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National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
SAIF Partners Sends Letter to Sinovac Shareholders
Article content Article content Highlights Current Board's Empty Promises, Failure to Deliver Value for Shareholders, and Certain Directors' Concerning Patterns of Reckless, Unethical and Illegal Actions to Retain Control of Sinovac Article content Article content SAIF Partners Urges Shareholders to Vote the GOLD Proxy Card ' FOR ' its Director Nominees to End Years of Chaos, Restore Credibility and Unlock Long-Term Value for All Sinovac Shareholders Article content NEW YORK — SAIF Partners IV L.P., ('SAIF Partners'), the largest single investor in Sinovac Biotech Ltd. ('Sinovac' or the 'Company'), beneficially owning approximately 15% of the outstanding common shares, today sent a letter to Sinovac shareholders regarding the current Board's empty promises to shareholders, numerous failures overseeing the Company, and certain directors' concerning patterns of reckless, unethical and illegal actions to retain control of Sinovac. The full text of the letter is as follows: Article content July 1, 2025 Article content Dear Fellow Sinovac Shareholders, Article content SAIF Partners ('we' or 'us') is the largest single investor and a long-term shareholder in Sinovac Biotech Ltd. ('Sinovac' or the 'Company'). We beneficially own approximately 15% of the Company's outstanding common shares. As you are likely aware, on June 24, 2025, Sinovac's Board of Directors (the 'Board') announced its intention to pay 'up to' $138.73 per share in total dividends to shareholders – a significant increase from Sinovac's previously announced $55 per share dividend scheduled to be distributed on or about July 7, 2025. Article content As a financial investor in Sinovac just like you, we welcome the idea of the Company distributing these significant dividends. Article content However, we have serious doubts that the current Board will be able to deliver any further dividends to you. Article content Don't Believe Empty Promises: Sinovac's Current Board Failed to Act Until it Was Pressured by Shareholders and Became Desperate to Win Your Votes to Retain Control of Sinovac Article content Shareholders should not be fooled by the current Board's empty promises intended to protect the status quo and retain their positions. Sinovac's current directors – the majority of whom were not duly elected by shareholders – have offered up such large dividends only because their positions are on the line at the upcoming Special Meeting of Shareholders (the 'Special Meeting') to be held on July 8, 2025, and they are trying to buy shareholders' support. Article content Further, the misleading dividend plan outlined by the current Board reveals its recklessness and its ignorance of the nature of Sinovac's business, the financial status of the Company, and the applicable PRC laws and regulations under which the Company operates: Article content All of Sinovac's profits over the past several years were created by the former Board and management team. The current Board contributed nothing to the generation of the Company's profits. The previously-announced $55 per share dividend – for which the current Board is seeking to take credit – was distributed from Sinovac's Chinese subsidiaries to the Company before 2025 by the former Board and was made ready for further distribution to shareholders by the former Board and management, not the current Board. That dividend was originally withheld because of the chaos created by the lawsuit regarding the 2018 takeover of Sinovac's Board by representatives of minority shareholders 1Globe and Orbimed. The current Board only recently announced its plan to distribute the dividend once it faced public pressure from shareholders including SAIF Partners. This chaotic lawsuit – led by the belligerent 1Globe and Orbimed group – has mired Sinovac in a series of legal battles that have left shareholders unable to trade the Company's stock or receive long-overdue dividend payments. If the current Board is not removed, we believe shareholders' capital will remain trapped within the Company indefinitely. Further, under the current Board, Sinovac's independent auditor, Grant Thornton Zhitong Certified Public Accountants LLP ('Grant Thornton'), resigned on April 21, 2025, and since then the Company has operated without an auditor. Given that Grant Thornton's resignation was prompted by the current Board's governance failures, we have good reason to believe that no auditor will work for Sinovac until there is a fundamental change in the Company's governance practices. We do not believe the current Board will be able to retain a new auditor given its long-term conflict with management and other shareholders. Article content Given these realities, it appears to us that Sinovac's current Board has thrown out a massive dividend figure purely to win your votes – without consulting the people who run the Company, and without audited financial data required to make an informed judgement regarding the Company's capacity to pay dividends. Article content The 1Globe and Orbimed Group Have Taken Reckless, Unethical and Illegal Actions to Take Control of Sinovac Article content Sinovac operates within the highly regulated public health sector. It is critical that the Company maintains the highest respect for laws and ethics, requiring that it has principled, ethical leaders at its helm. However, the 1Globe and Orbimed group have employed a reckless approach and have previously acted with flagrant disregard for both