Exhibit 99.1
Qudian Inc. Announces US$195 Million Forward Share Repurchase Program
XIAMEN, China, August 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Qudian Inc. (“Qudian” or the “Company”) (NYSE: QD), a leading provider of online small consumer credit products in China, today announced that it has entered into a forward share repurchase agreement with Citibank, N.A., under which it will repurchase up to US$195 million worth of its outstanding American depositary shares (“ADSs”) representing its Class A ordinary shares (the “Shares”).
The forward share repurchase agreement is part of the Company’s share repurchase program authorizing the repurchase of up to US$300 million worth of its ADSs (the “Existing Program”) as originally announced on December 13, 2018. As of today, the Company has already repurchased approximately US$103 million worth of the Shares under the Existing Program.
Under the terms of the forward share repurchase agreement, the Company will pay Citibank, N.A. US$195 million on August 23, 2019. The Company will not receive any initial deliveries of ADSs. The total number of ADSs ultimately repurchased under the forward share repurchase agreement will generally be based on the volume-weighted average share price of the Shares during the calculation period of the forward share repurchase program subject to certain pricing disruption adjustments and a cap provision that will establish a minimum number of shares repurchased, and the notional amount may be reduced in certain circumstances following the initial hedging period. The forward share repurchase is expected to be completed no later than the end of the fourth quarter of 2019. The actual number of shares repurchased will be determined at the completion of the forward share repurchase program. Repurchases under the forward share repurchase program will be funded from Qudian’s existing cash and cash equivalents or future cash provided by operating activities, along with the proceeds from the recent convertible senior notes offering. As of June 30, 2019, Qudian had cash and cash equivalents of approximately RMB2,586.9 million (US$376.8 million).
Mr. Min Luo, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Qudian said, “We continued to deliver solid quarterly results driven by strong momentum in our open-platform initiative and better-than-expected loan book growth. Given the disconnect between our strong business fundamentals and stock price, we are stepping up our share repurchase plan. This reflects our confidence in our growth prospect and our continuous commitment to enhancing shareholder value.”
Exchange Rate Information
This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars (“US$”) at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise stated, all translations from RMB to US$ were made at the rate of RMB6.8650 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate in effect on June 28, 2019 in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board. The Company makes no representation that the RMB or US$ amounts referred could be converted into US$ or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all.
