SHANGHAI, Nov. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- eHi Car Services Limited ("eHi" or the "Company"), a leading car rentals and car services provider in China, today responded to allegations which have been made in a series of letters received from unknown outsiders and repeated in the press. The Company, with the assistance of third parties, investigated these allegations, and determined they were without merit. In order to protect the Company's reputation and the interests of its existing and potential stakeholders in relation to these claims, the Company is announcing the following:
In October 2014, the Company's independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP ("PwC"), received a letter from one or more unidentified individuals claiming to be a group of Company employees and alleging that the Company had misrepresented its financial performance and key operating metrics in the prospectus it had filed with the SEC earlier that month. The underwriters whose names appeared on the cover of the prospectus filed in October 2014 also received a similar letter. On November 12 and 15, 2014, PwC and the underwriters received two additional letters. These claim to be from someone who is not an employee of the Company, but their content is largely duplicative of the October letter, although the November 15 letter also alleged that the person claiming to be its author had received a telephone call aimed at intimidating him from making further allegations. The Company has investigated the claims asserted in these letters and have found them to be meritless.
Promptly after receiving a copy of the first letter in October, the Company, at the direction of its audit committee, appointed the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers LLP ("OMM") to conduct an investigation into the allegations. OMM then retained Kroll Associates (Asia) Limited, an international investigations and forensic accounting firm, to assist with its investigation. Based on the investigation, the Company concluded that the allegations are without merit. PwC has considered the results of OMM's work and also performed additional audit procedures. It did not modify its audit report on the Company's consolidated financial statements for the years or periods affected by the allegations, including the financial statements included in the Company's prospectus. OMM has done further investigation on the allegations in the November 12 and 15 letters and, based on the results of that investigation the Company has concluded that the allegations in both letters are without merit.
The Company believes that these allegations are organized, planned and premeditated acts of vicious attack with the purpose of thwarting the Company's plan to go public. The Company has disclosed these accusations as well as its investigation results in the documents submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The Company's investigatory findings on these allegations were disclosed in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's prospectus filed with the SEC. Please refer to below link for more information.
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1517492/000104746914009155/a2222197zf-1a.htm
About eHi Car Services Limited
eHi Car Services Limited is China's No. 1 car services provider and No. 2 car rentals provider in terms of market share by revenues in 2013, according to Frost & Sullivan. The Company's mission is to provide comprehensive mobility solutions to both individuals and corporate clients as an alternative to car ownership by best utilizing existing resources and sharing economy to enhance the user experience and create optimal value. eHi distinguishes itself in China's fast-growing car rental and car services market through its unique and complementary business model, customer-centric corporate culture, broad geographic coverage, efficient fleet management, leading brand name, and commitment to technological innovation. eHi is the exclusive strategic partner in China of Enterprise Holdings, the largest car rental company in the world, and is the designated and preferred business partner of Ctrip, a leader in the online travel agency industry. For more information regarding eHi, please visit http://en.1hai.cn/.
For media inquiries, please contact:
In China:
Mr. Nicholas Manganaro
Ogilvy Public Relations
Tel: +86 (10) 8520-6101
E-mail: ehic@ogilvy.com
In the U.S.:
Mr. Justin Knapp
Ogilvy Public Relations
Tel: +1 (616) 551-9714
E-mail: ehic@ogilvy.com
