall devote his or her full time and attention to the business of the Group Companies and shall use his or her best efforts to develop the business and interests of the Group Companies. Founder Lu undertakes to the Investors that, unless with the prior written consent of the Investors, (i) during the period he, directly or indirectly, holds (including through his Affiliates or Associates) any equity interest in, or is employed by, or serves as a director or officer of, any of the Group Companies (the Affiliation Relationship), whichever period is longer, and within two (2) years after the termination of such Affiliation Relationship, and (ii) during the period the Investors holds any Series E2 Preferred Share of the Company (the total period in (i) and (ii), the Restriction Period), Founder Lu will not, and will procure that each of Founder Lus Affiliate (especially Suzhou Yunzheng Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州云政网络科技有限公司) (Suzhou Yunzheng)) or each of Founder Lus Associates will not, in any Relevant Jurisdiction, directly or indirectly: |
(i) | conduct any action or inaction that could harm the interests of, or infringe the lawful rights and interests of, any of the Group Companies and/or its Affiliates; |
(ii) | solicit or entice away, or endeavor to solicit or entice away, any director, officer or employee of any Group Company; |
(iii) | render consulting services or any other services or assistance to any Person in conducting business that is the same or similar to, or otherwise competing with the Business of the Group Companies, either in his individual capacity or as a representative or employee of another individual or entity; and |
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(iv) | control, conduct or participate in, or invest or hold interests in any entity, business operation or activities that is the same or similar to, or otherwise competes or would compete with the Business of the Group Companies as currently or subsequently being conducted during the Restriction Period, in any form (including without limitation, investment, acquisition, co-operation, joint venture, operation, partnership, contractual operation, lease operation, equity holding), whether for its own account or for the benefit of any other Person, except for the holding, as a passive and public investor, of no more than one percent (1%) of the shares in publicly traded companies that may compete with any Group Company. |
(b) | The Warrantors further undertake to the Investors to use their reasonable efforts to procure that the directors nominated by Founder Lu, the senior management members of the Group Companies, and the other Key Employees, will not, directly or indirectly, compete with the Business carried on by any Group Company in the above manner during the period that the foregoing persons are direct or indirect shareholders, directors, senior management members or Key Employees of the Group Companies and within two (2) years after each such person or each of them ceases to be a direct or indirect shareholder of the Group Companies or leaves his or her director or senior management post or terminates his or her employment with the Group Companies. |
(c) | Founder Lu further undertakes to the Investors that in the event that the operation of any of Founder Lus Affiliates (to the extent such operation is permitted pursuant to the other provisions under this Section 8.9) or the fact that Founder Lu directly or indirectly holds Equity Securities in any Person other than a Group Company could adversely affect the Qualified Public Offering of the Group Companies, Founder Lu shall eliminate such adverse effects in a proper and timely manner to the reasonable satisfaction of the Investors. |
(d) | During the Restriction Period, in the event any entity directly or indirectly established or managed by Founder Lu or his Affiliates, engages or will engage in any business which is the same or similar to or otherwise competes with the Business of the Group Companies, Founder Lu shall cause such entity, to disclose any relevant information to the Investors upon request and transfer such entity or business to any of the Domestic Companies or any subsidiary designated by the Domestic Companies immediately thereafter. |
(e) | For purpose of this Section 8.9, Relevant Jurisdiction means a jurisdiction in which any Group Company carries on or conducts any business, including but not limited to the PRC, Hong Kong, the Macau Special Administrative Region of the PRC and Taiwan. |
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8.10 | Related Party Transactions. The Warrantors shall cause each Group Company to, improve management regarding Related Party transactions and shall not conduct any transaction with any Related Party of any Group Company unless on arms length basis and with due corporate approval in accordance with the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles. The Warrantors shall cause the Group Companies to, (i) no later than the 30th day prior to the end of each fiscal year of the Company, prepare and deliver to the Board a pricing policy for related party transactions for the following fiscal year, which shall include the basis of such pricing policy and a projected maximum contract value of each type of related party transactions, (ii) within ninety (90) days after the end of each fiscal year of the Company, prepare and deliver to the Board a report by the auditor on its review of the related party transactions conducted by the Group Companies during such fiscal year (including with respect to the transfer pricing methodology and the compliance by the Group Companies with applicable transfer pricing laws, accounting standards and the duly adopted transfer pricing policies), and (iii) take appropriate rectification measures if any Related Party transactions would adversely affect the Qualified Public Offering of Group Companies. |
8.11 | Use of Investors Brands and Marks. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, without the prior written consent of Matrix, and whether or not Matrix or any of its Affiliates are then a shareholder of the Company, the Warrantors shall not, and shall cause the Affiliates of the Group Companies not to, use in advertising, publicity, announcements, or otherwise the name of Matrix, Matrix Partners, 经纬, 经纬中国 and any associated logos of the above brands, or any company name, trade name, trademark, service mark, domain name, device, design, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof owned or used by Matrix or any of its Affiliates; except for the reference to Matrix, Matrix Partner, 经纬 and/or 经纬中国 in a factual statement that the Company is a portfolio company of Matrix (to the extent such information is by then in the public domain). |
8.12 | Equity Compensation; ESOP. |
(a) | The Company shall not, and shall procure the other Group Companies not to, directly or indirectly issue Ordinary Shares, share options or other forms of equity of the Company to any employee, director or consultant of any of the Group Companies except pursuant to an employee stock option plan duly adopted by the Company from time to time in accordance with the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles. |
(b) | With respect to the Existing ESOP Shares (representing 1.9951% of the fully-diluted share capital of the Company immediately prior to the Closing and 1.8746% of the fully-diluted share capital of the Company upon the Closing) which have been reserved for share options to be granted to the employees, directors or consultants of the Group Companies, a formal ESOP (including terms on the exercise price and the vesting schedule of the options) shall not be adopted prior to the Closing and shall be determined and adopted by the Board of the Company after the Closing (subject to such approvals as required under the Shareholders Agreement and the Restated Articles). Should recipients of any option under any ESOP fail to exercise such option in a manner not in conflict with applicable PRC Laws, including Circular 37 and Circular 7, no option under any ESOP may be actually exercised, and no shares thereunder may be issued to such recipients, unless and until after the requisite filing, if applicable, with SAFE pursuant to Circular 37 or Circular 7 (as the case may be) has been completed. Each recipient of an option to purchase Ordinary Shares under the ESOP shall enter into a share option agreement with the Company in the form and substance reasonably acceptable to Matrix. Except as may be expressly set forth in the Shareholders Agreement, without the prior written consent of Matrix, no securities other than Existing ESOP Shares shall be reserved by any Group Company for any ESOP. |
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8.13 | Independent Auditors. The Company shall engage one of the Big Four accounting firms (i.e., Deloitte & Touche or Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers) or other reputable accounting firms acceptable to the Investors and shall cause such accounting firm to audit the Companys annual consolidated financial statements. |
8.14 | Cash Deposit. All the Group Companies cash shall be deposited with sound international or PRC financial institutions, and all such cash deposits shall be short-term with free liquidity unless otherwise approved by the Board. |
8.15 | Tax Covenants. The Warrantors shall cause each Group Company to comply with all applicable tax Laws in all material respects, including without limitation, Laws pertaining to corporate income tax, individual income tax, value added tax and business tax. |
8.16 | Business Operation. During the period between the date hereof and the Closing, except as the Investors otherwise agrees in writing or as expressly contemplated under this Agreement or as required by applicable Laws, each of the Group Companies who is a party to this Agreement and/or the other Transaction Documents shall (and the Warrantors shall use best endeavors to cause each of the Group Companies to) (i) conduct its business in the ordinary course consistent with past practice, as a going concern and in compliance with all applicable Laws and all Contracts of the Group Companies in all material respects, (ii) pay or perform its debts, Taxes, and other obligations when due, (iii) maintain its assets in a condition comparable to their current condition, with reasonable wear, tear and depreciation excepted, (iv) preserve intact its current business organizations and keep available the services of its current officers and employees and preserve its relationships with customers, suppliers and others having business dealings with, (v) periodically report to the Investors concerning the status of its business, operations and finance, and (vi) promptly take all actions reasonably necessary to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the taking of all reasonable acts necessary to cause all of the conditions set out under Section 6 to be satisfied. |
8.17 | Covenants regarding Activities prior to Closing. Except as required or expressly permitted by this Agreement, no resolution of the directors, owners, members, partners or shareholders of any of the Group Companies shall be passed, nor shall any action, contract or commitment be entered into, with respect the following, in each case, prior to the Closing without the prior written consent of the Investors: |
(a) | any amendment to the memorandum of association and/or articles of association of any Group Company; |
(b) | any action by any of the Group Company to authorize, create or issue or redeem or repurchase or reclassify any shares or securities of any class or series of such Group Company; |
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(c) | the declaration and/or payment of any and all dividends on any securities of any Group Company or payment of any other distributions to any shareholder of any Group Company; |
(d) | any merger, consolidation, scheme of arrangement, recapitalization or sale, transfer, lease or other disposition of any material assets of any Group Company; |
(e) | any change in the number of directors of any Group Company; |
(f) | any filing by or against any Group Company for the appointment of a receiver, administrator or other form of external manager, or the winding up, liquidation, bankruptcy or insolvency of any Group Company; |
(g) | any expenditure, any purchase and disposal of assets and businesses, or any purchase and disposal of assets and businesses worth, in the aggregate, more than US$200,000 by any Group Company; |
(h) | other than in the ordinary business, any business transactions of the Group Companies (taken as a whole) exceeding the amount of US$200,000 or out of scope of principal business; |
(i) | any capital commitment, loan transaction or mortgage or pledge transaction of the Group Companies (taken as a whole) exceeding the amount of US$200,000 in a transaction or a series of related transaction; |
(j) | establishment of any subsidiary or Affiliates (including any non-legal person branch) and the signing of any shareholders agreement or joint venture agreement or cooperation agreement by any Group Company; and |
(k) | any purchase or lease by any Group Company of any real estate properties not in the ordinary course of business. |
8.18 | Information. If at any time before the Closing, any of the Warrantors comes to know of any material fact or event which: |
(a) | is in any way materially inconsistent with any of the representations and warranties given by any Warrantor, and/or |
(b) | suggests that any material fact warranted may not be as warranted or may be materially misleading, and/or |
(c) | might affect the willingness of a reasonable investor in making a prudent decision to purchase the Purchased Shares or the amount of consideration which an Investor would be prepared to pay for the Purchased Shares, |
then such Warrantor shall give immediate written notice thereof to each Investor in which event, in addition to any other rights or remedy that is available to the Investors under this Agreement or applicable Law, such Investor may within five (5) Business Days of receiving such notice terminate this Agreement by written notice to the other parties hereto without any penalty whatsoever on such Investor.
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8.19 | Other Issues in the Disclosure Schedule. As soon as practicable after the Closing, the Warrantors shall, in a manner reasonably acceptable to the Investors, resolve the other issues which are disclosed in the Disclosure Schedule or identified by the Investors in the due diligence process but not expressly specified as a specific covenant under this Section 8 or a specific condition for the Closing under Section 6 hereof. The covenants under this Section 8.19 shall not preclude, be prejudice to, or otherwise limit in any way, the Warrantors indemnification liabilities under Section 9.1 below or any other right of or remedy available to the Investors. |
8.20 | Performance of Transaction Documents and Other Documents. After the Closing, each of the Warrantors shall duly perform their respective obligations pursuant to the Transaction Documents and all other ancillary documents, the forms of which are attached thereto, and any other instrument or documents for or in connection with consummation of the transactions contemplated in the Transaction Documents. |
8.21 | Performance of Cooperative Agreements. Each Group Company which is a party hereto shall duly perform, and the Warrantors shall cause each Group Company to duly perform, the Cooperative Agreements entered into by such Group Company. WFOE I shall, and the Warrantors shall cause each WFOE to, and promptly and diligently enforce its rights under the Cooperative Agreements entered into by such Group Company in the event of any breach or violation thereof by any other party thereto. |
8.22 | Disposition of Related Companies of Founder Lu. As soon as practicable but in any event no later than December 31, 2021, Founder Lu shall dispose of all of his equity interests in Jiangsu Ousuo Software Co., Ltd. (江苏欧索软件有限公司) and Suzhou Yunzheng respectively to a third party that is not his Affiliate or Associate, in each case in a manner satisfactory to Matrix, and shall provide the Investors with documents evidencing such disposition (which shall be in form and substance satisfactory to the Investor). |
8.23 | Tax Declaration. To the extent a Form 8832 (Entity Classification Election) or Form SS-4 (Application for Employer Identification Number) is proposed to be filed by or on behalf of any Group Company with the relevant Governmental Authorities (whether pursuant to any Prior Financing Documents or otherwise), the relevant Group Company shall obtain Matrixs prior written consent before making any filing of the aforesaid forms, and any such form to be filed shall be in form and substance satisfactory to Matrix. |
8.24 | Zhong Ou Acquisition. The Warrantors shall duly perform their obligations under the Zhong Ou Acquisition Agreements in accordance with the terms thereof. |
8.25 | Registration with Competent Governmental Authorities. As soon as practicable but in any event no later than December 31, 2021, Beijing Yunxuetang shall and the other Warrantors shall cause Beijing Yunxuetang to, at its election, (a) register the change of its legal address to its actual place of business with competent Governmental Authorities and obtain an updated business license thereof, or (b) be liquidated and de-registered with the relevant Governmental Authorities, in each case in accordance with the applicable PRC Laws, with evidence thereof to be delivered to the Investors. |
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8.26 | Filing of Lease. As soon as practicable after the Closing, the Warrantors shall cause the Group Companies to register all their current lease agreements with the competent Governmental Authorities for record, with evidence thereof to delivered to the Investors. |
8.27 | Management System of the Intellectual Property of Courses. The Warrantors shall cause the Group Companies to implement and maintain a management system of all the Intellectual Properties used in the Courses Materials, under which, including without limitation, (i) with regard to any Intellectual Property solely owned or jointly owned by any Group Company, the Group Companies will claim their ownership of such Intellectual Property in a visible manner showing on the Course Materials or otherwise and make sure that such Intellectual Property will not infringe, violate or misappropriate any third partys rights; and (ii) with regard to any Intellectual Property not owned by any Group Company, the Group Companies will present a disclaimer in a visible manner showing on the Course Materials or otherwise to the audiences of the courses, clearly stating that the Group Companies do not own such Intellectual Property and will not take any responsibility for any actual or alleged infringement, violation or misappropriation of such Intellectual Property. |
8.28 | Business Plan and Budget. The Company shall as soon as practicable but within three (3) months after the Closing or any other longer period approved in writing by Matrix provide to Matrix the business plan and budget for the twelve (12) months following the Closing to Matrixs satisfaction. |
8.29 | Capital Injection and Tax Filing. Unless otherwise agreed to by the Investors in writing, all Proceeds shall be injected into the registered capital of the WFOE I, provided that US$20,000,000 can be reserved in the offshore bank of the Company to facilitate its overseas payment of relevant professional service charges incurred in connection with the transactions contemplated hereunder and a proposed initial public offering of the Company. In the event of a subsequent sale of Equity Securities in the Company by any Investor in which event such Investor is required to file any income Tax, capital gain Tax or any other transfer Tax with any PRC Governmental Authorities under applicable PRC Laws, each of the Founder Parties, the Company and the WFOE I agrees that, upon the reasonable request of such Investor, he/she/it will exercise reasonable best endeavor to provide or cause to be provided such Investor with necessary information and assistance to facilitate such Investor in its negotiation or communication with the competent PRC Governmental Authorities with respect to such Investors indirect Tax basis or equity cost in the Group Companies for the purposes of determining any income Tax, capital gain Tax or other transfer Tax calculated with reference to gains made through the subscription, purchase and sale of such Investors Equity Securities in the Company. |
8.30 | Shareholder Confirmation. As soon as practicable but in any event within three (3) months after January 25, 2021, the Warrantors shall cause each of the Persons who is a shareholder of the Company to execute and issue a confirmation letter to the Company in form and substance satisfactory to Matrix, stating and confirming that, such shareholder of the Company agrees to use its investment amount actually paid into the share capital (and/or share premium) of the Company to calculate its own tax cost basis for equity investment in the Company, provided that the foregoing tax cost basis shall be subject to final determination of the relevant PRC tax authorities. The Company shall not agree to any amendment, revocation, withdrawal or waiver of such confirmation letter without the prior written consent of Matrix, and a copy of such confirmation letter shall be provided to the Investors. |
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8.31 | Access. During the period between the date hereof and the Closing, upon the Companys receipt of prior written notice issued by any Investor at least three (3) days in advance, the Warrantors shall permit such Investor, or any representative thereof, to (i) visit and inspect the properties of the Group Companies, (ii) inspect the contracts, books of account, records, ledgers, and other documents and data of the Group Companies, (iii) discuss the business, affairs, finances and accounts of the Group Companies with officers and employees of the Group Companies, and (iv) review such other information as such Investor may reasonably request, in such a manner so as not to unreasonably interfere with their normal operations. |
8.32 | Compliance with Anti-Corruption, Anti-Money Laundering and Trade Control Laws. The Warrantors shall not and shall cause other Group Companies not to, and shall not permit explicitly or implicitly any of its or their respective directors, officers, managers or employees or permit explicitly any of its independent contractors, representatives or agents to, promise, authorize or make any payment to, or otherwise contribute any item of value to, directly or indirectly, any third party, including any Public Official, in each case, in violation of any Anti-Corruption Laws. The Warrantors shall cause each of the Group Companies not to, take or permit any actions that is in violation of applicable Compliance Laws, and the Warrantors shall cause each of the Group Companies to, cease all of its or their respective activities or actions, as well as remediate any actions taken by the Group Companies, or any of their respective directors, officers, managers, employees, independent contractors, representatives or agents, that are in violation of any Compliance Laws. As soon as practicable and in any event within six (6) months after the Closing, the Warrantors shall cause each of the Group Companies to, maintain systems of internal controls (including, but not limited to, accounting systems, purchasing systems and billing systems) to the reasonable satisfaction of the Investors to ensure compliance with the Compliance Laws and other applicable Laws. |
8.33 | Establishment of Subsidiaries or Branches in Qingdao and Chengdu. As soon as practicable after the Closing, the existing offices in Qingdao and Chengdu operated by the Group Companies shall be registered as a subsidiary or branch of a Group Company. |
8.34 | Contribution of Registered Capital of Suzhou Xuancai. As soon as practicable but in any event within three (3) months after January 25, 2021, Suzhou Xuancai shall, the Warrantors shall cause Suzhou Xuancai to, amend the deadline for contribution of the registered capital of Suzhou Xuancai in its articles of association to a later date in light of the estimated contribution schedule determined by the Board. |
8.35 | Release of Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage. As soon as practicable but in any event within three (3) months following the Closing, Founder Lu Holdco shall repay any and all outstanding amount under the Founder Lu Holdco Loan Documents (as defined in the Shareholders Agreement) and the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage (as defined in the Shareholders Agreement) shall be fully and finally released and discharged. |
9. | MISCELLANEOUS. |
9.1 | Indemnity. |
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(a) | The Warrantors shall, jointly and severally, indemnify each Investor, and its Affiliates, each of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and assigns (each, an Indemnitee) from and against any losses, liabilities, damages, Liens, Taxes, penalties, necessary costs and expenses, including reasonable advisors fees and other reasonable expenses of investigation and defense of any of the foregoing, incurred by such Indemnitee (the Indemnifiable Loss) as a result of (i) any breach of any representation or warranty made by any Warrantor in this Agreement, the Disclosure Schedule, any other Transaction Document or any other schedule, instrument or certificate delivered pursuant to this Agreement or any other Transaction Document; (ii) any breach or default in performance by any Warrantor of any covenant, agreement or obligation of any Warrantor as set forth in this Agreement, any other Transaction Document or any schedule, instrument or certificate delivered pursuant to this Agreement or any other Transaction Document; and (iii) any non-compliance (whether before or after the Closing) with applicable Laws (including without limitation, conducting the Business without obtaining proper Permits from the competent Governmental Authorities or holders of Intellectual Property rights, and failure to withhold/pay any tax for or on behalf of the employees or make full contributions and payments for or on behalf of the employees in respect of all statutory social insurance and housing plans on a timely basis as required by the applicable Laws). |
(b) | If an Indemnitee believes that it has a claim that may give rise to an indemnity obligation of any Warrantor hereunder, it shall promptly notify the Warrantors stating specifically the basis on which such claim is being made, the material facts related thereto, and (if ascertainable or quantifiable) the amount of the claim asserted; provided that failure to provide such notice (each, a Claim Notice) shall not relieve any Warrantor from its indemnification obligation hereunder except to the extent such Warrantor has been actually and materially prejudiced by such failure. For purposes hereof, notice delivered to the Company at the Companys address pursuant to Section 9.6 shall constitute effective notice to all Warrantors. In the event of a third party claim against an Indemnitee for which such Indemnitee seeks indemnification from the Warrantors, no settlement shall be deemed conclusive with respect whether there was an Indemnifiable Loss or the amount of such Indemnifiable Loss unless such settlement is consented to by the Warrantors. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, any undisputed portion of Indemnifiable Loss claimed by an Indemnitee shall be indemnified and paid by the Warrantors to such Indemnitee within twenty (20) Business Days upon delivery of the notice by such Indemnitee without further action on its part. Any dispute related to this Section 9.1(b) shall be resolved pursuant to Section 9.15 hereof. |
(c) | Specifically, but not by way of limitation, the Warrantors shall jointly and severally indemnify any Indemnitee for any Indemnifiable Losses suffered by such Indemnitee as a result of or arising out of: |
(i) | any Warrantors failure to withhold any tax, or pay any tax or social insurance or housing funds (including any non-payment or underpayment thereof) in accordance with the applicable Laws for all tax periods or contribution periods (as applicable); |
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(ii) | any Founder Partys and/or any Group Companys failure to comply with any applicable Laws (including without limitation any Founder Partys and/or Group Companys failure to comply with any tax or labor related Laws) in any material respects that incurred or existed on or prior to the Closing Date; |
(iii) | any liability incurred by any Group Company arising out of or in connection with any infringement upon any other Persons rights to Intellectual Property, including without limitation, (A) infringement, violation or misappropriation of any Intellectual Property of any third party in connection with the use of any trademarks by the Group Companies; or (B) infringement, violation or misappropriation of any Intellectual Property of any third party in or to any Course Materials used by the Group Companies; |
(iv) | any Group Companys failure to timely obtain from the competent Governmental Authorities or duly maintain any Permit in accordance with the applicable Laws (including but not limited to lacking of the Online Broadcasting License, the Internet Publication Permit, the School Permit or the SP License, or insufficiency in the scope of permitted business covered by any value-added telecommunication permit held by any Group Company, in each case, to the extent such Permit or scope of business is required by applicable Law), or any Group Companys breach of or default under any such Permit; |
(v) | any of the Founders Affiliates or Associates conduct of any business that is the same or similar to or otherwise competes with the Business of the Group Companies (the Affiliates Competition) or the Group Companies failure to consummate a Qualified Public Offering due to the Affiliates Competition; |
(vi) | any failure of Founder Lu or any other Domestic Resident to register and/or update his/her respective holding of equity interest in the Group Companies with the competent Governmental Authorities as required under Circular 37 and/or any other applicable Laws of the PRC. |
(d) | Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the indemnification obligations of the Warrantors under sub-clauses (i) through (vi) under Section 9.1(c) shall not be prejudiced or qualified by or be otherwise subject to any disclosure (in the Disclosure Schedule or otherwise) and shall apply regardless of whether the Warrantors or Indemnitees have any actual or constructive knowledge with respect thereto. |
(e) | The indemnification provisions contained in this Section 9.1 are in addition to, and not in derogation of, any statutory, equitable or common-law remedy any party or Indemnitee may otherwise have. No information (other than as disclosed in the Disclosure Schedule) relating to the Group Companies or the Founder Parties of which any Indemnitee has knowledge (actual or constructive) and no investigation by or on behalf of any Indemnitee shall prejudice any claim made by any Indemnitee under the indemnity contained in this Section 9.1 or operate to reduce any amount recoverable thereunder. It shall not be a defense to any claim against the Warrantors that an Indemnitee knew or ought to have known or had constructive knowledge of any information (other than as disclosed in the Disclosure Schedule) relating to the circumstances giving rise to such claim. |
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(f) | The representations and warranties as they were made on the respective dates by the Warrantors herein shall survive the Closing. Such representations and warranties of the Warrantors shall in no way be affected by any investigation of the subject matter thereof made by or on behalf of the Investors. All covenants or agreements shall survive the Closing and remain in full force and effect in accordance with their terms. |
9.2 | Limitation of Indemnity. The indemnification provided in Section 9.1 is subject to the following limitations: an Indemnitee shall: (i) first seek indemnification from the Group Companies with respect to the whole and entire amount of the Indemnifiable Losses; and (ii) only in the event that the Group Companies are unable to (or have otherwise failed to) pay the Indemnitee the whole and entire amount of such Indemnifiable Losses within ninety (90) days after receipt of a Claim Notice, and to the extent the Indemnifiable Losses were resulted from any decision or action made or taken by the Warrantors without the duly approval of the Board in advance and constitutes gross negligence, willful misconduct or fraud of the Warrantors, the Indemnitee may seek indemnification with respect to any unpaid portion of the Indemnifiable Losses from the Founder Parties. |
9.3 | Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the Laws of Hong Kong as to matters within the scope thereof, without regard to its principles of conflicts of laws. |
9.4 | Successors and Assigns. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, the provisions hereof shall inure to the benefit of, and be binding upon, the successors, assigns, heirs, executors and administrators of the parties hereto. This Agreement and the rights and obligations herein may not be assigned by any of the Warrantors without the written consent of the Investors. This Agreement and the rights and obligations therein may be assigned by the Investors to any of its Affiliates or any transferee of the Purchased Shares in a transfer that complies with the Shareholders Agreement without any consent of the other parties. Any Person who is not a party to this Agreement shall not have any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Ordinance (Chapter 623 of the Laws of Hong Kong) to enforce, or to enjoy the benefit of, any term of this Agreement, provided that each Indemnitee shall be an express third party beneficiary who may enforce this Agreement pursuant to Section 9.1 and Section 9.2. |
9.5 | Entire Agreement. This Agreement, the other Transaction Documents, and the schedules and exhibits hereto and thereto, which are hereby expressly incorporated herein by this reference constitute the entire understanding and agreement between the parties with regard to the subjects hereof and thereof; provided however, that nothing in this Agreement or related agreements shall be deemed to terminate or supersede the provisions of any confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements executed by the parties hereto prior to the date hereof, which agreements shall continue in full force and effect until terminated in accordance with their respective terms. |
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9.6 | Notices. Except as may be otherwise provided herein, all notices, requests, waivers and other communications made pursuant to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be conclusively deemed to have been duly given (a) when hand delivered to the other party, upon delivery; (b) when sent by facsimile at the number set forth in Schedule VI hereto, upon receipt of confirmation of error-free transmission; (c) when sent by electronic-mail at the e-mail address set forth in Schedule VI hereto, upon being sent unless failure delivery notice is received; (d) seven (7) Business Days after deposit in the mail as air mail or certified mail, receipt requested, postage prepaid and addressed to the relevant party or parties as set forth in Schedule VI; or (e) three (3) Business Days after deposit with an overnight delivery service, postage prepaid, addressed to the relevant parties as set forth in Schedule VI with next business day delivery guaranteed, provided that the sending party receives a confirmation of delivery from the delivery service provider. Each Person making a communication hereunder by facsimile shall promptly confirm by telephone to the Person to whom such communication was addressed each communication made by it by facsimile pursuant hereto, but the absence of such confirmation shall not affect the validity of any such communication. A party may change or supplement the addresses set forth in Schedule VI, or designate additional addresses, for purposes of this Section 9.6, by giving the other parties written notice of the new address in the manner set forth above. |
9.7 | Amendments and Waivers. Any term of this Agreement may be amended and the observance of any term of this Agreement may be waived (either generally or in a particular instance and either retroactively or prospectively), only with the written consents of the Company, Founder Lu and the Investors. Any amendment effected in accordance with this Section 9.7 shall be binding upon each party hereto and each of their respective successors and assigns. Any term of this Agreement and the observance of any term of this Agreement may be waived (either generally or in a particular instance and either retroactively or prospectively) only with the written consent of the party against whom such wavier is sought. No waivers of or exceptions to any term, condition or provision of this Agreement, in any one or more instances, shall be deemed to be, or construed as, a further or continuing waiver of any such term, condition or provision. |
9.8 | Waivers of Certain Shareholders Rights. Each of the Founder Parties by executing this Agreement, hereby waives any anti-dilution rights, rights of first refusal, preemptive rights and all other similar rights in connection with the issuance of the Purchased Shares. |
9.9 | Delays or Omissions. No delay or omission to exercise any right, power or remedy accruing to any Warrantor or Investor, upon any breach or default of any party hereto under this Agreement, shall impair any such right, power or remedy of such Warrantor or Investor, nor shall it be construed to be a waiver of any such breach or default, or an acquiescence therein, or of any similar breach of default thereafter occurring; nor shall any waiver of any other breach or default theretofore or thereafter occurring. Any waiver, permit, consent or approval of any kind or character on the part of any Warrantor or Investor of any breach of default under this Agreement or any waiver on the part of any Warrantor or Investor of any provisions or conditions of this Agreement, must be in writing and shall be effective only to the extent specifically set forth in such writing. Subject to Section 9.1 and Section 9.2, all remedies, either under this Agreement, or by Law or otherwise afforded to the Warrantors and the Investors shall be cumulative and not alternative. |
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9.10 | Interpretation; Titles and Subtitles. This Agreement shall be construed according to its fair language. The rule of construction to the effect that ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in interpreting this Agreement. The titles of the sections and subsections of this Agreement are for convenience of reference only and are not to be considered in construing this Agreement. Unless otherwise expressly provided herein, (i) all references to Sections and Exhibits herein are to Sections and Exhibits of this Agreement; (ii) the words include and including, and variations thereof, shall not be deemed to be terms of limitation, but rather shall be deemed to be followed by the words without limitation; (iii) the term or is not exclusive; (iv) words in the singular include the plural, and words in the plural include the singular; (v) the terms herein, hereof, and other similar words refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular section, subsection, paragraph, clause, or other subdivision; (vi) the masculine, feminine, and neuter genders will each be deemed to include the others; (vii) the terms shall, will, and agrees are mandatory, and the term may is permissive; (viii) the term day shall mean calendar day, and month shall mean calendar month, (ix) all references in this Agreement to designated Schedules, Exhibits and Appendices are to the Schedules, Exhibits and Appendices attached to this Agreement unless the context otherwise requires, (x) the phrase directly or indirectly shall mean directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediate Persons or through contractual or other arrangements, and direct or indirect has the correlative meaning, (xi) references to Laws include any such law modifying, reenacting, extending or made pursuant to the same or which is modified, reenacted, or extended by the same or pursuant to which the same is made, (xii) each representation, warranty, agreement, and covenant contained herein will have independent significance, regardless of whether also addressed by a different or more specific representation, warranty, agreement, or covenant, (xiii) references to this Agreement, any other Transaction Documents and any other document shall be construed as references to such document as the same may be amended, supplemented or novated from time to time, (xiv) all references to dollars or to US$ are to currency of the United States of America and all references to RMB are to currency of the PRC (and each shall be deemed to include reference to the equivalent amount in other currencies), and (xv) references to a Party includes a reference to that Partys successors and permitted assigns. |
9.11 | Language and Counterparts. This Agreement has been negotiated, concluded and executed in English language. This Agreement may be executed (including facsimile signature) in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be an original, but all of which together shall constitute one instrument. Facsimile and emailed copies of signatures shall be deemed to be originals for the purposes of the effectiveness of this Agreement. |
9.12 | Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, then such provision shall be construed, to the extent feasible, so as to render the provision enforceable and to provide for the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby on substantially the same terms as originally set forth herein, and if no feasible interpretation would save such provision, it shall be severed from the remainder of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect unless the severed provision is essential to the rights or benefits intended by the parties. In such event, the parties shall use best efforts to negotiate, in good faith, a substitute, valid and enforceable provision or agreement which most nearly effects the parties intent in entering into this Agreement. |
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9.13 | Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure. The parties hereto agree to be bound by the confidentiality and non-disclosure provisions of Section 8 of the Shareholders Agreement, which shall mutatis mutandis apply. |
9.14 | Further Assurances. Each party shall from time to time and at all times hereafter make, do, execute, or cause or procure to be made, done and executed such further acts, deeds, conveyances, consents and assurances without further consideration, which may reasonably be required to effect the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. |
9.15 | Dispute Resolution. |
(a) | Negotiation Between Parties. The parties agree to negotiate in good faith to resolve any dispute between them regarding this Agreement. If the negotiations do not resolve the dispute to the reasonable satisfaction of all parties within thirty (30) days, Section 9.15(b) shall apply. |
(b) | Arbitration. In the event the parties are unable to settle a dispute between them regarding this Agreement in accordance with subsection (a) above, such dispute, including the validity, invalidity, breach or termination of this Agreement, shall be referred to and finally settled by arbitration at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) in accordance with the HKIAC Arbitration Rules (the HKIAC Rules) then in effect, which rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference into this subsection (b). There shall be three (3) arbitrators. Where there are more than one (1) party to one (1) side of the dispute, the parties whose interests are aligned shall jointly select one (1) arbitrator. The other party to such a dispute shall select one (1) arbitrator. The HKIAC shall select the third arbitrator. Any such arbitration shall be administered by HKIAC in accordance with HKIAC Procedures for Arbitration in force at the date of this Agreement including such additions to the HKIAC Rules as are therein contained. The decision of the arbitrators (by rule of majority) shall be final and binding on the parties (including any decision on their fees) and their fees shall be borne and paid by the parties in such proportions as the arbitrators shall determine. |
9.16 | Expenses. If the Closing occurs or fails to occur for reasons solely attributable to the Group Companies and/or the Founder Parties, the Company shall reimburse and/or pay all legal, accounting, due diligence, administrative and other expenses and costs actually incurred by the Investors in connection with the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby (including out-of-pocket expenses, third party consulting or advisory expenses and legal, accounting and other costs and expenses), for up to US$100,000. In any other circumstances, each Party shall bear all of its own costs and expenses incurred or to be incurred by it in connection with the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby respectively. |
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9.17 | Termination. Unless otherwise agreed herein, this Agreement may be terminated (i) by any Investor on or after March 31, 2021 or any later date as mutually agreed upon by the Investors and the Company in writing (the Termination Date), by written notice to the Company, if the Closing has not occurred on or prior to the Termination Date, provided that such Investor is not in material default of any of its obligations hereunder, or (ii) by any Investor in the event of any material breach or violation of any representation or warranty, covenant or agreement contained herein or in any of the other Transaction Documents by any Warrantor that is not curable or if curable, is not cured within twenty (20) Business Days of written notice given by such Investor. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section 9.17, this Agreement will be of no further force or effect, and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall terminate and expire without any liability on any party to any other party; provided that, if only one Investor terminates this Agreement pursuant to Section 9.17, this Agreement shall be of no further force or effect with respect to such Investor terminating this Agreement; provided further that Section 1 and this Section 9 shall survive the termination of this Agreement and shall continue in full force and effect pursuant to their terms. Such termination under this Section 9.17 shall be without prejudice to any claims for damages or other remedies that the parties may have under this Agreement or applicable Law and shall not relieve any party from any liability for any breach or violation of this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, the termination by one Investor shall be without prejudice to the performance of this Agreement by any other Party. |
9.18 | Independent Nature of Investors Obligations and Rights. The obligations of each Investor under this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents are several and not joint, and no Investor is responsible in any way for the performance or conduct of any other Investor in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby. Nothing contained herein or in any other Transaction Document, and no action taken by any Investor pursuant hereto or thereto, shall be or shall be deemed to constitute a partnership, association, joint venture, or joint group with respect to the Investors. Each Investor agrees that no other Investor has acted as an agent for such Investor in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby. |
9.19 | No Recourse. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement or any other Transaction Documents, each Warrantor agrees and covenants that it shall not, and shall cause each of its Affiliates, directors, officers or employees not to, seek any remedy from, make any claim against, or otherwise have any recourse against, any of the Investors current or future Affiliates or its and their respective equity holders, directors, officers, employees, representatives, members, agents, or general or limited partners, whether by legal or equitable proceeding, or by virtue of any statute, regulation or other applicable Laws, with respect to any matters under or in connection with this Agreement or any other Transaction Documents, provided that the Investors shall not voluntarily initiate any liquidation, dissolution or winding-up proceeding for so long as it holds any equity interests in the Group Companies. |
9.20 | Specific Performance. The parties hereto acknowledge and agree that irreparable harm may occur for which monetary damages may not be an adequate remedy in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. It is accordingly agreed that the parties shall be entitled to seek injunction to prevent breaches of this Agreement and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions of this Agreement. |
[The remainder of this page has been intentionally left blank.]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE GROUP COMPANIES: | ||
UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED | ||
By: |
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: |
Lu Xiaoyan | |
Title: |
Authorized Signatory | |
YXT.COM Holding Limited | ||
By: |
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: |
Lu Xiaoyan | |
Title: |
Authorized Signatory | |
YXT.COM (HK) LIMITED (雲學堂控股(香港)有限公司) | ||
By: |
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: |
Lu Xiaoyan | |
Title: |
Authorized Signatory | |
Yunxeutang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (云学堂信息科技(江苏)有限公司) (corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: |
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: |
Lu Xiaoyan | |
Title: |
Authorized Signatory | |
Jiangsu Yunxeutang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (江苏云学堂网络科技有限公司) (corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: |
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: |
Lu Xiaoyan | |
Title: |
Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Series E2 Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE GROUP COMPANIES: | ||
Beijing Yunxeutang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (北京云学堂网络科技有限公司) (corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: |
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory | ||
Suzhou Xuancai Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州炫彩网络科技有限公司) (corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: |
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory | ||
Suzhou Xiwenlejian Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州喜闻乐见网络科技有限公司) (corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: |
/s/ Zu Teng | |
Name: Zu Teng | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory | ||
Beijing Guoshi Technology Co., Ltd. (北京果识科技有限公司) (corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: |
/s/ Zu Teng | |
Name: Zu Teng | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Series E2 Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE GROUP COMPANIES: | ||
Digital B-School China Limited | ||
By: |
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory | ||
CEIBS Management Ltd. | ||
By: |
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Series E2 Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE FOUNDER PARTIES: | ||
Founder Lu | ||
Lu Xiaoyan (卢小燕) | ||
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Founder Lu Holdco | ||
UNCENTURY HOLDINGS LIMITED | ||
By: |
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan (卢小燕) | ||
Title: Director |
Signature Page to Series E2 Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||
Matrix Partners China VI Hong Kong Limited | ||
By: |
/s/ Zhang Ying | |
Name: Zhang Ying | ||
Title: Director |
Signature Page to Series E2 Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||
Hundreds Three Fund Limited Partnership | ||
By: | Hundreds Capital, in its capacity in general partner of Hundred Three Fund Limit Partnership | |
By: |
/s/ HE, Yanqing | |
Name: HE, Yanqing | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Series E2 Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||
SCC Growth VI Holdco E, Ltd. | ||
By: |
/s/ Ip Siu Wai Eva | |
Name: Ip Siu Wai Eva | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Series E2 Preferred Share Purchase Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
LIST OF SCHEDULES AND EXHIBITS | ||
Schedule I-A |
List of Founder Parties | |
Schedule I-B |
List of Investors | |
Schedule II |
Particulars of Group Companies | |
Schedule III |
Capitalization Table | |
Schedule IV |
Disclosure Schedule | |
Schedule V |
List of Key Employees | |
Schedule VI |
Notices | |
Exhibit A |
Form of Restated Articles | |
Exhibit B |
Form of Fourth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement | |
Exhibit C |
Form of Third Amended and Restated Share Restriction Agreement | |
Exhibit D |
Form of Wire Transfer Instructions |
SCHEDULE I-A
List of Founder Parties
SCHEDULE I-B
List of Investors
SCHEDULE II
Particulars of Group Companies
SCHEDULE III
Capitalization Table
SCHEDULE IV
Disclosure Schedule
SCHEDULE V
List of Key Employees
SCHEDULE VI
Notices
EXHIBIT A
Form of Restated Articles
EXHIBIT B
Form of Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement
EXHIBIT C
Form of Fourth Amended and Restated Share Restriction Agreement
EXHIBIT D
Form of Wire Transfer Instructions
Exhibit 10.17
***Certain information in this document has been excluded pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10). Such excluded information is not material and is the type the registrant treats as private or confidential. Such omitted information is indicated by brackets ([Redacted]) in this exhibit.***
UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
YXT.COM HOLDING LIMITED
YXT.COM (HK) LIMITED
(雲學堂控股(香港)有限公司)
YUNXUETANG INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (JIANGSU) CO., LTD.