professional ethics and applicable laws. For instance: Article content In or about November 2018, Sinovac directors Mr. Pengfei Li and Mr. Jianzeng Cao – both directors nominated by 1Globe and Orbimed – were prohibited by the Hong Kong High Court from purporting to act or holding themselves out as Directors of Sinovac Hong Kong or its subsidiaries. The Hong Kong High Court found that Mr. Li and Mr. Cao forged documents and illegally filed them with the Hong Kong Companies Registry in an attempt to unlawfully remove Directors of Sinovac Hong Kong, and to deceive the Hong Kong Companies Registry into believing that the Board of Sinovac Hong Kong had been reconstituted. In May of 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC') found that Dr. Chiang Li and 1Globe violated federal securities laws and regulations and imposed civil money penalties on them. Specifically, the SEC found that by the end of 2017, 1Globe, Dr. Chiang Li and Dr. Chiang Li's relatives 'together held nearly one-third of the common stock of [Sinovac] and participated in an activist plan to replace four of five incumbent directors . . . at Sinovac's 2018 annual shareholder meeting.' 1Globe and Dr. Chiang Li, however, 'failed to disclose their full beneficial ownership of Sinovac stock, inclusive of substantial shares held by related parties, and their participation in a plan, led by other investors, thereby depriving existing and potential shareholders of information necessary to make fully informed investment decisions.' Based on its findings, the SEC ordered that 1Globe and Dr. Chiang Li cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Sections 13(d)(1) and 13(d)(2) of the Exchange Act and Rules 13d–1 and 13d–2 thereunder. The SEC also imposed civil penalties on both 1Globe and Dr. Chiang Li, with 1Globe agreeing to pay USD $200,000 and Dr. Chiang Li agreeing to pay USD $90,000 in civil money penalties. In or about February 2024, it was reported that Shandong Sinobioway Biomedicine Co., Ltd. ('Shandong Sinobioway', a public listed company in the PRC), had received a criminal judgment from the People's Court of Zhangdian District, Zibo City, Shandong Province ('Shandong Court'), in which Mr. Pengfei Li was one of the named defendants. Mr. Pengfei Li is the CEO of 1Globe China, and it is believed he committed the criminal behaviors as part of 1Globe's scheme to take control of Sinovac and its subsidiaries. The Shandong Court found that Mr. Pengfei Li had committed the crimes of embezzlement, forging government documents and seals, and forging company seals, and sentenced him to eight years in prison and ordered that he pay a fine of RMB 780,000. In addition, the Shandong Court ruled that Hangzhou Qiangxin Biotechnology Co., Ltd., a Chinese subsidiary of 1Globe, had illegally acquired a 34% equity interest in Sinobioway Biomedicine Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Shandong Sinobioway and the minority shareholder of Sinovac's Beijing joint venture. Article content Given these unscrupulous behaviors over a long period of time, we strongly doubt that the current Board will ever be able to build the internal and external support to effectively oversee Sinovac, maintain financial discipline, and pay the significant dividends it has promised to you in an effort to win your vote. Article content A New Board is Immediately Needed to Restore Sinovac's Credibility and Maximize Shareholder Value Article content We believe that immediate change is needed on Sinovac's Board to unlock the tremendous value embedded in the Company for all shareholders. To that end, we have nominated ten highly qualified director candidates for election to the Board at the upcoming Special Meeting who are committed to resolving Sinovac's legal disputes, retaining a new independent auditor, and taking the steps necessary to deliver value to all shareholders, including: Article content Immediately paying out the long-scheduled USD $55 per share dividend to shareholders; Ending the six-year trading halt of Sinovac's common shares, which has left the stock at a price of $6.47 per share – reflecting only a fraction of the Company's current value; Paying shareholders further dividends based on the Company's audited financial accounts. Article content If elected, SAIF's nominees – who include Sinovac's founder and current CEO – will bring extensive industry knowledge, management experience, and shareholder alignment to the Board, and work closely with management to bring disciplined corporate governance, proper capital allocation, strategic foresight and operational excellence to the Company. Article content SAIF Partners urges all Sinovac shareholders to vote the GOLD Proxy Card 'FOR' the removal of the current Board and 'FOR' the election of our ten highly qualified director nominees to the Board at the Special Meeting of Shareholders. Article content Now is Your Chance to Elect a Board that Will Act in the Best Interest of ALL Sinovac Shareholders Article content SAIF Partners is a leading Asian private equity firm with cumulative assets under management of over $4 billion. SAIF Partners is an active lead investor working closely with its portfolio companies to develop their business both organically and through acquisitions, seeking synergistic cooperation among them, as well as enhancing shareholder value via promotion of good corporate governance and best management practices. Article content Additional Information and Where to Find it Article content This communication may be deemed to be solicitation material in respect of SAIF Partners' nomination of ten director nominees