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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP INDEX TO UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Table of Contents

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 12, 2016

Registration No. 333-        

 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549



FORM F-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933



China Online Education Group
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Not Applicable
(Translation of Registrant's name into English)

Cayman Islands
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
  8200
(Primary Standard Industrial
Classification Code Number)
  Not Applicable
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)

6 th  Floor Deshi Building North,
Shangdi Street, Haidian District,
Beijing 100085, People's Republic of China
Tel: +86 10 5692-8909

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant's principal executive offices)



Law Debenture Corporate Services Inc.
400 Madison Avenue, Suite 4D
New York, New York 10017
+1 212 750-6474

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)



Copies to:
     
Z. Julie Gao, Esq.
Will H. Cai, Esq.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
c/o 42/F, Edinburgh Tower, The Landmark
15 Queen's Road Central
Hong Kong
+852 3740-4700
  David T. Zhang, Esq.
Benjamin W. James, Esq.
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
c/o 26/F, Gloucester Tower, The Landmark
15 Queen's Road Central
Hong Kong
+852 3761-3318



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.     o

          If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.     o

          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.     o

          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.     o



CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

       
 
Title of each class of securities
to be registered

  Proposed maximum
aggregate offering
price (1)

  Amount of
registration fee

 

ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share (2)(3)

  US$100,000,000   US$10,070

 

(1)
Estimated solely for the purpose of determining the amount of registration fee in accordance with Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933.

(2)
Includes ordinary shares initially offered and sold outside the United States that may be resold from time to time in the United States either as part of their distribution or within 40 days after the later of the effective date of this registration statement and the date the shares are first bona fide offered to the public, and also includes ordinary shares that may be purchased by the underwriters pursuant to an over-allotment option. These ordinary shares are not being registered for the purpose of sales outside the United States.

(3)
American depositary shares issuable upon deposit of the ordinary shares registered hereby will be registered under a separate registration statement on Form F-6 (Registration No.333-        ). Each American depositary share represents            ordinary shares.

           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 Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to such Section 8(a), may determine.

   


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PROSPECTUS (subject to completion)
Issued                   , 2016

The information in this preliminary 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 preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and we are not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

                      American Depositary Shares

GRAPHIC

China Online Education Group

REPRESENTING                   ORDINARY SHARES



China Online Education Group is offering                 American depositary shares, or ADSs. Each ADS represents                  ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share. This is our initial public offering and no public market exists for our ADSs or our ordinary shares. We anticipate the initial public offering price of our ADSs will be between US$            and US$            per ADS.



We are an "emerging growth company" under applicable U.S. federal securities laws and are eligible for reduced public company reporting requirements.



We have applied for the listing of our ADSs on the [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market] under the symbol "             ."



Investing in our ADSs involves risks. See "Risk Factors" beginning on page 15.



PRICE $              AN ADS



 
 
Price to
Public
 
Underwriting
Discounts and
Commissions
 
Proceeds to
Company

Per ADS

  $            $            $         

Total

  $            $            $         

We have granted the underwriters the right to purchase up to an additional                           ADSs to cover over-allotments.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and state securities regulators have not approved or disapproved these securities, or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The underwriters expect to deliver the ADSs to purchasers on                     , 2016.



MORGAN STANLEY   CREDIT SUISSE

   

                           , 2016.


LOGO


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 
  Page  

Prospectus Summary

    1  

Risk Factors

    15  

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    58  

Use of Proceeds

    59  

Dividend Policy

    60  

Capitalization

    61  

Dilution

    62  

Exchange Rate Information

    64  

Enforceability of Civil Liabilities

    65  

Corporate History and Structure

    67  

Selected Consolidated Financial Data

    73  

Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

    76  

Industry Overview

    105  

Business

    109  

Regulation

    131  

Management

    148  

Principal Shareholders

    155  

Related Party Transactions

    157  

Description of Share Capital

    158  

Description of American Depositary Shares

    168  

Shares Eligible for Future Sale

    180  

Taxation

    181  

Underwriting

    189  

Expenses Relating to this Offering

    196  

Legal Matters

    197  

Experts

    198  

Where You Can Find Additional Information

    199  

Index to Consolidated Financial Statements

    F-1  

        You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus or in any related free-writing prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus. We are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, the ADSs only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of the ADSs.

        We have not taken any action to permit a public offering of the ADSs outside the United States or to permit the possession or distribution of this prospectus outside the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about and observe any restrictions relating to the offering of the ADSs and the distribution of the prospectus outside the United States.

         Until            , 2016 (the 25 th  day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade 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.

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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

         The following summary is qualified in its entirety by, and should be read in conjunction with, the more detailed information and financial statements 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 our ADSs discussed under "Risk Factors," before deciding whether to buy our ADSs. This prospectus contains information from an industry report commissioned by us and prepared by Frost & Sullivan, a third-party research firm, to provide information regarding our industry and market position in China. We refer to this report as the Frost & Sullivan Report.

Our Business

        Our mission is to make quality education accessible and affordable. Recognizing the strong demand for improving English proficiency and the lack of effective and affordable solutions in China, our founders started with English education as the first step of our journey.

        We are a leading online education platform in China, with core expertise in English education. According to the Frost & Sullivan Report, we are one of the top online education platforms as measured by gross billings in 2015, and the largest online English education platform in China, as measured by gross billings in 2015 and the number of available foreign teachers as of December 31, 2015.

        The charts below demonstrate our rapid growth:

GRAPHIC

        English education in China traditionally focuses on test preparation instead of improving English proficiency, especially English communication skills. To address this unmet need, we have developed proprietary online and mobile education platforms that enable students across China to take one-on-one live interactive English lessons with overseas foreign teachers, on demand, fostering the development of all aspects of English proficiency. We employ student and teacher feedback and data analytics to deliver a personalized learning experience. Our lessons are highly affordable, with each 25-minute lesson on average costing approximately RMB30 (US$5).

        We connect our students with a large pool of highly qualified foreign teachers that we have assembled using a sharing economy approach. Once our teachers have gone through our rigorous selection and training process, we give them the flexibility to deliver lessons based on their own scheduling availability, at appropriate locations of their choice, and get paid based on the number of lessons taught. This sharing economy approach has allowed us to quickly build a large team of teachers in a cost-effective manner. Our platform analyzes teachers' teaching aptitudes, feedback and rating from students and background and recommends suitable teachers to students according to their respective characteristics and learning objectives. The large pool of teachers not only allows us to provide live lessons to students on demand by

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giving them scheduling flexibility, but also ensures that we are able to accommodate and address students' individual learning behaviors and needs.

        We develop and tailor our proprietary curriculum specifically to our interactive lesson format and goal of building an interactive and immersive English learning environment. Our flagship courses, Classic English and Classic English Junior , place specific emphasis on the development of English communication skills. We complement our flagship offerings with a number of specialty courses aimed at situation-based English education and test preparation needs, such as Business English and IELTS Speaking .

        We have designed a holistic learning solution that enhances effective learning through the integration of live lessons, practice, assessment and mentoring. Our live interactive lessons allow for frequent interaction between students and teachers, which is a key factor in improving English communication skills. Prior to taking lessons, students preview course materials using exercises and illustrations, supported by a pronunciation recognition and rating system. Assessment includes post-lesson quizzes and level advancement exams, both of which help students better assess their learning outcome and identify areas for improvement. In addition, our teaching assistants mentor students by coaching them on the proper learning methods and attending to their needs throughout the learning process.

        Our proprietary online and mobile education platforms, particularly our Air Class platform, are critical to students' learning experience. The Air Class platform integrates a number of features that allows us to closely simulate, and in some ways surpass, a traditional classroom experience. Our 51Talk mobile app, which serves as an integral part of our students' overall learning experience, allows students to book and manage lessons, access pre-lesson preparation and review materials, as well as to take lessons at locations of their choice. Approximately 82.3% of our active students utilized our mobile app in the three months ended March 31, 2016.

        We have experienced significant growth in recent years. Our gross billings increased from RMB36.1 million in 2013 to RMB116.9 million in 2014, and further to RMB353.3 million (US$54.5 million) in 2015, and increased from RMB53.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB154.8 million (US$24.0 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. We define gross billings for a specific period as the total amount of cash received for the purchase of course packages in such period, net of the total amount of refunds in such period. For discussions of gross billings and reconciliation of gross billings to net revenues, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Non-GAAP Financial Measure." Our net revenues increased from RMB21.7 million in 2013 to RMB52.2 million in 2014, and further to RMB154.7 million (US$23.9 million) in 2015, and increased from RMB24.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB72.2 million (US$11.2 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. We had a net loss of RMB17.8 million, RMB101.7 million and RMB327.1 million (US$50.5 million) in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. In the three months ended March 31, 2016, we had a net loss of RMB99.3 million (US$15.4 million), compared to a net loss of RMB53.7 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015.

        We have recently experienced significant growth in the K-12 online English education market. In 2015, we released our Classic English Junior course which is customized to the learning objectives and patterns of K-12 students. We have also implemented a series of targeted initiatives to better engage K-12 students and their parents. As a result, K-12 students' contribution to our overall gross billings reached 42.2% in the first quarter of 2016, compared to 34.8% and 24.5% in the fourth quarter and first quarter of 2015, respectively. In the first quarter of 2016, the higher average initial course package size of RMB6.2 thousand purchased by K-12 students and the higher referral rate of 57.4% by K-12 students, as compared to those of other demographics of our student base, further validate our focus in this market. In March 2016, we launched our 51Talk New Concept course, which is a test preparation course tailored for K-12 students and in May 2016, we introduced a new course package with teachers from North America for our K-12 students.

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Our Industry

        Driven by rapid economic growth, urbanization and higher per capita disposable income of urban households, China has experienced significant growth in the private education market. According to the Frost & Sullivan Report, China's private education market reached RMB1,057.7 billion (US$163.3 billion) in 2015, and is expected to further grow at a CAGR of 15.4% to RMB2,161.8 billion (US$333.7 billion) in 2020.

        Online education offers students easy access to a large pool of teachers, rich course materials and pre-and post-lesson support, at the time and location of their choice. Online education companies are also well positioned to gather and analyze data to deliver optimized learning experiences. We believe these characteristics are important for English language education. Online English education better facilitates frequent interaction between teachers and students and high frequency practice for knowledge reinforcement.

        Fully online English education companies have greater scalability, ability to potentially reach a significantly larger market of prospective students across a broader geographical area and translate capital savings into affordable course prices and devote more sources to developing technology and data analytics. China's online English education market in terms of gross billings increased from RMB3.4 billion (US$0.5 billion) in 2010 to RMB18.3 billion (US$2.8 billion) in 2015, representing a CAGR of 40.0%, and is expected to further increase to RMB160.9 billion (US$24.8 billion) in 2020, representing a CAGR of 54.5% from 2015.

Our Value Propositions

        We believe that the success of our platform is a direct result of the unique value propositions that we offer to both students and teachers.

    Value propositions to students

    effective English education;

    access to foreign teachers and proprietary course contents;

    flexibility to learn English anytime, anywhere; and

    highly affordable prices.

    Value propositions to teachers

    flexibility of working hours and locations;

    competitive pay; and

    sense of personal achievement.

Our Strengths

        We believe the following competitive strengths are essential for our success and differentiate us from our competitors:

    leading online education platform in China with a strong brand;

    highly effective and affordable English education program, on demand;

    innovative and scalable business model, with strong operational expertise;

    proprietary online and mobile education platforms;

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    rapidly-increasing student base and engagement; and

    visionary and passionate management team with proven track record.

Our Strategies

        Our goal is to strengthen our leading position in the online education market in China, creating a foundation upon which we can develop a global online education platform. We intend to achieve our goal by pursuing the following strategies:

    further enhance our brand image to grow our student base and increase student enrollments;

    increase our market penetration amongst K-12 students;

    expand our course offerings and enhance our teaching approaches;

    improve our online and mobile platforms;

    strengthen our technologies and data analytics capabilities; and

    pursue selective strategic acquisitions and partnerships.

Our Challenges

        The successful execution of our strategies is subject to risks and uncertainties related to our business and industry, including those relating to:

    our limited operating history with our current business model, which makes it difficult to predict our future prospects and financial performance;

    our ability to continue to attract students to purchase our course packages and to increase the spending of our students on our platform;

    our ability to maintain and enhance our brand recognition;

    our ability to conduct our sales and marketing activities cost-effectively;

    the fact we incurred, and in the future may continue to incur, net losses;

    our ability to continue to engage, train and retain qualified teachers;

    our ability to compete effectively;

    our ability to successfully execute our growth strategies;

    our ability to develop and introduce new curriculum that meet our existing and target students' expectations, and adopt new technologies important to our business; and

    unexpected network interruptions or network failures.

        See "Risk Factors" and "Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties associated with our business and investing in our ADSs.

Corporate Information

        Our principal executive offices are located at 6 th  Floor, Deshi Building North, Shangdi Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100085, PRC. Our telephone number at this address is +86-10-5692-8909. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at the offices of International Corporation Services Ltd., Harbour Place 2 nd  Floor, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 472, George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-1106, Cayman Islands. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Law Debenture Corporate Services Inc., located at 400 Madison Avenue 4th Floor, New York, New York 10017.

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        Investors should contact us for any inquiries through the address and telephone number of our principal executive offices. Our website is www.51talk.com. The information contained on our website is not a part of this prospectus.

Corporate History and Structure

        We began our operations in July 2011 through Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd., or Dasheng Zhixing, a PRC domestic company. 51Talk English Philippines Corporation, or Philippines Co I, was incorporated in August 2012 to conduct our business operations in the Philippines, including teacher sourcing, teacher engagement, teacher training, teacher quality control, course content development and free trial lessons.

        In order to facilitate international capital raising of our company, we incorporated China Online Education Group, or COE, to become our offshore holding company under the laws of the Cayman Islands in November 2012. In January 2013, China Online Education (HK) Limited, or COE HK Co I, was incorporated in Hong Kong as a wholly owned subsidiary of COE. Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd., or Dasheng Online, was set up in June 2013 as a wholly owned subsidiary of COE HK Co I in the PRC.

        Due to PRC legal restrictions on foreign ownership and investment in the value-added telecommunications market, we operate our online platform through Dasheng Zhixing, our consolidated variable interest entity, or VIE, in the PRC. Dasheng Zhixing holds our ICP license necessary to operate our online platform in China, our domain names, including 51talk.com , our registered trademarks in China and three of our registered software copyright that are essential to the Company's online operation in PRC. Dasheng Zhixing had 1,489 staff, including 278 employees and 1,211 personnel engaged by independent third party suppliers pursuant to services outsource agreements, or Outsourced Personnel, and leased seven office facilities as of March 31, 2016. We rely on a series of contractual arrangements among Dasheng Online, Dasheng Zhixing and its shareholders to operate our online and mobile platforms in China. We do not have equity interests in Dasheng Zhixing. However, as a result of these contractual arrangements, we are the primary beneficiary of Dasheng Zhixing and treat it as our consolidated VIE under U.S. GAAP.

        In October 2014, we undertook an internal reorganization, pursuant to which we established two new subsidiaries, namely 51Talk English International Limited, or COE HK Co II, in Hong Kong and China Online Innovations Inc., or Philippines Co II, in the Philippines. Since the reorganization, foreign teachers delivering paid lessons on our platform no longer entered into service agreements with Philippines Co I, but rather entered into service agreements with COE HK Co II. Furthermore, we transferred the bulk of our Philippine business operations from Philippines Co I to Philippines Co II, and we began to enter into employment agreements with new full-time employees in the Philippines using Philippines Co II. In January 2016, we established a new subsidiary in the Philippines, namely On Demand English Innovations Inc., or Philippines Co III. In April 2016, we transferred all business operations and most of the assets of Philippines Co I to Philippines Co III. After these internal reorganizations, Philippines Co III conducts our business operations relating to the free trial lessons delivered by our free trial teachers based in Baguio City, Philippines, and Philippines Co II conducts the remainder of our business operations in the Philippines, including teacher sourcing, teacher engagement, teacher training, teacher quality control, course content development and free trial lessons offered by our free trial teachers based in Manila, Philippines.

        Philippines Co I currently does not have any material business operation, and we intend to gradually liquidate Philippines Co I.

        Under the Philippine Corporation Code, the business, assets and affairs of a corporation is handled and managed by a board of directors, which is composed of the number of individuals mandated under the corporation's articles of incorporation. Philippines law further requires that each director own at least one

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share of stock in his or her name in the books of the corporation. In order to comply with the foregoing, there are seven individual shareholders of Philippines Co II and five individual shareholders of Philippines Co III holding an aggregate of 0.00014% and 0.004% of the equity interest of Philippines Co II and Philippines Co III, respectively. COE entered into contractual arrangements with each of (i) Philippines Co II and its seven individual shareholders and (ii) Philippines Co III and its five individual shareholders. These contractual arrangements provide us with an exclusive option to purchase all of the equity interests in Philippines Co II and Philippines Co III held by individual shareholders and the power to exercise their respective shareholder rights.

        In January 2015, we acquired and consolidated the business operations and assets of 91Waijiao , a provider of English education programs in China that focused on offering live lessons conducted by foreign teachers online. The following operating metrics of our company exclude the corresponding data of 91Waijiao for all periods presented in this prospectus, all of which have been immaterial to our overall business operation since our acquisition of the business operations and assets of 91Waijiao : (i) the number of paid lessons booked, (ii) the number of active students, (iii) the number of paying students and (iv) the number of teachers available.

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        The following diagram illustrates our current corporate structure:

GRAPHIC


Notes:

(1)
Each of Ting Shu, Christine Ang, Huiru Yuan, Jennifer Que, Samuel Celestino, Xing Liu and Wei Li holds 0.00002% of the equity interest in Philippines Co II. Each of Ting Shu, Christine Ang, Huiru Yuan, Jennifer Que and Samuel Celestino is a director of Philippines Co II. We entered into contractual arrangements with these individual shareholders which provide us with an exclusive option to purchase all of the individual shareholders' equity interests in Philippines Co II and the power to exercise their shareholder rights.

(2)
Each of Jimmy Lai, Frank Lin, Nelson Tan, Luzviminda Santos Castro and Alfonso Ang Po holds 0.0008% of the equity interest in Philippines Co III. Each of these individuals is a director of Philippines Co III. We entered into contractual arrangements with these individual shareholders which provide us with an exclusive option to purchase all of the individual shareholders' equity interests in Philippines Co III and the power to exercise their respective shareholder rights.

(3)
Jack Jiajia Huang holds 99.90% of the equity interest in Philippines Co I; Kei Hattori holds 0.02% of the equity interest in Philippines Co I; Nelson Tan holds 0.06% of the equity interest in Philippines Co I; and Frank Lin holds 0.02% of the equity interest in Philippines Co I. Each of Mr. Hattori, Mr. Tan and Mr. Lin is a director of Philippines Co I.

(4)
Jack Jiajia Huang holds 61.25% of the equity interest in Dasheng Zhixing; Ting Shu, our co-founder, director and senior vice president, holds 26.25% of the equity interest in Dasheng Zhixing; Ling Chen, an affiliate of an angel investor of our company, holds 12.50% of the equity interest in Dasheng Zhixing.

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Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company

        As a company less than with US$1.0 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 America's 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, or Section 404, in the assessment of the emerging growth company's 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. However, we have elected to "opt out" of this provision and, as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards as required when they are adopted for public companies. This decision to opt out of the extended transition period under the JOBS Act is irrevocable.

        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$1.0 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 our 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 to be an emerging growth company, we will not be entitled to the exemptions provided in the JOBS Act discussed above.

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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             shares from us; and

        Except where the context otherwise requires and for purposes of this prospectus only:

    a lesson is considered "booked" when it is taken or when the student to such lesson is confirmed absent;

    an "active student" for a specified period refers to a student who booked at least one paid lesson;

    "ADSs" refer to our American depositary shares, each represents            ordinary shares;

    "China" or "PRC" refer to the People's Republic of China, excluding, for the purpose of this prospectus only, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau;

    "gross billings" for a specific period refer to the total amount of cash received for the sale of course packages in such period, net of the total amount of refunds in such period;

    a "new paying student" for a specified period refers to a paying student during the period that had not purchased a course package in any prior period;

    "ordinary shares" refer to the ordinary shares of China Online Education Group, par value US$0.0001 per share;

    a "paying student" for a specified period refers to a student that purchased a course package during the period, and the total number of "paying students" for a specified period refers to the total number of paying students for such period minus the total number of students that obtained refunds during such period;

    "preferred shares" refer collectively to series A, series B, series C and series D convertible and redeemable preferred shares of China Online Education Group, par value US$0.0001 per share;

    "RMB" or "Renminbi" refers to the legal currency of China;

    "US$," "dollars" or "U.S. dollars" refers to the legal currency of the United States; and

    "we," "us," "our company," "our," and "COE" refer to China Online Education Group, a Cayman Islands company, and its subsidiaries, and, in the context of describing our operations and consolidated financial information, also include its consolidated variable interest entities.

        This prospectus contains information and statistics relating to China's economy and the industries in which we operate derived from various publications issued by market research companies and PRC governmental entities, which have not been independently verified by us, the underwriters or any of their respective affiliates or advisers. The information in such sources may not be consistent with other information compiled in or outside China.

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The Offering

Offering price

  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)

Ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering

 

        ordinary shares (or        ordinary shares if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be outstanding, par value US$0.0001 per share.

ADSs outstanding immediately after this offering

 

        ADSs (or        ADSs if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full)

The ADSs

 

Each ADS represents        ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share. The depositary will hold the ordinary shares underlying your 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 ordinary shares, the depositary will pay you the cash dividends and other distributions it receives on our ordinary shares, after deducting its fees and expenses in accordance with the terms set forth in the deposit agreement.

 

You may turn in your ADSs to the depositary in exchange for 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 your 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.

Over-allotment option

 

We have granted to the underwriters an option, which is exercisable within 30 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to an aggregate of        additional ADSs.

Use of proceeds

 

We expect to receive net proceeds of approximately US$        million from this offering, assuming an initial public offering price of US$        per ADS, which is the midpoint of the estimated range of the initial public offering price, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

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The primary purposes of this offering are to create a public market for our shares for the benefit of all shareholders, retain talented employees by providing them with equity incentives and obtain additional capital. We plan to use the net proceeds of this offering primarily for general corporate purposes, which may include investing in sales and marketing activities, course development, technology infrastructure, capital expenditures and other general and administrative matters. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds for investing in, or acquiring, complementary businesses, although we have not identified any near-term investment or acquisition targets. See "Use of Proceeds" for additional information.

Lock-up

 

[We, our directors and executive officers, our existing shareholders and certain of our option holders have agreed with the underwriters, subject to certain exceptions, not to sell, transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any of our ADSs or ordinary shares or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our ADSs or ordinary shares for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus.] See "Shares Eligible for Future Sale" and "Underwriting" for more information.

Listing

 

We intend to apply to have the ADSs listed on the [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market] under the symbol "       ." Our ADSs and ordinary shares will not be listed on any other stock exchange or traded on any automated quotation system.

Payment and settlement

 

The underwriters expect to deliver the ADSs against payment therefor through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company on            , 2016.

Depositary

   

[Directed share program

 

At our request, the underwriters have reserved for sale, at the initial public offering price, up to an aggregate of        ADSs offered in this offering to our directors, officers, employees, business associates and related persons.]

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Our Summary Consolidated Financial Data and Operating Data

        The following summary consolidated statements of comprehensive loss data for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, summary consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and summary consolidated cash flow data for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The following summary consolidated statements of comprehensive loss for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016, summary consolidated balance sheet data as of March 31, 2016 and summary consolidated cash flow data for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016 have been derived from our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus and have been prepared on the same basis as our audited consolidated financial statements and include all adjustments, consisting only of normal and recurring adjustments, that we consider necessary for a fair presentation of our financial position and operating results for the periods presented. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of results expected for future periods. You should read this Summary Consolidated Financial Data section together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 
  For the Year Ended December 31,   For the Three Months Ended March 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015   2015   2016  
 
  RMB   RMB   RMB   US$   RMB   RMB   US$  
 
  (in thousands, except for share, per share and per ADS data)
 

Summary Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss:

                                           

Net revenues

    21,665     52,210     154,675     23,878     24,374     72,191     11,196  

Cost of revenues

    (9,302 )   (22,214 )   (59,668 )   (9,211 )   (9,816 )   (26,308 )   (4,080 )

Gross profit

    12,363     29,996     95,007     14,667     14,558     45,883     7,116  

Operating expenses:

                                           

Sales and marketing

    (17,124 )   (81,269 )   (297,337 )   (45,901 )   (49,050 )   (94,245 )   (14,616 )

Product development

    (3,018 )   (10,781 )   (54,597 )   (8,428 )   (7,153 )   (26,542 )   (4,116 )

General and administrative

    (8,597 )   (31,553 )   (64,903 )   (10,019 )   (9,337 )   (25,658 )   (3,979 )

Total operating expenses

    (28,739 )   (123,603 )   (416,837 )   (64,348 )   (65,540 )   (146,445 )   (22,711 )

Loss from operations

    (16,376 )   (93,607 )   (321,830 )   (49,681 )   (50,982 )   (100,562 )   (15,595 )

Interest and other (expense)/income, net

    (710 )   (1,213 )   (353 )   (54 )   (322 )   1,666     258  

Loss before income tax expenses

    (17,086 )   (94,820 )   (322,183 )   (49,735 )   (51,304 )   (98,896 )   (15,337 )

Income tax expenses

    (710 )   (6,882 )   (4,903 )   (757 )   (2,399 )   (362 )   (56 )

Net loss

    (17,796 )   (101,702 )   (327,086 )   (50,492 )   (53,703 )   (99,258 )   (15,393 )

Accretions to preferred shares redemption value

    (322 )   (23,020 )   (75,665 )   (11,681 )   (11,368 )   (49,815 )   (7,726 )

Deemed dividends at re-designation of ordinary shares to preferred shares

    (2,309 )   (5,665 )                    

Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders

    (20,427 )   (130,387 )   (402,751 )   (62,173 )   (65,071 )   (149,073 )   (23,119 )

Net loss

    (17,796 )   (101,702 )   (327,086 )   (50,492 )   (53,703 )   (99,258 )   (15,393 )

Other comprehensive (loss)/income:

                                           

Foreign currency translation adjustments

    (571 )   2,308     3,014     465     (94 )   581     90  

Total comprehensive loss

    (18,367 )   (99,394 )   (324,072 )   (50,027 )   (53,797 )   (98,677 )   (15,303 )

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing basic and diluted loss per share

    84,660,041     76,308,165     72,267,532     72,267,532     72,267,532     72,267,532     72,267,532  

Net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders

    (0.24 )   (1.71 )   (5.57 )   (0.86 )   (0.90 )   (2.06 )   (0.32 )

Loss per ADS (1)

                                           

Basic

                                           

Diluted

                                           

Non-GAAP Financial Measure (2)

   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
 

Gross billings

    36,097     116,921     353,277     54,537     53,302     154,770     24,003  

Notes:

(1)
Each ADS represents                ordinary shares.

(2)
For discussions of gross billings and reconciliation of gross billings to net revenues, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Non-GAAP Financial Measure."

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        The following table presents our summary consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and March 31, 2016.

 
  As of December 31,   As of March 31, 2016  
 
  2013   2014   2015    
   
   
   
 
 
   
   
  RMB
Pro forma (1)
  US$
Pro forma (1)
 
 
  RMB   RMB   RMB   US$   RMB   US$  
 
  (in thousands)
 

Summary Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

                                                 

Cash and cash equivalents

    61,502     209,774     46,873     7,236     76,873     11,922     76,873     11,922  

Total assets

    63,496     227,067     291,550     45,008     278,897     43,253     278,897     43,253  

Deferred revenues

    16,479     78,416     272,176     42,017     348,136     53,991     348,136     53,991  

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

    5,861     25,155     84,323     13,017     92,120     14,287     92,120     14,287  

Total liabilities

    24,162     115,813     377,867     58,333     463,503     71,883     463,503     71,883  

Total mezzanine equity

    65,531     277,723     478,962     73,939     528,777     82,007          

Total shareholders' deficit

    (26,197 )   (166,469 )   (565,279 )   (87,264 )   (713,383 )   (110,637 )   (184,606 )   (28,630 )

Notes:

(1)
All of the preferred shares will automatically convert into ordinary shares at the applicable conversion price upon closing of a qualified initial public offering. The unaudited pro forma balance sheet information as of March 31, 2016 assumes the automatic conversion of all of the outstanding preferred shares into ordinary shares on a one-to-one basis, as if conversion had occurred as of March 31, 2016.

        The following table presents our summary consolidated cash flow data for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, as well as the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016.

 
  For the Year Ended December 31,   For the Three Months
Ended March 31,
 
 
  2013   2014   2015   2015   2016  
 
  RMB   RMB   RMB   US$   RMB   RMB   US$  
 
  (in thousands)
 

Summary Consolidated Cash Flow Data:

                                           

Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities

    1,956     (15,461 )   (104,020 )   (16,058 )   (13,351 )   (3,719 )   (577 )

Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities

    (386 )   (7,814 )   (192,884 )   (29,776 )   (6,520 )   34,585     5,364  

Net cash provided by financing activities

    59,273     169,724     125,574     19,385              

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

    (565 )   1,823     8,429     1,301     82     (866 )   (134 )

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

    60,278     148,272     (162,901 )   (25,148 )   (19,789 )   30,000     4,653  

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period

    1,224     61,502     209,774     32,384     209,774     46,873     7,269  

Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period

    61,502     209,774     46,873     7,236     189,985     76,873     11,922  

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Summary Operating Data

        The following table presents summary operating data for the periods indicated:

 
  For the Year Ended
December 31,
  For the Three
Months Ended
March 31,
 
 
  2013   2014   2015   2015   2016  

Summary Operating Data:

                               

Active students (1) (in thousands)

    15.2     35.0     86.5     32.4     71.9  

Paying students (2) (in thousands)

    13.9     28.8     68.5     13.2     26.4  

Average spending per paying student (in RMB thousands)

    2.6     4.1     5.2     4.0     5.9  

Notes:

(1)
an "active student" for a specific period refers to a student who booked at least one paid lesson. A lesson is considered "booked" when it is taken or when the student to such lesson is confirmed absent.

(2)
a "paying student" for a specified period refers to a student that purchased a course package, either prepaid credit or prepaid membership, during the period, and the total number of "paying students" for a specified period refers to the total number of paying students for such period minus the total number of students that obtained refunds during such period.

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RISK FACTORS

         An investment in our ADSs involves significant risks. You should carefully consider all of the information in this prospectus, including the risks and uncertainties described below, before making an investment in our ADSs. Any of the following risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In any such case, the market price of our ADSs could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

We have a limited operating history with our current business model, which makes it difficult to predict our future prospects and financial performance.

        We have a short operating history with our current business model. Our operations since inception have generated limited gross billings and revenues, and may not produce significant gross billings and revenues in the near term, or at all, which may harm our ability to obtain additional financing and may require us to reduce or discontinue our operations. If we do generate significant gross billings and revenues in the future, we expect it will be largely from the sale of our English course packages on our online and mobile education platforms, which are in an immature industry. You must consider our business and prospects in light of the risks and difficulties we may encounter as an early - stage operating company in a new and rapidly evolving industry. We may not be able to successfully address these risks and difficulties, which could significantly harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

If we are not able to continue to attract students to purchase our course packages and to increase the spending of our students on our platform, our business and prospects will be materially and adversely affected.

        Our ability to continue to attract students to purchase our course packages, as well as our ability to persuade students to increase their spending on our education platform, are critical to the continued success and growth of our business. This in turn will depend on several factors, including our ability to effectively market our platform to a broader base of prospective students, continue to develop, adapt or enhance quality educational content and services to meet the evolving demands of our existing or prospective students and expand our geographic reach. We must also manage our growth while maintaining consistent and high teaching quality, and respond effectively to competitive pressures. If we are unable to continue to attract students to purchase our course packages and to increase the spending of our students on our platform, our gross billings and net revenues may decline, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business depends on the market recognition of our brand, and if we are unable to maintain and enhance our brand recognition, our business, financial conditions and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

        We believe that the market recognition of our 51Talk brand has significantly contributed to the success of our business and that maintaining and enhancing the reputation of our brand is critical to sustaining our competitive advantages. Our ability to maintain and enhance our brand recognition and reputation depends primarily on the perceived effectiveness and quality of our curriculum and teachers, as well as the success of our branding efforts. In 2015 we engaged Ms. Li Na, a well-known Chinese tennis player, to be our brand ambassador. Our branding efforts however may not be successful or may inadvertently impact our brand recognition and reputation negatively. If we are unable to maintain and further enhance our brand recognition and reputation and promote awareness of our platform, we may not be able to maintain our current level of student base, fees and engage qualified teachers, and our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, any negative publicity relating to our company, our courses, teachers and platform or our brand ambassador, regardless of its veracity, could harm our brand image and in turn materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

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If we are unable to conduct our sales and marketing activities cost-effectively, our results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

        We have incurred significant sales and marketing expenses. Our sales expenses include telemarketing sales and free trial lesson related expenses, and marketing expenses include online and mobile marketing and branding expenses. The number of our sales and marketing staff increased from 138 as of December 31, 2013 to 736 as of December 31, 2014, and further to 1,837 as of December 31, 2015, and further to 1,936 (including 731 full-time employees and 1,205 Outsourced Personnel) as of March 31, 2016. We incurred a total of RMB17.1 million, RMB81.3 million, RMB297.3 million (US$45.9 million) and RMB94.2 million (US$14.6 million) of sales and marketing expenses in 2013, 2014, 2015 and in the three months ended March 31, 2016, respectively. In December 2015, we began outsourcing part of our marketing and sales functions to independent third party suppliers who provide management and business outsourcing services to us. As of March 31, 2016, 714 of our previous employees had terminated their employment with us and established employment relationships with the third party suppliers that provide outsourcing services to us.

        Our sales activities may not be well received by students and may not result in the levels of sales that we anticipate and our trial lessons may not be attractive to our prospective students. Furthermore, we may not be able to achieve the operational efficiency necessary to increase the gross billings per sales and marketing staff. We also may not be able to retain or recruit experienced sales staff, or to efficiently train junior sales staff. Further, marketing and branding approaches and tools in the online education market in China are evolving, especially for mobile platforms. This further requires us to enhance our marketing and branding approaches and experiment with new methods to keep pace with industry developments and student preferences. Failure to refine our existing marketing and branding approaches or to introduce new marketing and branding approaches in a cost-effective manner could reduce our market share, cause our revenues to decline and negatively impact our profitability.

We have incurred, and in the future may continue to incur, net losses.

        We have incurred net losses since our inception. We experienced net losses of RMB17.8 million, RMB101.7 million and RMB327.1 million (US$50.5 million) in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2016, we had a net loss of RMB99.3 million (US$15.4 million), compared to a net loss of RMB53.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015. We had accumulated deficit of RMB25.6 million, RMB168.1 million, RMB570.0 million (US$88.0 million) and RMB718.6 million (US$111.5 million) as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively.

        We cannot assure you that we will be able to generate net profits or positive cash flow from operating activities in the future. Our ability to achieve profitability will depend in large part on our ability to increase our operating margin, either by growing our revenues at a rate faster than our operating expenses increase, or by reducing our operating expenses, especially our sales and market expenses, as a percentage of our net revenues. Accordingly, we intend to continue to invest in our branding and marketing activities to attract new students, improve our online and mobile platforms and data analytics capabilities to enhance student experience. As a result of the foregoing, we believe that we may incur net losses for some time in the future.

If we are not able to continue to engage, train and retain qualified teachers, we may not be able to maintain consistent teaching quality on our platform, and our business, financial conditions and operating results may be materially and adversely affected.

        Our teachers are critical to the learning experience of our students and our reputation. We seek to engage highly qualified teachers with strong English and teaching skills. We must provide competitive pay and other benefits, such as flexibility in lesson scheduling to attract and retain them. We must also provide ongoing training to our teachers to ensure that they stay abreast of changes in course materials, student demands and other changes and trends necessary to teach effectively. Furthermore, as we continue to develop new course contents and lesson formats, we may need to engage additional teachers with

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appropriate skill sets or backgrounds to deliver instructions effectively. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to effectively engage and train such teachers quickly, or at all. Further, given other potential more attractive opportunities for our quality teachers, over time some of them may choose to leave our platform. For teachers who advanced to a rating of between three and five stars in the first quarter of 2015, approximately 63% of them were still with us and opened teaching slots on our platform in the first quarter of 2016. We have not experienced major difficulties in engaging, training or retaining qualified teachers in the past, however, we may not always be able to engage, train and retain enough qualified teachers to keep pace with our growth while maintaining consistent education quality. We may also face significant competition in engaging qualified teachers from our competitors or from other opportunities that are perceived as more desirable. A shortage of qualified teachers, a decrease in the quality of our teachers' performance, whether actual or perceived, or a significant increase in the cost to engage or retain qualified teachers would have a material adverse effect on our business and financial conditions and results of operations.

We face significant competition, and if we fail to compete effectively, we may lose our market share or fail to gain additional market share, which would adversely impact our business and financial conditions and operating results.

        The English education market in China is fragmented, rapidly evolving and highly competitive. We face competition in general English proficiency education, as well as in K-12, test preparation and other specialized areas of English education, from existing online and offline education companies. In the future, we may also face competition from new entrants into the English education market.

        Some of our competitors may be able to devote more resources than we can to the development, promotion and provision of their education programs and respond more quickly than we can to changes in student demands, market trends or new technologies. In addition, some of our competitors may be able to respond more quickly to changes in student preferences or engage in price-cutting strategies. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully against current or future competitors. If we are unable to maintain our competitive position or otherwise respond to competitive pressure effectively, we may lose market share or be forced to reduce our fees for our course packages, either of which would adversely impact our profitability.

If we fail to successfully execute our growth strategies, our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

        Our growth strategies include further enhancing our brand image to grow our student base and increase student enrollments, increasing our market penetration amongst K-12 students, expanding our course offerings, enhancing our teaching methods, improving the learning experience of our students, and advancing our technology. We may not succeed in executing these growth strategies due to a number of factors, including the following:

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        If we fail to successfully execute our growth strategies, we may not be able to maintain our growth rate and our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected as a result.

If we fail to develop and introduce new courses that meet our existing and target students' expectations, or adopt new technologies important to our business, our competitive position and ability to generate revenues may be materially and adversely affected.

        Historically, our core business centered on English education to adults with our Classic English course. We have since expanded our course offerings to target K-12 students, as well as a broader range of situation-based English education and test preparation targeting a wide range of student demographics. In addition to one-on-one lessons with Filipino teachers, we have also introduced lessons with Western teachers and Chinese tutors to provide our students a broader selection of teachers and course formats. We intend to continue developing new courses. The timing of the introduction of new courses is subject to risks and uncertainties. Unexpected technical, operational, logistical or other problems could delay or prevent the introduction of one or more new courses. Moreover, we cannot assure you that any of these courses or programs will match the quality or popularity of those developed by our competitors, achieve widespread market acceptance or contribute the desired level of income.

        The effectiveness of our program depends on the success of our personalized learning approach to English education, which in turn is determined by the efficiency of our data analytics know-how. We might not be able to continue to efficiently monitor and analyze relevant data important for us to provide a personalized learning experience for our students, or to continue to drive our teaching training, curriculum development and other operational aspects of our platform.

        Technology standards in internet and value-added telecommunications services and products in general, and in online education in particular, may change over time. If we fail to anticipate and adapt to technological changes, our market share and our business development could suffer, which in turn could have a material and adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. If we are unsuccessful in addressing any of the risks related to new courses, our reputation and business may be materially and adversely affected.

Unexpected network interruptions, security breaches or computer virus attacks and system failures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

        Our business depends on the performance and reliability of the internet infrastructure in China and the Philippines. In China, almost all access to the internet is maintained through state-controlled telecommunications operators. In many parts of China and the Philippines, the internet infrastructure is relatively underdeveloped, and internet connections are generally slower and less stable than in more developed countries. We cannot assure you that the internet infrastructure in China and the Philippines will remain sufficiently reliable for our needs or that either country will ever develop and make available more reliable internet access to our students and teacher. Any failure to maintain the performance, reliability, security or availability of our network infrastructure may cause significant damage to our ability to attract and retain students and teachers. Major risks involving our network infrastructure include:

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        Any network interruption or inadequacy that causes interruptions in the availability of our online and mobile platforms or deterioration in the quality of access to our online and mobile platforms could reduce student satisfaction and result in a reduction in the activity level of our students and the number of students purchasing our course packages. For example, in November 2013, the internet infrastructure in the Philippines was significantly disrupted by typhoons. During that period, a significant number of our teachers in the Philippines were not able to access our platform and deliver paid lessons. If sustained or repeated, these performance issues could reduce the attractiveness of our platform. Furthermore, increases in the volume of traffic on our online and mobile platforms could strain the capacity of our existing computer systems and bandwidth, which could lead to slower response times or system failures. The internet infrastructure in China and in the Philippines may not support the demands associated with continued growth in internet usage. This would cause a disruption or suspension in our lesson delivery, which could hurt our brand and reputation. We may need to incur additional costs to upgrade our technology infrastructure and computer systems in order to accommodate increased demand if we anticipate that our systems cannot handle higher volumes of traffic in the future.

        All of our servers and routers, including backup servers, are currently hosted by third-party service providers in multiple cities in China. We do not maintain any backup servers outside of these cities. We also rely on major telecommunication companies to provide us with data communications capacity primarily through local telecommunications lines and internet data centers to host our servers. We may not have access to alternative services and we have no control over the costs of services. If the prices that we pay for telecommunications and internet services in China and the Philippines rise significantly, our gross profit and net income could be adversely affected. In addition, if internet access fees or other charges to internet users increase, our visitor traffic may decrease, which in turn may harm our revenues.

We use the streaming technology and infrastructure of YY to deliver lessons to our students and to conduct teacher training. Any interruption to or discontinuation of our cooperative relationship with YY may severely and negatively impact our ability to deliver our course content to students.

        We use the technology of YY, to deliver audio and video data, and their technology is important to our ongoing ability to operate our online and mobile education platforms. In June 2014, we entered into a five-year technology service agreement with Guangzhou Huaduo Network Technology Company Limited, or Guangzhou Huaduo, an affiliated entity of YY, which was amended in December 2015. This agreement provides us with the right to use the audio and video streaming technology and infrastructure from YY. YY also provides technology support and services to us pursuant to this agreement. In February 2016, we entered into a four-year license agreement with Shanghai Zhaoyan Network Technology Company Limited, or Shanghai Zhaoyan, as an additional service provider for audio and video data delivery and to enhance the compatibility of our platforms on Mac.

        Licensed technology and intellectual property rights from third parties, including YY, may not continue to be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. Our agreement with Guangzhou Huaduo is terminable and provide limited recourse for service interruptions. Any loss of the right to use any of this technology could result in delays in delivering our lessons or to conduct teacher training until equivalent technology is identified and integrated, which could harm our business. Any interruption to or discontinuation of our cooperative relationship with YY, despite our current attempts to integrate the technology of Shanghai Zhaoyan and our in-house technology development efforts, may severely and adversely impact our ability to deliver our lessons to students. In this situation we would be required to either redesign our solutions to function with technology available from other parties or to develop these components ourselves more quickly, which would result in increased costs or interruption of our platform, which could harm our students' learning experience and our reputation. If we fail to maintain or renegotiate any of these technology or intellectual property licenses, we could face significant delays and the diversion of resources in attempting to develop similar or replacement technology, or to license and integrate a functional equivalent of the technology we use from YY.

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Higher labor costs, inflation and implementation of stricter labor laws in the PRC or in the Philippines may adversely affect our business, financial conditions and results of operations.

        Labor costs in China have increased with China's economic development, particularly in the large cities where our offices are based. Rising inflation in China is also putting pressure on wages and the average wage level for our employees has also increased in recent years. In addition, we are required by PRC laws and regulations to pay various statutory employee benefits, including pensions, housing funds, medical insurance, work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance to designated governmental agencies for the benefit of our employees. We expect that our labor costs, including wages and employee benefits, will continue to increase. Unless we are able to pass on these increased labor costs to our students by increasing prices for our courses or improving the utilization of our staff, our profitability and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, the PRC government has promulgated new laws and regulations to enhance labor protections in recent years, such as the Labor Contract Law and the Social Insurance Law. As the interpretation and implementation of these new laws and regulations are still evolving, our employment practice may not at all times be deemed in compliance with the new laws and regulations. For instance, we began outsourcing part of our marketing and sales functions to independent third party suppliers who provide management and business outsourcing services to us in December 2015. There remains a degree of uncertainty as to whether this service outsourcing arrangement will be deemed a labor dispatch arrangement under current PRC laws and regulations. If the authorities take the view that this outsourcing arrangement constitutes labor dispatch and thus violates relevant labor laws, we may be ordered to terminate this outsource arrangement and may even be fined or have our business license revoked if the relevant authorities deem such arrangement constitutes a serious violation of the PRC laws and regulations. If we are subject to penalties or incur significant liabilities in connection with labor disputes or investigation, our business and profitability may be adversely affected.

        In addition, our future success depends, to a significant extent, on our ability to engage, train and retain qualified personnel in the Philippines, particularly experienced teachers with expertise in English education. Our experienced mid-level managers in the Philippines are instrumental in implementing our business strategies, executing our business plans and supporting our business operations and growth. We benefit from lower labor costs in the Philippines, but the Philippines is subject to a relatively high degrees of political and social instability. Disruptions resulting from this instability could decrease our efficiency and increase our costs. Any political or economic instability in the Philippines could result in our having to replace or reduce these labor sources, which may increase our labor costs and have an adverse impact on our results of operations.

        We engage our teachers in the Philippines as independent contractors, whose rights are different from those of employees. Under Philippine labor laws, the level and extent of control exercised by the hiring entity would determine the employment status. Our labor costs will increase if we engage our teachers in the Philippines as full-time employees or if courts or relevant authorities in the Philippines determine that our teachers are deemed employees.

        We also rely on a third-party vendor in Hong Kong to handle the payment of the compensation of our teachers in the Philippines. Any failure of this vendor to provide these services may negatively impact our relationships with teachers in the Philippines, damage our reputation and cause us to lose teachers while making it difficult to find replacement teachers.

Some students may decide not to continue taking our courses for a number of reasons, including a perceived lack of improvement in their English proficiency or general dissatisfaction with our programs, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and reputation.

        The success of our business depends in large part on our ability to retain our students by delivering a satisfactory learning experience and improving their English proficiency. If students feel that we are not providing them the experience they are seeking, they may choose not to renew their existing packages. For example, our education programs may fail to significantly improve a student's English proficiency. There

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are no standard assessments or tests to measure the effectiveness of our lessons or teaching methods, and our ability to improve the English proficiency of our students is largely dependent upon the interests, efforts and time commitment of each student. Student and, for K-12 students, parent satisfaction with our programs may decline for a number of reasons, many of which may not reflect the effectiveness of our lessons and teaching methods. A student's learning experience may also suffer if his or her relationship with our teachers and teaching assistants does not meet expectations. We have observed an increase in forfeiture rate historically, which may negatively impact the perceived effectiveness of our curriculum and the level of student engagement on our platform. The active rates of our new paying students have generally been increasing compared to our earlier students. See "Business—Our Strengths—Rapidly-increasing student base and engagement." However, if a significant number of students fail to significantly improve their English proficiency after taking our lessons or if their learning experiences with us are unsatisfactory, they may not purchase additional lessons from us or refer other students to us and our business, financial condition, results of operations and reputation would be adversely affected.

Our failure to protect our intellectual property rights may undermine our competitive position, and litigation to protect our intellectual property rights or defend against third party allegations of infringement may be costly and ineffective.

        We believe that our copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property are essential to our success. We depend to a large extent on our ability to develop and maintain the intellectual property rights relating to our technology and course materials. We have devoted considerable time and energy to the development and improvement of our websites, mobile apps, our Air Class platform and our course materials.

        We rely primarily on copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and other contractual restrictions for the protection of the intellectual property used in our business. Nevertheless, these provide only limited protection and the actions we take to protect our intellectual property rights may not be adequate. Our trade secrets may become known or be independently discovered by our competitors. Third parties may in the future pirate our course materials and may infringe upon or misappropriate our other intellectual property. Infringement upon or the misappropriation of, our proprietary technologies or other intellectual property could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or operating results. Policing the unauthorized use of proprietary technology can be difficult and expensive.

        Also, litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights, protect our trade secrets or determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. Such litigation may be costly and divert management's attention away from our business. An adverse determination in any such litigation would impair our intellectual property rights and may harm our business, prospects and reputation. Enforcement of judgments in China is uncertain, and even if we are successful in litigation, it may not provide us with an effective remedy. In addition, we have no insurance coverage against litigation costs and would have to bear all costs arising from such litigation to the extent we are unable to recover them from other parties. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may encounter disputes from time to time relating to our use of intellectual property of third parties.

        We cannot be certain that third parties will not claim that our business infringes upon or otherwise violates patents, copyrights or other intellectual property rights that they hold. We cannot assure you that third parties will not claim that our courses and marketing materials, online courses, products, and platform or other intellectual property developed or used by us infringe upon valid copyrights or other intellectual property rights that they hold. We may be subject to claims by educational institutions and organizations, content providers and publishers, competitors and others on the grounds of intellectual property rights infringement, defamation, negligence or other legal theories based on the content of the materials that we or our teachers distribute or use in our business operation. These types of claims have been brought, sometimes successfully, against print publications and educational institutions in the past. We may encounter disputes from time to time over rights and obligations concerning intellectual property,

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and we may not prevail in those disputes. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not been able to register one of our Chinese trade-names, WuYouYingYu ( GRAPHIC ), as a trademark in the PRC for our business category.

        Any claims against us, with or without merit, could be time consuming and costly to defend or litigate, divert our management's attention and resources or result in the loss of goodwill associated with our brand. If a lawsuit against us is successful, we may be required to pay substantial damages and/or enter into royalty or license agreements that may not be based upon commercially reasonable terms, or we may be unable to enter into such agreements at all. We may also lose, or be limited in, the rights to offer some of our programs, parts of our platform and products or be required to make changes to our course materials or websites. As a result, the scope of our course materials could be reduced, which could adversely affect the effectiveness of our curriculum, limit our ability to attract new students, harm our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.