(云学堂信息科技(江苏)有限公司)
JIANGSU YUNXUETANG NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
(江苏云学堂网络科技有限公司)
BEIJING YUNXUETANG NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
(北京云学堂网络科技有限公司)
SUZHOU XUANCAI NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
(苏州炫彩网络科技有限公司)
CERTAIN OTHER GROUP COMPANIES
THE PERSONS LISTED IN SCHEDULE I
THE PERSONS LISTED IN SCHEDULE II
THE PERSONS LISTED IN SCHEDULE III
AND
THE PERSONS LISTED IN SCHEDULE IV
FIFTH AMENDED AND RESTATED
SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT
DATED MARCH 22, 2021
Table of Content
1. |
DEFINITIONS. | 4 | ||||
2. |
INFORMATION RIGHTS; BOARD REPRESENTATION. | 16 | ||||
3. |
REGISTRATION RIGHTS. | 21 | ||||
4. |
RIGHT OF PARTICIPATION. | 33 | ||||
5. |
RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFERS; RIGHTS OF FIRST REFUSAL AND CO-SALE RIGHTS. | 36 | ||||
6. |
DRAG-ALONG RIGHT. | 43 | ||||
7. |
ASSIGNMENT AND AMENDMENT. | 44 | ||||
8. |
CONFIDENTIALITY AND NON-DISCLOSURE. | 46 | ||||
9. |
PROTECTIVE PROVISIONS AND OTHER ARRANGEMENTS. | 48 | ||||
10. |
ADDITIONAL COVENANTS | 56 | ||||
11. |
GENERAL PROVISIONS. | 60 |
FIFTH AMENDED AND RESTATED SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT
THIS FIFTH AMENDED AND RESTATED SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT (this Agreement) is made and entered into as of March 22, 2021 by and among:
(1) | UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability (the Company); |
(2) | YXT.COM Holding Limited, a business company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the British Virgin Islands (the BVI Subsidiary I); |
(3) | YXT.COM (HK) LIMITED (雲學堂控股(香港)有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of Hong Kong (the HK Subsidiary I); |
(4) | Digital B-School China Limited, an exempted company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the Cayman Islands (the Cayman Subsidiary); |
(5) | CEIBS Management Ltd., a limited company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the British Virgin Islands (the BVI Subsidiary II, together with BVI Subsidiary I, the BVI Subsidiaries, and each a BVI Subsidiary); |
(6) | Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (江苏云学堂网络科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Jiangsu Yunxuetang); |
(7) | Beijing Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (北京云学堂网络科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Beijing Yunxuetang); |
(8) | Suzhou Xuancai Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州炫彩网络科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Suzhou Xuancai,); |
(9) | Suzhou Xiwenlejian Network Technology Co., Ltd. (苏州喜闻乐见网络科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (XWLJ); |
(10) | Beijing Guoshi Technology Co., Ltd. (北京果识科技有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Beijing Guoshi); |
(11) | Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (云学堂信息科技(江苏)有限公司), a wholly foreign owned enterprise incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (the WFOE I); |
(12) | Lu Xiaoyan (卢小燕, a/k/a. 卢睿泽), a PRC citizen with the PRC ID Card No. [Redacted] (Founder Lu); |
(13) | Unicentury Holdings Limited, a business company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands with limited liability which is wholly owned by Founder Lu (Founder Lu Holdco, together with Founder Lu, the Founder Parties); |
(14) | the entities listed in Schedule II attached hereto (the Key Holder Parties); |
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(15) | the entities listed in Schedule III attached hereto; and |
(16) | the entities listed in Schedule IV attached hereto. |
RECITALS
WHEREAS:
A. The Company holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of the BVI Subsidiary I. The BVI Subsidiary I holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of the HK Subsidiary I. The HK Subsidiary I holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of the WFOE I which in turn controls Jiangsu Yunxuetang through the Yunxuetang Cooperative Agreements (as defined below).
B. The Company holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of the Cayman Subsidiary and BVI Subsidiary II, respectively. The Cayman Subsidiary and the BVI Subsidiary II together hold sixty percent (60%) of the equity interest of CEIBS Publishing Group Limited, a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of Hong Kong (the HK Subsidiary II, together with HK Subsidiary I, the HK Subsidiaries, and each a HK Subsidiary). The HK Subsidiary II holds one hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest of Fenghe Corporation Management Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (枫合企业管理咨询(上海)有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (WFOE II, together with WFOE I, the WFOEs, and each a WFOE), which in turn controls Shanghai Fenghe Culture Communication Co., Ltd. (上海峰禾文化传播有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Shanghai Fenghe) through the Fenghe Cooperative Agreements (as defined below) and Shanghai Zhong Ou International Culture Communication Co., Ltd. (上海中欧国际文化传播有限公司), a company incorporated and existing under the Laws of the PRC (Shanghai Zhong Ou, together with Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Beijing Yunxuetang, Suzhou Xuancai, XWLJ, Beijing Guoshi, and Shanghai Fenghe, the Domestic Companies, and each a Domestic Company) through the Zhong Ou Cooperative Agreements (as defined below, together with the Yunxuetang Cooperative Agreements and the Fenghe Cooperative Agreements, the Cooperative Agreements)
C. The Group Companies collectively engage in the business of research and development of software (including Software-as-a-Service or SaaS), development and operation of internet or mobile network platforms and design, production, distribution and sale of multimedia courses, in each case, related to professional/skill training or education and enterprise informatization, and providing of related technical, consulting and supporting services, and other business as approved by the Board (the Business).
D. SIG purchased from the Company, and the Company sold to SIG, certain number of series A convertible redeemable preferred shares, with a par value of US$0.0001 per share, of the Company (the Series A Preferred Shares) on the terms and conditions set forth in the Series A Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of November 3, 2017 by and among the Company, the BVI Subsidiary I, the HK Subsidiary I, the WFOE I, certain Domestic Companies, the Founder Parties, SIG and certain other parties thereto (the Series A Purchase Agreement) and the Warrant to Purchase Series A Preferred Shares of UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED dated November 3, 2017 by and among SIG and the Company. Chengwei Capital HK Limited purchased from the Company 1,838,453 Series A Preferred Shares, and CW MBA Digital Limited purchased from the Company 3,414,270 Series A Preferred Shares, on June 24, 2020.
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E. Ximalaya (Hong Kong) Limited purchased from the Company 3,036,570 series B convertible redeemable preferred shares, with a par value of US$0.0001 per share, of the Company (the Series B Preferred Shares), Shen Jinhua (沈锦华) purchased from the Company 2,024,380 Series B Preferred Shares through Potato Capital Holding Limited, and Gao Qi (高琪) purchased from the Company 2,024,380 Series B Preferred Shares through Bronze Shield Limited, in each case pursuant to the Series B Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of September 10, 2018 (the Series B Purchase Agreement). Ximalaya (Hong Kong) Limiteds onshore Affiliate (i.e., Shanghai Ximalaya Technology Co., Ltd. (上海喜马拉雅科技有限公司) (Shanghai Ximalaya)), Shen Jinhua (沈锦华), Gao Qi (高琪), Jiangsu Yunxuetang and certain other parties thereto have entered into a Capital Increase Agreement dated December 1, 2017, pursuant to which Shanghai Ximalaya has subscribed for certain amount of increased registered capital of Jiangsu Yunxuetang for a total consideration of RMB30,000,000, Shen Jinhua (沈锦华) has subscribed for certain amount of increased registered capital of Jiangsu Yunxuetang for a total consideration of RMB20,000,000 and Gao Qi (高琪) has subscribed for certain amount of increased registered capital of Jiangsu Yunxuetang for a total consideration of RMB20,000,000.
F. YF Elite Alliance Limited purchased from the Company, and the Company sold to YF Elite Alliance Limited, 23,786,590 series C convertible redeemable preferred shares, with a par value of US$0.0001 per share, of the Company (the Series C Preferred Shares) on the terms and conditions set forth in the Series C Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated as of September 10, 2018 by and among certain Group Companies, the Founder Parties, YF Elite Alliance Limited and certain other parties thereto (the Series C Purchase Agreement) and the Warrant to Purchase Warrant Shares of UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED dated September 10, 2018.
G. The Series D Investors purchased from the Company, and the Company sold to the Series D Investors, 26,268,981 series D convertible redeemable preferred shares, with a par value of US$0.0001 per share, of the Company (the Series D Preferred Shares) on the terms and conditions set forth in the Series D Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated December 31, 2019 by and among certain Group Companies, the Founder Parties, the Series D Investors and certain other parties thereto (the Series D Purchase Agreement). Centurium purchased from YunLing Holdings Limited 6,943,638 Ordinary Shares, which were re-designated by the Company as Series D Preferred Shares immediately upon completion of such purchase. Tencent purchased from the Other Ordinary Shareholder 3,939,542 Ordinary Shares, which were re-designated by the Company as Series D Preferred Shares immediately upon completion of such purchase.
H. Tencent purchased from the Company, and the Company sold to Tencent, 16,883,753 series E convertible redeemable preferred shares, with a par value of US$0.0001 per share, of the Company (the Series E Preferred Shares) on the terms and conditions set forth in the Series E Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated January 9, 2021 by and among certain Group Companies, the Founder Parties, Tencent and certain other parties thereto (the Series E Purchase Agreement).
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I. Matrix, April Sky Management Limited (April Sky) and the Company entered into a share transfer agreement on February 5, 2021 (April Share Transfer Agreement), pursuant to which, Matrix purchased from April Sky 1,501,006 Ordinary Shares. Matrix, Founder Lu Holdco and the Company entered into a share transfer agreement on March 22, 2021 (Founder Lu Share Transfer Agreement), pursuant to which, Matrix purchased from Founder Lu Holdco 3,751,945 Ordinary Shares.
J. Matrix purchased from the Company, and the Company sold to Matrix, 3,605,492 series E2 convertible redeemable preferred shares, with a par value of US$0.0001 per share, of the Company (the Series E2 Preferred Shares) on the terms and conditions set forth in the Series E2 Preferred Share Purchase Agreement dated March 22, 2021 by and among certain Group Companies, the Founder Parties, Matrix and certain other parties thereto (the Series E2 Purchase Agreement); Hundreds Three Fund Limited Partnership purchased from the Company, and the Company sold to Hundreds Three Fund Limited Partnership, 1,482,018 Series E2 Preferred Shares on the terms and conditions set forth in the Series E2 Purchase Agreement; SCC Growth VI Holdco E, Ltd. purchased from the Company, and the Company sold to SCC Growth VI Holdco E, Ltd., 4,446,055 Series E2 Preferred Shares on the terms and conditions set forth in the Series E2 Purchase Agreement.
K. SIG, the Series B Investors, the Series C Investor, the Series D Investors, Tencent, certain Group Companies, the Angel Parties, the Other Ordinary Shareholder, the Founder Parties and the Key Holder Parties have entered into the Fourth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement dated January 25, 2021 (the Prior Agreement).
L. The parties hereto desire to enter into this Agreement and the ancillary agreements for the purpose of amending and restating the Prior Agreement in its entirety as well as setting forth the agreements on the governance, management and operations of the Group Companies between and among the Company and its shareholders and the rights and obligations of each party hereto.
AGREEMENT
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing recitals, the mutual promises hereinafter set forth, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereby agree as follows:
1. | DEFINITIONS. |
1.1 | Certain Defined Terms. Unless otherwise defined herein, capitalized terms used but not defined in this Agreement shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Series E2 Purchase Agreement. As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following respective meanings: |
Affiliate means, with respect to a Person other than a natural person, any other Person that, directly or indirectly, controls, is controlled by or is under common control with such Person; and with respect to any Person who is a natural person, any other Person that, is directly or indirectly, controlled by such Person or is a Family Member of such Person. For the avoidance of doubt, in the case of the Lead Series D Investor, the term Affiliate includes (i) any direct or indirect controlling shareholder of the Lead Series D Investor, (ii) any of such direct or indirect controlling shareholders or the Lead Series D Investors general partners, (iii) the fund manager managing such direct or indirect controlling shareholder or the Lead Series D Investor (and general partners and officers thereof) and other funds or Person managed or controlled by such fund manager, and (iv) trusts controlled by or for the benefit of any such Person referred to in (i), (ii) or (iii). In this Agreement, the Affiliate of Yunfeng or Yunfengs Affiliate or YF Affiliate refers to (i) any of YF RMB Funds or YF USD Funds, (ii) any other fund or special purpose investment vehicle managed or sponsored by any YF Advisor, or (iii) any portfolio company controlled by any of the foregoing.
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For the purpose of this definition,
(a) YF RMB Fund shall mean any of the following: (i) 上海云锋股权投资中心(有限合伙); (ii) 上海云锋新创股权投资中心(有限合伙); (iii) 上海云锋新呈股权投资中心(有限合伙); and (iv) 上海云锋麒泰投资中心(有限合伙);
(b) YF USD Fund shall mean any of the following: (i) Yunfeng Fund, L.P.; (ii) Yunfeng Fund II, L.P.; and (iii) Yunfeng Fund III, L.P..
(c) YF Advisor means Yunfeng Offshore Advisor or Yunfeng Onshore Advisor.
(d) YF Offshore Advisor means Yunfeng Capital Limited.
(e) YF Onshore Advisor means 上海云锋投资管理有限公司 or 上海云锋新创投资管理有限公司, as the case may be. For the avoidance of doubt, Yunfeng shall not be deemed an Affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Limited or Ant Technology Group Co. Ltd. (蚂蚁科技集团股份有限公司).
Angel Parties means the entities listed in part I of Schedule III attached hereto, so long as such entity holds any Ordinary Shares of the Company, an Angel Party means any of them.
Board or Board of Directors means the board of directors of the Company.
Business Day means any day, other than a Saturday, Sunday or any public holiday, on which banks are ordinarily open for business in Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and the PRC.
Centurium means Jump Shot Holdings Limited, a company incorporated under the Laws of the Cayman Islands, or its successor.
Change of Control means (i) any consolidation, amalgamation, scheme of arrangement or merger of the Company with or into any other Person, or any other transaction or series of transactions, in which the members of the Company immediately prior to such consolidation, amalgamation, scheme of arrangement, merger, reorganization or transaction(s) own less than a majority of the voting power attaching to all issued and outstanding Equity Securities of the Company immediately after such consolidation, amalgamation, scheme of arrangement, merger, or reorganization, or any transaction or series of related transactions to which the Company is a party in which or as a result of which at least a majority of the voting power attaching to all issued and outstanding Equity Securities of the Company immediately prior to such transaction(s) is transferred; or (ii) a sale, transfer, lease, or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company or of the other Group Companies, or the licensing out of material intellectual property, taken as a whole (or any series of related transactions resulting in such sale, transfer, or lease of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company or of the other Group Companies, or the licensing out of material intellectual property, taken as a whole).
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control (including with collative meanings, the terms controlling, controlled by and under common control with) means, with respect to any Person, the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power or authority to direct or cause the direction of the business, management and policies of such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities or by contract or otherwise, which power or authority shall conclusively be presumed to exist upon possession of beneficial ownership of more than fifty percent (50%) of the Equity Securities of such Person or power to direct the vote of more than fifty percent (50%) of the votes entitled to be cast at a meeting of the members or shareholders of such Person or power to control the composition of a majority of the board of directors or similar governing body of such Person.
Deemed Liquidation Event has the meaning given to it the Restated Articles.
Employee Share Restriction Agreements means the employee share restriction agreements by any among XZY Holdings Limited, each of XZY Holdings Limiteds shareholders (other than Zhang Jian (张戬) and Cheng Xiaowei (程晓伟)), Jiangsu Yunxuetang and Suzhou Xinzhiyun Enterprise Management Consulting Center (Limited Partnership) (苏州新智云企业管理咨询中心(有限合伙)).
Equity Securities means, with respect to any Person that is a legal entity, any and all shares of capital stock, membership interests, units, profits interests, ownership interest, equity interest, registered capital, and other equity securities of such Person, and any right, warrant, option, call, commitment, conversion privilege, preemptive right or other right to acquire any of the foregoing, or security convertible into, exchangeable or exercisable for any of the foregoing, or any contract providing for the acquisition of any of the foregoing. Unless the context otherwise requires or specifies, any reference to Equity Securities refers to the Equity Securities of the Company.
Exchange Act means the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and any successor statute.
Excluded Registration means (i) a registration relating to the sale of securities to employees of the Company or a Subsidiary pursuant to a stock option, stock purchase, or similar plan; (ii) a registration relating to an SEC Rule 145 transaction; (iii) a registration on any form that does not include substantially the same information as would be required to be included in a registration statement covering the sale of the Registrable Securities; or (iv) a registration in which the only Ordinary Shares being registered are Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of debt securities that are also being registered.
Family Members of an individual means his or her spouse, children or step-children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, in-laws and each person who lives together with this individual in the same household.
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Fenghe Cooperative Agreements means:
(i) the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement (独家技术与咨询服务协议) by and between the WFOE II and Shanghai Fenghe dated June 24, 2020;
(ii) the Exclusive Option Agreement (独家购买权协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Fenghe and the equity holders of Shanghai Fenghe dated June 24, 2020;
(iii) the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (股权质押协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Fenghe and the equity holders of Shanghai Fenghe dated June 24, 2020; and
(iv) the Shareholders Voting Rights Proxy Agreement (股东表决权委托协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Fenghe and the equity holders of Shanghai Fenghe dated June 24, 2020.
Founder Lu Holdco Loan Documents has the meaning given to the term Loan Documents in the Founder Lu Holdco Loan Agreement.
Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage means any mortgage, pledge, lien, charge, assignment, hypothecation or security interest created pursuant to the Founder Lu Holdco Loan Documents.
Founder Lu Holdco Mortgaged Shares has the meaning given to the term Mortgaged Shares in the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage Agreement.
Governmental Authority(ies) means any government of any nation or any federation, province or state or any other political subdivision thereof, any entity, authority or body exercising executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or administrative functions of or pertaining to government, including any of the foregoing, agency, department, board, commission or instrumentality of the PRC or any other country, or any political subdivision thereof, any court, tribunal or arbitrator, and any self-regulatory organization.
Group Companies means collectively the Company, the Cayman Subsidiary, the BVI Subsidiary I, the BVI Subsidiary II, the HK Subsidiary I, the HK Subsidiary II, the WFOEs, the Domestic Companies and each other entity which is directly or indirectly controlled by the Company or whose financial statements are consolidated with those of the Company in accordance with the IFRS or other accounting standards approved by the Board in accordance with Section 9.2 (in each case, the Approved Accounting Standards) and are recorded on the books of the Company for financial reporting purposes (each, a Group Company).
Hong Kong means the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the PRC.
IFRS means the International Financial Reporting Standards.
Indemnification Agreements means the indemnification agreements entered into between the Company and each of the Investor Directors.
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Internal Rate of Return shall mean, in respect of any Series D Preferred Share as of the date of determination, the annual percentage rate compounded on an annual basis and based on a 365-day period which when applied to each of the following cash flows and taking into account the timing of when the relevant payments are made, would result in a net present value of zero: (a) representing positive cash flows, the aggregate net amounts received by the holder of such Series D Preferred Share in respect of such share through such date (including without limitation any dividends and other distributions and cash from sale or redemption received in respect of such Series D Preferred Share) and (b) representing negative cash flows, the aggregate amounts paid by the holder of such share.
Investors means collectively the Series A Investors, the Series B Investors, the Series C Investor, the Series D Investors, the Series E Investors and the Series E2 Investors, an Investor means any of them.
IPO means the first firm underwritten registered public offering by the Company (or another listing vehicle formed to hold all or most of the business and assets of the Group Companies taken as a whole) of its ordinary shares pursuant to a registration statement that is filed with and declared effective by either the Commission under the Securities Act or equivalent filing for a public offering by the Company (or another listing vehicle formed to hold all or most of the business and assets of the Group Companies taken as a whole) of its ordinary shares in any jurisdiction other than the United States of America, including a Qualified Public Offering.
IPO Resolution means a resolution of the Board approving the exploration, furtherance and/or closing of an IPO, any restructuring or applications for any approvals required to effect an IPO and/or any other matters in furtherance of an IPO, in such form as may be approved by the Lead Series D Investor Representative and Tencent.
Law or Laws means any and all provisions of any applicable constitution, treaty, statute, law, regulation, ordinance, code, rule, or rule of common law, any governmental approval, concession, grant, franchise, license, agreement, directive, requirement, or other governmental restriction or any similar form of decision of, or determination by, or any interpretation or administration of any of the foregoing by, any Governmental Authority, in each case as amended, and any and all applicable governmental orders.
Lead Series D Investor means (i) Centurium, or (ii) Centuriums assign or transferee to which all (but not less than all) of the Series D Preferred Shares (including securities issued or issuable upon a stock split, stock dividend or any subdivision, combination, recapitalization, or other similar events with respect to such Series D Preferred Shares) held by Centurium immediately prior to such transfer have been transferred in compliance with this Agreement, or (iii) in the event that Centurium has, after January 25, 2021, transferred in compliance with this Agreement (x) all or any portion of the Series D Preferred Shares (including securities issued or issuable upon a stock split, stock dividend or any subdivision, combination, recapitalization, or other similar events with respect to such Series D Preferred Shares) held by it to one (1) or more of its Affiliates, or (y) no less than fifty percent (50%) (but not all) of the Series D Preferred Shares (including securities issued or issuable upon a stock split, stock dividend or any subdivision, combination, recapitalization, or other similar events with respect to such Series D Preferred Shares) held by it to any single assign or transferee who is not an Affiliate of it, then Centurium, such Affiliate(s) and/or such assign or transferee, shall be, taken as a whole, regarded as the Lead Series D Investor for all purposes of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents, and each of them shall be referred to hereunder as a Lead Series D Investor Member.
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Lead Series D Investor Representative means, (i) Centurium, or (ii) if the scenario described under (ii) of the definition of Lead Series D Investor applies, such assign or transferee of Centurium, or (iii) if the scenario described under (iii) of the definition of Lead Series D Investor applies, a Lead Series D Investor Member as designated by Centurium in writing to the Company, or if no such designation is made within three (3) Business Days after a request for designation is sent by the Company or Founder Lu, Centurium (for the avoidance of doubt, any direction regarding a matter of the Group Companies or the Founder Parties requiring single consent, approval or confirmation from the Lead Investor (as defined in the Series D Purchase Agreement) or the Lead Series D Investor Representative pursuant to this Agreement or the other Transaction Documents, whether verbally or in writing, given by such designated Lead Series D Investor Member or Centurium (as the case may be) under this scenario (iii) shall be deemed as having been jointly given by all Lead Series D Investor Members which cannot be cancelled, withdrawn or invalidated by a direction regarding the same matter given by any other Lead Series D Investor Member or any Lead Series D Investor Member other than Centurium (as the case may be), and the Company or the Founder Parties shall have no obligations to confer or consult with or seek consent, approval or confirmation regarding the same matter from any other Lead Series D Investor Member or any Lead Series D Investor Member other than Centurium (as the case may be).
Matrix means Matrix Partners China VI Hong Kong Limited.
Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries means the Group Companies whose equity interests are not one-hundred percent (100%) held or controlled (whether directly or indirectly) by the Company, including without limitation, as of the date hereof, the HK Subsidiary II, the WFOE II, Shanghai Fenghe and Shanghai Zhong Ou, and a Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary means any of them.
Ordinary Shares means the ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, in the share capital the Company.
Ordinary Share Equivalents means any Equity Security which is by its terms convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Ordinary Shares, including without limitation, the Preferred Shares.
Other Ordinary Shareholder means the entity listed in part II of Schedule III attached hereto, so long as such entity holds any Ordinary Shares of the Company;
Person means any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, firm, joint venture, estate, trust, unincorporated organization, association, corporation, institution, public benefit corporation, entity or governmental or regulatory authority or other entity of any kind or nature.
PRC means the Peoples Republic of China, but solely for the purposes of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents, excluding Hong Kong, the Macau Special Administrative Region and the islands of Taiwan.
PRC GAAP means the generally accepted accounting principles of the PRC.
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Preferred Majority means the holders of more than fifty percent (50%) of the then issued and outstanding Preferred Shares, calculated on an as-converted basis.
Preferred Shares means the Series A Preferred Shares, the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series C Preferred Shares, the Series D Preferred Shares, the Series E Preferred Shares and the Series E2 Preferred Shares collectively.
Qualified Public Offering means:
(X) with respect to each shareholder other than each Series E Investor and each Series E2 Investor, an IPO consummated (unless otherwise consented to by the Lead Series D Investor Representative, Yunfeng and SIG) on or prior to the seventh (7th) anniversary of January 25, 2021 on the main board of Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, NASDAQ, the New York Stock Exchange, or another domestic or international stock exchange approved by Tencent, the Lead Series D Investor Representative, Yunfeng and SIG (each, a Qualified Exchange), provided that, unless otherwise consented to by the Lead Series D Investor Representative, Yunfeng and SIG: (a)(i) if the closing of such IPO occurs on or prior to the fourth (4th) anniversary of January 25, 2021, the per share offering price in such IPO shall be no less than the higher of (1) a price that would provide (assuming that all of the Ordinary Shares into which such Series D Preferred Shares issued to Centurium pursuant to the Series D Purchase Agreement are convertible are sold in the IPO at such offering price) Centurium with an Internal Rate of Return of 25% on Centuriums investment in the Series D Preferred Shares acquired pursuant to the Series D Purchase Agreement, with such Internal Rate of Return calculated from the date hereof through the closing date of such IPO, and (2) a price that implies a valuation of the Company immediately prior to the IPO that is no lower than US$800,000,000, and (ii) if the closing of such IPO occurs after the fourth (4th) anniversary of January 25, 2021 and prior to the seventh (7th) anniversary of January 25, 2021, the per share offering price in such IPO shall be no less than a price that implies a valuation of the Company immediately prior to the IPO that is no lower than US$ 1,000,000,000, and (b) such IPO results in gross proceeds in cash to the Company (i.e., before deduction of underwriting fees and other expenses and costs related to such public offering) of at least US$160,000,000; and
(Y) with respect to each Series E Investor and each Series E2 Investor, an IPO consummated on or prior to the fourth (4th) anniversary of January 25, 2021 on a Qualified Exchange, the per share offering price in which implies a valuation of the Company immediately prior to the IPO not lower than US$1,400,000,000 and results in gross proceeds in cash to the Company (i.e., before deduction of underwriting fees and other expenses and costs related to such public offering) of at least US$160,000,000.
Related Party means, with respect to any Group Company:
(i) any holder of any Equity Securities of any Group Company;
(ii) any director, officer, supervisory board member or key employee of any Group Company;
(iii) any Affiliate of any of the foregoing persons specified in (i) or (ii);
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(iv) any Person in which any of the foregoing persons specified in (i) or (ii) has any interest, other than a passive shareholding of less than 10%;
(v) any other Affiliate of any Group Company; or
(vi) any Person in which Founder Lu has any interest other than any Equity Securities in any other Group Company or passive shareholding of less than 5%.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be deemed as a Related Party to any Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary and any Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary shall not be deemed as a Related Party to the Company, and one Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary shall not be deemed as a Related Party to another Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary.
Restated Articles means the seventh amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of the Company adopted on March 22, 2021, as amended and/or restated from time to time.
SEC Rule 145 means Rule 145 promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act.
Securities Act means the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Series A Investors means the entities listed on Schedule IV-1 attached hereto.
Series A Majority means the holders of more than fifty percent (50%) of the then issued and outstanding Series A Preferred Shares, calculated on an as-converted basis.
Series B Investors means the entities and individuals listed on Schedule IV-2 attached hereto.
Series B Majority means the holders of more than fifty percent (50%) of the then issued and outstanding Series B Preferred Shares, calculated on an as-converted basis.
Series C Investor means the entity listed on Schedule IV-3 attached hereto.
Series C Majority means the holders of more than fifty percent (50%) of the then issued and outstanding Series C Preferred Shares, calculated on an as-converted basis.
Series D Investors means the entities listed on Schedule IV-4 attached hereto.
Series D Majority means the holders of more than fifty percent (50%) of the then issued and outstanding Series D Preferred Shares, calculated on an as-converted basis.
Series E Investor means any holder of Series E Preferred Shares.
Series E Majority means the holders of more than fifty percent (50%) of the then issued and outstanding Series E Preferred Shares and Series E2 Preferred Shares, calculated on an as-converted basis.
Series E2 Investor means any holder of Series E2 Preferred Shares.
Series E2 Majority means the holders of more than two-thirds (2/3) of the then issued and outstanding Series E2 Preferred Shares, calculated on an as-converted basis.
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Subsidiary means, with respect to any given person, any other person that is controlled directly or indirectly by such given person. For the avoidance of doubt, the Subsidiaries of the Company shall include the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies and their Subsidiaries from time to time.
shareholder means, unless the context otherwise requires or specifies, a holder of Shares who is a party hereto as of the date hereof or becomes a party hereto in compliance with the terms hereof.
Share Restriction Agreements means (i) the Second Amended and Restated Share Restriction Agreement dated January 15, 2020 and entered into by and among the Company, Dingding Holdings Limited and all other parties thereto, and (ii) the Fourth Amended and Restated Share Restriction Agreement dated the date hereof and entered into by and among the Company, Founder Lu and all other parties thereto.