to Sinovac's Board. In connection with such solicitation, SAIF Partners mailed the definitive proxy statement and proxy card to shareholders of Sinovac with respect to the Special Meeting to be held in connection with the election of directors to Sinovac's Board. The definitive proxy statement mailed by SAIF Partners is also filed as Exhibit 1 to its Schedule 13D/A filed on or about June 16, 2025. SHAREHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE SINOVAC SPECIAL MEETING, INCLUDING ANY DOCUMENT INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE THEREIN, CAREFULLY IF AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE DIRECTOR NOMINEES AND THE SPECIAL MEETING AND RELATED MATTERS. Sinovac's shareholders may obtain, free of charge, the definitive version of the proxy statement, any amendments or supplements thereto, and any other relevant documents mailed by SAIF Partners in connection with the Special Meeting at Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Media Contacts Jonathan Gasthalter/Mark Semer/Grace Cartwright Gasthalter & Co. +1 (212) 257 4170 SAIF@ Article content
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Wall Street is split as Tesla and tech drop while most other U.S. stocks climb
U.S. stocks are drifting in mixed trading on Tuesday as Wall Street's momentum slows after setting record highs in each of the last two days. The S&P 500 INX rose 0.1% in afternoon trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DOWI was up by 452 points, or 1%, as of 2:02 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq NASX composite was 0.5% lower. Tesla tugged on the market as the relationship between its CEO, Elon Musk, and President Donald Trump soured even further. Once allies, the two have clashed recently, and Trump suggested there's potentially 'BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED' by scrutinizing subsidies, contracts or other government spending going to Musk's companies. Tesla Inc TSLA-Q fell 5.6% and was one of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500. It had already dropped a little more than 21% for the year so far coming into the day, in part because of Musk's and Trump's feud. Drops for several darlings of the artificial-intelligence frenzy also weighed on the market. Nvidia's NVDA-Q decline of 2.1% was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500. How Wall Street powered to a record high and what comes next More stocks were rising within the index than falling, led by several casino companies. They rallied following a report showing better-than-expected growth in overall gaming revenue in Macao, China's casino hub. Wynn Resorts WYNN-Q climbed 8.8%, and Las Vegas Sands gained 8.9%. Automakers outside of Tesla were also strong, with General Motors GM-N up 4.7% and Ford Motor F-N up 3.9%. The overall U.S. stock market has made a stunning recovery from its springtime sell-off of roughly 20%. But challenges still lay ahead for Wall Street, with one of the largest being the continued threat of Trump's tariffs. Many of Trump's stiff proposed taxes on imports are currently on pause, but they're scheduled to kick into effect in about a week. Depending on how big they are, they could hurt the economy and worsen inflation. Congress is also debating proposed cuts to tax rates and other measures that could send the U.S. government's debt spiralling higher, which could push inflation upward. That in turn could mean higher interest rates, which would hurt prices for bonds, stocks and other investments. Despite such challenges, strategists at Barclays say they're seeing signals of euphoria emerging among some investors. The strategists say a measure that tries to show how much 'excess optimism' is in the market is not far from the peaks seen during the 'meme stock' craze that sent GameStop to market-bending heights or to the dot-com bubble at the turn of the millennium. Other signals are also indicating exuberance in the market, such as demand for what are known as 'blank-check companies' that hunt for privately held companies to buy. When too much optimism is in the market, it can inflate stock prices to too-high levels in what's called a 'bubble.' Of course, 'market bubbles are infamously difficult to predict and can endure far longer than anticipated before correcting,' according to the Barclays strategists led by Stefano Pascale and Anshul Gupta. In the bond market, Treasury yields rose following some mixed reports on the U.S. economy. One said U.S. employers were advertising more job openings at the end of May than the month before and than economists expected. That could be an encouraging signal for a job market that had been appearing to settle into a low-hire, low-fire state. Separate reports on U.S. manufacturing were more mixed. One from the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity shrank again in June, but not by as much as the month before. 'Customers do not want to make commitments in the wake of massive tariff uncertainty,' one survey respondent in the fabricated metal products industry said. A separate report from S&P Global suggested manufacturing production returned to growth in June after three months of declines. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.25% from 4.24% late Monday after erasing an earlier, modest loss from the morning. U.S. banks rise as Fed stress test success clears path for payouts The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do with its main interest rate, rose more sharply to 3.78% from 3.72%. Better-than-expected data on the economy could give the Fed more reason to stay on pause with interest rates, after it halted its cuts to rates at the start of this year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said again on Tuesday that he wants to wait for more evidence about how much Trump's tariffs will affect the economy and inflation before resuming cuts to interest rates. That's despite Trump's angry insistences lately that Powell and the Fed act more quickly to give the economy a boost through lower rates. In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe and Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.2%, and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.6% for two of the larger moves.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