Failure to protect confidential information of our teachers and students against security breaches could damage our reputation and brand and substantially harm our business and results of operations.

        A significant challenge to the online education industry is the secure storage of confidential information and its secure transmission over public networks. Other than purchases made by our corporate partners, all purchases of our course packages are made through our website and our mobile apps. In addition, online payments for our course packages are settled through third-party online payment services. Maintaining complete security for the storage and transmission of confidential information on our technology platform, such as student names, personal information and billing addresses, is essential to maintaining student confidence.

        We have adopted security policies and measures to protect our proprietary data and student information. However, advances in technology, the expertise of hackers, new discoveries in the field of cryptography or other events or developments could result in a compromise or breach of the technology that we use to protect confidential information. We may not be able to prevent third parties, especially hackers or other individuals or entities engaging in similar activities, from illegally obtaining such confidential or private information we hold as a result of our students' visits to our website and use of our mobile apps. Such individuals or entities obtaining our students' confidential or private information may further engage in various other illegal activities using such information. Any negative publicity on our website's or mobile apps' safety or privacy protection mechanisms and policies, and any claims asserted against us or fines imposed upon us as a result of actual or perceived failures, could have a material and adverse effect on our public image, reputation, financial condition and results of operations.

        Practices regarding the collection, use, storage, transmission and security of personal information by companies operating over the internet and mobile platforms have recently come under increased public scrutiny. Increased regulation by the PRC government of data privacy on the internet is likely and we may become subject to new laws and regulations applying to the solicitation, collection, processing or use of personal or consumer information that could affect how we store and process the data of our teachers and students. We generally comply with industry standards and are subject to the terms of our own privacy policies. Compliance with any additional laws could be expensive, and may place restrictions on the conduct of our business and the manner in which we interact with our students. Any failure to comply with applicable regulations could also result in regulatory enforcement actions against us.

        Significant capital and other resources may be required to protect against information security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by such breaches or to comply with our privacy policies or privacy-related legal obligations. The resources required may increase over time as the methods used by hackers and others engaged in online criminal activities are increasingly sophisticated and constantly evolving. Any failure or perceived failure by us to prevent information security breaches or to comply with privacy policies or privacy-related legal obligations, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of personally identifiable information or other student data, could cause our students to lose trust in us and could expose us to legal claims. Any perception by the public that online transactions or the privacy of user information are becoming increasingly unsafe or vulnerable to attacks could inhibit the growth of online education services generally, which may negatively impact our business prospects.

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Territorial disputes between China and the Philippines may disrupt the Philippine economy and business environment, which may negatively impact our business operations in the Philippines.

        The Philippines, China and several Southeast Asian nations have been engaged in a series of long-standing territorial disputes over certain islands in the South China Sea, also known as the West Philippine Sea. The Philippines maintains that its claim over the disputed territories is supported by recognized principles of international law consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Philippines made several efforts during the course of 2011 and 2012 to establish a framework for resolving these disputes, calling for multilateral talks to delineate territorial rights and establish a framework for resolving disputes.

        In May 2014, Vietnamese ships collided with Chinese vessels in an area that both nations lay claim to, and where China is said to be setting up an oil rig. Also in May 2014, a Vietnamese fishing boat sank near the oil rig, and Vietnam released video footage showing a Chinese vessel gunning down the Vietnamese fishing boat. This incident has caused serious concerns for other Asian countries.

        Should these territorial disputes continue or escalate further, the Philippines and its economy may be disrupted and our operations could be adversely affected as a result. In particular, further disputes between the Philippines and China may lead both countries to impose trade restrictions on the other's imports. Any such impact from these disputes could adversely affect the Philippine economy, and materially and adversely affect our business, financial position and financial performance.

        Furthermore, as most of our teachers are from the Philippines, any significant deterioration in China's political relations with the Philippines could make it more difficult for us to attract teachers or hire employees in the Philippines, and discourage some of our students from purchasing our course packages or our teachers from offering lessons. Any prolonged intense diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines may adversely affect our business.

Our brand image, business and results of operations may be adversely impacted by students and teachers' misconduct and misuse of our platform.

        Our platforms allows teachers and students to engage in real-time communication. Because we do not have full control over how and what our teachers and students will use our platform to communicate, our platforms may from time to time be misused by individuals or groups of individuals to engage in immoral, disrespectful, fraudulent or illegal activities. Though there have not been any such incidents on our platform that have been covered by media reports or internet forums, any such coverage could generate negative publicity about our brand and platform. We have implemented control procedures, such as training and sample auditing, to require our teachers not to distribute any illegal or inappropriate content and conduct any illegal or fraudulent activities on our platforms, but such procedures may not prevent all such content or activities from being posted or carried out. Moreover, as we have limited control over the real-time and offline behavior of our students and teachers, to the extent such behavior is associated with our platforms, our ability to protect our brand image and reputation may be limited. Our business and the public perception of our brand may be materially and adversely affected by misuse of our platform. In addition, if any of our students or teachers suffers or alleges to have suffered physical, financial or emotional harm following contact initiated on our platform, we may face civil lawsuits or other liabilities initiated by the affected student or teacher, or governmental or regulatory actions against us. In response to allegations of illegal or inappropriate activities conducted on our platform or any negative media coverage about us, PRC governmental authorities may intervene and hold us liable for non-compliance with PRC laws and regulations concerning the dissemination of information on the internet and subject us to administrative penalties or other sanctions, such as requiring us to restrict or discontinue some of the features and services provided on our platform. As a result, our business may suffer and our brand image, student base, results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

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Our employees may engage in misconduct or other improper activities or misuse our platform, which could harm our reputation.

        We are exposed to the risk of employee fraud or other misconduct. Employee misconduct could include intentionally failing to comply government regulations, engaging in unauthorized activities and misrepresentation to our potential students during marketing activities, which could harm our reputation. Employee misconduct could also involve improper use of our students' and teachers' sensitive or classified information, which could result in regulatory sanctions against us and serious harm to our reputation. Employee misconduct could also involve making payments to government officials or third parties that would expose us to being in violation of laws. It is not always possible to deter employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be subject to allegations, harassment or other detrimental conduct by third parties, which could harm our reputation and adversely affect the price of our ADSs.

        We may be subject to allegations by third parties or purported current or former employees, negative internet postings and other adverse publicity related to our business and operations. We may also become the target of harassment or other detrimental conduct by third parties or disgruntled former or current employees. Such conduct may include complaints, anonymous or otherwise, to our board, advisors, regulatory agencies, media or other organizations. Depending on their nature and significance, we may need to conduct internal investigations to appropriately review any such allegations. We may also be subject to government or regulatory inquiries or, investigations or other proceedings as a result of such third-party conduct and may be required to spend significant time and incur substantial costs to address such conduct, and there is no assurance that we will be able to conclusively refute each of the allegations within a reasonable period of time, or at all. Additionally, allegations, directly or indirectly against us, may be posted on the internet, including social media platforms, by anyone anonymously. Any negative publicity about us or our management can be quickly and widely disseminated. Social media platforms and devices immediately publish the content of their subscribers' and participants' posts, often without filters or checks on the accuracy of the content posted. Information posted may be inaccurate and adverse to us, and it may harm our reputation, business or prospects. The harm may be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction. Our reputation may be negatively affected as a result of the public dissemination of negative and potentially false information about our business and operations, which in turn may cause us to lose market share or students, and adversely affect the price of our ADSs.

We may not be able to achieve the benefits we expect from recent and future acquisitions, and recent and future acquisitions may have an adverse effect on our ability to manage our business.

        We have made and intend to continue to make acquisitions or equity investments in additional businesses that complement our existing business. We may not be able to successfully integrate acquired businesses and we may not have control over the businesses or operations of our minority equity investments, the value of which may decline over time. As a result, our business and operating results could be harmed. In addition, if the businesses we acquire or invest in do not subsequently generate the anticipated financial performance or if any goodwill impairment test triggering event occurs, we may need to revalue or write down the value of goodwill and other intangible assets in connection with such acquisitions or investments, which would harm our results of operations. In addition, we may be unable to identify appropriate acquisition or strategic investment targets when it is necessary or desirable to make such acquisition or investment to remain competitive or to expand our business. Even if we identify an appropriate acquisition or investment target, we may not be able to negotiate the terms of the acquisition or investment successfully, finance the proposed transaction or integrate the relevant businesses into our existing business and operations. Furthermore, as we often do not have control over the companies in which we only have minority stake, we cannot ensure that these companies will always comply with

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applicable laws and regulations in their business operations. Material non-compliance by our investees may cause substantial harms to our reputations and the value of our investment.

Our use of some unregistered business premise could be challenged by the relevant government authorities, which may cause interruptions to our business operations.

        As of March 31, 2016, we leased eleven office facilities in China for our operations. A portion of our business premises, including the business premises we used for our experience center in Shanghai, have not been registered with the local counterpart of SAIC pursuant to the relevant PRC laws and regulations. If the relevant PRC government authorities discover or determine that Dasheng Zhixing conducts business at unregistered business premises, it may order Dasheng Zhingxing to make correction within a given period or to cease the use of such unregistered business premises as its business premises, and may concurrently levy a fine up to RMB 100,000 on Dasheng Zhixing. As of the date of this prospectus, we are not aware of any claims or actions being contemplated or initiated by governmental authorities or any other third parties with respect to our use of unregistered business premises to conduct our business in PRC. However, we cannot assure you that our use of such unregistered business premises will not be challenged. In addition, all of our leasehold interests in leased properties have not been registered with the relevant PRC governmental authorities as required by PRC law, which may expose us to potential fines.

Failure to renew our current leases or locate desirable alternatives for our facilities could materially and adversely affect our business.

        We lease properties for our offices in China and the Philippines. We may not be able to successfully extend or renew such leases upon expiration of the current term on commercially reasonable terms or at all, and may therefore be forced to relocate our affected operations. This could disrupt our operations and result in significant relocation expenses, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we compete with other businesses for premises at certain locations or of desirable sizes. As a result, even though we could extend or renew our leases, rental payments may significantly increase as a result of the high demand for the leased properties. In addition, we may not be able to locate desirable alternative sites for our facilities as our business continues to grow and failure in relocating our affected operations could adversely affect our business and operations.

The wide variety of payment methods that we accept subjects us to third-party payment processing-related risks.

        We accept payments using a variety of methods, including bank transfers, online payments with credit cards and debit cards issued by major banks in China, and payment through third-party online payment platforms such as Alipay, 99Bill.com, UnionPay and WeChat Pay. For certain payment methods, including credit and debit cards, we pay interchange and other fees, which may increase over time and raise our operating costs and lower our profit margins. We may also be susceptible to fraud and other illegal activities in connection with the various payment methods we offer. We are also subject to various rules, regulations and requirements, regulatory or otherwise, governing electronic funds transfers which could change or be reinterpreted to make it difficult or impossible for us to comply. If we fail to comply with these rules or requirements, we may be subject to fines and higher transaction fees and become unable to accept credit and debit card payments from our students, process electronic funds transfers or facilitate other types of online payments, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

If our senior management is unable to work together effectively or efficiently or if we lose their services, our business may be severely disrupted.

        Our success heavily depends upon the continued services of our management. In particular, we rely on the expertise and experience of Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, and Ms. Ting Shu, our co-founder, director and senior vice president, who are husband and wife. We also

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rely on the experience and services from other senior management, including Mr. Liming Zhang, our co-founder and chief operating officer, and Mr. Jimmy Lai, our chief financial officer. If they cannot work together effectively or efficiently, our business may be severely disrupted. If one or more of our senior management were unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we might not be able to replace them easily or at all, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. If any of our senior management joins a competitor or forms a competing business, we may lose students, teachers, and other key professionals and staff members. Our senior management has entered into employment agreements and confidentiality and non-competition agreements with us. However, if any dispute arises between our officers and us, we may have to incur substantial costs and expenses in order to enforce such agreements in China or we may be unable to enforce them at all.

Currency fluctuations in the Philippine Peso or Hong Kong dollars relative to Reminbi could increase our expenses.

        The Philippines continues to experience low growth in its gross domestic product, significant inflation, currency declines and shortages of foreign exchange. We are exposed to the risk of cost increases due to inflation in the Philippines. These conditions could create economic instability that could harm businesses operating in the Philippines. All of our revenue is denominated in Renminbi, and a significant portion of our costs are incurred in Philippine Pesos, including payments to nearly all of our teachers. We are therefore exposed to the risk of an increase in the value of the Philippine Peso relative to Renminbi, which would increase our expenses. As we currently engage a third-party vendor to handle the payment of the service fees of our teachers in the Philippines and we settle the balance with them in Hong Kong dollars, we are also exposed to the risk of an increase in the value of the Hong Kong dollar relative to Renminbi. We do not currently engage in any transactions as a hedge against risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations.

We are subject to certain regional political and economic risks that may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

        We engage teachers and operate offices in the Philippines. Accordingly, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected by significant political, social and economic developments in the Philippines or changes in Philippine laws and regulations. In particular, our Philippine operations and our operating results may be adversely affected by:

        The Philippines has historically experienced low growth in its gross domestic product, significant inflation and shortages of foreign exchange. We are exposed to the risk of rental and other cost increases due to inflation in the Philippines, which has historically been at a much higher rate than in the United States. These conditions could create political or economic instability that may harm our business and results of operations.

        In addition, the Philippines has and may in the future experience political instability, including strikes, demonstrations, protests, marches, coups d'état, guerilla activity or other types of civil disorder. These instabilities and any adverse changes in the political environment in the Philippines could increase our costs, increase our exposure to legal and business risks, disrupt our office operations in the Philippines or affect our ability to engage teachers.

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Our results of operations are subject to seasonal fluctuations.

        Our industry generally experiences seasonality, reflecting a combination of traditional education industry patterns and new patterns associated with the online platform in particular. Seasonal fluctuations have affected, and are likely to continue to affect, our business. In general, our industry experiences lower gross billings growth in the first quarter of each year due to the Chinese New Year holiday, and our industry enjoys higher gross billings growth during the summer months as K-12 students are generally on summer holiday and have more time to take lessons. Overall, the historical seasonality of our business has been relatively mild due to our rapid growth. As the percentage of K-12 students among our paying students and active students has been increasing during the past year, the seasonality may become more prominent, especially in the third quarter of each year. Due to our limited operating history, the seasonal trends that we have experienced in the past may not be indicative of our future operating results. Our financial condition and results of operations for future periods may continue to fluctuate. As a result, the trading price of our ADSs may fluctuate from time to time due to seasonality.

We have granted options, and may continue to grant options, restricted share units and other types of awards under our share incentive plans, which may result in increased share-based compensation expenses.

        We adopted share incentive plans in September 2013, or the 2013 Plan, and in December 2014, or the 2014 Plan. The 2014 Plan was amended in February 2016. Under the 2013 Plan and the 2014 Plan, we are authorized to grant options or share purchase rights to purchase up to an aggregate of 36,229,922 ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus. As of March 31, 2016, options to purchase a total of 22,846,000 ordinary shares were issued and outstanding under the 2013 Plan and the 2014 Plan. The performance condition for the granted options will be satisfied upon completion of this offering. We will then record a significant cumulative stock-based compensation expense for those options for which the service condition has been satisfied as of such date. On the assumption the performance condition was satisfied on March 31, 2016, we would have recognized share-based compensation expense in the amount of RMB18.7 million (US$2.9 million) for those options on which service condition was satisfied on March 31, 2016. We believe the granting of share-based compensation is of significant importance to our ability to attract and retain key personnel and employees, and we will continue to grant share-based compensation to employees in the future. As a result, our expenses associated with share-based compensation may increase, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

We have limited insurance coverage for our operations in China and the Philippines, which could expose us to significant costs and business disruption.

        We do not maintain any liability insurance or property insurance policies covering students, equipment and facilities for injuries, death or losses due to fire, earthquake, flood or any other disaster. Consistent with customary industry practice in China, we do not maintain business interruption insurance, nor do we maintain key-man life insurance. We maintain medical insurance for our management in China and provide government-mandated medical insurance to all of our employees in the Philippines with additional medical benefits to certain of our employees in the Philippines. However, as the insurance industry in China is still in an early stage of development, insurance companies in China currently offer limited business-related insurance products. We also have limited experience dealing with the insurance industry in the Philippines. We do not maintain business interruption insurance, nor do we maintain 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 on a timely basis, 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.

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If we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may be unable to accurately or timely report our results of operations or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of our ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.

        Prior to this offering, we were a private company with limited accounting personnel and other resources with which to address our internal controls and procedures. Our independent registered public accounting firm has not conducted an audit of our internal control over financial reporting. However, in connection with the audit of our consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2015 and for the year ended December 31, 2015, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting and other control deficiencies as of December 31, 2015. As defined in standards established by the United States Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the 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 company's annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The material weakness identified is related to the lack of sufficient financial reporting and accounting personnel with appropriate knowledge and experience to establish and implement key controls over period end closing and financial reporting and to properly prepare and review financial statements and related disclosures in accordance with U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements. Following the identification of the material weakness and other control deficiencies, we have taken measures and plan to continue to take measures to remedy these deficiencies. For details of these remedies, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Internal Control over Financial Reporting." However, the implementation of these measures may not fully address the material weakness and deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting, and we cannot conclude that they have been fully remedied. Our failure to correct the material weakness and control deficiencies or our failure to discover and address any other material weakness or control deficiencies could result in inaccuracies 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 business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ADSs, may be materially and adversely affected. Moreover, ineffective internal control over financial reporting significantly hinders our ability to prevent fraud.

        Furthermore, it is possible that, had our independent registered public accounting firm conducted an audit of our internal control over financial reporting, such accountant might have identified additional material weaknesses and deficiencies. 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 annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017. 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 must attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our management may conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective. 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 qualified 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 weaknesses and deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, if we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over

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financial reporting, as these standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, 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. If we fail to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, we could suffer material misstatements in our financial statements and fail to meet our reporting obligations, which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. This could in turn limit our access to capital markets, harm our results of operations, and lead to a decline in the trading price of our ADSs. 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.

The audit report included in this prospectus is prepared by auditors who are not inspected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and, as such, you are deprived of the benefits of such inspection.

        The independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit reports included in this prospectus filed with the SEC, as auditors of companies that are traded publicly in the United States of America, or the United States, and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB to assess its compliance with the laws of the United States and professional standards. Because our auditors are located in the PRC, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities, our auditors are not currently inspected by the PCAOB. In May 2013, PCAOB announced that it had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on Enforcement Cooperation with the CSRC and the PRC Ministry of Finance, which establishes a cooperative framework between the parties for the production and exchange of audit documents relevant to investigations undertaken by PCAOB, the CSRC or the PRC Ministry of Finance in the United States and the PRC, respectively. PCAOB continues to be in discussions with the CSRC and the PRC Ministry of Finance to permit joint inspections in the PRC of audit firms that are registered with PCAOB and audit Chinese companies that trade on U.S. exchanges.

        Inspections of other firms that the PCAOB has conducted outside China have identified deficiencies in those firms' audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. This lack of PCAOB inspections in China prevents the PCAOB from regularly evaluating our auditor's audits and its quality control procedures. As a result, investors may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB inspections.

        The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor's audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to PCAOB inspections. Investors may lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements.

If additional remedial measures are imposed on the Big Four PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, in administrative proceedings brought by the SEC alleging the firms' failure to meet specific criteria set by the SEC, we could be unable to timely file future financial statements in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act.

        In December 2012, the SEC instituted administrative proceedings under Rule 102(e)(1)(iii) of the SEC's Rules of Practice against the Big Four PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, alleging that these firms had violated U.S. securities laws and the SEC's rules and regulations thereunder by failing to provide to the SEC the firms' audit work papers with respect to certain PRC-based companies that are publicly traded in the United States. Rule 102(e)(1)(iii) authorizes the SEC to deny any person, temporarily or permanently, the ability to practice before the SEC if found by the SEC, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, to have willfully violated any such laws or rules and regulations. On January 22, 2014, the administrative law judge, or the ALJ, presiding over the matter rendered an initial decision that each of the firms had violated the SEC's rules of practice by failing

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to produce audit workpapers to the SEC. The initial decision censured each of the firms and barred them from practicing before the SEC for a period of six months. On February 12, 2014, the Big Four PRC-based accounting firms appealed the ALJ's initial decision to the SEC. The ALJ's decision does not take effect unless and until it is endorsed by the SEC. On February 6, 2015, the four China-based accounting firms each agreed to a censure and to pay a fine to the SEC to settle the dispute and avoid suspension of their ability to practice before the SEC and audit U.S.-listed companies. The settlement required the firms to follow detailed procedures and to seek to provide the SEC with access to Chinese firms' audit documents via the China Securities Regulation Commission, or the CSRC, in response to future document requests by the SEC made through the CSRC. If the Big Four PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, fail to comply with the documentation production procedures that are in the settlement agreement or if there is a failure of the process between the SEC and the CSRC, the SEC retains authority to impose a variety of additional remedial measures on the firms, such as imposing penalties on the firms and restarting the proceedings against the firms, depending on the nature of the failure.

        In the event that the SEC restarts the administrative proceedings, depending upon the final outcome, listed companies in the United States with major PRC operations may find it difficult or impossible to retain auditors in respect of their operations in the PRC, which could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, including possible delisting. Moreover, any negative news about the proceedings against these audit firms may cause investor uncertainty regarding PRC-based, United States-listed companies and the market price of our ADSs may be adversely affected.

        If the accounting firms are subject to additional remedial measures, our ability to file our financial statements in compliance with SEC requirements could be impacted. A determination that we have not timely filed financial statements in compliance with SEC requirements could ultimately lead to the delisting of our ADSs from the [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market] or the termination of the registration of our ADSs under the Exchange Act, or both, which would substantially reduce or effectively terminate the trading of our ADSs in the United States.

We face risks related to natural and other disasters, including severe weather conditions or outbreaks of health epidemics, and other extraordinary events, which could significantly disrupt our operations.

        Our business could be adversely affected by natural disasters or the outbreak of avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, the influenza A (H1N1), H7N9 or other epidemic. Any of such occurrences could cause severe disruption to our daily operations, and may even require a temporary closure of our facilities. Such closures may disrupt our business operations and adversely affect our results of operations. Our operation could also be disrupted if our students, teachers or business partners were affected by such natural disasters or health epidemics.

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

If the PRC government finds that the contractual arrangements that establish the structure for holding our ICP license do not comply with applicable PRC laws and regulations, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations.

        Foreign ownership in entities that provide value-added telecommunication services, is subject to restrictions under current PRC laws and regulations. For example, in accordance with the Guidance Catalog of Industries for Foreign Investment, as amended in 2015, and other applicable laws and regulations, foreign investors are not allowed to own more than 50% of the equity interests in a value-added telecommunication service provider (except for e-commerce) and any such foreign investor must have experience in providing value-added telecommunications services overseas and maintain a good track record.

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        We are a Cayman Islands company and our PRC subsidiary, Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd., or Dasheng Online, is considered a foreign-invested enterprise. To comply with PRC laws and regulations, we operate our www.51talk.com website through our PRC consolidated VIE, Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd., or Dasheng Zhixing. Dasheng Zhixing holds our ICP License for www.51talk.com . Dasheng Zhixing is 61.25% owned by Mr. Jiajia Huang, 26.25% owned by Ms. Ting Shu and 12.5% owned by Ms. Ling Chen. All shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing are PRC citizens. We entered into a series of contractual arrangements with Dasheng Zhixing and its shareholders, which enable us to:

        Because of these contractual arrangements, we are the primary beneficiary of Dasheng Zhixing and treat it as our PRC consolidated VIE under U.S. GAAP. We consolidate the financial results of Dasheng Zhixing in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. For a detailed discussion of these contractual arrangements, see "Corporate History and Structure."

        Han Kun Law Offices, our PRC legal counsel, is of the opinion that (i) the ownership structure of Dasheng Zhixing and Dasheng Online, both currently and immediately after giving effect to this offering, will not result in any violation of PRC laws or regulations currently in effect; and (ii) the contractual arrangements among Dasheng Online, Dasheng Zhixing and its shareholders governed by PRC law both currently and immediately after giving effect to this offering are valid, binding and enforceable, and will not result in any violation of PRC laws or regulations currently in effect. There are, however, substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations concerning foreign investment in the PRC, and their application to and effect on the legality, binding effect and enforceability of the contractual arrangements. In particular, we cannot rule out the possibility that PRC regulatory authorities, courts or arbitral tribunals may in the future adopt a different or contrary interpretation or take a view that is inconsistent with the opinion of our PRC legal counsel.

        It is uncertain whether any new PRC laws, rules or regulations relating to VIE structures will be adopted or if adopted, what affect they may have on our corporate structure. In particular, in January 2015, the Ministry of Commerce, or MOC, published a discussion draft of the proposed Foreign Investment Law for public review and comments. Among other things, the draft Foreign Investment Law expands the definition of foreign investment and introduces the principle of "actual control" in determining whether a company is considered a foreign-invested enterprise, or an FIE. Under the draft Foreign Investment Law, VIEs would be deemed as FIEs, if they are ultimately "controlled" by foreign investors, and would thus be subject to restrictions on foreign investments. However, the draft law has not taken a position on what actions will be taken with respect to existing companies with a "variable interest entity" structure, whether or not these companies are controlled by Chinese parties. It is uncertain when the draft would be signed into law and whether the final version would have any substantial changes from the draft. See "Regulation—The Draft PRC Foreign Investment Law" and "—Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of draft PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations."

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        If, as a result of such contractual arrangement, we or Dasheng Zhixing is found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, or such contractual arrangement is determined as illegal and invalid by the PRC court, arbitral tribunal or regulatory authorities, or we fail to obtain, maintain or renew any of the required permits or approvals, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities would have broad discretion to take action in dealing with such violations or failures, including:

        The imposition of any of these penalties could result in a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business and on our results of operations. If any of these penalties results in our inability to direct the activities of Dasheng Zhixing that most significantly impact its economic performance, and/or our failure to receive the economic benefits from Dasheng Zhixing, we may not be able to consolidate Dasheng Zhixing in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

We rely on contractual arrangements with Dasheng Zhixing and its shareholders for a portion of our business operations, which may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing operational control.

        We have relied and expect to continue to rely on contractual arrangements with Dasheng Zhixing, as well as its respective shareholders, to operate our www.51talk.com website and mobile apps. For a description of these contractual arrangements, see "Corporate History and Structure." These contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over Dasheng Zhixing. For example, Dasheng Zhixing and its shareholders could breach their contractual arrangements with us by, among other things, failing to conduct their operations, including maintaining our website and using the domain names and trademarks, in an acceptable manner or taking other actions that are detrimental to our interests.

        If we had direct ownership of Dasheng Zhixing, we would be able to exercise our rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors of Dasheng Zhixing, which in turn could effect changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management level. However, under the current contractual arrangements, we rely on the performance by Dasheng Zhixing and its shareholders of their obligations under the contracts to exercise control over Dasheng Zhixing. However, the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing may not act in the best interests of our company or may not perform their obligations under these contracts. Such risks exist throughout the period in which we intend to operate our business through the contractual arrangements with Dasheng Zhixing. We may replace the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing at any time pursuant to our contractual arrangements with it and its shareholders. However, if any

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dispute relating to these contracts remains unresolved, we will have to enforce our rights under these contracts through the operations of PRC law and therefore will be subject to uncertainties in the PRC legal system. See "—Any failure by Dasheng Zhixing, Philippines Co I, Philippines Co II, Philippines Co III or their respective shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material and adverse effect on our business." Therefore, our contractual arrangements with Dasheng Zhixing may not be as effective in ensuring our control over the relevant portion of our business operations as direct ownership would be.

Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of draft PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.

        The Ministry of Commerce published a discussion draft of the proposed Foreign Investment Law in January 2015 aiming to, upon its enactment, replace 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 . The draft 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. While the Ministry of Commerce solicited comments on this draft in early 2015, substantial uncertainties exist with respect to its enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation. The draft Foreign Investment Law, if enacted as proposed, may materially impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations in many aspects.

        Among other things, the draft Foreign Investment Law expands the definition of foreign investment and introduces the principle of "actual control" in determining whether a company is considered an FIE. The draft Foreign Investment Law specifically provides that entities established in China but "controlled" by foreign investors will be treated as FIEs, whereas an entity set up in a foreign jurisdiction would nonetheless be, upon market entry clearance by the Ministry of Commerce, treated as a PRC domestic investor provided that the entity is "controlled" by PRC entities and/or citizens. In this connection, "foreign investors" refers to the following subjects making investments within the PRC: (i) natural persons without PRC nationality; (ii) enterprises incorporated under the laws of countries or regions other than China; (iii) the governments of countries or regions other than the PRC and the departments or agencies thereunder; and (iv) international organizations. Domestic enterprises under the control of the subjects as mentioned in the preceding sentence are deemed foreign investors, and "control" is broadly defined in the draft law to cover the following summarized categories: (i) holding, directly or indirectly, not less than 50% of shares, equities, share of voting rights or other similar rights of the subject entity; (ii) holding, directly or indirectly, less than 50% of the voting rights of the subject entity but having the power to secure at least 50% of the seats on the board or other equivalent decision making bodies, or having the voting power to material influence on the board, the shareholders' meeting or other equivalent decision making bodies; or (iii) having the power to exert decisive influence, via contractual or trust arrangements, over the subject entity's operations, financial matters or other key aspects of business operations. Once an entity is determined to be an FIE, it will be subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in a "catalogue of special administrative measures," which is classified into the "catalogue of prohibitions" and "the catalogue of restrictions," to be separately issued by the State Council later. Foreign investors are not allowed to invest in any sector set forth in the catalogue of prohibitions. However, unless the underlying business of the FIE falls within the catalogue of restrictions, which calls for market entry clearance by the Ministry of Commerce, prior approval from governmental authorities as mandated by the existing foreign investment legal regime would no longer be required for establishment of the FIE.

        The "variable interest entity" structure, or VIE structure, has been adopted by many PRC-based companies, including us, to obtain necessary licenses and permits in the industries that are currently subject to foreign investment restrictions in China. See "—If the PRC government finds that the

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contractual arrangements that establish the structure for holding our ICP license do not comply with applicable PRC laws and regulations, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations" and "Our Corporate History and Structure." Under the draft Foreign Investment Law, VIEs that are controlled via contractual arrangement would also be deemed as FIEs, if they are ultimately "controlled" by foreign investors. Therefore, for any companies with a VIE structure in an industry category that is on the "catalogue of restrictions," the VIE structure may be deemed a domestic investment only if the ultimate controlling person(s) is/are of PRC nationality (either PRC companies or PRC citizens). Conversely, if the actual controlling person(s) is/are of foreign nationalities, then the VIEs will be treated as FIEs and any operation in the industry category on the "catalogue of restrictions" without market entry clearance may be considered as illegal.

        In addition, the draft Foreign Investment Law does not indicate what actions shall be taken with respect to the existing companies with a VIE structure, whether or not these companies are controlled by Chinese parties. Moreover, it is uncertain whether the online education industry, in which our PRC consolidated VIE operate, will be subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in the "catalogue of special administrative measures" to be issued. If the enacted version of the Foreign Investment Law and the final "catalogue of special administrative measures" mandate further actions, such as the Ministry of Commerce market entry clearance, to be completed by companies with an existing VIE structure like us, we face uncertainties as to whether such clearance can be timely obtained, or at all.

        The draft Foreign Investment Law, if enacted as proposed, may also materially impact our corporate governance practice and increase our compliance costs. For instance, the draft Foreign Investment Law imposes stringent ad hoc and periodic information reporting requirements on foreign investors and the applicable FIEs. Aside from an investment information report required at each investment, and investment amendment reports, which shall be submitted upon alteration of investment specifics, it is mandatory for entities established by foreign investors to submit an annual report, and large foreign investors meeting certain criteria are required to report on a quarterly basis. Any company found to be non-compliant with these reporting obligations may potentially be subject to fines and/or administrative or criminal liabilities, and the persons directly responsible may be subject to criminal liabilities.

Any failure by Dasheng Zhixing, Philippines Co I, Philippines Co II, Philippines Co III or their respective shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material and adverse effect on our business.

        If Dasheng Zhixing, Philippines Co I, Philippines Co II, Philippines Co III or their respective shareholders fail to perform their 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 or Philippine law, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and claiming damages, which we cannot assure you will be effective. For example, if the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing, Philippines Co I, Philippines Co II or Philippines Co III were to refuse to transfer their equity interest in Dasheng Zhixing, Philippines Co I, Philippines Co II or Philippines Co III to us or our designee if we exercise the purchase option pursuant to these contractual arrangements, or if they were otherwise to act in bad faith toward us, then we may have to take legal actions to compel them to perform their contractual obligations.

        All the agreements under our contractual arrangements with Dasheng Zhixing are governed by PRC law and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in China. Accordingly, these contracts 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 is not as developed as in some other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. Under PRC law, 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

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and delay. In the event we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements, we may not be able to exert effective control over Dasheng Zhixing, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected.

If the custodians or authorized users of our controlling non-tangible assets, including chops and seals, fail to fulfill their responsibilities, or misappropriate or misuse these assets, our business and operations could be materially and adversely affected.

        Under PRC law, legal documents for corporate transactions, including agreements and contracts such as the leases and sales contracts that our business relies on, 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 the relevant local branch of the SAIC. We generally execute legal documents by affixing chops or seals, rather than having the designated legal representatives sign the documents.

        We have three major types of chops—corporate chops, contract chops and finance chops. We use corporate chops generally for documents to be submitted to government agencies, such as applications for changing business scope, directors or company name, and for legal letters. We use contract chops for executing leases and commercial, contracts. We use finance chops generally for making and collecting payments, including, but not limited to issuing invoices. Use of corporate chops and contract chops must be approved by our legal department and administrative department, and use of finance chops must be approved by our finance department. The chops of our PRC subsidiary and our PRC consolidated VIE are generally held by the relevant entities so that documents can be executed locally. Although we usually utilize chops to execute contracts, the registered legal representatives of our PRC subsidiary and our PRC consolidated VIE have the apparent authority to enter into contracts on behalf of such entities without chops, unless such contracts set forth otherwise. All designated legal representatives of our PRC subsidiary and our PRC consolidated VIE have signed employment agreements with us under which they agree to abide by duties they owe to us.

        In order to maintain the physical security of our chops, we generally have them stored in secured locations accessible only to the department heads of the legal, administrative or finance departments. Our designated legal representatives generally do not have access to the chops. Although we monitor our employees, including the designated legal representatives of our PRC subsidiary and our consolidated VIE, the procedures may not be sufficient to prevent all instances of abuse or negligence. There is a risk that our employees or designated legal representatives could abuse their authority, for example, by binding the relevant subsidiary or consolidated VIE with contracts against our interests, as we would be obligated to honor these contracts if the other contracting party acts in good faith in reliance on the apparent authority of our chops or signatures of our legal representatives. If any designated legal representative obtains control of the chop in an effort to obtain control over the relevant entity, we would need to have a shareholder or board resolution to designate a new legal representative and to take legal action to seek the return of the chop, apply for a new chop with the relevant authorities, or otherwise seek legal remedies for the legal representative's misconduct. If any of the designated legal representatives obtains and misuses or misappropriates our chops and seals or other controlling intangible 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 while distracting management from our operations.

The shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing may have potential conflicts of interest with us, which may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

        We have designated individuals who are PRC nationals to be the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing. Dasheng Zhixing is owned by Mr. Jiajia Huang, Ms. Ting Shu and Ms. Ling Chen. The interests of these individuals as the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing may differ from the interests of our company as a whole. These shareholders may breach, or cause our PRC consolidated VIE to breach, or refuse to renew,

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the existing contractual arrangements we have with them and Dasheng Zhixing, which would have a material and adverse effect on our ability to effectively control Dasheng Zhixing. 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, except that we could exercise our purchase option under the purchase option agreements with these shareholders to request them to transfer all of their equity ownership in Dasheng Zhixing to Dasheng Online or one or more individuals designated by us. We rely on Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang, Ms. Ting Shu and Ms. Ling Chen, among which Mr. Huang and Ms. Shu are also our directors, to abide by PRC law, which provides that directors owe a fiduciary duty to the company. Such fiduciary duty requires directors to act in good faith and in the best interests of the company and not to use their positions for personal gains. If we cannot resolve any conflict of interest or dispute between us and the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing, we would have to rely on legal proceedings, which could result in disruption of our business and subject us to substantial uncertainty as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.

We may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiary to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiary to make payments to us could have a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business.

        We are a holding company, and we may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiary, Dasheng Online, for our cash and financing requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders and service any debt we may incur. If our PRC subsidiary 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. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may require Dasheng Online to adjust its taxable income under the contractual arrangements it currently has in place with our PRC consolidated VIE in a manner that would materially and adversely affect its ability to pay dividends and other distributions to us. See "—Our contractual arrangements may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities, and a finding that we owe additional taxes could substantially reduce our consolidated net income and the value of your investment."

        Under PRC laws and regulations, our PRC subsidiary, which is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise may pay dividends only out of its respective 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 accumulated after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a certain statutory reserve fund, until the aggregate amount of such fund reaches 50% of its registered capital. At its discretion, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise may allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to an enterprise expansion fund, or a staff welfare and bonus fund. The statutory reserve funds, enterprise expansion funds and staff welfare and bonus funds are not distributable as cash dividends.

        Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiary 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. See also "—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a PRC "resident enterprise" for PRC enterprise income tax purposes. Such classification would likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders and has a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment."

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Our contractual arrangements may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities, and a finding that we owe additional taxes could substantially reduce our consolidated net income and the value of your investment.

        Under PRC laws and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the PRC tax authorities. We could face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that the contractual arrangements among our PRC subsidiary and our PRC consolidated VIE do not represent an arm's-length price and adjust our PRC consolidated VIE's income in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment. A transfer pricing adjustment could, among other things, result in a reduction, for PRC tax purposes, of expense deductions recorded by our PRC consolidated VIE, which could in turn increase their tax liabilities. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may impose late payment fees and other penalties to our PRC consolidated VIE for under-paid taxes. Our consolidated net income may be materially and adversely affected if our tax liabilities increase or if we are found to be subject to late payment fees or other penalties.

If Dasheng Zhixing becomes the subject of a bankruptcy or liquidation proceeding, we may lose the ability to use and enjoy its assets, which could reduce the size of our operations and materially and adversely affect our business, ability to generate revenues and the market price of our ADSs.

        To comply with PRC laws and regulations relating to foreign ownership restrictions in the online value-added telecommunications business, we hold our ICP license through contractual arrangements with Dasheng Zhixing, our PRC consolidated VIE, as well as its shareholders. As part of these arrangements, Dasheng Zhixing holds assets that are important to the operation of our business.

        We do not have priority pledges and liens against Dasheng Zhixing's assets. As a contractual and property right matter, this lack of priority pledges and liens has remote risks. If Dasheng Zhixing undergoes an involuntary liquidation proceeding, third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of its assets and we may not have priority against such third-party creditors on Dasheng Zhixing's assets. If Dasheng Zhixing liquidates, we may take part in the liquidation procedures as a general creditor under the PRC Enterprise Bankruptcy Law and recover any outstanding liabilities owed by Dasheng Zhixing to Dasheng Online under the applicable service agreements. To ameliorate the risks of an involuntary liquidation proceeding initiated by a third-party creditor, we closely monitor the operations and finances of Dasheng Zhixing through carefully designed budgetary and internal controls to ensure that Dasheng Zhixing is well capitalized and is highly unlikely to trigger any third-party monetary claims in excess of its assets and cash resources. Furthermore, Dasheng Online has the ability, if necessary, to provide finance support to Dasheng Zhixing to prevent such an involuntary liquidation.

        If the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing were to attempt to voluntarily liquidate Dasheng Zhixing without obtaining our prior consent, we could effectively prevent such unauthorized voluntary liquidation by exercising our right to request Dasheng Zhixing's shareholders to transfer all of their equity ownership interest to Dasheng Online or one or more individuals designated by us in accordance with the option agreements with the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing. In the event that the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing initiates a voluntary liquidation proceeding without our authorization or attempts to distribute the retained earnings or assets of Dasheng Zhixing without our prior consent, we may need to resort to legal proceedings to enforce the terms of the contractual agreements. Any such litigation may be costly and may divert our management's time and attention away from the operation of our business, and the outcome of such litigation would be uncertain.

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to you and us.

        The PRC legal system is based on written statutes. Unlike common law systems, it is a system in which legal cases have limited value as precedents. In the late 1970s, the PRC government began to promulgate a

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comprehensive system of laws and regulations governing economic matters in general. The overall effect of legislation over the past three decades has significantly increased the protections afforded to various forms of foreign or private-sector investment in China. Our PRC subsidiary is subject to various PRC laws and regulations generally applicable to companies in China. However, since these laws and regulations are relatively new and the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involve uncertainties.

        From time to time, we may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to enforce our legal rights. However, since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy 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) that may have retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. Such uncertainties, including uncertainty over the scope and effect of our contractual, property (including intellectual property) and procedural rights, and any failure to respond to changes in the regulatory environment in China could materially and adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations.

We may be adversely affected by the complexity, uncertainties and changes in PRC regulation of internet-related business and companies.

        The PRC government extensively regulates the internet industry, including foreign ownership of, and the licensing and permit requirements pertaining to, companies in the internet industry. These internet-related laws and regulations are relatively new and evolving, and their interpretation and enforcement involves significant uncertainties. As a result, in certain circumstances it may be difficult to determine what actions or omissions may be deemed to be in violation of applicable laws and regulations. Issues, risks and uncertainties relating to PRC governmental regulation of the internet industry include, but are not limited to, the following.

        We only have control over our website through contractual arrangements. We do not own the website in China due to the restriction of foreign investment in businesses providing value-added telecommunication services in China, including internet information provision services. This may significantly disrupt our business, subject us to sanctions, compromise enforceability of related contractual arrangements, or have other harmful effects on us.

        The evolving PRC regulatory system for the internet industry may lead to the establishment of new regulatory agencies. For example, in May 2011, the State Council announced the establishment of a new department, the State Internet Information Office (with the involvement of the State Council Information Office, the MIIT, and the Ministry of Public Security). The primary role of this new agency is to facilitate the policy-making and legislative development in this field, to direct and coordinate with the relevant departments in connection with online content administration and to deal with cross-ministry regulatory matters in relation to the internet industry.

        We are required to obtain and maintain various licenses and permits and fulfill registration and filing requirements in order to conduct and operate our business. If these new laws and regulations are promulgated, additional licenses may be required for our operations. If our operations do not comply with these new regulations at the time they become effective, or if we fail to obtain any licenses required under these new laws and regulations, we could be subject to penalties.

        The Circular on Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Investment in an Operation of Value-added Telecommunications Business, issued by the MIIT in July 2006, prohibits domestic telecommunication service providers from leasing, transferring or selling telecommunications business

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operating licenses to any foreign investor in any form, or providing any resources, sites or facilities to any foreign investor for their illegal operation of a telecommunications business in China. According to this circular, either the holder of a value-added telecommunication services operation permit or its shareholders must directly own the domain names and trademarks used by such license holders in their provision of value-added telecommunication services. The circular also requires each license holder to have the necessary facilities, including servers, for its approved business operations and to maintain such facilities in the regions covered by its license. If an ICP license holder fails to comply with the requirements and also fails to remediate such non-compliance within a specified period of time, the MIIT or its local counterparts have the discretion to take administrative measures against such license holder, including revoking its ICP license. Currently, Dasheng Zhixing, our PRC consolidated VIE, holds an ICP license and operates our website. Dasheng Zhixing owns the relevant domain names and registered trademarks and has the necessary personnel to operate such website.

        The interpretation and application of existing PRC law, regulations and policies and possible new laws, regulations or policies relating to the internet industry have created substantial uncertainties regarding the legality of existing and future foreign investments in, and the businesses and activities of, internet businesses in China, including our business. We cannot assure you that we have obtained all the permits or licenses required for conducting our business in China or will be able to maintain our existing licenses or obtain new ones.

Failure to make adequate contributions to various employee benefit plans as required by PRC regulations may subject us to penalties.

        Companies operating in China are required to participate in various government sponsored employee benefit plans, including certain social insurance, housing funds and other welfare-oriented payment obligations, and contribute to the plans in amounts equal to certain percentages of salaries, including bonuses and allowances, of employees up to a maximum amount specified by the local government from time to time at locations where they operate their businesses. The requirement of employee benefit plans has not been implemented consistently by the local governments in China given the different levels of economic development in different locations. Dasheng Zhixing, our PRC operating entity and Dasheng Online, our PRC subsidiary, have not made adequate employee benefit payments and we have recorded accruals for estimated underpaid amounts of RMB2.2 million, RMB12.3 million, RMB46.8 million (US$7.2 million) and 56.6 million (US$8.8 million) as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively, in our financial statements. Our failure in making contributions to various employee benefit plans and in complying with applicable PRC labor-related laws may subject us to late payment penalties. We may be required to make up the contributions for these plans as well as to pay late fees and fines. If we are subject to late fees or fines in relation to the underpaid employee benefits, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

The enforcement of the PRC Labor Contract Law and other labor-related regulations in the PRC may adversely affect our business and our results of operations.

        The PRC Labor Contract Law became effective and was implemented on January 1, 2008, which was amended on December 28, 2012. It has reinforced the protection of employees who, under the PRC Labor Contract Law, have the right, among others, to have written labor contracts, to enter into labor contracts with no fixed terms under certain circumstances, to receive overtime wages and to terminate or alter terms in labor contracts. According to the PRC Social Insurance Law, which became effective on July 1, 2011, and the Administrative Regulations on the Housing Funds, Companies operating in China are required to participate in pension insurance, work-related injury insurance, medical insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance and housing funds plans, and the employers must pay all or a portion of the social insurance premiums and housing funds for their employees.

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        As a result of these laws and regulations designed to enhance labor protection, we expect our labor costs will continue to increase. In addition, as the interpretation and implementation of these laws and regulations are still evolving, our employment practice may not at all times be deemed in compliance with the new laws and regulations. If we are subject to severe penalties or incur significant liabilities in connection with labor disputes or investigations, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Regulation and censorship of information disseminated over the internet in China may adversely affect our business and reputation and subject us to liability for information displayed on our website.

        The PRC government has adopted regulations governing internet access and the distribution of news and other information over the internet. Under these regulations, internet content providers and internet publishers are prohibited from posting or displaying over the internet content that, among other things, violates PRC laws and regulations, impairs the national dignity of China, or is reactionary, obscene, superstitious, fraudulent or defamatory. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in the revocation of licenses to provide internet content and other licenses, and the closure of the concerned websites. The website operator may also be held liable for such censored information displayed on or linked to the websites. If our website is found to be in violation of any such requirements, we may be penalized by relevant authorities, and our operations or reputation could be adversely affected.

The operation of Dasheng Zhixing may be deemed by relevant PRC goverment authorits to be beyond its authorized business scope. If the relevant PRC government authorities take actions against Dasheng Zhixing, our business and operations could be materially and adversely affected.

        The principal regulations governing private education in China consist of the Education Law of the PRC, the Law for Promoting Private Education, or Private Education Law, and the Implementation Rules for the Law for Promoting Private Education. Under these PRC laws and regulations, private education is deemed a public welfare undertaking in China, and it is provided in these PRC laws and regulations that no organization or individual may establish or operate a private school, which is broadly defined as schools or other educational organizations established by social organizations or individuals using non-governmental funds for commercial purposes, expect for "reasonable returns." It is also provided in these PRC laws and resolutions that, to establish a private school, one shall first apply with the relevant authorities in charge of education or labor and social welfare, as applicable, for a private school operating permit, and shall then register the private school with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, or MCA, or its local counterparts as a private non-enterprise institution after successfully obtaining a private school operating permit. These PRC laws and regulations on private education generally apply to the establishment and operation of all private schools, except for the commercial private training institutions registered with the SAIC and its local counterparts, as the Private Education Law explicitly stipulates that the regulations applicable to commercial private training institutions shall be formulated by the State Council separately. As of the date of this prospectus, no specific regulations on commercial private training institutions registered with the SAIC and its local counterparts has been promulgated by the State Council, though the State Council has launched a pilot reform programme on classification management of private schools in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Shenzhen and Jilin Huaqiao Foreign Language School in 2010, and the local government of certain pilot areas, such as Shanghai, has accordingly promulgated specific local regulations to clarify the requirement and procedures for establishing and operating commercial training institutions. However, as of the date of this prospectus, no explicit local rules or guideline on registration of commercial training institutions have been promulgated in Beijing, where our PRC consolidated VIE, Dasheng Zhixing, is incorporated. See "Regulation—Regulation Relating to Private Education."

        We operate an online platform that provides online tutoring programs to students through the internet, and both of our PRC subsidiary and our PRC consolidated VIE are registered with Beijing AIC as commercial enterprises. As such, we believe the provisions of the Private Education Law and its

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implementing rules, including without limitation, the requirement for obtaining a private school operating permit, are not applicable to us. However, we cannot assure you that the competent PRC governmental authorities will not ultimately take a view contrary to our opinion. Moreover, because there is no further official or publicly-available interpretation of the definition of "commercial private training", there are uncertainties with regard to whether our business currently conducted in PRC will be deemed by the relevant PRC govermental authorities to be "commercial private training" as defined under the relevant PRC laws and regulations. If our business conducted in PRC is deemed as commercial private training business, we may be required to register our PRC entity as a commercial private training institution with education or training-related items included into its approved business scope. Dasheng Zhixing is registered with Beijing AIC as a limited company, and its current registered business scope only includes "education consulting" and "computer technology training," without "training," "English training," "language training" or any other education or training-related items. Dasheng Zhixing's application to expand its business scope to include education or training-related items was rejected by Beijing AIC on the basis that no explicit rules or guidelines on registration of commercial training institution have been promulgated in Beijing. We will continue to make an application with Beijing AIC to expand our business scope but we cannot assure you that our application will be accepted by Beijing AIC in a timely fashion or at all. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not received any notice of warning or been subject to penalties or other disciplinary action from the relevant governmental authorities regarding the conducting of our business beyond authorized business scope or without any approvals and permits. However, we cannot assure you that we will not be subject to any penalties in the future. If the relevant PRC government authorities discover or determine that Dasheng Zhixing operates beyond its authorized business scope, Dasheng Zhixing may be ordered to complete the registration for change of business scope within a given period, failing which Dasheng Zhixing is subject to a one-time fine of RMB10,000 to RMB100,000, or may be ordered to cease its operation if the relevant authorities determine that Dasheng Zhixing is operating without any approval or permit required.