Shares means (i) Ordinary Shares (whether now outstanding or hereafter issued in any context), (ii) Ordinary Shares issued upon conversion of the Preferred Shares or any other class or series of preferred shares of the Company, (iii) Ordinary Shares issued upon exercise or conversion, as applicable, of share options, warrants or other convertible securities of the Company, and (iv) the Preferred Shares and any other class or series of shares in the share capital of the Company.
SIG means SIG China Investments Master Fund IV, LLLP.
Tencent means Image Frame Investment (HK) Limited.
Tencent Business Cooperation Agreements means (i) the Business Cooperation Agreement entered into by and between 深圳市腾讯计算机系统有限公司 (an affiliate of Tencent) and Jiangsu Yunxuetang on or prior to the date hereof, and (ii) the Business Cooperation Agreement entered into by and between Tencent and the Company on or prior to the date hereof.
Tencent Restricted Person means each Person listed on Exhibit D.
Transaction Documents means the Series A Purchase Agreement, the Series B Purchase Agreement, the Series C Purchase Agreement, the Series D Purchase Agreement, the Series E Purchase Agreement, the Series E2 Purchase Agreement, this Agreement, the Restated Articles, the Indemnification Agreements, the Share Restriction Agreements and the Cooperative Agreements, and each of the other agreements and documents otherwise entered into in connection with the transactions contemplated by any of the foregoing, provided that the Tencent Business Cooperation Agreements shall not be deemed as Transaction Documents for all purposes of Article 47 (Redemption) of the Restated Articles.
Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries means the Subsidiaries of the Company other than the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries and a Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary means any of them.
Yunfeng means YF Elite Alliance Limited.
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Yunxuetang Cooperative Agreements means:
(i) the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement (独家技术咨询服务协议) by and between the WFOE I and Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated October 9, 2017;
(ii) Exclusive Option Agreement (独家购股选择权协议) by and among the WFOE I, Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the equity holders of Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated September 5, 2018;
(iii) the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (股权质押协议) by and among the WFOE I, Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the equity holders of Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated September 5, 2018;
(iv) the Power of Attorney Agreement (股东权利委托协议) by and among the WFOE I, Jiangsu Yunxuetang and the shareholders of Jiangsu Yunxuetang dated September 5, 2018;
(v) the Spousal Consents (配偶承诺函) dated September 5, 2018 by each of Chen Yong (陈勇, spouse of Ding Jie (丁捷)), Huang Ling (黄玲, spouse of 吴彬)), Ren Qiaohong (任巧红, spouse of 陈红波) and Liu Wenshan (刘文珊, spouse of 许乃汉); and the Spousal Consent (配偶承诺函) dated September 10, 2018 by Liu Jie (刘洁, spouse of 沈锦华); and
(vi) the Confirmation Letters (确认函) dated September 10, 2018 by each of Founder Lu and Gao Qi (高琪), and the Confirmation Letter (确认函) by LiXue (李雪) dated August 5, 2018.
Zhong Ou Cooperative Agreements means:
(i) the Exclusive Technology and Consulting Service Agreement (独家技术与咨询服务协议) by and between the WFOE II and Shanghai Zhong Ou dated June 24, 2020;
(ii) the Exclusive Option Agreement (独家购买权协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Zhong Ou and the equity holders of Shanghai Zhong Ou dated June 24, 2020;
(iii) the Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (股权质押协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Zhong Ou and the equity holders of Shanghai Zhong Ou dated June 24, 2020; and
(iv) the Shareholders Voting Rights Proxy Agreement (股东表决权委托协议) by and among the WFOE II, Shanghai Zhong Ou and the equity holders of Shanghai Zhong Ou dated June 24, 2020.
1.2 | Other Defined Terms. The following terms shall have the meanings defined for such terms in the sections set forth below: |
Term |
Section | |
Agreement | Preamble | |
as-converted basis | 11.10(b) | |
Beijing Guoshi | Preamble | |
Beijing Yunxuetang | Preamble | |
Business | Recitals | |
BVI Subsidiaries | Preamble | |
BVI Subsidiary I | Preamble | |
BVI Subsidiary II | Preamble | |
Cayman Subsidiary | Preamble | |
Commission | 3.2(f) |
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Term |
Section | |
Company | Preamble | |
Company Competitors | 5.6(a) | |
Cooperative Agreements | Recitals | |
Core VIE Company | 9.3(b)(iii) | |
Co-Sale Notice | 5.3(a) | |
Co-Sale Right Holder | 5.3(a) | |
Demanded IPO | 10.3(b) | |
Disclosing Party | 8.4 | |
Domestic Companies | Recitals | |
Drag-Along Sale | 6.1 | |
Dragged Shareholders | 6.1 | |
Dragging Shareholders | 6.1 | |
Dual Class Voting Structure | 10.6 | |
ESOP | 9.2(m) | |
Existing ESOP Shares | 10.7 | |
Financing Terms | 8.1 | |
Form F-3 | 3.2(e) | |
Founder Lu | Preamble | |
Founder Lu Holdco | Preamble | |
Founder Lu Holdco Loan Agreement | 10.3(c) | |
Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage Agreement | 10.3(c) | |
fully-diluted basis | 11.10(b) | |
HK Subsidiaries | Recitals | |
HK Subsidiary I | Preamble | |
HK Subsidiary II | Recitals | |
HKIAC | 11.14(b)(i) | |
HKIAC Rules | 11.14(b)(i) | |
Holder | 3.2(d) | |
Information Rights | 2.1(a)(ix) | |
Initiating Holders | 3.3(b) | |
Inspection Rights | 2.1(b) | |
Investor Directors | 2.2(a)(iv) | |
Jiangsu Yunxuetang | Preamble | |
Joinder | 11.7 | |
Key Holder Parties | Preamble | |
M&A | 9.1(e) | |
Minimum Co-Sale Number | 5.3(b) | |
New ESOP Shares | 10.7 | |
New Securities | 4.3 | |
Non-Disclosing Parties | 8.4 | |
Non-Disclosing Party | 8.4 | |
Observer | 2.2(e) | |
Offered Shares | 5.2(a) | |
Option Period | 5.2(a)(i) | |
Original Share Certificate(s) | 5.3(d) | |
Overallotment Participants | 5.2(b) | |
Overallotment Shares | 5.2(b) |
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Term |
Section | |
Participation Notice | 4.4 | |
Participation Period | 4.4 | |
Participation Rights Holder | 4.1 | |
Permitted Transferee | 5.5(c) | |
PFIC | 2.1(d) | |
Prior Agreement | Recitals | |
Pro Rata Share | 4.2 | |
Process Agent | 11.15 | |
Prospective Purchaser | 5.3(a) | |
Registrable Securities | 3.2(b) | |
Registrable Securities then Outstanding | 3.2(c) | |
Registration Expenses | 3.2(g) | |
Remaining New Securities | 4.4 | |
Remaining Offered Shares | 5.3(a) | |
Remaining Securities | 4.5 | |
Request Notice | 3.3(a) | |
Restricted Holders | 5.1(a) | |
Right of Participation | 4.1 | |
ROFR Allocation Notice | 5.2(b) | |
ROFR Holder | 5.2(a)(i) | |
SaaS | Recitals | |
SEC | 3.2(f) | |
Second Transfer Notice | 5.3(a) | |
Selling Expenses | 3.2(h) | |
Series A Preferred Shares | Recitals | |
Series A Purchase Agreement | Recitals | |
Series Angel Preferred Shares | Recitals | |
Series B Preferred Shares | Recitals | |
Series B Purchase Agreement | Recitals | |
Series C Preferred Shares | Recitals | |
Series C Purchase Agreement | Recitals | |
Series D Director | 2.2(a)(ii) | |
Series D Preferred Shares | Recitals | |
Series D Purchase Agreement | Recitals | |
Series E Preferred Shares | Recitals | |
Series E Purchase Agreement | Recitals | |
Series E2 Preferred Shares | Recitals | |
Series E2 Purchase Agreement | Recitals | |
Shanghai Fenghe | Recitals | |
Shanghai Ximalaya | Recitals | |
Shanghai Zhong Ou | Recitals | |
SIG Director | 2.2(a)(iv) | |
Special Auditing Rights | 2.1(b) | |
Subsidiary Boards | 2.2(d) | |
Suzhou Xuancai | Preamble | |
Tencent Director | 2.2(a)(i) | |
Transfer | 5.1(a) |
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Term |
Section | |
Transfer Notice | 5.2(a) | |
Transferor | 5.2(a) | |
VIE Companies | 9.3(b) | |
VIE Structure | 9.3 | |
Violation | 3.9(a) | |
WFOE I | Preamble | |
WFOE II | Recitals | |
WFOEs | Recitals | |
XWLJ | Preamble | |
Yunfeng Director | 2.2(a)(iii) |
2. | INFORMATION RIGHTS; BOARD REPRESENTATION. |
2.1 | Information and Inspection Rights. |
(a) | Information Rights. Each of the Group Companies covenants and agrees that, commencing on the date of this Agreement, the Group Companies shall deliver to each Investor, each Angel Party and the Other Ordinary Shareholder (in each case, to the extent such Investor, Angel Party or Other Ordinary Shareholder owns more than three percent (3%) Equity Securities of the Company (calculated on a fully-diluted and as-converted basis)): |
(i) | audited annual consolidated financial statements of the Group Companies, within ninety (90) days after the end of each fiscal year, prepared in accordance with the Approved Accounting Standards and audited by a reputable accounting firm as determined by the Board (including the affirmative votes of the Investor Directors); |
(ii) | unaudited monthly consolidated financial statements and the monthly main operation data of the Group Companies, within thirty (30) days of the end of each month; |
(iii) | unaudited quarterly consolidated financial statements of the Group Companies, within sixty (60) days of the end of each fiscal quarter; |
(iv) | a comprehensive operating budget forecasting of the Group Companies revenues, expenses, and cash position on a month-to-month basis for the upcoming fiscal year and the business plan of the Group Companies for the upcoming fiscal year, each of which that is to be or that has been submitted to the Board for approval, at least thirty (30) days prior to the end of each fiscal year; |
(v) | details in relation to any actual or prospective material change or development with regard to the business, operations and financial conditions of any Group Company; |
(vi) | an up-to-date capitalization table of each Group Company, certified by the Chief Financial Officer/Financial Controller promptly following the end of each quarter; |
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(vii) | copies of all documents or information of the Group Companies sent to any shareholder; |
(viii) | other information as determined by the Board; and |
(ix) | such other information as may be reasonably requested by such Investor, the Angel Parties and the Other Ordinary Shareholder (the above rights, collectively, the Information Rights). |
All financial statements to be provided to each such holder of Preferred Shares and each such holder of Ordinary Shares pursuant to this Section 2.1(a) shall include an income statement, a balance sheet, a cash flow statement, and a statement of changes in shareholding for the relevant period as well as for the fiscal year to-date and shall be prepared in conformance with the PRC GAAP (with respect to the WFOEs and the Domestic Companies) or the Approved Accounting Standards (with respect to the Company, the BVI Subsidiaries, the HK Subsidiaries, or the Group Companies taken as a whole).
(b) | Inspection Rights. Each of the Group Companies further covenants and agrees that, commencing on the date of this Agreement, each Investor, each Angel Party and the Other Ordinary Shareholder (in each case, to the extent such Investor, Angel Party or Other Ordinary Shareholder owns more than three percent (3%) Equity Securities of the Company (calculated on a fully-diluted and as-converted basis) and its authorized representatives shall, by giving a five (5) Business Day prior notice and during the normal business hours, have (i) the right to inspect facilities, personnel, records and books of the Group Companies at any time during regular working hours upon reasonable prior notice to the Group Companies, and (ii) the right to discuss the business, operations and conditions of the Group Companies with their respective directors, officers, employees, accountants, legal counsel and investment bankers (the Inspection Rights). Furthermore, each of SIG, Yunfeng, Centurium and Tencent shall have the right to conduct by itself or appoint any accounting firm to conduct financial auditing on the Group Companies at its own expense (the Special Auditing Rights), provided that each of SIG, Yunfeng, Centurium and Tencent shall not exercise the Special Auditing Rights more than once in any fiscal year. The Group Companies and the Founder Parties hereby covenant to cooperate with SIG, Yunfeng, Centurium and Tencent in providing necessary conditions and assistance to facilitate such financial auditing. |
(c) | Termination of Rights. Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, the Information Rights, the Inspection Rights and the Special Auditing Rights set forth in this Section 2.1 shall terminate upon the consummation of an IPO. |
(d) | United States Tax Matters. The Company acknowledges that any of the holder(s) of Preferred Shares may be, or may be comprised of a Person that is, a U.S. Person (as defined in the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended) and that the U.S. income tax consequences to such Person of the investment in the Company will be significantly affected by whether the Company and/or any of the entities in which it owns an equity interest at any time is (i) a passive foreign investment company (within the meaning of Section 1297 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended) (a PFIC) or (ii) classified as a partnership or a branch for US federal income tax purposes. |
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The Company agrees, if requested by any of the holder(s) of Preferred Shares that is, or is comprised of any Person that is, a U.S. Person (as defined in the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended), (i) to cooperate with such holder of Preferred Shares, including providing any documentation reasonably requested by such holder of Preferred Shares, to determine annually whether the Company and each of the entities in which the Company owns or proposes to acquire an equity or ownership interest (directly or indirectly) is or may become a PFIC (including whether any exception to PFIC status may apply); for this purpose, the holder(s) of Preferred Shares agrees, if requested by the Company in writing, to provide the Company relevant information about itself/themselves or its/their Affiliates, as deemed reasonably necessary, in order to facilitate such determination, if applicable, and (ii) to provide such information as the holder(s) of Preferred Shares may reasonably request to permit the holder(s) of Preferred Shares to elect to treat the Company and/or any such entity as a qualified electing fund (within the meaning of Section 1295 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended) for US federal income tax purposes. To the extent the Company becomes, or believes it may be, a PFIC, the Company shall notify the holder(s) of Preferred Shares of such status.
The Company agrees, if requested by the holder(s) of Preferred Shares that is, or is comprised of any Person that is, a U.S. Person (as defined in the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended), to cooperate in determining whether it would be desirable, reasonable and appropriate for the Company and/or any such entity to elect to be classified as a partnership or branch for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, if so, to take all reasonable steps to cause any such elections to be made; provided, that the holder(s) of Preferred Shares shall, at the Companys expense, provide appropriate tax and legal expertise to advise the Company and/or any such entity with respect to making such elections. Subject to the preceding sentence, the Company shall not take any action inconsistent with the treatment of the Company as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes and shall not elect to be treated as an entity other than a corporation for such purposes.
The Company agrees, if requested by the holder(s) of Preferred Shares that is, or is comprised of any Person that is, a U.S. Person (as defined in the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended), to cooperate with the holder(s) of Preferred Shares, including providing any documentation reasonably requested by the holder(s) of Preferred Shares, to prepare and provide to the holder(s) of Preferred Shares within one hundred twenty (120) days following the end of the Companys taxable year a complete and accurate PFIC Annual Information Statement as required under the applicable U.S. tax regulations for the Company and for each of its Subsidiaries required to file such statement. The parties agree that such statement shall generally follow the general form of Exhibit A attached hereto.
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The Company also agrees to obtain and provide reasonably promptly upon the holder(s) of Preferred Shares request any and all other information deemed reasonably necessary to comply with the provisions of this Section.
2.2 | Board of Directors. |
(a) | Members of the Board. The Board of the Company shall consist of eight (8) members, which number of members shall not be changed except pursuant to an amendment to the Restated Articles: |
(i) | Tencent (so long as it or its Affiliates hold any Series E Preferred Share or Ordinary Shares of the Company) shall be entitled to appoint and remove one (1) director (the Tencent Director); |
(ii) | the Lead Series D Investor Representative (so long as it holds any Series D Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares of the Company) shall be entitled to appoint and remove one (1) director (the Series D Director); |
(iii) | Yunfeng (so long as it holds any Series C Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares of the Company) shall be entitled to appoint and remove one (1) director (the Yunfeng Director); |
(iv) | SIG (so long as it holds any Series A Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares of the Company) shall be entitled to appoint and remove one (1) director (the SIG Director, together with the Tencent Director, Series D Director and the Yunfeng Director, collectively, the Investor Directors); and |
(v) | Founder Lu shall be entitled to, through the Founder Lu Holdco, appoint and remove four (4) directors. |
(b) | Election and Removal of Board Members. Appointment or removal of each director of the Company pursuant to Section 2.2 may be made by the shareholder which is entitled to appoint or remove such Director by delivering to the Company a written instrument to that effect signed by such shareholder. No director appointed pursuant to Section 2.2 may be removed from office unless the shareholder originally entitled to appoint such director or occupy such Board seat pursuant to Section 2.2 is no longer so entitled to appoint such director or occupy such Board seat. Any vacancies created by the resignation, removal or death of a director appointed pursuant to Section 2.2 shall be filled pursuant to the provisions of Section 2.2. The Company shall adopt, and each shareholder of the Company that is a party to this Agreement agrees to cause the director(s) appointed by it (if any) to consent to adoption of, Board resolutions as may be required to update the register of directors of the Company reflecting each appointment or removal of director made pursuant to Section 2.2, and the Company shall promptly update its register of directors accordingly thereafter. |
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(c) | Board Meeting. The Company shall hold a Board meeting at least once every six (6) months, unless otherwise agreed by the majority of the votes of the directors who in all cases shall include all the Investor Directors. The quorum necessary for the transaction of the business of the directors shall be five (5) then in office, provided that such quorum shall include the Investor Directors and no Board meetings shall be held in the absence of any Investor Director. A meeting absent of any Investor Director shall be automatically postponed to commence at the same time on the date five (5) Business Days following the original date set forth in the original notice, and if at the postponed meeting any of the Investor Directors is not present within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting, any five (5) directors present and entitled to vote shall form a quorum. A notice of the postponed meeting shall also be delivered in accordance with the Restated Articles. Only the business outlined in the notice to the Board members shall be determined at the meeting. Subject to the sections with respect to the matters which must be approved by the Investor Directors as listed under this Agreement (including without limitation Section 9.2), each director except for Founder Lu (to the extent that Founder Lu is a director of the Company) shall have one (1) vote, and Founder Lu, to the extent that he is a director of the Company, shall have two (2) votes at any meeting of the Board or in respect of any Board resolutions. Subject to Section 9.2, any action that may be taken by the Board at a meeting may be taken by a written resolution signed by the directors holding a majority of the votes of all the directors then in office without convening a Board meeting; provided that, in the event that the Company desires to pass any such written Board resolution without convening a Board meeting, the Company shall provide at least five (5) Business Days of advance notice to each of the directors of the Company, setting forth the desire to pass such written Board resolution, reasonable details of the matters proposed to be approved (including the draft of such written Board resolution to be passed) and all relevant documents and materials (if applicable). After the directors representing the majority of the votes of all the directors have signed such resolution in favor of such matters, such resolution shall be deemed to have been approved by the Board, and promptly but in no event later than two (2) days after such signing, the Company shall notify each other director who has not signed or declined to sign such resolution together with a copy of such signed resolution, provided that in such circumstances, the party appointing or nominating such other director shall use reasonable endeavors to cause its appointed or nominated director to cooperate to sign such resolutions if a unanimous written resolutions signed by all directors of the Company is required by applicable Laws to effectuate a corporate action of the Company or to be filed with or submitted to (where applicable) the competent Governmental Authorities, unless any Investor Director appointed or nominated by such party has raised his/her objection or withheld his/her approval or affirmative vote with respect to such matters put to vote pursuant to Section 9.2. |
(d) | Board of Subsidiaries. Upon the written request of any Investor who is entitled to appoint director(s) to the Board in accordance with Section 2.2(a), each such Investor shall have the right (but not the obligation) to appoint and remove one (1) director of the board of directors of each Subsidiary of the Company (other than the Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries) (the Subsidiary Boards and each, a Subsidiary Board). The provisions as set forth in Sections 2.2(b) and (c) hereof shall apply to the Subsidiary Boards. |
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(e) | Board Observer. Each of SIG, Yunfeng, the Lead Series D Investor Representative, Tencent, Matrix and the Other Ordinary Shareholder shall be entitled to respectively designate one (1) non-voting observer (each, an Observer). Chengwei Capital HK Limited and CW MBA Digital Limited shall be entitled to jointly designate one (1) Observer. Each Observer shall have the right to attend and observe meetings of the Board and each committee under the Board, and to receive notices of all meetings of the Board and each committee thereunder and copies of all documents provided to any member of the Board and any member of the Board committees. The Company shall not grant any additional observer rights without the prior written consents of SIG, Yunfeng, the Lead Series D Investor Representative and Tencent. |
(f) | Committees under the Board. In the event that any committee is formed within or under the Board, each of SIG, Yunfeng, the Lead Series D Investor Representative and Tencent shall be entitled to designate the Investor Director appointed by such shareholder as a member of each such committee. |
(g) | Expenses. The Company shall reimburse the directors for all reasonable expenses relating to all Board activities, including, without limitation, expenses or fees incurred in relation to attending Board meetings or meetings of any committee thereof. Upon request by a majority of the Investor Directors and if commercially reasonable, the Company shall provide directors and officers liability insurance (D&O Insurance) for the directors and officers of the Group Companies, provided that the coverage and indemnified amount under such D&O Insurance shall be subject to approval of the Board (including the affirmative votes of the Investor Directors). |
3. | REGISTRATION RIGHTS. |
3.1 | Applicability of Rights. The Holders (as defined below) shall be entitled to the following rights with respect to any proposed public offering of the Companys Ordinary Shares in the United States of America and shall be entitled to reasonably equivalent or analogous rights with respect to any other offering of the Companys securities in any other jurisdiction in which the Company undertakes to publicly offer or list such securities for trading on a recognized securities exchange. For purposes of this Agreement, reference to registration of securities under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act (as defined blow) shall be deemed to mean the equivalent registration in a jurisdiction other than the United States of America as designated by such Holders, it being understood and agreed that in each such case all references in this Agreement to the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and rules, forms of registration statements and registration of securities thereunder, U.S. Laws and the SEC (as defined blow), shall be deemed to refer, to the equivalent statutes, rules, forms of registration statements, registration of securities and Laws of and equivalent governmental authority in the applicable non-U.S. jurisdiction. In addition, Form F-3 (as defined below) shall be deemed to refer to Form S-3 or any comparable form under the U.S. securities Laws if the Company is not at that time eligible to use Form F-3. |
3.2 | Definitions. For purposes of this Section 3: |
(a) | Registration. The terms register, registered, and registration refer to a registration effected by filing a registration statement which is in a form which complies with, and is declared effective by the SEC in accordance with, the Securities Act. |
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(b) | Registrable Securities. The term Registrable Securities means: (1) any Ordinary Shares held by the Angel Parties and the Other Ordinary Shareholder, (2) any Ordinary Shares of the Company issued or issuable pursuant to conversion of any Preferred Shares, (3) any Ordinary Shares issued (or issuable upon the conversion or exercise of any warrant, right or other security which is issued) as a dividend or other distribution with respect to, or in exchange for or in replacement of, any shares of the Company described in clause (1) and (2) of this subsection (b), and (4) any other Ordinary Shares of the Company owned or hereafter acquired by the Angel Parties and the Other Ordinary Shareholder and the holder(s) of Preferred Shares, in each case of clauses (1) to (4), including American depositary shares representing Ordinary Shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Registrable Securities shall exclude any Registrable Securities acquired or to be acquired by the Founder Parties, the Key Holder Parties and their respective Associate (as defined below), any Registrable Securities sold by a Person in a transaction in which rights under this Section 3 are not validly assigned in accordance with this Agreement, and any Registrable Securities which are sold in a registered public offering under the Securities Act or analogous statute of another jurisdiction. |
(c) | Registrable Securities Then Outstanding. The number of shares of Registrable Securities then Outstanding shall mean the number of Ordinary Shares of the Company that are Registrable Securities and are then issued and outstanding, issuable upon conversion of Preferred Shares then issued and outstanding, or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any warrant, right or other security then outstanding. |
(d) | Holder. For purposes of this Section 3, the term Holder means any Person owning or having the rights to acquire Registrable Securities or any permitted assignee of record of such Registrable Securities to whom rights under this Section 3 have been duly assigned in accordance with this Agreement. |
(e) | Form F-3. The term Form F-3 means such respective form under the Securities Act or any successor registration form under the Securities Act subsequently adopted by the SEC which permits inclusion or incorporation of substantial information by reference to other documents filed by the Company with the SEC. |
(f) | SEC. The term SEC or Commission means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. |
(g) | Registration Expenses. The term Registration Expenses shall mean all expenses incurred by the Company in complying with Sections 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 hereof, including, without limitation, all registration and filing fees, printing expenses, fees and disbursements of counsel for the Company, reasonable fees and disbursements of one counsel for all the Holders, blue sky fees, expenses and the expense of any special audits incident to or required by any such registration and any liability insurance or other premiums for insurance obtained in connection with a registration (but excluding the compensation of regular employees of the Company which shall be paid in any event by the Company). |
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(h) | Selling Expenses. The term Selling Expenses shall mean all underwriting discounts and selling commissions applicable to the sale of Registrable Securities pursuant to Sections 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 hereof. |
3.3 | Demand Registration. |
(a) | Request by Holders. If the Company, at any time after six (6) months following the closing of a Qualified Public Offering, receives a written request from the Holders of at least ten percent (10%) of the Registrable Securities then outstanding that the Company file a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the registration of Registrable Securities pursuant to this Section 3.3, then the Company shall, within ten (10) Business Days of the receipt of such written request, give written notice of such request (Request Notice) to all Holders, and use its best efforts to effect, as soon as practicable, the registration under the Securities Act of all Registrable Securities that the Holders request to be registered and included in such registration by written notice given by such Holders to the Company within twenty (20) days after receipt of the Request Notice, subject only to the limitations of this Section 3.3; provided that the Company shall not be obligated to effect any such registration if the Company has, within the six (6)-month period preceding the date of such request, already effected a registration under the Securities Act pursuant to this Section 3.3 or Section 3.5 or in which the Holders had an opportunity to participate pursuant to the provisions of Section 3.4, other than a registration from which the Registrable Securities of the Holders have been excluded (with respect to all or any portion of the Registrable Securities the Holders requested be included in such registration) pursuant to the provisions of Section 3.4(b). The Company shall be obligated to effect no more than three (3) demand registrations pursuant to this Section 3.3 that have been declared and ordered effective; provided that if the sale of all of the Registrable Securities sought to be included pursuant to this Section 3.3 is not consummated for any reason other than due to the action or inaction of the Holders including Registrable Securities in such registration, such registration shall not be deemed to constitute one of the registration rights granted pursuant to this Section 3.3; provided further that the registration pursuant to Section 3.4 or Section 3.5 shall not be deemed to constitute one of the registration rights granted pursuant to this Section 3.3. |
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(b) | Underwriting. If the Holders initiating the registration request under this Section 3.3 (the Initiating Holders) intend to distribute the Registrable Securities covered by their request by means of an underwriting, then they shall so advise the Company as a part of their request made pursuant to this Section 3.3 and the Company shall include such information in the Request Notice. In such event, the right of any Holder to include its Registrable Securities in such registration shall be conditioned upon such Holders participation in such underwriting and the inclusion of such Holders Registrable Securities in the underwriting (unless otherwise mutually agreed by a majority in interest of the Initiating Holders and such Holder) to the extent provided herein. All Holders proposing to distribute their securities through such underwriting shall enter into an underwriting agreement in customary form with the managing underwriter or underwriters selected for such underwriting by the Holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities being registered and reasonably acceptable to the Company. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 3.3, if the underwriter(s) advise(s) the Company in writing that marketing factors require a limitation of the number of securities to be underwritten, then the Company shall so advise all Holders of Registrable Securities which would otherwise be registered and underwritten pursuant hereto, and the number of Registrable Securities that may be included in the underwriting shall be reduced as required by the underwriter(s) and allocated among the Holders of Registrable Securities on a pro rata basis according to the number of Registrable Securities then outstanding held by each Holder requesting registration (including the Initiating Holders); provided however, that the number of shares of Registrable Securities to be included in such underwriting and registration shall not be reduced unless all other securities are first entirely excluded from the underwriting and registration including, without limitation, all shares that are not Registrable Securities and are held by any other Person, including, without limitation, any person who is an employee, officer or director of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company; provided further, that at least twenty-five percent (25%) of shares of Registrable Securities requested by the Holders to be included in such underwriting and registration shall be so included. If any Holder disapproves of the terms of any such underwriting, such Holder may elect to withdraw therefrom by written notice to the Company and the underwriter(s), delivered at least ten (10) Business Days prior to the effective date of the registration statement. Any Registrable Securities excluded or withdrawn from such underwriting shall be excluded and withdrawn from the registration. |
(c) | Deferral. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company shall furnish to Holders requesting registration pursuant to this Section 3.3, a certificate signed by the president or the Chief Executive Officer of the Company stating that in the good faith judgment of the Board, it would be materially detrimental to the Company and its shareholders for such registration statement to be filed at such time, then the Company shall have the right to defer such filing for a period of not more than ninety (90) days after receipt of the request of the Initiating Holders; provided however, that the Company may not utilize this right more than once in any consecutive twelve (12) month period; provided further, that the Company shall not register any other of its shares during such ninety (90) day deferral period other than an Excluded Registration. A demand right shall not be deemed to have been exercised until such deferred registration shall have been effected. |
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3.4 | Piggyback Registrations. |
(a) | The Company shall notify all Holders of Registrable Securities in writing at least thirty (30) days prior to filing any registration statement under the Securities Act for purposes of effecting a public offering of securities of the Company (including, but not limited to, registration statements relating to secondary offerings of securities of the Company, but excluding registration statements relating to any employee benefit plan or a corporate reorganization), and shall afford each such Holder an opportunity to include in such registration statement all or any part of the Registrable Securities then held by such Holder. Each Holder desiring to include in any such registration statement all or any part of the Registrable Securities held by it shall within twenty (20) days after receipt of the above-described notice from the Company, so notify the Company in writing, and in such notice shall inform the Company of the number of Registrable Securities such Holder wishes to include in such registration statement. If a Holder decides not to include all of its Registrable Securities in any registration statement thereafter filed by the Company, such Holder shall nevertheless continue to have the right to include any Registrable Securities in any subsequent registration statement or registration statements as may be filed by the Company with respect to offerings of its securities, all upon the terms and conditions set forth herein. |
(b) | Underwriting. If a registration statement under which the Company gives notice under this Section 3.4 is for an underwritten offering, then the Company shall so advise the Holders of Registrable Securities. In such event, the right of any such Holders Registrable Securities to be included in a registration pursuant to this Section 3.4 shall be conditioned upon such Holders participation in such underwriting and the inclusion of such Holders Registrable Securities in the underwriting to the extent provided herein. All Holders proposing to distribute their Registrable Securities through such underwriting shall enter into an underwriting agreement in customary form with the managing underwriter or underwriters selected for such underwriting. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, if the managing underwriter(s) determine(s) in good faith that marketing factors require a limitation of the number of shares to be underwritten, then the managing underwriter(s) may exclude shares from the registration and the underwriting, and the number of shares that may be included in the registration and the underwriting shall be allocated, first, to the Company, second, to each of the Holders requesting inclusion of their Registrable Securities in such registration statement on a pro rata basis based on the total number of shares of Registrable Securities then held by each such Holder, and third, to holders of other securities of the Company; provided however, that the right of the underwriter(s) to exclude shares (including Registrable Securities) from the registration and underwriting as described above shall be restricted so that (i) the number of Registrable Securities excluded from any such registration is no more than seventy-five percent (75%) of the aggregate number of shares of Registrable Securities for which inclusion has been requested; and (ii) all shares that are not Registrable Securities and are held by any other Person, including, without limitation, any person who is an employee, officer or director of the Company (or any Subsidiary of the Company) shall first be excluded from such registration and underwriting before any Registrable Securities are so excluded. If any Holder disapproves of the terms of any such underwriting, such Holder may elect to withdraw therefrom by written notice to the Company and the underwriter(s), delivered at least ten (10) Business Days prior to the effective date of the registration statement. Any Registrable Securities excluded or withdrawn from such underwriting shall be excluded and withdrawn from the registration. |
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(c) | Not Demand Registration. Registration pursuant to this Section 3.4 shall not be deemed to be a demand registration as described in Section 3.3 above. There shall be no limit on the number of times the Holders may request registration of Registrable Securities under this Section 3.4. |
3.5 | Form F-3. At any time after the Companys initial public offering and so long as the Company qualifies for the use of a registration statement on Form F-3, in case the Company shall receive from any Holder or Holders of the Registrable Securities then outstanding a written request or requests that the Company effect a registration on Form F-3 and any related qualification or compliance with respect to all or a part of the Registrable Securities owned by such Holder or Holders, then the Company will: |
(a) | Notice. Promptly give written notice of the proposed registration and the Holders or Holders request therefor, and any related qualification or compliance to all other Holders of Registrable Securities; and |
(b) | Registration. As soon as practicable, effect such registration and any related qualification or compliance as may be so requested and as would permit or facilitate the sale and distribution of all or such portion of such Holders or Holders Registrable Securities as are specified in such request, together with all or such portion of the Registrable Securities of any other Holder or Holders joining in such request as are specified in a written request given within twenty (20) days after the Company provides the notice contemplated by Section 3.5(a); provided however, that the Company shall not be obligated to effect any such registration, qualification or compliance pursuant to this Section 3.5: |
(i) | if Form F-3 is not available for such offering by the Holders; |
(ii) | if the Company shall furnish to the Holders a certificate signed by the President or the Chief Executive Officer of the Company stating that in the good faith judgment of the Board of Directors of the Company, it would be materially detrimental to the Company and its shareholders for such Form F-3 registration to be effected at such time, in which event the Company shall have the right to defer the filing of the Form F-3 registration statement no more than once during any consecutive twelve (12) month period for a period of not more than ninety (90) days after receipt of the request of the Holder or Holders under this Section 3.5; provided that the Company shall not register any of its other shares during such ninety (90) day deferral period other than an Excluded Registration; |
(iii) | if the Company has, within the six (6)-month period preceding the date of such request, already effected a registration under the Securities Act other than a registration from which the Registrable Securities of Holders have been excluded (with respect to all or any portion of the Registrable Securities the Holders requested be included in such registration) pursuant to the provisions of Sections 3.3(b) and 3.4(b); or |
(iv) | in any particular jurisdiction in which the Company would be required to qualify to do business or to execute a general consent to service of process in effecting such registration, qualification or compliance, unless the Company is already subject to service of process in such jurisdiction. |
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Subject to the foregoing, the Company shall file a Form F-3 registration statement covering the Registrable Securities so requested to be registered as soon as practicable after receipt of the request or requests of the Holders.
