Cheetah Mobile Inc. (NYSE: CMCM) (“Cheetah Mobile” or the “Company”), a leading mobile internet company with global market coverage, today announced that the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) approved a special cash dividend of US$1.44 per American Depositary Share (“ADS”), or US$0.14 per ordinary share.
The cash dividend will be paid on July 9, 2020, to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 23, 2020. The aggregate amount of cash dividends to be paid is approximately US$200 million, which will be funded by cash on the Company’s balance sheet.
Meanwhile, Cheetah Mobile has entered into an agreement to sell all its remaining equity ownership in Bytedance Ltd on May 20, 2020. This transaction is expected to result in a disposal gain of investment of approximately US$66 million in the second quarter of 2020. This transaction will also result in a cash inflow of approximately US$130 million. As of December 31, 2019, the Company had cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments of US$338.2 million. This transaction is expected to close by the end of June 2020, subject to customary closing conditions.
Cheetah Mobile has continued to return to our shareholders. In September 2018, its board of directors had approved a share repurchase program of up to US$100 million of our outstanding ADSs for a period not to exceed 12 months. The Company funded repurchases made under this program from its available cash balance. In 2019, the Company had repurchased approximately 4.5 million ADSs for approximately US$32 million under this program. The Company cancelled all the repurchased Cheetah ADSs. In 2019, its board of directors approved a special cash dividend of US$0.50 per ADS, or US$0.05 per ordinary share in August 2019. The aggregate amount of cash dividends was approximately US$72 million, which was funded by cash on its balance sheet.