We face risks and uncertainties with respect to the licensing requirement for Internet audio-video programs.

        On December 20, 2007, the State Administration of Press Publication Radio Film and Television, or SAPPRFT, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or MIIT, jointly promulgated the Administrative Measures Regarding Internet Audio-Video Program Services, or the Internet Audio-Video Program Measures, which became effective on January 31, 2008. Among other things, the Internet Audio-Video Program Measures stipulate that no entities or individuals may provide Internet audio-video program services without a License for Online Transmission of Audio-Visual Programs issued by SAPPRFT or its local bureaus or completing the relevant registration 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. In a press conference joinly held by the SAPPRFT and MIIT in February 2008 to answer questions relating to the Internet Audio-Video Program Measures, the SAPPRFT and MIIT clarified that those providers of internet audio-visual program services who engaged in such services prior to the promulgation of the Internet Audio-Video Program Measure may re-register and continue their operation of internet audio-visual program services so long as those providers did not violate the relevant laws and regulations in the past, regardless whether they are state-owned or state-controlled entities or not, but any other entities intend to provid internet audio-visual program services shall comply with all requiremnets specified in the Internet Audio-Video Program Measures. On April 1, 2010, SAPPRFT promulgated the Provisional Implementation of the Tentative Categories of Internet Audio-Visual Program Services, or the Categories, which clarified the scope of Internet audio-video programs services. According to the Categories, there are four categories of Internet audio-visual program services which are further divided into seventeen sub-categories. The third sub-category to the second category covers the making and editing of certain specialized audio-video programs concerning, among other things, educational content, and broadcasting such content to the general public online. However, there are still

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significant uncertainties relating to the interpretation and implementation of the Internet Audio-Video Program Measures, in particular, the scope of "internet audio-video programs."

        We do not offer recorded audio-video lectures to either general public or our enrolled students. In the course of delivering the lessons, the foreign teachers and enrolled students communicate and interact live with each other, mostly on one-on-one basis, by ultilizing our Air Class platform or third party-operated platforms such as QQ and Skype. The audio and video data are tramsmited through the relevant platform between the specific recipients instantly without any further redaction. We believe the limited scope of our audience and the nature of the raw data we transmit distinguishes us from general providers of internet audio-visual program services, such as the operator of online video websites, and the provision of the Audio-Visual Program Provisions are not applicable with regard to our offering of the lessons. However, we cannot assure you that the competent PRC government authorities will not ultimately take a view contrary to our opinion. In addition, as supplementary course materials, we offer certain audio-video contents on our websites and mobile apps for the review of all registered members, and meanwhile, one feature of our mobile app DuoShuoYingYu is to offer all registered members a platform to record and post their audio messages to discuss certain topics in English with their peer English learners. If the governmental authorities determine that our relevant activities fall within the definition of "internet audio-video program service" under the Audio-Visual Program Provisions, we may be required to obtain the License for Disseminating Audio-Video Programs through Information Network. If this occurs, we may not be able to obtain such license and we may become subject to penalties, fines, legal sanctions or an order to suspend our use of audio-video content. On March 7, 2016, Dasheng Zhixing received a Decision on Administrative Penalty issued by the Beijing Cultural Market Administrative Law Enforcement Agency, according to which Dasheng Zhixing has been given a warning and a penalty of RMB 5,000 for posting video clips on our website without required licenses. We have taken various corrective measures as required by the authorities, such as deleting the video clips in question, blocking video upload function in our online forum, and engaging a qualified third party to host certain of the video clips we use on our websites. However, we cannot assure you the corrective measures we have taken will be deemed adequate by the authorities and we will not be subject to any other penalties or legal sanctions in the future for our use of audio or video contents on our websites.

We are required to obtain various operating licenses and permits and to make registrations and filings for our business operations in China; failure to comply with these requirements may materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.

        The internet industry in China is highly regulated by the PRC government. See "Regulation—PRC Regulation." We are required to obtain and maintain various licenses and permits and fulfill registration and filing requirements in order to conduct and operate our business currently carried out, and we may be required to obtained additional licenses or permits for our operations as the interpretation and implementation of current PRC laws and regulations are still evolving, and new laws and regulations may also be promulgated. We currently, through our PRC variable interest entity, Dasheng Zhixing, hold an ICP license for our three websites, which is valid through September 15, 2016 and is subject to annual review. Dasheng Zhixing, however, may be required to obtain additional licenses. For example, the contents we use on our websites or mobile apps, including the course materials and video-audio contents we licensed from third parties, may be deemed "Internet cultural products", and our use of those contents may be regarded as "Internet cultural activities", thus we may be required to obtain an Internet Culture Business Operating License for provision of those contents through our online platform as currently there is no further official or publicly-available interpretation of those definitions. Also, we may be required to obtain a Publication Business Operating License for distribution of course books or other course materials, including electronical version, to our enrolled students. We currently do not hold an Internet Culture Business Operating License or a Publication Business Operating License, and we are in the process of applying for those licenses. In addition, our providing content through our online platform may be regarded as "online publishing" and may thus subject us to the requirement of obtaining an Online

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Publishing License. If Dasheng Zhixing fails to obtain or maintain any of the required licenses or approvals, its continued business operations in the Internet industry may subject it to various penalties, such as confiscation of illegal revenues, fines and the discontinuation or restriction of its operations. Any such disruption in the business operations of our affiliated entities will materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in China's economic, political or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.

        A significant portion of our business operations is conducted in China and all of our sales are made in China. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be influenced to a significant degree by political, economic and social conditions in China generally and by continued economic growth in China as a whole.

        China's economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the level of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. Although the PRC government has implemented measures since the late 1970s emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets, and the establishment of improved corporate governance in business enterprises, a substantial portion of productive assets in China is still owned by the PRC government. In addition, the PRC government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies. The PRC government also exercises significant control over the PRC economic growth through allocating resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy, and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.

        While China's economy has experienced significant growth over the past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy, and the rate of growth has been slowing. Some of the governmental measures may benefit the overall Chinese economy, but may have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations. Any stimulus measures designed to boost the Chinese economy may contribute to higher inflation, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. For example, certain operating costs and expenses, such as employee compensation and office operating expenses, may increase as a result of higher inflation.

A severe or prolonged downturn in the global or PRC economy could materially and adversely affect our business and our financial condition.

        The global financial markets experienced significant disruptions in 2008 and the United States, Europe and other economies went into recession. The recovery from the lows of 2008 and 2009 was uneven and it is facing new challenges, including the escalation of the European sovereign debt crisis since 2011 and the slowdown of the PRC economy since 2012. There is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies that have been adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world's leading economies. There have also been concerns over unrest in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa, which have resulted in volatility in oil and other markets. In addition, there have been concerns about the territorial disputes involving China in Asia and the economic effects of such disputes. Economic conditions in China are sensitive to global economic conditions. Although the PRC economy has grown significantly in the past decade, that growth may not continue, as evidenced by the slowing of the growth of the PRC economy since 2012. Any severe or prolonged slowdown in the PRC economy may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, continued turbulence in the international markets may adversely affect our ability to access capital markets to meet liquidity needs.

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PRC regulations relating to foreign exchange registration of overseas investment by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident beneficial owners or our PRC subsidiary to liability or penalties, limit our ability to inject capital into these subsidiaries, limit PRC subsidiary's ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us, or may otherwise adversely affect us.

        On July 4, 2014, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Relating to Domestic Resident's Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, which replaced the former Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for PRC Residents to Engage in Financing and Inbound Investment via Overseas Special Purpose Vehicles (generally known as SAFE Circular 75) promulgated by SAFE on October 21, 2005. On February 13, 2015, SAFE further promulgated the Circular on Further Simplifying and Improving the Administration of the Foreign Exchange Concerning Direct Investment, or SAFE Circular 13, which took effect on June 1, 2015. This SAFE Circular 13 has amended SAFE Circular 37 by requiring PRC residents or entities to register with qualified banks rather than 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.

        These circulars require PRC residents to register with qualified banks in connection with their direct establishment or indirect control of an offshore entity, for the purpose of overseas investment and financing, with such PRC residents' legally owned assets or equity interests in domestic enterprises or offshore assets or interests, which is referred to in SAFE Circular 37 as a "special purpose vehicle." These circulars further require amendment to the registration in the event of any significant changes with respect to the special purpose vehicle, such as an increase or decrease of capital contributed by PRC residents, share transfer or exchange, merger, division or other material events. In the event that a PRC resident holding interests in a special purpose vehicle fails to complete the required SAFE registration, the PRC subsidiary of that special purpose vehicle may be prohibited from making profit distributions to the offshore parent and from carrying out subsequent cross-border foreign exchange activities, and the special purpose vehicle may be restricted in its ability to contribute additional capital into its PRC subsidiary. Furthermore, failure to comply with the various SAFE registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC law for evasion of foreign exchange controls.

        Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang and Ms. Ting Shu, who directly or indirectly hold shares in our Cayman Islands holding company and who are known to us as being PRC residents have completed the initial foreign exchange registrations and are in the process of updating their registrations required in connection with our recent corporate restructuring. 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 such registrations, and we may not always be able to compel them to comply with all relevant foreign exchange regulations. As a result, we cannot assure you that all of our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents will at all times comply with, or in the future make or obtain any applicable registrations or approvals required by all relevant foreign exchange regulations. The failure or inability of such individuals to comply with the registration procedures set forth in these regulations may subject us to fines or legal sanctions, restrictions on our cross-border investment activities or our PRC subsidiary's ability to distribute dividends to, or obtain foreign-exchange-dominated loans from, our company, or prevent us from making distributions or paying dividends. As a result, our business operations and our ability to make distributions to you could be materially and adversely affected.

        Furthermore, as these foreign exchange regulations are still relatively new and their interpretation and implementation has been constantly evolving, it is unclear how these regulations, and any future regulation concerning offshore or cross-border transactions, will be interpreted, amended and implemented by the relevant government authorities. We cannot predict how these regulations will affect our business operations or future strategy. In addition, if we decide to acquire a PRC domestic company, we cannot assure you that we or the owners of such company, as the case may be, will be able to obtain the necessary approvals or complete the necessary filings and registrations required by the foreign exchange regulations. This may restrict our ability to implement our acquisition strategy and could adversely affect our business and prospects.

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PRC regulation on loans to, and direct investment in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control in currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans to our PRC subsidiary and PRC consolidated VIE or make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary, 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 subsidiary, Dasheng Online. We may make loans to our PRC subsidiary and PRC consolidated VIE subject to the approval from governmental authorities and limitation of amount, or we may make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary.

        Any loans to our PRC subsidiary, which is treated as a foreign-invested enterprise under PRC law, are subject to PRC regulations and foreign exchange loan registrations. For example, loans by us to our PRC subsidiary to finance its activities cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with the local counterpart of the SAFE. The statutory limit for the total amount of foreign debts of a foreign-invested company is the difference between the amount of total investment as approved by the Ministry of Commerce or its local counterpart and the amount of registered capital of such foreign-invested company. The difference between the total amount of investment and the registered capital for Dasheng Online is US$10 million. We may also decide to finance our PRC subsidiary by means of capital contributions. Our capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary must be approved by the Ministry of Commerce or its local counterpart. We cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary registration or obtain the necessary approval on a timely basis, or at all. If we fail to complete the necessary registration or obtain the necessary approval, our ability to make loans or equity contributions to our PRC subsidiary may be negatively affected, which could adversely affect our PRC subsidiary's liquidity and its ability to fund its working capital and expansion projects and meet its obligations and commitments.

        On August 29, 2008, SAFE promulgated 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, or SAFE Circular 142, regulating the conversion by a foreign-invested enterprise of foreign currency registered capital into RMB by restricting how the converted RMB may be used. SAFE Circular 142 provides that the RMB capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise may only be used for purposes within the business scope approved by the applicable governmental authority and may not be used for equity investments within the PRC unless otherwise provided by law. In addition, SAFE strengthened its oversight of the flow and use of the RMB capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested company. The use of such RMB capital may not be altered without SAFE approval, and such RMB capital may not in any case be used to repay RMB loans if the proceeds of such loans have not been used. Violations of SAFE Circular 142 could result in severe monetary or other penalties. On July 4, 2014, SAFE issued the Circular of the SAFE on Relevant Issues Concerning the Pilot Reform in Certain Areas of the Administrative Method of the Conversion of Foreign Exchange Funds by Foreign-invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 36, which launched the pilot reform of administration regarding conversion of foreign currency registered capitals of foreign-invested enterprises in 16 pilot areas. According to SAFE Circular 36, some of the restrictions under SAFE Circular 142 will not apply to the settlement of the foreign exchange capitals of an ordinary foreign-invested enterprise in the pilot areas, and such foreign-invested enterprise is permitted to use Renminbi converted from its foreign-currency registered capital to make equity investments in the PRC within and in accordance with the authorized business scope of such foreign-invested enterprises, subject to certain registration and settlement procedure as set forth in SAFE Circular 36. As this circular is relatively new, there remains uncertainty as to its interpretation and application and any other future foreign exchange related rules. On March 30, 2015, SAFE promulgated Circular on Reforming the Management Approach regarding the Settlement of Foreign Exchange Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 19, to expand the reform nationwide. SAFE Circular 19 came into force and replaced both SAFE Circular 142 and SAFE Circular 36 on June 1, 2015. However, SAFE Circular 19 continues to prohibit a foreign-invested enterprise from, among other things, using RMB funds converted

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from its foreign exchange capitals for expenditure beyond its authorized business scope, providing entrusted loans or repaying loans between non-financial enterprises. Violations of these Circulars could result in severe monetary or other penalties. These circulars may significantly limit our ability to use RMB converted from the net proceeds of this offering to fund the establishment of new entities in China by our PRC subsidiary, to invest in or acquire any other PRC companies through our PRC subsidiary, or to establish new consolidated VIEs in the PRC.

        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, if at all, with respect to future loans by us to our PRC subsidiary or PRC consolidated VIE or with respect to future capital contributions by us to our PRC subsidiary. If we fail to complete such registrations or obtain such approvals, our ability to use the proceeds 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.

Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a PRC "resident enterprise" for PRC enterprise income tax purposes. Such classification would likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders and has a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment.

        Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law, that became effective in January, 2008, 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 rules to the 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, a circular, known as SAT Circular 82, issued in April 2009 by the State Administration of Taxation, or the SAT, 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: senior management personnel and departments that are responsible for daily production, operation and management; financial and personnel decision making bodies; key properties, accounting books, company seal, and minutes of board meetings and shareholders' meetings; and half or more of the senior management or directors having voting rights. Further to SAT Circular 82, the SAT issued a bulletin, known as SAT Bulletin 45, which took effect in September 2011, to provide more guidance on the implementation of SAT Circular 82 and clarify the reporting and filing obligations of such "Chinese-controlled offshore incorporated resident enterprises." SAT Bulletin 45 provides procedures and administrative details for the determination of resident status and administration on post-determination matters. Although both SAT Circular 82 and SAT Bulletin 45 only apply to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, not those controlled by PRC individuals or foreign individuals, the determining criteria set forth in SAT Circular 82 and SAT Bulletin 45 may reflect the SAT's general position on how the "de facto management body" test should be applied in determining the tax resident status of offshore enterprises, regardless of whether they are controlled by PRC enterprises, PRC enterprise groups or by PRC or foreign individuals.

        We do not believe that COE meets all of the conditions above thus we do not believe that COE is a PRC resident enterprise, though a substantial majority of the members of our management team as well as the management team of our offshore holding company are located in China. However, if the PRC tax authorities determine that COE is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, a number of unfavorable PRC tax consequences could follow. First, we will be subject to the uniform 25% enterprise income tax on our world-wide income, which could materially reduce our net income. In addition, we will also be subject to PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations.

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        Finally, dividends payable by us to our investors and gains on the sale of our shares may become subject to PRC withholding tax, at a rate of 10% in the case of non-PRC enterprises or 20% in the case of non-PRC individuals (in each case, subject to the provisions of any applicable tax treaty), if such gains are deemed to be from PRC sources. It is unclear whether non-PRC shareholders of our company would be able to claim 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.

Enhanced scrutiny over acquisition transactions by the PRC tax authorities may have a negative impact on potential acquisitions we may pursue in the future.

        Pursuant to the Notice on Strengthening Administration of Enterprise Income Tax for Share Transfers by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises, or SAT Circular 698, issued by the SAT on December 10, 2009, where a foreign investor transfers the equity interests of a resident enterprise indirectly via disposition of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, or an "indirect transfer," and such overseas holding company is located in a tax jurisdiction that (i) has an effective tax rate less than 12.5% or (ii) does not tax foreign income of its residents, the foreign investor shall report the indirect transfer to the competent tax authority. The PRC tax authority will examine the true nature of the indirect transfer, and if the tax authority considers that the foreign investor has adopted an "abusive arrangement" in order to avoid PRC tax, it may disregard the existence of the overseas holding company and re-characterize the indirect transfer and as a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC withholding tax at a rate of up to 10%.

        On February 3, 2015, the SAT issued the Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Several Issues Concerning the Enterprise Income Tax on Indirect Property Transfer by Non-Resident Enterprises, or SAT Bulletin 7, to supersede existing provisions in relation to the "indirect transfer" as set forth in Circular 698, while the other provisions of Circular 698 remain in force. 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. SAT Bulletin 7 also provides that, where a non-PRC resident enterprise transfers its equity interests in a resident enterprise to its related parties at a price lower than the fair market value, the competent tax authority has the power to make a reasonable adjustment to the taxable income of the transaction.

        There is little practical experience regarding the application of SAT Bulletin 7 because it was newly issued in February 2015. During the effective period of SAT Circular 698, some intermediary holding companies were actually looked through by the PRC tax authorities, and consequently the non-PRC resident investors were deemed to have transferred the PRC subsidiary and PRC corporate taxes were assessed accordingly. It is possible that we or our non-PRC resident investors may become at risk of being taxed under SAT Bulletin 7 and may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with SAT Bulletin 7 or to establish that we or our non-PRC resident investors should not be taxed under SAT Bulletin 7, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations or such non-PRC resident investors' investment in us.

Failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding the registration requirements for employee share ownership plans or share option plans may subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.

        In February 2012, SAFE promulgated the Notices on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plans of Overseas Publicly-Listed Companies, or SAFE Circular 7, replacing the previous rules issued by SAFE in March 2007. Under the

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SAFE Circular 7 and other relevant rules and regulations, PRC residents who participate in a stock incentive plan in an overseas publicly-listed company are required to register with SAFE or its local branches and complete certain other procedures. Participants of a stock incentive plan who are PRC residents must retain a qualified PRC agent, which could be a PRC subsidiary of the overseas publicly listed company or another qualified institution selected by the PRC subsidiary, to conduct the SAFE registration and other procedures with respect to the stock incentive plan on behalf of its participants. The participants must also retain an overseas entrusted institution to handle matters in connection with their exercise of stock options, the purchase and sale of corresponding stocks or interests and fund transfers. In addition, the PRC agent is required to amend the SAFE registration with respect to the stock incentive plan if there is any material change to the stock incentive plan, the PRC agent or the overseas entrusted institution or other material changes. See "Regulation—Regulations on Stock Incentive Plans." We and our PRC employees who have been granted share options and restricted shares will be subject to these regulations upon the completion of this offering. Failure of our PRC share option holders or restricted shareholders to complete their SAFE registrations may subject these PRC residents to fines and legal sanctions and may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital into our PRC subsidiary, limit our PRC subsidiary's ability to distribute dividends to us, or otherwise materially adversely affect our business.

Our PRC subsidiary is subject to restrictions on paying dividends or making other payments to us, which may restrict our ability to satisfy our liquidity requirements.

        We are a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. We may need dividends and other distributions on equity from our PRC subsidiary to satisfy our liquidity requirements. Current PRC regulations permit our PRC subsidiary to pay dividends to us only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, our PRC subsidiary is required to set aside at least 10% of their respective accumulated profits each year, if any, to fund certain reserve funds until the total amount set aside reaches 50% of their respective registered capital. Our PRC subsidiary may also allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to employee welfare and bonus funds at their discretion. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. Furthermore, if our PRC subsidiary incurs debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may require us to adjust our taxable income under the contractual arrangements we currently have in place in a manner that would materially and adversely affect our PRC subsidiary's ability to pay dividends and other distributions to us. Any limitation on the ability of our subsidiary to distribute dividends to us or on the ability of our PRC consolidated VIE to make payments to us may restrict our ability to satisfy our liquidity requirements.

        In addition, the EIT Law, and its implementation rules provide that a withholding tax rate of up to 10% will be applicable to dividends payable by Chinese companies to non-PRC-resident enterprises unless otherwise exempted or reduced according to treaties or arrangements between the PRC central government and governments of other countries or regions where the non-PRC-resident enterprises are incorporated.

Governmental control of currency conversion may affect the value of your investment.

        The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the RMB into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. We receive substantially all of our revenues in RMB. Under our current corporate structure, our company in the Cayman Islands may rely on dividend payments from our PRC subsidiary to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, such as profit distributions and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. Therefore, our PRC subsidiary in China is able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to us without prior approval from SAFE,

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subject to the condition that the remittance of such dividends outside of the PRC complies with certain procedures under PRC foreign exchange regulation, such as the overseas investment registrations by our shareholders or the ultimate shareholders of our corporate shareholders who are PRC residents. But approval from or registration with appropriate government authorities is required 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. The PRC government may also at its discretion 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 our ADSs.

The approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission may be required in connection with this offering under a regulation adopted in August 2006, and, if required, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain such approval.

        The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, adopted by six PRC regulatory agencies in 2006 and amended in 2009, requires an overseas special purpose vehicle formed for listing purposes through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies and controlled by PRC companies or individuals to obtain the approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, prior to the listing and trading of such special purpose vehicle's securities on an overseas stock exchange. In September 2006, the CSRC published a notice on its official website specifying documents and materials required to be submitted to it by a special purpose vehicle seeking CSRC approval of its overseas listings. The application of the M&A Rules remains unclear. Currently, there is no consensus among leading PRC law firms regarding the scope and applicability of the CSRC approval requirement.

        Our PRC counsel, Han Kun Law Offices, has advised us based on their understanding of the current PRC law, rules and regulations that the CSRC's approval is not required for the listing and trading of our ADSs on the [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market] in the context of this offering, given that:

        However, our PRC legal counsel has further advised us that there remains some uncertainty 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 governmental agencies, including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion as we do. If it is determined that CSRC approval is required for this offering, we may face sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies for failure to seek CSRC approval for this offering. These sanctions may include fines and penalties on our operations in the PRC, limitations on our operating privileges in the PRC, delays in or restrictions on the repatriation of the proceeds from this offering into the PRC, restrictions on or prohibition of the payments or remittance of dividends by our China subsidiary, or other actions that could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ADSs. The CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies may also take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to halt this offering before the settlement and delivery of the ADSs that we are offering. Consequently, if you engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to the settlement and delivery of the ADSs we are offering, you would be doing so at the risk that the settlement and delivery may not occur.

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The M&A Rules and certain other PRC regulations establish complex procedures for some acquisitions of Chinese companies by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions in China.

        The M&A Rules discussed in the preceding risk factor and recently adopted regulations and rules concerning mergers and acquisitions established additional procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time consuming and complex. For example, the M&A Rules require that the Ministry of Commerce be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise, if (i) any important industry is concerned, (ii) such transaction involves factors that have or may have impact on the 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. Mergers, acquisitions or contractual arrangements that allow one market player to take control of or to exert decisive impact on another market player must also be notified in advance to the Ministry of Commerce when the threshold under the Provisions on Thresholds for Prior Notification of Concentrations of Undertakings, or the Prior Notification Rules, issued by the State Council in August 2008 is triggered. In addition, the security review rules issued by the Ministry of Commerce that became effective in September 2011 specify that mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors that raise "national defense and security" concerns and mergers and acquisitions through which foreign investors may acquire de facto control over domestic enterprises that raise "national security" concerns are subject to strict review by the Ministry of Commerce, and the rules prohibit any activities attempting to bypass a security review, including by structuring the transaction through a proxy or contractual control arrangement. In the future, we may grow our business by acquiring complementary businesses. Complying with the requirements of the above-mentioned regulations and other relevant rules to complete such transactions could be time consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the Ministry of Commerce or its local counterparts may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions. It is unclear whether our business would be deemed to be in an industry that raises "national defense and security" or "national security" concerns. However, the Ministry of Commerce or other government agencies may publish explanations in the future determining that our business is in an industry subject to the security review, in which case our future acquisitions in the PRC, including those by way of entering into contractual control arrangements with target entities, may be closely scrutinized or prohibited. Our ability to expand our business or maintain or expand our market share through future acquisitions would as such be materially and adversely affected.

Risks Related to Our ADSs and This Offering

An active trading market for our ordinary shares or our ADSs may not develop and the trading price for our ADSs may fluctuate significantly.

        We have applied to list our ADSs on the [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market]. Prior to the completion of this offering, there has been no public market for our ADSs or our ordinary shares underlying the ADSs, and we cannot assure you that a liquid public market for our ADSs will develop or be sustained after this offering. If an active public market for our ADSs does not develop following the completion of this offering, the market price and liquidity of our ADSs may be materially and adversely affected. The initial public offering price for our ADSs will be determined by negotiation between us and the underwriters based upon several factors, and we can provide no assurance that the trading price of our 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.

The trading prices of our ADSs are likely to be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors.

        The trading prices of our ADSs are 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

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that have listed their securities in the United States. In recent months, the widespread negative publicity of alleged fraudulent accounting practices and poor corporate governance of certain U.S. public companies with operations in China were believed to have negatively affected investors' perception and sentiment towards companies with connection with China, which significantly and negatively affected the trading prices of some companies' securities listed in the U.S. Once we become a public company, any similar negative publicity or sentiment may affect the performances of our ADSs. A number of PRC 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 PRC companies' securities after their offerings may affect the attitudes of investors toward PRC companies listed in the United States in general and consequently may impact the trading performance of our ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance.

        In addition to market and industry factors, the price and trading volume for our ADSs may be highly volatile for factors specific to our own operations, including the following:

        Any of these factors may result in large and sudden changes in the volume and price at which our ADSs will trade. In addition, the stock market in general, and the market prices for companies with operations in China in particular, have experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the operating performance of such companies. The securities of some PRC companies that have listed their securities in the United States have experienced significant volatility since their initial public offerings, including, in some cases, substantial price declines in the trading prices of their securities. The trading performances of these PRC companies' securities after their offerings may affect the attitudes of investors toward PRC companies listed in the United States, which consequently may impact the trading performance of our 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 other matters of other PRC companies may also negatively affect the attitudes of investors towards PRC-based companies in general, including us, regardless of whether we have conducted any inappropriate activities. Further, the global financial crisis and the ensuing economic recessions in many

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countries have contributed and may continue to contribute to extreme volatility in the global stock markets. These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect operating performance. Volatility or a lack of positive performance in our ADS price may also adversely affect our ability to retain key employees, some of whom have been granted restricted shares under our share incentive plan.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they adversely change their recommendations regarding our ADSs, the market price for our ADSs and trading volume could decline.

        The trading market for our ADSs will be influenced by research reports and ratings that industry or securities analysts or ratings agencies publish about us, our business and the online education market in China in general. We do not have any control over these analysts or agencies. If one or more analysts or agencies who cover us downgrade our ADSs, or publish unfavorable research about us, the market price for our 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 our ADSs to decline.

The sale or availability for sale of substantial amounts of our ADSs could adversely affect their market price.

        Sales of substantial amounts of our 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 our 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, 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 ordinary shares) outstanding immediately after this offering, or                ADSs (equivalent to 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 our existing shareholders have agreed not to sell any ordinary shares or ADSs for 180 days after the date of this prospectus without the prior written consent of the underwriters. 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 our ADSs. In addition, certain holders of our preferred shares prior to the completion of this offering are entitled to certain registration rights, including demand registration rights, piggyback registration rights, and Form F-3 or Form S-3 registration rights. Registration of these shares under the Securities Act would result in these shares becoming freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act immediately upon the effectiveness of the registration. Sales of these registered shares in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could cause the price of our ADSs to decline. See "Underwriting" and "Shares Eligible for Future Sale" for a more detailed description of the restrictions on selling our securities after this offering.

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.

        If you purchase ADSs in this offering, you will pay more for each ADS than the corresponding amount paid by existing shareholders for their ordinary shares. As a result, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution of approximately US$            per ADS (assuming that no outstanding options to acquire ordinary shares are exercised). This number represents the difference between our pro forma net tangible book value per ADS of US$            as of March 31, 2016, after giving effect to this offering and 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. See "Dilution" for a more

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complete description of how the value of your investment in our ADSs will be diluted upon the completion of this offering.

There can be no assurance that we will not be a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for United States federal income tax purposes for any taxable year, which could subject United States investors in our ADSs or ordinary shares to significant adverse United States income tax consequences.

        A non-United States corporation, such as our company, will be classified as a PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year, if either (i) 75% or more of its gross income for such year consists of certain types of "passive" income or (ii) 50% or more of the value of its assets (determined on the basis of a quarterly average) during such year is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income (the "asset test"). Although the law in this regard is not clear, we treat our consolidated VIEs as being owned by us for U.S. federal income tax purposes because we exercise effective control over the consolidated VIEs and are entitled to substantially all of their economic benefits. As a result, we consolidate their results of operations in our consolidated U.S. GAAP financial statements. Assuming that we are the owner of our consolidated VIEs for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and based upon our current and expected income and assets (taking into account goodwill, other unbooked intangibles, and expected proceeds from this offering) and projections as to the value of our ADSs and ordinary shares immediately following the offering, we do not presently expect to be a PFIC for the current taxable year or the foreseeable future.

        While we do not expect to be or become a PFIC in the current or foreseeable taxable years, the determination of whether we will be or become a PFIC will depend, in part, upon the value of our goodwill and other unbooked intangibles (which will depend upon the market value of our ADSs from time to time, which may be volatile). Furthermore, the determination of whether we will be or become a PFIC will depend, in part, on the composition of our income and assets. Fluctuations in the market price of our ADSs or ordinary shares may cause us to become a PFIC for the current or subsequent taxable years. The composition of our income and assets may also be affected by how, and how quickly, we use our liquid assets and the cash raised in this offering. In addition, because there are uncertainties in the application of the relevant rules, it is possible that the Internal Revenue Service may challenge our classification of certain income and assets as non-passive or our valuation of our tangible and intangible assets.

        Because determination of PFIC status is a fact-intensive inquiry made on an annual basis that depends upon the composition of our assets and income, no assurance can be given that we are not or will not become classified as a PFIC. If we were to be or become classified as a PFIC in any taxable year, a U.S. Holder (as defined in "Taxation—United States Federal Income Taxation") may incur significantly increased U.S. federal income tax on gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares and on the receipt of distributions on the ADSs or ordinary shares to the extent such gain or distributions is treated as an "excess distribution" under the U.S. federal income tax rules. Further, if we are classified as a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares, we generally will continue to be treated as a PFIC for all succeeding years during which such U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares. You are urged to consult your tax advisor concerning the United States federal income tax consequences of acquiring, holding, and disposing of ADSs if we are or become classified as a PFIC. For more information, see "Taxation—United States Federal Income Taxation."

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.

        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 Law of the Cayman Islands (2013 Revision) 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

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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.

        The Cayman Islands courts are also unlikely:

        There is no statutory recognition in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although the courts of the Cayman Islands will in certain circumstances recognize and enforce a non-penal judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits.

        As a result of all of the above, 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 Law of the Cayman Islands (2013 Revision) and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders, see "Description of Share Capital—Differences in Corporate Law."

Judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable.

        We are a Cayman Islands company and all of our assets are located outside of the United States. The majority of our current operations are conducted in the China. In addition, a majority of our current directors and officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the United States. Substantially all 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 United States 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 our assets or the assets of our directors and officers. For more information regarding the relevant laws of the Cayman Islands and China, see "Enforceability of Civil Liabilities."

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. For more information, see "Use of 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 would improve our results of operations or increase our ADS price, nor that these net proceeds will be placed only in investments that generate income or appreciate in value.

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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 ordinary shares.

        As a holder of our ADSs, you will only be able to exercise the voting rights with respect to the underlying ordinary shares in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Under the deposit agreement, you must vote by giving voting instructions to the depositary. Upon receipt of your voting instructions, the depositary will vote the underlying ordinary shares in accordance with these instructions. You will not be able to directly exercise your right to vote with respect to the underlying shares unless you withdraw the shares. Under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the minimum notice period required for convening a general meeting is ten clear days. When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient advance notice to withdraw the shares underlying your ADSs 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 shares underlying your ADSs are not voted as you requested.

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 various 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 for so long as we are 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. However, we have elected to "opt out" of this provision and, as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards as required when they are adopted for public companies. This decision to opt out of the extended transition period under the JOBS Act is irrevocable.

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 United States domestic public companies.

        Because we qualify as 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:

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        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 as press releases, distributed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market]. 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 as compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by United States domestic issuers. As a Cayman Islands company listed on the [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market], we are subject to the [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market] corporate governance listing standards. However, [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market] rules 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 [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market] corporate governance listing standards. Although we do not currently plan to utilize the home country exemption for corporate governance matters, to the extent that we choose to do so in the future, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would under the [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market] corporate governance listing standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information, which would be made available to you, were you investing in a United States domestic issuer.

You may not receive dividends or other distributions on our ordinary shares and you may not receive any value for them, if it is illegal or impractical to make them available to you.

        The depositary of our ADSs has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on ordinary shares or other deposited securities underlying our ADSs, after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of ordinary shares your ADSs represent. However, the depositary is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs. For example, it would be unlawful to make a distribution to a holder of ADSs if it consists of securities that require registration under the Securities Act but that are not properly registered or distributed under an applicable exemption from registration. The depositary may also determine that it is not feasible to distribute certain property through the mail. Additionally, the value of certain distributions may be less than the cost of mailing them. In these cases, the depositary may determine not to distribute such property. We have no obligation to register under U.S. securities laws any ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or other securities received through such distributions. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or anything else to holders of ADSs. This means that you may not receive distributions we make on our ordinary shares or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical for us to make them available to you. These restrictions may cause a material decline in the value of our ADSs.

You may not be able to participate in rights offerings and may experience dilution of your holdings.

        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.

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You may be subject to limitations on transfer of your ADSs.

        Your ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its books 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 ADS 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 our 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.

We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company, particularly after we cease to qualify as an "emerging growth company."

        Upon completion of this offering, we will become 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 [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market], impose various requirements on the corporate governance practices of public companies. As a company with less than US$1.0 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. 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 company's internal control over financial reporting and permission to delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. However, we have elected to "opt out" of this provision and, as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards as required when they are adopted for public companies. This decision to opt out of the extended transition period under the JOBS Act is irrevocable.

        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. 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. For example, 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 company's securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management's 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.

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

        This prospectus contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

        You can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "likely to" or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

        You should read thoroughly this prospectus and the documents that we refer to in this prospectus with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from and worse than what we expect. Other sections of this prospectus include additional factors which could adversely impact our business and financial performance. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. New risk factors and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for our management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

        You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

        We estimate that we will receive 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, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and the estimated offering expenses payable by us. These estimates are based upon an assumed initial offering price of US$            per ADS, the mid-point of the range shown on the front cover page of this prospectus. A US$1.00 change in the assumed initial public offering price of US$            per ADS would, in the case of an increase, increase and, in the case of a decrease, decrease the net proceeds of this offering by US$             million, or approximately US$             million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs in full, assuming the sale of             ADSs at US$            per ADS, the mid-point of the range shown on the front cover page of this prospectus and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and the estimated offering expenses payable by us.

        The primary purposes of this offering are to create a public market for our shares for the benefit of all shareholders, retain talented employees by providing them with equity incentives and obtain additional capital. We plan to use the net proceeds of this offering primarily for general corporate purposes, which may include investing in sales and marketing activities, course development, technology infrastructure, capital expenditures and other general and administrative matters. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds for investing in, or acquiring, complementary businesses, although we have not identified any near-term investment or acquisition targets. The amounts and timing of any expenditures will vary depending on the amount of cash generated by our operations, and the rate of growth, if any, of our business. Accordingly, our management will have significant flexibility in applying the net proceeds of the offering. 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 subsidiary only through loans or capital contributions, and to our PRC consolidated VIE 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 Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—PRC regulation on loans to, and direct investment in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control in currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans to our PRC subsidiary and PRC consolidated VIE or make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary, 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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DIVIDEND POLICY

        We have not previously declared or paid cash dividends and we have no plan to declare or pay any dividends in the near future on our shares or ADSs. 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 subsidiary for our cash requirements, including any payment of dividends to our shareholders. PRC regulations may restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiary to pay dividends to us. See "PRC Regulation—Regulations on Foreign Exchange—Dividend Distribution."

        Our board of directors has discretion as to whether to distribute dividends, subject to the approval of our shareholders and applicable laws. 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, we will pay our ADS holders to the same extent as holders of our ordinary shares, subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, including the fees and expenses payable thereunder. See "Description of American Depositary Shares." Cash dividends on our ordinary shares, if any, will be paid in U.S. dollars.

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CAPITALIZATION

        The following table sets forth our capitalization as of March 31, 2016:

        You should read this table together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus and the information under "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations."

 
  As of March 31, 2016  
 
  Actual   Pro forma   Pro forma
as adjusted (1)
 
 
  RMB   US$   RMB   US$   RMB   US$  
 
  (in thousands)
 
 
   
   
  (Unaudited)
  (Unaudited)
 

Total mezzanine equity

    528,777     82,007                      

Shareholders' Deficit:

                                     

Ordinary shares (US$0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 79,605,000, 72,267,532 and 72,267,532 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively; 243,196,171 shares issued and outstanding on a pro forma basis as of March 31, 2016; and                         shares issued and outstanding on a pro forma as adjusted basis as of March 31, 2016 (unaudited))

    45     7     155     24              

Additional paid-in capital (2)

            528,667     81,990              

Accumulated other comprehensive gain

    5,219     809     5,219     809              

Accumulated deficit

    (718,647 )   (111,453 )   (718,647 )   (111,453 )            

Total shareholders' deficit (2)

    (713,383 )   (110,637 )   (184,606 )   (28,630 )            

Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders' deficit (2)

    278,897     43,253     278,897     43,253              

Notes:

(1)
The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only. Our additional paid-in capital, total shareholders' 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.

(2)
Assuming the number of ADSs offered by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus remains the same, and after deduction of underwriting discounts and commissions and the estimated offering expenses payable by us, a US$1.00 change in the assumed initial public offering price of US$            per ADS would, in the case of an increase, increase and, in the case of a decrease, decrease each of additional paid-in capital, total shareholders' equity and total capitalization by US$             million.

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DILUTION

        If you invest in our 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 value as of December 31, 2015 was approximately US$            per ordinary share and US$            per ADS. Net tangible book value per ordinary share represents the amount of total tangible assets, minus the amount of total liabilities, divided by the total number of ordinary shares outstanding. Dilution is determined by subtracting net tangible book value per ordinary share from the assumed public offering price per ordinary share.

        Without taking into account any other changes in such net tangible book value after December 31, 2015, other than to give effect to (i) the conversion of all of our preferred shares into ordinary shares, which will occur automatically upon the completion of this offering, and (2) our issuance and sale of                ADSs in this offering, at an assumed initial public offering price of US$            per ADS, the mid-point of the estimated public offering price range, and after deduction of underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our pro forma net tangible book value at March 31, 2016 would have been US$            per outstanding ordinary share, including ordinary shares underlying our outstanding ADSs, or US$            per ADS. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of US$            per ordinary share, or 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 the dilution on a per ordinary share basis assuming that the initial public offering price per ordinary share is US$            and all ADSs are exchanged for ordinary shares:

Assumed initial public offering price per ordinary share

  US$    

Net tangible book value per ordinary share

  US$    

Pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share after giving effect to the automatic conversion of all of our outstanding preferred shares

  US$    

Pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share as adjusted to give effect to the automatic conversion of all of our outstanding preferred shares and this offering as of March 31, 2016

  US$    

Amount of dilution in net tangible book value per ordinary share to new investors in the offering

  US$    

Amount of dilution in net tangible book value per ADS to new investors in the offering

  US$    

        A US$1.00 change in the assumed public offering price of US$            per ADS would, in the case of an increase, increase and, in the case of a decrease, decrease our pro forma net tangible book value after giving effect to the offering by US$             million, the pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share and per ADS after giving effect to this offering by US$            per ordinary share and US$            per ADS and the dilution in pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share and per ADS to new investors in this offering by US$            per ordinary share and US$            per ADS, assuming no change to the number of ADSs offered by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses. The pro forma information discussed above is illustrative only. Our net tangible book value following the completion of this offering is subject to adjustment based on the actual initial public offering price of our ADSs and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.

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        The following table summarizes, on a pro forma basis as of March 31, 2016, the differences between the shareholders as of March 31, 2016 and the new investors with respect to the number of ordinary shares purchased from us, the total consideration paid and the average price per ordinary share paid at an assumed initial public offering price of US$            per ADS before deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses.

 
   
   
 
  
Total
Consideration
   
   
 
  Ordinary shares
Purchased
  Average Price
Per Ordinary
Share
  Average Price
Per ADS
 
  Amount
(US$)
   
 
  Number   Percent   Percent   US$   US$

Existing shareholders

                       

New investors

                       

Total

                       

        A US$1.00 change in the assumed public offering price of US$            per ADS would, in the case of an increase, increase and, in the case of a decrease, decrease total consideration paid by new investors, total consideration paid by all shareholders, average price per ordinary share and average price per ADS paid by all shareholders by US$            , US$            , US$            and US$            , respectively, assuming the sale of            ADSs at US$            , the mid-point of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

        The discussion and tables above also assume no exercise of any stock options outstanding as of March 31, 2016. As of March 31, 2016, there were 22,846,000 ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options at a weighted average exercise price of US$0.0695 per ordinary share, and there were 13,383,922 ordinary shares available for future issuance upon the exercise of future grants under our 2013 Plan and 2014 Plan. To the extent that any of these options are exercised, there will be further dilution to new investors.

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EXCHANGE RATE INFORMATION

        Our reporting currency is the Renminbi because our business is mainly conducted in China and all of our revenues are denominated in Renminbi. This prospectus contains translations of Renminbi amounts into U.S. dollars at specific rates solely for the convenience of the reader. The conversion of Renminbi into U.S. dollars in this prospectus is based on the rate certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to Renminbi in this prospectus are made at the rate as of the end of the applicable period, that is, RMB6.4480 to US$1.00, the rate in effect as of March 31, 2016, RMB6.4778 to US$1.00, the rate in effect as of December 31, 2015, or RMB6.2046 to US$1.00, the rate in effect as of December 31, 2014, as applicable. 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. The PRC government imposes control over its foreign currency reserves in part through direct regulation of the conversion of Renminbi into foreign exchange and through restrictions on foreign trade. On May 6, 2016, the rate was RMB6.4970 to U.S.$1.00.

        The following table sets forth information concerning exchange rates between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar for the periods indicated. These rates are provided solely for your convenience and are not necessarily the exchange rates that we used in this prospectus or will use in the preparation of our periodic reports or any other information to be provided to you.

 
  Certified Exchange Rate  
Period
  Period End   Average (1)   Low   High  
 
  (RMB per US$1.00)
 

2010

    6.6000     6.7603     6.8102     6.6000  

2011

    6.2939     6.4475     6.6364     6.2939  

2012

    6.2301     6.2990     6.3879     6.2221  

2013

    6.0537     6.1478     6.2438     6.0537  

2014

    6.2046     6.1620     6.2591     6.0402  

2015

    6.4778     6.2827     6.4896     6.1870  

November

    6.3883     6.3640     6.3945     6.3180  

December

    6.4778     6.4491     6.4896     6.3883  

2016

                         

January

    6.5752     6.5726     6.5932     6.5219  

February

    6.5525     6.5501     6.5795     6.5154  

March

    6.4480     6.5027     6.5500     6.4480  

April

    6.4738     6.4754     6.5004     6.4571  

May (through May 6)

    6.4970     6.4917     6.5032     6.4738  

Source: Federal Reserve Statistical Release

Notes:

(1)
Annual averages were calculated by using the average of the exchange rates on the last day of each month during the relevant year. Monthly averages are calculated by using the average of the daily rates during the relevant month.

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ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES

        We were incorporated in the Cayman Islands in order to enjoy the following benefits:

        However, certain disadvantages accompany incorporation in the Cayman Islands. These disadvantages include, but are not limited to, the following:

        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.

        All of our operations are conducted outside the United States, and all of our assets are located outside the United States. A majority of our directors and 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 Law Debenture Corporate Services Inc. as our agent upon whom process may be served in any action brought against us under the securities laws of the United States.

        Travers Thorp Alberga, our counsel as to Cayman Islands law, and Han Kun Law Offices, 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:

        Travers Thorp Alberga 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. Travers Thorp Alberga has further advised us that the courts of the Cayman Islands would recognize as a

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valid judgment a final and conclusive judgment in personam obtained in the federal or state courts in the United States under which a sum of money is payable (other than a sum of money payable in respect of multiple damages, taxes or other charges of a like nature or in respect of a fine or other penalty) or, in certain circumstances, an in personam judgment for non-monetary relief, and would give a judgment based thereon provided that: (i) such courts had proper jurisdiction over the parties subject to such judgment; (ii) such courts did not contravene the rules of natural justice of the Cayman Islands; (iii) such judgment was not obtained by fraud; (iv) the enforcement of the judgment would not be contrary to the public policy of the Cayman Islands; (v) no new admissible evidence relevant to the action is submitted prior to the rendering of the judgment by the courts of the Cayman Islands; and (vi) there is due compliance with the correct procedures under the laws of the Cayman Islands.

        We have been advised by Han Kun Law Offices, our PRC 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. Han Kun Law Offices 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.

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CORPORATE HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

        We began our operations in July 2011 through Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd., or Dasheng Zhixing, a PRC domestic company. 51Talk English Philippines Corporation, or Philippines Co I, was incorporated in August 2012 to conduct our business operations in the Philippines, including teacher sourcing, teacher engagement, teacher training, teacher quality control, course content development and free trial lessons.

        In order to facilitate international capital raising of our company, we incorporated China Online Education Group, or COE, to become our offshore holding company under the laws of the Cayman Islands in November 2012. In January 2013, China Online Education (HK) Limited, or COE HK Co I, was incorporated in Hong Kong as a wholly owned subsidiary of COE. Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd., or Dasheng Online, was set up in June 2013 as a wholly owned subsidiary of COE HK Co I in the PRC.

        Due to PRC legal restrictions on foreign ownership and investment in the value-added telecommunications market, we operate our online platform through Dasheng Zhixing, our PRC consolidated VIE. Dasheng Zhixing holds our ICP license necessary to operate our online platform in China, our domain names, including 51talk.com , our registered trademarks in China and three of our registered software copyrights that are essential to the Company's online operation in PRC. Dasheng Zhixing had 1,489 staff, including 278 employees and 1,211 Outsourced Personnel, and leased seven office facilities as of March 31, 2016. We rely on a series of contractual arrangements among Dasheng Online, Dasheng Zhixing and its shareholders to operate our online and mobile platforms in China. These contractual arrangements enable us to:

        We do not have equity interests in Dasheng Zhixing. However, as a result of these contractual arrangements, we are the primary beneficiary of Dasheng Zhixing and treat it as our consolidated VIE under U.S. GAAP.

        In October 2014, we undertook an internal reorganization, pursuant to which we established two new subsidiaries, namely 51Talk English International Limited, or COE HK Co II, in Hong Kong and China Online Innovations Inc., or Philippines Co II, in the Philippines. Since the reorganization, foreign teachers delivering paid lessons on our platform no longer entered into service agreements with Philippines Co I, but rather entered into service agreements with COE HK Co II. Furthermore, we transferred the bulk of our Philippine business operations from Philippines Co I to Philippines Co II, and we began to enter into employment agreements with new full-time employees in the Philippines using Philippines Co II. In January 2016, we established a new subsidiary in the Philippines, namely On Demand English Innovations Inc., or Philippines Co III. In April 2016, we transferred all business operations and most of the assets of Philippines Co I to Philippines Co III. After these internal reorganizations, Philippines Co III conducts our business operations relating to the free trial lessons delivered by our free trial teachers based in Baguio City, Philippines and Philippines Co II conducts the remainder of our business operations in the Philippines, including teacher sourcing, teacher engagement, teacher training, teacher quality control, course content development and free trial lessons offered by our free trial teachers based in Manila, Philippines.

        Philippines Co I currently does not have any material business operation, and we intend to gradually liquidate Philippines Co I.

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        Under the Philippine Corporation Code, the business, assets and affairs of a corporation is handled and managed by a board of directors, which is composed of the number of individuals mandated under the corporation's articles of incorporation. Philippine law further requires that each director own at least one share of stock in his or her name in the books of the corporation. In order to comply with the foregoing, there are seven individual shareholders of Philippines Co II and five individual shareholders of Philippines Co III, holding an aggregate of 0.00014% and 0.004% of the equity interest of Philippines Co II and Philippines Co III, respectively. COE entered into contractual arrangements with each of (i) Philippines Co II and its seven individual shareholders and (ii) Philippines Co III and its five individual shareholders. These contractual arrangements provide us with an exclusive option to purchase all of the equity interests in Philippines Co II and Philippines Co III held by individual shareholders and the power to exercise their respective shareholder rights.

        In January 2015, we acquired and consolidated the business operations and assets of 91Waijiao , a provider of English education programs in China that focused on offering live lessons by foreign teachers online. The following operating metrics of our company exclude the corresponding data of 91Waijiao for all periods presented in this prospectus, all of which have been immaterial to our overall business operation since our acquisition of the business operations and assets of 91Waijiao : (i) the number of paid lessons booked, (ii) the number of active students, (iii) the number of paying students and (iv) the number of teachers available.