(c) | Not Demand Registration. Subject to Section 3.6 below, Form F-3 registrations shall not be deemed to be demand registrations as described in Section 3.3 above. Except as provided herein, there shall be no limit on the number of times the Holders may request registration of Registrable Securities under this Section 3.5. |
3.6 | Expenses. All Registration Expenses incurred in connection with any registration pursuant to Sections 3.3, 3.4 or 3.5 (but excluding Selling Expenses) shall be borne by the Company. Each Holder participating in a registration pursuant to Sections 3.3, 3.4 or 3.5 shall bear such Holders proportionate share (based on the total number of shares sold in such registration other than for the account of the Company) of all Selling Expenses or other amounts payable to underwriter(s) or brokers, in connection with such offering by the Holders. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be required to pay for any expenses of any registration proceeding begun pursuant to Section 3.3 if the registration request is subsequently withdrawn at the request of the Holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities to be registered, unless the Holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities then outstanding agree that such registration constitutes the use by the Holders of one (1) demand registration pursuant to Section 3.3; provided further, however, that if at the time of such withdrawal, the Holders have learned of a material adverse change in the condition, business, or prospects of the Company not known to the Holders at the time of their request for such registration and have withdrawn their request for registration with reasonable promptness after learning of such material adverse change, then the Holders shall not be required to pay any of such expenses and such registration shall not constitute the use of one (1) demand registration pursuant to Section 3.3. |
3.7 | Obligations of the Company. Whenever required to effect the registration of any Registrable Securities under this Agreement the Company shall, as expeditiously as reasonably possible: |
(a) | Registration Statement. Prepare and file with the SEC a registration statement with respect to such Registrable Securities and use its reasonable efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective, and, upon the request of the Holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities registered thereunder, keep such registration statement effective for a period of up to ninety (90) days or, in the case of Registrable Securities registered under Form F-3 in accordance with Rule 415 under the Securities Act or a successor rule, until the distribution contemplated in the registration statement has been completed; provided however, that (i) such ninety (90) day period shall be extended for a period of time equal to the period any Holder refrains from selling any securities included in such registration at the request of the underwriter(s), and (ii) in the case of any registration of Registrable Securities on Form F-3 which are intended to be offered on a continuous or delayed basis, such ninety (90) day period shall be extended, if necessary, to keep the registration statement effective until all such Registrable Securities are sold. |
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(b) | Amendments and Supplements. Prepare and file with the SEC such amendments and supplements to such registration statement and the prospectus used in connection with such registration statement as may be necessary to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act with respect to the disposition of all securities covered by such registration statement. |
(c) | Prospectuses. Furnish to the Holders such number of copies of a prospectus, including a preliminary prospectus, in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act, and such other documents as they may reasonably request in order to facilitate the disposition of the Registrable Securities owned by them that are included in such registration. |
(d) | Blue Sky. Use its best efforts to register and qualify the securities covered by such registration statement under such other securities or blue sky Laws of such jurisdictions as shall be reasonably requested by the Holders, provided that the Company shall not be required in connection therewith or as a condition thereto to qualify to do business or to file a general consent to service of process in any such states or jurisdictions, unless the Company is already subject to service in such jurisdiction and except as may be required by the Securities Act. |
(e) | Underwriting. In the event of any underwritten public offering, enter into and perform its obligations under an underwriting agreement in usual and customary form, with the managing underwriter(s) of such offering. Each Holder participating in such underwriting shall also enter into and perform its obligations under such an agreement. |
(f) | Notification. Notify each Holder of Registrable Securities covered by such registration statement at any time when a prospectus relating thereto is required to be delivered under the Securities Act of (i) the issuance of any stop order by the SEC in respect of such registration statement, or (ii) the happening of any event as a result of which the prospectus included in such registration statement, as then in effect, includes an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances then existing. |
(g) | Opinion and Comfort Letter. Furnish, at the request of any Holder requesting registration of Registrable Securities, on the date that such Registrable Securities are delivered to the underwriter(s) for sale, if such securities are being sold through underwriters, or, if such securities are not being sold through underwriters, on the date that the registration statement with respect to such securities becomes effective, (i) an opinion, dated as of such date, of the counsel representing the Company for the purposes of such registration, in form and substance as is customarily given to underwriters in an underwritten public offering and reasonably satisfactory to a majority in interest of the Holders requesting registration, addressed to the underwriters, if any, and to the Holders requesting registration of Registrable Securities and (ii) letters dated as of (x) the effective date of the registration statement covering such Registrable Securities and (y) the closing date of the offering, from the independent certified public accountants of the Company, in form and substance as is customarily given by independent certified public accountants to underwriters in an underwritten public offering and reasonably satisfactory to a majority in interest of the Holders requesting registration, addressed to the underwriters, if any, and to the Holders requesting registration of Registrable Securities. |
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(h) | American Depositary Shares. If the Company has American depositary shares or similar instruments listed or traded on any exchange or inter-dealer quotation system, (A) deliver instruction letters to the Companys share registrar and depositary bank to convert such Holders securities into American depositary shares or similar instruments to be deposited in such Holders accounts, (B) pay all costs and fees related to such depositary facility, including conversion fees and maintenance fees relating to the Registrable Securities, and (C) take any and all steps necessary to facilitate the conversion into American depositary shares or similar instruments. |
(i) | Other Steps. Take all other steps reasonably necessary to effect the registration and sale of the Registrable Securities as contemplated in this Agreement. |
3.8 | Furnish Information. It shall be a condition precedent to the obligations of the Company to take any action pursuant to Sections 3.3, 3.4 or 3.5 that the selling Holders shall furnish to the Company such information regarding themselves, the Registrable Securities held by them and the intended method of disposition of such securities as shall be required to timely effect the registration of their Registrable Securities. |
3.9 | Indemnification. In the event any Registrable Securities are included in a registration statement under Sections 3.3, 3.4 or 3.5: |
(a) | By the Company. To the extent permitted by Law, the Company will indemnify and hold harmless each Holder, its partners, officers, directors, legal counsel, any underwriter (as defined in the Securities Act) for such Holder and each Person, if any, who controls such Holder or underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, against any losses, claims, damages, or liabilities (joint or several) to which they may become subject under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or other United States federal or state Laws, insofar as such losses, claims, damages, or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon any of the following statements, omissions or violations (collectively a Violation): |
(i) | any untrue statement of a material fact contained in such registration statement, including any preliminary prospectus or final prospectus contained therein or any amendments or supplements thereto; |
(ii) | the omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein, or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; or |
(iii) | any violation by the Company of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, any United States federal or state securities Laws, or any rule or regulation promulgated under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or any United States federal or state securities Laws in connection with the offering covered by such registration statement; |
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and the Company will reimburse each such Holder, its partner, officer, director, legal counsel, underwriter or controlling Person for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by them, as such expenses are incurred, in connection with investigating or defending any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action; provided however, that the indemnity agreement contained in this Section 3.9(a) shall not apply to amounts paid in settlement of any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action if such settlement is effected without the consent of the Company (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld), nor shall the Company be liable in any such case for any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action to the extent that it arises out of or is based upon a Violation which occurs in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished expressly for use in connection with such registration by such Holder, partner, officer, director, legal counsel, underwriter or controlling Person of such Holder.
(b) | By Selling Holders. To the extent permitted by Law, each selling Holder will, if Registrable Securities held by such Holder are included in the securities as to which such registration, qualifications or compliance is being effected, indemnify and hold harmless the Company, each of its directors, each of its officers who has signed the registration statement, each Person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act, any underwriter and any other Holder selling securities under such registration statement or any of such other Holders partners, directors, officers, legal counsel or any Person who controls such Holder within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities (joint or several) to which the Company or any such director, officer, legal counsel, controlling Person, underwriter or other such Holder, partner or director, officer or controlling Person of such other Holder may become subject under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other United States federal or state Laws, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereto) arise out of or are based upon any Violation, in each case to the extent (and only to the extent) that such Violation occurs in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished by such Holder expressly for use in connection with such registration; and each such Holder will reimburse any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Company or any such director, officer, controlling Person, underwriter or other Holder, partner, officer, director or controlling Person of such other Holder in connection with investigating or defending any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action; provided however, that the indemnity agreement contained in this Section 3.9(b) shall not apply to amounts paid in settlement of any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action if such settlement is effected without the consent of the Holder (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld); and provided further, that in no event shall any indemnity under this Section 3.9(b) exceed the net proceeds received by such Holder in the registered offering out of which the applicable Violation arises. |
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(c) | Notice. Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 3.9 of notice of the commencement of any action (including any governmental action), such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against any indemnifying party under this Section 3.9, deliver to the indemnifying party a written notice of the commencement thereof and the indemnifying party shall have the right to participate in, and, to the extent the indemnifying party so desires, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly noticed, to assume the defense thereof with counsel mutually satisfactory to the parties; provided however, that an indemnified party shall have the right to retain its own counsel, with the fees and expenses to be paid by the indemnifying party, if representation of such indemnified party by the counsel retained by the indemnifying party would be inappropriate due to actual or potential conflict of interests between such indemnified party and any other party represented by such counsel in such proceeding. The failure to deliver written notice to the indemnifying party within a reasonable time of the commencement of any such action shall relieve such indemnifying party of liability to the indemnified party under this Section 3.9 to the extent the indemnifying party is prejudiced as a result thereof, but the omission to so deliver written notice to the indemnifying party will not relieve it of any liability that it may have to any indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 3.9. |
(d) | Contribution. In order to provide for just and equitable contribution to joint liability under the Securities Act in any case in which either (i) any indemnified party makes a claim for indemnification pursuant to this Section 3.9 but it is judicially determined (by the entry of a final judgment or decree by a court of competent jurisdiction and the expiration of time to appeal or the denial of the last right of appeal) that such indemnification may not be enforced in such case notwithstanding the fact that this Section 3.9 provides for indemnification in such case, or (ii) contribution under the Securities Act may be required on the part of any indemnified party in circumstances for which indemnification is provided under this Section 3.9; then, and in each such case, the indemnified party and the indemnifying party will contribute to the aggregate losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which they may be subject (after contribution from others) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative fault of the indemnifying party, on the one hand, and of the indemnified party, on the other, in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such loss, liability, claim, damage or expense, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative fault of the indemnifying party and of the indemnified party shall be determined by a court of law by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the indemnifying party or by the indemnified party and the parties relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission; provided however, that, in any such case: (A) no Holder will be required to contribute any amount in excess of the net proceeds to such Holder from the sale of all such Registrable Securities offered and sold by such Holder pursuant to such registration statement; and (B) no Person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 9(f) of the Securities Act) will be entitled to contribution from any Person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. |
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(e) | Survival; Consents to Judgments and Settlements. The obligations of the Company and Holders under this Section 3.9 shall survive the completion of any offering of Registrable Securities in a registration statement, regardless of the expiration of any statutes of limitation or extensions of such statutes. No indemnifying party, in the defense of any such claim or litigation, shall, except with the consent of each indemnified party, consent to entry of any judgment or enter into any settlement which does not include as an unconditional term thereof the giving by the claimant or plaintiff to such indemnified party of a release from all liability in respect to such claim or litigation. |
3.10 | Termination of the Companys Obligations. The Company shall have no obligations pursuant to Sections 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 with respect to any Registrable Securities proposed to be sold by a Holder in a registration pursuant to Sections 3.3, 3.4 or 3.5 after the third (3rd) anniversary of the completion of the Qualified Public Offering, or, if, in the opinion of counsel to the Company, all such Registrable Securities proposed to be sold by a Holder may then be sold without registration in any ninety (90) day period pursuant to Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act. |
3.11 | No Registration Rights to Third Parties. Without the prior written consents of SIG, Yunfeng, Centurium and Tencent, the Company covenants and agrees that it shall not grant, or cause or permit to be created, for the benefit of any Person any registration rights of any kind (whether similar to the demand, piggyback or Form F-3 registration rights described in this Section 3, or otherwise) relating to any securities of the Company which are senior to, or on a parity with, those granted to the Holders of Registrable Securities. |
3.12 | Rule 144 Reporting. With a view to making available to the Holders the benefits of certain rules and regulations of the SEC which may at any time permit the sale of the Registrable Securities to the public without registration or pursuant to a registration on Form F-3, after such time as a public market exists for the Ordinary Shares, the Company agrees to: |
(a) | make and keep public information available, as those terms are understood and defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act, at all times after the effective date of the first registration under the Securities Act filed by the Company for an offering of its securities to the general public; |
(b) | file with the SEC in a timely manner all reports and other documents required of the Company under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act (at any time after it has become subject to such reporting requirements); |
(c) | so long as a Holder owns any Registrable Securities, to furnish to such Holder forthwith upon request (i) a written statement by the Company as to its compliance with the reporting requirements of Rule 144 (at any time after ninety (90) days after the effective date of the Companys initial public offering), the Securities Act and the Exchange Act (at any time after it has become subject to such reporting requirements), or its qualification as a registrant whose securities may be resold pursuant to Form F-3 (at any time after it so qualifies), (ii) a copy of the most recent annual or quarterly report of the Company, and (iii) such other reports and documents of the Company as a Holder may reasonably request in availing itself of any rule or regulation of the SEC that permits the selling of any such securities without registration or pursuant to Form F-3; and |
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(d) | (i) promptly deliver applicable instructions letters to the Companys transfer agent to remove legends from the Holders share certificates, (ii) cause the prompt delivery of any necessary legal opinions from the Companys counsel to facilitate the sale in forms reasonably satisfactory to the Holder, and (iii) if the Company has American depositary shares or any other security derivative of the Companys Ordinary Shares listed or traded on any exchange or inter-dealer quotation system, promptly deliver instruction letters to the Companys share registrar and depositary bank to convert, at the Companys expense, the Holders Ordinary Shares into American depositary shares or similar instruments to be deposited in such Holders brokerage account. |
3.13 | Market Stand-Off. Each shareholder of the Company that is a party to this Agreement agrees that, so long as it holds any voting securities of the Company, upon request by the Company or the underwriters managing an IPO of the Companys securities, it will not sell or otherwise transfer or dispose of any securities of the Company (other than those permitted to be included in the registration and other transfers to affiliates permitted by Law) without the prior written consents of the Company or such underwriters, as the case may be, for a period of time specified by the representative of the underwriters not to exceed one hundred and eighty (180) days from the effective date of the registration statement covering such IPO or the pricing date of such offering as may be requested by the underwriters. The Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to take all steps to shorten such lock-up period. The foregoing provision of this Section 3.13 shall not apply to the sale of any securities of the Company to an underwriter pursuant to any underwriting agreement, and shall only be applicable to the Holders if all other shareholders of the Company enter into similar agreements, and if the Company or any underwriter releases any other shareholder from his, her or its sale restrictions so undertaken, then each Holder shall be notified prior to such release and shall itself be simultaneously released to the same proportional extent. The Company shall require all future acquirers of the Companys securities to execute prior to a Qualified Public Offering a market stand-off agreement containing substantially similar provisions as those contained in this Section 3.13. |
3.14 | Investors Rights in Public Offering. Under the circumstances as provided in Section 3.13, if any other holder(s) of shares or securities of the Company are offered any opportunity to sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of all or any portion of their shares or securities of the Company to a third party/third parties, each holder of the Preferred Shares shall, to the extent permitted by the applicable securities laws and regulations, have the right to sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of a pro rata number of shares to such third parties on the same terms and conditions. |
4. | RIGHT OF PARTICIPATION. |
4.1 | Participation Rights. Each Angel Party and holder of the Preferred Shares (hereinafter referred to as a Participation Rights Holder) shall have the right of first offer to purchase all or part of such Participation Rights Holders Pro Rata Share (as defined below) of any New Securities (as defined below) that the Company may, subject to Section 9.1, from time to time issue after the date of this Agreement (the Right of Participation) and oversubscription right set forth in Section 4.4. For the avoidance of doubt, any Participation Rights Holder, if it does not exercise the Right of Participation or oversubscription right, may designate its Affiliate(s) (to the extent that such Affiliate is not a Company Competitor or a Tencent Restricted Person) to exercise its Right of Participation provided hereunder. |
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4.2 | Pro Rata Share. A Participation Rights Holders Pro Rata Share for purposes of the Right of Participation is the ratio of (a) the number of Ordinary Shares (calculated on a fully-diluted and as-converted basis) held by such Participation Rights Holder, to (b) the total number of Ordinary Shares of the Company (calculated on a fully-diluted and as-converted basis) then outstanding immediately prior to the issuance of New Securities giving rise to the Right of Participation. |
4.3 | New Securities. New Securities refer to any Equity Securities issued following the Series E2 Preferred Shares issuance specified in the Series E2 Purchase Agreement, including any class or series of preferred shares, Ordinary Shares or other voting shares of the Company and rights, options or warrants to purchase such preferred shares, Ordinary Shares and securities of any type whatsoever that are, or may become, convertible or exchangeable into any Preferred Shares, Ordinary Shares or other voting shares, provided however, that the term New Securities shall not include: |
(a) | Ordinary Shares issued upon conversion of any of the Preferred Shares, or as a dividend or distribution on the Preferred Shares to which all holders of Preferred Shares are entitled on a pro rata basis; |
(b) | Ordinary Shares (and/or options or warrants therefor) issued or issuable to employees, officers, directors, or consultants of the Group Companies pursuant to any plan approved by the Companys Board of Directors including approval by each of the Investor Directors, in accordance with the then-effective memorandum of association and articles of association of the Company; |
(c) | any Equity Securities issued or issuable upon a stock split, stock dividend or any subdivision, combination, recapitalization, or other similar events which does not change the relative shareholding percentage of the shareholders of the Company; |
(d) | any Equity Securities issued in connection with the acquisition of another corporation or entity by the Company, whether by consolidation, merger, purchase of assets, sale or exchange of shares, or other reorganization, which, in each case, is approved by the Companys Board of Directors including approval by each of the Investor Directors; |
(e) | any Equity Securities issued pursuant to a Qualified Public Offering; |
(f) | Ordinary Shares issued to Zu Teng (祖腾) or Zu Tengs SPV in accordance with Section 10.8 hereof; and |
(g) | any Equity Securities issued under any arrangement of strategic alliance, technology licensing, equipment leasing or bank financing, provided that in each case a unanimous approval of the Board of Directors shall be obtained in advance (including approval by each of the Investor Directors). |
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4.4 | Procedures. In the event that the Company proposes to undertake an issuance of New Securities (in a single transaction or a series of related transactions), it shall give to each Participation Rights Holder written notice of its intention to issue New Securities (the Participation Notice), describing the amount and type of New Securities, the price and the general terms upon which the Company proposes to issue such New Securities. Each Participation Rights Holder shall have fifteen (15) Business Days from the date of receipt of any such Participation Notice (the Participation Period) to elect to purchase all or part of such Participation Rights Holders Pro Rata Share of New Securities and any excess New Securities at the price and on the terms and conditions specified in the Participation Notice by giving written notice to the Company and stating therein the quantity of New Securities (including New Securities in excess of its Pro Rata Share thereof, if any) which the Participation Rights Holder desires to purchase. Each Participation Rights Holder shall first be entitled to purchase up to the Participation Rights Holders Pro Rata Share of New Securities. If any Participation Rights Holder fails to give notice to the Company in writing within the Participation Period to purchase such Participation Rights Holders full Pro Rata Share of New Securities (or any excess New Securities, if any), then the right of such Participation Rights Holder hereunder to purchase that part of its Pro Rata Share of New Securities (or any excess New Securities, if any) that it did not elect to purchase, shall be forfeited, without prejudice to its participation right in any future or other offerings of New Securities, provided however, that if the Participation Rights Holder fails to give the above required notice solely because of the Companys failure to comply with the notification requirement under this Section 4.4, then the Company shall not effect the proposed issuance of any New Securities. Any remaining New Securities which the Participation Rights Holders are entitled to purchase but are not elected to be purchased by the Participation Rights Holders (Remaining New Securities) shall be allocated to the Participation Rights Holders who exercised their Right of Participation in excess of their Pro Rata Share of New Securities (Right Participants). In the event that the aggregate number of New Securities elected to be purchased by the Right Participants as set out in their notice to the Company exceeds the total number of Remaining New Securities, each oversubscribing Right Participant shall be allocated by the Company with respect to its oversubscription that number of Remaining New Securities equal to the lesser of (x) the number of additional New Securities it proposes to buy in excess of its Pro Rata Share and (y) the product obtained by multiplying (i) the number of the Remaining New Securities available for subscription by (ii) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of Ordinary Shares (calculated on a fully-diluted and as-converted basis) held by such oversubscribing Right Participant and the denominator of which is the total number of Ordinary Shares (calculated on a fully-diluted and as-converted basis) held by all the oversubscribing Right Participants. The aforesaid allocation step for each Right Participant shall be repeated until the earlier of (x) all Remaining New Securities being allocated among the Right Participants and (y) such Right Participant having been allocated with all the Remaining New Securities it has elected to purchase. Each Participation Rights Holder who elected to exercise its rights pursuant to this Section 4.4 shall be obligated to buy such number of New Securities as determined by the Company pursuant to this Section 4.4, and the Company shall so notify the Right Participants within fifteen (15) Business Days following the date of the Participation Notice. |
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4.5 | Failure to Exercise. Upon the expiration of the Participation Period, or in the event no Participation Rights Holder exercises the Right of Participation during the Participation Period, the Company shall have ninety (90) Business Days thereafter to sell the unsubscribed portion of the New Securities (with respect to which the Right of Participation hereunder were not exercised, the Remaining Securities) at the same or higher price and upon non-price terms not materially more favorable to the purchasers thereof than specified in the Participation Notice. In the event that the Company has not issued and sold such Remaining Securities within such ninety (90) Business Day period, then the Company shall not thereafter issue or sell any Remaining Securities without again first offering such Remaining Securities to the Participation Rights Holders pursuant to this Section 4. |
4.6 | Termination. Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, the Right of Participation for each Participation Rights Holder shall terminate upon the consummation of (i) an IPO or (ii) a Deemed Liquidation Event, whichever shall first occur. For the avoidance of doubt, in case of scenario (ii) above, as long as any Angel Party or any holder of the Preferred Shares holds any equity interest in the surviving entity after the completion of a Deemed Liquidation Event, the Group Companies and the Founder Parties shall make their commercially reasonable efforts to cause that the Right of Participation will remain available to such Angel Party and such holder of the Preferred Shares after the completion of said Deemed Liquidation Event. |
5. | RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFERS; RIGHTS OF FIRST REFUSAL AND CO-SALE RIGHTS. |
5.1 | Restrictions on Transfers. |
(a) | Restricted Holders. Subject to the other provisions of this Section 5 and Section 9.4 below, none of the holders of Ordinary Shares (except for the Angel Parties or the holders of Ordinary Shares converted from the Preferred Shares) (the Restricted Holders, each a Restricted Holder), regardless of their shareholding percentages in the Company and the employment status of such Restricted Holder with the Company, shall directly or indirectly sell, assign, transfer, pledge, hypothecate, or otherwise encumber or dispose of in any way or otherwise grant any interest or right with respect to (Transfer) all or any part of any Equity Securities of the Company or any right, title or interest therein or thereto now or hereafter owned or held by such Restricted Holder, prior to an IPO without the prior written consents of SIG, Yunfeng, Lead Series D Investor Representative and Tencent. |
(b) | Prohibited Transfers Void. Any Transfer of Equity Securities not made in compliance with this Agreement and each applicable Share Restriction Agreements shall be null and void, shall not be recorded on the register of members of the Company and shall not be recognized by the Company. |
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(c) | No Indirect Transfers. Each Restricted Holder agrees that the transfer restrictions set forth in this Agreement shall not be capable of being avoided by such Restricted Holder or any of its shareholders by the holding of the Equity Securities of the Company indirectly through any other Person (including but not limited to Founder Lu Holdco and the Key Holder Parties) or by the issuance of any Equity Securities by any such Person (including but not limited to the Founder Lu Holdco or the Key Holder Parties). For a Restricted Holder that is an entity, Founder Lu (with respect to the Founder Lu Holdco) and each of such Restricted Holders further agrees that, subject to Section 5.5 below, so long as Founder Lu and such Restricted Holder is bound by this Agreement, the Transfer, sale or issuance of any Equity Securities of the Restricted Holder or any direct or indirect shareholder thereof prior to an IPO without the written consents of the relevant Investors in accordance with Section 5.1(a) shall be prohibited, and Founder Lu (with respect to Founder Lu Holdco) and such Restricted Holders agree not to make, cause or permit any Transfer, sale or issuance of any Equity Securities of such Restricted Holders or any direct or indirect shareholder thereof prior to an IPO without the written consents of the relevant Investors in accordance with Section 5.1(a). Any purported Transfer, sale or issuance of any Equity Securities of any of the Restricted Holders or any direct or indirect shareholder thereof in contravention of this Section 5.1(c) shall be void and ineffective for any and all purposes and shall not confer on any transferee or purported transferee any rights whatsoever, and such Restricted Holder shall not recognize any such Transfer, sale or issuance. |
(d) | Performance. Founder Lu irrevocably agrees to cause and guarantee the performance by each of the Founder Lu Holdco and the Key Holder Parties of all of its covenants and obligations under this Agreement and the Share Restriction Agreements. |
(e) | Cumulative Restrictions. For purposes of clarity, the restrictions on transfer set forth in this Agreement are cumulative with, and in addition to, the restrictions set forth in the Share Restriction Agreements and not in lieu thereof. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, in no event may any of Key Holder Parties Transfer any of its Restricted Shares (as defined in the Share Restriction Agreements) not in compliance with the applicable Share Restriction Agreement. |
5.2 | Rights of First Refusal. |
(a) | Option of Angel Parties and Holders of the Preferred Shares. Subject to the other provisions of this Section 5 , if any Restricted Holder (the Transferor), to the extent the written consent of the relevant Investors are given pursuant to Section 5.1 (and to the extent applicable, prior written consent of Tencent is given pursuant to Section 9.4), proposes to Transfer any Ordinary Shares of the Company to one or more Persons, then the Transferor shall promptly give the Company, the Angel Parties and each holder of the Preferred Shares a written notice of the Transferors intention to make the Transfer (the Transfer Notice) prior to such proposed Transfer, which shall describe in reasonable detail the proposed Transfer including, without limitation, the number of Ordinary Shares to be Transferred (the Offered Shares), the nature of such Transfer, the form and amount of consideration to be paid which shall be in cash only, and the name and address of each prospective purchaser or transferee. |
(i) | Each of the Angel Parties and holders of the Preferred Shares (each, a ROFR Holder) shall have an option for a period of ten (10) Business Days following receipt of the Transfer Notice (the Option Period) to elect to purchase all or any portion of its respective Pro Rata Share of the Offered Shares and all or any portion the Overallotment Shares (as defined below) that it is entitled to purchase pursuant to Section 5.2(b) below, in each case, at the same price and subject to the same material terms and conditions (if any) as described in the Transfer Notice, by notifying the Transferor and the Company in writing before expiration of the Option Period as to the number of such Offered Shares (including Overallotment Shares) that it wishes to purchase. |
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(ii) | For the purposes of this Section 5.2, the Pro Rata Share of the Offered Shares with respect to a ROFR Holder shall be equal to (x) the total number of Offered Shares, multiplied by (y) a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of Ordinary Shares (on an as-converted basis) held by such ROFR Holder on the date of the Transfer Notice, and the denominator of which shall be the total number of Ordinary Shares (on an as-converted basis) held by all ROFR Holders on such date. |
(b) | Procedure. Each ROFR Holder shall first be entitled to purchase up to its respective Pro Rata Share of the Offered Shares. In the event any ROFR Holder does not elect to purchase its full Pro Rata Share of the Offered Shares, the Offered Shares that the ROFR Holders are entitled to purchase but are not elected to be purchased by such ROFR Holders (the Overallotment Shares) shall be allocated to the ROFR Holder(s) who exercised its(their) rights of first refusal to purchase its full Pro Rata Share of the Offered Shares (the Overallotment Participants and each, an Overallotment Participant). In the event that the number of the Offered Shares elected to be purchased by the Overallotment Participants as set out in their notice to the Transferor and the Company in excess of their Pro Rata Share of the Offered Shares exceeds the total number of the Overallotment Shares, each Overallotment Participant shall be allocated to the number of the Overallotment Shares equal to the lesser of (x) the number of additional Offered Shares it proposes to buy in excess of its Pro Rata Share of the Offered Shares, and (y) the number of Offered Shares that equals to (i) the number of the Overallotment Shares available for purchase multiplied by (ii) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of Ordinary Shares (calculated on a fully-diluted and as-converted basis) held by such Overallotment Participant and the denominator of which is the total number of Ordinary Shares (calculated on a fully-diluted and as-converted basis) held by all the Overallotment Participants. The aforesaid allocation step for each Overallotment Participant shall be repeated until the earlier of (x) all Overallotment Shares are allocated among the Overallotment Participants, or (y) such Overallotment Participant has been allotted all the Overallotment Shares elected to be purchased by it and the Transferor shall promptly deliver a written notice (the ROFR Allocation Notice) to all exercising ROFR Holders with respect to the result of such allocation. |
(c) | Closing of ROFR Purchase. Completion of transfer of any Offered Shares (including Overallotment Shares) by the Transferor to each exercising ROFR Holder shall be conducted on the 15th Business Day after the date of the delivery of the ROFR Allocation Notice, unless a later closing date is set out in the Transfer Notice. On the closing date, (i) the Transferor shall deliver a duly executed instrument of transfer in favour of each excising ROFR Holder to such ROFR Holder and the relevant share certificate(s) (or in lieu thereof an affidavit of lost certificate(s) and indemnity therefor) to the Company, (ii) each exercising ROFR Holder shall pay consideration for the Offered Shares (including Overallotment Shares) to be purchased by it in US$ by initiating a wire transfer of immediately available funds to the account designated by the Transferor, and (iii) the Company shall update its register of members upon consummation of any such transfer. |
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5.3 | Right of Co-Sale. |
(a) | Subject to Section 5.5, to the extent any Angel Party or holder of the Preferred Shares does not exercise its respective rights of first refusal as to any of the Offered Shares proposed to be sold by any Transferor pursuant to Section 5.2 (each such Angel Party or holder of the Preferred Shares, a Co-Sale Right Holder), and there are remaining Offered Shares available for transfer by the Transferor to the proposed third party transferees or purchasers (each a Prospective Purchaser) after giving effect to the exercise or waiver of all rights of first refusal pursuant to Section 5.2 (the Remaining Offered Shares), then the Transferor shall give the Company and the Co-Sale Right Holders a written notice (the Second Transfer Notice) within ten (10) days following the expiration of Option Period, which shall describe the number of such remaining Offered Shares. Each Co-Sale Right Holder shall have the right to participate in such sale of Equity Securities to such Prospective Purchaser, at the same purchase price and subject to the same terms and conditions (if any) as set forth in the Transfer Notice, exercisable in each case upon written notice to the Transferor and the Company (the Co-Sale Notice) within ten (10) Business Days following receipt of the Second Transfer Notice. Such Co-Sale Right Holders notice to the Transferor and the Company shall indicate the number of Equity Securities the Co-Sale Right Holder wishes to sell under its right to participate. To the extent one or more Co-Sale Right Holders exercise such right of participation in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in this Section 5.3(a), the number of the Remaining Offered Shares of the Company that the Transferor may sell to the Prospective Purchasers shall be correspondingly reduced proportionally in accordance with Section 5.3(b). |
(b) | The maximum number of Equity Securities that each Co-Sale Right Holder may elect to sell shall be equal to (a) the aggregate number of the Remaining Offered Shares, multiplied by (b) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of Ordinary Shares (on an as-converted basis) owned by such Co-Sale Right Holder on the date of the Co-Sale Notice and the denominator of which is the total number of Ordinary Shares (on an as-converted basis) owned by the Transferor and all exercising Co-Sale Right Holders on the date of the Co-Sale Notice, provided that, if the Transfer of the Offered Shares by the Transferor contemplated by Section 5.2 and Section 5.3 would result in (i) the aggregated percentage of shareholding of (x) the Founder Parties, (y) the Key Holder Parties and (z) the then shareholders of the Company who are executive officers or employees of the Group Companies and whose voting powers in the Company have been unconditionally and irrevocably delegated to Founder Lu in their entirety (if any) ceasing to be the largest among all shareholders of the Company, or (ii) the directors appointed or nominated by the Founder Parties ceasing to have majority voting rights of the Board, such Transferor shall use its best efforts to negotiate with the Prospective Purchaser to cause it to purchase a minimum number of Equity Securities not less than the sum (the Minimum Co-Sale Number) of (x) the number of the Remaining Offered Shares proposed to be Transferred by the Transferor and (y) the number of all the Equity Securities held by all Co-Sale Right Holders. If, after the negotiation, the total number of Equity Securities such Prospective Purchaser elects to purchase is still less than Minimum Co-Sale Number, then the number of Equity Securities each Co-Sale Right Holder shall be entitled to sell to the Prospective Purchaser in priority to the Transferor shall equal (i) the aggregate number of Equity Securities such Prospective Purchaser elects to purchase, multiplied by (ii) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of Ordinary Shares (calculated on a fully-diluted and as-converted basis) held by such Co-Sale Right Holder and the denominator of which is the number of Ordinary Shares (calculated on a fully-diluted and as-converted basis) held by all exercising Co-Sale Right Holders, and then the number of the Remaining Offered Shares that the Transferor may sell to such Prospective Purchaser shall be reduced correspondingly. |
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(c) | Each Co-Sale Right Holder shall effect its participation in the sale by promptly delivering to the Transferor for transfer to the Prospective Purchaser an executed instrument of transfer with respect to the Equity Securities which such Co-Sale Right Holder elects to sell and surrender the share certificates representing such Equity Securities to the Company; provided, however that if the Prospective Purchaser objects to acquiring Ordinary Share Equivalents in lieu of Ordinary Shares, such Co-Sale Right Holder shall only transfer Ordinary Shares (and therefore shall convert any such Ordinary Share Equivalents into Ordinary Shares), and the Company shall effect any such conversion concurrently with the actual transfer of such shares to the purchaser and contingent on such transfer. |
(d) | After receiving the share certificate or certificates that a Co-Sale Right Holder surrenders pursuant to this Section 5.3 (the Original Share Certificate(s)), new share certificate(s) representing the Shares purchased by the Prospective Purchaser shall be issued by the Company to such Prospective Purchaser, new share certificate(s) representing the Shares underlying the Original Share Certificate(s) but not purchased by the Prospective Purchaser shall be issued to the Co-Sale Right Holder and the register of members of the Company shall be updated to reflect such transfer, in each case, upon consummation of the sale of the Equity Securities pursuant to this Section 5.3(d), and the Transferor shall concurrently therewith remit to such Co-Sale Right Holder that portion of the sale proceeds to which such Co-Sale Right Holder is entitled by reason of its participation in such sale. |
(e) | To the extent that any Prospective Purchaser rejects the participation of a Co-Sale Right Holder in a proposed Transfer or otherwise refuses to purchase shares or other securities from a Co-Sale Right Holder, the Transferor shall not sell to such Prospective Purchaser any Offered Shares. |
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5.4 | Non-Exercise of Rights. |
(a) | Subject to any applicable Share Restriction Agreement and Section 9.4, to the extent that there are any Offered Shares not purchased by Angel Parties or the holders of Preferred Shares in accordance with Section 5.2, and subject to the right of the Co-Sale Right Holders to exercise their rights to participate in the sale of the relevant Remaining Offered Shares within the time periods specified in Section 5.3, the Transferor shall have a period of ninety (90) days from the expiration of such rights specified in Section 5.2 in which to sell the Remaining Offered Shares to the Prospective Purchaser identified in the Transfer Notice upon the terms and conditions (including the purchase price) no more favorable to the Prospective Purchaser than those specified in the Transfer Notice, so long as any such sale is effected in accordance with any applicable securities Laws. The parties agree that each such Prospective Purchaser, prior to and as a condition to the consummation of any sale, shall execute and deliver to the parties documents and other instruments assuming the obligations of such Transferor and the obligations as a holder of such Remaining Offered Shares under this Agreement and if applicable, the Share Restriction Agreements with respect to such Remaining Offered Shares. |
(b) | In the event the Transferor does not consummate the sale nor dispose of any remaining Offered Shares within ninety (90) days from the expiration of the rights of the Angel Parties and holders of Preferred Shares under Section 5.2, and the rights of the Co-Sale Right Holders under Section 5.3, as the case may be, such rights shall be re-invoked and shall be applicable to each subsequent disposition of such Offered Shares by the Transferor until such rights lapse in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. |
(c) | The exercise or non-exercise of the rights of the Angel Parties and holders of the Preferred Shares under this Section 5 to purchase any Offered Shares from a Transferor, or participate in the sale of the Remaining Offered Shares by a Transferor, as the case may be, shall not adversely affect their rights to make subsequent purchases from the Transferor of Equity Securities or subsequently participate in sales of Equity Securities by the Transferor hereunder. |
5.5 | Limitations to Rights of First Refusal and Co-Sale. Subject to the requirements of applicable Laws, the restrictions on transfers under Section 5.1, and the right of first refusal and right of co-sale of the Angel Parties and holders of the Preferred Shares under Sections 5.2 and 5.3, shall not apply to: |
(a) | any Transfer of any Equity Securities of the Company now or hereafter held by a Restricted Holder to the Company in accordance with the Share Restriction Agreements or for the purpose to increase the number of the Equity Securities available for issuance to the employees under the Companys employee share option plans or other incentive plan duly adopted by the Board (including an affirmative votes of all the Investor Directors) in compliance with this Agreement or any Transfer of any Equity Securities of a Key Holder Party to such Key Holder Party in accordance with the Employee Share Restriction Agreements; |
(b) | for a Restricted Holder that is a natural person, Transfer of any Equity Securities of the Company now or hereafter held by a Restricted Holder to such Restricted Holders parents, children, spouse, or to a trustee, executor, or other fiduciary for the benefit of such Restricted Holder or such Restricted Holders parents, children, spouse for bona fide estate planning purposes, provided that to the extent any voting rights attaching to the Equity Securities shall be transferred to such transferee, then prior to the completion of the transfer, such transferee shall deliver to the Company a duly executed irrevocable proxy in favor of the applicable Transferor appointing the applicable Transferor as the attorney and proxy of the transferee to vote all Equity Securities transferred; |
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(c) | Transfer of any Equity Securities of the Company now or hereafter held by a Restricted Holder to one or more current employees of the Group Companies as incentive shares in accordance with the Companys employee share option plans or other incentive plan (if applicable) duly adopted by the Board (including affirmative votes of all the Investor Directors) in accordance with the Transaction Documents (each such transferee pursuant to clause (b) and clause (c) above, with respect to the relevant Transferor, a Permitted Transferee, and collectively, the Permitted Transferees); provided, that each such Permitted Transferee, shall execute a document in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Investors assuming the obligations of such Restricted Holder under this Agreement, and the Share Restriction Agreements (if applicable), as a Restricted Holder, with respect to the transferred Equity Securities, provided further that, such Transfer will not result in a Change of Control of the Company, and if such Permitted Transferee ceases to be a Permitted Transferee, it shall immediately transfer such Equity Securities back to the Transferor from which it received such Equity Securities; |
(d) | any Transfer of any Founder Lu Holdco Mortgaged Shares to Centurium, its Affiliates or any other Person in connection with the creation or enforcement of, or the exercise of rights (including any power of sale) under, the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage; |
(e) | any Transfer of any Equity Securities in connection with a Drag-Along Sale in accordance with Section 6.1; or |
(f) | any Transfer of Ordinary Shares by Founder Lu Holdco to Zu Teng (祖腾) or Zu Tengs SPV in accordance with Section 10.8 hereof. |
5.6 | Transfer to Company Competitors. |
(a) | Subject to Section 9.4, each of the Angel Parties and the Investors shall be entitled to freely Transfer all or any part of the Ordinary Shares and/or Preferred Shares held by it to any Person, provided that except in connection with a Drag-Along Sale pursuant to Section 6.1, in no event shall any Angel Party or Investor Transfer any Ordinary Shares and/or Preferred Shares to any Company Competitor without the prior written consents of the Founder Parties. Company Competitors shall mean each of the Persons identified on Exhibit C hereto (and such list may be reviewed and revised on a yearly basis so long as the number of Company Competitors shall be no more than five (5), and subject to written consents by all the Investor Directors to any change to such list). |
(b) | Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, a Transfer of or issuance of limited partnership interests in any investment fund or vehicle controlled by an Affiliate of any Investor shall not be deemed a Transfer hereunder and shall not be subject to the Transfer restrictions with respect to Company Competitors set forth in this Agreement. |
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5.7 | Legend. Each existing or replacement certificate representing the Equity Securities of the Company (except for Equity Securities held by the Investors, the Angel Parties and the Other Ordinary Shareholder) issued or hereafter issued shall bear the following legend: |
THE SALE, PLEDGE, HYPOTHECATION, ASSIGNMENT OR TRANSFER OF THESE SECURITIES IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF A CERTAIN SHARE RESTRICTION AGREEMENT BY AND AMONG THE COMPANY AND CERTAIN HOLDERS OF SHARES OF THE COMPANY AND A CERTAIN SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT BY AND AMONG THE SHAREHOLDERS, THE COMPANY AND CERTAIN OTHER PARTIES THERETO. COPIES OF SUCH AGREEMENTS MAY BE OBTAINED UPON WRITTEN REQUEST TO THE COMPANY.