IKS Health Announces Transformational Partnership with Western Washington Medical Group through Strategic Investment in Managed Service Organization
Article content DALLAS — IKS Health, a global leader in care enablement solutions supporting clinicians, staff and patients throughout the care journey, is pleased to announce a transformative expansion of its partnership with Western Washington Medical Group (WWMG), a leading independent multispecialty healthcare organization in Washington state. Article content IKS Health will make a strategic investment in a newly established management services organization (MSO) that will oversee all nonclinical operations of WWMG, including revenue cycle management, clinical documentation, HR, IT and finance. The clinical operations will continue to reside within WWMG, allowing for a clear separation of clinical and administrative functions. Article content Article content As part of this expanded partnership, IKS Health will support WWMG through the newly formed MSO, helping the medical group improve performance across both fee-for-service and value-based care models. By addressing key administrative and operational functions, IKS will position WWMG to better manage risk-based populations, reduce friction in care delivery and improve financial sustainability and patient outcomes. Article content This support will be powered by IKS Health's comprehensive, AI-enabled care enablement platform. WWMG will gain access to advanced revenue cycle management, clinical documentation through the Scribble Suite's ambient scribing solution and a patient engagement hub driven by a patent-pending AI algorithm that predicts and reduces no-shows while improving communication across the care journey. Additional services include chart reviews, document management and care coordination. Article content 'Our work with IKS Health has resulted in streamlined operations and increased efficiencies, leading us to expand our partnership and further position us for growth and, most importantly, for providing excellent patient care,' said David Russian, M.D., CEO of Western Washington Medical Group. 'This strategic partnership with IKS Health will create transformational value for WWMG with a self-sustaining model for independent medicine that benefits all stakeholders — clinicians, patients and the communities that we serve.' Article content 'Our initial investment of substantial capital into the MSO reflects our strong conviction in the long-term potential of this partnership,' said Joe Benardello, co-founder and chief growth officer at IKS Health. 'The investment will be used to grow WWMG's physician base and expand its primary care capacity. When combined with the operational efficiencies driven by the IKS Health platform, it lays the foundation for scalable and sustainable growth.' Article content 'This partnership marks a pivotal step in IKS's journey to lead the strategic transformation of healthcare,' said Sachin K. Gupta, founder and CEO of IKS Health. 'It moves us meaningfully up the value chain, well beyond commoditized point solutions, and creates a scalable and replicable path to growth. By enabling a sustainable model for physician aggregation that delivers on the quadruple aim, we're not only unlocking two powerful pools of economic value (revenue from the IKS platform and long term value from the MSO growth) — we're also deepening the moat around our Care Enablement Platform and reinforcing our long-term relevance in an increasingly dynamic healthcare landscape.' Article content About Western Washington Medical Group Article content Western Washington Medical Group (WWMG) is a team of over 100 providers in 20+ specialty areas serving patients and their families in the north Puget Sound region of Washington State. Their providers are owners of the company, and they live and work in the communities that they serve. For over 30 years, it's been WWMG's mission to provide clinicians the freedom to practice medicine with compassion, in the best interest of their patients and community. Learn more at Article content About IKS Health Article content IKS Health takes on the chores of healthcare — spanning administrative, clinical, and operational burdens — so that clinicians can focus on their core purpose: delivering great care. Combining pragmatic technology and dedicated experts, IKS Health enables stronger, financially sustainable enterprises. IKS Health's Care Enablement Platform delivers data-driven value and expertise across the care journey, and IKS Health is a partner for clinician enterprises looking to effectively scale, improve quality, and achieve cost savings through forward-thinking solutions. Founded in 2006, IKS Health's global workforce supports large health systems across the United States. For more information on IKS Health and its solutions, please visit Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