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        The following diagram illustrates our current corporate structure:

GRAPHIC


Notes:

(1)
Each of Ting Shu, Christine Ang, Huiru Yuan, Jennifer Que, Samuel Celestino, Xing Liu and Wei Li holds 0.00002% of the equity interest in Philippines Co II. Each of Ting Shu, Christine Ang, Huiru Yuan, Jennifer Que and Samuel Celestino is a director of Philippines Co II. We entered into contractual arrangements with these individual shareholders which provide us an exclusive option to purchase all of the individual shareholders' equity interests in Philippines Co II and the power to exercise their shareholder rights.

(2)
Each of Jimmy Lai, Frank Lin, Nelson Tan, Luzviminda Santos Castro and Alfonso Ang Po holds 0.0008% of the equity interest in Philippines Co III. Each of these individuals is a director of Philippines Co III. We entered into contractual arrangements with these individual shareholders which provide us with an exclusive option to purchase all of the individual shareholders' equity interests in Philippines Co III and the power to exercise their respective shareholder rights.

(3)
Jack Jiajia Huang holds 99.90% of the equity interest in Philippines Co I; Kei Hattori holds 0.02% of the equity interest in Philippines Co I; Nelson Tan holds 0.06% of the equity interest in Philippines Co I; and Frank Lin holds 0.02% of the equity interest in Philippines Co I. Each of Mr. Hattori, Mr. Tan and Mr. Lin is a director of Philippines Co I.

(4)
Jack Jiajia Huang, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, holds 61.25% of the equity interest in Dasheng Zhixing; Ting Shu, our co-founder, director and senior vice president, holds 26.25% of the equity interest in Dasheng Zhixing; Ling Chen, an affiliate of an angel investor of our company, holds 12.50% of the equity interest in Dasheng Zhixing.

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        The following is a summary of (i) the contracts by and among our subsidiary Dasheng Online, our PRC consolidated VIE Dasheng Zhixing, and the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing; (ii) the contracts by and among our subsidiary COE HK Co I, our consolidated VIE Philippines Co I, and the shareholders of Philippines Co I; (iii) the contracts by and among COE, Philippines Co II, and the shareholders of Philippines Co II; and (iv) contracts by and among COE, Philippines Co III and the shareholders of Philippines Co III, each of which is currently in full force and effect.

        Amended and Restated Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement.     Under the amended and restated exclusive business cooperation agreement between Dasheng Online and Dasheng Zhixing, Dasheng Online has the exclusive right to provide or to designate any third party to provide, among other things, technical support, consulting services and other services to Dasheng Zhixing, and Dasheng Zhixing agrees to accept all the consultation and services provided by Dasheng Online or any third party service provider designated by Dasheng Online. Without Dasheng Online's prior written consent, Dasheng Zhixing is prohibited from directly or indirectly engaging any third party to provide same or any similar services under this agreement or establishing similar corporation relationship with any third party regarding the matters contemplated by this agreement. In addition, Dasheng Online or the third party service providers designated by Dasheng Online, as the case may be, have exclusive and proprietary ownership, rights and interests in any and all intellectual properties arising out of or created during the performance of this agreement. Dasheng Zhixing agrees to pay a monthly service fee to Dasheng Online at an amount determined at the sole discretion of Dasheng Online after taking into account factors including the complexity and difficulty of the services provided, the title of and time consumed by employees of Dasheng Online or third party service providers designated by Dasheng Online providing the services, the content and value of services provided and the market price of the same type of services. The original exclusive business cooperation agreement was entered into and made effective on June 18, 2013, which was subsequently amended and restated in its entirety on December 14, 2015. This agreement will remain effective unless terminated in accordance with its provisions or terminated in writing by Dasheng Online. Unless otherwise required by applicable laws, Dasheng Zhixing does not have any right to terminate this agreement in any event. Dasheng Online has the right to terminate this agreement and/or require Dasheng Zhixing to indemnify all damages in the event of any material breach of any term of this agreement by Dasheng Zhixing. Dasheng Zhixing agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Dasheng Online from any losses, injuries, obligations or expenses caused by any lawsuits, claims or other demands against Dasheng Online arising from or caused by the services provided by Dasheng Online to Dasheng Zhixing pursuant to this agreement, except where such losses, injuries, obligations or expenses arise from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of Dasheng Online.

        COE HK Co I and Philippines Co I also entered into an exclusive business cooperation agreement on July 21, 2014, whereby COE HK Co I has the exclusive right to provide, among other things, technical support, consulting services and other services to Philippines Co I and Philippines Co I agrees to accept all the consultation and services provided by COE HK Co I. Without COE HK Co I's prior written consent, Philippines Co I is prohibited from directly or indirectly engaging any third party to provide same or any similar services under this agreement or establishing similar corporation relationship with any third party regarding the matters contemplated by this agreement. Philippines Co I agrees to pay a monthly service fee to COE HK Co I at an amount determined by COE HK Co I and Philippines Co I through negotiation after taking into account factors including the complexity and difficulty of the services provided, the title of and time consumed by employees of COE HK Co I providing the services, the content and value of services provided, the market price of the same type of services. The agreement shall remain effective unless terminated in accordance with the provisions of this agreement or terminated in writing by COE HK Co I. Unless otherwise required by applicable laws, Philippines Co I does not have any right to terminate this agreement in any event.

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        Powers of Attorney.     Pursuant to the powers of attorney executed by the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing on June 18, 2013, the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing each irrevocably authorized Dasheng Online to act on their respective behalf as exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning all equity interests held by each of them now and in the future in Dasheng Zhixing, including but not limited to attend shareholders' meetings, exercise all the shareholder's rights and shareholder's voting rights that each of them is entitled to under the relevant PRC laws and Dasheng Zhixing Articles of Association (including but not limited to the sale, transfer, pledge, or disposition of all equity interests held in part or in whole), and designate and appoint on their respective behalf the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of Dasheng Zhixing. Dasheng Online is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights under this appointment to any other person or entity at its sole discretion and without giving prior notice to the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing or obtaining their consent. Each power of attorney will remain in force until the shareholder ceases to hold any equity interest in Dasheng Zhixing. During the term of the powers of attorney, the shareholders waive all the rights associated with the equity interests held by them, which have been authorized to Dasheng Online through this power of attorney, and would not exercise such rights by themselves. The power of attorney was each executed on June 18, 2013, and shall remain effective until the shareholder ceases to hold any equity interest in Dasheng Zhixing.

        On July 21, 2014, August 31, 2015 and February 1, 2016, the individual shareholders of each of Philippines Co I, Philippines Co II and Philippines Co III, respectively, have also each executed an irrevocable power of attorney appointing COE HK Co I and COE, respectively, as their attorney-in-fact to vote on their behalf on all matters requiring shareholder approval, with terms substantially similar to the powers of attorney executed by the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing described above.

        Equity Interest Pledge Agreements.     Under the equity interest pledge agreements between Dasheng Online, the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing and Dasheng Zhixing, the shareholders pledged all of their equity interests in Dasheng Zhixing to Dasheng Online as security for performance of the obligations of Dasheng Zhixing and its shareholders under the amended and restated exclusive business cooperation agreement, exclusive option agreements, the powers of attorney and the equity interest pledge agreements. Dasheng Online is entitled to receive dividends distributed by the pledged equity interests during the term of the pledge. Dasheng Zhixing may receive dividends distributed only with prior written consent of Dasheng Online. If any event of default as provided in the contractual arrangements occurs, Dasheng Online may exercise the right to enforce the pledge after issuing a notice of default to Dasheng Zhixing in accordance with the equity interest pledge agreements. Dasheng Online may exercise any remedy measure under applicable PRC laws, the amended and restated exclusive business cooperation agreement, the exclusive option agreements, the powers of attorney and the equity interest pledge agreements, including but not limited to being paid in priority with the equity interest based on monetary valuation that such equity interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the equity interest. The shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing and Dasheng Zhixing do not have the right to assign or delegate their rights and obligations under the amended and restated exclusive business cooperation agreement, the exclusive option agreements, the powers of attorney and the equity interest pledge agreements without Dasheng Online's prior written consent. Dasheng Online may assign any and all of its rights and obligations under the agreements to its designee(s) at any time. The agreements are binding on the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing and their successors and permitted assignees and shall be valid with respect to Dasheng Online and each of its successors and assignees. The pledges were entered into and became effective on June 18, 2013 and will remain binding until the fulfillment of all obligations and the full payment under the equity interest pledge agreements.

        Exclusive Option Agreements.     Under the exclusive option agreements between Dasheng Online, each of the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing and Dasheng Zhixing, in consideration of the payment of RMB10 by Dasheng Online, each of the shareholders irrevocably granted Dasheng Online a binding and exclusive right to purchase or designate one or more persons to purchase, equity interests in Dasheng Zhixing then held by each shareholder at once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Dasheng Online's

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sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by PRC law and at the price of RMB10 (or such minimum price decided by PRC law higher than RMB10). Without Dasheng Online's prior written consent, Dasheng Zhixing's shareholders shall not sell, transfer, mortgage, or otherwise dispose in any manner any material assets of Dasheng Zhixing or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Dasheng Zhixing in an amount exceeding RMB500,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interests; or cause Dasheng Zhixing to execute any contract with a price exceeding RMB500,000, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business. Unless otherwise required by PRC law, Dasheng Zhixing shall not be dissolved or liquidated without prior written consent by Dasheng Online. The shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing waive their rights of first refusal in regard to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Dasheng Zhixing to Dasheng Online (if any), give consents to the execution by each other shareholder of Dasheng Zhixing with Dasheng Online and Dasheng Zhixing the exclusive option agreements, the equity interest pledge agreements and the powers of attorney, and accept not to take any actions in conflict with such documents executed by other shareholders. The shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing agree to promptly donate any profits, interests, dividends, or proceeds of liquidation to Dasheng Online or any other person designated by Dasheng Online to the extent permitted under the applicable PRC laws. These agreements were entered into and became effective on June 18, 2013 and shall remain in effect until all equity interests in Dasheng Zhixing held by the shareholders have been transferred or assigned to Dasheng Online and/or any other person designed by Dasheng Online in accordance with this agreement. The shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing and Dasheng Zhixing do not have any right to terminate the exclusive option agreements in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

        COE HK Co I, Philippines Co I and the individual shareholders of Philippines Co I entered into exclusive option agreements on July 21, 2014 and August 31, 2015. COE, Philippines Co II and the individual shareholders of Philippines Co II entered into exclusive option agreements on August 31, 2015. COE, Philippines Co III and the individual shareholders of Philippines Co III entered into exclusive option agreements on February 1, 2016. Such exclusive option agreements contain terms substantially similar to the exclusive option agreements described above.

        Spousal Consent Letters.     Pursuant to the spousal consent letters executed by the spouses of the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing, the spouse of each shareholder of Dasheng Zhixing, respectively, agreed to the execution of the equity interest pledge agreement, the exclusive option agreement and the powers of attorney by the respective shareholder. The spouse of each shareholder of Dasheng Zhixing further undertakes not to make any assertions in connection with the equity interests of Dasheng Zhixing held by the respective shareholder, and further confirms in the spousal consent letters that the respective shareholder can perform the relevant transaction documents described above and further amend or terminate such transaction documents without the authorization or consent from him/her. The spouse of each shareholder agrees and undertakes that if he/she obtain any equity interests of Dasheng Zhixing held by the respective shareholder for any reasons, he/she would be bound by the transaction documents described above and the amended and restated exclusive business cooperation agreement between Dasheng Online and Dasheng Zhixing, and would comply with the obligations thereunder as a shareholder of Dasheng Zhixing. Xiaoping Xu, spouse of Ling Chen, has executed the spousal consent letter on June 18, 2013, and each of Jack Jiajia Huang and Ting Shu has executed and delivered the spousal consent letter on December 14, 2015.

        In the opinion of our PRC counsel, Han Kun Law Offices, the contractual arrangements among Dasheng Online, Dasheng Zhixing and its shareholders are valid, binding and enforceable under current PRC law. However, these contractual arrangements may not be as effective in providing control as direct ownership. There are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations. For a description of the risks related to our corporate structure, please see "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure."

        In the opinion of our Philippines counsel, Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles, the contractual arrangements in respect of Philippines Co I, Philippines Co II and Philippines Co III are valid, binding and enforceable under current laws of the Philippines.

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SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

        The following selected consolidated comprehensive loss data for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, summary consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and selected consolidated cash flow data for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The following summary consolidated statements of comprehensive loss for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016, summary consolidated balance sheet data as of March 31, 2016 and summary consolidated cash flow data for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016 have been derived from our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus and have been prepared on the same basis as our audited consolidated financial statements and include all adjustments, consisting only of normal and recurring adjustments, that we consider necessary for a fair presentation of our financial position and operating results for the periods presented. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of results expected for future periods. You should read this Selected Consolidated Financial Data section together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" included elsewhere in this prospectus.

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  For the Year Ended December 31,   For the Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
 
  2013   2014   2015   2015   2016  
 
  RMB   RMB   RMB   US$   RMB   RMB   US$  
 
  (in thousands, except for share, per share and per ADS data)
 

Selected Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss:

                                           

Net revenues

    21,665     52,210     154,675     23,878     24,374     72,191     11,196  

Cost of revenues

    (9,302 )   (22,214 )   (59,668 )   (9,211 )   (9,816 )   (26,308 )   (4,080 )

Gross profit

    12,363     29,996     95,007     14,667     14,558     45,883     7,116  

Operating expenses:

                                           

Sales and marketing

    (17,124 )   (81,269 )   (297,337 )   (45,901 )   (49,050 )   (94,245 )   (14,616 )

Product development

    (3,018 )   (10,781 )   (54,597 )   (8,428 )   (7,153 )   (26,542 )   (4,116 )

General and administrative

    (8,597 )   (31,553 )   (64,903 )   (10,019 )   (9,337 )   (25,658 )   (3,979 )

Total operating expenses

    (28,739 )   (123,603 )   (416,837 )   (64,348 )   (65,540 )   (146,445 )   (22,711 )

Loss from operations

    (16,376 )   (93,607 )   (321,830 )   (49,681 )   (50,982 )   (100,562 )   (15,595 )

Interest and other (expense)/income, net

    (710 )   (1,213 )   (353 )   (54 )   (322 )   1,666     258  

Loss before income tax expenses

    (17,086 )   (94,820 )   (322,183 )   (49,735 )   (51,304 )   (98,896 )   (15,337 )

Income tax expenses

    (710 )   (6,882 )   (4,903 )   (757 )   (2,399 )   (362 )   (56 )

Net loss

    (17,796 )   (101,702 )   (327,086 )   (50,492 )   (53,703 )   (99,258 )   (15,393 )

Accretions to preferred shares redemption value

    (322 )   (23,020 )   (75,665 )   (11,681 )   (11,368 )   (49,815 )   (7,726 )

Deemed dividends at re-designation of ordinary shares to preferred shares

    (2,309 )   (5,665 )                    

Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders

    (20,427 )   (130,387 )   (402,751 )   (62,173 )   (65,071 )   (149,073 )   (23,119 )

Net loss

    (17,796 )   (101,702 )   (327,086 )   (50,492 )   (53,703 )   (99,258 )   (15,393 )

Other comprehensive (loss)/income:

                                           

Foreign currency translation adjustments

    (571 )   2,308     3,014     465     (94 )   581     90  

Total comprehensive loss

    (18,367 )   (99,394 )   (324,072 )   (50,027 )   (53,797 )   (98,677 )   (15,303 )

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing basic and diluted loss per share

    84,660,041     76,308,165     72,267,532     72,267,532     72,267,532     72,267,532     72,267,532  

Net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders

    (0.24 )   (1.71 )   (5.57 )   (0.86 )   (0.90 )   (2.06 )   (0.32 )

Loss per ADS (1)

                                           

Basic

                                           

Diluted

                                           

Non-GAAP Financial Measure (2)

   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
 

Gross billings

    36,097     116,921     353,277     54,537     53,302     154,770     24,003  

Notes:

(1)
Each ADS represents          ordinary shares.

(2)
For discussions of gross billings and reconciliation of gross billings to net revenues, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Non-GAAP Financial Measure."

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        The following table presents our selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and March 31, 2016.

 
  As of December 31,   As of March 31, 2016  
 
  2013   2014   2015    
   
   
   
 
 
   
   
  RMB
Pro forma (1)
  US$
Pro forma (1)
 
 
  RMB   RMB   RMB   US$   RMB   US$  
 
  (in thousands)
 

Selected Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

                                                 

Cash and cash equivalents

    61,502     209,774     46,873     7,236     76,873     11,922     76,873     11,922  

Total assets

    63,496     227,067     291,550     45,008     278,897     43,253     278,897     43,253  

Deferred revenues

    16,479     78,416     272,176     42,017     348,136     53,991     348,136     53,991  

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

    5,861     25,155     84,323     13,017     92,120     14,287     92,120     14,287  

Total liabilities

    24,162     115,813     377,867     58,333     463,503     71,883     463,503     71,883  

Total mezzanine equity

    65,531     277,723     478,962     73,939     528,777     82,007          

Total shareholders' deficit

    (26,197 )   (166,469 )   (565,279 )   (87,264 )   (713,383 )   (110,637 )   (184,606 )   (28,630 )

Notes:

(1)
All of the preferred shares will automatically convert into ordinary shares at the applicable conversion price upon closing of a qualified initial public offering. The unaudited pro forma balance sheet information as of March 31, 2016 assumes the automatic conversion of all of the outstanding preferred shares into ordinary shares on a one-to-one basis, as if conversion had occurred as of March 31, 2016.

        The following table presents our selected consolidated cash flow data for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, as well as the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016.

 
  For the Year Ended December 31,   For the Three Months
Ended March 31,
 
 
  2013   2014   2015   2015   2016  
 
  RMB   RMB   RMB   US$   RMB   RMB   US$  
 
  (in thousands)
 

Selected Consolidated Cash Flow Data:

                                           

Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities

    1,956     (15,461 )   (104,020 )   (16,058 )   (13,351 )   (3,719 )   (577 )

Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities

    (386 )   (7,814 )   (192,884 )   (29,776 )   (6,520 )   34,585     5,364  

Net cash provided by financing activities

    59,273     169,724     125,574     19,385              

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

    (565 )   1,823     8,429     1,301     82     (866 )   (134 )

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

    60,278     148,272     (162,901 )   (25,148 )   (19,789 )   30,000     4,653  

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period

    1,224     61,502     209,774     32,384     209,774     46,873     7,269  

Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period

    61,502     209,774     46,873     7,236     189,985     76,873     11,922  

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MANAGEMENT'S 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 Operating 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 leading online education platform in China, with core expertise in English education. According to the Frost & Sullivan Report, we are one of the top online education platforms as measured by gross billings in 2015, and the largest online English education platform in China, as measured by gross billings in 2015 and the number of available foreign teachers as of December 31, 2015.

        Our proprietary online and mobile education platforms enable students across China to take one-on-one live interactive English lessons with overseas foreign teachers, on demand. Our teacher training, curriculum design and sales and marketing efforts are all driven by student and teacher feedback and data analytics.

        Our business model is highly scalable, characterized by the sharing economy approach to assembling teachers, cost advantages of teachers in the Philippines, and online and mobile platforms. We are able to build a large team of teachers because they can deliver lessons based on their scheduling availability, at appropriate locations of their choice, and get paid based on the number of lessons taught. We have developed significant operational expertise in areas such as teacher engagement and training, course content development, sales and marketing, as well as student services.

        We have experienced significant growth in recent years. Our gross billings increased from RMB36.1 million in 2013 to RMB116.9 million in 2014, and further to RMB353.3 million (US$54.5 million) in 2015, and increased from RMB53.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB154.8 million (US$24.0 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. We define gross billings for a specific period as the total amount of cash received for the purchase of course packages in such period, net of the total amount of refunds in such period. For discussions of gross billings and reconciliation of gross billings to net revenues, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Non-GAAP Financial Measure." Our net revenues increased from RMB21.7 million in 2013 to RMB52.2 million in 2014, and further to RMB154.7 million (US$23.9 million) in 2015, and increased from RMB24.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB72.2 million (US$11.2 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. We had a net loss of RMB17.8 million, RMB101.7 million and RMB327.1 million (US$50.5 million) in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. In the three months ended March 31, 2016, we had a net loss of RMB99.3 million (US$15.4 million), compared to a net loss of RMB53.7 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015.

Major Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations

        Our results of operations and financial condition are affected by the general factors driving China's private education industry. We have benefited from the rapid economic growth, significant urbanization, and higher per capita disposable income of urban households in China, which has allowed many in China to spend more disposable income on education. We have also benefited from the increasing internet penetration in China. We anticipate that the demand for online education generally, and online English education specifically, will continue to grow. According to the Frost & Sullivan Report, China's online English education market in terms of gross billings increased from RMB3.4 billion (US$0.5 billion) in 2010

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to RMB18.3 billion (US$2.8 billion) in 2015, representing a CAGR of 40.0%, and is expected to further increase to RMB160.9 billion (US$24.8 billion) in 2020, representing a CAGR of 54.5% from 2015.

        However, any adverse changes in the economic conditions in China that adversely affect the online English education and the broader online education markets in China may harm our business and results of operations. See "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Changes in China's economic, political or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations" and "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—A severe or prolonged downturn in the global or PRC economy could materially and adversely affect our business and our financial condition."

        While our business is influenced by factors affecting the private education industry in China generally, we believe that our results of operations are more directly affected by company-specific factors, including the following factors:

        We consider gross billings, a non-GAAP financial measure, to be an important indicator of our business as it measures fees received from our students upfront. Our gross billings for a specific period refers to the total amount of cash received for the purchase of course packages in such period, net of the total amount of refunds in such period. As a result, gross billings offers management the ability to better evaluate our scale of business operations, our liquidity and the visibility of future revenues. The growth of our gross billings is driven by the increase in the number of paying students and the average spending per paying student. Our gross billings increased from RMB36.1 million in 2013 to RMB116.9 million in 2014, and further to RMB353.3 million (US$54.5 million) in 2015, and increased from RMB53.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB154.8 million (US$24.0 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. Our paying students increased from 13.9 thousand in 2013 to 28.8 thousand in 2014, and further to 68.5 thousand in 2015, and increased from 13.2 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to 26.4 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2016. Our gross billings are not equivalent to net revenues or any other metric presented in our consolidated financial statements. See "—Non-GAAP Financial Measures."

        Due to our increasing brand awareness, and word-of-mouth referrals, our students have increasingly purchased larger initial packages that can be used over a longer period of time and have a higher price, which in turn increases our gross billings. The average spending per paying student increased from RMB2.6 thousand in 2013 to RMB4.1 thousand in 2014 and further reached RMB5.2 thousand (US$0.8 thousand) in 2015, and increased from RMB4.0 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB5.9 thousand (US$0.9 thousand) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. In particular, the average course package size initially purchased by our students experienced more significant growth, increasing from RMB1.9 thousand in 2013 to RMB3.4 thousand in 2014 and further reaching RMB4.7 thousand (US$0.7 thousand) in 2015, and increased from RMB4.0 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB5.8 thousand (US$0.9 thousand) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. This trend has been particularly evident among our K-12 students. The average initial package size purchased by our K-12 students increased from RMB4.2 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB5.3 thousand in the three months ended December 31, 2015 and RMB6.2 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2016.

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        The following table sets forth our gross billings, paying students and average spending per paying student for the periods indicated:

 
  For the Year Ended
December 31,
  For the Three
Months Ended
March 31,
 
 
  2013   2014   2015   2015   2016  

Active students (in thousands)

    15.2     35.0     86.5     32.4     71.9  

Paying students (in thousands)

    13.9     28.8     68.5     13.2     26.4  

Average spending per paying student (in RMB thousands)

    2.6     4.1     5.2     4.0     5.9  

        Our revenue growth is driven by increases in the number of active students and the increase in average revenue per active student. These factors are directly affected by the increasing number of paying students, effectiveness of our curriculum and students' experience on our platform. The number of active students increased from 15.2 thousand in 2013 to 35.0 thousand in 2014, and further reached 86.5 thousand in 2015, and increased from 32.4 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to 71.9 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2016. The number of active students reached 101.2 thousand in the 12 months ended March 31, 2016. An "active student" for a specified period refers to a student who booked at least one paid lesson. A lesson is considered "booked" when it is taken or when the student to such lesson is confirmed absent. A "paying student" for a specified period refers to a student that purchased either a prepaid credit or prepaid membership course package during the period, and the total number of "paying students" for a specified period refers to the total number of paying students for such period minus the total number of students that obtained refunds during such period.

        Our profitability depends on our ability to control our costs as we expand. Our cost of revenues primarily consists of service fees to our teachers who delivered paid lessons. Teachers who deliver our lessons are generally independent contractors and are paid according to the number of lessons they teach. Substantially all of our teachers are based in the Philippines and we have benefited from lower labor costs in the Philippines. Whether we can continue to control our teacher cost in the future depends on, to a significant extent, the general labor market in the Philippines. As the Philippines is subject to a relatively high degree of political and social instability, any material disruptions resulting from this instability could increase our teacher costs.

        The average spending per paying student has increased historically, and our students have increasingly purchased larger initial packages that can be used over a longer period of time and have a higher price. We have observed a recent increase in the forfeiture rate of our prepaid credit packages. On the one hand, in terms of direct and immediate impact on our financial results, an increase in forfeiture rates increases our gross margin, because we were able to recognize fees for un-booked lesson credits as revenues without having to incur the cost of paying the teachers for providing the lessons. On the other hand, a continued increase in forfeiture rate might negatively impact the perceived effectiveness of our curriculum and the level of student engagement on our platform, which may discourage prospective and existing students from purchasing course packages from us or referring other students to us.

        To maintain and improve our operating margins, we depend on our ability to effectively and efficiently sell and market our course packages and to benefit from economies of scale as we expand our business. Sales and marketing expenses historically represent a significant majority of our total operating expenses. Sales expenses are primarily composed of telemarketing sales and free trial lesson-related expenses. Marketing expenses are primarily composed of online and mobile marketing, and branding expenses. Our ability to lower our sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of net revenues depends on our ability to

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improve sales and marketing efficiency and leverage our existing brand value and word-of-mouth referrals in our marketing efforts.

        Going forward, we expect our operating expenses to increase due to the expansion of our business and the additional costs and expenses associated with becoming a public company. However, if our branding and marketing activities are not well received by students or fail to generate the increases in sales that we anticipate, we may need to allocate additional resources to these activities and our results of operations will be negatively impacted. See "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—If we are unable to conduct our sales and marketing activities cost-effectively, our results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected."

Selected Income Statement Items

        We derive all of our net revenues from fees that we charge our students. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, we generated net revenues of RMB21.7 million, RMB52.2 million and RMB154.7 million (US$23.9 million), respectively. In the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016, we generated net revenues of RMB24.4 million and RMB72.2 million (US$11.2 million), respectively. We generally collect fees in advance, which we initially record as deferred revenues. We offer two types of course packages for our students to purchase, including prepaid credit packages and prepaid membership packages. We recognize fees as revenues as the lesson credits are consumed, in the case of prepaid credit packages, and proportionally throughout the membership period, in the case of prepaid membership packages. For prepaid credit packages, fees for lessons that have expired are automatically recognized as revenues. We had deferred revenues of RMB16.5 million, RMB78.4 million, RMB272.2 million (US$42.0 million) and RMB348.1 million (US$54.0 million) as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively. Our net revenues are presented net of value-added tax and surcharges.

        Our cost of revenues primarily consists of service fees to our teachers who delivered paid lessons and, to a lesser extent, payment processing fees charged by third party payment channels. We recorded cost of revenues of RMB9.3 million, RMB22.2 million and RMB59.7 million (US$9.2 million) in 2013, 2014 and 2015. In the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016, we recorded cost of revenues of RMB9.8 million and RMB26.3 million (US$4.1 million).

    Operating Expenses

        Our operating expenses consist of sales and marketing expenses and general and administrative expenses, and to a lesser extent, product development expenses. The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, our operating expenses, in absolute amounts and as percentages of total net revenues:

 
  For the Year Ended December 31,   For the Three Months Ended March 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015   2015   2016  
 
  RMB   %   RMB   %   RMB   US$   %   RMB   %   RMB   US$   %  
 
  (in thousands, except for percentages)
 

Operating expenses:

                                                                         

Sales and marketing

    17,124     79.0 %   81,269     155.7 %   297,337     45,901     192.2 %   49,050     201.2 %   94,245     14,616     130.5 %

General and administrative

    8,597     39.7     31,553     60.4     64,903     10,019     42.0     9,337     38.3     25,658     3,979     35.5  

Product development

    3,018     13.9     10,781     20.6     54,597     8,428     35.3     7,153     29.3     26,542     4,116     36.8  

Total operating expenses

    28,739     132.6 %   123,603     236.7 %   416,837     64,348     269.5 %   65,540     268.8 %   146,445     22,711     202.8 %

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        Our sales and marketing expenses primarily consist of telemarketing sales expenses, online and mobile marketing expenses, branding expenses and free trial lesson-related expenses.

        Our general and administrative expenses primarily consist of payroll and employee benefits to our management and administrative personnel. Our general and administrative expenses also include rental and utilities expenses relating to office and administrative functions as well as professional service fees.

        Our product development expenses primarily consist of payroll and employee benefits to our personnel involved in course content development, as well as to our employees involved in the research and development of technology for our online and mobile platforms.

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.

    Hong Kong

        Our wholly owned subsidiaries in Hong Kong, COE HK Co I and COE HK Co II, are subject to Hong Kong profits tax on their activities conducted in Hong Kong at a uniform tax rate of 16.5%. No provision for Hong Kong profits tax has been made in our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2013 and 2014 as neither COE HK Co I nor COE HK Co II had assessable income during such periods. We made provisions for Hong Kong profits tax for the year ended December 31, 2015 and three months ended March 31, 2016 as COE HK Co I reported taxable profit during such period. Payments of dividends by our subsidiaries to us are not subject to withholding tax in Hong Kong.

    Philippines

        Philippines Co II has been registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, or PEZA, as an Ecozone IT Enterprise since December 19, 2014. As such, it is entitled to an income tax holiday, or 100% exemption from corporate income tax, for four years from its PEZA registration, a 5% special tax on gross income after the expiration of the income tax holiday in 2018, the tax and duty free importation of raw materials, capital equipment, machineries and spare parts, VAT zero-rating for local purchases of goods and services, and exemption from payment of local government imposts, fees, licenses, and taxes, and exemption from expanded withholding tax under Philippines tax law.

        Each of Philippines Co I and Philippines Co III is subject to a corporate income tax of 30% of the taxable net income on all income derived during each taxable year from sources within and outside of the Philippines.

        We made provisions for income tax expense in the Philippines for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 as Philippines Co I reported taxable profit during such periods. No provision for income tax was made for three months ended March 31, 2016 as no taxable profit was reported during the period.

    PRC

        Our subsidiary and consolidated VIE 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 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. The enterprise income tax is calculated based on the entity's global income as determined under PRC tax laws and accounting standards.

        We are subject to VAT at a rate of 6% on the services we provide, less any deductible VAT we have already paid or borne. 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 subsidiary through COE HK Co I. The EIT Law and its implementing rules provide that dividends paid by a PRC entity to a non-resident 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 August 2015, the State Administration of Taxation promulgated the Administrative Measures for Non-Resident Taxpayers to Enjoy Treatment under Tax Treaties, or SAT Circular 60, which became effective on November 1, 2015. SAT Circular 60 provides that non-resident enterprises are not required to obtain pre-approval from the relevant tax authority in order to enjoy the reduced withholding tax. Instead, non-resident 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, COE HK Co I may be able to benefit from the 5% withholding tax rate for the dividends it receives from Dasheng Online, if it satisfies the conditions prescribed under SAT Circular 81 and other relevant tax rules and regulations. However, according to SAT Circular 81 and SAT Circular 60, 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 EIT Law, it would be subject to enterprise income tax on its worldwide income at a rate of 25%. See "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a PRC "resident enterprise" for PRC enterprise income tax purposes. Such classification would likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders and has a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment."

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. However, in the course of auditing our consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2015, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified one material weakness and certain other deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting, each as defined in the standards established by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of the United States. 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 company's annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

        The material weakness relates to our lack of sufficient financial reporting and accounting personnel with appropriate knowledge and experience to establish and implement key controls over period end closing and financial reporting, and to properly prepare and review our financial statements and related disclosures in accordance with U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements.

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        We have implemented and will continue to implement initiatives to improve our internal control over financial reporting to address the material weakness that has been identified, including: (i) recently hired chief financial officer with relevant and sufficient U.S. GAAP accounting experience to lead accounting and financial reporting matters; (ii) recently recruited financial reporting director and financial reporting manager, both of whom have extensive work experience with "big four" accounting firms; (iii) obtain additional resources including experienced staff with U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting knowledge, to strengthen the financial reporting function and to set up financial and system control framework; (iv) further improve the period closing and reporting processes, including putting in place a formal policy and procedure manual, to allow early detection, prevention and resolution of potential accounting and reporting issues; (v) hiring tax manager or external consultants to optimize tax structure and to comply with tax reporting requirements; (vi) conducting regular and continuous U.S. GAAP accounting and financial reporting training programs for our accounting and financial reporting personnel, including sending our financial staff to attend external U.S. GAAP training courses, and (vii) establishing an accounting system in our Philippine subsidiaries to increase the level of automation in bookkeeping and financial reporting process in the Philippines, as well as further enhancing our control and supervision on our Philippine subsidiaries to ensure the compliance with local rules and regulations related to accounting, tax, legal, and etc.

        However, we cannot assure you that we will complete implementation of these measures in a timely manner, and the implementation of these initiatives may not fully address the material weakness and deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. See "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—If we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may be unable to accurately or timely report our results of operations or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of our ADSs may be materially and adversely affected."

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

        We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In doing so, we have to make estimates and assumptions that affect our reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, as well as related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our financial condition or operating results and margins would be affected. We base our estimates on past experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, and we evaluate these estimates on an ongoing basis. We refer to accounting estimates of this type as critical accounting policies and estimates, which we discuss further below.

Revenue recognition

        We generated revenue from providing online English language education services. Our main service offerings include (i) prepaid credit packages and (ii) prepaid membership packages.

        Revenues are recognized in accordance with ASC 605, Revenue Recognition, when the following criteria are met: persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; delivery has occurred or services have been provided; the selling price is fixed or determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured. Revenues are deferred until these criteria are met.

        Revenues from prepaid credit packages and prepaid membership packages are recognized on a gross basis, which represent amounts charged to and received from students, as we are the primary obligor in the arrangement and bear the risks and rewards, being responsible for the design and overall quality of the lessons.

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Deferred Income taxes

        Deferred income taxes are provided using the liability method. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce the amount of deferred tax assets if it is considered more likely than not that some portion of, or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

        We are required to estimate whether recoverability of its deferred tax assets is more likely than not based on forecasts of taxable earnings in the related tax jurisdiction. We use historical and projected future operating results, based upon approved business plans, including a review of the eligible carry forward period, tax planning opportunities and other relevant considerations including variances in future projected profitability.

Fair Value Determination Related to the Accounting for Business Combinations

        We complete business combinations from time to time which require us to perform purchase price allocations. In order to recognize the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, mainly consisting of intangible assets and goodwill, as well as the fair value of any contingent consideration to be recognized, we use valuation techniques such as discounted cash flow analysis and ratio analysis in comparison to comparable companies in similar industries under the income approach, market approach and cost approach. Major factors considered include historical financial results and assumptions including future growth rates, an estimate of weighted average cost of capital and the effect of expected changes in regulation. Valuation of our acquired businesses have been by management with assistance from valuation specialists. We believe that the estimated fair value assigned to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates that market participants would use. However, such assumptions are inherently uncertain and actual results could differ from those estimates.

Impairment Assessment on Goodwill

        We test annually, or whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying value of assets exceeds the recoverable amounts, whether goodwill have suffered any impairment in accordance with our accounting policy. For the impairment assessment on goodwill, we have elected to perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether the two-step impairment testing of goodwill is necessary. In this assessment, we consider primary factors such as industry and market considerations, overall financial performance of the reporting unit, and other specific information related to the operations. Based on the qualitative assessment, if it is more likely than not that the fair value of each reporting unit is less than the carrying amount, the quantitative impairment test is performed.

        For the quantitative assessment of goodwill impairment, we identify the reporting units and compare the fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the fair value of each reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, goodwill is not considered to be impaired and the second step will not be required. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step compares the implied fair value of goodwill to the carrying value of a reporting unit's goodwill.

        These assessments primarily use cash flow projections based on financial forecasts prepared by management and an estimated terminal value. The expected growth in revenues and operating margin, timing of future capital expenditures, an estimate of weighted average cost of capital and terminal growth rate are based on actual and prior year performance and market development expectations. Judgment is required to determine key assumptions adopted in the cash flow projections and changes to key assumptions can significantly affect these cash flow projections and the results of the impairment tests.

Depreciation and Amortization

        The costs of property and equipment and intangible assets are charged ratably as depreciation and amortization expenses, respectively, over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets using the straight-line method. We periodically review changes in technology and industry conditions, asset retirement activity and residual values to determine adjustments to estimated remaining useful lives and

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depreciation and amortization rates. Actual economic lives may differ from estimated useful lives. Periodic reviews could result in a change in estimated useful lives and therefore depreciation and amortization expenses in future periods.

Share-based compensation

        We account for share-based awards in accordance with the authoritative guidance on share-based compensation expense. Under the fair value recognition provision of such guidance, compensation for share based awards granted, is measured at the grant date. We estimate the forfeiture rate based on historical forfeitures of equity awards and adjust the rate to reflect changes in facts and circumstances, if any. We revise our estimated forfeiture rate if actual forfeitures differ from our initial estimates. Grant date fair values of the awards are calculated using the binomial option pricing model. The Binomial option-pricing model is used to measure the value of the awards. The determination of the fair value is affected by the share price as well as assumptions regarding a number of complex and subjective variables, including the expected volatility, risk-free interest rates, exercise multiple, expected dividend yield and expected term.

        The following table sets forth the options granted under the 2013 Plan and the 2014 Plan as of March 31, 2016:

 
   
   
  Fair Value
of Option
as of the
Grant Date
  Fair Value of the
Underlying
Ordinary Shares as
of the Grant Date
   
 
   
  Exercise Price    
 
  Number of
Options Granted
  Type of
Valuation
Date of Options Granted
  US$   US$   US$

September 27, 2013

    4,000,000     0.0167     0.0532     0.0664   Restrospective

September 30, 2014

    500,000     0.0500     0.2620     0.3044   Restrospective

December 19, 2014

    1,650,000     0.0500     0.3066     0.3514   Restrospective

December 19, 2014 (1)

    5,600,000     0.0500     0.3069 (1)   0.3514   Restrospective

December 19, 2014 (2)

    2,050,000     0.0500     0.3082 (2)   0.3514   Restrospective

December 19, 2014

    100,000     0.0500     0.3017     0.3514   Restrospective

March 31, 2015

    920,000     0.0500     0.3546     0.3997   Restrospective

June 29, 2015

    1,760,000     0.0700     0.4211     0.4819   Restrospective

June 29, 2015 (1)

    2,500,000     0.0700     0.4209 (1)   0.4819   Restrospective

June 30, 2015

    300,000     0.0500     0.4320     0.4819   Restrospective

October 14, 2015

    1,090,000     0.1000     0.5270     0.6129   Contemporaneous

January 7, 2016 (1)

    1,250,000     0.1500     0.5784 (1)   0.7000   Contemporaneous

January 7, 2016

    224,000     0.1500     0.5738     0.7000   Contemporaneous

January 13, 2016

    2,340,000     0.1500     0.5738     0.7000   Contemporaneous

February 28, 2016

    600,000     0.1500     1.0865     1.2150   Contemporaneous

(1)
Options granted to officers and non-officer employees result in different fair value on the same grant date.

(2)
Options with different expected terms result in different fair value on the same grant date.

    Significant factors, assumptions, and methodologies used in determining fair value of options

        We estimated the fair value of share options using the binomial option-pricing model with the assistance from an independent appraiser. Our management is ultimately responsible for all assumptions and valuation methodologies used in such determination. The fair value of each option grant is estimated on the date of grant with the following key assumptions:

    Expected volatility.   We estimated expected volatility based on the annualized standard deviation of the daily return embedded in historical share prices of comparable companies with a time horizon close to the expected expiry of the term.

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    Risk-free interest rate (per annum).   We estimated risk-free interest rate based on the yield to maturity of US Treasury Bond with a maturity similar to the expected expiry of the term.

    Exercise multiple.   The exercise multiple is estimated as the ratio of fair value of underlying shares over the exercise price as at the time the option is exercised, based on a consideration of empirical studies on the actual exercise behavior of employees.

    Expected dividend yield.   We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock, and we do not anticipate any dividend payments on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future.

    Expected term (in years).   Expected term is the contract life of the option.

        Determining the fair value of our ordinary shares required us to make complex and subjective judgments, assumptions and estimates, which involved inherent uncertainty. Had our management used different assumptions and estimates, the resulting fair value of our ordinary shares and the resulting share-based compensation expenses could have been different.

Fair Value of Our Ordinary Shares

        In determining the grant date fair value of our ordinary shares for purposes of recording share-based compensation in connection with employee stock options, we, with the assistance of independent appraisers, mainly performed retrospective valuations instead of contemporaneous valuations because, at the time of the valuation dates, our financial and limited human resources were principally focused on business development efforts. This approach is consistent with the guidance prescribed by the AICPA Audit and Accounting Practice Aid, Valuation of Privately-Held-Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation, or the Practice Aid. Specifically, the "Level B" recommendation in paragraph 16 of the Practice Aid sets forth the preferred types of valuation that should be used.

        We, with the assistance of an independent valuation firm, evaluated the use of three generally accepted valuation approaches: market, cost and income approaches to estimate our enterprise value. We and our appraisers considered the market and cost approaches as inappropriate for valuing our ordinary shares because no exactly comparable market transaction could be found for the market valuation approach and the cost approach does not directly incorporate information about the economic benefits contributed by our business operations. Consequently, we and our appraisers relied solely on the income approach in determining the fair value of our ordinary shares and we adopted market approach in verifying the fair value. This method eliminates the discrepancy in the time value of money by using a discount rate to reflect all business risks including intrinsic and extrinsic uncertainties in relation to our company.

        The income approach involves applying discounted cash flow analysis based on our projected cash flow using management's best estimate as of the valuation dates. Estimating future cash flow requires us to analyze projected revenue growth, gross margins, operating expense levels, effective tax rates, capital expenditures, working capital requirements, and discount rates. Our projected revenues were based on expected annual growth rates derived from a combination of our historical experience and the general trend in China's private education industry. The revenue and cost assumptions we used are consistent with our long-term business plan and market conditions in China's private education industry. We also have to make complex and subjective judgments regarding our unique business risks, our limited operating history, and future prospects at the time of grant. Other assumptions we used in deriving the fair value of our equity include:

    no material changes will occur 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

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    industry trends and market conditions for the online education will not deviate significantly from current forecasts.

        The following table sets forth the fair value of our ordinary shares estimated at different times with the assistance from an independent valuation firm.

Date
  Fair Value
Per Share
(US$)
  DLOM   Discount
Rate
 

September 27, 2013

    0.07     20 %   26.5 %

September 30, 2014

    0.30     16 %   24.0 %

December 19, 2014

    0.35     15 %   23.0 %

March 31, 2015

    0.40     14 %   23.0 %

June 30, 2015

    0.48     12 %   23.0 %

October 14, 2015

    0.61     11 %   21.0 %

January 7, 2016

    0.70     11 %   21.0 %

January 13, 2016

    0.70     11 %   21.0 %

February 28, 2016

    1.22     10 %   19.0 %

        The option-pricing method was used to allocate equity value of our company to preferred and ordinary shares, taking into account the guidance prescribed by the Practice Aid. This method involves making estimates of the anticipated timing of a potential liquidity event, such as a sale of our company or an initial public offering, and estimates of the volatility of our equity securities. The anticipated timing is based on the plans of our board and management.

        The other major assumptions used in calculating the fair value of ordinary shares include:

    Weighted average cost of capital, or WACC: The WACCs were determined based on a consideration of the factors including risk-free rate, comparative industry risk, equity risk premium, company size and non-systematic risk factors.

    Comparable companies: In deriving the WACCs, which are used as the discount rates under the income approach, certain publicly traded companies in the education industry were selected for reference as our guideline companies.

    Discount for lack of marketability, or DLOM: DLOM was quantified by the Finnerty's Average-Strike put options mode. Under this option-pricing method, which assumed that the put option is struck at the average price of the stock before the privately held shares can be sold, the cost of the put option was considered as a basis to determine the DLOM. This option pricing method is one of the methods commonly used in estimating DLOM as it can take into consideration factors like timing of a liquidity event, such as an initial public offering, and estimated volatility of our shares. The farther the valuation date is from an expected liquidity event, the higher the put option value and thus the higher the implied DLOM. The lower DLOM is used for the valuation, the higher is the determined fair value of the ordinary shares. DLOM remained in the range of 20% to 10% in the period from 2013 to 2016.

    Significant Factors Contributing to the Difference in Fair Value Determined

        The determined fair value of our ordinary shares increased from US$0.07 per share as of September 27, 2013 to US$0.30 per share as of September 30, 2014. We believe the increase in the fair value of our ordinary shares was primarily attributable to the following factors:

    we raised additional capital by issuing series B preferred shares in December 2013 to certain investors and by issuing series C preferred shares in July 2014, which provided us with additional capital for our business expansion;

    we experienced and expected to continue to experience rapid and substantial growth in revenue and the number of daily paid lessons booked. We expected these would result in greater economies of scale and improvement in operating profit margin;

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    as we progressed towards being qualified for an initial public offering, the lead time to an expected liquidity event decreased, resulting in a decrease of DLOM from 20% as of September 27, 2013 to 16% as of September 30, 2014;

    as a result of progress events described above and the continuous growth of our business, the discount rate is decreased from 26.5% as of September 27, 2013 to 24.0% as of September 30, 2014; and

    management's adjustment of our financial forecasts to reflect the anticipated higher revenue growth rate.

        The determined fair value of our ordinary shares increased from US$0.30 per share as of September 30, 2014 to US$0.35 per share as of December 19, 2014 and further to US$0.40 per share as of March 31, 2015. We believe the increase in the fair value of our ordinary shares was primarily attributable to the following factors:

    our net revenue grew significantly from RMB21.7 million in 2013 to RMB52.2 million in 2014;

    our monthly gross billings increased significantly during the period; and

    management adjusted our financial forecast to reflect the anticipated higher revenue growth rate and better financial performance in the future due to the abovementioned developments.

        The determined fair value of our ordinary shares increased from US$0.61 per share as of October 14, 2015 to US$0.70 per share as of January 7, 2016 and January 13, 2016, and further to US$1.22 per share as of March 31, 2016. We believe the increase in the fair value of our ordinary shares was primarily attributable to the following factors:

    our net revenue grew significantly from RMB52.2 million in 2014 to RMB154.7 million in 2015, representing a 196% annual growth rate;

    we experienced and expected to continue to experience rapid and substantial growth in gross billings;

    as we progressed towards this offering, we increased our estimated probability of a successful initial public offering. As our preferred shares would be automatically converted into ordinary shares upon the completion of a qualified offering, the increase in estimated probability of initial public offering success results in allocation of a higher portion of our business enterprise value to ordinary shares. The DLOM also decreased from 11% as of October 14, 2015 to 10% as of March 31, 2016; and

    as a result of progress events described above, the discount rate is decreased from 21% as of October 14, 2015 to 19% as of March 31, 2016.

Results of Operations

        The following table sets forth a summary of our consolidated results of operations for the periods indicated, both in absolute amounts and as percentages of total net revenues. This information should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this

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prospectus. The operating results in any period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period.

 
  For the Year Ended December 31,   For the Three Months Ended March 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015   2015   2016  
 
  RMB   %   RMB   %   RMB   US$   %   RMB   %   RMB   US$   %  
 
  (in thousands, except for percentages)
  (in thousands, except for percentages)
 
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  (Unaudited)
  (Unaudited)
 

Net revenues

    21,665     100.0 %   52,210     100.0 %   154,675     23,878     100.0 %   24,374     100.0 %   72,191     11,196     100.0 %

Cost of revenues

    (9,302 )   42.9     (22,214 )   42.5     (59,668 )   (9,211 )   38.6     (9,816 )   40.3     (26,308 )   (4,080 )   36.4  

Gross profit

    12,363     57.1     29,996     57.5     95,007     14,667     61.4     14,558     59.7     45,883     7,116     63.6  

Operating expenses:

                                                                         

Sales and marketing

    (17,124 )   79.0     (81,269 )   155.7     (297,337 )   (45,901 )   192.2     (49,050 )   201.2     (94,245 )   (14,616 )   130.5  

Product development

    (3,018 )   13.9     (10,781 )   20.6     (54,597 )   (8,428 )   35.3     (7,153 )   29.3     (26,542 )   (4,116 )   36.8  

General and administrative

    (8,597 )   39.7     (31,553 )   60.4     (64,903 )   (10,019 )   42.0     (9,337 )   38.3     (25,658 )   (3,979 )   35.5  

Loss from operations

    (16,376 )   75.6     (93,607 )   179.3     (321,830 )   (49,681 )   208.1     (50,982 )   209.1     (100,562 )   (15,595 )   139.2  

Interest and other (expense)/income, net

    (710 )   3.3     (1,213 )   2.3     (353 )   (54 )   0.2     (322 )   1.3     1,666     258     2.3  

Loss before income tax expenses

    (17,086 )   78.9     (94,820 )   181.6     (322,183 )   (49,735 )   208.3     (51,304 )   210.4     (98,896 )   (15,337 )   136.9  

Income tax expenses

    (710 )   3.3     (6,882 )   13.2     (4,903 )   (757 )   3.2     (2,399 )   9.8     (362 )   (56 )   0.5  

Net loss

    (17,796 )   82.1 %   (101,702 )   194.8 %   (327,086 )   (50,492 )   211.5 %   (53,703 )   220.2 %   (99,258 )   (15,393 )   137.4 %

    Three Months Ended March 31, 2016 Compared to Three Months Ended March 31, 2015

    Net revenues

        Our net revenues increased by 196.2% from RMB24.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB72.2 million (US$11.2 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. This increase was primarily due to the increased number of our active students and, to a lesser extent, the increase in the average revenue per active student. The number of active students grew by 121.9% from 32.4 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to 71.9 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2016.