5.8 | Term. Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, the provisions under this Section 5 shall terminate upon the consummation of (i) an IPO or (ii) a Deemed Liquidation Event, whichever shall first occur. For the avoidance of doubt, in case of scenario (ii) above, in the event that any Angel Party or any holder of the Preferred Shares holds any equity interest in the surviving entity after the completion of a Deemed Liquidation Event, the Group Companies and the Founder Parties shall make their commercially reasonable efforts to cause that the Rights of First Refusal and Co-Sale will remain available to such Angel Party and such holder of the Preferred Shares after the completion of said Deemed Liquidation Event. |
6. | DRAG-ALONG RIGHT. |
6.1 | Subject to Section 9.4, if the Series A Majority, the Series B Majority, the Series C Majority, the Series D Majority and the Series E Majority (collectively, the Dragging Shareholders), (a) at any time upon and after (x) the Companys failure to complete any redemption under the terms specified in Article 47 of the Restated Articles on or prior to the Redemption Date set forth therein, or (y) the Companys failure to complete the Qualified Public Offering by the fourth (4th) anniversary of January 25, 2021, (1) propose to Transfer the Shares held by such Dragging Shareholders in the Company to any Person, (2) approve a sale of the Company or all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, or (3) approve a transaction that qualifies as a Deemed Liquidation Event (each a Drag-Along Sale), or (b) at any time after the Closing Date, propose or approve any Drag-Along Sale, in each case the consideration for which implies a valuation of the Company of no less than US$1,400,000,000, then all the other shareholders of the Company (the Dragged Shareholders) shall be required to, vote in favor of the Drag-Along Sale to the extent shareholders approval of the Company is required, and sell their Shares in the Company to such Person, at the same price per Ordinary Share (on an as-converted basis) in cash and upon the same terms and conditions as applicable to the Dragging Shareholders to the extent the Drag-Along Sale is effected as a sale of Shares, and the Company shall take all actions as may be required by the Dragging Shareholders to effect such Drag-Along Sale. Each of the Dragged Shareholders shall (i) make representations and warranties in connection with such Drag-Along Sale in the relevant definitive documents only regarding (A) its ownership of and authority to sell the Shares to be sold by him or it, (B) absence of any material violations as a result of such sale under any material agreement to which such shareholder is a party and (C) certain other fundamental warranties with respect to itself (it is being agreed that none of the Dragged Shareholders shall be required to make any other representations and warranties, including representations and warranties related to the businesses or assets of the Group Companies); and (ii) obtain any consents or approvals required on its part to entry into such sale. Each of the Dragging Shareholders and Dragged Shareholders undertakes to pay its pro rata share of expenses incurred in connection with the Drag-Along Sale. |
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6.2 | In furtherance of the foregoing, each of the Dragged Shareholders agrees to, and the Company is hereby expressly authorized by each such Dragged Shareholder to take on such shareholders behalf (without receipt of any further consent by such shareholder), any or all of the following actions: (w) vote all of the voting shares of such shareholder in favor of any such proposed Drag-Along Sale and in opposition of any and all other proposals that could reasonably be expected to delay or impair the ability of the Company or the Dragging Shareholders to consummate such Drag-Along Sale; (x) otherwise consent on such shareholders behalf to such proposed Drag-Along Sale; (y) sell all of such shareholders Shares in such proposed Drag-Along Sale, in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Section 6; and/or (z) act as such shareholders attorney-in-fact in relation to any such proposed Drag-Along Sale and have the full authority to sign and deliver, on behalf such shareholder, share transfer instruments, share sale or exchange agreements, certificates of indemnity relating to any Shares and any other documents for the consummation of such Drag-Along Sale. Each Dragged Shareholder further agrees to take all necessary actions in connection with the consummation of such Drag-Along Sale as may be reasonably requested by the Dragging Shareholders. If any Dragged Shareholder disagrees with such sale of the Shares, such Dragged Shareholder shall purchase, or cause to purchase, or designate any third party to purchase the shares to be sold by the Dragging Shareholders at the same price and upon substantially similar terms and conditions as was agreed to by the Dragging Shareholders. For the avoidance of doubt, a Drag-Along Sale shall constitute as a Deemed Liquidation Event, and all proceeds derived from a Drag-Along Sale shall be distributed to and among the Dragging Shareholders and the Dragged Shareholders who participate in such Drag-Along Sale in the same order and with the same preference as applicable to a Deemed Liquidation Event. |
6.3 | Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, the right of the Investors under this Section 6 shall terminate upon the consummation of an IPO. |
7. | ASSIGNMENT AND AMENDMENT. |
7.1 | Assignment of Rights. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary but without prejudice to Section 11.7: |
(a) | Information Rights; Registration Rights. The Information Rights, Inspection Rights and Special Auditing Rights under Section 2.1 may be assigned to a transferee or assignee of the Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares held by the Angel Parties and the Other Ordinary Shareholder; and the registration rights of the Holders under Section 3 may be assigned to any Holder or to any Person acquiring Registrable Securities; provided however, that in either case, such transferee or assignee shall not be a Tencent Restricted Person, and no party may be assigned any of the foregoing rights unless the Company is given written notice by the assigning party stating the name and address of the assignee and identifying the securities of the Company as to which the rights in question are being assigned; provided further, that each such assignee shall execute a Joinder to become a party to and bound by this Agreement. |
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(b) | Right of Participation; Right of First Refusal; Co-Sale Right; and Drag-along Right. The rights of the Investors and the Angel Parties under Sections 4, 5, and 6 are fully assignable in connection with a transfer of the Shares of the Company held by the Investors or the Angel Parties; provided however, that such transferee or assignee shall not be a Tencent Restricted Person, and no party may be assigned any of the foregoing rights unless the Company is given written notice by such Investors or Angel Parties stating the name and address of the assignee and identifying the Shares of the Company as to which the rights in question are being assigned; and provided further, that that each such assignee shall execute a Joinder to become a party to and bound by this Agreement. |
7.2 | Amendments. This Agreement may not be amended or modified and the observance thereof may not be waived (either generally or in a particular instance and either retroactively or prospectively), except by a written instrument executed by (i) the Company, (ii) the Series E2 Majority, (iii) the holders of at least a majority of the Series E Preferred Shares, (iv) the holders of at least a majority of the Series D Preferred Shares, (v) the holders of at least a majority of the Series C Preferred Shares, (vi) the holders of at least a majority of the Series B Preferred Shares, (vii) the holders of at least a majority of the Series A Preferred Shares, (viii) the holders of at least a majority of the Ordinary Shares held by the Angel Parties and (ix) the holders of at least a majority of the Ordinary Shares held by the shareholders other than the Angel Parties; provided, however, that (a) any amendment to any provision that gives a right or confers a benefit to a named party shall not be amended or waived without the prior written consent of such named party, (b) no additional obligations shall be imposed upon any party without its prior written consent, (c) any amendment to any provision that would adversely affect any shareholder in a manner disproportionate to the effect on the other shareholders shall not be made without the prior written consent of that first shareholder, and (d) each shareholder of the Company may waive any of its own rights hereunder without obtaining the consent of any other shareholders or their assigns. Any amendment or waiver effected in accordance with this Section 7 shall be binding upon each of the parties hereto and their respective assigns. |
7.3 | Waiver. No waiver of any provision of this Agreement shall be effective unless set forth in a written instrument signed by the party waiving such provision. Unless otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, no failure or delay by a party in exercising any right, power or remedy under this Agreement shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of the same preclude any further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, power or remedy. Without limiting the foregoing, no waivers of or granting of exceptions to any term, condition or provision of this Agreement, in any one or more instances, shall be deemed to be, or be construed as, a further or continuing waiver of any such term, condition or provision. |
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8. | CONFIDENTIALITY AND NON-DISCLOSURE. |
8.1 | Disclosure of Terms. The terms and conditions of this Agreement (including the parties names and identities), the Series A Purchase Agreement, the Series B Purchase Agreement, the Series C Purchase Agreement, the Series D Purchase Agreement, the Series E Purchase Agreement, the Series E2 Purchase Agreement, and all exhibits attached to such agreements (collectively, the Financing Terms), including their existence, and all non-public information concerning the organization, structure, business or financial results or condition of the Group Companies, shall be considered confidential information and shall not be disclosed by any party hereto to any third party except in accordance with the provisions set forth below; provided that such confidential information shall not include any information that (i) is in the public domain other than as a result of the breach of the confidentiality obligations hereunder by such party, (ii) is already in the possession of such party, (iii) becomes available to such party on a non-confidential basis from a source other than the Group Companies, provided that such source is not known by such party to be bound by a confidentiality agreement with or other obligation of secrecy to the Group Companies, and (iv) is independently developed by such party without using the Financing Terms and without otherwise violating its obligations hereunder. |
8.2 | Press Releases. Any press release issued by the Company or any Investor shall not disclose any of the Financing Terms and the final form of such press release shall be approved in advance in writing by the Investors (with respect to any press release by the Company) or by the Company and the other Investors who are referenced in such press release (with respect to any press release by an Investor). No other announcement regarding any of the Financing Terms in a press release, conference, advertisement, announcement, professional or trade publication, mass marketing materials or otherwise to the general public may be made without the prior written consents of the Investors. |
8.3 | Permitted Disclosures. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any party may disclose any of the Financing Terms or other confidential information to its Affiliates or its or its Affiliates current or bona fide prospective investors, employees, investment bankers, lenders, partners, accountants, professional advisors and attorneys or, in the case of the Investors, prospective transferees in a Transfer that complies with the terms of this Agreement, in each case only where such Persons have the need to know such information and are subject to appropriate nondisclosure obligations. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Investors shall be entitled to disclose the Financing Terms for the purposes of fund reporting or inter-fund reporting or to their fund manager, other funds managed by their fund manager and their respective auditors, counsel, directors, officers, employees, shareholders or investors. |
8.4 | Legally Compelled Disclosure. In the event that any party is requested or becomes legally compelled (including without limitation, pursuant to securities Laws) to disclose the existence of this Agreement and/or the Series A Purchase Agreement and/or the Series B Purchase Agreement and/or the Series C Purchase Agreement and/or the Series D Purchase Agreement and/or Series E Purchase Agreement and/or Series E2 Purchase Agreement, any of the exhibits attached to such agreements, any of the Financing Terms hereof or any other confidential information in contravention of the provisions of this Section 8, such party (the Disclosing Party) shall, to the extent legally permissible and practically feasible, provide the other parties (the Non-Disclosing Parties, and each a Non-Disclosing Party) with prompt written notice of that fact and use all commercially reasonable efforts to seek (with the cooperation and reasonable efforts of the other parties) a protective order, confidential treatment or other appropriate remedy. |
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In such event, the Disclosing Party shall furnish only that portion of the information which is legally required to be disclosed and shall exercise reasonable efforts to keep confidential such information to the extent reasonably requested by any Non-Disclosing Party.
8.5 | Use of Tencents Brands and Marks. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, without prior written consent of Tencent, whether or not Tencent or any of its Affiliates are then a shareholder of the Company, no party shall use in advertising, publicity, announcements, or otherwise the name of Tencent, 腾讯 , QQ, Wechat, 微信 or that of any Affiliate of Tencent, either alone or in combination thereof, including 微信, wechat, RTX, 腾讯企业邮 EXMAIL.QQ.COM, 微信朋友圈, 微信电视, Tencent 腾讯, QQ, imqq.com, QQ 秀/QQSHOW, WWW.QQ.COM, QQmusic/QQ 音乐, QQ 空间, tencent image, 小 Q, QQ 彩贝/彩贝联盟, 小 Q 书桌, 微云/腾讯微云, QQ 会员, 爱马哥, QQShowSHOW.QQ.COM, Q 影, 腾讯印象, 同步助手, 腾讯云, 应用宝, 财付通, QQ 电脑管家, 腾讯手机管家, 安全管家, 酷抠族 COOL, 路宝/腾讯路宝, QQ 浏览器, 微众, 腾讯游戏/腾讯互动娱乐 Tencent Interactive Entertainment, 洛克王国 Roco Kingdom, 斗战神 ASURA, QQ 炫舞, QQ 西游 QQXY.QQ.COM, QQ 飞车, 英雄杀 YXS.QQ.COM, AI 战士 AI.QQ.COM, 功夫西游, 逆战 NZ.QQ.COM, QQ 游戏 QQGAME.QQ.COM, Q 游记, 功夫企鹅, Q 游记 17Q.QQ.COM, 腾讯原创动漫 AC.QQ.COM, 趣西游, 众神争霸, 天天酷跑, 天天爱消除, 天天连萌, 全民三国, 天天飞车, 腾讯文学 Tencent Literature, 腾讯网, FUN 秀, 小拇指, 腾讯微漫画, 碰星球 PUNG, 翻秀, 腾讯儿童 DIY 微漫画, 潮童范儿, 广点通, 微彩票 518.qq.com, QQ 彩票 888.QQ.COM, 腾讯微公益基金, 新年新衣, 筑梦新乡村, 米大师, 铜关 Tongguan, 益行家, 王者荣耀 , 腾讯地图, 天天快报, TIM, FOXMAIL, 自选股, 疾风之刃, JOOX, VOOV, 理财通, Ipick, any associated logos of the above brands, or any company name, trade name, trademark, service mark, domain name, device, design, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof owned or used by Tencent or any of its Affiliates, except for (i) the reference to Tencent and/or 腾讯 in a factual statement that the Company is a portfolio company of Tencent (to the extent such information is by then in the public domain) and (ii) a permitted use of the relevant logo(s), brand(s) or trademark(s) or corporate name(s)/products name(s) of Tencent or its Affiliate(s) by an applicable Group Company as authorized in a business cooperation agreement entered into between Tencent or its Affiliate(s) and such Group Company; or represent, directly or indirectly, that any product or services provided by any party (other than Tencent) or any of its Affiliates have been approved or endorsed by Tencent or any of its Affiliates. |
8.6 | Use of Yunfengs Brands and Marks. The Company agrees that it will not, without the prior written consent of Yunfeng, in each instance, (a) use in marketing, advertising, publicity, promotion or otherwise the name of 云锋 (Chinese equivalent for Yunfeng), 云锋基金 (Chinese equivalent for Yunfeng Capital) or any Affiliate of Yunfeng, or any partner or employee of any Affiliate of Yunfeng, nor any trade name, trademark, trade device, service or product mark, symbol, logo, brand, domain name, icon or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof owned by Yunfeng or its Affiliates, except for the reference to Yunfeng, YF, 云锋基金 and/or 云锋 in a factual statement that the Company is a portfolio company of Yunfeng (to the extent such information is by then in the public domain), or (b) represent, directly or indirectly, that any product or any service provided by the Company has been approved or endorsed by Yunfeng or an Affiliate of Yunfeng. |
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8.7 | Use of Matrixs Brands and Marks. The Company agrees that it will not, without the prior written consent of Matrix, in each instance, (a) use in marketing, advertising, publicity, promotion or otherwise the name of Matrix, Matrix Partners, 经纬, 经纬中国 and any associated logos of the above brands, or any company name, trade name, trademark, service mark, domain name, device, design, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof owned or used by Matrix or any of its Affiliates; except for the reference to Matrix, Matrix Partner, 经纬 and/or 经纬中国 in a factual statement that the Company is a portfolio company of Matrix (to the extent such information is by then in the public domain). |
8.8 | Other Information. The provisions of this Section 8 shall be in addition to, and not in substitution for, the provisions of any separate nondisclosure agreement executed by any of the parties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby. |
8.9 | Notices. All notices required under this section shall be made pursuant to Section 11.1 of this Agreement. |
9. | PROTECTIVE PROVISIONS AND OTHER ARRANGEMENTS. |
9.1 | Acts Requiring Approval by the Investors. In addition to such other limitations as may be provided herein or in the Restated Articles of the Company, any of the Companys other contractual obligations, requirements under the applicable Laws and any rights of approval of the Investor Directors as set forth in Section 9.2, so long as any Series A Preferred Share is outstanding and held by SIG, any Series C Preferred Share is outstanding and held by Yunfeng, any Series D Preferred Share is outstanding and held by the Lead Series D Investor Representative and/or any Series E Preferred Share is outstanding and held by Tencent, the Company and the other Group Companies shall not, and the Founder Parties and the shareholders of each Group Company shall each take all steps necessary within their respective control to ensure that each such Group Company shall not, directly or indirectly, carry out any of the following actions (other than any action undertaken in accordance with Section 9.3) (whether in a single transaction or a series of related transactions, whether directly or indirectly, and whether by amendment to the Restated Articles or its constitutional documents, merger, consolidation, schedule of arrangement, amalgamation or otherwise), and no affirmative shareholders resolution shall be adopted by any Group Company to directly or indirectly approve or carry out the same, except with the prior affirmative votes or written consents of SIG, Yunfeng, the Lead Series D Investor Representative and Tencent, and where any such action listed in (a) to (o) below requires a Special Resolution (as defined in the Restated Articles) of the shareholders of the Company, and the said prior consent(s) of SIG and/or Yunfeng and/or the Lead Series D Investor Representative and/or Tencent have not been obtained, the shareholders of the Company who voted against the resolution at a meeting or objected to adoption of written resolution with respect to such act shall have such number of votes as equal to the number of votes of the shareholders of the Company who voted in favor of or consented to such resolution plus one (1): |
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(a) | the commencement of or consent to any proceeding with respect to any Group Company, seeking (i) to adjudicate it as bankrupt or insolvent, (ii) liquidation, dissolution, winding up, reorganization, or other arrangement under law relating to bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization or relief of debtors, or (iii) the entry of an order for relief or the appointment of a receiver, trustee, or other similar official for it or for any substantial part of its property, or a Deemed Liquidation Event (other than a Drag-Along Sale in accordance with Section 6.1); |
(b) | (x) any amendment, alteration or repeal of, or any waiver under, any provision of the Restated Articles of the Company, or (y) in a manner that is adverse to any Investor, any amendment, alteration, repeal of, or waiver under any provision of any constitutional documents of any other Group Company; |
(c) | any action of any Group Company that creates or authorizes to create, issues, increases or decreases the number of authorized or issued Equity Securities, including any New Securities, but excluding any of the following issuances by the Company: |
(i) | any Ordinary Shares issued upon conversion of the Preferred Shares; |
(ii) | any Shares issued pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions as set forth in section of Article 9(d) of the Restated Articles; |
(iii) | any Ordinary Shares (and/or options or warrants therefor) issued to employees, officers, directors, or consultants of the Group Companies pursuant to any ESOP approved by the Companys Board of Directors in accordance with this Agreement and the Restated Articles; |
(iv) | any Ordinary Share issued to Zu Teng (祖腾) or Zu Tengs SPV in accordance with Section 10.8 hereof; and |
(v) | any Ordinary Share issued in connection with any M&A (as defined below) approved by the Companys Board of Directors in accordance with this Agreement and the Restated Articles; |
(d) | any purchase, repurchase, redemption, or any retirement, of any Equity Securities of any Group Company, excluding any of the following repurchase or redemption by the Company: |
(i) | the repurchase or redemption of Shares from employees, officers, directors, or consultants of the Company pursuant to (x) any ESOP approved by the Companys Board of Directors in accordance with this Agreement or (y) the Share Restriction Agreements; |
(ii) | the redemption of Shares by the Company in connection with an M&A approved in accordance with this Agreement and the Restated Articles; |
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(iii) | any repurchase or redemption by the Company of Shares held by any service provider of the Group Companies pursuant to (x) any share incentive agreement under any ESOP approved by the Companys Board of Directors in accordance with this Agreement or (y) the Share Restriction Agreements entered therebetween which allows the Company to have such right of repurchase or redemption at the termination of the service relationship by such service provider; |
(iv) | any redemption of Preferred Shares in accordance with Article 47 of the Restated Articles; and |
(v) | any repurchase or redemption of Shares to effect a Drag-Along Sale. |
(e) | (x) any action that would result in any merger, amalgamation, consolidation, business combination, division, share acquisition, change of the corporate form, Change of Control or other reorganization or restructuring of any Group Company, or, (y) any action, whether by a single transaction or a series of transactions that results in the dilution of the shareholding percentage of any Investor (except for the creation or enforcement of, or the exercise of rights (including the power of sale) under, the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage, any Drag-Along Sale in accordance with Section 6.1, any redemption carried out in accordance with Article 47 of the Restated Articles, or any dilution of the shareholding percentage of any Investor due to any issuance of New Securities duly approved and conducted in compliance with this Agreement) (each an M&A); |
(f) | the declaration, setting aside or payment of a dividend or making of other distribution to any shareholder of any Group Company (other than by a Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary to the Company or another Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary), or the adoption of or any change to the dividend policy of any Group Company; |
(g) | any action that allows any Shares to have any privileges in terms of voting, purchase or redemption, liquidation preferences or payment of any dividend or other distribution senior to or on a parity with any Preferred Share; |
(h) | any action of any Group Company that creates, issues or authorizes the creation or issuance of any debt security (other than equipment leases or bank lines of credit) unless issuance of such debt security has received the prior written approval of the Board, including the consents of all the Investor Directors; |
(i) | any share split, share dividend, combination, recapitalization or similar event with respect to any Equity Securities in any Group Company; |
(j) | any amendment or change of the rights, preferences, privileges or powers of, or the restrictions provided for the benefit of, the Preferred Shares; |
(k) | any action (in a single transaction or a series related transactions) that (x) reclassifies or recapitalize any outstanding Equity Securities into, or creates or authorizes the creation of or issues any other Equity Securities having rights, preferences or privileges senior to or on parity with the Preferred Shares, or (y) increases the authorized number of the Preferred Shares or any other class or series of preferred shares; |
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(l) | any increase or decrease in the size or change of composition or voting power of the Board or the board of directors or similar governing body of any other Group Company, other than any such increase, decrease or other change contemplated by Section 2.2(d); and any establishment of any committee thereunder and the authorization, power and duties of such committee; |
(m) | termination of, any amendment or modification to, or waiver under any captive structure documents in respect of any of the Group Companies executed by such Group Company, the shareholders of such Group Company, the Founder Parties and/or any other parties thereto, including without limitation, any of the Cooperative Agreements; |
(n) | any public offering of any debt or Equity Securities of any Group Company, including the selection or determination of any underwriter, any securities exchange, valuation, size and other material terms and conditions for such offering; and |
(o) | the issuance or reservation of Equity Securities under the ESOP or any other equity incentive plan in excess of the aggregate amount of the Existing ESOP Shares and the New ESOP Shares (as adjusted to reflect any subsequent bonus issue, share split, reverse share split, share dividend, consolidation, subdivision, reclassification, recapitalization or other similar transaction of the Company). |
9.2 | Acts Requiring Approval by the Investor Directors. For so long as SIG is entitled to appoint or nominate the SIG Director, Yunfeng is entitled to appoint or nominate the Yunfeng Director, the Lead Series D Investor Representative is entitled to appoint or nominate the Series D Director and/or Tencent is entitled to appoint or nominate the Tencent Director, in addition to such other limitations as may be provided herein or in the Restated Articles of the Company, any of the Companys other contractual obligations, or requirements under the applicable Laws, the Company and the other Group Companies shall not, and the Founder Parties shall each take all steps necessary to ensure that the Company and the other Group Companies shall not, directly or indirectly carry out any of the following actions (other than any action undertaken in accordance with Section 9.3) (whether in a single transaction or a series of related transactions, whether directly or indirectly, and whether by amendment to the Restated Articles or its constitutional documents, merger, consolidation, schedule of arrangement, amalgamation or otherwise), and no resolution shall be adopted by the Board or by the board of directors of any other Group Company (as applicable) to directly or indirectly approve or carry out any of the following actions by the Company or such other Group Companies (whether in a single transaction or a series of related transactions, whether directly or indirectly, and whether by amendment to the Restated Articles or its constitutional documents, merger, consolidation, schedule of arrangement, amalgamation or otherwise), except with a majority of affirmative votes of the Board of Directors of the Company, including the affirmative vote or consent of each of the Investor Directors, provided that any action listed in paragraphs (g) and (j) below shall not require the affirmative vote or consent of the director appointed by Tencent: |
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(a) | any entry into, participation in, formation or establishment of, or exit from any joint venture, partnership, association, consortium or similar entities or relationships; |
(b) | any provision of any loan or advance to any Person, including, any employee or director of any Group Company, except advances and similar expenditures in the ordinary course of business or in accordance with the terms of an ESOP approved by the Board; |
(c) | any action to create guarantee, mortgage or any other encumbrance on any asset of any Group Company for any indebtedness; |
(d) | any incurrence of indebtedness in excess of RMB5,000,000 in a single transaction or in excess of RMB10,000,000 in aggregate for any consecutive twelve (12) months, in each case not already included in a Board-approved budget or incurred outside the ordinary course of business; |
(e) | provision of any loan or lending to any Related Party of any Group Company or other third party or provision of guarantee or security for the indebtedness or liability of any Related Party of any Group Company or any third party (other than (i) loans provided by the Company or a Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary to another Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary or provided by a Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary to the Company) and (ii) guarantee or security provided by the Company or a Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary for the indebtedness or liability of another Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary or provided by a Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary for the indebtedness or liability of the Company); |
(f) | enter into or become a party to any transaction with any Related Party of any Group Company, renew or extend the terms of any such transaction, or amend any term of any such transaction in a manner adverse to any Group Company, other than (i) any redemption of Shares by the Company carried out in accordance with Article 47 of the Restated Articles, (ii) entry into any transaction involving value not exceeding RMB5,000,000 in a single transaction or entry into transactions involving value not exceeding RMB5,000,000 in aggregate for any fiscal year, in each case under clause (ii), in the ordinary course of business and on an arms length basis, and (iii) any business cooperation or strategic alliance with Tencent or its Affiliates conducted in accordance with the Tencent Business Cooperation Agreements; |
(g) | approval and amendment of the annual business and financial plans, annual investment plans and annual budgets of the Group Companies taken as a whole; |
(h) | approval of any capital expenditure in a single transaction or a series of related transactions in excess of RMB5,000,000 or in excess of RMB10,000,000 in aggregate for any consecutive twelve (12) months or approval of any investment commitments in a single transaction or a series of related transactions in excess of RMB10,000,000 or in excess of RMB20,000,000 in aggregate for any consecutive twelve (12) months, in each case that has not been included in the approved annual business plan or budget (to the extent that such annual business plan or budget has specified each specific capital expenditure and investment commitment); |
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(i) | approval of any other expenditure in a single transaction or a series of related transactions in excess of RMB5,000,000 or in excess of RMB10,000,000 in aggregate for any consecutive twelve (12) months that has not been included in the approved annual budget; |
(j) | appointment, removal or replacement of the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer/Financial VP, the Chief Technology Officer, the Chief Operation Officer and the Chief Human Resource Officer; |
(k) | approval of or change to the compensation and remuneration of the officers listed in paragraph (j) above (including approving the number of options or other awards issued to such persons under the duly approved ESOP); |
(l) | any material alteration or change to the business scope, nature of business or Business of the Group Companies, entry into a new line of business, or exiting from any current line of business; |
(m) | the adoption, amendment or termination of any equity incentive, purchase or participation plan or equivalent, of the Company for the benefit of the employees, officers, directors, advisors, contractors and consultants of the Group Companies (ESOP); |
(n) | any transfer, sale, or disposal of any asset or business of any Group Company involving a transaction value in excess of RMB5,000,000 during any fiscal year (except for any Drag-Along Sale in accordance with Section 6.1, or any transfer, sale or disposition of assets or properties in accordance with Article 47 of the Restated Articles); |
(o) | any sale, transfer, lease, license, pledge, encumbrance of technology or intellectual property of the Group Companies, other than non-exclusive licenses of the technology or intellectual property of the Group Companies granted in the ordinary course of business; |
(p) | any investment (including through acquisition of asset or business of any Person) involving an amount in excess of RMB10,000,000 other than any investment in any then existing Subsidiary, or any establishment by any Group Company itself or with any other Person of, or any disposal of any interest (including Equity Securities) in, any joint venture, partnership, Subsidiary or alliance; |
(q) | approval of any audited financial statements (including without limitation, the balance sheet, the income statement and the cash flow statement) of any Group Company; |
(r) | any commencement or settlement of any material legal actions or arbitrations involving an amount exceeding RMB5,000,000 or any waiver, termination, settlement or compromise by any Group Company of any valuable right or of any liability involving an amount or value exceeding RMB5,000,000; and |
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(s) | the appointment, removal and replacement of the accounting firm/auditor of any Group Company, material change of the accounting or financial policy of any Group Company. |
9.3 | VIE Structure. If the structure or transactions contemplated by the Cooperative Agreements, as amended from time to time (the VIE Structure), are deemed by the relevant Governmental Authorities or expressly set forth under applicable Laws to be in violation of the Laws of the PRC: |
(a) | the parties hereto agree to take any actions as required by the Preferred Majority to restructure the Group Companies or otherwise necessary to preserve the economic benefit of the Investors and the other shareholders of the Company under the structure pursuant to the Cooperative Agreements, taking into consideration any costs which may occur in connection with such restructuring or actions so taken; and |
(b) | without limiting the generality of the foregoing item (a), in the event that Jiangsu Yunxuetang, Shanghai Zhong Ou, Shanghai Fenghe and/or any other variable interest entity (whether or not wholly or majority owned by Founder Lu or by third parties designated by Founder Lu as nominees) that is controlled by any WFOE or other Subsidiaries of the Company in the future under similar VIE Structure (collectively, VIE Companies and each, a VIE Company) are expressly required under the relevant Laws of the PRC or by the PRC Governmental Authorities to be divested from the relevant WFOE, or the VIE Structure is required to be terminated, the Group Companies and Founder Lu specifically agree and undertake that: |
(i) | any actions taken by the shareholders of the VIE Companies (with respect to the VIE Companies other than Shanghai Zhong Ou and Shanghai Fenghe to the extent that Shanghai Zhong Ou and Shanghai Fenghe remain as Non-Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiaries) or any actions taken by Jiangsu Yunxuetang (with respect to Shanghai Zhong Ou and Shanghai Fenghe) regarding the divestiture of the VIE Companies or termination of the VIE Structure shall be approved in advance in writing by the Preferred Majority; |
(ii) | to the greatest extent permitted by applicable Laws and unless otherwise agreed by the Preferred Majority in writing, the equity or assets of the VIE Companies other than Shanghai Zhong Ou and Shanghai Fenghe shall be, and Jiangsu Yunxuetang shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the equity or assets of Shanghai Zhong Ou and Shanghai Fenghe to be, disposed of at the fair market value, and subject to the payment of applicable taxes and other government charges pursuant to the Laws of the PRC, any consideration received by the shareholders of the VIE Companies in connection with such divestiture or termination shall be held by them in trust for the benefit of the relevant WFOE and shall be passed on to such WFOE without any deduction or withholding; and |
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(iii) | to the greatest extent permitted by applicable Laws, each Investor and the other shareholders of the Company shall have the right to hold or acquire certain percentage of Equity Securities in Jiangsu Yunxuetang (or any similar company newly established to operate the Business in substitution for Jiangsu Yunxuetang) (the Core VIE Company) that equals to the percentage of the then-outstanding shares of the Company (on a fully-diluted and as-converted basis) that is owned by such Investor or shareholder, for nil consideration or at a nominal price, and Founder Lu shall and shall cause the other shareholders of the Core VIE Company, and the shareholders shall cause their respective Affiliates which hold Equity Securities in the Core VIE Company to, consent to and take all necessary actions to implement such transaction as demanded by such Investor or the other shareholder. |
For the avoidance of doubt, nothing herein shall prejudice or restrict any Investors rights and privileges under the Restated Articles, including without limitation the redemption rights as set forth therein.