        Our gross billings increased by 190.4% from RMB53.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB154.8 million (US$24.0 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. For discussions of gross billings and reconciliation of gross billings to net revenues, see "—Non-GAAP Financial Measures." This increase was primarily due to the increased number of paying students and, to a lesser extent, the increase in the average spending per paying student during the period. The number of paying students grew by 100.4% from 13.2 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to 26.4 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2016. The average spending per paying student increased by 44.9% from RMB4.0 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB5.9 thousand (US$0.9 thousand) in the three months ended March 31, 2016.

    Cost of revenues

        Our cost of revenues increased by 168.0% from RMB9.8 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB26.3 million (US$4.1 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. This increase was primarily due to an increase in total service fees paid to our teachers for delivering an increased number of paid lessons. The total amount of service fees paid to teachers for delivering paid lessons increased by 168.1% from RMB9.5 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB25.4 million (US$3.9 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. The total number of paid lessons booked on our platform increased from 1.0 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to 2.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2016.

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    Gross profit

        As a result of the foregoing, our gross profit increased by 215.2% from RMB14.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB45.9 million (US$7.1 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. Our gross margin increased from 59.7% in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to 63.6% in the three months ended March 31, 2016. We have been able to expand our profit margin by increasing our prices due to our highly competitive cost proposition to our students and our stable teacher cost.

    Operating expenses

        Our operating expenses increased by 123.4% from RMB65.5 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB146.4 million (US$22.7 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016, as a result of increases in our sales and marketing, general and administrative and product development expenses.

    Sales and marketing expenses

        Our sales and marketing expenses increased by 92.1% from RMB49.1 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB94.2 million (US$14.6 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016, mainly driven by increased investment in promoting our offering to K-12 students. Our sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of gross billings decreased from 92.0% in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to 60.9% in the three months ended March 31, 2016, primarily due to our increased brand value, higher referral rate among K-12 students and improved operating efficiency, particularly for our course consultants, telemarketing teams and account managers. The referral rate of K-12 students was 57.4% in the three months ended March 31, 2016, significantly higher than that of other demographics on our platform. We define the referral rate of K-12 students for a certain period as the percentage of new paying K-12 students in such period who informed us that they were referred by other people to our platform.

        Our total telemarketing sales expenses increased from RMB11.2 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB31.8 million (US$4.9 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. This increase was primarily due to increased payroll and employee benefit expenses related to growth in our course consultant, telemarketing and account manager headcount from 558 as of March 31, 2015 to 1,117 (including 120 full-time employees and 997 Outsourced Personnel) as of March 31, 2016. A significant factor behind the increase in course consultant, telemarketing and account manager headcount was our planning for anticipated growth, including our investment in promoting our offering to K-12 students.

        Online and mobile marketing expenses increased from RMB13.2 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB27.9 million (US$4.3 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016.

        Our branding expenses decreased from RMB15.8 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB13.6 million (US$2.1 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. This decrease was primarily due to our increased brand value.

        Our free trial lesson-related expense primarily consist of payroll and employee benefit expenses for our free trial teachers, which increased from RMB1.9 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB5.2 million (US$0.8 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. Our free trial teacher headcount increased from 229 as of March 31, 2015 to 493 as of March 31, 2016. The vast majority of our free trial teachers are based in the Philippines.

        The payroll and employee benefit related to general student service representatives and teaching assistants increased from RMB1.9 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB3.9 million (US$0.6 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016 as a result of the increase in headcount from 117 as of March 31, 2015 to 166 (including 10 full-time employees and 156 Outsourced Personnel) as of March 31, 2016.

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        Our rental expenses and depreciation expense recorded in sales and marketing expense increased from RMB1.9 million and 0.4 million, respectively, in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB2.7 million (US$0.4 million), 1.7 million (US$0.3 million), respectively, in the three months ended March 31, 2016. The increase was due to increased rental payments for office sites and large purchases of fixed assets to support our growth.

    General and administrative expenses

        Our general and administrative expenses increased by 174.8% from RMB9.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB25.7 million (US$4.0 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016, primarily due to increased headcount to support our growing operations from 212 as of March 31, 2015 to 497 as of March 31, 2016. The amount of payroll and employee benefit expenses for our management and administrative personnel increased from RMB4.2 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB16.2 million (US$2.5 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. We expect our general and administrative expenses to increase in the future on an absolute basis as our business grows and as we incur increased costs related to complying with our reporting obligations after we become a public company under U.S. securities laws.

    Product development expenses

        Our product development expenses increased by 271.1% from RMB7.2 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB26.5 million (US$4.1 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016, primarily due to the increased headcount of our course content development staff, from 57 as of March 31, 2015 to 148 as of March 31, 2016, as well as the increased headcount of our technology staff, from 83 as of March 31, 2015 to 210 as of March 31, 2016. The amount of payroll and employee benefit expenses for our product development personnel increased from RMB6.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB23.6 million (US$3.7 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. We expect our product development expenses to continue to increase on an absolute basis in the future as we develop and update our course content and enhance our online and mobile platforms.

    Interest and other expense/income, net

        We recorded net interest and other income of RMB1.7 million (US$0.3 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016, as compared to net interest and other expense of RMB0.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015. Our net interest and other income in the three months ended March 31, 2016 primarily consisted of foreign currency gain and interest earned on our cash and cash equivalents and time deposits deposited in commercial banks. Our net interest and other expense in the three months ended March 31, 2015 was mainly attributable to foreign currency loss, partially offset by interest earned on our cash and cash equivalents.

    Income tax expenses

        We incurred income tax expenses of RMB2.4 million and RMB0.4 million (US$0.1 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively, both of which were incurred in the Philippines as a result of our local business operations.

    Net loss

        As a result of the foregoing, our net loss increased from RMB53.7 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB99.3 million (US$15.4 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016.

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    The Year Ended December 31, 2015 Compared to The Year Ended December 31, 2014

    Net revenues

        Our net revenues increased by 196.3% from RMB52.2 million in 2014 to RMB154.7 million (US$23.9 million) in 2015. This increase was primarily due to the increased number of active students and, to a lesser extent, the average revenue per active student. The number of active students grew by 146.8% from 35.0 thousand in 2014 to 86.5 thousand in 2015.

        Our gross billings increased by 202.2% from RMB116.9 million in 2014 to RMB353.3 million (US$54.5 million) in 2015. For discussions of gross billings and reconciliation of gross billings to net revenues, see "—Non-GAAP Financial Measure." This increase was primarily due to the increased number of paying students and, to a lesser extent, the increase in the average spending per paying student during the period as students increasingly purchased course packages that could be used over a longer period of time. The number of paying students grew by 137.7% from 28.8 thousand in 2014 to 68.5 thousand in 2015. The average spending per paying student increased by 27.1% from RMB4.1 thousand in 2014 to RMB5.2 thousand (US$0.8 thousand) in 2015.

    Cost of revenues

        Our cost of revenues increased by 168.6% from RMB22.2 million in 2014 to RMB59.7 million (US$9.2 million) in 2015. This increase was primarily due to an increase in total service fees paid to our teachers for delivering an increased number of paid lessons. The total amount of service fees paid to teachers for delivering paid lessons increased by 171.4% from RMB21.0 million in 2014 to RMB57.0 million (US$8.8 million) in 2015. The total number of paid lessons booked on our platform increased from 2.3 million in 2014 to 5.9 million in 2015.

    Gross profit

        As a result of the foregoing, our gross profit increased by 216.7% from RMB30.0 million in 2014 to RMB95.0 million (US$14.7 million) in 2015. Our gross margin increased from 57.5% in 2014 to 61.4% in 2015.

    Operating expenses

        Our operating expenses increased by 237.2% from RMB123.6 million in 2014 to RMB416.8 million (US$64.3 million) in 2015, as a result of increases in our sales and marketing, general and administrative and product development expenses.

    Sales and marketing expenses

        Our sales and marketing expenses increased by 265.9% from RMB81.3 million in 2014 to RMB297.3 million (US$45.9 million) in 2015. We expect our sales and marketing expenses to continue to increase on an absolute basis in the future as we further expand our operations. Our sales and marketing headcount increased from 736 as of December 31, 2014 to 1,837 as of December 31, 2015. The amount of payroll and employee benefit expenses for our sales and marketing staff increased from RMB30.8 million in 2014 to RMB130.0 million (US$20.1 million) in 2015.

        Our total telemarketing sales expenses increased from RMB19.1 million in 2014 to RMB85.8 million (US$13.2 million) in 2015. This increase was due to increased payroll and employee benefit expenses related to growth in our course consultant, telemarketing and account manager headcount from 390 as of December 31, 2014 to 971 as of December 31, 2015. This increase in headcount was in part due to our planning for anticipated growth.

        Online and mobile marketing expenses increased from RMB31.4 million in 2014 to RMB85.3 million (US$13.2 million) in 2015.

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        Our branding expenses increased from RMB12.3 million in 2014 to RMB62.5 million (US$9.6 million) in 2015. This increase was primarily due to higher expenses associated with offline advertisements and marketing campaigns, such as branding campaigns in subways and other major public transportation terminals, which increased from RMB10.3 million in 2014 to RMB48.5 million (US$7.5 million) in 2015. The increase in branding expenses was also partially due to expenses associated with our engagement of Ms. Li Na as our brand ambassador in 2015.

        Our free trial lesson-related expense primarily consist of payroll and employee benefit expenses for our free trial teachers, which increased from RMB4.2 million in 2014 to RMB15.1 million (US$2.3 million) in 2015. Our free trial teacher headcount increased from 219 as of December 31, 2014 to 562 as of December 31, 2015. The vast majority of our free trial teachers are based in the Philippines. This increase in headcount was due to our planning for anticipated growth.

        The payroll and employee benefit related to general student service representatives and teaching assistants increased from RMB2.4 million in 2014 to RMB13.7 million (US$2.1 million) in 2015 as a result of the increase in headcount from 53 as of December 31, 2014 to 167 as of December 31, 2015.

        Our rental expenses and depreciation expense recorded in sales and marketing expense increased from RMB4.2 million, RMB0.8 million in 2014 to RMB9.9 million (US$1.5 million), RMB5.2 million (US$0.8 million) in 2015. The increase was due to the increased rental payments for office sites and the large purchase of fixed assets to support our growth.

    General and administrative expenses

        Our general and administrative expenses increased by 105.7% from RMB31.6 million in 2014 to RMB64.9 million (US$10.0 million) in 2015, primarily due to increased headcount to support our growing operations from 225 as of December 31, 2014 to 455 as of December 31, 2015. The amount of payroll and employee benefit expenses for our management and administrative personnel increased from RMB16.3 million in 2014 to RMB33.6 million (US$5.2 million) in 2015. We expect our general and administrative expenses to increase in the future on an absolute basis as our business grows and as we incur increased costs related to complying with our reporting obligations after we become a public company under U.S. securities laws.

    Product development expenses

        Our product development expenses increased by 406.4% from RMB10.8 million in 2014 to RMB54.6 million (US$8.4 million) in 2015, primarily due to the increased headcount of our course content development staff, from 46 as of December 31, 2014 to 115 as of December 31, 2015, as well as the increased headcount of our technology staff, from 63 as of December 31, 2014 to 190 as of December 31, 2015. The amount of payroll and employee benefit expenses for our product development personnel increased from RMB9.5 million in 2014 to RMB48.9 million (US$7.5 million) in 2015. We expect our product development expenses to continue to increase on an absolute basis in the future as we develop and update our course content and enhance our online and mobile platforms.

    Interest and other expense, net

        We recorded net interest and other expense of RMB0.4 million (US$0.06 million) in 2015, as compared to net interest and other expense of RMB1.2 million in 2014. Our net interest and other expense was mainly attributable to foreign currency loss.

    Income tax expenses

        We incurred income tax expenses of RMB6.9 million and RMB4.9 million (US$0.8 million) in 2014 and 2015, respectively, both of which were mostly incurred in the Philippines as a result of our local business operations.

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    Net loss

        As a result of the foregoing, our net loss increased from RMB101.7 million in 2014 to RMB327.1 million (US$50.5 million) in 2015.

    The Year Ended December 31, 2014 Compared to The Year Ended December 31, 2013

    Net revenues

        Our net revenues increased by 141.0% from RMB21.7 million in 2013 to RMB52.2 million (US$8.4 million) in 2014. This increase was primarily due to the increased number of active students and, to a lesser extent, the average revenue per active student. The number of active students grew by 130.3% from 15.2 thousand in 2013 to 35.0 thousand in 2014.

        Our gross billings increased by 223.9% from RMB36.1 million in 2013 to RMB116.9 million (US$18.8 million) in 2014. For discussions of gross billings and reconciliation of gross billings to net revenues, see "—Non-GAAP Financial Measure." This increase was primarily due to the increased number of paying students and the increase in the average spending per paying student during the period. The number of paying students grew by 107.1% from 13.9 thousand in 2013 to 28.8 thousand in 2014. The average spending per paying student increased by 56.4% from RMB2.6 thousand in 2013 to RMB4.1 thousand (US$0.6 thousand) in 2014.

    Cost of revenues

        Our cost of revenues increased by 138.8% from RMB9.3 million in 2013 to RMB22.2 million (US$3.6 million) in 2014. This increase was primarily due to an increase in total service fees paid to our teachers for delivering an increased number of paid lessons. The total amount of service fees paid to teachers for delivering paid lessons increased by 130.9% from RMB9.1 million in 2013 to RMB21.0 million (US$3.4 million) in 2014. The total number of paid lessons booked on our platform increased from 1.0 million in 2013 to 2.3 million in 2014.

    Gross profit

        As a result of the foregoing, our gross profit increased by 142.6% from RMB12.4 million in 2013 to RMB30.0 million (US$4.8 million) in 2014. Our gross margin increased slightly from 57.1% in 2013 to 57.5% in 2014.

    Operating expenses

        Our operating expenses increased by 330.1% from RMB28.7 million in 2013 to RMB123.6 million (US$19.9 million) in 2014, as a result of increases in our sales and marketing, general and administrative and product development expenses.

    Sales and marketing expenses

        Our sales and marketing expenses increased by 374.6% from RMB17.1 million in 2013 to RMB81.3 million (US$13.1 million) in 2014. Our sales and marketing headcount increased from 138 as of December 31, 2013 to 736 as of December 31, 2014. The amount of payroll and employee benefit expenses for our sales and marketing staff increased from RMB6.7 million in 2013 to RMB30.8 million (US$5.0 million) in 2014.

        Our total telemarketing sales expenses increased from RMB3.8 million in 2013 to RMB19.1 million (US$3.1 million) in 2014. This increase was due to increased payroll and employee benefit expenses related to growth in our telemarketing, course consultant and account manager headcount from 55 as of December 31, 2013 to 390 as of December 31, 2014.

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        Online and mobile marketing expenses, which increased from RMB9.3 million in 2013 to RMB31.4 million (US$5.1 million) in 2014.

        Our branding expenses increased from RMB0.2 million in 2013 to RMB12.3 million (US$2.0 million) in 2014. This increase was primarily due to higher marketing expenses associated with offline advertisements and marketing campaigns, which increased from RMB0.2 million in 2013 to RMB10.3 million (US$1.7 million) in 2014.

        Our free trial lesson-related expense primarily consist of payroll and employee benefit expenses for our free trial teachers, which increased from RMB0.9 million 2013 to RMB4.2 million (US$0.7 million) in 2014. Our free trial headcount increased from 58 as of December 31, 2013 to 219 as of December 31, 2014. The vast majority of our free trial teachers are based in the Philippines.

    General and administrative expenses

        Our general and administrative expenses increased by 267.0% from RMB8.6 million in 2013 to RMB31.6 million (US$5.1 million) in 2014, primarily due to increased headcount to support our growing operations from 68 as of December 31, 2013 to 225 as of December 31, 2014. The amount of payroll and employee benefit expenses for our management and administrative personnel increased from RMB3.7 million in 2013 to RMB16.3 million (US$2.6 million) in 2014.

    Product development expenses

        Our product development expenses increased by 257.2% from RMB3.0 million in 2013 to RMB10.8 million (US$1.7 million) in 2014, primarily due to increased headcount of course content development staff from 11 as of December 31, 2013 to 46 as of December 31, 2014, as well as the increased headcount of technology staff from 24 as of December 31, 2013 to 63 as of December 31, 2014. The amount of payroll and employee benefit expenses for our product development personnel increased from RMB2.6 million in 2013 to RMB9.5 million (US$1.5 million) in 2014.

    Interest and other expense, net

        Our net interest and other expense increased from RMB0.7 million in 2013 to RMB1.2 million (US$0.2 million) in 2014. Our interest and other expense in both periods primarily consisted of foreign currency loss.

    Income tax expenses

        Our income tax expenses increased from RMB0.7 million in 2013 and RMB6.9 million (US$1.1 million) in 2014 as a result of our expanded business operations in the Philippines.

    Net loss

        As a result of the foregoing, our net loss increased from RMB17.8 million in 2013 to RMB101.7 million (US$16.4 million) in 2014.

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Selected Quarterly Results of Operations

        The following table sets forth our unaudited condensed consolidated quarterly results of operations for each of the nine quarters in the period from January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2016. You should read the following table in conjunction with annual consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. The unaudited condensed consolidated quarterly results of operations includes all adjustments that we consider necessary for a fair presentation of our operating results for the quarters presented.

 
  For the Three Months Ended  
 
  March 31,
2014
  June 30,
2014
  September 30,
2014
  December 31,
2014
  March 31,
2015
  June 30,
2015
  September 30,
2015
  December 31,
2015
  March 31,
2016
 
 
  (in RMB thousands)
 

Selected Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss:

                                                       

Net revenues

    8,383     9,949     15,046     18,832     24,374     31,914     43,080     55,307     72,191  

Cost of revenues

    (3,556 )   (4,617 )   (5,947 )   (8,094 )   (9,816 )   (12,040 )   (16,775 )   (21,037 )   (26,308 )

Gross profit

    4,827     5,332     9,099     10,738     14,558     19,874     26,305     34,270     45,883  

Operating expenses:

                                                       

Sales and marketing

    (8,355 )   (15,138 )   (27,216 )   (30,560 )   (49,050 )   (66,979 )   (82,172 )   (99,136 )   (94,245 )

Product development

    (1,455 )   (2,209 )   (3,143 )   (3,974 )   (7,153 )   (10,634 )   (15,460 )   (21,350 )   (26,542 )

General and administrative

    (4,580 )   (4,875 )   (10,053 )   (12,045 )   (9,337 )   (12,403 )   (18,131 )   (25,032 )   (25,658 )

Total operating expenses

    (14,390 )   (22,222 )   (40,412 )   (46,579 )   (65,540 )   (90,016 )   (115,763 )   (145,518 )   (146,445 )

Loss from operations

    (9,563 )   (16,890 )   (31,313 )   (35,841 )   (50,982 )   (70,142 )   (89,458 )   (111,248 )   (100,562 )

Interest and other (loss)/income, net

    (232 )   116     (599 )   (498 )   (322 )   313     2,694     (3,038 )   1,666  

Loss before income tax expenses

    (9,795 )   (16,774 )   (31,912 )   (36,339 )   (51,304 )   (69,829 )   (86,764 )   (114,286 )   (98,896 )

Income tax expenses

    (1,008 )   (1,378 )   (1,989 )   (2,507 )   (2,399 )   (902 )   (1,558 )   (44 )   (362 )

Net loss

    (10,803 )   (18,152 )   (33,901 )   (38,846 )   (53,703 )   (70,731 )   (88,322 )   (114,330 )   (99,258 )

Non-GAAP Financial Measure (1)

   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
 

Gross billings

    15,500     24,381     34,581     42,459     53,302     74,234     99,144     126,597     154,770  

Note:

(1)
For discussions of gross billings and reconciliation of gross billings to net revenues, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Non-GAAP Financial Measure."

        The growth of our gross billings was primarily driven by the increase in the number of paying students and the increase in the average spending per paying student over the nine quarters in the period from January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2016. The following table sets forth our paying students and average spending per paying student for each of the nine quarters in the period from January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2016:

 
  For the Three Months Ended  
 
  March 31,
2014
  June 30,
2014
  September 30,
2014
  December 31,
2014
  March 31,
2015
  June 30,
2015
  September 30,
2015
  December 31,
2015
  March 31,
2016
 

Paying students (in thousands)

    5.2     7.1     9.6     10.8     13.2     15.5     20.0     25.6     26.4  

Average spending per paying student (in RMB thousands)

    3.0     3.4     3.6     3.9     4.0     4.8     5.0     4.9     5.9  

        The growth of our revenue was primarily driven by the increase in the number of active students over the nine quarters in the period from January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2016. The following table sets forth our active students for each of the nine quarters in the period from January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2016:

 
  For the Three Months Ended  
 
  March 31,
2014
  June 30,
2014
  September 30,
2014
  December 31,
2014
  March 31,
2015
  June 30,
2015
  September 30,
2015
  December 31,
2015
  March 31,
2016
 

Active students (in thousands)

    10.6     13.6     19.9     25.4     32.4     39.6     50.2     60.1     71.9  

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        Seasonal fluctuations have affected, and are likely to continue to affect, our business. We experienced lower gross billings and revenue growth in the first quarter of 2015 as a result of the Chinese New Year holiday. In 2015, we experienced higher gross billings and revenue growth in the second and third quarters, primarily due to the relatively high payment volume and activity level of our students, in particular, those of K-12 students during summer vacation and beginning of fall semester. Such trend was less prominent in 2014, because the percentage of K-12 students among our paying students and active students was smaller as compared with 2015. Our quarterly cost of revenue, product development expenses and general and administrative expenses generally increased in absolute amounts during the period from January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2016 as we enhanced our marketing efforts and increased the headcount of our teachers and staff. Overall, the historical seasonality of our business has been relatively mild due to our rapid growth. As the percentage of K-12 students among our paying students and active students has been increasing during the past year, the seasonality may become more prominent, especially in the third quarter of each year. Due to our limited operating history, the seasonal trends that we have experienced in the past may not be indicative of our future operating results. See also "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—Our results of operations are subject to seasonal fluctuations."

Non-GAAP Financial Measure

        Gross billings is a non-GAAP financial measure. We define gross billings for a specific period as the total amount of cash received for the purchase of course packages in such period, net of the total amount of refunds in such period. Our management uses gross billings as a performance measurement because we generally bill our students at the time of sale of our course packages and recognize revenue either upon the completion of each lessons, in the case of prepaid credit packages, and proportionally throughout the membership period, in the case of prepaid membership packages, and a portion of our revenue may be recognized over a period of more than 12 months. For prepaid credit packages, fees for lesson credits that have expired are automatically recognized as revenues. We believe that gross billings provides valuable insight into the sales of our course packages and the performance of our business.

        This non-GAAP financial measure should not be considered in isolation from, or as substitutes for, its most directly comparable financial measure prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of the historical non-GAAP financial measure to its most directly comparable GAAP measure has been provided in the financial statement tables included below. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of the historical non-GAAP financial measure to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. As gross billings has material limitations as an analytical metrics and may not be calculated in the same manner by all companies, it may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies. In light of the foregoing limitations, you should not consider gross billings as a substitute for, or superior to, net revenues prepared in accordance with GAAP. We encourage investors and others to review our financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure.

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        We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using gross billings only as a supplemental measure. Gross billings is calculated as follows for the periods presented:

 
  For the Year Ended
December 31,
  For the Three
Months Ended
March 31,
 
 
  2013   2014   2015   2016  
 
  RMB   RMB   RMB   US$   RMB   US$  
 
  (in thousands)
 

Net revenues

    21,665     52,210   154,675   23,878     72,191     11,196  

Add: VAT and surcharges

    656     2,774   10,512   1,622     6,619     1,027  

Add: ending deferred revenue

    16,479     78,416   272,176   42,017     348,136     53,991  

Less: beginning deferred revenue

    2,703     16,479   78,416   12,105     272,176     42,211  

Less: deferred revenue from the acquisition of 91Waijiao

          5,670   875          

Gross billings (non-GAAP)

    36,097     116,921   353,277   54,537     154,770     24,003  

 
  For the Three Months Ended  
 
  March 31,
2014
  June 30,
2014
  September 30,
2014
  December 31,
2014
  March 31,
2015
  June 30,
2015
  September 30,
2015
  December 31,
2015
  March 31,
2016
 
 
  (in RMB thousands)
 

Net revenues

    8,383     9,949     15,046     18,832     24,374     31,914     43,080     55,307     72,191  

Add: VAT and surcharges

    203     514     934     1,123     1,519     1,539     2,942     4,512     6,619  

Add: ending deferred revenue

    23,393     37,311     55,912     78,416     111,495     152,276     205,398     272,176     348,136  

Less: beginning deferred revenue

    16,479     23,393     37,311     55,912     78,416     111,495     152,276     205,398     272,176  

Less: deferred revenue from the acquisition of 91 Waijiao

                    5,670                  

Gross billings (non-GAAP)

    15,500     24,381     34,581     42,459     53,302     74,234     99,144     126,597     154,770  

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 and cash generated from operating activities. As of March 31, 2016, we had RMB202.5 million (US$31.4 million) in cash, cash equivalents and time deposits, and we had no bank borrowings. Our cash consists of cash on hand and cash in bank, which are unrestricted as to withdrawal. Cash equivalents consist of cash held in accounts managed by certain third party online payment channels in connection with the collection of fees online. Time deposits represent a demand deposit with an initial term of greater than three months but less than one year when purchased.

        As of March 31, 2016, China Online Education Group and its non-PRC subsidiaries held cash and cash equivalents and time deposit in the amount of US$12.0 million, PHP14.2 million and RMB44.4 million in bank accounts in the PRC, the United States, the Philippines and Hong Kong; our PRC subsidiary held cash, cash equivalents and time deposit in the amount of RMB38.6 million in the PRC; our consolidated VIE in the Philippines held cash and cash equivalents of PHP25.6 million and US$9.6 thousand in the Philippines; and our consolidated VIE in the PRC held cash and cash equivalents in the amount of RMB36.4 million in the PRC, which included cash reserved to settle payables to our subsidiary in China. For restrictions and limitations on liquidity and capital resources as a result of our corporate structure, see "—Holding Company Structure." We would need to accrue and pay withholding taxes if we were to distribute funds from our subsidiary in the PRC to our offshore subsidiaries.

        We believe that our current cash, cash equivalents and time deposits 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.

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        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,
 
 
  2013   2014   2015   2015   2016  
 
  RMB   RMB   RMB   US$   RMB   RMB   US$  
 
  (in thousands)
 

Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities

    1,956     (15,461 )   (104,020 )   (16,058 )   (13,351 )   (3,719 )   (577 )

Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities

    (386 )   (7,814 )   (192,884 )   (29,776 )   (6,520 )   34,585     5,364  

Net cash provided by financing activities

    59,273     169,724     125,574     19,385              

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

    (565 )   1,823     8,429     1,301     82     (866 )   (134 )

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

    60,278     148,272     (162,901 )   (25,148 )   (19,789 )   30,000     4,653  

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period

    1,224     61,502     209,774     32,384     209,774     46,873     7,269  

Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period

    61,502     209,774     46,873     7,236     189,985     76,873     11,922  

    Operating Activities

        Net cash used in operating activities decreased significantly to RMB3.7 million (US$0.6 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016, as compared to RMB13.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015, due to our business expansion and improved operating efficiency. Net cash used in operating activities in the three months ended March 31, 2016 was primarily attributable to a net loss of RMB99.3 million (US$15.4 million), adjusted for non-cash items of RMB3.2 million (US$0.5 million), and partially offset by a decrease of RMB92.4 million (US$14.3 million) in working capital. The non-cash items were mainly depreciation and amortization of RMB3.2 million (US$0.5 million). The decrease in working capital was mainly attributable to an increase in deferred revenue of RMB76.0 million (US$11.8 million), an increase of accrued expenses and other current liabilities of RMB9.8 million (US$1.5 million), a decrease in prepaid expenses and other current assets of RMB5.4 million (US$0.8 million) and an increase in taxes payable of RMB1.7 million (US$0.3 million). The increase of deferred revenue was primarily a result of increased gross billings. The increase in accrued expenses and other current liabilities was primarily attributable to accrued payroll and social benefit expenses and accrued professional service fees. The decrease in prepayments and other current assets was primarily due to decreased prepaid promotional fee.

        Net cash used in operating activities amounted to RMB104.0 million (US$16.1 million) in 2015, which was primarily attributable to a net loss of RMB327.1 million (US$50.5 million), adjusted for non-cash items of RMB7.4 million (US$1.1 million), and partially offset by a decrease of RMB215.7 million (US$33.3 million) in working capital. The non-cash items were mainly depreciation and amortization of RMB7.4 million (US$1.1 million). The decrease in working capital was mainly attributable to an increase in deferred revenue of RMB188.1 million (US$29.0 million) and an increase of accrued expenses and other current liabilities of RMB55.3 million (US$8.5 million), which was partially offset by an increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets of RMB34.3 million (US$5.3 million). The increase of deferred revenue was primarily a result of increased gross billings. The increase in accrued expenses and other current liabilities was primarily attributable to accrued payroll and social benefit expenses and accrued professional service fees. The increase in prepayments and other current assets was primarily due to increased prepaid promotional expenses.

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        Net cash used in operating activities amounted to RMB15.5 million (US$2.5 million) in 2014, which was primarily attributable to a net loss of RMB101.7 million (US$16.4 million), adjusted for non-cash items of RMB3.0 million (US$0.5 million), and partially offset by a decrease of RMB83.2 million (US$13.4million) in working capital. The non-cash items were mainly depreciation and amortization of RMB1.4 million (US$0.2 million) and the compensation to our founding shareholders of RMB1.6 million (US$0.3 million). The decrease in working capital was mainly attributable to an increase in deferred revenue of RMB61.9 million (US$10.0 million) and an increase of accrued expenses and other current liabilities of RMB19.8 million (US$3.2 million). The increase of deferred revenue was primarily a result of increased gross billings. The increase in accrued expenses and other current liabilities was primarily attributable to accrued payroll and social benefit expenses and accrued professional service fees.

        Net cash generated in operating activities amounted to RMB2.0 million in 2013, which was primarily attributable to a net loss of RMB17.8 million, adjusted for non-cash items of RMB0.2 million, and partially offset by a decrease of RMB19.6 million in working capital. The non-cash item was depreciation and amortization of RMB0.2 million. The decrease in working capital was mainly attributable to an increase in deferred revenue of RMB13.8 million and an increase of accrued expenses and other current liabilities of RMB5.1 million. The increase of deferred revenue was primarily a result of increased gross billings. The increase in accrued expenses and other current liabilities was primarily attributable to accrued payroll and social benefit expenses and accrued professional service fees. The increase in prepayments and other current assets was primarily due to an increase in prepaid rental and office deposit.

    Investing Activities

        We lease all of our facilities. Our cash used in investing activities is primarily related to leasehold improvements, purchase of property and equipment, and investments in time deposits and short-term financial products.

        Net cash provided by investing activities amounted to RMB34.6 million (US$5.4 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016, which was primarily attributable to the withdrawal of time deposits of approximately RMB81.5 million (US$12.6 million), and partially offset by placement of time deposits of RMB40.0 million (US$6.2 million), property and equipment, including computers and servers, of approximately RMB5.9 million (US$0.9 million) and purchase of intangible assets of RMB1.0 million (US$0.2 million) in connection with the expansion of our business operations.

        Net cash used in investing activities was RMB192.9 million (US$29.8 million) in 2015, consisting of purchase of time deposits of approximately RMB192.1 million (US$29.7 million), purchase of property and equipment, including computers and servers, of approximately RMB25.3 million (US$3.9 million) and purchase of intangible assets of RMB0.5 million (US$0.1 million) in connection with the acquisition of our business operations, and partially offset by income from the maturity of time deposits of approximately RMB25.0 million (US$3.9 million).

        Net cash used in investing activities was RMB7.8 million (US$1.3 million) in 2014, primarily consisting of purchases of property and equipment, including computers and servers, of approximately RMB7.5 million (US$1.2 million) in connection with the expansion of our business operations.

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        Net cash used in investing activities was RMB0.4 million in 2013, primarily consisting of purchases of property and equipment, including computers and servers, in connection with the expansion of our business operations.

    Financing Activities

        There was no financing activities in the three months ended March 31, 2016.

        Net cash provided by financing activities in 2015 amounted to RMB125.6 million (US$19.4 million), which resulted solely from the issuance of series D preferred shares, after deducting payment of the relevant issuance costs.

        Net cash provided by financing activities in 2014 amounted to RMB169.7 million (US$27.4 million), which resulted solely from our issuance of series C preferred shares, after deducting payment of the relevant issuance costs.

        Net cash provided by financing activities in 2013 amounted to RMB59.3 million, which resulted solely from our issuance of ordinary shares, series A and series B preferred shares, after deducting payment of the relevant issuance costs.

Capital Expenditures

        Our capital expenditures are incurred primarily in connection with leasehold improvements and investments in office furnitures, computers and servers. Our capital expenditures were RMB0.4 million, RMB7.5 million and RMB25.3 million (US$3.9 million) and RMB5.9 million (US$0.9 million) in the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and three months ended March 31, 2016. We intend to continue to utilize real estate leasing in order to allocate our capital resources cost-efficiently. We may make acquisitions of businesses and properties that complement our operations when suitable opportunities arise.

Contractual Obligations

        The following table sets forth our contractual obligations as of March 31, 2016:

 
  Payment due by period  
 
  Total   Less than
1 year
  1 - 3
years
  3 - 5
years
  More than
5 years
 
 
  (in RMB thousands)
 

Operating lease obligations (1)

    31,935     19,958     11,977          

Purchase commitment (2)

    38,887     35,657     3,230          

Notes:

(1)
Represents our non-cancelable leases for our offices and learning centers.

(2)
Represents our minimum commitments for brand promotion activities.

Holding Company Structure

        China Online Education Group is a holding company with no material operations of its own. We conduct our operations primarily through our subsidiaries and our consolidated VIEs. As a result, our ability to pay dividends depends upon dividends paid by our subsidiaries. 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 subsidiary in China is 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

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promulgated by the Ministry of Finance of the PRC, or PRC GAAP. In accordance with PRC company laws, our consolidated VIE 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 VIE. Appropriation to discretionary surplus fund is made at the discretion of our consolidated VIE. Pursuant to the law applicable to China's foreign investment enterprise, our subsidiary that is a 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 subsidiary. Appropriation to the other two reserve funds at are our subsidiary's 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 subsidiary only through loans or capital contributions, and to our consolidated affiliated entity only through loans, in each case subject to the satisfaction of the applicable government registration and approval requirements. See "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—PRC regulation on loans to, and direct investment in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control in currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans to our PRC subsidiary and PRC consolidated VIE or make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary, 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 subsidiary and consolidated VIE when needed. Notwithstanding the forgoing, our PRC subsidiary may use its own retained earnings (rather than RMB converted from foreign currency denominated capital) to provide financial support to our consolidated affiliated entity either through entrustment loans from our PRC subsidiary to our consolidated VIE or direct loans to such consolidated affiliated entity's nominee shareholders, which would be contributed to the consolidated variable entity as capital injections. Such direct loans to the nominee shareholders would be eliminated in our consolidated financial statements against the consolidated affiliated entity's share capital.

        The table below sets forth the respective revenue contributions of (i) our company and our subsidiaries and (ii) our consolidated VIEs for the periods indicated as a percentage of total net revenues:

 
  Revenue (1)  
 
  Year ended December 31,    
 
 
  Three Months Ended
March 31,
2016
 
 
  2013   2014   2015  

Our company and our subsidiaries

                 

Our consolidated VIE in the PRC

    100.0 %   100.0 %   100.0 %   100.0 %

Our consolidated VIE in the Philippines

                 

Total net revenues

    100.0 %   100.0 %   100.0 %   100.0 %

Note:

(1)
The percentages exclude the inter-company transactions among China Online Education Group, its subsidiaries and its consolidated VIEs.

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        The table below sets forth the respective asset contributions of (i) our company and our subsidiaries and (ii) our consolidated VIEs for the periods indicated as a percentage of total assets:

 
  Total assets (1)  
 
  As of December 31,    
 
 
  As of March 31,
2016
 
 
  2013   2014   2015  

Our company and our subsidiaries

    82.9 %   87.9 %   82.9 %   77.4 %

Our consolidated VIE in the PRC

    15.2 %   10.7 %   15.5 %   20.2 %

Our consolidated VIE in the Philippines

    1.9 %   1.4 %   1.6 %   2.4 %

Total assets

    100.0 %   100.0 %   100.0 %   100.0 %

Note:

(1)
The percentages exclude the inter-company balances among China Online Education Group, its subsidiaries and its consolidated VIEs.

Off-Balance Sheet Commitments and Arrangements

        We have not entered into any financial guarantees or other commitments to guarantee the payment obligations of any third parties. We have not entered into any derivative contracts that are indexed to our shares and classified as shareholder's 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.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk

    Interest Rate Risk

        Our exposure to interest rate risk primarily relates to the interest income generated by excess cash, which is mostly held in interest-bearing bank deposits. We have not used any derivative financial instruments to manage our interest risk exposure. Interest-earning instruments carry a degree of interest rate risk. We have not been exposed, nor do we anticipate being exposed, to material risks due to changes in interest rates. However, our future interest income may be lower than expected due to changes in market interest rates.

    Foreign Exchange Risk

        Substantially all of our revenues are denominated in Renminbi, and a significant portion of our costs is incurred and paid in Philippine Pesos. The Renminbi is not freely convertible into foreign currencies for capital account transactions. The value of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar, the Philippine Pesos and other currencies is affected by, among other things, changes in China's political and economic conditions and China's foreign exchange policies. On July 21, 2005, the PRC government changed its decade-old policy of pegging the value of the RMB to the U.S. dollar, and the Renminbi appreciated more than 20% against the U.S. dollar over the following three years. Between July 2008 and June 2010, this appreciation halted and the exchange rate between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar remained within a narrow band. Since June 2010, the RMB has fluctuated against the U.S. dollar, at times significantly and unpredictably. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar in the future. We are also exposed to the risk of an increase in the value of the Philippine Peso relative to the Renminbi, which would increase our expenses.

        To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk.

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        We estimate that we will receive net proceeds of approximately US$             million from this offering, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and the estimated offering expenses payable by us, based on the initial offering price of US$            per ADS (the mid-point of the estimated initial public offering price range shown on the front cover page of this prospectus). Assuming that we convert the full amount of the net proceeds from this offering into RMB, a 10% appreciation of the U.S. dollar against RMB, from a rate of RMB             to US$1.00 to a rate of RMB            to US$1.00, will result in an increase of RMB             million in our net proceeds from this offering. Conversely, a 10% depreciation of the U.S. dollar against the RMB, from a rate of RMB            to US$1.00 to a rate of RMB            to US$1.00, will result in a decrease of RMB              million in our net proceeds from this offering.

    Inflation Risk

        Since our inception, inflation in China and the Philippines has not materially impacted our results of operations. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the year-over-year percent changes in the consumer price index for December 2013, 2014 and 2015 were increases of 2.5%, 1.5% and 1.6%, respectively. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the year-over-year headline inflation rates in the Philippines for June 2013, 2014 and 2015 were 2.7%, 4.4% and 1.2%, respectively.

        Although we have not in the past been materially affected by inflation since our inception, we can provide no assurance that we will not be affected in the future by higher rates of inflation in China and the Philippines.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

        In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)." This guidance supersedes current guidance on revenue recognition in Topic 605, "Revenue Recognition." In addition, there are disclosure requirements related to the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue recognition. This guidance will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim reporting periods, and will be required to be applied retrospectively. Early application of the guidance is not permitted. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14 to defer the effective date of ASU No. 2014-09 for all entities by one year. Therefore, the Company will adopt this guidance for its 2018 fiscal year. In April 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-10 to clarify the following two aspects of Topic 606: identifying performance obligations and the licensing implementation guidance, while retaining the related principles for these areas. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance.

        In August 2014, FASB issued ASU No. 2014-15, "Presentation of Financial Statements—Going Concern (Subtopic 205-40): Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity's Ability to Continue as a Going Concern." The new standard addresses management's responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity's ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures. Management's evaluation should be based on relevant conditions and events that are known and reasonably knowable at the date that the financial statements are issued. The new standard will be effective for the first interim period within annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect this guidance to have a material effect on its consolidated financial statements at the time of adoption of this standard.

        In November 2015, FASB issued ASU No. 2015-17, "Income Taxes (Topic 740): Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes". The new guidance requires entities to present all deferred tax assets and liabilities, along with any related valuation allowance, as non-current on the balance sheet. The guidance is effective for public-traded companies for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016 (early adoption is permitted). The Company does not expect this guidance to have a material effect on its consolidated financial statements at the time of adoption of this standard.

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        In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, "Leases (Topic 842)". The new guidance requires that a lessee recognize the assets and liabilities that arise from operating leases. A lessee should recognize in the statement of financial position a liability to make lease payments (the lease liability) and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term. For leases with a term of 12 months or less, a lessee is permitted to make an accounting policy election by class of underlying asset not to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities. In transition, lessees and lessors are required to recognize and measure leases at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach. Public business entities should apply the amendments in ASU 2016-02 for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years (i.e., January 1, 2019, for a calendar year entity). Early application is permitted for all public business entities and all nonpublic business entities upon issuance. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance.

        In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, "Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting (Topic 718)". The new update will require all income tax effects of awards to be recognized in the income statement when the awards vest or are settled. It also will allow an employer to repurchase more of an employee's shares than it can today for tax withholding purposes without triggering liability accounting and to make a policy election to account for forfeitures as they occur. The guidance is effective for the Company on January 1, 2017. Early application is permitted in any annual or interim period for which financial statements haven't been issued or made available for issuance, but all of the guidance must be adopted in the same period. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance.

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INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

China's Private Education Market

        Driven by rapid economic growth, urbanization and higher per capita disposable income of urban households, China has experienced significant growth in the private education market. According to the Frost & Sullivan Report, China's private education market reached RMB1,057.7 billion (US$163.3 billion) in 2015, and is expected to further grow at a CAGR of 15.4% to RMB2,161.8 billion (US$333.7 billion) in 2020.

China's Online Education Market

        Online education offers students easy access to a large pool of teachers, rich course materials and pre-lesson and post-lesson support at times and locations of their choice. Online education companies are not required to make significant capital investments as they expand, which allows them to concentrate their resources on improving teacher quality, curriculum development and upgrading their technology platforms as well as on realizing greater economies of scale compared to offline companies. Online education companies are also well positioned to gather and analyze data to drive optimized learning experiences.

        China's online education market in terms of gross billings increased from RMB46.1 billion (US$7.1 billion) in 2010 to RMB131.2 billion (US$20.3 billion) in 2015, representing a CAGR of 23.3%, and is expected to further increase to RMB655.0 billion (US$101.1 billion) in 2020, representing a CAGR of 37.9% from 2015. The following chart sets forth the historical and expected market size of China's online education in terms of gross billings for the periods indicated:

GRAPHIC


Source: The Frost & Sullivan Report

        With the rapid development of mobile internet infrastructure and technology, online education companies have increasingly developed more sophisticated mobile platforms that better engage students through social network functions. Mobile education platforms offer a comprehensive learning experience to students through integrated functions including lesson booking, pre-lesson study and live lessons. According to the Frost & Sullivan Report, mobile internet users as a percentage of all internet users in China is expected to increase from 90.1% in 2015 to 99.5% in 2020. As the adoption of smart devices in China continues to grow, mobile education platforms have become an increasingly important part of the learning experience for Chinese students. According to a survey conducted by Frost & Sullivan, or the Survey, more than 90% of the participants who have taken online courses intend to take online lessons on mobile platforms.

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Online Platform Presents Significant Opportunities for the English Education Market in China

China's English Education Market

        There are more opportunities for people in China to use English in their daily lives and significant and increasing demand among the Chinese population for improving their general English proficiency, owing to continued globalization, improvements in the standard of living and increasing demand from Chinese consumers for overseas services and products. According to the Frost & Sullivan Report, as of December 31, 2015, the population of K-12 students, college students and working adults in China reached 180.2 million, 26.3 million and 774.5 million, respectively, and the frequency of overseas travelling of residents in China reached 133.6 million times during 2015. All of these groups have potentially significant demand for English education. However, primarily due to the exam-driven curriculum design, China's compulsory education system is unable to adequately enhance individuals' English proficiency and address the large potential English education demand. In 2014, the English speaking population in China as a percentage of total population was significantly lower than those in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.

        According to the Survey, people value quality of teachers, lesson format and brand reputation as the top considerations when selecting English education providers. In particular, the majority of the participants prefer small group or one-on-one lesson over large group lesson formats for English education.

        China's English education market in terms of gross billings grew from RMB79.5 billion (US$12.3 billion) in 2010 to RMB153.4 billion (US$23.7 billion) in 2015, representing a CAGR of 14.0%, and is expected to further increase to RMB445.8 billion (US$68.8 billion) in 2020, representing a CAGR of 23.8% from 2015. The following chart sets forth the historical and expected market size of China's English education market in terms of gross billings for the periods indicated:

GRAPHIC


Source: The Frost & Sullivan Report

China's Online English Education Market

        Compared with traditional offline English education companies, online English education platforms are more efficient as they facilitate more frequent interactions between teachers and students, better student engagement and high frequency practice for knowledge reinforcement.

        China's online English education market in terms of gross billings increased from RMB3.4 billion (US$0.5 billion) in 2010 to RMB18.3 billion (US$2.8 billion) in 2015, representing a CAGR of 40.0%, and is expected to further increase to RMB160.9 billion (US$24.8 billion) in 2020, representing a CAGR of 54.5% from 2015. Meanwhile, the growth in household wealth has enabled parents in China to devote

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more resources to the education of their children, which makes the K-12 education sector an attractive market. According to the Frost & Sullivan Report, the K-12 segment of the online English education market in China is expected to grow from RMB7.1 billion (US$1.1 billion) in 2015 to RMB83.7 billion (US$12.9 billion) in 2020. The following chart sets forth the historical and expected market size of China's online English education market in terms of gross billings for the periods indicated:

GRAPHIC


Source: The Frost & Sullivan Report

        Fully online English education companies, which do not offer any lessons offline, possess the following competitive advantages:

    greater scalability that requires a minimum amount of capital investment as they expand their business;

    ability to potentially reach a significantly larger market of prospective students across a broader geographical area; and

    ability to translate capital savings into affordable course prices for students, devote more resources towards technology development and data analytics knowhow, and the engagement of high quality teachers.

        Online live interactive English education is usually provided by companies using one-on-one or one-to-many lesson formats. Among them, the one-on-one format is generally considered to be more effective, flexible, and more tailored to students' specific needs. According to the Frost & Sullivan Report, China's online live interactive English education market in terms of gross billings increased from RMB75.1 million (US$11.6 million) in 2010 to RMB1.4 billion (US$0.2 billion) in 2015, representing a CAGR of 80.2%, and is expected to further increase to RMB64.7 billion (US$10.0 billion) in 2020, representing a CAGR of 114.4% from 2015. Compared to pre-recorded and live broadcast formats, online live interactive English education has the following advantages:

    teachers are able to adjust their teaching plans to cater to different students' needs and address students' questions in a timely fashion;

    interaction enhances students' attention levels as they are required to actively participate during each session; and

    in spoken and listening English practice, interaction also strengthens learning efficiency as students can communicate directly with teachers and receive timely feedback.

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Key Factors for Success in China's Online English Education Industry

        Key factors for success in China's online English education industry include (i) having stable sources of quality teachers, (ii) the ability to develop high quality course content catered to Chinese students' needs, (iii) the ability to develop a robust mobile platform and (iv) the capabilities to run efficient large-scale operations.

        Among the key factors, having a stable source of quality teachers at an efficient cost is critical. The Philippines has proven itself to be a cost-efficient source of high quality English teachers. Several general characteristics of the Philippine population are highly suited to English-related service industries in Asia, including having English as a primary language, strong work ethic, and the influence of both Asian and American cultures. There were 656.3 thousands students who graduated from colleges in the Philippines in 2015, according to the Frost & Sullivan Report, forming a large pool of well-educated teacher candidates. In addition, according to the Frost & Sullivan report, the number of Filipinos working in call centers, where they are constantly exposed to Western culture, reached 1,073.7 thousands by the end of 2015. Furthermore, according to the Frost & Sullivan Report, in 2015, the average monthly salary in the Philippines was US$197.8, as compared to the average monthly salary for foreign teachers in China of US$1,616.6. In addition, according to the Frost & Sullivan Report, the Philippines is ranked among the top 10 countries in the world by total number of English speakers in 2014.

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BUSINESS

Overview

        Our mission is to make quality education accessible and affordable. Recognizing the strong demand for improving English proficiency and the lack of effective and affordable solutions in China, our founders started with English education as the first step of our journey.

        We are a leading online education platform in China, with core expertise in English education. According to the Frost & Sullivan Report, we are one of the top online education platforms as measured by gross billings in 2015, and the largest online English education platform in China, as measured by gross billings in 2015 and the number of available foreign teachers as of December 31, 2015.

        The charts below demonstrate our rapid growth:

GRAPHIC

        English education in China traditionally focuses on test preparation instead of improving English proficiency, especially English communication skills. To address this unmet need, we have developed proprietary online and mobile education platforms that enable students across China to take one-on-one live interactive English lessons with overseas foreign teachers, on demand, fostering the development of all aspects of English proficiency. We employ student and teacher feedback and data analytics to deliver a personalized learning experience. Our lessons are highly affordable, with each 25-minute lesson on average costing approximately RMB30 (US$5).