9.4 | Tencent Reserved Matters and Consent Rights. |
(a) | Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this Agreement or the Restated Articles but subject to Section 9.4(b), for so long as Tencent (including its Affiliates) holds fifty percent (50%) or more of the Series E Preferred Shares held by it as of January 25, 2021, prior written consent from Tencent shall be required for any of the following transactions: |
(i) | any issuance of Equity Securities in any Group Company to any Tencent Restricted Person; |
(ii) | any Transfer of Equity Securities in the Company or any Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary by any holder thereof or any Transfer of Equity Securities in any Non-wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary by the Company or another Wholly Owned/Controlled Subsidiary (where applicable) to any Tencent Restricted Person (including in any enforcement proceedings); or |
(iii) | any Deemed Liquidation Event with or involving any Tencent Restricted Person. |
(b) | Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions in Section 9.4(a): |
(i) | where there is a proposed Deemed Liquidation Event or Drag-Along Sale in which a Tencent Restricted Person is the counterparty which proposes to purchase Shares, if Tencent agrees to sell or transfer all (but not less than all) of the Shares then held by it and cease being a shareholder of the Company immediately after completion of the proposed Deemed Liquidation Event or Drag-Along Sale, and such Tencent Restricted Person agrees to buy or purchase all the Shares then held by Tencent, the restrictions under Section 9.4(a)(ii) and Section 9.4(a)(iii) shall not apply to such proposed Deemed Liquidation Event or Drag-Along Sale with such Tencent Restricted Person; and |
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(ii) | solely with respect to any proposed Transfer of Equity Securities in the Company by Yunfeng, if any Affiliate of Yunfeng is, as of the date hereof, an entity which Alibaba Group Holding Limited, Ant Technology Group Co. Ltd. (蚂蚁科技集团股份有限公司) or any entity that operates Alipay or any of their respective Affiliates holds directly or indirectly not less than 30% of the total issued shares therein or the voting power attaching to all the issued shares therein, such Affiliate of Yunfeng shall not be deemed as a Tencent Restrict Person. |
(c) | The list of Tencent Restricted Persons shall not be revised without approval by the Board, including approval by each of the Investor Directors. |
10. | ADDITIONAL COVENANTS |
10.1 | Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Agreements. Without limiting or prejudicing the requirements and obligations under Section 8.10 of the Series D Purchase Agreement, Section 9.9 of the Series E Purchase Agreement and Section 8.9 of the Series E2 Purchase Agreement: |
(a) | the Group Companies and the Founder Parties shall procure that each current and future Key Employee will enter into and/or remain bound by customary non-competition and non-solicitation agreement and/or employment agreement with the Group Companies, each in a form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Investors, and that in accordance with such non-competition and non-solicitation agreement and/or employment agreement, Founder Lu and each such Key Employee will be subject to and remain bound by customary non-compete, no-hire and non-solicitation obligations, and certain confidentiality obligations under the non-disclosure and proprietary assignment agreement set forth in Section 10.2 (x) as long as such foregoing Person either holds any Equity Securities directly or indirectly in any Group Company, or is employed by any Group Company, and (y) for two (2) years after the later of such Person ceasing to hold any Equity Securities in any Group Company and his/her employment with any Group Company being terminated; and |
(b) | without prejudicing the foregoing, for so long as any Inventor holds any Preferred Shares, Founder Lu shall not and shall ensure that each of the Founder Parties and its Affiliates will not (i) directly or indirectly, through any Affiliate or any other Person, own, manage, be engaged in, operate, control, work for, consult with, render services for, do business with, maintain any interest in (proprietary, financial or otherwise) or participate in the ownership, management, operation, or control of, any business, whether in corporate, proprietorship or partnership form or otherwise, that is related to the Business or otherwise competes with any Group Company, or (ii) cause, solicit, induce or encourage any employees of the Group Companies to leave such employment or, except for the purpose of hiring for any Group Companies, hire, employ or otherwise engage any such individual, or cause, induce or encourage any current or prospective client, customer, supplier, licensee or licensor of the Group Companies or any other person who has a business relationship with the Group Companies, to terminate or modify to the detriment of the Group Companies any such relationship. |
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10.2 | Non-Disclosure and Propriety Rights Assignment Agreement. Founder Lu shall, and the Group Companies and the Founder Parties shall procure that each other current and future employee and consultant with access to any Group Companys confidential information/trade secrets shall, enter into a non-disclosure and proprietary rights assignment agreement in a form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Investors. |
10.3 | Qualified Public Offering Cooperation. |
(a) | Each of the Company and the Founder Parties undertakes that it shall use its reasonable best endeavours to or to cause the Company to consummate a Qualified Public Offering before the fourth (4th) anniversary of January 25, 2021. The Company shall consult periodically with SIG, Yunfeng, the Lead Series D Investor Representative and Tencent with respect to Qualified Public Offering, including without limitation the place, status, development and pricing of the anticipated public offering, provide SIG, Yunfeng, the Lead Series D Investor Representative and Tencent with reasonable access and opportunity to participate in meetings, presentations, road shows, drafting sessions, due diligence sessions and sessions with lenders, investors and rating agencies, and otherwise take such actions and provide such cooperation as may be reasonably requested by SIG, Yunfeng, the Lead Series D Investor Representative and/or Tencent such that SIG, Yunfeng, the Lead Series D Investor Representative and Tencent and Persons designated by SIG, Yunfeng, the Lead Series D Investor Representative and Tencent will have reasonable time and opportunity to provide feedback, opinions or comments on the draft prospectus and other material aspects of the public offering, and give SIG, Yunfeng, the Lead Series D Investor Representative and Tencent reasonable access to meetings regarding the selection or determination of stock exchange, underwriter or other advisors with respect to the anticipated public offering. |
(b) | Without limiting the foregoing Section 10.3(a), from and after the second (2nd) anniversary of January 25, 2021, each of the Lead Series D Investor Representative and Tencent shall have right to request (provided that such right shall be exercised reasonably by the Lead Series D Investor Representative and/or Tencent taking into account the commercial conditions, including the financial and operating conditions, of the Group Companies) the Company to initiate a Qualified Public Offering by serving a written notice to the Company and the other shareholders hereto (a Demanded IPO), in which case: (1) each party hereto shall consent to such Demanded IPO and shall vote for and raise no objections against such Demanded IPO; (2) each party hereto shall use its reasonable best endeavors to take, or cause to be taken, all actions and do, or cause to be done, all things necessary, reasonably requested by the Board or the underwriter(s) designated by the Board, to procure or effect such Demanded IPO, including unconditionally granting any and all consents or approvals, participating in meeting, presentations, road shows, drafting sessions, due diligence sessions and sessions with lenders, investors and rating agencies, and otherwise reasonably cooperating with the marketing efforts of the Company or any other Group Companies in connection with such Demanded IPO; (3) if requested by the Board upon advice of the managing underwriters of such Demanded IPO, each shareholder agrees to execute customary lock-up agreements consistent with the foregoing obligations; and (4) each party hereto shall ensure that (x) an IPO Resolution in form agreed by the Lead Series D Investor Representative and Tencent is placed on the agenda for, and brought to a vote at, the next meeting of the Board, and (y) all Directors of the Company designated or appointed by such party shall attend such meeting and, subject to applicable Laws, vote in favor of the IPO Resolution. The Company and the other Group Companies shall take all actions as contemplated to be taken by them under the IPO Resolution. In case of a Demanded IPO on a securities exchange in the United States of America, the applicable provisions under Section 3 shall apply, mutatis, mutandis, as if such Demanded IPO is made under a registration demanded under Section 3.3(a). |
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(c) | Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage. Each party hereto acknowledges that (i) the Founder Lu Holdco, Founder Lu and Centurium entered into that certain loan agreement dated April 23, 2020 (the Founder Lu Holdco Loan Agreement, as may be amended, restated and/or supplemented from time to time), and (ii) Founder Lu Holdco and Centurium entered into that certain equitable mortgage over shares dated April 23, 2020 (the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage Agreement). Each party hereto hereby consents to the creation and enforcement of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage (including any Transfer of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgaged Shares to Centurium, its Affiliates or any other Person other than a Tencent Restricted Person in order to enforce the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage, including on the exercise of the power of sale thereunder) in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage Agreement. Each party hereto shall, and shall procure its Affiliates and any Director designate by it to take all actions as may be necessary to facilitate and give effect to the creation and enforcement of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage, including (a) to approve, consent to and/or vote affirmatively for the creation and enforcement of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage and any transactions and actions as contemplated thereby (including any Transfer of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgaged Shares to Centurium, its Affiliates or any other Person other than a Tencent Restricted Person in order to enforce the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage, including the exercise of the power of sale thereunder), and (b) execute and deliver all agreements, certificates, instruments, resolutions and other documents with respect to the creation and enforcement of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage and any transactions and actions as contemplated thereby (including any Transfer of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgaged Shares to Centurium, its Affiliates or any other Person other than a Tencent Restricted Person in order to enforce the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage, including the exercise of the power of sale thereunder). |
10.4 | Redemption. Each party agrees that it shall and shall procure its Affiliates and any Director designated by it to take all actions necessary or desirable to complete and give full effect to any redemption that shall be carried out in accordance with Article 47 of the Restated Articles pursuant to the terms thereof. |
10.5 | Tax Declaration. The parties agree that to the extent a Form 8832 (Entity Classification Election) or Form SS-4 (Application for Employer Identification Number) is proposed to be filed by or on behalf of any Group Company with the relevant Governmental Authorities (whether pursuant to any Prior Financing Documents or otherwise), the relevant Group Company shall obtain Centuriums prior written consent before making any filing of the aforesaid forms, and any such form to be filed shall be in form and substance satisfactory to Centurium. |
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10.6 | Dual Class Voting Structure. The parties agree that immediately prior to the completion of an IPO, or at such other time as the Series A Majority, the Series B Majority, the Series C Majority, the Series D Majority, the Series E Majority and Founder Lu may agree, the Company shall, adopt a dual class ordinary share structure, pursuant to which, the then issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares of the Company held directly or indirectly by and only by Founder Lu shall each have certain number of multiple votes on all matters in a shareholders meeting or in respect of any shareholders resolutions of the Company in order to ensure that Founder Lu holds, directly or indirectly, no less than fifty one percent (51%) of the voting power at the shareholders meetings of the Company (the Dual Class Voting Structure), and the detailed terms and conditions of such Dual Class Voting Structure shall be subject to the prior written consents of the Series A Majority, the Series B Majority, the Series C Majority, the Series D Majority, the Series E Majority and Founder Lu. |
10.7 | Reservation of ESOP Shares. Each party hereto acknowledges that the Company has reserved 2,956,830 Ordinary Shares for issuance to the employees, officers, directors, advisors, contractors and consultants of the Group Companies (the Existing ESOP Shares). Each party hereto agrees that immediately after the Closing, the Company shall further reserve 8,301,863 Ordinary Shares in addition to the Existing ESOP Shares (the New ESOP Shares) for issuance to the employees, officers, directors, advisors, contractors and consultants of the Group Companies in accordance with an ESOP to be duly adopted, representing five percent (5%) of the Equity Securities of the Company (on a fully-diluted and as-converted basis) immediately after such reservation. |
10.8 | Issuance and Transfer of Shares to Zu Teng (祖腾). Each of the Parties hereby agrees and acknowledges that (i) the Company will issue and allot all of the Existing ESOP Shares (i.e., 2,956,830 Ordinary Shares) to Zu Teng (祖腾) or any wholly owned entity(ies) of Zu Teng (祖腾) (Zu Tengs SPV) after the Closing; and (ii) the Founder Lu Holdco will transfer 825,131 Ordinary Shares held by it to Zu Teng (祖腾) or Zu Tengs SPV after the Closing (collectively, the Issuance and Transfer of Shares), provided that, (x) at or prior to the completion of the Issuance and Transfer of Shares, Zu Teng ( 祖腾 ) and Zu Tengs SPV (if applicable) shall (aa) enter into a share restriction agreement in the form and substance determined by the Board (including the affirmative votes of the Investor Directors), pursuant to which the Ordinary Shares directly or indirectly held by Zu Teng (祖腾) shall be subject to customary vesting schedules and repurchase rights of the Company and the Investors, and (bb) execute a deed of adherence in the form and substance determined by the Board (including the affirmative votes of the Investor Directors), pursuant to which Zu Teng (祖腾) and Zu Tengs SPV (if applicable) shall agree in writing to be bound by this Agreement and each other Transaction Document as a holder of Ordinary Shares, a Founder Party and/or a Key Holder Party (in particular, Zu Teng (祖腾) and/or Zu Tengs SPV (as applicable) shall assume the obligations under Section 8.9 of the Series E2 Purchase Agreement, Sections 10.1 and 10.2 hereof); and (y) such Issuance and Transfer of Shares shall be effected in compliance with all applicable Laws and reasonable evidence of the satisfaction of all applicable filings or registrations required by the SAFE under the Circular 37 and any other applicable SAFE rules and regulations shall be provided to the Investors. Each party hereto shall, and shall procure its Affiliates and any Director designated by it to take all actions as may be necessary to facilitate and give effect to the aforesaid Issuance and Transfer of Shares in accordance with the terms and conditions hereof, including (a) to approve, consent to and/or vote affirmatively for the aforesaid Issuance and Transfer of Shares, and (b) execute and deliver all agreements, certificates, instruments, resolutions and other documents with respect to the Issuance and Transfer of Shares. |
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11. | GENERAL PROVISIONS. |
11.1 | Notices. Except as may be otherwise provided herein, all notices, requests, waivers and other communications made pursuant to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be conclusively deemed to have been duly given (a) when hand delivered to a party, upon delivery; (b) when sent by facsimile at the number set forth in Schedule V hereto, upon receipt of confirmation of error-free transmission; (c) when sent by electronic-mail at the e-mail address set forth in Schedule V hereto, upon being sent unless failure delivery notice is received; (d) seven (7) Business Days after deposit in the mail as air mail or certified mail, receipt requested, postage prepaid and addressed to the relevant party as set forth in Schedule V; or (e) three (3) Business Days after deposit with an overnight delivery service provider, postage prepaid, addressed to the parties as set forth in Schedule V with next Business Day delivery guaranteed, provided that the sending party receives a confirmation of delivery from the delivery service provider. Each Person making a communication hereunder by facsimile shall promptly confirm by telephone to the Person to whom such communication was addressed each communication made by it by facsimile pursuant hereto but the absence of such confirmation shall not affect the validity of any such communication. A party may change or supplement the addresses set forth in Schedule V, or designate additional addresses, for purposes of this Section 11.1 by giving the other parties written notice of the new address in the manner set forth above. |
11.2 | Entire Agreement. This Agreement, the Series E2 Purchase Agreement, the Restated Articles, the Share Restriction Agreements and the other Transaction Documents constitute and contain the entire agreement and understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes any and all prior negotiations, correspondence, agreements, understandings, duties or obligations between the parties respecting the subject matter hereof. Without limiting the generality of the above, this Agreement supersedes and replaces the Prior Agreement in its entirety. |
11.3 | Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the Laws of Hong Kong as to matters within the scope thereof, without regard to its principles of conflicts of laws. |
11.4 | Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, then such provision shall be construed, to the extent feasible, so as to render the provision enforceable and to provide for the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby on substantially the same terms as originally set forth herein, and if no feasible interpretation would save such provision, it shall be severed from the remainder of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect unless the severed provision is essential to the rights or benefits intended by the parties. In such event, the parties shall use best efforts to negotiate, in good faith, a substitute, valid and enforceable provision or agreement which most nearly effects the parties intent in entering into this Agreement. |
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11.5 | Third Parties. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any Person, other than the parties hereto and their permitted successors and assigns, any rights or remedies under or by reason of this Agreement. |
11.6 | Successors and Assigns. Subject to the provisions of Section 7.1, the provisions of this Agreement shall inure to the benefit of, and shall be binding upon, the successors and permitted assigns of the parties hereto. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, this Agreement and the rights and obligations therein may be assigned by each Investor and each Angel Party to any of its Affiliates or any transferee of its Shares of the Company in a transfer that has complied with this Agreement without any consent of the other parties. Except as expressly provided in this Agreement and other than the parties hereto or their respective successors and assigns, a Person who is not a party to this Agreement shall not have any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Ordinance (Chapter 623 of the Laws of Hong Kong) to enforce, or to enjoy the benefit of, any term of this Agreement. |
11.7 | Assignment. The rights and obligations of the parties hereto other than the Investors and the Angel Parties hereunder are not assignable without prior written consents of the Investors and the Angel Parties; provided that the rights of the Founder Lu Holdco in respect of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgaged Shares are fully assignable to any permitted transferee or assignee (to the extent that such transferee or assignee is not a Company Competitor or a Tencent Restricted Person) of such Founder Lu Holdco Mortgaged Shares as result of the enforcement of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage (including the exercise of the power of sale thereunder) in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Founder Lu Holdco Mortgage Agreement without prior written consents of the Investors or the Angel Parties, conditional upon such transferee or assignee signing a joinder substantially in form attached hereto as Exhibit B (a Joinder). The rights of each of the Investors and the Angel Parties hereunder are fully assignable to any transferee or assignee (to the extent that such transferee or assignee is not a Company Competitor or a Tencent Restricted Person), of any Shares of the Company held by such Investor or such Angel Party (as applicable), conditional upon such transferee or assignee signing a Joinder. In the event that any shareholder proposes to transfer any Shares in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, it shall procure that the transferees of such Shares (to the extent not already a party hereto) to execute a Joinder to become a party to and bound by this Agreement immediately upon becoming a holder of such Shares as reflected in the register of members of the Company. |
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11.8 | Interpretation; Captions. This Agreement shall be construed according to its fair language. The rule of construction to the effect that ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in interpreting this Agreement. The captions to sections of this Agreement have been inserted for identification and reference purposes only and shall not be used to construe or interpret this Agreement. Unless otherwise expressly provided herein, all references to Sections and Exhibits herein are to Sections and Exhibits of this Agreement. The titles of the sections and subsections of this Agreement are for convenience of reference only and are not to be considered in construing this Agreement. Unless otherwise expressly provided herein, (i) all references to Sections and Exhibits herein are to Sections and Exhibits of this Agreement; (ii) the words include and including, and variations thereof, shall not be deemed to be terms of limitation, but rather shall be deemed to be followed by the words without limitation; (iii) the term or is not exclusive; (iv) words in the singular include the plural, and words in the plural include the singular; (v) the terms herein, hereof, and other similar words refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular section, subsection, paragraph, clause, or other subdivision; (vi) the masculine, feminine, and neuter genders will each be deemed to include the others; (vii) the terms shall, will, and agrees are mandatory, and the term may is permissive; (viii) the term day shall mean calendar day, and month shall mean calendar month, (ix) all references in this Agreement to designated Schedules, Exhibits and Appendices are to the Schedules, Exhibits and Appendices attached to this Agreement unless the context otherwise requires, (x) the phrase directly or indirectly shall mean directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediate Persons or through contractual or other arrangements, and direct or indirect has the correlative meaning, (xi) references to Laws include any such law modifying, reenacting, extending or made pursuant to the same or which is modified, reenacted, or extended by the same or pursuant to which the same is made, (xii) each representation, warranty, agreement, and covenant contained herein will have independent significance, regardless of whether also addressed by a different or more specific representation, warranty, agreement, or covenant, (xiii) references to this Agreement, any other Transaction Documents and any other document shall be construed as references to such document as the same may be amended, supplemented or novated from time to time, (xiv) all references to dollars or to US$ are to currency of the United States of America and all references to RMB are to currency of the PRC (and each shall be deemed to include reference to the equivalent amount in other currencies), and (xv) references to a party includes a reference to that partys successors and permitted assigns. |
11.9 | Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Facsimile and emailed copies of signatures shall be deemed to be originals for purposes of the effectiveness of this Agreement. |
11.10 | Share Calculation. |
(a) | Wherever in this Agreement there is a reference to a specific number of Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares or any reference to per Share amount, then, upon the occurrence of any share split, subdivision, combination, share dividend, recapitalization, reclassification or similar event affecting Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares after the date hereof, the specific number of Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares so referenced in this Agreement shall automatically be proportionally adjusted to reflect the effect of such event on the outstanding Preferred Shares or Ordinary Shares by such share split, subdivision, combination or share dividend. Any reference to or calculation of Shares in issue shall exclude treasury shares. |
(b) | In calculations of share numbers, (i) references to a fully-diluted basis mean that the calculation is to be made assuming that all outstanding options, warrants and other Equity Securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Ordinary Shares (whether or not by their terms then currently convertible, exercisable or exchangeable) have been so converted, exercised or exchanged (including assuming that the Existing ESOP Shares and the New ESOP Shares (after its reservation) have been issued and are outstanding), (ii) reference to an as converted basis or as-converted basis mean that the calculation is to be made assuming that all Preferred Shares in issue have been converted into Ordinary Shares. |
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11.11 | Aggregation of Shares. All the Preferred Shares and Ordinary Shares held or acquired by Affiliates shall be aggregated together for the purpose of determining the availability of any rights under this Agreement. |
11.12 | Grant of Proxy. Upon the failure of any holder of Ordinary Shares to vote the Equity Securities of the Company held thereby, to implement the provisions of and to achieve the purposes of this Agreement, such holder of Ordinary Shares (excluding Matrix), hereby grants to a Person designated by the Company a proxy coupled with an interest in all Equity Securities of the Company held by it/him, which proxy shall be irrevocable until this Agreement terminates pursuant to its terms or this Section 11.12 is amended to remove such grant of proxy in accordance with this Section 11.12, to vote all such Equity Securities to implement the provisions of and to achieve the purposes of this Agreement. |
11.13 | Shareholders Agreement to Control. If and to the extent that there are conflicts between the provisions of this Agreement and those of the Restated Articles, the terms of this Agreement shall control as among the shareholders. The parties agree to take all actions necessary or advisable, as promptly as practicable after the discovery of such conflicts, to amend the Restated Articles so as to eliminate such conflicts. |
11.14 | Dispute Resolution. |
(a) | Negotiation Between Parties; Mediation. The parties agree to negotiate in good faith to resolve any dispute between them regarding this Agreement. If the negotiations do not resolve the dispute to the reasonable satisfaction of all parties to the dispute within thirty (30) days, Section 11.14(b) shall apply. |
(b) | Arbitration. |
(i) | In the event any parties are unable to settle a dispute between them regarding this Agreement in accordance with subsection (a) above, such dispute, including the validity, invalidity, breach or termination of this Agreement, may be referred to and finally settled by arbitration at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) in accordance with the HKIAC Arbitration Rules (the HKIAC Rules) in effect, which rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference into this subsection (b). There shall be three (3) arbitrators. Where there is more than one (1) party to one (1) side of the dispute, the parties whose interests are aligned shall jointly select one (1) arbitrator. The other party to such a dispute shall select one (1) arbitrator. The HKIAC shall select the third arbitrator. Any such arbitration shall be administered by HKIAC in accordance with HKIAC Procedures for Arbitration in force at the date of this Agreement including such additions to the HKIAC Rules as are therein contained. |
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(ii) | The decision of the arbitrators (by rule of majority) shall be final and binding on the parties to the dispute (including any decision on their fees) and their fees shall be borne and paid by the parties in such proportions as the arbitrators shall determine. Judgment upon any arbitral award rendered hereunder may be entered in any court having jurisdiction, or application may be made to such court for a judicial acceptance of the award and an order of enforcement, as the case may be. |
11.15 | Process Agent. Each of the Group Companies and the Founder Parties hereby irrevocably designates and appoints YXT.COM (HK) LIMITED, with its address located at Unit 06, 3/F., Bonham Trade Centre, 50 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong (the Process Agent), as its/his authorized agent upon whom process may be served in any such suit or proceeding, it being understood that the designation and appointment of the Process Agent as such authorized agent shall become effective immediately without any further action on the part of the Existing Shareholders or the Company, as applicable. Each of the Group Companies and the Founder Parties hereby represents that it has notified the Process Agent of such designation and appointment and that the Process Agent has accepted the same in writing. Each of the Group Companies and the Founder Parties hereby irrevocably authorizes and directs the Process Agent to accept such service on its behalf. Each of the Group Companies and the Founder Parties further agrees that service of process upon the Process Agent and notice of said service to the Group Companies and the Founder Parties, as the case may be, mailed by prepaid registered first class mail or delivered to the Process Agent at its principal office, shall be deemed in every respect effective service of process upon the Group Companies and the Founder Parties, as the case may be, in any such suit or proceeding. Nothing herein shall affect the right of any party to serve process in any other manner permitted by Law. Each of the Group Companies and the Founder Parties further agrees to take any and all actions, including the execution and filing of any and all such documents and instruments as may be necessary to continue such designation and appointment of the Process Agent in full force and effect so long as any of the Group Companies and the Founder Parties has any outstanding obligations under this Agreement. |
11.16 | Further Actions. Each shareholder of the Company agrees that it shall use its commercially reasonable effort to enhance and increase the value and principal business of the Company. |
11.17 | Specific Performance. The parties hereto acknowledge and agree that irreparable harm may occur for which money damages may not be an adequate remedy in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. It is accordingly agreed that the parties shall be entitled to seek injunction to prevent breaches of this Agreement and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions of this Agreement. |
11.18 | Effectiveness. This Agreement shall become effective as between all parties hereto as of the date hereof. |
[THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE GROUP COMPANIES: | ||
UNICENTURY GROUP HOLDING LIMITED | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory | ||
YXT.COM Holding Limited | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory | ||
YXT.COM (HK) LIMITED (雲學堂控股(香港)有限公司) | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory | ||
Digital B-School China Limited | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory | ||
CEIBS Management Ltd. | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE GROUP COMPANIES (continued): | ||
Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (云学堂信息科技(江苏)有限公司) | ||
(corporate seal affixed herto) | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory | ||
Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. | ||
(江苏云学堂网络科技有限公司) | ||
(corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE GROUP COMPANIES (continued): | ||
Beijing Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. | ||
(北京云学堂网络科技有限公司) | ||
(corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan Title: Authorized Signatory) | ||
Suzhou Xuancai Network Technology Co., Ltd. | ||
(苏州炫彩网络科技有限公司) | ||
(corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory | ||
Suzhou Xiwenlejian Network Technology Co., Ltd. | ||
(苏州喜闻乐见网络科技有限公司) | ||
(corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: | /s/ Zu Teng | |
Name: Zu Teng | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE GROUP COMPANIES (continued): | ||
Beijing Guoshi Technology Co., Ltd. | ||
(北京果识科技有限公司) | ||
(corporate seal affixed hereto) | ||
By: | /s/ Zu Teng | |
Name: Zu Teng | ||
Title: Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE FOUNDER PARTIES: | ||
Founder Lu | ||
Lu Xiaoyan | ||
(卢小燕, a/k/a. 卢睿泽) | ||
/s/ Lu Xiaoyan | ||
Founder Lu Holdco | ||
UNICENTURY HOLDINGS LIMITED | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: |
Lu Xiaoyan | |
Title: |
Director |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE KEY HOLDER PARTIES: | ||
XZY HOLDINGS LIMITED | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Title: |
Lu Xiaoyan Director |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE KEY HOLDER PARTIES: | ||
DZQH HOLDINGS LIMITED | ||
By: | /s/ Lu Xiaoyan | |
Name: Title: |
Lu Xiaoyan Director |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE KEY HOLDER PARTIES: | ||
Dingding Holdings Limited | ||
By: | /s/ Ding Jie | |
Name: Title: |
Ding Jie Director |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE ANGEL PARTIES: | ||
BESTTECH HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED | ||
By: | /s/ Chen Hongbo | |
Name: Title: |
Chen Hongbo Director |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE ANGEL PARTIES: | ||
AmazingTech Holdings Company Limited | ||
By: | /s/ Xu Naihan | |
Name: | Xu Naihan | |
Title: | Director |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE OTHER ORDINARY SHAREHOLDER: | ||
LANGMAFENG HOLDINGS LIMITED | ||
By: | /s/ Xiao Jiancong | |
Name: | Xiao Jiancong | |
Title: | Director |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||
SIG CHINA INVESTMENTS MASTER FUND IV, LLLP | ||
By: SIG Asia Investment, LLLP, Its Authorized Ageat | ||
By: Heights Capital Management, INC., Its Authorized Agent | ||
By: | /s/ Michael Spolan | |
Name: | Michael Spolan | |
Title: | General Counsel |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||
Ximalaya (Hong Kong) Limited | ||
(喜馬拉雅(香港)有限公司) | ||
By: | /s/ Yu Jianjun | |
Name: | Yu Jianjun | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||
Potato Capital Holding Limited | ||
By: | /s/ Shen Jinhua | |
Name: | Shen Jinhua | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||
Bronze Shield Limited | ||
By: | /s/ Gao Qi | |
Name: | Gao Qi | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||
YF Elite Alliance Limited | ||
By: | /s/ Huang Xin | |
Name: | Huang Xin | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||
Jump Shot Holdings Limited | ||
By: | /s/ Jun Liu | |
Name: | Jun Liu | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||
Chengwei Capital HK Limited | ||
By: | /s/ Li Shimo | |
Name: | Li Shimo | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||
CW MBA Digital Limited | ||
By: | /s/ Li Shimo | |
Name: | Li Shimo | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||
Image Frame Investment (HK) Limited | ||
By: | /s/ Ma Huateng | |
Name: | Ma Huateng | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE ANGEL PARTY / THE INVESTORS: | ||
Matrix Partners China VI Hong Kong Limited | ||
By: | /s/ Zhang Ying | |
Name: | Zhang Ying | |
Title: | Director |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||
Hundreds Three Fund Limited Partnership | ||
By : | Hundreds Capital, in its capacity as the general partner of Hundreds Three Fund Limited Partnership | |
By: | /s/ HE, Yanqing | |
Name: | HE, Yanqing | |
Title: Director |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their respective duly authorized representatives to execute this Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
THE INVESTORS: | ||
SCC Growth VI Holdco E, Ltd. | ||
By: | /s/ Ip Siu Wai Eva | |
Name: | Ip Siu Wai Eva | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
Signature Page to Fifth Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement of Unicentury Group
Holding Limited
SCHEDULE I
List of Founder Parties
SCHEDULE II
List of Key Holder Parties
SCHEDULE III
List of Angel Parties and the Other Ordinary Shareholder
SCHEDULE IV-1
List of Series A Investors
SCHEDULE IV-2
List of Series B Investors
SCHEDULE IV-3
List of Series C Investor
SCHEDULE IV-4
List of Series D Investors
SCHEDULE IV-5
List of Series E Investor
SCHEDULE IV-6
List of Series E2 Investors
SCHEDULE V
Notices
EXHIBIT A
PFIC Annual Information Statement
EXHIBIT B
JOINDER TO SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT C
List of Company Competitors
EXHIBIT D
Tencent Restricted Persons
Exhibit 10.18
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
2021 SHARE INCENTIVE PLAN
ARTICLE 1
PURPOSE
The purpose of this 2021 Share Incentive Plan (the Plan) is to promote the success and enhance the value of YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, a company formed under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the Company), by linking the personal interests of the Directors, Employees, and Consultants to those of the Companys shareholders and by providing such individuals with an incentive for outstanding performance to generate superior returns to the Companys shareholders. The Plan is further intended to provide flexibility to the Company in its ability to motivate, attract, and retain the services of Directors, Employees, and Consultants upon whose judgment, interest, and special effort the successful conduct of the Companys operation is largely dependent.
ARTICLE 2
DEFINITIONS AND CONSTRUCTION
Wherever the following terms are used in the Plan, they shall have the meanings specified below, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The singular pronoun shall include the plural where the context so indicates.
2.1 Applicable Laws means the legal requirements relating to the Plan and the Awards under applicable provisions of the corporate, securities, tax and other laws, rules, regulations and government orders, and the rules of any applicable stock exchange or national market system, of any jurisdiction applicable to Awards granted to residents therein.
2.2 Applicable Accounting Standards shall mean Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States, International Financial Reporting Standards or such other accounting principles or standards as may apply to the Companys financial statements under United States federal securities laws from time to time.
2.3 Award means an Option, a Restricted Share or a Restricted Share Unit award granted to a Participant pursuant to the Plan or any other types of equity incentive award granted to a Participant by the Company pursuant to the authorizations of the Committee.
2.4 Award Agreement means any written agreement, contract, or other instrument or document evidencing the grant of an Award entered into by and between the Company and a Participant and any amendment thereto, including through electronic medium.