        We connect our students with a large pool of highly qualified foreign teachers that we have assembled using a sharing economy approach. Once our teachers have gone through our rigorous selection and training process, we give them the flexibility to deliver lessons based on their own scheduling availability, at appropriate locations of their choice, and get paid based on the number of lessons taught. This sharing economy approach has allowed us to quickly build a large team of teachers in a cost-effective manner. Our platform analyzes teachers' teaching aptitudes, feedback and rating from students and background and recommends suitable teachers to students according to their respective characteristics and learning objectives. The large pool of teachers not only allows us to provide live lessons to students on demand by giving them scheduling flexibility, but also ensures that we are able to accommodate and address students' individual learning behaviors and needs.

        We develop and tailor our proprietary curriculum specifically to our interactive lesson format and goal of building an interactive and immersive English learning environment. Our flagship courses, Classic English and Classic English Junior , place specific emphasis on the development of English communication skills. We complement our flagship offerings with a number of specialty courses aimed at situation-based English education and test preparation needs, such as Business English and IELTS Speaking .

        We have designed a holistic learning solution that enhances effective learning through the integration of live lessons, practice, assessment and mentoring. Our live interactive lessons allow for frequently

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interaction between students and teachers, which is a key factor in improving English communication skills. Prior to taking lessons, students preview course materials using exercises and illustrations, supported by a pronunciation recognition and rating system. Assessment includes post-lesson quizzes and level advancement exams, both of which help students better assess their learning outcome and identify areas for improvement. In addition, our teaching assistants mentor students by coaching them on the proper learning methods and attending to their needs throughout the learning process.

        Our proprietary online and mobile education platforms, particularly our Air Class platform, are critical to students' learning experience. The Air Class platform integrates a number of features that allows us to closely simulate, and in some ways surpass, a traditional classroom experience. Our 51Talk mobile app, which serves as an integral part of our students' overall learning experience, allows students to book and manage lessons, access pre-lesson preparation and review materials, as well as to take lessons at locations of their choice. Approximately 82.3% of our active students utilized our mobile app in the three months ended March 31, 2016.

        We have experienced significant growth in recent years. Our gross billings increased from RMB36.1 million in 2013 to RMB116.9 million in 2014, and further to RMB353.3 million (US$54.5 million) in 2015, and increased from RMB53.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB154.8 million (US$24.0 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. We define gross billings for a specific period as the total amount of cash received for the purchase of course packages in such period, net of the total amount of refunds in such period. For discussions of gross billings and reconciliation of gross billings to net revenues, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Non-GAAP Financial Measure." Our net revenues increased from RMB21.7 million in 2013 to RMB52.2 million in 2014, and further reached 154.7 million (US$23.9 million) in 2015, and increased from RMB24.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to RMB72.2 million (US$11.2 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2016. We had a net loss of RMB17.8 million, RMB101.7 million, RMB327.1 million (US$50.5 million) in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. In the three months ended March 31, 2016, we had a net loss of RMB99.3 million (US$15.4 million), compared to a net loss of RMB53.7 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015.

        We have recently experienced significant growth in the K-12 online English education market. In 2015, we released our Classic English Junior course which is customized to the learning objectives and patterns of K-12 students. We have also implemented a series of targeted initiatives to better engage K-12 students and their parents. As a result, K-12 students' contribution to our overall gross billings reached 42.2% in the first quarter of 2016, compared to 34.8% and 24.5% in the fourth quarter and first quarter of 2015, respectively. In the first quarter of 2016, the higher average initial course package size of RMB6.2 thousand purchased by K-12 students and the higher referral rate of 57.4% by K-12 students, as compared to those of other demographics of our student base, further validate our focus in this market. In March 2016, we launched our 51Talk New Concept course, which is a test preparation course tailored for K-12 students and in May 2016, we introduced a new course package with teachers from North America for our K-12 students.

Our Value Propositions

        We believe that the success of our platform is a direct result of the unique value propositions that we offer to both students and teachers.

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Our Strengths

        We are a leading online education platform in China, with core expertise in English education. According to the Frost and Sullivan report, we are one of the top online education platforms as measured by gross billings in 2015, and the largest online English education platform in China as measured by gross billings in 2015 and the number of available foreign teachers as of December 31, 2015.

        According to the Survey, students considered the quality of teachers to be the most important factor in selecting an English education provider and rated our teachers to be of the highest quality as compared with leading online education companies. As of March 31, 2016, we had approximately 6.3 thousand highly qualified foreign teachers available to deliver lessons on our platform. The large pool of teachers not only allows us to provide live lessons to students on demand by giving them maximum scheduling flexibility, but also ensures that we are able to accommodate and address students' individual learning behavior and needs.

        We believe our leading industry position translates into a strong brand value. We believe our strong brand will continue to allow us to attract more prospective students and quality teachers.

        English education in China traditionally focuses on test preparation and often requires students to memorize a large amount of vocabulary and grammatical structure, without placing equal importance on English communication skills, which are also critical to English proficiency.

        We believe we are one of the first online education platforms in China to offer live interactive English lessons with foreign teachers on demand, fostering the development of all aspects of English proficiency. Our innovative approach to online English education enables our students to learn English effectively, while enjoying highly affordable prices.

        We believe that the best way to learn English is for students to have frequent and live interactions with foreign teachers. A large majority of the lessons on our platform are taught by teachers from the Philippines on a one-on-one basis. During the lesson, our students are immersed in an all-English setting that encourages them to actively participate by speaking and interacting significantly more than they would be able to in a traditional classroom setting in China, accelerating the development of their English proficiency.

        The majority of our teachers are university graduates in the Philippines, and many also have had extensive exposure to English-speaking work environments, allowing them to communicate effectively in English. In addition to identifying qualified candidates with strong skill sets, backgrounds, passion and the necessary patience for teaching through our rigorous selection process, we also have a systematic training program to further ensure that our teachers can effectively assist students in meeting their English learning objectives. Our training program is also personalized to address particular areas of improvement identified through our analysis of quality assurance and student feedback data. Furthermore, our student feedback and rating system rewards teachers with better performances by making their lessons more popular among and more likely to be booked by students.

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        Our education program encompasses every step that is essential for effective learning. We understand that an effective learning experience goes beyond live lessons with foreign teachers. We have designed a holistic learning solution that enhances effective learning through the integration of live lessons, practice, assessment and mentoring. Our live interactive lessons allow for frequent interaction between students and teachers, which is a key factor in improving English communication skills. Prior to taking lessons, students preview the course materials using exercises and illustrations, supported by a pronunciation recognition and rating system. Assessment includes post-lesson quizzes and level advancement exams, both of which help students better assess their learning outcome and identify areas for improvement. In addition, our teaching assistants mentor students by coaching them on the proper learning methods and attending to their needs throughout the learning process. We believe our knowhow and operational expertise in relation to the design of curriculum and course materials, teacher selection and training, as well as student services are crucial to our operation and represent significant entry barrier for our industry.

        We develop our proprietary materials in-house for substantially all of our courses. The design and uniformity of the curriculum is particularly important given that our platform allows students to take consecutive lessons of the same courses from different teachers. Our dedicated team of 148 professionals as of March 31, 2016, develops and updates our course materials, which are tailored to our interactive lesson format and our goal of building an immersive and effective English learning environment. Our teachers use our standardized curriculum and instructional guideline for each lesson, which have been designed by language acquisition experts to ensure a seamless and effective learning experience for our students.

        Our data-driven approach to each step of a student's learning process, as well as our highly interactive one-on-one lessons enable us to provide students with highly personalized learning experience. By analyzing a student's profile, learning objectives and English proficiency, and considering the key learning points of our curriculum, our system recommend a study plan that suits individual students. Our platform analyzes teachers' teaching aptitudes, interests and background and recommends suitable teachers according to their respective characteristics and learning objectives. For example, for students who are within the age group of K-12 students, our system automatically recommends teachers who had been tagged as being strongly suitable for K-12 English education, which tags are placed based on prior training and student feedback, among others. We also track individual student's learning progress, including how often a student takes lessons and his assessment results, in order to promptly address any particular needs or concerns.

        We believe our significant price advantage, together with our effective curriculum, not only provide existing English students in China with an attractive alternative to traditional forms of English learning, but also makes English learning available to a broader population who desire to improve their English proficiency but otherwise could not afford one-on-one lessons with foreign English teachers. According to the Survey, students perceived our course package to be of the highest value-for-money among leading online and offline English education companies. Our one-on-one 25-minute lessons with foreign teachers on average cost approximately RMB30 (US$5), while other leading online English education companies' comparable lessons typically cost approximately RMB50 to RMB250 per 25 minutes, and other leading offline English education companies' comparable lessons typically cost approximately RMB200 to RMB380 per 25 minutes, according to the Frost & Sullivan Report.

        The heart of our business lies in our innovative approach to assembling teachers and connecting them with students on our platform. Meanwhile, we operate a highly scalable business model which is critical

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given the large number of teachers we constantly mobilize and manage and the rapidly-expanding student base that we serve. We have ramped up our business rapidly and successfully due to our sharing economy approach to assembling our teachers, significant cost efficiency in the Philippines and a minimum requirement to invest in physical infrastructure, thanks to our online and mobile platforms.

        We had approximately 6.3 thousand foreign teachers available to deliver lessons on our platform as of March 31, 2016. These teachers deliver lessons based on their availability, at appropriate locations of their choice, and are only paid according to the number of lessons that they teach. This sharing economy approach to assembling teachers provides us with significant operational flexibility and has proven to be highly attractive to prospective teachers in the Philippines, allowing us to rapidly build a large team of teachers. The average monthly pay of a typical teacher on our platform is approximately RMB3,520 (US$543), assuming he or she instructs 16 lessons per day for five days each week, which is approximately one-third the pay of a typical foreign English teacher in China in 2015. However, our pay is highly competitive with other comparable opportunities in the Philippines, such as call centers and public school teachers, who in 2015 provided average monthly salaries of US$511.6 and US$423.9, respectively, according to the Frost & Sullivan Report.

        As opposed to offline education companies, our platform is not limited by physical infrastructure or the location of the student and requires a minimum amount of investment in physical infrastructure as we expand our business. We are able to provide English learning opportunities to anyone with an internet connection and, by not having to invest in brick and mortar infrastructure, we can pass such savings to our students in the form of highly affordable course packages.

        We have significant operational expertise and have developed systematic operations for critical aspects of our business. We have designed an efficient selection and training program for teachers and a proprietary curriculum development process. We also continually optimize our systematic approach that empowers our teams of telemarketing professionals to efficiently convert leads to students and serve and retain these students. We believe our excellence in each of these areas makes our success difficult to replicate.

        Our proprietary Air Class platform allows for an interactive and smooth learning experience. We have integrated a number of innovative features on the Air Class platform that allows it to closely simulate, and in some ways surpass, a traditional classroom learning experience, such as the interactive white board that allows teachers to highlight in real-time specific text phrases or knowledge points to students.

        Our mobile platform is an integral part of our students' overall learning experience. It allows students to book and manage lessons, access pre-lesson preparation and review materials, in addition to taking lessons at locations of their choice. The mobile platform also increases student stickiness to our platform with additional social features and content. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2015, we launched virtual study groups that assign students with similar English competencies and demographic backgrounds to the same group to foster a sense of class community. Students in the same group have access to each other's progress through the course levels, which fosters a competitive learning environment to further drive engagement and course consumption. To date, we have already demonstrated significant leadership on our mobile education platform. Approximately 82.3% of our active students accessed mobile platform at least once during the three months ended March 31, 2016.

        Our online and mobile education platforms provide a wealth of data with respect to teacher performance and learning outcomes from our lessons, forming a feedback loop that serves as a critical foundation for us to provide ongoing teacher training, update our course material, increase the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts and improve student experience on our platform.

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        The effectiveness of our platform is evident from the rapid expansion of our student base. The number of active students on our platform increased from 15.2 thousand in 2013 to 86.5 thousand in 2015, representing a growth of 5.7 times, and the number of paying students increased from 13.9 thousand to 68.5 thousand during the same periods, representing a growth of 5.0 times. The number of active students reached 101.2 thousand in the 12 months ended March 31, 2016. The number of active students on our platform increased from 32.4 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to 71.9 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2016, representing a growth of 2.2 times, and the number of paying students increased from 13.2 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to 26.4 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2016, representing a growth of 2.0 times. Our new paying students increased from 12.1 thousand in 2013 to 25.1 thousand in 2014, and reached 61.0 thousand in 2015, and increased from 10.4 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2015 to 20.6 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2016. The number of our new paying students represents a significant portion of our total paying students.

        In addition, we believe the growth of our student base and the success of our students in achieving their English learning objectives inspire prospective students to come to our platform, leading to larger average size of course package purchased by new paying students initially. The average size of the initial purchase of our new paying students increased from RMB1.9 thousand in 2013 to RMB4.7 thousand in 2015, and further reached RMB5.8 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2016. The increase reflects our increasing brand value as well as our students' higher commitment to English education, particularly among K-12 students and their parents.

        We believe students on our platform have generally become more active and for a longer period of time. The active rate for K-12 students has been particularly favorable compared to those of other demographics. Approximately 63% of new paying K-12 students in the first quarter of 2015 remained on our platform as active students during the first quarter of 2016, as compared to 43% of overall new paying students during the same period. The active rates for both K-12 and overall new paying students have generally been increasing compared to our earlier students, validating our overall business strategies and our increasing focus on and initiatives addressing the K-12 market.

        Our visionary management team is passionate about education and has been instrumental in driving the success of our business. Our founder and co-founders have extensive experience in language education, both online and offline. Their experiences include prior entrepreneurship with an online language education platform and a leading traditional offline English education institution. We believe our management team's collective experience and strong execution capabilities present a significant advantage and enable us to realize attractive growth opportunities.

Our Strategies

        Our goal is to strengthen our leading position in the online education market in China, creating a foundation upon which we can develop a global online education platform. We intend to achieve our goal by pursuing the following strategies:

        We seek to expand our student base and grow our student enrollments by implementing various targeted marketing and branding initiatives, increasing our penetration in our existing geographic markets across China and further expanding into new ones.

        We believe that building our brand and strengthening our reputation for providing quality online English education is critical to the success of our platform. We seek to deploy marketing initiatives strategically to maximize returns across both online and offline channels. For example, we plan to continue our search engine marketing and performance-based display advertising campaigns, particularly via mobile

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channels. We also intend to further enhance the efficiency of our telemarketing professionals, course consultants and teaching assistants to improve our student support services and increase lead conversion.

        As part of our branding efforts, we announced our engagement of Li Na, a former professional tennis player and grand slam champion, as our ambassador. We believe Ms. Li's success in her career and image echo with our belief that students should practice often and not be afraid to make mistakes as they seek to improve English. Li Na has appeared in a number of video advertisements and display advertisement banners and will continue to be involved actively in promoting our platform via social media and through participation in major promotional events.

        In addition, we intend to form partnerships with corporate clients. We have already established relationships with a number of corporate clients to offer their staff English education programs on our platforms. Through these partnerships, we will be able to access a large number of working adults and establish our platform as the leading brand for English education for working professionals.

        We believe the K-12 population in China is a large market with attractive growth potential, especially as parents increasingly focus on their children's education and English proficiency. We have and will continue to launch course offerings and features that are specifically tailored for this demographic. For example, in 2015 we released our Classic English Junior course which is customized to the learning objectives and patterns of K-12 students. In March 2016, we launched 51Talk New Concept course to better serve our students' need for test preparation. Our teacher ratings include specific ranking categories to identify the teachers with the more experience and better performance in engaging our younger students and instructing K-12-specific courses.

        We also intend to continue to adopt targeted marketing strategies to engage a large number of K-12 students and their parents. We intend to focus on targeting parents of prospective K-12 students in our marketing efforts. We also plan to seek collaborative opportunities with education institutions, such as primary schools across China which may want to complement their existing English curriculum with after-school lessons on our online and mobile platforms.

        We have seen a significant increase in the number of K-12 students on our platform, particularly after the launch of our Classic English Junior and 51Talk New Concept courses. K-12 students represented 28.3% of our paying students in 2015, compared to 19.9% in 2013 and 21.8% in 2014. In the first quarter of 2016, K-12 students represented 38.9% of our paying students, compared to 31.7% in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 23.2% in the first quarter of 2015. Gross billings contributed by K-12 students increased from RMB8.6 million in 2013 to RMB28.1 million in 2014, and further to RMB106.9 million in 2015. In the first quarter of 2016, gross billings contributed by K-12 students was RMB65.4 million (US$10.1 million), representing 42.2% of our total gross billings for the quarter. In comparison, gross billings contributed by K-12 students was RMB13.1 million and RMB44.0 million in the first quarter and the fourth quarter of 2015, respectively, representing 24.5% 34.8% of our total gross billings for the quarter, respectively.

        We believe the quality of our course offerings is important to our continued growth and success. We intend to devote significant resources and to leverage our knowledge and expertise in the online education industry in China to develop new course offerings that will better address the needs of our current students and attract new prospective students from various demographic groups.

        We are developing new courses that will complement our core Classic English and Classic English Junior courses, such as courses to improve reading comprehension, as well as courses specifically designed to be conducted in a group setting. We also intend to release enhanced test preparation courses to help prepare students for ESL examinations. We also plan to continue to update our existing courses based on student, teacher and sales staff feedback and our in-house market research.

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        We believe that continually enhancing and refining our teaching methods, teacher training and course offerings is essential to maintaining our leading position among online education providers. We will continue to invest in our teachers by providing training and career advancement opportunities. We will also seek opportunities to better develop our teachers' capabilities through partnerships with training and certification bodies in the future.

        We periodically introduce new features to our Air Class platform to further improve the learning experience and student engagement. In addition to the core function of delivering live interactive lessons in a virtual classroom setting, we intend to develop and release a number of social features on our mobile app. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2015, we launched virtual study groups, which groups our students together based on English proficiency. We plan to expand these study groups and release additional features to connect students of similar backgrounds and interests to increase student engagement.

        We plan to further optimize and develop attractive new features for our mobile platform. Our 51Talk mobile app has evolved into an important component of our multi-screen approach to online education, enabling our students to book and take lessons and review study materials anywhere and at any time.

        In addition to our main 51Talk mobile app, DuoShuoYingYu ( GRAPHIC ) is our free mobile app that engages users who may not have purchased our course packages, but are interested in improving all aspects of their English proficiency. We plan to continue attracting a larger user base through DuoShuoYingYu and begin monetizing the app once its user base has reached critical mass by promoting course package offerings from 51Talk .

        We intend to continue devoting substantial resources to our product development efforts. To ensure efficient delivery of our course offerings, we plan to continue investing in infrastructure and technological advancements. Our in-house product development team is developing our own audio and video streaming technologies to further advance the quality of our course delivery and our student experience.

        Our proprietary technologies allow us to track a wide range of metrics across our student and teacher base and from our teaching sessions. This has created a substantial database of student and teacher data. We aim to actively enhance the learning experience for our students by analyzing this data, utilizing algorithms to identify trends and traits that will help better address the learning objectives and needs of our students. For example, we currently cross-reference students' English proficiency, learning progression, age group, profession, gender, platform against traits of our teachers to match each student to a shortlist of suitable teachers. We seek to improve these processes and algorithms in the future by making them more robust and accurate to continue to offer our students a personalized learning experience. Furthermore, we recently launched our new pre-lesson studying system, which features voice recognition technology that evaluates the spoken English proficiency of students and helps students identify new vocabulary and sentences that they find the hardest to pronounce. We are in the process of enhancing our pre-lesson studying system to share the data related to student pronounciation with teachers, thereby allowing them to better focus their instructions on the areas that students require the most practice. We also intend to develop similar smart technology for our post-lesson review process.

        We intend to pursue acquisition, investment or strategic cooperation opportunities with prudence and will consider opportunities that complement or enhance our existing operations and are strategically beneficial to our long-term goals. We believe that selective strategic acquisitions of and alliances with complementary businesses can further broaden our course offerings, attract new students and strengthen the quality of our programs.

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        We plan to expand our certification programs for our teachers and seek to partner with licensing bodies in the future. We intend to introduce formal TESOL certifications for our more experienced teachers as validation of the skill sets and competencies that they have developed on our platform and as a demonstration of our teachers' capabilities to existing and prospective students. We may also partner with content providers to expand the curriculum of our specialty courses. We believe that combining our expertise with that of reputable educational material developers will further improve the results our students see when learning on our platform.

Learning Process

        Our holistic learning process consists of four aspects: live lessons, effective practice, assessment and mentoring from teaching assistants.

        In order to recommend the proper course level that a new student should take, we first assess the student's English proficiency, using a 16-level scale for adult students and a 12-level scale for K-12 students. These assessments are typically carried out by our foreign teachers in one-on-one settings.

        Once a student is enrolled, he or she first picks the courses based on our recommendation and then selects the timing for each one-on-one lesson according to the individual preferences and scheduling needs of each student. Lessons can be scheduled as late as one hour or as early as two weeks in advance, and are available between 6:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. each day. Once a lesson is scheduled, the student has access to pre-lesson study materials. After each lesson, the student is encouraged to assess their learning outcome by taking the post-lesson quizzes. If the student has any further question on the course materials, our teaching assistants are available to help.

        A substantial majority of our students take live one-on-one lessons with our Filipino teachers. We believe one-on-one lessons are key to an effective English learning experience, because they allow for the greatest amount of interaction between the student and the teacher as well as individual attention to the student. Each student has access to a large pool of qualified teachers. Students have the flexibility to select teachers based on a wide range of attributes, including their rating and feedback from other students, as well as teaching aptitudes and characteristics. We also cross reference students' English proficiency, learning progression, age group, profession, gender and platform engagement against certain traits of our teacher base to provide each student an individualized shortlist of most suitable teachers.

        Lesson are typically 25 minutes long. Teachers and students interact using real-time audio and visual streaming technology. Our proprietary Air Class platform contains study aids that allow students to view the computer screen of their teacher, including interactive white boards and course materials, over their desktop, laptop or mobile device. This makes the instructional process more efficient and the learning experience more interactive. Students can also take our lessons using QQ or Skype while using the interactive white boards on our website.

        Our teachers provide instructions using our standardized curriculum. Within the framework of our standardized course materials, our one-on-one lesson format allows our teachers to adjust the pace of each lesson according to student performance and reaction, thus accommodating students across all learning curves.

        In order to give students a consistent and seamless learning experience from different teachers, after each lesson teachers record the strengths of the students, summaries of knowledge points and areas that need improvement of the student and other information that would be helpful to teachers of future lessons. These memos are available to future teachers that the student might schedule lessons with, allowing subsequent teachers to be briefed on the student's learning background and to continue to

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provide the student an adaptive and effective learning experience. Furthermore, these memos are also made available to students as a study tool.

        In the third quarter of 2015, we began offering one-on-one lessons with Western teachers to complement our pool of Filipino teachers. Each such lesson also lasts for 25 minutes, and is offered at a higher price than one-on-one lessons with Filipino teachers.

        In 2015, a total of 5.9 million paid lessons were booked by our students, compared with 2.3 million paid lessons booked in 2014. In the three months ended March 31, 2016, a total of 2.4 million paid lessons were booked by our students.

        In addition to our predominantly one-on-one lesson format, we also offer group lessons offered by foreign teachers that last for 50 minutes and can accommodate up to six students. Our group lessons taught by foreign teachers cover a wide range of interest-based topics, and are designed to foster lively group discussions among students.

        We began offering group lessons taught by Chinese tutors in the fourth quarter of 2015. The purpose of such group lessons is to build a basic level of English proficiency and to serve as a transition for students to eventually become comfortable taking lessons from foreign teachers. Our group lessons with Chinese tutors are divided into ones for adults and ones for K-12 students. The course materials for group lessons include a combination of phonetics training and beginner level Classic English or Classic English Junior course content, with the Classic English or Classic English Junior course content revised by adding more situation-based examples. Each group lesson for adults can accommodate up to seven students, and lasts for 50 minutes. Each group lesson for K-12 students also lasts for 50 minutes, and can accommodate up to five students.

        Students are encouraged to preview course materials through the Air Class platform. Pre-lesson learning is particularly important given our one-on-one lesson format, as such process allows students to engage in more productive interactions with teachers during live lessons.

        Our pre-lesson studying system contains key vocabulary and grammar learning points, illustrated by explanations and examples. Our system is also interactive, featuring audio functions that allow students to hear the correct pronunciation of key vocabulary words and model sentences. Students can record their pronunciation of individual words to be graded by our system on a scale of one to one hundred, and record their pronunciation of whole sentences, in which case our system will flag words that the students did not pronounce properly. To build a more instinctive understanding of the English language for our students, our pre-lesson studying system relies on graphic illustrations to explain the meaning of vocabulary and phrases, rather than simply presenting the Chinese translation.

        Our pre-lesson studying system also allows students to build a searchable custom library of vocabulary flash cards by adding unfamiliar words that are featured in key lesson vocabulary sections. Students can then delete words as they commit them to memory, and can print out vocabulary flash cards.

        To assess learning outcomes and to reinforce memories on course materials, students may access our post-lesson review system through the Air Class platform and our mobile app. Our post-lesson review system includes quizzes that are designed to capture the key takeaways from each lesson. In order to advance to a higher level of Classic English or Classic English Junior course , a student is encouraged to take a level advancement exam designed to test the student's grasp of the key knowledge points from the previous course level.

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        We maintain a pool of teaching assistants to answer questions from students. Our teaching assistants provide timely responses to student inquiries through our QQ or WeChat study groups. To ensure that our teaching assistants are suitably qualified to support our students, we have established stringent selection criteria and make hiring decisions based on English proficiency, academic qualifications and teaching experience. We require our teaching assistants to possess, at a minimum, a college degree. Our teaching assistants also host open classes on learning methods. We had 67 (including five full-time employees and 62 Outsourced Personnel) teaching assistants as of March 31, 2016.

Teachers

        Our teaching staff is critical to the quality of our programs and to promoting our brand and reputation. We have assembled a large pool of teachers in the Philippines who deliver paid lessons based on their individual availability, at appropriate locations of their choice, and are paid according to the number of lessons they teach. Teachers who deliver paid lessons are generally engaged by us as independent contractors. We enter into service agreements with our teachers for an initial term of one year which automatically renews at the end of each term. We monitor the aggregate number of hours our teachers provide each day and the rate at which our students take lessons in order to provide both an optimal number of teachers for our large and growing student base and sufficient teaching opportunities for our teachers. As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and March 31, 2016, we had approximately 0.8 thousand, 2.1 thousand, 4.7 thousand and 6.3 thousand available teachers who have been qualified to deliver lessons on our platform, respectively.

        Our teachers have high English proficiency through education and training, and many of them have had extensive exposure to English-speaking work environments and experience in service industries, such as in call centers for Western multi-national enterprises. The individual skill sets and backgrounds of prospective teachers, combined with our rigorous selection and training program, have enabled us to build a team of passionate and patient teachers who are highly qualified to assist students in meeting their learning objectives. The majority of our teachers are university graduates in the Philippines, including many from reputable universities, medical and nursing schools, as well as experienced teachers. We also engage qualified Chinese tutors and Western teachers to establish a diversified and comprehensive teacher base to accommodate the different preferences of our students.

        We attract applicants through various online social media platforms and career websites and regularly participate in job fairs in the Philippines. We have established official partnerships with leading universities in the Philippines, through which we promote our job offerings to and accept applications from their students. We also reach out to prospective Chinese tutors and Western teachers through major job posting portals. Our teachers are attracted to our platform as it grants them the flexibility of scheduling and location, allows them to utilize their English skills to receive competitive service fees, and gives them the opportunity to interact with students. In addition, we have a strong brand presence in the Philippines and a significant percentage of our teachers are referred to us from our existing teachers, which drives cost efficiency of our teacher engagement. Teachers engaged through internal referrals have historically demonstrated higher instructional quality and retention rates.

        To ensure the quality of our teachers, we seek teachers capable of, and preferably experienced in, delivering effective instruction. Given the interactive nature of our live lessons, we seek to engage teachers who have a strong command of the English language and good communication skills. Prospective candidates must go through a resume screening, phone interview screening, pre-service orientation, new teacher training and demonstration in order to be qualified to deliver live lessons to our students. In 2015

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and in the three months ended March 31, 2016, we qualified only approximately 2.5% and 3.2% of the total applicants, respectively.

        Through the ongoing enhancement and refinement of our teaching methods and teacher training, our teachers are able to develop the skills necessary to more effectively communicate key learning points from our self-developed curriculum to our students. We believe that empowering our teachers with these skills is essential to maintaining our leading position as online and mobile education platforms and improving student experience and ensuring that our students receive quality education.

        Our newly-engaged teachers are generally required to undergo standard training programs that focus on our curriculum and teaching skills in a live lesson setting, as well as the specific learning behavior and objectives to a typical Chinese student. Our trainers also provide customized training based on a new teacher's educational background and previous professional experience. New teachers also learn how to use our proprietary Air Class platform and how it can improve their teaching effectiveness. After completing our new teacher training program, the candidates will be assessed by our team of experienced evaluators before they are allowed to offer lessons on our platform.

        To ensure our teachers continue to improve, we offer standardized training modules based on their progress and experience level on our platform. Our teachers are ranked according to a five-star scale and most of them begin their careers as one-star teachers. In order to advance through our system, teachers must accumulate the required amount of teaching hours, maintain high student ratings and complete the training modules. Our training program is updated and customized based on changes to our curriculum and feedback from our quality assurance team and students. We also operate a quality assurance team to monitor teacher performance, review recordings of one-on-one lessons based on random samplings and handle student complaints.

        We plan to maintain this level of commitment to our teachers as we expand our platform and develop our teachers' capabilities through partnerships with training and certification bodies in the future.

        We collect student feedback on our teachers on a regular basis. Each teacher's rating and student reviews are publicly available to students. Teachers with higher ratings and more favorable reviews tend to earn higher incomes as their teaching slots are filled by students more quickly.

        We offer our teachers career advancement prospects with competitive service fees. The service fees of our teachers based on student reviews, number of lessons taught and the completion of on-going training. Each advancement along the five-star system results in a pay raise for each lesson taught. We also offer our teachers discretionary merit-based incentive bonuses, as well as opportunities for teachers who aspire to further their career in teacher training or course development based on their performance and capability.

Course Offerings

        In addition to building general proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, our proprietary course materials have a special emphasis on developing English communication skills. Each of our courses for one-on-one lessons is broken down into 25-minute, highly interactive sessions with clear learning objectives. The materials for our courses are designed for one-on-one teaching settings that are conducted in live audio-visual lesson format and delivered by foreign teachers completely in English.

        We currently offer two flagship courses, namely Classic English and Classic English Junior , both of which were developed under the guidance of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment , or the CEFR. We launched our Classic English Junior course in 2015 and our 51Talk New Concept course in March 2016 as part of our efforts to expand further into the

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K-12 English education market. In addition, we offer a number of specialty English courses aimed at situation-based English education, such as in business settings, as well as test preparation needs.

         Classic English and Classic English Junior are our flagship courses and are taken by the substantial majority of our students, with the former targeting adult students and the latter catering to K-12 students. Our proprietary Classic English curriculum and course materials were developed under the guidance of the CEFR and are grouped into six general stages of English proficiency, split across a total of 16 levels. The different levels of our Classic English and Classic English Junior course materials correspond to the English proficiency levels of new students as determined by our initial assessment process and also correspond to the six levels of language proficiency as described under the CEFR. Students are recommended to begin on our platform with the level of Classic English or Classic English Junior that corresponds to their individual English proficiency. In order to advance to a higher level of Classic English or Classic English Junior course, a student is encouraged to take a level advancement exam designed to test the student's grasp of the key knowledge points from the previous course level. Such exams also serve as a studying tool for students to hone what they had previously learned during the course by requiring students to review their notes and study materials from earlier lessons.

        The following table summarizes the course content of our Classic English course based on the general stage of English proficiency and corresponding levels of course materials.

General Stage of
English Proficiency
  Corresponding Level(s) in
Classic English Course Material
  Focus of Course Content
Beginner   L1 to L3   Beginner English—basic daily communications
Elementary   L4 to L6   Survival English—relatively complex daily communications; basic grammar and sentence structures
Intermediate   L7 to L9   Conversational English—Accuracy in word and grammar usage; proficiency in common or routine topics
Upper Intermediate   L10 to L12   Workplace English—enrich vocabulary and styles of expression in order to engage in complex professional conversations; develop a deeper sense of tone and connotations
Advanced   L13 to L15   Professional English—develop fluency and depth of discussion of a wide variety of topics both of personal and professional interest
Expert   L16   Near Native English—logic and coherency in English expression

        In addition to being guided by the CEFR, our proprietary Classic English Junior curriculum and course materials are developed under the further guidelines of the Content and Language Integrated Learning teaching method, and are split across 13 levels (from L0 to L12) in aggregate. As a curriculum for K-12 students, our Classic English Junior course materials are adapted in particular to the learning patterns of children and teenagers, with a strong emphasis on teaching the subject matters in addition to English language skills.

        We continue to expand our K-12 student course offerings and employ targeted marketing strategies to capture K-12 student market opportunities. In March 2016, we launched a new course, 51Talk New Concept, which is a test preparation course tailored for K-12 students. We also began to work with primary schools in larger cities in China to offer free group lessons by our free trial teachers to introduce students to our English education method, following which we offer interested students promotional packages for

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one-on-one lessons on our platforms. In May 2016, we introduced a new course package for students aged five to eight for one-on-one lessons with teachers from the U.S. and Canada.

        In addition to our flagship courses, we currently offer 16 specialty English courses aimed at situation-based English education and test preparation. Our most popular specialty courses include Business English , IELTS Speaking , Free-talk , Interview English , Travel English and Daily English . We also provide a number of specialty courses that draw upon English news and popular English TV series.

Course Content Development

        We have dedicated course content development teams based in Beijing and Manila, employing a total of 148 professionals as of March 31, 2016. Our content development team members focus exclusively on developing, updating and improving our curriculum and course materials. We leverage the familiarity of our professionals in Beijing with the learning patterns of Chinese students, as well as the high English proficiency of our professionals in the Philippines to produce customized and high quality course material for our students.

        Our Classic English and Classic English Junior course materials and content for substantially all of our popular specialty courses are developed in-house.

        We regularly and systematically update our existing curriculum to make them more effective and appealing to our students, and to adopt the latest English teaching methods. We also regularly engage in new course development in order to capture the demands created by evolving needs for English education. The feedback and market information we gather provide us with a wealth of resources for updating our existing course materials and developing new courses. For major updates to our flagship courses, we first pilot test the new versions for several months to assess student and teacher satisfaction. We then broadly release such new versions on our platform after we have incorporated the relevant feedback.

        We regularly release updates to our course materials. For our Classic English and Classic English Junior course materials, we generally release a major update every year. We will continue to launch new courses in the future, especially in the area of K-12 English education, in order to meet the varied interests and English learning needs of young students across China and to realize greater cross-selling opportunities.

Online Education Platform

        We developed our proprietary Air Class platform, which includes innovative features that simulate, and in some ways surpass, a classroom learning experience, such as the interactive white board that allows teachers to highlight in real-time specific text phrases or important points to students. Our Air Class platform integrates high quality video and audio streaming features to create an interactive learning experience for our students. Each aspect of our holistic learning solution is available through our Air Class platform. The Air Class platform is available online and through our mobile app.

        Our mobile platform is an integral part of our students' overall learning experience. Through our mobile app, we enhance the learning experiences of our students with better flexibility and higher

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frequency of engagement. It allows students to book and manage lessons, access pre-lesson preparation and review materials and take lessons over their mobile devices. It also supports live lessons with features specifically designed for mobile devices. We continually upgrade and optimize our mobile app to improve our student experience. Approximately 82.3% of our active students accessed our mobile platform at least once during the three months ended March 31, 2016.

        In the fourth quarter of 2015, we began to introduce virtual study groups that assign students with similar English proficiency to the same group to foster a community through which they can share their learning experiences and key accomplishments with their peers. We offer our mobile app on both iOS and Android.

        Our DuoShuoYingYu (which means "speak English more often") app is a free mobile app targeted to address the needs of a broader user base. It features speech recognition technology to provide real-time pronunciation assistance and periodically updated topics. We offer our DuoShuoYingYu app on iOS and Android. We had 6.6 million cumulative activations and 5.5 million registered users as of March 31, 2016, as well as 1.3 million monthly active users for the month of March 2016. A monthly active student of DuoShuoYingYu for a specific month refers to a DuoShuoYingYu user who launched the DuoShuoYingYu mobile app at least once during such month.

Students

        In 2013, 2014, 2015 and in the twelve months ended March 31, 2016, we had 15.2 thousand, 35.0 thousand, 86.5 thousand and 101.2 thousand active students, respectively. An "active student" for a specified period refers to a student who booked at least one paid lesson. A lesson is considered "booked" when it is taken or when the student to such lesson is confirmed absent.

        In the first quarter of 2016, 36.5% of our active students were K-12 students, compared to 31.7% in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 26.5% in the first quarter of 2015, 8.0% were college students and 53.6% were working adults. The percentage of K-12 students has risen in the past year as we expanded our targeted marketing efforts and launched the flagship Classic English Junior course to cater to K-12 English education needs.

        In the first quarter of 2016, 48.8% of our active students resided in tier-one cities in China. We plan to increase penetration in our existing geographic markets in China and further expand into new ones with great growth potential.

        We employ a service-oriented approach and devote significant resources to developing course-related support and services for our students.

        Our technology support personnel are available during lesson hours to monitor and provide real-time support services to students encountering technical difficulties. In addition to addressing issues with respect to our Air Class platform, our technology support personnel are also experienced with QQ and Skype systems, which are both tools used by some of our teachers and students to facilitate live lessons.

        In addition to the student services described above, our general student service representatives counsel potential and existing students on our courses, assist in course-package purchases, handle student complaints and provide other support services. They are available online and by phone between 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 p.m., seven days a week. Our dedicated general student service team had 99 individuals (including five full-time employees and 94 Outsourced Personnel) as of March 31, 2016. We engage

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student service personnel from candidates with good communication skills and student service ethics and provide on-the-job training for our new staffs. We conduct ongoing evaluations of our student service staff and provide periodic training to improve their skills.

Sales and Marketing

        We market our platform through a combination of online and offline channels, and we also generate sales leads through referrals and by offering corporate packages to businesses. Our tele-marketing teams in Beijing follow-up on sales leads by providing additional information and support and trying to convince prospective students to enroll in our free trial lessons. Our course consultants then follow up with prospective students who have taken our free trial lessons and promote course packages most suited to each student's background, proficiency and learning objectives. In addition, we engage in various branding activities to promote brand awareness among prospective students.

        We are focused on promoting our 51Talk brand and to increase the overall effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts. In 2015, we engaged Li Na, a former professional tennis player and grand slam champion, as our ambassador. We believe Ms. Li's success in her career and image echo with our belief that students should practice often and not be afraid to make mistakes as they seek to improve English. We also sponsor English language competitions in select regions of China to improve brand awareness and instill a sense of competitive learning among prospective K-12 students.

        We place online and mobile advertisements mainly on search engines and conduct marketing on leading web portals, job recruitment websites and social media platforms in China. We also place banner advertisements on popular internet education platforms and apps, as well as mobile news apps. We purchase pre-roll advertising slots during western TV shows streaming on leading internet television platforms in China. As part of our efforts to increase K-12 enrollment, we recently began to place advertisements on online parenting community portals in order to reach a broader audience of parents of prospective students.

        We place outdoor display advertisements in public transportation terminals and residential complexes in selected large Chinese cities, such as subway stations, as well as with a national radio station.

        We established a physical store in Beijing, which showcases our lessons to prospective students. Sales representatives in our physical classroom assist prospective students with course enrollment.

        We have historically generated a significant percentage of our sales leads through word-of-mouth referrals by our students and, for K-12 students, their parents. According to a customer satisfaction survey conducted by Frost & Sullivan on our students, more than 90% of the participants indicated that they are willing to recommend our platform to others. New enrollments through word-of-mouth referrals has benefited from the rapid growth in our student base, as well as our reputation, brand and the proven learning results of our students. We integrated social network functionalities into our mobile app, such as red packet sharing functions with Wechat, to encourage students to share their learning experience with their friends.

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        We believe the rapid growth of our K-12 student base, greater brand awareness and the success of our K-12 students in achieving their English learning objectives lead to more word-of-mouth referrals and the purchase of larger course packages by our K-12 students initially.

        Many employers in China, including foreign-invested enterprises, branch offices of multinational corporations, as well as domestic enterprises involved in international business transactions or the tourism industry, require their employees to have a certain level of English proficiency. We provide attractive packages to corporate employers in China for group purchases, and our dedicated corporate sales force regularly communicates with our corporate clients on their English education needs.

        The sales leads generated by our various marketing channels are initially handled by our tele-marketing teams based in Beijing. The primary function of our tele-marketing personnel is to encourage prospective students who have registered their information on our online and mobile platforms to sign-up for free trial lessons and to assist with the sign-up process.

        We offer free trial lessons to prospective students. In addition to giving prospective students a preview of our interactive learning experience, we also use free trial lessons to assess the English proficiency of prospective students. A majority of our free trial lessons are delivered by our free trial teachers, who are our full-time employees. We have a highly selective process for free trial teachers. Free trial teachers must also participate in regular training programs. A significant portion of the training programs for free trial teachers concern salesmanship and client communication. As of March 31, 2016, we had 493 free trial teachers. Students who took free trial lessons, or who were users of our DuoShuoYingYu mobile app but who did not book any paid lesson, are not counted as "active students."

        After prospective students have completed their trial lessons, our dedicated course consultants offer feedback on the results of the English proficiency assessment, as well as introduce our holistic learning solution to prospective students. Based on this assessment and the data we had gathered from the student questionnaires, our course consultants recommend an appropriate starting level and provide advice as to the most appropriate course package and study plan for each prospective student. As of March 31, 2016, we had a total of 844 (including 104 full-time employees and 740 Outsourced Personnel) dedicated course consultants.

        After a student has purchased a course package, the student is assigned to an account manager who provides personalized and ongoing support services. Our account managers track the English proficiency progress as well as the lesson booking and participation status of each student. Our account managers also assist students with future lesson bookings and course selection to increase their activity level on our platform and regularly communicate with our students to solicit their feedback on our education program, such as teaching quality and learning experience. As of March 31, 2016, we had a total of 187 (including 11 full-time employees and 176 Outsourced Personnel) account managers. Our account manager team plays a critical role in increasing the course package upgrades and renewals among our students.

Fees

        We offer the following two payment plans for our students:

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        We accept fee payments through major third party online payment channels in China, including Alipay, 99Bill.com, Union Pay and WeChat Pay, major credit cards and bank transfer. We do not offer refunds for unused packages 30 days after purchase.

Technology

        Building a reliable, scalable and secure technology infrastructure is crucial to our ability to support our lessons and the various services that we provide to our students on our online platforms. We manage our lesson delivery system mainly using our proprietary technology, and to a lesser extent, commercially available technology. In June 2014, we entered into a five-year technology service agreement with Guangzhou Huaduo, an affiliated entity of YY, which was amended in December 2015. This agreement allows us to utilize YY's technology in streaming audio and video data. In February 2016, we entered into a four-year license agreement with Shanghai Zhaoyan, as an additional service provider for audio and video data delivery and to enhance the compatibility of our platforms on Mac. We have built a robust technology infrastructure to optimize the performance of our Air Class platform.

        The telecommunication infrastructure in the Philippines is less developed than in other countries. We have designed our infrastructure based on our insights into the local environment to ensure an optimal streaming experience for our teachers and our students. We plan to work with leading network providers in the Philippines to build an exclusive network infrastructure to support our online performance by increasing stability and reliability. See "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—Unexpected network interruptions, security breaches or computer virus attacks and system failures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations."

        All of our servers and routers, including backup servers, are currently hosted by third-party service providers in multiple cities in China. We back up our databases daily. Our IT department regularly monitors the performance of our websites, mobile apps and technology infrastructure to enable us to respond quickly to potential problems. We have not experienced any major problems in our network infrastructure.

        We developed our proprietary ERP system to management and integrate our key administrative and operational functions, especially those related to our teachers. Each step of our teachers' interaction with our platform, from initial engagement, to interviews, orientation, teacher training, evaluation and promotion, is systematically managed and processed by our ERP system. We have also developed our proprietary CRM software to organize and manage every aspect of our students' engagement with our platform. Our CRM software manages student information from leads generation through every step of our sales efforts, as well as tracks student feedback and performance on our platform throughout their entire learning experience.

        Our online and mobile education platforms monitor and collect data with respect to teacher performance and learning outcomes from each lesson, forming a feedback loop that serves as a critical foundation for us to provide ongoing teacher training, update our courses, increase the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts and improve student experience on our platform.

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        We gather and analyze student data at essentially each stage of their interaction with our platform, beginning from the extensive student questionnaires that they fill out prior and after free trial lessons containing their background information and learning objectives, to their selections of courses and teachers, performance during pre-lesson studying process, evaluation of teachers after each lesson, as well as the lesson memos prepared by the teachers after each lesson. We similarly gather a wide range of data on our teachers based on feedback from our quality assurance team and students, as well as the personal background information. We analyze this information through our internally developed adaption engine and prediction model, which enables us to offer personalized learning experience for our students and personalized teacher training process for our students. We are also able to forecast the frequency of lesson bookings, preferences of course topics and learning progress through the data analytic to make our operations more efficient. Furthermore, our course content development and sales and marketing efforts also heavily draw upon our data analytics capability.

Intellectual Property

        We own copyrights to the course contents we developed in-house.

        Our trademarks, software copyrights, domain names, trade secrets and other intellectual property rights distinguish our program from those of our competitors and contribute to our ability to compete in our target markets. We rely on a combination of copyright and trademark law, trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements with our employees to protect our intellectual property rights. In addition, under the employment agreements we enter into with our employees, they acknowledge that the intellectual property made by them in connection with their employment with us are our property. We also regularly monitor any infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property rights.

        As of March 31, 2016, we had registered 21 domain names relating to our business, including our www.51talk.com website, with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and China Internet Network Information Center. We also hold 1 works of art copyright, 10 registered software copyrights and 13 trademarks in the PRC as of March 31, 2016.

Employees

        We are headquartered in Beijing, where most of our senior management and technology teams are based. We also host part of our general and administrative personnel, content development professionals and sales and marketing staff in our Beijing offices. The rest of our sales and marketing staff are based in Shanghai. Our offices in Manila and Baguio in the Philippines host our teacher engaging and training team, free trial teachers, and part of our general and administrative personnel.

        We had a total of 241, 1,070, 2,597 and 1,586 full-time employees as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively. As of March 31, 2016, we had 609 full-time employees in Beijing, 118 full-time employees in Shanghai, 858 full-time employees in the Philippines and one full-time employee in Hong Kong. In addition to our full-time employees, Dasheng Zhixing entered into services outsource agreements with independent third party suppliers in December 2015 through which it outsourced part of its marketing and sales functions. As of March 31, 2016, we had 1,211 Outsourced

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Personnel mainly performing sales and marketing functions for us. The following table sets forth the number of our full-time employees, categorized by function, as of March 31, 2016:

 
  Number of full-time employees  
Function
  China   the Philippines   Total  

Telemarketing sales

    120         120  

Student support

    10         10  

Free trial teachers

    8     485     493  

Marketing and branding

    108         108  

General and administrative

    154 (1)   343     497  

Technology and product development

    328     30     358  

Total

    728     858     1,586  

Note:

(1)
One employee is based in Hong Kong.

        We enter into employment contracts with our full-time employees. For our full-time employees in the Philippines, the employment contracts we have with them contain confidentiality and non-compete provisions. For our full-time employees in China, we also enter into stand-alone confidentiality and non-compete agreements with them. In addition to salaries and benefits, we provide performance-based bonuses for our full-time employees and commission-based compensation for our sales and marketing force.

        Foreign teachers delivering paid lessons on our platform are generally not our full-time employees. We enter into service contracts with such teachers, and pay service fees to them based on the number of lessons they teach and their teaching performance. We had approximately 0.8 thousand, 2.1 thousand, 4.7 thousand and 6.3 thousand foreign teachers available to deliver lessons on our platform as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively.

        As required by regulations in China, we participate in various employee social security plans that are organized by municipal and provincial governments for our PRC-based full-time employees, including pension, unemployment insurance, childbirth insurance, work-related injury insurance, medical insurance and housing insurance. We are required under PRC law to make contributions from time to time to employee benefit plans for our PRC-based full-time employees at specified percentages of the salaries, bonuses and certain allowances of such employees, up to a maximum amount specified by the local governments in China.

        Our employees are not covered by any collective bargaining agreement. We believe that we maintain a good working relationship with our employees, and we have not experienced any significant labor disputes.

Seasonality

        Seasonal fluctuations have affected, and are likely to affect our business in the future. Historically, our industry experiences lower gross billings growth rate in the first quarter of each year due to the Chinese New Year holiday, and our industry enjoys increases in gross billings growth during the summer months as students are generally on summer holiday and have more time to take courses. Overall, the historical seasonality of our business has been relatively mild due to our rapid growth. As the percentage of K-12 students among our paying students and active students has been increasing during the past year, the seasonality may become more prominent, especially in the third quarter of each year. Due to our limited operating history, the seasonal trends that we have experienced in the past may not be indicative of our future operating results. See "Risk Factor—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—Our results of operations are subject to seasonal fluctuations."

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Competition

        The online English education services market in China in general, and especially for K-12 students, is fragmented, rapidly evolving and highly competitive. We face competition in general English proficiency education, as well as in K-12, test preparation and other specialized areas of language education, from existing online and offline companies. We face competition from other companies that provide online English education as well as from those that provide traditional offline English education in China. We also face competition from other online and mobile platforms or internet companies that plan to expand their business into English education.

        We believe that the principal competitive factors in our markets include the following:

    scope and quality of course offerings;

    quality and performance of the teachers;

    overall student experience and satisfaction;

    brand recognition;

    ability to effectively market course offerings to a broad base of prospective students;

    cost-effectiveness of courses;

    ability to provide students access to courses; and

    ability to align course offerings to specific needs of students.

        We believe that we are well-positioned to effectively compete in the markets in which we operate on the basis of our innovative approach to online English education, immersive and interactive learning environment, scalable and efficient business model, extensive and high-quality teacher network, education quality, strong course development capabilities and experienced management team. However, some of our current or future competitors may have longer operating histories, greater brand recognition, or greater financial, technical or marketing resources than we do. For a discussion of risks related to competition, see "Risk Factors—Risk Related to Our Business and Industry—We face significant competition, and if we fail to compete effectively, we may lose our market share or fail to gain additional market share, which would adversely impact our business and financial conditions and operating results."