2.5 Board means the Board of Directors of the Company.
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2.6 Cause with respect to a Participant means (unless otherwise expressly provided in the applicable Award Agreement, or another applicable contract with the Participant that defines such term for purposes of determining the effect that a for cause termination has on the Participants Awards) a termination of employment or service based upon a finding by the Service Recipient, acting in good faith and based on its reasonable belief at the time, that the Participant:
(a) has been negligent in the discharge of his or her duties to the Service Recipient, has refused to perform stated or assigned duties or is incompetent in or (other than by reason of a disability or analogous condition) incapable of performing those duties;
(b) has been dishonest or committed or engaged in an act of theft, embezzlement or fraud, a breach of confidentiality, an unauthorized disclosure or use of inside information, customer lists, trade secrets or other confidential information;
(c) has breached a fiduciary duty, or willfully and materially violated any other duty, law, rule, regulation or policy of the Service Recipient; or has been convicted of, or plead guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony or misdemeanor (other than minor traffic violations or similar offenses);
(d) has materially breached any of the provisions of any agreement with the Service Recipient;
(e) has engaged in unfair competition with, or otherwise acted intentionally in a manner injurious to the reputation, business or assets of, the Service Recipient; or
(f) has improperly induced a vendor or customer to break or terminate any contract with the Service Recipient or induced a principal for whom the Service Recipient acts as agent to terminate such agency relationship.
A termination for Cause shall be deemed to occur (subject to reinstatement upon a contrary final determination by the Committee) on the date on which the Service Recipient first delivers written notice to the Participant of a finding of termination for Cause.
2.7 Code means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 of the United States, as amended.
2.8 Committee means the Board or a committee of the Board described in Article 10.
2.9 Consultant means any consultant or adviser if: (a) the consultant or adviser renders bona fide services to a Service Recipient; (b) the services rendered by the consultant or adviser are not in connection with the offer or sale of securities in a capital-raising transaction and do not directly or indirectly promote or maintain a market for the Companys securities; and (c) the consultant or adviser is a natural person who has contracted directly with the Service Recipient to render such services.
2.10 Corporate Transaction, unless otherwise defined in an Award Agreement, means any of the following transactions, provided, however, that the Committee shall determine under (d) and (e) whether multiple transactions are related, and its determination shall be final, binding and conclusive:
(a) an amalgamation, arrangement or consolidation or scheme of arrangement (i) in which the Company is not the surviving entity, except for a transaction the principal purpose of which is to change the jurisdiction in which the Company is incorporated or (ii) following which the holders of the voting securities of the Company do not continue to hold more than 50% of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the surviving entity;
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(b) the sale, transfer or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company;
(c) the complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company;
(d) any reverse takeover or series of related transactions culminating in a reverse takeover (including, but not limited to, a tender offer followed by a reverse takeover) in which the Company is the surviving entity but (A) the Companys equity securities outstanding immediately prior to such takeover are converted or exchanged by virtue of the takeover into other property, whether in the form of securities, cash or otherwise, or (B) in which securities possessing more than fifty percent (50%) of the total combined voting power of the Companys outstanding securities are transferred to a person or persons different from those who held such securities immediately prior to such takeover or the initial transaction culminating in such takeover, but excluding any such transaction or series of related transactions that the Committee determines shall not be a Corporate Transaction; or
(e) acquisition in a single or series of related transactions by any person or related group of persons (other than the Company or by a Company-sponsored employee benefit plan) of beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act) of securities possessing more than fifty percent (50%) of the total combined voting power of the Companys outstanding securities but excluding any such transaction or series of related transactions that the Committee determines shall not be a Corporate Transaction.
2.11 Director means a member of the Board or a member of the board of directors of any Service Recipient.
2.12 Disability unless otherwise defined in an Award Agreement, means that the Participant qualifies to receive long-term disability payments under the Service Recipients long-term disability insurance program, as it may be amended from time to time, to which the Participant provides services regardless of whether the Participant is covered by such policy. If the Service Recipient to which the Participant provides service does not have a long-term disability plan in place, Disability means that a Participant is unable to carry out the responsibilities and functions of the position held by the Participant by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment for a period of not less than ninety (90) consecutive days. A Participant will not be considered to have incurred a Disability unless he or she furnishes proof of such impairment sufficient to satisfy the Committee in its discretion.
2.13 Effective Date shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11.1.
2.14 Employee means any person, including an officer or a Director of any Group Entity, who is in the employment of a Service Recipient, subject to the control and direction of the Service Recipient as to both the work to be performed and the manner and method of performance. The payment of a directors fee by a Service Recipient shall not be sufficient to constitute employment by the Service Recipient.
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2.15 Exchange Act means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 of the United States, as amended.
2.16 Fair Market Value means, as of any date, the value of Shares determined as follows:
(a) If the Shares are listed on one or more established stock exchanges or national market systems, including without limitation, the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market, its Fair Market Value shall be the closing sales price for such shares (or the closing bid, if no sales were reported) as quoted on the principal exchange or system on which the Shares are listed (as determined by the Committee) on the date of determination (or, if no closing sales price or closing bid was reported on that date, as applicable, on the last trading date such closing sales price or closing bid was reported), as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Committee deems reliable;
(b) If the Shares are regularly quoted on an automated quotation system (including the OTC Bulletin Board) or by a recognized securities dealer, its Fair Market Value shall be the closing sales price for such shares as quoted on such system or by such securities dealer on the date of determination, but if selling prices are not reported, the Fair Market Value of a Share shall be the mean between the high bid and low asked prices for the Shares on the date of determination (or, if no such prices were reported on that date, on the last date such prices were reported), as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Committee deems reliable; or
(c) In the absence of an established market for the Shares of the type described in (a) and (b), above, the Fair Market Value thereof shall be determined by the Committee in good faith and in its discretion by reference to (i) the placing price of the latest private placement of the Shares and the development of the Companys business operations and the general economic and market conditions since such latest private placement, (ii) other third party transactions involving the Shares and the development of the Companys business operation and the general economic and market conditions since such sale, (iii) an independent valuation of the Shares, or (iv) such other methodologies or information as the Committee determines to be indicative of Fair Market Value.
2.17 Group Entity means any of the Company and Parents, Subsidiaries and Related Entities of the Company.
2.18 Incentive Share Option means an Option that is intended to meet the requirements of Section 422 of the Code or any successor provision thereto.
2.19 Independent Director means (i) before the Shares or other securities representing the Shares are listed on a stock exchange, a member of the Board who is a Non-Employee Director; and (ii) after the Shares or other securities representing the Shares are listed on one or more stock exchanges, a member of the Board who meets the independence standards under the applicable corporate governance rules of the stock exchange(s).
2.20 Non-Employee Director means a member of the Board who qualifies as a Non-Employee Director as defined in Rule 16b-3(b)(3) of the Exchange Act, or any successor definition adopted by the Board.
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2.21 Non-Qualified Share Option means an Option that is not intended to be an Incentive Share Option.
2.22 Option means a right granted to a Participant pursuant to Article 5 of the Plan to purchase a specified number of Shares at a specified price during specified time periods. An Option may be either an Incentive Share Option or a Non-Qualified Share Option.
2.23 Participant means a person who, as a member of the Board, Consultant or Employee, has been granted an Award pursuant to the Plan.
2.24 Parent means a parent corporation under Section 424(e) of the Code.
2.25 Plan means this 2021 Share Incentive Plan, as it may be amended from time to time.
2.26 Related Entity means any business, corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity in which the Company, a Parent or Subsidiary of the Company holds a substantial ownership interest, directly or indirectly, or controls through contractual arrangements and consolidates the financial results according to the Applicable Accounting Standards, but which is not a Subsidiary and which the Board designates as a Related Entity for purposes of the Plan.
2.27 Restricted Share means a Share awarded to a Participant pursuant to Article 6 that is subject to certain restrictions and may be subject to risk of forfeiture.
2.28 Restricted Share Unit means the right granted to a Participant pursuant to Article 7 to receive a Share at a future date.
2.29 Securities Act means the Securities Act of 1933 of the United States, as amended.
2.30 Service Recipient means the Company, any Parent, Subsidiary or Related Entity of the Company to which a Participant provides services as an Employee, a Consultant or a Director.
2.31 Share means ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, of the Company, and such other securities of the Company that may be substituted for Shares pursuant to Article 9.
2.32 Subsidiary means any corporation or other entity of which a majority of the outstanding voting shares or voting power is beneficially owned or controlled directly or indirectly by the Company or an affiliated entity that the Company controls through contractual arrangements and of which the Company consolidates the financial results according to the Applicable Accounting Standards.
2.33 Trading Date means the closing of the first sale to the general public of the Shares pursuant to a registration statement filed with and declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act.
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ARTICLE 3
SHARES SUBJECT TO THE PLAN
3.1 Number of Shares.
(a) Subject to the provisions of Article 9 and Section 3.1(b), the maximum aggregate number of Shares which may be issued pursuant to all Awards (including Incentive Share Options) under the Plan shall be 11,258,693.
(b) To the extent that an Award terminates, expires, or lapses for any reason, then any Shares subject to the Award shall again be available for the grant of an Award pursuant to the Plan. Shares delivered by the Participant or withheld by the Company upon the exercise of any Award under the Plan, in payment of the exercise price thereof or tax withholding thereon, may again be optioned, granted or awarded hereunder, subject to the limitations of Section 3.1(a). If any Awards are forfeited by the Participant or repurchased by the Company, the Shares underlying such Awards may again be optioned, granted or awarded hereunder, subject to the limitations of Section 3.1(a). To the extent permitted by Applicable Laws, Shares issued in assumption of, or in substitution for, any outstanding awards of any entity acquired in any form of combination by a Group Entity shall not be counted against Shares available for grant pursuant to the Plan. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 3.1(b), no Shares may again be optioned, granted or awarded if such action would cause an Incentive Share Option to fail to qualify as an incentive stock option under Section 422 of the Code.
3.2 Shares Distributed. Any Shares distributed pursuant to an Award may consist, in whole or in part, of authorized and unissued Shares, treasury shares (subject to Applicable Laws) or Shares purchased on the open market. Additionally, in the discretion of the Committee, American Depositary Shares in an amount equal to the number of Shares which otherwise would be distributed pursuant to an Award may be distributed in lieu of Shares in settlement of any Award. If the number of Shares represented by an American Depositary Share is other than on a one-to-one basis, the limitations of Section 3.1 shall be adjusted to reflect the distribution of American Depositary Shares in lieu of Shares.
ARTICLE 4
ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION
4.1 Eligibility. Persons eligible to participate in this Plan include Employees, Consultants, and Directors, as determined by the Committee.
4.2 Participation. Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the Committee may, from time to time, select from among all eligible individuals, those to whom Awards shall be granted and shall determine the nature and amount of each Award. No individual shall have any right to be granted an Award pursuant to this Plan.
4.3 Jurisdictions. In order to assure the viability of Awards granted to Participants in various jurisdictions, the Committee may provide for such special terms as it may consider necessary or appropriate to accommodate differences in local law, tax policy, or custom applicable in the jurisdiction in which the Participant resides or is employed. Moreover, the Committee may approve such supplements to, or amendments, restatements, or alternative versions of, the Plan as it may consider necessary or appropriate for such purposes without thereby affecting the terms of the Plan as in effect for any other purpose; provided, however, that no such supplements, amendments, restatements, or alternative versions shall increase the share limitations contained in Section 3.1 of the Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may not take any actions hereunder, and no Awards shall be granted, that would violate any Applicable Laws.
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ARTICLE 5
OPTIONS
5.1 General. The Committee is authorized to grant Options to Participants on the following terms and conditions:
(a) Exercise Price. The exercise price per Share subject to an Option shall be determined by the Committee and set forth in the Award Agreement which may be a fixed or variable price related to the Fair Market Value of the Shares. The exercise price per Share subject to an Option may be amended or adjusted in the absolute discretion of the Committee, the determination of which shall be final, binding and conclusive. For the avoidance of doubt, to the extent not prohibited by Applicable Laws or any exchange rule, a downward adjustment of the exercise prices of Options mentioned in the preceding sentence shall be effective without the approval of the Companys shareholders or the approval of the affected Participants. Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing, the exercise price shall in no circumstances be less than the par value of the Shares.
(b) Time and Conditions of Exercise. The Committee shall determine the time or times at which an Option may be exercised in whole or in part, including exercise prior to vesting; provided that the term of any Option granted under the Plan shall not exceed ten years, except as provided in Section 12.1. The Committee shall also determine any conditions, if any, that must be satisfied before all or part of an Option may be exercised.
(c) Payment. The Committee shall determine the methods by which the exercise price of an Option may be paid, the form of payment, including, without limitation (i) cash or check denominated in U.S. Dollars, (ii) to the extent permissible under the Applicable Laws, cash or check in Chinese Renminbi, (iii) cash or check denominated in any other local currency as approved by the Committee, (iv) Shares held for such period of time as may be required by the Committee in order to avoid adverse financial accounting consequences and having a Fair Market Value on the date of delivery equal to the aggregate exercise price of the Option or exercised portion thereof, (v) after the Trading Date the delivery of a notice that the Participant has placed a market sell order with a broker with respect to Shares then issuable upon exercise of the Option, and that the broker has been directed to pay a sufficient portion of the net proceeds of the sale to the Company in satisfaction of the Option exercise price; provided that payment of such proceeds is then made to the Company upon settlement of such sale, (vi) other property acceptable to the Committee with a Fair Market Value equal to the exercise price, or (vii) any combination of the foregoing. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan to the contrary, no Participant who is a member of the Board or an executive officer of the Company within the meaning of Section 13(k) of the Exchange Act shall be permitted to pay the exercise price of an Option in any method which would violate Section 13(k) of the Exchange Act.
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(d) Evidence of Grant. All Options shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement between the Company and the Participant. The Award Agreement shall include such additional provisions as may be specified by the Committee.
(e) Effects of Termination of Employment or Service on Options. Termination of employment or service shall have the following effects on Options granted to the Participants unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement:
(i) Dismissal for Cause. Unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement, if a Participants employment by or service to the Service Recipient is terminated by the Service Recipient for Cause, the Participants Options will terminate upon such termination, whether or not the Option is then vested and/or exercisable;
(ii) Death or Disability. Unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement, if a Participants employment by or service to the Service Recipient terminates as a result of the Participants death or Disability:
(a) | the Participant (or his or her legal representative or beneficiary, in the case of the Participants Disability or death, respectively), will have until the date that is 12 months after the Participants termination of Employment to exercise the Participants Options (or portion thereof) to the extent that such Options were vested and exercisable on the date of the Participants termination of Employment on account of death or Disability; |
(b) | the Options, to the extent not vested and exercisable on the date of the Participants termination of Employment or service, shall terminate upon the Participants termination of Employment or service on account of death or Disability; and |
(c) | the Options, to the extent exercisable for the 12-month period following the Participants termination of Employment or service and not exercised during such period, shall terminate at the close of business on the last day of the 12-month period. |
(iii) Other Terminations of Employment or Service. Unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement, if a Participants employment by or service to the Service Recipient terminates for any reason other than a termination by the Service Recipient for Cause or because of the Participants death or Disability:
(a) | the Participant will have until the date that is 90 days after the Participants termination of Employment or service to exercise his or her Options (or portion thereof) to the extent that such Options were vested and exercisable on the date of the Participants termination of Employment or service; |
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(b) | the Options, to the extent not vested and exercisable on the date of the Participants termination of Employment or service, shall terminate upon the Participants termination of Employment or service; and |
(c) | the Options, to the extent exercisable for the 90-day period following the Participants termination of Employment or service and not exercised during such period, shall terminate at the close of business on the last day of the 90-day period. |
5.2 Incentive Share Options. Incentive Share Options may be granted to Employees of the Company, a Parent or Subsidiary of the Company. Incentive Share Options may not be granted to Employees of a Related Entity or to Independent Directors or Consultants. The terms of any Incentive Share Options granted pursuant to the Plan, in addition to the requirements of Section 5.1, must comply with the following additional provisions of this Section 5.2:
(a) Individual Dollar Limitation. The aggregate Fair Market Value (determined as of the time the Option is granted) of all Shares with respect to which Incentive Share Options are first exercisable by a Participant in any calendar year may not exceed US$100,000 or such other limitation as imposed by Section 422(d) of the Code, or any successor provision. To the extent that Incentive Share Options are first exercisable by a Participant in excess of such limitation, the excess shall be considered Non-Qualified Share Options.
(b) Exercise Price. The exercise price of an Incentive Share Option shall be equal to the Fair Market Value on the date of grant. However, the exercise price of any Incentive Share Option granted to any individual who, at the date of grant, owns Shares possessing more than ten percent of the total combined voting power of all classes of shares of the Company may not be less than 110% of Fair Market Value on the date of grant and such Option may not be exercisable for more than five years from the date of grant. Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing, the exercise price shall in no circumstances be less than the par value of the Shares.
(c) Transfer Restriction. The Participant shall give the Company prompt notice of any disposition of Shares acquired by exercise of an Incentive Share Option within (i) two years from the date of grant of such Incentive Share Option or (ii) one year after the transfer of such Shares to the Participant.
(d) Expiration of Incentive Share Options. No Award of an Incentive Share Option may be made pursuant to this Plan after the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date.
(e) Right to Exercise. During a Participants lifetime, an Incentive Share Option may be exercised only by the Participant.
5.3 Performance Objectives and Other Terms. The Committee, in its discretion, may set performance objectives or other vesting criteria which, depending on the extent to which they are met, will determine the number or value of Options that will be paid out to the Participants.
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ARTICLE 6
RESTRICTED SHARES
6.1 Grant of Restricted Shares. The Committee, at any time and from time to time, may grant Restricted Shares to Participants as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine. The Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine the number of Restricted Shares to be granted to each Participant.
6.2 Restricted Shares Award Agreement. Each Award of Restricted Shares shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement that shall specify the period of restriction, the number of Restricted Shares granted, and such other terms and conditions as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine. Unless the Committee determines otherwise, Restricted Shares shall be held by the Company as escrow agent until the restrictions on such Restricted Shares have lapsed.
6.3 Performance Objectives and Other Terms. The Committee, in its discretion, may set performance objectives or other vesting criteria which, depending on the extent to which they are met, will determine the number or value of Restricted Share that will be paid out to the Participants.
6.4 Issuance and Restrictions. Restricted Shares shall be subject to such restrictions on transferability and other restrictions as the Committee may impose (including, without limitation, limitations on the right to vote Restricted Shares or the right to receive dividends on the Restricted Share). These restrictions may lapse separately or in combination at such times, pursuant to such circumstances, in such installments, or otherwise, as the Committee determines at the time of the grant of the Award or thereafter.
6.5 Forfeiture/Repurchase. Except as otherwise determined by the Committee at the time of the grant of the Award or thereafter, upon termination of employment or service during the applicable restriction period, Restricted Shares that are at that time subject to restrictions shall be forfeited or repurchased in accordance with the Award Agreement; provided, however, the Committee may (a) provide in any Restricted Share Award Agreement that restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Shares will be waived in whole or in part in the event of terminations resulting from specified causes, and (b) in other cases waive in whole or in part restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Shares.
6.6 Certificates for Restricted Shares. Restricted Shares granted pursuant to the Plan may be evidenced in such manner as the Committee shall determine. If certificates representing Restricted Shares are registered in the name of the Participant, certificates must bear an appropriate legend referring to the terms, conditions, and restrictions applicable to such Restricted Shares, and the Company may, at its discretion, retain physical possession of the certificate until such time as all applicable restrictions lapse.
6.7 Removal of Restrictions. Except as otherwise provided in this Article 6, Restricted Shares granted under the Plan shall be released from escrow as soon as practicable after the last day of the period of restriction. The Committee, in its discretion, may accelerate the time at which any restrictions shall lapse or be removed. After the restrictions have lapsed, the Participant shall be entitled to have any legend or legends under Section 6.5 removed from his or her Share certificate, and the Shares shall be freely transferable by the Participant, subject to applicable legal restrictions. The Committee (in its discretion) may establish procedures regarding the release of Shares from escrow and the removal of legends, as necessary or appropriate to minimize administrative burdens on the Company.
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ARTICLE 7
RESTRICTED SHARE UNITS
7.1 Grant of Restricted Share Units. The Committee, at any time and from time to time, may grant Restricted Share Units to Participants as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine. The Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine the number of Restricted Share Units to be granted to each Participant.
7.2 Restricted Share Units Award Agreement. Each Award of Restricted Share Units shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement that shall specify any vesting conditions, the number of Restricted Share Units granted, and such other terms and conditions as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine.
7.3 Performance Objectives and Other Terms. The Committee, in its discretion, may set performance objectives or other vesting criteria which, depending on the extent to which they are met, will determine the number or value of Restricted Share Units that will be paid out to the Participants.
7.4 Form and Timing of Payment of Restricted Share Units. At the time of grant, the Committee shall specify the date or dates on which the Restricted Share Units shall become fully vested and nonforfeitable. Upon vesting, the Committee, in its sole discretion, may pay Restricted Share Units in the form of cash, in Shares or in a combination thereof.
7.5 Forfeiture/Repurchase. Except as otherwise determined by the Committee at the time of the grant of the Award or thereafter, upon termination of employment or service during the applicable restriction period, Restricted Share Units that are at that time unvested shall be forfeited or repurchased in accordance with the Award Agreement; provided, however, the Committee may (a) provide in any Restricted Share Unit Award Agreement that restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Share Units will be waived in whole or in part in the event of terminations resulting from specified causes, and (b) in other cases waive in whole or in part restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Share Units.
ARTICLE 8
PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO AWARDS
8.1 Award Agreement. Awards under the Plan shall be evidenced by Award Agreements that set forth the terms, conditions and limitations for each Award which may include the term of an Award, the provisions applicable in the event the Participants employment or service terminates, and the Companys authority to unilaterally or bilaterally amend, modify, suspend, cancel or rescind an Award.
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8.2 No Transferability; Limited Exception to Transfer Restrictions.
8.2.1 Limits on Transfer. Unless otherwise expressly provided in (or pursuant to) this Section 8.2, by Applicable Laws and by the Award Agreement, as the same may be amended:
(a) all Awards are non-transferable and will not be subject in any manner to sale, transfer, anticipation, alienation, assignment, pledge, encumbrance or charge;
(b) Awards will be exercised only by the Participant; and
(c) amounts payable or shares issuable pursuant to an Award will be delivered only to (or for the account of), and, in the case of Shares, registered in the name of, the Participant.
In addition, the shares shall be subject to the restrictions set forth in the applicable Award Agreement.
8.2.2 Further Exceptions to Limits on Transfer. The exercise and transfer restrictions in Section 8.2.1 will not apply to:
(a) transfers to the Company or a Subsidiary;
(b) transfers by gift to immediate family as that term is defined in SEC Rule 16a-1(e) promulgated under the Exchange Act;
(c) the designation of a beneficiary to receive benefits if the Participant dies or, if the Participant has died, transfers to or exercises by the Participants beneficiary, or, in the absence of a validly designated beneficiary, transfers by will or the laws of descent and distribution;
(d) if the Participant has suffered a disability, permitted transfers or exercises on behalf of the Participant by the Participants duly authorized legal representative; or
(e) subject to the prior approval of the Committee or an executive officer or director of the Company authorized by the Committee, transfer to one or more natural persons who are the Participants family members or entities owned and controlled by the Participant and/or the Participants family members, including but not limited to trusts or other entities whose beneficiaries or beneficial owners are the Participant and/or the Participants family members, or to such other persons or entities as may be expressly approved by the Committee, pursuant to such conditions and procedures as the Committee or may establish. Any permitted transfer shall be subject to the condition that the Committee receives evidence satisfactory to it that the transfer is being made for estate and/or tax planning purposes and on a basis consistent with the Companys lawful issue of securities.
Notwithstanding anything else in this Section 8.2.2 to the contrary, but subject to compliance with all Applicable Laws, Incentive Share Options, Restricted Shares and Restricted Share Units will be subject to any and all transfer restrictions under the Code applicable to such Awards or necessary to maintain the intended tax consequences of such Awards. Notwithstanding clause (b) above but subject to compliance with all Applicable Laws, any contemplated transfer by gift to immediate family as referenced in clause (b) above is subject to the condition precedent that the transfer be approved by the Administrator in order for it to be effective.
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8.3 Beneficiaries. Notwithstanding Section 8.2, a Participant may, in the manner determined by the Committee, designate a beneficiary to exercise the rights of the Participant and to receive any distribution with respect to any Award upon the Participants death. A beneficiary, legal guardian, legal representative, or other person claiming any rights pursuant to the Plan is subject to all terms and conditions of the Plan and any Award Agreement applicable to the Participant, except to the extent the Plan and Award Agreement otherwise provide, and to any additional restrictions deemed necessary or appropriate by the Committee. If the Participant is married and resides in a community property state, a designation of a person other than the Participants spouse as his or her beneficiary with respect to more than 50% of the Participants interest in the Award shall not be effective without the prior written consent of the Participants spouse. If no beneficiary has been designated or survives the Participant, payment shall be made to the person entitled thereto pursuant to the Participants will or the laws of descent and distribution. Subject to the foregoing, a beneficiary designation may be changed or revoked by a Participant at any time provided the change or revocation is filed with the Committee.
8.4 Share Certificates. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company shall not be required to issue or deliver any certificates evidencing the Shares pursuant to the exercise of any Award, unless and until the Committee has determined, with advice of counsel, that the issuance and delivery of such certificates is in compliance with all Applicable Laws. All Share certificates delivered pursuant to the Plan are subject to any stop-transfer orders and other restrictions as the Committee deems necessary or advisable to comply with all Applicable Laws. The Committee may place legends on any Share certificate to reference restrictions applicable to the Shares. In addition to the terms and conditions provided herein, the Committee may require that a Participant make such reasonable covenants, agreements, and representations as the Committee, in its discretion, deems advisable in order to comply with any such Applicable Laws. The Committee shall have the right to require any Participant to comply with any timing or other restrictions with respect to the settlement or exercise of any Award, including a window-period limitation, as may be imposed in the discretion of the Committee.
8.5 Paperless Administration. Subject to Applicable Laws, the Committee may make Awards, provide applicable disclosure and procedures for exercise of Awards by an internet website or interactive voice response system for the paperless administration of Awards.
8.6 Stand-Alone and Tandem Awards. Awards granted pursuant to the Plan may, in the discretion of the Committee, be granted either alone, in addition to, or in tandem with, any other Award granted pursuant to the Plan. Awards granted in addition to or in tandem with other Awards may be granted either at the same time as or at a different time from the grant of such other Awards.
8.7 Foreign Currency. A Participant may be required to provide evidence that any currency used to pay the exercise price of any Award was acquired and taken out of the jurisdiction in which the Participant resides in accordance with Applicable Laws, including foreign exchange control laws and regulations. In the event the exercise price for an Award is paid in Chinese Renminbi or other foreign currency, as permitted by the Committee, the amount payable will be determined by conversion from U.S. dollars at the official rate promulgated by the Peoples Bank of China for Chinese Renminbi, or for jurisdictions other than the Peoples Republic of China, the exchange rate as selected by the Committee on the date of exercise.
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ARTICLE 9
CHANGES IN CAPITAL STRUCTURE
9.1 Adjustments. In the event of any dividend, share split, combination or exchange of Shares, amalgamation, arrangement or consolidation, spin-off, recapitalization or other distribution (other than normal cash dividends) of Company assets to its shareholders, or any other change affecting the shares of Shares or the share price of a Share, the Committee shall make such proportionate adjustments, if any, as the Committee in its discretion may deem appropriate to reflect such change with respect to (a) the aggregate number and type of shares that may be issued under the Plan (including, but not limited to, adjustments of the limitations in Section 3.1); (b) the terms and conditions of any outstanding Awards (including, without limitation, any applicable performance targets or criteria with respect thereto); and (c) the grant or exercise price per share for any outstanding Awards under the Plan, provided that the exercise price per Share shall in no circumstances be less than the par value of the Shares..
9.2 Corporate Transactions. Except as may otherwise be provided in any Award Agreement or any other written agreement entered into by and between the Company and a Participant, if the Committee anticipates the occurrence, or upon the occurrence, of a Corporate Transaction, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, provide for (i) any and all Awards outstanding hereunder to terminate at a specific time in the future and shall give each Participant the right to exercise the vested portion of such Awards during a period of time as the Committee shall determine, or (ii) the purchase of any Award for an amount of cash equal to the amount that could have been attained upon the exercise of such Award (and, for the avoidance of doubt, if as of such date the Committee determines in good faith that no amount would have been attained upon the exercise of such Award, then such Award may be terminated by the Company without payment), or (iii) the replacement of such Award with other rights or property selected by the Committee in its sole discretion or the assumption of or substitution of such Award by the successor or surviving corporation, or a Parent or Subsidiary thereof, with appropriate adjustments as to the number and kind of Shares and prices, or (iv) payment of Award in cash based on the value of Shares on the date of the Corporate Transaction plus reasonable interest on the Award through the date as determined by the Committee when such Award would otherwise be vested or have been paid in accordance with its original terms, if necessary to comply with Section 409A of the Code.
9.3 Outstanding Awards Other Changes. In the event of any other change in the capitalization of the Company or corporate change other than those specifically referred to in this Article Article 9, the Committee may, in its absolute discretion, make such adjustments in the number and class of shares subject to Awards outstanding on the date on which such change occurs and in the per share grant or exercise price of each Award as the Committee may consider appropriate to prevent dilution or enlargement of rights, provided that the exercise price per Share shall in no circumstances be less than the par value of the Shares.
9.4 No Other Rights. Except as expressly provided in the Plan, no Participant shall have any rights by reason of any subdivision or consolidation of Shares of any class, the payment of any dividend, any increase or decrease in the number of shares of any class or any dissolution, liquidation, merger, or consolidation of the Company or any other corporation. Except as expressly provided in the Plan or pursuant to action of the Committee under the Plan, no issuance by the Company of shares of any class, or securities convertible into shares of any class, shall affect, and no adjustment by reason thereof shall be made with respect to, the number of shares subject to an Award or the grant or exercise price of any Award.
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ARTICLE 10
ADMINISTRATION
10.1 Committee. The Plan shall be administered by the Board or a committee of one or more members of the Board to whom the Board shall delegate the authority to grant or amend Awards to Participants other than any of the Committee members. Any grant or amendment of Awards to any Committee member shall then require an affirmative vote of a majority of the Board members who are not on the Committee.
10.2 Action by the Committee. A majority of the Committee shall constitute a quorum. The acts of a majority of the members of the Committee present at any meeting at which a quorum is present, and acts approved in writing by a majority of the Committee in lieu of a meeting, shall be deemed the acts of the Committee. Each member of the Committee is entitled to, in good faith, rely or act upon any report or other information furnished to that member by any officer or other employee of a Group Entity, the Companys independent certified public accountants, or any executive compensation consultant or other professional retained by the Company to assist in the administration of the Plan.
10.3 Authority of the Committee. Subject to any specific designation in the Plan, the Committee has the exclusive power, authority and discretion to:
(a) designate Participants to receive Awards;
(b) determine the type or types of Awards to be granted to each Participant;
(c) determine the number of Awards to be granted and the number of Shares to which an Award will relate;
(d) determine the terms and conditions of any Award granted pursuant to the Plan, including, but not limited to, the exercise price, grant price, or purchase price, any restrictions or limitations on the Award, any schedule for lapse of forfeiture restrictions or restrictions on the exercisability of an Award, and accelerations or waivers thereof, any provisions related to non-competition and recapture of gain on an Award, based in each case on such considerations as the Committee in its sole discretion determines;
(e) determine whether, to what extent, and pursuant to what circumstances an Award may be settled in, or the exercise price of an Award may be paid in, cash, Shares, other Awards, or other property, or an Award may be canceled, forfeited, or surrendered;
(f) prescribe the form of each Award Agreement, which need not be identical for each Participant;
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(g) decide all other matters that must be determined in connection with an Award;
(h) establish, adopt, or revise any rules and regulations as it may deem necessary or advisable to administer the Plan;
(i) interpret the terms of, and any matter arising pursuant to, the Plan or any Award Agreement;
(j) reduce the exercise price per Share underlying an Option; and
(k) make all other decisions and determinations that may be required pursuant to the Plan or as the Committee deems necessary or advisable to administer the Plan.
10.4 Decisions Binding. The Committees interpretation of the Plan, any Awards granted pursuant to the Plan, any Award Agreement and all decisions and determinations by the Committee with respect to the Plan are final, binding, and conclusive on all parties.
ARTICLE 11
EFFECTIVE AND EXPIRATION DATE
11.1 Effective Date. This Plan shall become effective on the date of its adoption by the Board (the Effective Date).
11.2 Expiration Date. The Plan will expire on, and no Award may be granted pursuant to the Plan after the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date. Any Awards that are outstanding on the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date shall remain in force according to the terms of the Plan and the applicable Award Agreement.
ARTICLE 12
AMENDMENT, MODIFICATION, AND TERMINATION
12.1 Amendment, Modification, And Termination. With the approval of the Board, at any time and from time to time, the Committee may terminate, amend or modify the Plan; provided, however, that (a) to the extent necessary and desirable to comply with Applicable Laws or stock exchange rules, the Company shall obtain shareholder approval of any Plan amendment in such a manner and to such a degree as required, unless the Company decides to follow home country practice, and (b) unless the Company decides to follow home country practice, shareholder approval is required for any amendment to the Plan that (i) increases the number of Shares available under the Plan (other than any adjustment as provided by Article 9), or (ii) permits the Committee to extend the term of the Plan or the exercise period for an Option beyond ten years from the date of grant.
12.2 Awards Previously Granted. Except with respect to amendments made pursuant to Section 12.1, no termination, amendment, or modification of the Plan shall adversely affect in any material way any Award previously granted pursuant to the Plan without the prior written consent of the Participant.
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ARTICLE 13
GENERAL PROVISIONS
13.1 No Rights to Awards. No Participant, employee, or other person shall have any claim to be granted any Award pursuant to the Plan, and neither the Company nor the Committee is obligated to treat Participants, employees, and other persons uniformly.
13.2 No Shareholders Rights. No Award gives the Participant any of the rights of a Shareholder of the Company unless and until Shares are in fact issued to such person in connection with such Award.
13.3 Taxes. No Shares shall be delivered under the Plan to any Participant until such Participant has made arrangements acceptable to the Committee for the satisfaction of any income and employment tax withholding obligations under Applicable Laws. The relevant Group Entity shall have the authority and the right to deduct or withhold, or require a Participant to remit to the Company, an amount sufficient to satisfy all applicable taxes (including the Participants payroll tax obligations) required or permitted by Applicable Laws to be withheld with respect to any taxable event concerning a Participant arising as a result of this Plan. The Committee may in its discretion and in satisfaction of the foregoing requirement allow a Participant to elect to have the Company withhold Shares otherwise issuable under an Award (or allow the return of Shares) having a Fair Market Value equal to the sums required to be withheld. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, the number of Shares which may be withheld with respect to the issuance, vesting, exercise or payment of any Award (or which may be repurchased from the Participant of such Award after such Shares were acquired by the Participant from the Company) in order to satisfy any income and payroll tax liabilities applicable to the Participant with respect to the issuance, vesting, exercise or payment of the Award shall, unless specifically approved by the Committee, be limited to the number of Shares which have a Fair Market Value on the date of withholding or repurchase equal to the aggregate amount of such liabilities based on the minimum statutory withholding rates for the applicable income and payroll tax purposes that are applicable to such supplemental taxable income.
13.4 No Right to Employment or Services. Nothing in the Plan or any Award Agreement shall interfere with or limit in any way the right of the Service Recipient to terminate any Participants employment or services at any time, nor confer upon any Participant any right to continue in the employment or services of any Service Recipient.