Facilities

        Our current principal executive offices are located at 6 th  Floor, Deshi Building North, Shangdi Street, Haidian District, Beijing, the People's Republic of China. We maintain offices in Beijing, China, with an aggregate of 7,070 square meters. These facilities currently accommodate our management headquarters, as well as part of our sales and marketing, product development and general and administrative activities. We also maintain offices in Shanghai, China, with an aggregate of 2,631 square meters, to support our sales and marketing activities. In addition, in April 2016 we entered into a lease agreement in respect of an office facility in Wuhan, China, with an aggregate of 1,266 square meters, to support our sales and marketing activities.

        In addition to our facilities in China, we also maintain offices in Manila and Baguio City, Philippines and Hong Kong with an aggregate of 6,088 square meters.

        We lease all of the facilities that we currently occupy from independent third parties.

        We believe that the facilities that we currently lease are adequate to meet our needs for the foreseeable future, and we believe that we will be able to obtain adequate facilities, principally through leasing of additional properties, to accommodate our future expansion plans.

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Insurance

        We do not maintain any liability insurance or property insurance policies covering students, equipment and facilities for injuries, death or losses due to fire, earthquake, flood or any other disaster. Consistent with customary industry practice in China, we do not maintain business interruption insurance, nor do we maintain key-man life insurance. We maintain medical insurance for our management in China and certain of our employees in the Philippines. Uninsured injury or death to our staff, or damage to any of our equipment or buildings could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. See "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—We have limited insurance coverage for our operations in China and the Philippines, which could expose us to significant costs and business disruption."

Legal Proceedings

        From time to time, we may in the future become a party to various legal or administrative proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business, including actions with respect to intellectual property infringement, violation of third-party licenses or other rights, breach of contract and labor and employment claims. We are currently not a party to, and we are not aware of any threat of, any legal or administrative proceedings that, in the opinion of our management, are likely to have any material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash-flow or results of operations.

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REGULATION

PRC Regulations

        This section sets forth a summary of the most significant rules and regulations that affect our business activities in China.

Regulations Relating to Foreign Investment

        Investment activities in the PRC by foreign investors are principally governed by the Guidance Catalog of Industries for Foreign Investment, or the Catalog, which was promulgated and is amended from time to time by the Ministry of Commerce, or MOFCOM, and the National Development and Reform Commission, or NDRC. The Catalog divides industries into three categories: encouraged, restricted and prohibited. Industries not listed in the Catalog are generally open to foreign investment unless specifically restricted by other PRC regulations. Establishment of wholly foreign-owned enterprises is generally allowed in encouraged and permitted industries. Some restricted industries are limited to equity or contractual joint ventures, while in some cases Chinese partners are required to hold the majority interests in such joint ventures. In addition, restricted category projects are subject to higher-level government approvals. Foreign investors are not allowed to invest in industries in the prohibited category. Industries not listed in the Catalog are generally open to foreign investment unless specifically restricted by other PRC regulations. For example, pursuant to the latest Catalog amended in March 2015, or the 2015 Catalog, the provision of value-added telecommunications services falls in the restricted category and the percentage of foreign ownership cannot exceed 50% (except for e-commence).

Regulation Relating to Value-added Telecommunications Services

    Licenses for Value-Added Telecommunications Services

        On September 25, 2000, the State Council issued the Regulations on Telecommunications of China, or the Telecommunications Regulations, to regulate telecommunications activities in China. The Telecommunications Regulations divide the telecommunications services into two categories, namely "infrastructure telecommunications services" and "value-added telecommunications services." Pursuant to the Telecommunications Regulations, operators of value-added telecommunications services must first obtain a Value-added Telecommunications Business Operating License, or VAT License, from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or MIIT, or its provincial level counterparts. On March 1, 2009, the MIIT promulgated the Administrative Measures on Telecommunications Business Operating Licenses, which set forth more specific provisions regarding the types of licenses required to operate value-added telecommunications services, the qualifications and procedures for obtaining such licenses and the administration and supervision of such licenses.

        According to the Catalog of Classification of Telecommunications Businesses effective from April 1, 2003, internet information services, also called internet content services, or ICP services, are deemed as a type of value-added telecommunications services. On December 28, 2015, the MIIT published a revised Catalog of Classification of Telecommunication Business, or the 2016 MIIT Catalog, which took effect on March 1, 2016. According to the 2016 MIIT Catalog, internet information services, which include information release and delivery services, information search and query services, information community platform services, information real-times interactive services, and information protection and processing services, continues to be classified as a category of value-added telecommunication services. The Administrative Measures on Internet Information Services, or ICP Measures, also promulgated by the PRC State Council on September 25, 2000, set forth more specific rules on the provision of ICP services. According to ICP Measures, any company that engages in the provision of commercial ICP services shall obtain a sub-category VAT License for Internet Information Services, or ICP license, from the relevant government authorities before providing any commercial internet content services within the PRC, and when the ICP services involve areas of news, publication, education, medical treatment, health, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, and if required by law or relevant regulations, specific approval from the respective regulatory authorities must be obtained prior to applying for the ICP License from the MIIT or its provincial level counterpart. Pursuant to the above mentioned

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regulations, "commercial ICP services" generally refers to provision of specific information content, online advertising, web page construction and other online application services through internet for profit making purpose. Operating our online platform to provide information and services to our students is classified as commercial ICP services. We currently, through Dasheng Zhixing, our PRC consolidated VIE, hold an ICP license that is valid until September 15, 2016.

    Foreign Investment in Value-Added Telecommunication Services

        The Regulations on Administration of Foreign-Invested Telecommunications Enterprises, or the FITE Regulations, which took effect on January 1, 2002 and amended on September 10, 2008, are the key regulations that regulate foreign direct investment in telecommunications companies in China. The FITE Regulations stipulate that the foreign investor of a telecommunications enterprise is prohibited from holding more than 50% of the equity interest in a foreign-invested enterprise that provides value-added telecommunications services. In addition, for a foreign investor to acquire any equity interest in a business providing value-added telecommunications services in China, it must demonstrate a positive track record and experience in providing such services.

        On July 13, 2006, the MIIT issued the Circular on Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Investment in Value-added Telecommunications Services, or the MIIT Circular 2006, which requires that (i) foreign investors can only operate a telecommunications business in China through establishing a telecommunications enterprise with a valid telecommunications business operation license; (ii) domestic license holders are prohibited from leasing, transferring or selling telecommunications business operation licenses to foreign investors in any form, or providing any resource, sites or facilities to foreign investors to facilitate the unlicensed operation of telecommunications business in China; (iii) value-added telecommunications services providers or their shareholders must directly own the domain names and registered trademarks they use in their daily operations; (iv) each value-added telecommunications services provider must have the necessary facilities for its approved business operations and maintain such facilities in the geographic regions covered by its license; and (v) all value-added telecommunications services providers should improve network and information security, enact relevant information safety administration regulations and set up emergency plans to ensure network and information safety. The provincial communications administration bureaus, as local authorities in charge of regulating telecommunications services, (i) are required to ensure that existing qualified value-added telecommunications service providers will conduct a self-assessment of their compliance with the MIIT Circular 2006 and submit status reports to the MIIT before November 1, 2006; and (ii) may revoke the value-added telecommunications business operation licenses of those that fail to comply with the above requirements or fail to rectify such non-compliance within specified time limits. Due to the lack of any additional interpretation from the regulatory authorities, it remains unclear what impact MIIT Circular 2006 will have on us or the other PRC internet companies with similar corporate and contractual structures. After the MOFCOM and NDRC amended the Catalog in March 2015, MIIT also issued the Circular on Removing the Restrictions on Shareholding Ratio Held by Foreign Investors in Online Data Processing and Transaction Processing (Operating E-commerce) Business on June 19, 2015, which amended the relevant provision in FITE Regulations by allowing foreign investors to own more than 50% of the equity interest in an operator of e-commerce business. However, foreign investors continue to be prohibited from holding more than 50% of the equity interest in a provider of other category of value-added telecommunications services except for e-commerce.

        To comply with the above mentioned foreign ownership restrictions, we operate our online platform in China through Dasheng Zhixing, which is owned by Jack Jiajia Huang, Ting Shu and Ling Chen, all of whom are PRC citizens, and is controlled by Dasheng Online, our PRC subsidiary, through a series of contractual arrangements. Dasheng Zhixing is the holder of the domain names, trademarks and facilities necessary for daily operations of our online platform in compliance with the MIIT Circular 2006. Based on our PRC legal counsel's understanding of the current PRC law, rules and regulations, our corporate structure complies with all existing PRC laws and regulations. However, we were further advised by our PRC legal counsel that there are substantial uncertainties with respect to the interpretation and application of existing or future PRC laws and regulations and thus there is no assurance that Chinese governmental authorities would take a view consistent with the opinions of our PRC legal counsel.

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Regulation Relating to Private Education

    Education Law of the PRC

        On March 18, 1995, the PRC National People's Congress promulgated the Education Law of the PRC, or the Education Law. The Education Law stipulates that the government formulates plans for the development of education, establishes and operates schools and other types of educational institutions, and in principle, enterprises, institution, social organizations and individuals are encouraged to operate schools and other types of educational organizations. It is provided in the Education Law that no organization or individual may establish or operate a school or any other educational institution for commercial purposes. However, private schools may be operated for "reasonable returns" as described in more detail below. On December 27, 2015, the Standing Committee of the PRC National People's Congress, or the NPC Standing Committee, published the Decision on Amendment of the Education Law, which will take effect on June 1, 2016. The NPC Standing Committee narrowed the provision prohibiting the establishment or operation of schools or other educational institutions for commercial purposes to only restricting a school or other educational institution founded with governmental funds or donated assets in the amended Education Law.

    The Law for Promoting Private Education and its Implementing Rules

        On December 28, 2002, the Standing Committee of the PRC National People's Congress promulgated the Law for Promoting Private Education, or the Private Education Law, which became effective on September 1, 2003 and was amended on June 29, 2013. On March 5, 2004, the PRC State Council promulgated the Implementation Rules for the Law for Promoting Private Education, which became effective on April 1, 2004, or the PE Implementation Rules. Private Education Law and the Private Education Law Implementation Rules provide rules for social organizations or individuals to establish schools or other educational organizations using non-government funds in PRC, such schools or educational organizations established using non-government funds are referred to as "private school."

        According to the Private Education Law, establishment of private schools for academic education, pre-school education, self-taught examination support and other cultural education shall be subject to approval by the authorities in charge of education, while establishment of private schools for vocational qualification training and vocational skill training shall be subject to approvals from the authorities in charge of labor and social welfare. A duly approved private school will be granted a private school operating permit, and shall be registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, or MCA, or its local counterparts as a private non-enterprise institution.

        Under Private Education Law and PE Implementation Rules, private education is deemed as a public welfare undertaking, and entities and individuals who establish private schools are commonly referred to as "sponsors" instead of "investors" or "shareholders." Nonetheless, sponsors of a private school may choose to require "reasonable returns" from the annual net balance of the school after deduction of costs, donations received, government subsidies, if any, the reserved development fund and other expenses as required by the regulations. The election to establish a private school requiring reasonable returns shall be provided in the articles of association of the school, and the percentage of the school's annual net balance that can be distributed as a reasonable return shall be determined by the school's board of directors, taking into consideration the following factors: (i) school fee types and collection criteria, (ii) the ratio of the school's expenses used for educational activities and improving the educational conditions to the total fees collected, and (iii) the admission standards and educational quality. The relevant information relating to the above factors shall be publicly disclosed before the school's board determines the percentage of the school's annual net balance that can be distributed as reasonable returns, and such information and the decision to distribute reasonable returns shall also be filed with the approval authorities within 15 days from the decision made by the board. However, none of the current PRC laws and regulations provides a formula or guidelines for determining "reasonable returns." In addition, none of the current PRC laws and regulations sets forth sponsors' economic rights in schools that do not distribute reasonable returns, nor do

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they have different requirements or restrictions on a private school's ability to operate its education business based on such school's status as a school that requires reasonable returns or a school that does not require reasonable returns.

        In January 2016, the NPC Standing Committee published the second review draft of the proposed amendments to the Private Education Law, or the Draft Amendments, for public review and comments. The Draft Amendments classifies private education institutions as either "nonprofit private schools" or "commercial private schools." Under the Draft Amendments, nonprofit private schools are prohibited from making profits from the establishment and operations and all surplus should be used for future operations. On the other hand, commercial private schools are allowed to distribute the profits to its founders in accordance with the provisions of the Company Law and other relevant laws and regulations in PRC. Pursuant to the Draft Amendments, a private school operating permit and the registration of the schools with applicable registry agency as legal entities are required for establishing a private school. The Draft Amendments are open for review and comments until February 6, 2016.

Regulations Relating to Commercial Private Training

        Private Education Law provides that the regulations applicable to private training institutions registered with the SAIC and its local counterparts shall be formulated by the State Council separately. However, as of the date of this prospectus, no specific regulations on private training institutions registered with the SAIC and its local counterparts has been promulgated by the State Council.

        On July 8, 2010, the State Council and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of PRC jointly promulgated the Outline of China's National Plan for Medium to Long-Term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020), which announced that the central government will actively explore classification management schemes for management of nonprofit private schools and commercial private schools, and will implement a pilot reform programe to try out certain classification management schemes for management of private schools. On October 24, 2010, the General Office of the State Council issued the Notices on the National Education System Innovation Pilot, which announced the plan to implement a pilot reform programe on classification management of private schools in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Shenzhen and Jilin Huaqiao Foreign Language School. No further national law or regulation has been promulgated with regard to the implementation of such pilot reform program and, though the local government of certain pilot areas, such as Shanghai, has promulgated specific regulations on classification management of the private schools.

        On January 5, 2011, the Standing Committee of the Shanghai People's Congress promulgated Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Promotion of Lifelong Education, or Shanghai Lifelong Education Regulations, to formally implement a classification management scheme on private training institutions in Shanghai. The Shanghai Lifelong Education Regulations provides different requirement and procedures for establishment of nonprofit training institution and commercial training institutions. Specifically, with respect to establishment, Shanghai Lifelong Education Regulations stipulate that (i) to set up a nonprofit training institutions, the applicants shall first apply to the relevant authorities in charge of education or human resources and social welfare for approval and register such institution as a public institution or private non-enterprise institution after obtaining a private school operating permit in accordance with the relevant regulations of the state, while (ii) to establish a commercial training institution, the applicants shall apply with the local counterparts of the SAIC for business registration directly, and the local counterparts of the SAIC will then consult with authorities in charge of education or human resources and social welfare before it decides whether to accept the application for business registration.

        On June 20, 2013, Shanghai's local authorities in charge of education, human resources and social welfare, and administration of industrial and commerce has jointly promulgated the Interim Measures for Administration of Operational Private Training Institutions, or Shanghai No. 5 Measure, and the Interim Measures for Registration of Operational Private Training Institutions, or Shanghai No. 228. These

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regulations set forth specific rules on business registration and operation of a commercial training institution, which include without limitation, that a commercial training institution shall open a special deposit account for tuition and fees, and shall establish a control system on management of such special deposit account for tuition and fees, and a commercial institution shall execute a normative training services agreement with the trainee or such trainee's guardian. Both Shanghai No. 5 Measure and Shanghai No. 228 Measure became effective from July 20, 2013 and shall be effective for two years until July 20, 2015. No new rules regarding commercial training institution have been promulgated by the Shanghai government. Besides Shanghai, the local governments of certain other areas, such as Wenzhou of Zhejiang province and Chongqing have also promulgated specific rules on commercial training institutions. However, the local government of Beijing, where Dasheng Zhixing is incorporated, has not promulgated any specific rules on commercial training institutions as of the date of this prospectus.

Regulations on Online and Distance Education

        Pursuant to the Administrative Regulations on Educational Websites and Online and Distance Education Schools issued by the Ministry of Education on July 5, 2000, educational websites and online education schools may provide educational services in relation to higher education, elementary education, pre-school education, teaching education, occupational education, adult education, other education and public educational information services. "Educational websites" refer to organizations providing education or education-related information services to website visitors by means of a database or online education platform connected via the Internet or an educational television station through an Internet Service Provider, or ISP. "Online education schools" refer to educational websites providing academic education services or training services with the issuance of various certificates. Setting up education websites and online education schools is subject to approval from relevant education authorities, depending on the specific types of education. Any educational website and online education school shall, upon the receipt of approval, indicate on its website such approval information as well as the approval date and file number.

        On June 29, 2004, the State Council promulgated the Decision on Setting Down Administrative Licenses for the Administrative Examination and Approval Items Really Necessary to be Retained, pursuant to which the administrative license for "online education schools" was retained, while the administrative license for "educational websites" was not retained. On January 28, 2014, the State Council promulgated the Decision on Abolishing and Delegating Certain Administrative Examination and Approval Items, pursuant to which the administrative approval for "online education schools" of higher education was abolished.

        Notwithstanding these decisions formulated by the State Council, as the Administrative Regulations on Educational Websites and Online Education Schools were not explicitly abolished, in practice, certain local authorities continue to implement the approval requirement for setting up education websites and online education schools. On February 3, 2016, the State Council promulgated the Decision on Cancelling the Second Batch of 152 Items Subject to Administrative Examination and Approval by Local Governments Designated by the Central Government, explicitly cancelled the approval requirements for operating educational websites and online education schools that provided by the Administrative Regulations on Educational Websites and Online Education Schools, and reiterated the principle that administrative approval requirements may only be imposed in accordance with the Administrative Licensing Law.

Regulation Relating to Internet Culture Activities

        On February 17, 2011, the Ministry of Culture, or MOC, promulgated the Interim Administrative Provisions on Internet Culture, or the Internet Culture Provisions, which became effective on April 1, 2011. The Internet Culture Provisions require ICP services providers engaging in commercial "internet culture activities" to obtain a permit from the MOC. "Internet cultural activities" is defined in the Internet Culture Provisions as an act of provision of Internet cultural products and related services, which includes

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(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 comparison of the Internet cultural products. In addition, "Internet cultural products" is defined in the Internet Culture Provisions as cultural products produced, broadcast and disseminated via the Internet, which mainly include internet cultural products specially 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 duplicate those to internet for dissemination.

Regulation Relating to Online Publishing

        On June 27, 2002, the General Administration of Press and Publication, or GAPP (currently known as the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, or the SAPPRFT) and the MIIT jointly promulgated the Tentative Internet Publishing Administrative Measures, or the Internet Publishing Measures, which took effect on August 1, 2002. The Internet Publishing Measures require entities that engage in Internet publishing to obtain an Internet Publishing License for engaging in Internet publishing from the SAPPRFT. Pursuant to the Internet Publishing Measures, the definition of "internet publishing" is broad and refers to the act by ICP services providers to select, edit and process works created by themselves or others and subsequently post such works on the internet or transmit such works to the users' end through internet for the public to browse. The "works" as defined under the Internet Publishing Measures include (i) contents from books, newspapers, periodicals, audio-video products, electronic publications that have already been formally published or works that have been made public in other media, and (ii) all other edited or processed works of literatures, art, natural science, social science, engineering technology, etc.

        On February 4, 2016, the SAPPRFT and the MIIT jointly issued the Administrative Provisions on Online Publishing Services, or the Online Publishing Provisions. The Online Publishing Provisions, taking effect as of March 10, 2016, superseded the Internet Publishing Measures. Compared with the Internet Publishing Measures, the Online Publishing Provisions set out more detailed provisions for online publishing activities, which mainly cover issues such as defining online publishing services, licensing and approvals, the administrative and supervisory regime and legal liabilities. According to the Online Publishing Provisions, all online publishing services provided within the territory of China are subject to the Online Publishing Provisions, and an online publishing services permit shall be obtained to provide online publishing services. Pursuant to the Online Publishing Provisions, "online publishing services" refer to providing 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 made 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, 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. As the scope of online publication is broad, certain contents we post on our website, such as video-audio clips and course materials, may be deemed as online publications. We currently do not hold the license required to provide online publishing services.

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Regulation Relating to Publication Distribution

        Under the Administrative Measures for the Publication Market, or Publication Market Measures, which was jointly promulgated by the SAPPRFT and the Ministry of Commerce and became effective on March 25, 2011, any enterprise or individual who engages in publication distribution activities shall obtain permission from SAPPRFT or its local counterpart. "Publication" is defined as "books, newspapers, periodicals, audio-video products, and electronic publications," and "distributing" is defined as "general distribution, wholesale, retail, rental, exhibition and other activities," respectively, in the Publication Market Measures. Any enterprise or individual that engages in retail of publications shall obtain a Publication Business Operating License issued by the local counterpart of SAPPRFT at the county level. In addition, any enterprise or individual that holds a Publication Business Operating License shall file with the relevant local counterpart of SAPPRFT that granted such license to it within 15 days since it begins to carry out any online publication distribution business.

Regulation Relating to Online Transmission of Audio-Visual Programs

        The Measures for the Administration of Publication of Audio-Visual Programs through Internet or Other Information Network, or the Audio-Visual Measures, promulgated by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, or the SAPPRFT (formerly known as the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, or SARFT), on July 6, 2004 and put into effect on October 11, 2004, apply to the activities relating to the opening, broadcasting, integration, transmission or download of audio-visual programs using internet or other information network. Under the Audio-Visual Measures, to engage in the business of transmitting audio-visual programs, a license issued by SAPPRFT is required, and "audio-visual programs (including audio-visual products of films and televisions)" is defined as the audio-visual programs consisting of movable pictures or sounds that can be listened to continuously, which are shot and recorded using video cameras, vidicons, recorders and other audio-visual equipment for producing programs. Foreign invested enterprises are not allowed to carry out such business. On April 13, 2005, the State Council promulgated the Certain Decisions on the Entry of the Non-state-owned Capital into the Cultural Industry. On July 6, 2005, five PRC governmental authorities, including the SAPPRFT, jointly adopted the Several Opinions on Canvassing Foreign Investment into the Cultural Sector. According to these regulations, non-state-owned capital and foreign investors are not allowed to engage in the business of transmitting audio-visual programs through information networks. However, the Audio-Visual Measures will be repealed according to the Administrative Provisions on Audio-Visual Program Service through Special Network and Directed Transmission that promulgated by the ASPPRFT on May 4, 2016 as of June 1, 2016.

        To further regulate the provision of audio-visual program services to the public via the internet, including through mobile networks, within the territory of the PRC, the SAPPRFT and the MIIT jointly promulgated the Administrative Provisions on Internet Audio-Visual Program Service, or the Audio-Visual Program Provisions, on December 20, 2007, which came into effect on January 31, 2008. Under the Audio-Visual Program Provisions, "internet audio-visual program services" is defined as activities of producing, redacting and integrating audio-visual programs, providing them to the general public via internet, and providing service for other people to upload and transmiss audio-visual programs, and providers of internet audio-visual program services are required to obtain a License for Online Transmission of Audio-Visual Programs issued by SAPPRFT, or complete certain registration procedures with SAPPRFT. In general, providers of internet audio-visual program services must be either state-owned or state-controlled entities, and the business to be carried out by such providers must satisfy the overall planning and guidance catalog for internet audio-visual program service determined by SAPPRFT. In a press conference jointly held by SAPPRFT and MIIT to answer questions relating to the Audio-Visual Program Provisions in February 2008, SAPPRFT and MIIT clarified that providers of internet audio-visual program services who engaged in such services prior to the promulgation of the Audio-Visual Program Provisions are eligible to re-register with the relevant authorities and continue their operation of internet audio-visual program

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services so long as those providers did not violate the relevant laws and regulations in the past. On May 21, 2008, SAPPRFT issued a Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning Application and Approval of License for the Online Transmission of Audio-Visual Programs, which further sets out detailed provisions concerning the application and approval process regarding the License for Online Transmission of Audio-Visual Programs. The notice also states that providers of internet audio-visual program services that engaged in such services prior to the promulgation of the Audio-Visual Program Provisions are eligible to apply for the license so long as their violation of the laws and regulations is minor in scope and can be rectified in a timely manner and they have no records of violation during the last three months prior to the promulgation of the Audio-Visual Program Provisions. Further, on March 30, 2009, SAPPRFT promulgated the Notice on Strengthening the Administration of the Content of Internet Audio-Visual Programs, which reiterates the pre-approval requirements for the audio-visual programs transmitted via the internet, including through mobile networks, where applicable, and prohibits certain types of internet audio-visual programs containing violence, pornography, gambling, terrorism, superstition or other similarly prohibited elements.

        On April 1, 2010, SAPPRFT promulgated the Provisional Implementation of the Tentative Categories of Internet Audio-Visual Program Services, or the Categories, which clarified the scope of Internet audio-video programs services. According to the Categories, there are four categories of Internet audio-visual program services which are further divided into seventeen sub-categories. The third sub-category to the second category covers the making and editing of certain specialized audio-video programs concerning, among other things, educational content, and broadcasting such content to the general public online. However, there are still significant uncertainties relating to the interpretation and implementation of the Audio-Visual Program Provisions, in particular, the scope of "internet audio-video programs."

Regulations Relating to Privacy Protection

        The PRC Constitution states that PRC law protects the freedom and privacy of communications of citizens and prohibits infringement of these rights. In recent years, PRC government authorities have enacted laws and regulations on internet use to protect personal information from any unauthorized disclosure. Pursuant to the Decision on Strengthening the Protection of Online Information issued by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on December 28, 2012 and the Order for the Protection of Telecommunication and Internet User Personal Information issued by the MIIT in July 16, 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 in these regulations as information that identifies a citizen, the time or location for his use of telecommunication and internet services, or involves privacy of any citizen such as his birth date, ID card number, and address. An ICP services 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 ICP service provider to warnings, fines, confiscation of illegal gains, revocation of licenses, cancellation of filings, closedown of websites or even criminal liabilities. Pursuant to the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law issued by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in August 2015, which became effective in November 2015, any internet service provider that fails to fulfill the obligations related to internet information security administration as required by applicable laws and refuses to rectify upon orders, shall be 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 client's information; (iii) any serious loss of criminal evidence; or (iv) other severe situation, and any individual or entity that (i) sells or provides personal information to others in a way violating the applicable law, or (ii) steals or illegally obtains any personal information, shall be subject to criminal penalty in severe situation. As an ICP services provider, we are subject to these laws and regulations relating to protection of privacy.

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The Draft PRC Foreign Investment Law

        On January 19, 2015, MOFCOM published a discussion draft of the proposed Foreign Investment Law for public review and comments. The draft Foreign Investment Law purports to change the existing "case-by-case" approval regime to a "filing or approval" procedure for foreign investments in China. The MOFCOM, together with other relevant authorities, will determine a catalogue for special administrative measures, or the "negative list," which will consist of a list of industry categories where foreign investments are strictly prohibited and a list of industry categories where foreign investments are subject to certain restrictions. Foreign investments in business sectors outside of the "negative list" will only be subject to filing procedures, in contrast to the existing prior approval requirements, whereas foreign investments in the restricted industries must apply for approval from the foreign investment administration authority.

        The draft Foreign Investment Law for the first time defines "foreign investor," "foreign investment," "Chinese investor" and "actual control." A foreign investor is not only determined based on the place of its incorporation, but also on the conditions of the "actual control." The draft Foreign Investment Law specifically provides that entities established in China but "controlled" by foreign investors, such as via contracts or trust, will be treated as Foreign-invested enterprises, or FIEs, whereas foreign investment in China in the foreign investment restricted industries by a foreign investor may nonetheless apply for being, when approving market entry clearance by the foreign investment administration authority, treated as a PRC domestic investment if the foreign investor is determined by the foreign investment administration authority as being "controlled" by PRC entities and/or citizens. In this connection, "actual control" is broadly defined in the draft Foreign Investment Law to cover the following summarized categories: (i) holding 50% of more of the voting rights of the subject entity; (ii) holding less than 50% of the voting rights of the subject entity but having the power to secure at least 50% of the seats on the board or other equivalent decision making bodies, or having the voting power to materially influence the board, the shareholders' meeting or other equivalent decision making bodies; or (iii) having the power to exert decisive influence, via contractual or trust arrangements, over the subject entity's operations, financial matters or other key aspects of business operations. According to the draft Foreign Investment Law, VIEs would also be deemed as FIEs, if they are ultimately "controlled" by foreign investors, and be subject to restrictions on foreign investments. However, the draft Foreign Investment Law has not taken a position on what actions will be taken with respect to the existing companies with the "variable interest entity" structure, whether or not these companies are controlled by Chinese parties.

        The draft Foreign Investment Law emphasizes the security review requirements, whereby all foreign investments concerning national security must be reviewed and approved in accordance with the security review procedure. In addition, the draft Foreign Investment Law imposes stringent ad hoc and periodic information reporting requirements on foreign investors and the applicable FIEs. In addition to the investment implementation report and investment amendment report that are required at each investment and alteration of investment specifics, an annual report is mandatory, and large foreign investors meeting certain criteria are required to report on a quarterly basis. Any company found to be non-compliant with these information reporting obligations may potentially be subject to fines and/or administrative or criminal liabilities, and the persons directly responsible may be subject to criminal liabilities.

        It is still uncertain when the draft would be signed into law and whether the final version would have any substantial changes from this draft. When the Foreign Investment Law becomes effective, 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 ancillary regulations, will be abolished.

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Regulations Relating to Intellectual Property Rights

    Copyright and Software Registration

        The Standing Committee of National People's Congress of PRC adopted the Copyright Law in 1990 and amended it in 2001 and 2010, respectively. The amended Copyright Law extends copyright protection to Internet activities, products disseminated over the Internet and software products. In addition, there is a voluntary registration system administered by the China Copyright Protection Center. The amended Copyright Law also requires registration of a copyright pledge. To address the problem of copyright infringement related to the content posted or transmitted over the Internet, the National Copyright Administration and the MIIT jointly promulgated the Measures for Administrative Protection of Copyright Related to Internet on April 29, 2005. This measure became effective on May 30, 2005.

        The Administrative Measures on Software Products, issued by the MIIT March 2009, provide a registration and filing system with respect to software products made in or imported into China. These software products may be registered with the relevant local authorities in charge of software industry administration. Registered software products may enjoy preferential treatment status granted by relevant software industry regulations. Software products can be registered for five years, and the registration is renewable upon expiration. In order to further implement the Computer Software Protection Regulations promulgated by the State Council on December 20, 2001 and amended on January 30, 2013, the State Copyright Bureau issued the Computer Software Copyright Registration Procedures on February 20, 2002, which apply to software copyright registration, license contract registration and transfer contract registration. In compliance with, and in order to take advantage of the above rules, as of March 31, 2016, we have registered one work of arts copyright and ten software copyrights in China. We also have copyright in the course materials our in-house team has developed, including nine of our Classic English course books and nine of our Classic English Junior course books.

    Patents

        The Standing Committee of National People's Congress adopted the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China in 1984 and amended it in 1992, 2000 and 2008, respectively. A patentable invention, utility model or design must meet three conditions: 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, 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, or else the use will constitute an infringement of the rights of the patent holder. We are in the process of applying for one patent.

    Domain Name

        In September 2002, the China Internet Network Information Center, or CNNIC, issued the Implementing Rules for Domain Name Registration setting forth detailed rules for registration of domain names, which was amended on May 28, 2012. On November 5, 2004, the MIIT promulgated the Measures for Administration of Domain Names for the Chinese Internet, or the Domain Name Measures. The Domain Name Measures regulate the registration of domain names, such as the first tier domain name ".cn." On May 28, 2012, the CNNIC issued the Measures on Domain Name Dispute Resolution and relevant implementing rules, pursuant to which the CNNIC can authorize a domain name dispute resolution institution to decide disputes. We have registered 21 domain names in China as of March 31, 2016.

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    Trademark

        Trademarks are protected by the PRC Trademark Law which was adopted in 1982 and subsequently amended in 1993, 2001 and 2013 as well as the Implementation Regulation of the PRC Trademark Law adopted by the State Council in 2002 and amended in 2014. The Trademark Office under the SAIC handles trademark registrations and grants a term of ten years to registered trademarks which may be renewed for consecutive ten-year periods upon request by the trademark owner. Trademark license agreements must be filed with the Trademark Office for record. 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 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 party's use. We have registered 13 trademarks in China as of March 31, 2016.

Regulations on Foreign Exchange

    Foreign Currency Exchange

        Pursuant to the Foreign Currency Administration Rules, as amended, and various regulations issued by SAFE and other relevant PRC government authorities, RMB is freely convertible to the extent of current account items, such as trade related receipts and payments, interest and dividends. Capital account items, such as direct equity investments, loans and repatriation of investment, unless expressly exempted by laws and regulations, still require prior approval from SAFE or its provincial branch for conversion of RMB into a foreign currency, such as U.S. dollars, and remittance of the foreign currency outside of the PRC. Payments for transactions that take place within the PRC must be made in RMB. Foreign currency revenues received by PRC companies may be repatriated into China or retained outside of China in accordance with requirements and terms specified by SAFE.

    Dividend Distribution

        Wholly foreign-owned enterprises and Sino-foreign equity joint ventures in the PRC may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profits, if any, as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Additionally, these foreign-invested enterprises may not pay dividends unless they set aside at least 10% of their respective accumulated profits after tax each year, if any, to fund certain reserve funds, until such time as the accumulative amount of such fund reaches 50% of the enterprise's registered capital. In addition, these companies also may allocate a portion of their after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to employee welfare and bonus funds at their discretion. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends.

    Regulations Relating to Foreign Exchange Registration of Overseas Investment by PRC Residents

        SAFE Circular on Relevant Issues Relating to Domestic Resident's Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or Circular 37, issued by SAFE and effective in July 4, 2014, regulates 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 and conduct round trip investment in China. Under Circular 37, a SPV refers to an offshore entity established or controlled, directly or indirectly, by PRC residents or entities for the purpose of seeking offshore financing or making offshore investment, using legitimate domestic or offshore assets or interests, while "round trip investment" refers to the direct investment in China by PRC residents or entities through SPVs, namely, establishing foreign-invested enterprises to obtain the ownership, control rights and management rights. Circular 37 requires

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that, before making contribution into an SPV, PRC residents or entities are required to complete foreign exchange registration with the SAFE or its local branch. SAFE Circular 37 further provides that option or share-based incentive tool holders of a non-listed SPV can exercise the options or share incentive tools to become a shareholder of such non-listed SPV, subject to registration with SAFE or its local branch.

        PRC residents or entities who have contributed legitimate domestic or offshore interests or assets to SPVs but have yet to obtain SAFE registration before the implementation of the Circular 37 shall register their ownership interests or control in such SPVs with SAFE or its local branch. An amendment to the registration is required if there is a material change in the SPV registered, such as any change of basic information (including change of such PRC residents, name and operation term), increases or decreases in investment amount, transfers or exchanges of shares, or mergers or divisions. Failure to comply with the registration procedures set forth in Circular 37, or making misrepresentation on or failure to disclose controllers of foreign-invested enterprise that is established through round-trip investment, may result in restrictions on the foreign exchange activities of the relevant foreign-invested enterprises, 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. On February 13, 2015, SAFE further promulgated the Circular on Further Simplifying and Improving the Administration of the Foreign Exchange Concerning Direct Investment, or SAFE Circular 13, which took effect on June 1, 2015. This SAFE Circular 13 has amended SAFE Circular 37 by requiring PRC residents or entities to register with qualified banks rather than 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. Jack Jiajia Huang and Ting Shu, who directly or indirectly hold shares in our Cayman Islands holding company and who are PRC residents have completed the initial foreign exchange registrations and are in the process of updating their registrations required in connection with our recent corporate restructuring.

    Regulations on Stock Incentive Plans

        Pursuant to the Notice on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plan of Overseas Publicly Listed Company, or Circular 7, issued by SAFE in February 2012, employees, directors, supervisors and other senior management participating in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company who are PRC citizens or who are non-PRC citizens residing in China for a continuous period of not less than one year, subject to a few exceptions, 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. If we fail to complete the SAFE registrations, such failure may subject us to fines and legal sanctions and may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital into our wholly foreign-owned subsidiary in China and limit such subsidiary's ability to distribute dividends to us.

        In addition, the State Administration for Taxation has issued certain circulars concerning employee share options or restricted shares. Under these circulars, the employees working in the PRC who exercise share options or are granted restricted shares will be subject to PRC individual income tax. The PRC subsidiaries of such overseas listed company have obligations to file documents related to employee share options or restricted shares with relevant tax authorities and to withhold individual income taxes of those employees who exercise their share options. If the employees fail to pay or the PRC subsidiaries fail to withhold their income taxes according to relevant laws and regulations, the PRC subsidiaries may face sanctions imposed by the tax authorities or other PRC government authorities.

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Regulation on Tax

    PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law

        In January 2008, the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law took effect. The PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law applies a uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate to both foreign-invested enterprises and domestic enterprises, except where tax incentives are granted to special industries and projects. Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation regulations, dividends generated from the business of a PRC subsidiary after January 1, 2008 and payable to its foreign investor may be subject to a withholding tax rate of 10% if the PRC tax authorities determine that the foreign investor is a non-resident enterprise, unless there is a tax treaty with China that provides for a preferential withholding tax rate. Distributions of earnings generated before January 1, 2008 are exempt from PRC withholding tax.

        Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, an enterprise established outside China with "de facto management bodies" within China 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. A circular issued by the State Administration of Taxation in April 2009 regarding the standards used to classify certain Chinese-invested enterprises controlled by Chinese enterprises or Chinese enterprise groups and established outside of China as "resident enterprises" clarified that dividends and other income paid by such PRC "resident enterprises" will be considered PRC-source income and subject to PRC withholding tax, currently at a rate of 10%, when paid to non-PRC enterprise shareholders. This circular also subjects such PRC "resident enterprises" to various reporting requirements with the PRC tax authorities. Under the implementation regulations to the PRC Enterprise Income Tax 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 tax circular mentioned above specifies that certain PRC-invested overseas enterprises controlled by a Chinese enterprise or a Chinese enterprise group in the PRC will be classified as PRC resident enterprises if the following are located or resided in the PRC: (i) senior management personnel and departments that are responsible for daily production, operation and management; (ii) financial and personnel decision making bodies; (iii) key properties, accounting books, the company seal, and minutes of board meetings and shareholders' meetings; and (iv) half or more of the senior management or directors who have the voting rights.

        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 August 2015, the State Administration of Taxation promulgated the Administrative Measures for Non-Resident Taxpayers to Enjoy Treatment under Tax Treaties, or SAT Circular 60, which became effective on November 1, 2015. SAT Circular 60 provides that non-resident enterprises are not required to obtain pre-approval from the relevant tax authority in order to enjoy the reduced withholding tax. Instead, non-resident 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, COE HK Co I may be able to benefit from the 5% withholding tax rate for the dividends it receives from Dasheng Online, if it satisfies the conditions prescribed under SAT Circular 81 and other relevant tax rules and regulations. However,

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according to SAT Circular 81 and SAT Circular 60, 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.

        In January 2009, the SAT promulgated the Provisional Measures for the Administration of Withholding of Enterprise Income Tax for Non-resident Enterprises, or the Non-resident Enterprises Measures, pursuant to which entities that have direct obligation to make certain payments to a non-resident enterprise shall be the relevant tax withholders for such non-resident enterprise. Further, the Non-resident Enterprises Measures provides that, in case of an equity transfer between two non-resident enterprises which occurs outside China, the non-resident enterprise which receives the equity transfer payment shall, by itself or engage an agent to, file tax declaration with the PRC tax authority located at place of the PRC company whose equity has been transferred, and the PRC company whose equity has been transferred shall assist the tax authorities to collect taxes from the relevant non-resident enterprise. On April 30, 2009, the MOF and the SAT jointly issued the Notice on Issues Concerning Process of Enterprise Income Tax in Enterprise Restructuring Business, or Circular 59. On December 10, 2009, the SAT issued the Notice on Strengthening the Administration of the Enterprise Income Tax concerning Proceeds from Equity Transfers by Non-resident Enterprises, or Circular 698. Both Circular 59 and Circular 698 became effective retroactively as of January 1, 2008. By promulgating and implementing these two circulars, the PRC tax authorities have enhanced their scrutiny over the direct or indirect transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise by a non-resident enterprise.

        On February 3, 2015, the SAT issued the Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Several Issues Concerning the Enterprise Income Tax on Indirect Property Transfer by Non-Resident Enterprises, or SAT Bulletin 7, to supersede existing provisions in relation to the Indirect Transfer as set forth in Circular 698, while the other provisions of Circular 698 remain in force. SAT Bulletin 7 introduces a new tax regime that is significantly different from that under Circular 698. Public Notice extends its tax jurisdiction to capture not only Indirect Transfer as set forth under Circular 698 but also transactions involving transfer of immovable property in China and assets held under the establishment and place, in China of a foreign company through the offshore transfer of a foreign intermediate holding company. SAT Bulletin 7 also addresses transfer of the equity interest in a foreign intermediate holding company widely. In addition, SAT Bulletin 7 provides clearer criteria than Circular 698 on how to assess reasonable commercial purposes and introduces safe harbor scenarios applicable to internal group restructurings. However, it also brings challenges to both the foreign transferor and transferee of the Indirect Transfer as they have to make self-assessment on whether the transaction should be subject to PRC tax and to file or withhold the PRC tax accordingly.

        Where non-resident investors were involved in our private equity financing, if such transactions were determined by the tax authorities to lack reasonable commercial purpose, we and our non-resident investors may become at risk of being required to file a return and taxed under Circular 698 and/or SAT Bulletin 7 and we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with Circular 698 and/or SAT Bulletin 7 or to establish that we should not be held liable for any obligations under Circular 698 and/or SAT Bulletin 7.

    PRC Value-added Tax ("VAT") in lieu of Business Tax (the "VAT Pilot Program")

        On January 1, 2012, the Chinese State Council officially launched a pilot value-added tax ("VAT") reform program, or Pilot Program, applicable to businesses in selected industries. Businesses in the Pilot Program would pay VAT instead of business tax. The Pilot Industries in Shanghai included industries involving the leasing of tangible movable property, transportation services, product development and technical services, information technology services, cultural and creative services, logistics and ancillary services, certification and consulting services. Revenues generated by advertising services, a type of "cultural and creative services," are subject to the VAT tax rate of 6%. According to official announcements made by competent authorities in Beijing and Guangdong province, Beijing launched the

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same Pilot Program on September 1, 2012, and Guangdong province launched it on November 1, 2012. On May 24, 2013, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation issued the Circular on Tax Policies in the Nationwide Pilot Collection of Value Added Tax in Lieu of Business Tax in the Transportation Industry and Certain Modern Services Industries, or the Pilot Collection Circular. The scope of certain modern services industries under the Pilot Collection Circular extends to the inclusion of radio and television services. On August 1, 2013, the Pilot Program was implemented throughout China. On December 12, 2013, the Ministry of Finance and the SAT issued the Circular on the Inclusion of the Railway Transport Industry and Postal Service Industry in the Pilot Collection of Value-added Tax in Lieu of Business Tax, or the 2013 VAT Circular. Among the other things, the 2013 VAT Circular abolished the Pilot Collection Circular, and refined the policies for the Pilot Program. On April 29, 2014, the Ministry of Finance and the SAT issued the Circular on the Inclusion of Telecommunications Industry in the Pilot Collection of Value-added Tax in Lieu of Business Tax. On March 23, 2016, the Ministry of Finance and the SAT issued the Circular on Comprehensively Promoting the Pilot Program of the Collection of Value-added Tax in Lieu of Business Tax. Effective from May 1, 2016, the PRC tax authorities collect VAT in lieu of Business Tax on a trial basis within the territory of China, and in industries such as construction industries, real estate industries, financial industries, and living service industries. We currently pay the pilot VAT instead of business taxes for our services activities, and for any other parts of our business that are deemed by the local tax authorities to belong to the applicable industries.

Regulations Relating to Employment and Social Insurance

        We are subject to laws and regulations governing our relationship with our employees, including wage and hour requirements, working and safety conditions, and social insurance, housing funds and other welfare. The compliance with these laws and regulations may require substantial resources.

        Pursuant to the PRC Labor Law effective as of January 1, 1995 and the PRC Labor Contract Law effective as of January 1, 2008 (as amended on December 28, 2012), a written labor contract shall be executed by 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. Further, 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. The employer must also pay severance to an employee in nearly all instances where a labor contract, including a contract with an unlimited term, is terminated or expires. 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 government has continued to introduce various new labor-related regulations after the Labor Contract Law. Among 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 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. In addition, employers in China are obliged to pay contributions to the social insurance plan and the housing fund plan for their employees, and such contribution amount payable shall be calculated based on the employee actual salary in accordance with the relevant regulations.

        We have entered into employment agreements with all of our full-time employees. We currently implement a standard working time system with regard to all of our employees and a comprehensive working time system to certain of our employees work in sales and/or student services departments. We

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have not fully contributed to the social insurance plan and the housing fund plan as required by applicable PRC regulations. As of March 31, 2016, with regards to the outstanding contributions to such plans, we made provisions of approximately RMB56.6 million. While we believe we have made adequate provision of such outstanding amounts of contributions to such plans in our audited financial statements, our failure to make sufficient payments to such plans does not fully comply with applicable PRC laws and regulations and we may be required to make up the contributions for such plans as well as to pay late fees and fines. Meanwhile, we began to outsource part of our marketing and sales functions to independent third party suppliers who provide management and business outsourcing services to us in December 2015. There remains a degree of uncertainty as to whether such service outsourcing arrangement will be deemed labor dispatch arrangements under current PRC laws and regulations. If the authorities take the view that such outsourcing arrangements constitute labor dispatch and violate relevant labor laws, we may be ordered to terminate such outsource arrangement and may be fined or have our business license revoked if the relevant authorities deem such arrangements constitute a serious violation of the PRC laws and regulations relating to labor dispatch.

M&A Rule and Overseas Listing

        The Provisions Regarding Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rule, were jointly adopted by six PRC regulatory authorities, including China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, on August 8, 2006 and became effective as of September 8, 2006, and were later amended on June 22, 2009. This M&A Rule purports to require, among other things, offshore SPVs, formed for listing purposes through acquisition of PRC domestic companies and controlled by PRC companies or individuals, to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to publicly listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange. We believe that CSRC approval is not required in the context of our initial public offering as we are not a special purpose vehicle formed for listing purpose through acquisition of domestic companies that are controlled by our PRC individual shareholders, as we acquired contractual control rather than equity interests in our PRC consolidated VIE.

        However, we cannot assure you that the relevant PRC government authority, including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion as we do. If the CSRC or other PRC regulatory authority subsequently determines that we need to obtain the CSRC's approval for our initial public offering or if CSRC or any other PRC government authorities will promulgate any interpretation or implementing rules before our listing that would require CSRC or other governmental approvals for our initial public offering, we may face sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies. In such event, these regulatory agencies may impose fines and penalties on our operations in the PRC, limit our operating privileges in the PRC, delay or restrict the repatriation of the proceeds from our initial public offering into the PRC, or take other actions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ADSs.

Philippine Regulations

        This section sets forth a summary of the most significant rules and regulations that affect our business activities in the Philippines.

Regulations on Tax

        On January 1, 1998, Republic Act No. 8424, otherwise known as the "National Internal Revenue Code," or NIRC, took effect. Since NIRC came into effect, numerous laws have been passed to amend the various provisions within the NIRC.

        Effective January 1, 2009, generally, the rate of income tax for all corporations is 30% of all taxable net income derived during each taxable year from sources within and outside of the Philippines.

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        In the case of entities registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, or PEZA, they are entitled to fiscal incentives including income tax holiday or 100% exemption from corporate income tax for four years from PEZA registration for non-pioneer projects, 5% special tax on gross income after the expiration of the income tax holiday, tax and duty free importation of raw materials, capital equipment, machineries and spare parts, VAT zero rating, exemption from payment of local government imposts, fees, licenses, and taxes; and exemption from expanded withholding tax.

Philippine Economic Zone Authority ("PEZA")

        PEZA is an attached agency to the Department of Trade and Industry. It is tasked to promote investments, extend assistance, register, grant incentives to, and facilitate the business operations of investors in export-oriented manufacturing and service facilities located inside selected areas throughout the Philippines proclaimed by the President of the Philippines as PEZA Special Economic Zones. The PEZA oversees and administers incentives to developers/operators and locators in PEZA Special Economic Zones.

        On December 19, 2014, Philippines Co II was registered with the PEZA as an Ecozone IT Enterprise.

        Entities registered with the PEZA are entitled to fiscal and non-fiscal incentives. Fiscal Incentives include: income tax holiday income tax holiday or 100% exemption from corporate income tax for four years from PEZA registration for non-pioneer projects, 5% Special Tax on Gross Income after the expiration of the income tax holiday, tax and duty free importation of raw materials, capital equipment, machineries and spare parts, VAT zero rating; exemption from payment of local government imposts, fees, licenses, and taxes, and exemption from expanded withholding tax. Non-fiscal incentives include: simplified import-export procedures; special non-immigrant visa with multiple entry privileges for certain officers and employees. PEZA also extends visa facilitation assistance to foreign nationals and their spouses and dependents.

        PEZA registered entities are required to maintain distinct and separate books for its operations inside the PEZA Special Economic Zones and are mandated to submit financial and other reports/documents to PEZA. Below are some of the periodic reports/documents required to be submitted to PEZA and their respective due dates:

Types of Report
  Due Date

Economic Zone Monthly Performance Report

  Every 20 th  day of the following month

Annual Report (For Developer/Operator Enterprises)

  90 days after the end of the accounting period

Audited Financial Statements (For Developer/Operator Enterprises)

  30 days after filing with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, or BIR

Quarterly Income Tax Returns (For Developer/Operator Enterprises)

  15 days after filing with BIR

Annual Income Tax Returns (ITR) (For Developer/Operator Enterprises)

  30 days after filing with BIR

Breakdown/Schedule of Sales per Activity

  Together with the Annual Financial Statement, or AFS & Annual Income Tax Return, or ITR

Breakdown/Schedule of Other Income

  Together with AFS & Annual ITR

Data on Revenues and Taxes Paid

  Together with AFS & Annual ITR

Change of Corporate Name & Equity Ownership

  30 days after the said change

Replacement of any Board of Director or Officer

  30 Days after the said change

        As a PEZA-registered entity, Philippines Co II is required to submit the periodic reports described above to PEZA. The failure to comply with these reporting requirements and with any other requirements or regulations of the PEZA could expose Philippines Co II to penalties and the revocation of its PEZA registration.