13.5 Unfunded Status of Awards. The Plan is intended to be an unfunded plan for incentive compensation. With respect to any payments not yet made to a Participant pursuant to an Award, nothing contained in the Plan or any Award Agreement shall give the Participant any rights that are greater than those of a general creditor of the relevant Group Entity.
13.6 Indemnification. To the extent allowable pursuant to Applicable Laws, each member of the Committee or of the Board shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company from any loss, cost, liability, or expense that may be imposed upon or reasonably incurred by such member in connection with or resulting from any claim, action, suit, or proceeding to which he or she may be a party or in which he or she may be involved by reason of any action or failure to act pursuant to the Plan and against and from any and all amounts paid by him or her in satisfaction of judgment in such action, suit, or proceeding against him or her; provided he or she gives the Company an opportunity, at its own expense, to handle and defend the same before he or she undertakes to handle and defend it on his or her own behalf. The foregoing right of indemnification shall not be exclusive of any other rights of indemnification to which such persons may be entitled pursuant to the Companys Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association, as a matter of law, or otherwise, or any power that the Company may have to indemnify them or hold them harmless.
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13.7 Relationship to other Benefits. No payment pursuant to the Plan shall be taken into account in determining any benefits pursuant to any pension, retirement, savings, profit sharing, group insurance, welfare or other benefit plan of any Group Entity except to the extent otherwise expressly provided in writing in such other plan or an agreement thereunder.
13.8 Expenses. The expenses of administering the Plan shall be borne by the Group Entities.
13.9 Titles and Headings. The titles and headings of the Sections in the Plan are for convenience of reference only and, in the event of any conflict, the text of the Plan, rather than such titles or headings, shall control.
13.10 Fractional Shares. No fractional Shares shall be issued and the Committee shall determine, in its discretion, whether cash shall be given in lieu of fractional Shares or whether such fractional Shares shall be eliminated by rounding up or down as appropriate.
13.11 Limitations Applicable to Section 16 Persons. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, the Plan, and any Award granted or awarded to any Participant who is then subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act, shall be subject to any additional limitations set forth in any applicable exemptive rule under Section 16 of the Exchange Act (including any amendment to Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act) that are requirements for the application of such exemptive rule. To the extent permitted by the Applicable Laws, the Plan and Awards granted or awarded hereunder shall be deemed amended to the extent necessary to conform to such applicable exemptive rule.
13.12 Government and Other Regulations. The obligation of the Company to make payment of awards in Shares or otherwise shall be subject to all Applicable Laws, and to such approvals by government agencies as may be required. The Company shall be under no obligation to register any of the Shares paid pursuant to the Plan under the Securities Act or any other similar law in any applicable jurisdiction. If the Shares paid pursuant to the Plan may in certain circumstances be exempt from registration pursuant to the Securities Act or other Applicable Laws, the Company may restrict the transfer of such Shares in such manner as it deems advisable to ensure the availability of any such exemption.
13.13 Governing Law. The Plan and all Award Agreements shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the Cayman Islands.
13.14 Section 409A. To the extent that the Committee determines that any Award granted under the Plan is or may become subject to Section 409A of the Code, the Award Agreement evidencing such Award shall incorporate the terms and conditions required by Section 409A of the Code. To the extent applicable, the Plan and the Award Agreements shall be interpreted in accordance with Section 409A of the Code and the U.S. Department of Treasury regulations and other interpretative guidance issued thereunder, including without limitation any such regulation or other guidance that may be issued after the Effective Date. Notwithstanding any provision of the Plan to the contrary, in the event that following the Effective Date the Committee determines that any Award may be subject to Section 409A of the Code and related Department of Treasury guidance (including such Department of Treasury guidance as may be issued after the Effective Date), the Committee may adopt such amendments to the Plan and the applicable Award agreement or adopt other policies and procedures (including amendments, policies and procedures with retroactive effect), or take any other actions, that the Committee determines are necessary or appropriate to (a) exempt the Award from Section 409A of the Code and/or preserve the intended tax treatment of the benefits provided with respect to the Award, or (b) comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code and related U.S. Department of Treasury guidance.
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13.15 Appendices. With the approval of the Board, the Committee may approve such supplements, amendments or appendices to the Plan as it may consider necessary or appropriate for purposes of compliance with Applicable Laws or otherwise and such supplements, amendments or appendices shall be considered a part of the Plan; provided, however, that no such supplements shall increase the share limitation contained in Section 3.1 of the Plan.
[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank]
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Exhibit 21.1
List of Principal Subsidiaries and Variable Interest Entity of the Registrant
Principal Subsidiaries |
Place of Incorporation | |
YXT.COM Holding Limited | British Virgin Islands | |
YXT.COM (HK) Limited | Hong Kong | |
Yunxutang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. | PRC | |
Variable Interest Entity |
Place of Incorporation | |
Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. | PRC |
Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We hereby consent to the use in this Registration Statement on Form F-1 of YXT.COM Group Holding Limited of our report dated May 28, 2024 relating to the financial statements of YXT.COM Group Holding Limited, which appears in this Registration Statement. We also consent to the reference to us under the heading Experts in such Registration Statement.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP
PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP
Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China
July 12, 2024
Exhibit 99.1
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
(the Company)
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
Adopted July 1, 2024
Introduction
This Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (the Code) has been adopted by our Board of Directors (the Board) and summarizes the standards that must guide our actions. Although they cover a wide range of business practices and procedures, these standards cannot and do not cover every issue that may arise, or every situation in which ethical decisions must be made, but rather set forth key guiding principles that represent Company policies and establish conditions for employment at the Company.
We must strive to foster a culture of honesty and accountability. Our commitment to the highest level of ethical conduct should be reflected in all of the Companys business activities, including, but not limited to, relationships with employees, customers, suppliers, competitors, the government, the public and our shareholders. All of our employees, officers and directors must conduct themselves according to the language and spirit of this Code and seek to avoid even the appearance of improper behavior. Even well intentioned actions that violate the law or this Code may result in negative consequences for the Company and for the individuals involved.
One of our Companys most valuable assets is our reputation for integrity, professionalism and fairness. We should all recognize that our actions are the foundation of our reputation and adhering to this Code and applicable law is imperative.
Conflicts of Interest
Our employees, officers and directors have an obligation to conduct themselves in an honest and ethical manner and to act in the best interest of the Company. All employees, officers and directors should endeavor to avoid situations that present a potential or actual conflict between their interest and the interest of the Company.
A conflict of interest occurs when a persons private interest interferes in any way, or even appears to interfere, with the interests of the Company as a whole, including those of its subsidiaries and affiliates. A conflict of interest may arise when an employee, officer or director takes an action or has an interest that may make it difficult for him or her to perform his or her work objectively and effectively. A conflict of interest may also arise when an employee, officer or director (or a member of his or her family) receives improper personal benefits as a result of the employees, officers or directors position in the Company.
Although it would not be possible to describe every situation in which a conflict of interest may arise, the following are examples of situations that may constitute a conflict of interest:
| Working, in any capacity, for a competitor, customer or supplier while employed by the Company. |
| Accepting gifts of more than modest value or receiving personal discounts (if such discounts are not generally offered to the public) or other benefits as a result of your position in the Company from a competitor, customer or supplier. |
| Competing with the Company for the purchase or sale of property, products, services or other interests. |
| Having an interest in a transaction involving the Company, a competitor, customer or supplier (other than as an employee, officer or director of the Company and not including routine investments in publicly traded companies). |
| Receiving a loan or guarantee of an obligation as a result of your position with the Company. |
| Directing business to a supplier owned or managed by, or which employs, a relative or friend. |
Situations involving a conflict of interest may not always be obvious or easy to resolve. You should report actions that may involve a conflict of interest to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.
In order to avoid conflicts of interests, senior executive officers and directors must disclose to the Audit Committee of the Board any material transaction or relationship that reasonably could be expected to give rise to such a conflict. Conflicts of interests involving the Audit Committee of the Board shall be disclosed to the Board.
In the event that an actual or apparent conflict of interest arises between the personal and professional relationship or activities of an employee, officer or director, the employee, officer or director involved is required to handle such conflict of interest in an ethical manner in accordance with the provisions of this Code.
Quality of Public Disclosures
The Company has a responsibility to provide full and accurate information in our public disclosures, in all material respects, about the Companys financial condition and results of operations. Our reports and documents filed with or submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and our other public communications shall include full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure, and the Company has established a Disclosure Committee consisting of senior management to assist in monitoring such disclosures.
Compliance with Laws, Rules and Regulations
We are strongly committed to conducting our business affairs with honesty and integrity and in full compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations. No employee, officer or director of the Company shall commit an illegal or unethical act, or instruct others to do so, for any reason.
Compliance with this Code and Reporting of Any Illegal or Unethical Behavior
All employees, directors and officers are expected to comply with all of the provisions of this Code. The Code will be strictly enforced and violations will be dealt with immediately, including by subjecting persons who violate its provisions to corrective and/or disciplinary action such as dismissal or removal from office. Violations of the Code that involve illegal behavior will be reported to the appropriate authorities.
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Situations which may involve a violation of ethics, laws, rules, regulations or this Code may not always be clear and may require the exercise of judgment or the making of difficult decisions. Employees, officers and directors should promptly report any concerns about a violation of ethics, laws, rules, regulations or this Code to their supervisor or the General Counsel (or an officer with similar duties and responsibilities) or, in the case of accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters, the Audit Committee of the Board. Interested parties may also communicate directly with the Companys non-management directors through contact information located in the Companys annual report on Form 20-F.
Any concerns about a violation of ethics, laws, rules, regulations or this Code by any senior executive officer or director should be reported promptly to the Audit Committee of the Board. Reporting of such violations may also be done anonymously through email to the Company at a designated email address for compliance reporting. An anonymous report should provide enough information about the incident or situation to allow the Company to investigate properly. If concerns or complaints require confidentiality, including keeping an identity anonymous, the Company will endeavor to protect this confidentiality, subject to applicable law, regulation or legal proceedings.
The Company encourages all employees, officers and directors to report any suspected violations promptly and intends to thoroughly investigate any good faith reports of violations. The Company will not tolerate any kind of retaliation for reports or complaints regarding misconduct that were made in good faith. Open communication of issues and concerns by all employees, officers and directors without fear of retribution or retaliation is vital to the successful implementation of this Code. All employees, officers and directors are required to cooperate in any internal investigations of misconduct and unethical behavior.
The Company recognizes the need for this Code to be applied equally to everyone it covers. The General Counsel (or an officer with similar duties and responsibilities) of the Company will have primary authority and responsibility for the enforcement of this Code, subject to the supervision of the Audit Committee of the Board, and the Company will devote the necessary resources to enable the General Counsel (or an officer with similar duties and responsibilities) to establish such procedures as may be reasonably necessary to create a culture of accountability and facilitate compliance with this Code. Questions concerning this Code should be directed to the General Counsel (or an officer with similar duties and responsibilities).
The provisions of this section are qualified in their entirety by reference to the following section.
Reporting Violations to a Governmental Agency
Employees have the right under applicable law to certain protections for cooperating with or reporting legal violations to governmental agencies or entities and self-regulatory organizations. As such, nothing in this Code is intended to prohibit any employee from disclosing or reporting violations to, or from cooperating with, a governmental agency or entity or self-regulatory organization, and employees may do so without notifying the Company. The Company may not retaliate against all employee for any of these activities, and nothing in this Code or otherwise requires any employee to waive any monetary award or other payment that he or she might become entitled to from a governmental agency or entity, or self-regulatory organization.
All employees of the Company have the right to:
| Report possible violations of applicable law or regulation that have occurred, are occurring, or are about to occur to any governmental agency or entity, or self-regulatory organization; |
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| Cooperate voluntarily with, or respond to any inquiry from, or provide testimony before any self-regulatory organization or any other national or local regulatory or law enforcement authority; |
| Make reports or disclosures to law enforcement or a regulatory authority without prior notice to, or authorization from, the Company; and |
| Respond truthfully to a valid subpoena. |
All employees have the right to not be retaliated against for reporting, either internally to the Company or to any governmental agency or entity or self-regulatory organization, information which the employee reasonably believes relates to a possible violation of law. It is a violation of law to retaliate against anyone who has reported such potential misconduct either internally or to any governmental agency or entity or self-regulatory organization. Retaliatory conduct includes discharge, demotion, suspension, threats, harassment, and any other manner of discrimination in the terms and conditions of employment because of any lawful act the employee may have performed. It is unlawful for the company to retaliate against an employee for reporting possible misconduct either internally or to any governmental agency or entity or self-regulatory organization.
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Code or otherwise, employees may disclose confidential Company information, including the existence and terms of any confidential agreements between the employee and the Company (including employment or severance agreements), to any governmental agency or entity or self-regulatory organization.
The Company cannot require an employee to withdraw reports or filings alleging possible violations of national or local law or regulation, and the Company may not offer employees any kind of inducement, including payment, to do so.
An employees rights and remedies as a whistleblower protected under applicable whistleblower laws, including a monetary award, if any, may not be waived by any agreement, policy form, or condition of employment, including by a predispute arbitration agreement.
Even if an employee has participated in a possible violation of law, the employee may be eligible to participate in the confidentiality and retaliation protections afforded under applicable whistleblower laws, and the employee may also be eligible to receive an award under such laws.
Waivers and Amendments
Any waiver (including any implicit waiver) of the provisions in this Code for executive officers or directors may only be granted by the Board or a committee thereof and will be promptly disclosed to the Companys shareholders. Any such waiver will also be disclosed in the Companys annual report on Form 20-F. Amendments to this Code must be approved by the Board and will also be disclosed in the Companys annual report on Form 20-F.
Trading on Inside Information
Using non-public Company information to trade in securities, or providing a family member, friend or any other person with non-public Company information, is illegal. All non-public, Company information should be considered inside information and should never be used for personal gain. You are required to familiarize yourself and comply with the Companys Policy Against Insider Trading, copies of which are distributed to all employees, officers and directors and are available from the General Counsel (or an officer with similar duties and responsibilities). You should contact the General Counsel (or an officer with similar duties and responsibilities) with any questions about your ability to buy or sell securities.
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Protection of Confidential Proprietary Information
Confidential proprietary information generated by and gathered in our business is a valuable Company asset. Protecting this information plays a vital role in our continued growth and ability to compete, and all proprietary information should be maintained in strict confidence, except when disclosure is authorized by the Company or required by law.
Proprietary information includes all non-public information that might be useful to competitors or that could be harmful to the Company, its customers or its suppliers if disclosed. Intellectual property such as trade secrets, patents, trademarks and copyrights, as well as business, research and new product plans, objectives and strategies, records, databases, salary and benefits data, employee medical information, customer, employee and suppliers lists and any unpublished financial or pricing information must also be protected.
Unauthorized use or distribution of proprietary information violates Company policy and could be illegal. Such use or distribution could result in negative consequences for both the Company and the individuals involved, including potential legal and disciplinary actions. We respect the property rights of other companies and their proprietary information and require our employees, officers and directors to observe such rights.
Your obligation to protect the Companys proprietary and confidential information continues even after you leave the Company, and you must return all proprietary information in your possession upon leaving the Company.
The provisions of this section are qualified in their entirety by the section entitled Reporting Violations to Governmental Agencies above.
Protection and Proper Use of Company Assets
Protecting Company assets against loss, theft or other misuse is the responsibility of every employee, officer and director. Loss, theft and misuse of Company assets directly impact our profitability. Any suspected loss, misuse or theft should be reported to a supervisor or the Legal Department.
The sole purpose of the Companys equipment, vehicles, supplies and electronic resources (including hardware, software and the data thereon) is the conduct of our business. They may only be used for Company business consistent with Company guidelines.
Corporate Opportunities
Employees, officers and directors are prohibited from taking for themselves business opportunities that are discovered through the use of corporate property, information or position. No employee, officer or director may use corporate property, information or position for personal gain, and no employee, officer or director may compete with the Company. Competing with the Company may involve engaging in the same line of business as the Company or any situation in which the employee, officer or director takes away from the Company opportunities for sales or purchases of property, products, services or interests. Employees, officers and directors owe a duty to the Company to advance its legitimate interests when the opportunity to do so arises.
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Fair Dealing
Each employee, officer and director of the Company should endeavor to deal fairly with customers, suppliers, competitors, the public and one another at all times and in accordance with ethical business practices.
Each employee has an obligation to comply with the anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws of the Peoples Republic of China and any other regions and countries in which the Company operates. No one should take unfair advantage of anyone through manipulation, concealment, abuse of privileged information, misrepresentation of material facts or any other unfair dealing practice. No bribes, kickbacks or other similar payments in any form shall be made directly or indirectly to or for anyone for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or obtaining any other favorable action. In the event of a violation of these provisions, the Company and any employee, officer or director involved may be subject to disciplinary action as well as potential civil or criminal liability for violation of this policy.
Occasional business gifts to, or entertainment of, non-government employees in connection with business discussions or the development of business relationships are generally deemed appropriate in the conduct of Company business. However, these gifts should be given infrequently and their value should be modest. Gifts or entertainment in any form that would likely result in a feeling or expectation of personal obligation should not be extended or accepted.
Practices that are acceptable in a commercial business environment may be against the law or the policies governing national or local government employees. Therefore, no gifts or business entertainment of any kind may be given to any government employee without the prior approval of a supervisor or the General Counsel (or an officer with similar duties and responsibilities).
Except in certain limited circumstances, the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the FCPA) prohibits giving anything of value directly or indirectly to any non-U.S. official for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. When in doubt as to whether a contemplated payment or gift may violate the FCPA, contact a supervisor or the Audit Committee of the Board before taking any action.
Compliance with Antitrust Laws
The antitrust laws prohibit agreements among competitors on such matters as prices, terms of sale to customers and the allocation of markets or customers. Antitrust laws can be complex, and violations may subject the Company and its employees to criminal sanctions, including fines, jail time and civil liability. If you have any questions about our antitrust compliance policies, consult the General Counsel (or an officer with similar duties and responsibilities).
Political Contributions and Activities
Any political contributions made by or on behalf of the Company and any solicitations for political contributions of any kind must be lawful and in compliance with Company policies. This policy applies solely to the use of Company assets and is not intended to discourage or prevent individual employees, officers or directors from making political contributions or engaging in political activities on their own behalf. No one may be reimbursed directly or indirectly by the Company for personal political contributions.
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Doing Business with Others
We strive to promote the application of the standards of this Code by those with whom we do business. Our policies, therefore, prohibit the engaging of a third party to perform any act prohibited by law or by this Code, and we shall avoid doing business with others who intentionally and continually violate the law or the standards of this Code.
Accuracy of Company Financial Records
We maintain the highest standards in all matters relating to accounting, financial controls, internal reporting and taxation. All financial books, records and accounts must accurately reflect transactions and events and conform both to required accounting principles and to the Companys system of internal controls. Records shall not be distorted in any way to hide, disguise or alter the Companys true financial position.
Retention of Records
All Company business records and communications shall be clear, truthful and accurate. Employees, officers and directors of the Company shall avoid exaggeration, guesswork, legal conclusions and derogatory remarks or characterizations of people and companies. This applies to communications of all kinds, including email and informal notes or memos. Records should always be handled according to the Companys record retention policies. If an employee, officer or director is unsure whether a document should be retained, consult a supervisor or the General Counsel (or an officer with similar duties and responsibilities) before proceeding.
Anti-Money Laundering
We are committed to preserving our reputation in the financial community by assisting in efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Money laundering is the practice of disguising the ownership or source of illegally obtained funds through a series of transactions to clean the funds so they appear to be proceeds from legal activities.
We have adopted measures to reduce the extent to which the Companys facilities, products and services can be used for a purpose connected with market abuse or financial crimes. Additionally, where necessary, we screen customers, potential customers and suppliers to ensure that our products and services cannot be used to facilitate money laundering or terrorist activity. If you have any questions about our internal anti-money laundering process and procedure, consult the General Counsel (or an officer with similar duties and responsibilities).
Social Media
Unless you are authorized by the Company, you are discouraged from discussing the Company as part of your personal use of social media. While business should only be conducted through approved channels, we understand that social media is used as a source of information and as a form of communicating with friends, family and workplace contacts.
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When you are using social media and identify yourself as a Company employee, officer or director or mention the Company incidentally, for instance on Wexin or professional networking site, please remember the following:
| Never disclose confidential information about the Company or its business, customers or suppliers. |
| Make clear that any views expressed are your own and not those of the Company. |
| Remember that our policy on Equal Opportunity, Non-Discrimination and Fair Employment applies to social media sites. |
| Be respectful of your colleagues and all persons associated with the Company, including customers and suppliers. |
| Promptly report to the Companys corporate communications department any social media content which inaccurately or inappropriately discusses the Company. |
| Never respond to any information, including information that may be inaccurate about the Company. |
| Never post documents, parts of documents, images or video or audio recordings that have been made with Company property or of Company products, services or people or at Company functions or events. |
Professional Networking
Online networking on professional or industry sites has become an important and effective way for colleagues to stay in touch and exchange information. Employees, officers and directors should use good judgment when posting information about themselves or the Company on any of these services.
What you post about the Company or yourself will reflect on all of us. When using professional networking sites, you should observe the same standards of professionalism and integrity described in our code and follow the social media guidelines outlined above.
Government Inquiries
The Company cooperates with government agencies and authorities. Forward all requests for information, other than routine requests, to the General Counsel (or an officer with similar duties and responsibilities) immediately to ensure that we respond appropriately.
All information provided must be truthful and accurate. Never mislead any investigator. Do not ever alter or destroy documents or records subject to an investigation.
Review
The Board shall review this Code annually and make changes as appropriate.
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Exhibit 99.2
July 12, 2024
To:
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
Room 501-502, No. 78 East Jinshan Road, Huqiu District, Suzhou
Jiangsu, 215011, Peoples Republic of China
Dear Sirs or Madams:
We are qualified lawyers of the Peoples Republic of China (the PRC) and are qualified to issue opinions on the PRC Laws. For the purpose of this opinion (the Opinion), the PRC Laws shall mean all officially published and publicly available laws, statutes, regulations, orders, decrees, guidelines, notices, circulars, announcements, and subordinate legislations of the PRC currently in effect as of the date of this Opinion, and shall not include the Laws of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan.
We have acted as PRC counsel for YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, a corporation organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the Company), in connection with (i) the Registration Statement of the Company on Form F-1, including all amendments or supplements thereto (the Registration Statement), filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), relating to the offering (Offering) by the Company of certain American Depositary Shares (ADSs), each of which represents a certain number of Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, of the Company, and (ii) the Companys proposed listing of its ADSs on the Nasdaq Stock Market or the NYSE Group (the Listing).
In rendering this Opinion, we have examined the originals and/or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of documents provided to us by the Company and such other documents, corporate records, certificates issued by Governmental Authorities and officers of the Company and other instruments as we have deemed necessary or advisable for the purposes of rendering this Opinion (collectively, the Documents).
In our examination and for the purpose of rendering this Opinion, we have assumed, without further inquiry,
(i) | the genuineness of all the signatures, seals and chops, the authenticity of the Documents submitted to us as originals and the conformity with authentic original documents submitted to us as copies and the authenticity of such originals; |
(ii) | the truthfulness, accuracy, and completeness of the Documents, as well as the factual statements contained in the Documents, and the Documents and the factual statements contained therein are and will remain not misleading; |
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(iii) | that the Documents provided to us remain in full force and effect up to the date of this Opinion and that none of the Documents has been revoked, amended, varied or supplemented except as otherwise indicated in such Documents; |
(iv) | that the information provided to us by the PRC Group Companies in response to our enquiries for the purpose of this Opinion is true, accurate, complete and not misleading, and that the PRC Group Companies have not withheld anything that, if disclosed to us, would reasonably cause us to alter this Opinion in whole or in part; |
(v) | all Governmental Authorizations and other official statements or documentation are obtained by lawful means in due course; |
(vi) | that each of the parties other than PRC Group Companies is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization and/or incorporation (as the case may be); |
(vii) | that all parties other than the PRC Group Companies have the requisite power and authority to enter into, execute, deliver and perform all the Documents to which they are parties and have duly executed, delivered, performed, and will duly perform their obligations under all the Documents to which they are parties; and |
(viii) | all documents submitted to us are legal, valid, binding and enforceable under all such laws as govern or relate to them other than the PRC Laws. |
For the purpose of rendering this Opinion, where important facts were not independently established to us, we have relied upon certificates issued by Governmental Authorities and representatives of the shareholders of the Company and the PRC Group Companies with proper authority and upon representations made in or pursuant to the Documents.
The following terms as used in this Opinion are defined as follows:
Governmental Authorities means any national, provincial or local court, Governmental agency or body, stock exchange authorities or any other regulator in the PRC, and Governmental Authority means any of them;
Governmental Authorizations means licenses, consents, authorizations, permissions, declarations, approvals, orders, registrations, clearances, annual inspections, waivers, qualifications, certificates and permits from, and the reports to and filings with, Governmental Authorities pursuant to any applicable PRC Laws;
PRC Affiliates (i) means Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (Yunxuetang Network), Suzhou Xuancai Network Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd., Suzhou Xiwenlejian Network Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing Guoshi Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai China Europe International Culture Communication Co., Ltd. (Shanghai China Europe), and Shanghai Fenghe Culture Communication Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Fenghe) before January 15, 2024, and (ii) means Yunxuetang Network, Suzhou Xuancai Network Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd., Suzhou Xiwenlejian Network Technology Co., Ltd. and Beijing Guoshi Technology Co., Ltd. on and after January 15, 20241;
1 | CEIBS Publishing Group Limited (CEIBS PG) has been deconsolidated from the consolidated financial statements of the Company from January 15, 2024, and the subsidiaries and the VIEs controlled by CEIBS PG, namely Fenghe Consulting, Shanghai China Europe and Shanghai Fenghe, have been deconsolidated from the Company from January 15, 2024 as well. |
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PRC Group Companies means the PRC Affiliates and the PRC Subsidiaries collectively, and individually a PRC Group Company;
PRC Subsidiaries (i) means Yunxuetang Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (Yunxuetang Information) and Fenghe Enterprise Management Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (Fenghe Consulting) before January 15, 2024, and (ii) means Yunxuetang Information on and after January 15, 2024;
VIE Agreements means the contractual arrangements described under the caption Contractual Arrangements with the VIEs and Their Shareholders in the section Our History and Corporate Structure in the Registration Statement ; and
Capitalized terms used herein but not otherwise defined shall have the same meanings as specified in the Registration Statement.
Based on the foregoing and subject to the disclosures contained in the Registration Statement and the qualifications set out below, we are of the opinion as of the issuance date of this Opinion that:
1. | The ownership structure of PRC Group Companies, both currently and immediately after giving effect to the Offering, does not and will not result in any violation of PRC laws or regulations currently in effect. Each of Yunxuetang Network, Yunxuetang Information, Shanghai China Europe, Shanghai Fenghe and Fenghe Consulting, as the case may be, has the legal right and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under the VIE Agreements to which it is a party. Each of Yunxuetang Network, Yunxuetang Information, Shanghai China Europe, Shanghai Fenghe and Fenghe Consulting, as the case may be, has taken all necessary actions (corporate or otherwise) to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of, and has authorized, executed and delivered, each of the VIE Agreements to which it is a party. Each of the VIE Agreements is, valid and legally binding on each party to such agreements under the PRC Laws, and enforceable in accordance with its terms and applicable PRC Laws both currently and immediately after giving effect to the Offering, does not and will not violate applicable PRC Laws, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement. The equity pledge under the VIE Agreements has been registered with the relevant Governmental Authority. No further Governmental Authorities are required under the PRC Laws in connection with the VIE Agreements or the performance of the terms thereof except as explicitly contemplated in the VIE Agreements. |
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2. | On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, namely, the Ministry of Commerce, the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the State Administration for Taxation, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the CSRC), and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, jointly adopted the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors (the M&A Rules), which became effective on September 8, 2006 and were amended on June 22, 2009. The M&A Rules purport, among other things, to require offshore special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, formed for overseas listing purposes through acquisitions of PRC domestic enterprises and controlled by PRC enterprises or individuals, to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to publicly listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange. On September 21, 2006, pursuant to the M&A Rules and other PRC Laws, the CSRC, on its official website, promulgated relevant guidance with respect to the issues of listing and trading of domestic enterprises securities on overseas stock exchanges (the CSRC Procedure), including a list of application materials with respect to the listing on overseas stock exchanges by SPVs. |
Based upon our understanding of the PRC Laws, including the M&A Rules and the CSRC Procedure, approval from the CSRC is not required under the M&A Rules for the Offering or the Listing, because, among other things, (a) the CSRC currently has not issued any definitive rule or interpretation concerning whether offerings and listings like the Offering and the Listing are subject to the M&A Rules; and (b) no explicit provision in the M&A Rules clearly classifies the respective VIE Agreements among Yunxuetang Information and Yunxuetang Network and its shareholders, or the respective VIE Agreements among Fenghe Consulting and Shanghai China Europe and its shareholders, or the respective VIE Agreements among Fenghe Consulting and Shanghai Fenghe and its shareholders as a type of acquisition transaction falling under the M&A Rules. However, uncertainties still exist as to how the M&A Rules will be interpreted and implemented and our opinions summarized in this paragraph are subject to any new laws, rules and regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations in any form relating to the M&A Rules by the Governmental Authorities.
3. | The statements set forth under the caption Taxation Peoples Republic of China Taxation in the Registration Statement insofar as they constitute statements of PRC tax law, are accurate in all material respects. |
This Opinion is subject to the following qualifications:
(a) | This Opinion is rendered only with respect to the PRC Laws and we have made no investigations in any other jurisdiction and no opinion is expressed or implied as to the laws of any other jurisdiction. PRC Laws as used in this Opinion refers to PRC Laws publicly available and currently in force as of the date of this Opinion and there is no assurance that any of such PRC Laws will not be changed, amended, replaced or revoked in the immediate future or in the longer term with or without retroactive effect. |
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(b) | This Opinion is given only as to, and based on, circumstances and matters of fact existing and known to us on the date of this Opinion. |
(c) | This Opinion is, insofar as it relates to the validity, effectiveness and enforceability , subject to (i) any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors rights generally; (ii) possible judicial or administrative actions or any laws affecting creditors rights generally; (iii) certain equitable, legal or statutory principles affecting the validity and enforceability of contractual rights generally under concepts of public interest, state interest, national security, reasonableness, good faith and fair dealing, and applicable statutes of limitation; (iv) any circumstance in connection with formulation, execution or implementation of any legal documents that would be deemed materially mistaken, clearly unconscionable, unlawful, fraudulent or coercionary at the conclusions thereof; and (v) judicial discretion with respect to the availability of indemnifications, remedies or defenses, the calculation of damages, the entitlement to attorneys fees and other costs, the waiver of immunity from jurisdiction of any court or from legal process. |
(d) | This Opinion is subject to the discretion of any competent PRC legislative, administrative, judicial bodies or Governmental Authorities in exercising their authority in the PRC in connection with the interpretation, implementation and application of relevant PRC Laws. |
This Opinion is intended to be used in the context which is specifically referred to herein, and each paragraph should be considered at as a whole and no part should be extracted and referred to independently.
We hereby consent to the use of this Opinion in, and the filing hereof as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and further consent to the reference of our name under the sections of Registration Statement entitled Prospectus Summary, Risk Factors, Enforceability of Civil Liabilities, Our History and Corporate Structure, Business, Regulation, Taxation, Legal Matters and the cover page included in the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not hereby admit that we are within the category of the person whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act, or the regulations promulgated thereunder.
Yours Sincerely, |
/s/ Global Law Office |
Global Law Office |
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Exhibit 99.3
July 12, 2024
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
Room 501-502, No. 78 East Jinshan Road Huqiu District,
Suzhou Jiangsu, 215011,
Peoples Republic of China
+86 (512) 6689 9881
Re: YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We understand that YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED (the Company) has filed a registration statement on Form F-1 (as may be amended from time to time, the Registration Statement) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, in connection with its proposed initial public offering (the Proposed IPO).
We hereby consent to the references to our name and the inclusion of information, data and statements from our research reports (collectively, the Report), and any subsequent amendments to the Report, as well as the citation of our Report, (i) in the Registration Statement, (ii) in any written correspondence with the SEC, (iii) in any other future filings with the SEC by the Company, including, without limitation, filings on Form 20-F, Form 6-K or other SEC filings (collectively, the SEC Filings), (iv) on the websites of the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates, (v) in institutional and retail road shows and other activities in connection with the Proposed IPO, and (vi) in other publicity materials in connection with the Proposed IPO.
We further hereby consent to the filing of this letter as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and as an exhibit to any other SEC Filings.
Yours faithfully, |
For and on behalf of |
Frost & Sullivan Limited |
/s/ Charles Lau |
Name: Charles Lau |
Title: Executive Director |
Exhibit 99.4
July 12, 2024
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
Room 501-502, No. 78 East Jinshan Road
Huqiu District, Suzhou
Jiangsu, 215011, Peoples Republic of China
+86 (512) 6689 9881
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Pursuant to Rule 438 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, I hereby consent to the reference of my name as a director of YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED (the Company), effective immediately upon the effectiveness of the Companys registration statement on Form F-1 initially filed by the Company on July 12, 2024 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sincerely yours,
/s/ Guodian Huang |
Name: Guodian Huang |
[Signature Page to Rule 438 Consent]
Exhibit 99.5
July 12, 2024
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
Room 501-502, No. 78 East Jinshan Road
Huqiu District, Suzhou
Jiangsu, 215011, Peoples Republic of China
+86 (512) 6689 9881
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Pursuant to Rule 438 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, I hereby consent to the reference of my name as a director of YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED (the Company), effective immediately upon the effectiveness of the Companys registration statement on Form F-1 initially filed by the Company on July 12, 2024 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sincerely yours,
/s/ Yunjian Ling |
Name: Yunjian Ling |
[Signature Page to Rule 438 Consent]
Exhibit 107
Calculation of Filing Fee Tables
Form F-1
(Form Type)
YXT.COM GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
Newly Registered Securities
Security Type |
Security Title |
Fee Calculation or Carry Forward Rule |
Amount Registered |
Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Unit |
Maximum Offering Price (1) |
Fee Rate |
Amount of Registration Fee | |||||||||
Fees to Be Paid |
Equity | Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share (2) | Rule 457(o) | US$50,000,000 (3) | US$0.00014760 | US$7,380.00 | ||||||||||
Net Fee Due | US$7,380.00 |
(1) | Includes (a) Class A ordinary shares represented by ADSs that may be purchased by the underwriters pursuant to their over-allotment option, and (b) all Class A ordinary shares represented by ADSs initially offered and sold outside the United States that may be resold from time to time in the United States either as part of the distribution or within 40 days after the later of the effective date of this registration statement and the date the securities are first bona fide offered to the public. |
(2) | American depositary shares issuable upon deposit of Class A ordinary shares registered hereby will be registered under a separate registration statement on Form F-6, as amended. Each American depositary share represents three Class A ordinary shares. |
(3) | Estimated solely for the purpose of determining the amount of registration fee in accordance with Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. |