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MANAGEMENT

Directors and Executive Officers

        The following table sets forth information regarding our executive officers and directors as of the date of this prospectus.

Directors and Executive Officers
  Age   Position/Title

Jack Jiajia Huang

  30   Founder, Director, Chief Executive Officer

Ting Shu

  30   Co-Founder, Director, Senior Vice President

Liming Zhang

  46   Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer

Jimmy Lai

  59   Chief Financial Officer

Yong Lu

  42   Chief Technology Officer

Frank Lin

  51   Director

Xing Liu

  45   Director

Wei Li

  39   Director

Conor Chia-hung Yang

  53   Independent Director Appointee*

Xiaoguang Wu

  40   Independent Director Appointee*

*
Each of Conor Chia-hung Yang and Xiaoguang Wu has accepted appointment as our independent director, effective upon the SEC's declaration of effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part.

         Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang is our founder and has served as our director and chief executive officer since our inception. Prior to founding our company, he served as an operations manager at Mitsubishi Corporation (China) Co., Ltd. from 2007 to 2010. Mr. Huang founded Couponia, a group-buying website targeting the Japanese market, in 2010, and TalkChina, an online Chinese-teaching platform targeting Japanese students, in 2007. Mr. Huang received his bachelor's degree in Japanese language from Tsinghua University in 2007. In 2015, Mr. Huang was named a leading entrepeneur under 30 by Cyzone, an entrepreneur service platform in China.

         Ms. Ting Shu is our co-founder and has served as our director and senior vice president since our inception. From 2010 to 2012, Ms. Shu worked in the enterprise risk services department of Deloitte in China. Prior to that, Ms. Shu co-founded TalkChina with Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang in 2007. Ms. Shu received her master's degree in language science from the University of Tokyo in 2010 and her bachelor's degree in Japanese language from Tsinghua University in 2007. Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang and Ms. Ting Shu are husband and wife.

         Mr. Liming Zhang is our co-founder and has served as our chief operating officer since October 2014. Prior to joining us, Mr. Zhang served as the vice general manager of Wall Street English, a leading private English education institution in China, from 2000 to 2014. Mr. Zhang received his MBA degree from The Universtiy of Hull in 2001 and his bachelor's degree in Chinese literature from Shanghai Normal University in 1992.

         Mr. Jimmy Lai has served as our chief financial officer since June 2015. Mr. Lai is also an independent director of Sky-mobi Limited, a NASDAQ-listed company, and an independent director and chairman of the audit committee of Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, a NASDAQ-listed company. Prior to joining us, Mr. Lai served as the chief financial officer of Chukong Technologies Corp., a leading mobile entertainment platform company in China from 2013 to 2015. Mr. Lai served as the chief financial officer of Gamewave Corporation, a leading webgame company in China, from 2011 to 2013. Prior to that, Mr. Lai served as the chief financial officer of Daqo New Energy Corp., an NYSE-listed company and a leading polysilicon manufacturer based in China, from 2009 to 2011. From 2008 to 2009, Mr. Lai served as the chief financial officer of Linktone Ltd., a NASDAQ-listed company and a leading provider of wireless interactive entertainment services to consumers in China. From 2006 to 2008, Mr. Lai was the chief financial officer of Palm Commerce Holdings, a leading information technology solution provider for the

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China lottery industry. Prior to that, he served as an associate vice president of investor relations at Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, a company listed on the NYSE and the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, from 2002 to 2006, and as a controller and director of financial planning at AMX Corporation from 1997 to 2001. Mr. Lai received his MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas and his bachelor's degree in statistics from the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. Mr. Lai is a certified public accountant licensed in the State of Texas.

         Mr. Yong Lu has served as our chief technology officer since April 2016. Prior to joining us, Mr. Lu served as the general manager of advertisement platform at Weibo Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed company and a leading social media company in China from 2014. From 2012 to 2014, Mr. Lu worked at Facebook in Seattle as a software engineer. Prior to that, Mr. Lu worked at Microsoft in Seattle from 2003 to 2012 as a senior software engineer. Mr. Lu received a master's degree in computer science from University of Denver in 2003 and a master's degree in chemistry from Zhejiang University in 2000. Mr. Lu is also a named contributor in five IT patents in the United States.

         Mr. Frank Lin has served as our director since June 2013. Mr. Lin is a general partner of DCM, a technology venture capital firm. Prior to joining DCM in 2006, Mr. Lin was the chief operating officer of SINA Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed company. He co-founded SINA's predecessor, SinaNet, in 1995 and later guided SINA through its listing on NASDAQ. Mr. Lin had also held various marketing, engineering and managerial positions at Octel Communication Inc. and NYNEX. Mr. Lin currently serves on the board of directors of various DCM portfolio companies, including Tuniu Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed company, Vipshop Holdings, Limited and 58.com, Inc., which are NYSE-listed companies. Mr. Lin received an MBA degree from Stanford University and a bachelor's degree in engineering from Dartmouth College.

         Mr. Xing Liu has served as our director since July 2014. Mr. Liu is a partner of Sequoia Capital China. Prior to joining Sequoia Capital China in 2007, Mr. Liu had over nine years of experience in investment banking, technology and product development and consulting at Merrill Lynch, Xerox and GlobalSight. Mr. Liu currently serves on the board of directors of various Sequoia Capital China portfolio companies, including Vipshop Holdings Limited, a NYSE-listed company. Mr. Liu received an MBA degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2004, a master's degree in computer engineering from Syracuse University in 1995, and a bachelor's degree in management information systems from Fudan University in 1992.

         Mr. Wei Li has served as our director since July 2014. Mr. Li has been a vice president of Shunwei Capital since May 2012, a firm focusing on TMT related investment in the greater China region. Prior to that, Mr. Li worked as a vice president of CAIIF Capital, a Chinese private equity fund based in Beijing, China. Prior to joining CAIIF Capital in 2011, Mr. Li served as a vice president of China eCapital Corporation from 2009 to 2011 and focused on fund-raising and mergers and acquisitions advisory work in the TMT sector. Mr. Li worked in London between August 2005 and August 2009, first with Standard Chartered Bank and then with Straumur Burdaras. Prior to joining Standard Chartered Bank in 2004, Mr. Li was an auditor at KPMG Beijing office. Mr. Li received his master's degree in English Literature from Peking University in 2003 and his bachelor's degree in Mathematics from Peking University in 1999.

         Mr. Conor Chia-hung Yang will serve as our independent director immediately upon the effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part. Mr. Yang has served as the chief financial officer of Tuniu Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed company, since January 2013. Prior to joining Tuniu Corporation, Mr. Yang was the chief financial officer of E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc., a NYSE-listed company, from March 2010 to July 2012 and the chief financial officer of AirMedia Group Inc., a Nasdaq-listed company, from March 2007 to March 2010. Mr. Yang was the chief executive officer of RockMobile Corporation from 2004 to February 2007. From 1999 to 2004, Mr. Yang served as the chief financial officer of the Asia Pacific region for CellStar Asia Corporation. Mr. Yang was an executive director of Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. from 1997 to 1999. Prior to that, Mr. Yang was a vice

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president of Lehman Brothers Asia Limited from 1994 to 1996 and an associate at Morgan Stanley Asia Limited from 1992 to 1994. Mr. Yang currently serves as an independent director and chairman of the audit committee of AirMedia Group Inc., a Nasdaq-listed company. Mr. Yang received a master's degree of business administration from University of California, Los Angeles in 1992.

         Mr. Xiaoguang Wu will serve as our independent director immediately upon the effectiveness of our registration statement on From F-1, of which this prospectus is a part. Mr. Wu is the founding partner of Welight Capital (Hong Kong) Limited. Mr. Wu joined Tencent Inc., a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in 1999 as a member of the early founding team. He worked as a project manager for the research and development team for instant messaging products, a general manager for the internet business division and later became the senior executive vice president of the internet service division and the chief executive officer of Tencent E-Commerce Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Tencent Inc. Mr. Wu has served as a senior management advisor for Tencent Inc. since June 2015. Mr. Wu has extensive experience in product research and development, product planning, product operation and marketing internet businesses. Mr. Wu currently serves as an independent director of 58.com, Inc., a NYSE-listed company. Mr. Wu received his EMBA from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in 2008 and his bachelor of science degree in weather dynamics from Nanjing University in 1996.

Employment Agreements and Indemnification Agreements

        We have entered into employment agreements with each of our executive officers. We may terminate an executive officer's employment for cause at any time without advance notice or remuneration, if (i) the executive officer is convicted or pleads guilty to a felony or to an act of fraud, misappropriation or embezzlement, (ii) the executive officer has been negligent or acted dishonestly to our detriment, (iii) the executive officer has engaged in actions amounting to misconduct or failed to perform his/her duties thereunder and such failure continues after the executive officer is afforded a reasonable opportunity to cure such failure, (iv) the executive officer has died, or (v) the executive officer has a disability which shall mean a physical or mental impairment which, as reasonably determined by our board of directors, renders the executive officer unable to perform the essential functions of his/her employment with us, even with reasonable accommodation that does not impose an undue hardship on the Company, for more than 180 days in any 12-month period, unless a longer period is required by applicable law, in which case that longer period would apply. We may also terminate an executive officer's employment by giving a three-month prior written notice. An executive officer may terminate his or her employment at any time by giving a three-month prior written notice.

        Each executive officer has agreed to hold, at all times during and after the termination or expiry of his or her employment agreement, in strict confidence and not to use, except as required in the performance of his or her duties in connection with the employment or pursuant to applicable law, any of our confidential information, or the confidential or proprietary information disclosed to the executive officer by or obtained by the executive officer from us either directly or indirectly in writing, orally or otherwise, if specifically indicated to be confidential or reasonably expected to be confidential.

        In addition, each executive officer has agreed to be bound by non-competition and non-solicitation restrictions during the term of his or her employment and for two years following the last date of employment. Specifically, each executive officer has agreed not to (i) approach our suppliers, clients, customers or contacts of us or other persons or entities introduced to the executive officer in the executive officer's capacity as our representative for the purposes of doing business with such persons or entities which will harm the business relationship between the Company and such persons and/or entities; (ii) unless expressly consented to by us, assume employment with or provide services to any of our competitors, engage, whether as principal, partner, licensor or otherwise, any of our competitors; or (iii) unless expressly consented to by us, seek directly or indirectly, by the offer of alternative employment or other inducement whatsoever, to solicit the services of any of our employees who is employed by us.

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        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            directors upon the SEC's declaration of effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part. A director is not required to hold any shares in our company to qualify to serve as a director. A director may vote with respect to any contract, proposed contract, or arrangement in which he or she is materially interested. A director may exercise all the powers of the company to borrow money, mortgage its business, property and uncalled capital, and issue debentures or other securities whenever money is borrowed or as security for any obligation of the company or of any third party.

Committees of the Board of Directors

        Prior to the completion of this offering, we intend to establish an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee under the board of directors. We intend to adopt a charter for each of the three committees prior to the completion of this offering. Each committee's members and functions are described below.

        Audit Committee.     Our audit committee will consist of            and will be chaired by                .                satisfy the "independence" requirements of [NYSE/NASDAQ Select Market] and meet the independence standards under Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We have determined that                qualifies as an "audit committee financial expert." The audit committee will oversee our accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of the financial statements of our company. The audit committee will be responsible for, among other things:

    selecting the independent registered public accounting firm and pre-approving all auditing and non-auditing services permitted to be performed by the independent registered public accounting firm;

    reviewing with the independent registered public accounting firm any audit problems or difficulties and management's response;

    reviewing and approving all proposed related party transactions, as defined in Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act;

    discussing the annual audited financial statements with management and the independent registered public accounting firm;

    reviewing major issues as to the adequacy of our internal controls and any special audit steps adopted in light of material control deficiencies;

    annually reviewing and reassessing the adequacy of our audit committee charter;

    meeting separately and periodically with management and the independent registered public accounting firm;

    monitoring compliance with our code of business conduct and ethics, including reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of our procedures to ensure proper compliance; and

    reporting regularly to the board.

        Compensation Committee.     Our compensation committee will consist of                , and will be chaired by                .                satisfy the "independence" requirements of [NYSE/NASDAQ Stock Market]. The

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compensation committee will assist 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 will be responsible for, among other things:

    reviewing and approving, or recommending to the board for its approval, the compensation for our chief executive officer and other executive officers;

    reviewing and recommending to the board for determination with respect to the compensation of our non-employee directors;

    reviewing periodically and approving any incentive compensation or equity plans, programs or other similar arrangements; and

    selecting compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser only after taking into consideration all factors relevant to that person's independence from management.

        Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.     Our nominating and corporate governance committee will consist of                , and will be chaired by                .                satisfy the "independence" requirements of [NYSE/NASDAQ Stock Market]. The nominating and corporate governance committee will assist the board in selecting individuals qualified to become our directors and in determining the composition of the board and its committees. The nominating and corporate governance committee will be responsible for, among other things:

    recommending nominees to the board for election or re-election to the board, or for appointment to fill any vacancy on the board;

    reviewing annually with the board the current composition of the board with regards to characteristics such as independence, age, skills, experience and availability of service to us;

    selecting and recommending to the board the names of directors to serve as members of the audit committee and the compensation committee, as well as of the nominating and corporate governance committee itself;

    developing and reviewing the corporate governance principles adopted by the board and advising the board with respect to significant developments in the law and practice of corporate governance and our compliance with such laws and practices; and

    evaluating the performance and effectiveness of the board as a whole.

Duties of Directors

        Under Cayman Islands law, our directors have a duty of loyalty to act honestly in good faith with a view to our best interests. Our directors also have a duty to exercise the skill they actually possess and such care and diligence that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances. In fulfilling their duty of care to us, our directors must ensure compliance with our memorandum and articles of association. A shareholder may have the right to seek damages in our name if a duty owed by our directors is breached. You should refer to "Description of Share Capital—Differences in Corporate Law" for additional information on our standard of corporate governance under Cayman Islands law.

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

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(i) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors; or (ii) dies or is found by our company to be of unsound mind.

Compensation of Directors and Executive Officers

        For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, we paid an aggregate of RMB1.7 million (US$0.3 million) in cash to our executive officers, and we did not pay any cash compensation to our non-executive directors. For share incentive grants to our directors and executive officers, see "—Share Incentive Plan."

Share Incentive Plan

        We have adopted an employee equity incentive plan in 2013, or the 2013 Plan, and another in 2014, or the 2014 Plan. The 2014 Plan was amended in February 2016. The 2013 Plan and the 2014 Plan are hereinafter collectively referred as the Plans. The purpose of the Plans is to attract and retain the best available personnel to provide additional incentives to employees, directors and consultants and to promote the success of the company's business.

        As of the date of this prospectus, we are authorized to grant options or share purchase rights to purchase up to an aggregate of 36,229,922 ordinary shares under the Plans. As of March 31, 2016, options to purchase an aggregate number of 22,846,000 ordinary shares have been granted and are outstanding.

        The terms of the Plans are substantially similar. The following paragraphs summarize the terms of the Plans.

        Types of Awards.     The Plans permit the awards of options, share appreciation rights, dividend equivalent rights, restricted shares, restricted share units and other rights or benefits under the Plans.

        Plan Administration.     Our board of directors will administer the Plans. The board of directors may authorize the chief executive officer to grant any awards and may limit such authority as the board determines from time to time.

        Eligibility.     We may grant awards to our employees, directors and consultants. An employee, director or consultant who has been granted an award may, if otherwise eligible, be granted additional awards.

        Designation of Award.     Each award under the Plans shall be designated in the award agreement, which is the written agreement evidencing the grant of an award executed by the company and the grantee, including any amendments thereto.

        Conditions of Award.     The board of directors or any entity appointed by the board to administrate the Plans shall determine the provisions, terms, and conditions of each award including, but not limited to, the award vesting schedule, repurchase provisions, rights of first refusal, forfeiture provisions, form of payment (cash, shares, or other consideration) upon settlement of the award and payment contingencies.

        Terms of Award.     The term of each award shall be the term stated in the relevant award agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the specified term of any award shall not include any period for which the grantee has elected to defer the receipt of the shares or cash issuable pursuant to the award.

        Transfer Restrictions.     The awards shall be transferable (i) by will and by the laws of descent and distribution and (ii) during the lifetime of the grantee, to the extent and in the manner authorized by the administrator. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the grantee may designate one or more beneficiaries of the grantee's award in the event of the grantee's death on a beneficiary designation form provided by the administrator.

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        Time of Granting Awards.     The date of grant of an award, shall for all purposes, be the date on which the administrator makes the determination to grant such award, or such other date as is determined by the administrator.

        Acceleration of Award Upon Corporate Transaction or Change in Control.     Except as provided otherwise in a separate board resolution or an individual award agreement and except for the complete liquidation or dissolution of the company, in the event of a corporate transaction, for the portion of each award under the Plans that is neither assumed nor replaced, such portion of the award shall automatically become fully vested and exercisable and be released from any repurchase or forfeiture rights (other than repurchase rights exercisable at fair market value) for all of the shares at the time represented by such portion of the award, immediately prior to the specified effective date of such corporate transaction, provided that the grantee's continuous service has not terminated prior to such date. The portion of the award under the Plans that is not assumed shall terminate under the Plans to the extent not exercised prior to the consummation of such corporate transaction. Except as provided otherwise in a separate board resolution or an individual award agreement, in the event of a change in control (other than a change in control which also is a corporate transaction), each award which is at the time outstanding under the Plans automatically shall become fully vested and exercisable and be released from any repurchase or forfeiture rights (other than repurchase rights exercisable at fair market value), immediately prior to the specified effective date of such change in control, for all of the shares at the time represented by such award, provided that the grantee's continuous service has not terminated prior to such date.

        Exercise of Award.     Any award granted under the Plans shall be exercisable at such times and under such conditions as determined by the administrator under the terms of the Plans and specified in the award agreement. An award shall be deemed to be exercised when written notice of such exercise has been given to the company in accordance with the terms of the award by the person entitled to exercise the award and full payment for the shares with respect to which the award is exercised, including, to the extent selected, use of the broker-dealer sale and remittance procedure to pay the purchase price as provided in the Plans.

        Term of the Plans.     The Plans shall continue in effect for a term of ten years unless sooner terminated by the approval of the board of the company with its unanimous resolutions.

        Amendment, Suspension or Termination of the Plans.     The board of directors may at any time amend, suspend or terminate the Plans; provided, however, that no such amendment shall be made without the approval of the company's shareholders to the extent such approval is required by applicable laws, or if such amendment would change any of the provisions related to (i) the amendment to the terms of any outstanding award granted under the Plans or (ii) board's right to amend, suspend or terminate the Plans. No award may be granted during any suspension of the Plans or after termination of the Plans. No suspension or termination of the Plans (including termination of the Plans after it has served its term) shall adversely affect any rights under awards already granted to a grantee.

        The following table summarizes, as of March 31, 2016, the outstanding options granted to our directors and executive officers under the 2014 Plan.

Name
  Ordinary Shares
Underlying
Options Awarded
  Exercise Price
(US$/Share)
  Date of Grant   Date of
Expiration

Liming Zhang

    *     0.05   December 19, 2014   December 31, 2024

Liming Zhang

    *     0.15   January 7, 2016   December 31, 2025

Jimmy Lai

    *     0.07   June 29, 2015   June 30, 2025

Total

    9,350,000              

*
The aggregate number of ordinary shares exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2016 is less than 1% of our total ordinary shares.

        As of March 31, 2016, other employees as a group held options to purchase 13,496,000 ordinary shares of our company, with exercise prices ranging from US$0.0167 to US$0.15 per ordinary share.

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PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

        The following table sets forth information concerning the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of March 31, 2016 by:

        The calculations in the table below assume that there are 243,196,171 ordinary shares on an as-converted basis outstanding as of March 31, 2016 and                ordinary shares outstanding immediately after the completion of this offering.

        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
  Ordinary shares
Beneficially Owned
After This Offering
 
 
  Number   % (1)   Number   %  

Directors and Executive Officers:*

                         

Jack Jiajia Huang (2)

    40,890,321     16.8              

Ting Shu (3)

    17,524,423     7.2              

Frank Lin (4)

                     

Xing Liu (5)

                     

Wei Li (6)

                     

Liming Zhang

                     

Jimmy Lai

                     

Yong Lu

                     

Conor Chia-hung Yang†

                     

Xiaoguang Wu†

                     

All directors and executive officers as a group

    58,414,744     24.0              

Principal Shareholders:

   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
 

DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P. (7)

    58,703,507     24.1              

Dasheng International Holdings Limited (8)

    58,414,744     24.0              

Sequoia Capital China Investment Funds (9)

    47,032,920     19.3              

Shunwei TMT II Limited (10)

    37,329,473     15.3              

Duowan Entertainment Corp. (11)

    25,382,985     10.4              

Notes:

*
Except for Frank Lin, Xing Liu and Wei Li, the business address for our directors and officers is 6th Floor Deshi Building North, Shangdi Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100085, PRC.

Each of Conor Chia-hung Yang and Xiaoguang Wu has accepted appointment as our independent director, effective upon the SEC's declaration of effectiveness of our registration statement on Form F-1, of which this prospectus is a part.

(1)
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) 243,196,171, 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 March 31, 2016.

(2)
Represents 40,890,321 ordinary shares held by Jack Jiajia Huang through Dasheng Global Limited, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, as described in footnote (8) below.

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(3)
Represents 17,524,423 ordinary shares held by Ting Shu through Dasheng Online Limited, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, as described in footnote (12) below.

(4)
The business address of Frank Lin is 2420 Sand Hill Road, Suite 200, Menlo Park, CA 94025, United States.

(5)
The business address of Xing Liu is Suite 3613, Two Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong.

(6)
The business address of Wei Li is Room 801, Tower D1, Liangmaqiao Diplomatic Office Building, No. 19 Dongfangdong Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100600, PRC.

(7)
Consists of ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of (i) 30,000,000 series A preferred shares; (ii) 9,638,710 series B preferred shares; (iii) 13,972,645 series C preferred shares and (iv) 5,092,152 series D preferred shares. The registered office address of DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P. is c/o Campbell Corporate Services Limited, Scotia Centre, P.O. Box 268, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands. The general partner of DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P. is DCM Hybrid RMB Fund Investment Management, L.P., whose general partner in turn, is DCM Hybrid RMB Fund International, Ltd. DCM Hybrid RMB Fund International, Ltd., through DCM Hybrid RMB Fund Investment Management, L.P., has sole voting and investment power over these shares, and such voting and investment power is exercised by K. David Chao, Thomas Blaisdell, Jason Krikorian and Peter W. Moran, the directors of DCM Hybrid RMB Fund International, Ltd. Each of the directors disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares held by DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P., except to the extent of each person's pecuniary interest therein. The business address of DCM Hybrid RMB Fund Investment Management, L.P. and DCM Hybrid RMB Fund International, Ltd. is 2420 Sand Hill Road, Suite 200, Menlo Park, CA 94025, the United States.

(8)
Consists of (i) 40,890,321 ordinary shares held by Dasheng Global Limited, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and (ii) 17,524,423 ordinary shares held by Dasheng Online Limited, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. The registered office address of Dasheng Global Limited is Quastisky Building, P.O. Box 4389, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. The registered office address of Dasheng Online Limited is c/o Sertus Chambers, P.O. Box 905, Quastisky Building, Road Town, Tortola. British Virgin Islands. Each of Dasheng Global Limited and Dasheng Online Limited is wholly owned by Dasheng International Holdings Limited, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands which is wholly owned by a family trust, of which Jack Jiajia Huang, Ting Shu and their respective family members are beneficiaries. Mr. Huang and Ms. Shu are husband and wife.

(9)
Consists of (i) 36,285,762 ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of series C preferred shares held by SCC Venture V Holdco I, Ltd., an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and (ii) 10,747,158 ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of series D preferred shares held by SCC Growth I Holdco A, Ltd., an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. SCC Venture V Holdco I, Ltd. is wholly owned by Sequoia Capital China Venture Fund V, L.P., whose general partner is SC China Venture V Management L.P., whose general partner in turn, is SC China Holding Limited. SCC Growth I Holdco A, Ltd. is wholly owned by Sequoia Capital China Growth Fund I, L.P. The general partner of Sequoia Capital China Growth Fund I, L.P. is Sequoia Capital China Growth Fund Management I, L.P., whose general partner is SC China Holding Limited. SC China Holding Limited is wholly owned by SNP China Enterprises Limited, which in turn is wholly owned by Neil Nanpeng Shen. The registered address of SCC Growth I Holdco A, Ltd., Sequoia Capital China Growth Fund I, L.P., Sequoia Capital China Growth Fund Management I, L.P., SCC Venture V Holdco I, Ltd., Sequoia Capital China Venture Fund V, L.P., SC China Venture V Management L.P., SC China Holding Limited, SNP China Enterprises Limited and Neil Nanpeng Shen is c/o Codan Trust Company (Cayman) Limited, Cricket Square, Hutchins Drive, P.O. Box 2681, Grand Cayman, KY1-1111, Cayman Islands.

(10)
Consists of ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of (i) 21,455,500 series B preferred shares; (ii) 12,635,881 series C preferred shares; and (iii) 3,238,092 series D preferred shares. The registered office address of Shunwei TMT II Limited is P.O. Box 957, Offshore Incorporations Centre, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Shunwei TMT II Limited is wholly owned by Shunwei China Internet Fund, L.P., whose general partner is Shunwei Capital Partners GP, L.P., whose general partner in turn, is Shunwei Capital Partners GP Limited. The shareholders of Shunwei Capital Partners GP Limited are Team Guide Limited, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, and Gifted Ventures Limited, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. Team Guide Limited is wholly owned by Mr. Jun Lei and Gifted Ventures Limited is wholly owned by Mr. Tuck Lye Koh. The business address of both Mr. Jun Lei and Mr. Tuck Lye Koh is c/o Intertrust Corporate Services (Cayman) Limited, 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-9005, Cayman Islands.

(11)
Consists of ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of (i) 17,139,500 series B preferred shares held by Duowan Entertainment Corp.; (ii) 6,041,674 series C preferred shares held by Duowan Entertainment Corp.; and (iii) 2,201,811 series D preferred shares held by Engage Capital Partners I, L.P. The general partner of Engage Capital Partners I, L.P. is Engage Capital Partners I GP Limited, whose members in turn are Duowan Entertainment Corp. and a natural person. The registered office address of Engage Capital Partners I, L.P. and Engage Capital Partners I GP Limited is 89 Nexus Way, Camana Bay, Grand Cayman, KY1-9007, Cayman Islands. The registered office address of Duowan Entertainment Corp. is P.O. Box 3321, Drake Chambers, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Duowan Entertainment Corp. is wholly owned by YY Inc., a NASDAQ-listed company.

        As of the date of this prospectus, none of our outstanding ordinary shares or outstanding preferred 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 Capital—History 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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RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Contractual Arrangements with Our PRC Consolidated VIE and its Shareholders, as well as Philippines Co I, Philippines Co II, Philippines Co III and their respective Individual Shareholders

        PRC law currently limits direct foreign equity ownership of business entities providing value-added telecommunications services. To comply with these foreign ownership restrictions requirements, we operate our online platform through a series of contractual arrangements with Dasheng Zhixing and its shareholders. We have also entered into a series of contractual arrangements with Philippines Co I, Philippines Co II, Philippines Co III and their respective shareholders. For a description of these contractual arrangements, see "Corporate History and Structure."

Transactions with Duowan Entertainment Corporation

        In June 2014, Dasheng Zhixing entered into a five-year technology service agreement with Guangzhou Huaduo, an affiliated entity of YY, which was amended in December 2015. This agreement provides Dasheng Zhixing with the right to use the audio and video streaming software, technical support service, servers and Internet connection bandwidth capacity from YY. The right to use the audio and video streaming software, servers, Internet connection bandwidth capacity and technology support are collectively referred to as "audio and video streaming solution". The audio and video streaming solution provided by YY is free of charge up to a preset level of bandwidth usage.

        We estimated the fair value of the audio and video streaming solution service provided by YY. For the three-month period ended March 31, 2016, the fair value of the audio and video streaming solution provided by YY is estimated to be RMB0.4 million, which is recognized as cost of revenues and a shareholder contribution.

Private Placements

        See "Description of Share Capital—History of Securities Issuances."

Shareholders Agreement

        We entered into our third amended and restated shareholders' agreement on August 31, 2015 with our shareholders, which consist of holders of ordinary shares, series A preferred shares, series B preferred shares, series C preferred shares and series D preferred shares. Under the shareholders' agreement, holders of our registrable shares are entitled to registration rights, including demand registration rights, Form F-3 registration rights and piggyback registration rights. For a more detailed description of these registration rights, see "Description of Share Capital—History of Securities Issuances—Registration Rights."

        The shareholders agreement provides that our board of directors will consist of seven directors at maximum, including (i) one director designated by the holder of a majority of series A preferred shares then issued and outstanding, (ii) one director designated by the holder of a majority of series B preferred shares then issued and outstanding, (iii) one director designated by SCC Venture V Holdco I, Ltd. and SCC Growth I Holdco A, Ltd., and (iv) four directors designated by the holders of a majority of the then outstanding ordinary shares, initially to be Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang and Ms. Ting Shu. Mr. Jack Jiajia Huang shall initially be the chairman of the company.

        The shareholders agreement also provides for certain preferential rights, including information rights, right of participation, right of first refusal, co-sale rights and drag-along right. Except for the registration rights, all the preferential rights, as well as the provisions governing the board of directors, will automatically terminate upon the completion of this offering.

Employment Agreements and Indemnification Agreements

        See "Management—Employment Agreements and Indemnification Agreements."

Share Incentive Plan

        See "Management—Share Incentive Plan."

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DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL

        We are a Cayman Islands company and our affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association and Companies Law (2013 Revision) (as amended or modified from time to time) of the Cayman Islands, which we refer to as the Companies Law below.

        Our share capital is US$50,000 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 said capital subject to the provisions of the Companies Law and the articles of association and to issue any part of our capital, whether original, redeemed or increased 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 329,071,361 ordinary shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each and 170,928,639 preferred shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each, of which 30,000,000 preferred shares are designated as series A preferred shares, 48,233,710 preferred shares are designated as series B preferred shares, 71,200,613 preferred shares are designated as series C preferred shares and 21,494,316 preferred shares are designated as series D preferred shares. As of the date of this prospectus, there are 72,267,532 ordinary shares, 30,000,000 series A preferred shares, 48,233,710 series B preferred shares, 71,200,613 series C preferred shares and 21,494,316 series D preferred shares issued and outstanding. 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.

        We plan to adopt a fifth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which will become effective and replace the current fourth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association in its entirety immediately prior to the completion of this offering. Our authorized share capital upon completion of the offering will be US$            divided into             ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each. Immediately upon the completion of this offering, we will have                ordinary shares outstanding. We will issue ordinary shares represented by our ADSs in this offering. All options, regardless of grant dates, will entitle holders to an equivalent number of ordinary shares once the vesting and exercising conditions are met. The following are summaries of material provisions of our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the Companies Law insofar as they relate to the material terms of our ordinary shares that we expect will become effective upon the closing of this offering.

Ordinary Shares

        General.     Upon the completion of this offering, our authorized share capital is US$            divided into ordinary shares, with a par value of $0.0001 each. Holders of ordinary shares will have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights. All of our outstanding ordinary shares are fully paid and non-assessable. Certificates representing the ordinary shares are issued in registered form. Our shareholders who are non-residents 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. 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 Law. Holders of ordinary shares will be entitled to the same amount of dividends, if declared.

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        Voting Rights.     In respect of all matters subject to a shareholders' vote, each ordinary share is entitled to one vote. 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 or more shareholders who together hold not less than 10% of the nominal value of the total issued voting shares of our company present in person or by proxy. Each holder of our ordinary shares is entitled to have one vote for each ordinary share registered in his or her name on our register of members.

        A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of one or more shareholders who hold at least one-third of all voting power of our share capital in issue at the date of the meeting present in person or by proxy or, if a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorized representative. Shareholders' meetings may be held annually. Each general meeting, other than an annual general meeting, shall be an extraordinary general meeting. Extraordinary general meetings 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-tenth of the aggregate voting power of our company. Advance notice of at least 10 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 not less than two-thirds of the votes attaching to all issued and outstanding shares cast at a meeting, while a special resolution also requires the affirmative vote of no less than two-thirds of the votes cast attaching to the issued and outstanding shares at a meeting. A special resolution will be required for important matters such as a change of name or making changes to our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

        Transfer of Ordinary Shares.     Subject to the restrictions 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:

        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 [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market], 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.

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        Liquidation.     On a return of capital on winding up or otherwise (other than on conversion, redemption or purchase of ordinary shares), assets available for distribution among the holders of ordinary shares shall be distributed among the holders of the ordinary shares on a pro rata basis. 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 proportionately. Any distribution of assets or capital to a holder of an 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 of Ordinary Shares.     The Companies Law and our post-offering amended and restated articles of association permit us to purchase our own shares. In accordance with our post-offering amended and restated articles of association and provided the necessary shareholders or board approval have been obtained, we may issue shares on terms that are subject to redemption, at our option or at the option of the holders of these shares, on such terms and in such manner, including out of capital, as may be determined by our board of directors.

        Variations of Rights of Shares.     All or any of the special rights attached to any class of shares may, subject to the provisions of the Companies Law, be varied 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. 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."

        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:

        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

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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.

        Exempted Company.     We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Law. The Companies Law distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except that an exempted company:

        "Limited liability" means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company.

Differences in Corporate Law

        The Companies Law is modeled after that of English law but does not follow many recent English law statutory enactments. In addition, the Companies Law 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 Law applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the State of Delaware.

        Mergers and Similar Arrangements.     A merger of two or more constituent companies under Cayman Islands law requires a plan of merger or consolidation to be approved by the directors of each constituent company and authorization by (i) a special resolution of the shareholders and (ii) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company's articles of association.

        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 subsidiary is a company of which at least 90% of the issued shares entitled to vote are owned by the parent company.

        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 circumstances, a dissentient shareholder of a Cayman constituent company is entitled to payment of the fair value of his shares upon dissenting to a merger or consolidation. The exercise of appraisal rights will preclude the exercise of any other rights save for the right to seek relief on the grounds that the merger or consolidation is void or unlawful.

        In addition, there are statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction and amalgamation of companies, provided that the arrangement is approved by a majority in number of each class of

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shareholders and creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made, and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of shareholders or creditors, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meetings, convened for that purpose. 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:

        When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares within four (4) 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 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, the 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 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, there are exceptions to the foregoing principle, including when:

        Indemnification of Directors and Executive Officers and Limitation of Liability.     Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company's 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 amended and restated memorandum and articles of association permit indemnification of officers and directors for losses, damages, costs and expenses incurred in their capacities as such unless such losses or damages arise from dishonesty or fraud of such directors or officers. 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 or she 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 or her position as director (unless the company permits him or her to do so) and a duty not to put himself or herself in a position where the interests of the company conflict with his or her personal interest or his or her duty to a third party. 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 or her duties a greater degree of skill than may reasonably be expected from a person of his or her 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. Cayman Islands law and our post-offering amended and restated articles of association provide that 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.

        Cayman Islands law does not provide shareholders any right to put proposal before a meeting or requisition a general meeting. However, these rights may be provided in articles of association. Our post-offering amended and restated articles of association allow our shareholders holding not less than one-third of all voting power of our share capital in issue to requisition a shareholder's meeting. Other than this right to requisition a shareholders' meeting, our post-offering amended and restated articles of association do not provide our shareholders other right to put proposal before a meeting. As an exempted Cayman Islands company, we are not obliged by law to call shareholders' annual general meetings.

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        Cumulative Voting.     Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, cumulative voting for elections of directors is not permitted unless the corporation's 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 shareholder's 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.

        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 target's 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 target's 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, it does provide that such transactions must be entered into bona fide in the best interests of the company 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 corporation's 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. 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 Law 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

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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 corporation's 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. As permitted by Cayman Islands law, our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended with a special resolution of our shareholders.

        Rights of Non-resident or Foreign Shareholders.     There are no limitations imposed by our post-offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association on the rights of non-resident 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.

        In June 2013, a total of 12,500,000 ordinary shares were issued and sold to Kei Hattori for an aggregate consideration of US$6,250, and a total of 12,500,000 ordinary shares were issued and sold to Zhen Partners Fund I, L.P. for an aggregate consideration of US$161,125.

        In June 2013, we issued a total of 30,000,000 series A preferred shares to DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P., for an aggregate consideration of US$2 million.

        In December 2013, we issued a total of 42,838,710 series B preferred shares to DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P., Shunwei TMT II Limited and Duowan Entertainment Corp., for an aggregate consideration of US$7.7 million. Kei Hattori sold a total of 5,395,000 ordinary shares to Shunwei TMT II Limited and Duowan Entertainment Corp. for an aggregate consideration of US$0.8 million. Such ordinary shares were all converted into 5,395,000 series B preferred shares at a conversion ratio of one-to-one.

        In July 2014 and August 2014, we issued a total of 63,863,145 series C preferred shares to DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P., Shunwei TMT II Limited, Duowan Entertainment Corp. and SCC Venture V Holdco I, Ltd., for an aggregate consideration of US$28.2 million. Shunwei TMT II Limited purchased a total of 5,072,817 ordinary shares from Zhen Partners Fund I, L.P. for an aggregate consideration of US$2.2 million, which were converted into a total of 5,072,817 series C preferred shares at an conversion ratio of one-to-one. Huaxing Capital Partners, L.P. purchased a total of 679,395 ordinary shares from Kei Hattori and 1,585,256 ordinary shares from Dasheng Global Limited for an aggregate consideration of US$1 million which were converted into a total of 2,264,651 series C preferred shares at a conversion ratio of one-to-one.

        In August 2015, we issued a total of 21,494,316 series D preferred shares to DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P., Shunwei TMT II Limited, Engage Capital Partners I, L.P., Huaxing Capital Partners, L.P. and SCC Growth I Holdco A, Ltd. for an aggregate consideration of US$20 million.

        As none of the holders of our series A preferred shares, series B preferred shares, series C preferred shares or series D preferred shares were related parties prior to such holders' initial investment in our securities, the prices of our series A preferred shares, series B preferred shares, series C preferred shares and series D preferred shares were determined based on negotiations between us and the investors and

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were approved by our board of directors. Our series A preferred shares, series B preferred shares, series C preferred shares and series D preferred shares will automatically convert into ordinary shares upon the completion of this offering at an initial conversion ratio of one-to-one, adjusted for share splits, share dividends, recapitalizations and similar transactions.

        We have granted options to purchase our ordinary shares to certain of our executive officers and employees.

        As of March 31, 2016, the aggregate number of our ordinary shares underlying our outstanding options is 22,846,000. See "Management—Share Incentive Plan."

        In connection with our issuance of series D preferred shares, we and all of our then shareholders entered into a third amended and restated shareholders' agreement in August 2015.

        Under the shareholders' agreement, our preferred shareholders are entitled to registration rights and certain preferential rights, including, among others, preferential and non-cumulative dividend rights, information rights, right of participation to purchase and subscribe for their respective pro rata portions of new securities to be issued, right of first refusal before any securities of the company may be sold or otherwise transferred or disposed of by any founder, founder entity and/or angel investor under the shareholders' agreement, co-sale rights in the event that any offered securities are not purchased by the preferred shareholders exercising their rights of first refusal, drag-along rights in the event that shareholders approve a drag-along transaction which has been approved by the board of directors, and redemption rights in the event of liquidation. Except for the registration rights and certain tax-related rights, all preferred shareholders' rights will automatically terminate upon the completion of this offering.

        Pursuant to our shareholders' agreement, we have granted certain registration rights to our shareholders. Such registration rights would terminate upon the earlier of (i) the fifth anniversary of the closing of a qualified IPO, or (ii) such time at which all registrable securities held by the preferred shareholder (and any associate of the preferred shareholder with whom the preferred shareholder must aggregate its sales under Rule 144 of the Securities Act) proposed to be sold may be sold under Rule 144 of the Securities Act in any 90-day period without registration in compliance with Rule 144 of the Securities Act. Set forth below is a description of the registration rights granted under the agreement.

        Demand Registration Rights.     At any time after the earlier of (i) August 31, 2019 or (ii) the date 6 months following the consummation of this offering, upon a written request from the holders of at least 30% of the registrable securities then outstanding, we must file a registration statement covering the offer and sale of the registrable securities held by the requesting shareholders and other holders who choose to participate in the offering in the event that the anticipated gross receipts from this offering are to exceed US$7,500,000. Registrable securities include, among others, our ordinary shares issued or to be issued upon conversion of the preferred shares.

        However, we are not obligated to proceed with a demand 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 the exercise of the holders' demand registration rights or Form F-3 registration rights, or in which the holders had an opportunity to participate in the piggyback registration rights, unless the registrable securities of the holders were excluded from such registration. We have the right to defer filing of a registration statement for up to 90 days if our board of directors determines in good faith that the filing of a registration statement would be materially detrimental to us and our shareholders, but we cannot exercise the deferral right more than once in any 12-month period. We are obligated to effect only two demand registrations so long as such registrations have been declared or ordered effective.

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        Piggyback Registration Rights.     If we propose to file a registration statement under the Securities Act for purposes of effecting 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 registration exercising demand registration rights or Form F-3 registration rights or to any employee benefit plan or a corporate reorganization), we must afford holders of registrable securities an opportunity to include in that registration all or any part of their registrable securities then held. We have the right to terminate or withdraw any registration initiated by us under the piggyback registration rights prior to the effectiveness of such registration whether or not any holder has elected to include securities in such registration. The underwriters of any underwritten offering have the right to limit the number of shares with registration rights to be included in the registration statement, subject to certain limitations.

        F-3 Registration Rights.     When we are eligible for registration on Form F-3, upon a written request from the holders of at least 30% of all registrable securities then outstanding held by our preferred shareholders, we must effect a registration on Form-3 and any related qualification or compliance covering the offer and sale of the registrable securities.

        We are not obligated to effect a Form F-3 registration, among other things, if we have, within the 12-month period preceding the date of the request, already effected two registrations under the Securities Act, unless the registrable securities of the holders were excluded from such registration.

        Expenses of Registration.     We will pay all expenses relating to any demand, Form F-3, or piggyback registration, with certain limited exceptions.

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DESCRIPTION OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES

American Depositary Receipts

                    , as depositary will issue the ADSs which you will be entitled to receive in this offering. Each ADS will represent an ownership interest in            ordinary shares which we will deposit with the custodian, as agent of the depositary, under the deposit agreement among ourselves, the depositary and yourself as an ADR holder. In the future, each ADS will also represent any securities, cash or other property deposited with the depositary but which they have not distributed directly to you. Unless certificated ADRs are specifically requested by you, all ADSs will be issued on the books of our depositary in book-entry form and periodic statements will be mailed to you which reflect your ownership interest in such ADSs. In our description, references to American depositary receipts or ADRs shall include the statements you will receive which reflect your ownership of ADSs.

        The depositary's office is located at                .

        You may hold ADSs either directly or indirectly through your broker or other financial institution. If you hold ADSs directly, by having an ADS registered in your name on the books of the depositary, you are an ADR holder. This description assumes you hold your ADSs directly. If you hold the ADSs through your broker or financial institution nominee, you must rely on the procedures of such broker or financial institution to assert the rights of an ADR holder described in this section. You should consult with your broker or financial institution to find out what those procedures are.

        As an ADR holder, we will not treat you as a shareholder of ours and you will not have any shareholder rights. Cayman Islands law governs shareholder rights. Because the depositary or its nominee will be the shareholder of record for the shares represented by all outstanding ADSs, shareholder rights rest with such record holder. Your rights are those of an ADR holder. Such rights derive from the terms of the deposit agreement to be entered into among us, the depositary and all registered holders from time to time of ADSs issued under the deposit agreement. The obligations of the depositary and its agents are also set out in the deposit agreement. Because the depositary or its nominee will actually be the registered owner of the shares, you must rely on it to exercise the rights of a shareholder on your behalf. The deposit agreement and the ADSs are governed by New York law. Under the deposit agreement, as an ADR holder, you agree that any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving us or the depositary, arising out of or based upon the deposit agreement or transactions contemplated thereby, may only be instituted in a state or federal court in New York, New York, and you irrevocably waive any objection which you may have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding and irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding.

        The following is a summary of what we believe to be the material terms of the deposit agreement. Notwithstanding this, because it is a summary, it may not contain all the information that you may otherwise deem important. For more complete information, you should read the entire deposit agreement and the form of ADR which contains the terms of your ADSs. You can read a copy of the deposit agreement which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. You may also obtain a copy of the deposit agreement at the SEC's Public Reference Room which is located at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-732-0330. You may also find the registration statement and the attached deposit agreement on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov .

Share Dividends and Other Distributions

        We may make various types of distributions with respect to our securities. The depositary has agreed that, to the extent practicable, it will pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on shares or other deposited securities, after converting any cash received into U.S. dollars (if it determines such conversion may be made on a reasonable basis) and, in all cases, making any necessary

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deductions provided for in the deposit agreement. The depositary may utilize a division, branch or affiliate to direct, manage and/or execute any public and/or private sale of securities under the deposit agreement. Such division, branch and/or affiliate may charge the depositary a fee in connection with such sales, which fee is considered an expense of the depositary. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of underlying securities that your ADSs represent.

        Except as stated below, the depositary will deliver such distributions to ADR holders in proportion to their interests in the following manner:

        We have no obligation to file a registration statement under the Securities Act in order to make any rights available to ADR holders.

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        If the depositary determines in its discretion that any distribution described above is not practicable with respect to any specific registered ADR holder, the depositary may choose any method of distribution that it deems practicable for such ADR holder, including the distribution of foreign currency, securities or property, or it may retain such items, without paying interest on or investing them, on behalf of the ADR holder as deposited securities, in which case the ADSs will also represent the retained items.

        Any U.S. dollars will be distributed by checks drawn on a bank in the United States for whole dollars and cents. Fractional cents will be withheld without liability and dealt with by the depositary in accordance with its then current practices.

         The depositary is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or not reasonably practicable to make a distribution available to any ADR holders.

         There can be no assurance that the depositary will be able to convert any currency at a specified exchange rate or sell any property, rights, shares or other securities at a specified price, nor that any of such transactions can be completed within a specified time period.

Deposit, Withdrawal and Cancellation

        The depositary will issue ADSs if you or your broker deposit shares or evidence of rights to receive shares with the custodian and pay the fees and expenses owing to the depositary in connection with such issuance. In the case of the ADSs to be issued under this prospectus, we will arrange with the underwriters named herein to deposit such shares.

        Shares deposited in the future with the custodian must be accompanied by certain delivery documentation and shall, at the time of such deposit, be registered in the name of, as depositary for the benefit of holders of ADRs or in such other name as the depositary shall direct.

        The custodian will hold all deposited shares (including those being deposited by or on our behalf in connection with the offering to which this prospectus relates) for the account of the depositary. ADR holders thus have no direct ownership interest in the shares and only have such rights as are contained in the deposit agreement. The custodian will also hold any additional securities, property and cash received on or in substitution for the deposited shares. The deposited shares and any such additional items are referred to as "deposited securities."

        Upon each deposit of shares, receipt of related delivery documentation and compliance with the other provisions of the deposit agreement, including the payment of the fees and charges of the depositary and any taxes or other fees or charges owing, the depositary will issue an ADR or ADRs in the name or upon the order of the person entitled thereto evidencing the number of ADSs to which such person is entitled. All of the ADSs issued will, unless specifically requested to the contrary, be part of the depositary's direct registration system, and a registered holder will receive periodic statements from the depositary which will show the number of ADSs registered in such holder's name. An ADR holder can request that the ADSs not be held through the depositary's direct registration system and that a certificated ADR be issued.

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        When you turn in your ADR certificate at the depositary's office, or when you provide proper instructions and documentation in the case of direct registration ADSs, the depositary will, upon payment of certain applicable fees, charges and taxes, deliver the underlying shares to you or upon your written order. Delivery of deposited securities in certificated form will be made at the custodian's office. At your risk, expense and request, the depositary may deliver deposited securities at such other place as you may request.

        The depositary may only restrict the withdrawal of deposited securities in connection with:

        This right of withdrawal may not be limited by any other provision of the deposit agreement.

Record Dates

        The depositary may, after consultation with us if practicable, fix record dates for the determination of the registered ADR holders who will be entitled (or obligated, as the case may be):

all subject to the provisions of the deposit agreement.

Voting Rights

        If you are an ADR holder and the depositary asks you to provide it with voting instructions, you may instruct the depositary how to exercise the voting rights for the shares which underlie your ADSs. As soon as practicable after receiving notice of any meeting or solicitation of consents or proxies from us, the depositary will distribute to the registered ADR holders a notice stating such information as is contained in the voting materials received by the depositary and describing how you may instruct the depositary to exercise the voting rights for the shares which underlie your ADSs, including instructions for giving a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us. For instructions to be valid, the depositary must receive them in the manner and on or before the date specified. The depositary will try, as far as is practical, subject to the provisions of and governing the underlying shares or other deposited securities, to vote or to have its agents vote the shares or other deposited securities as you instruct. The depositary will only vote or attempt to vote as you instruct. Holders are strongly encouraged to forward their voting instructions to the depositary as soon as possible. Voting instructions will not be deemed to be received until such time as the ADR department responsible for proxies and voting has received such instructions notwithstanding that such instructions may have been physically received by the depositary prior to such time. The depositary will not itself exercise any voting discretion. Furthermore, neither the depositary nor its agents are responsible for any failure to carry out any voting instructions, for the manner in which any vote is cast or for the effect of any vote. Notwithstanding anything contained in the deposit agreement or any ADR, the depositary may, to the extent not prohibited by law or regulations, or by the requirements of the stock

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exchange on which the ADSs are listed, in lieu of distribution of the materials provided to the depositary in connection with any meeting of, or solicitation of consents or proxies from, holders of deposited securities, distribute to the registered holders of ADRs a notice that provides such holders with, or otherwise publicizes to such holders, instructions on how to retrieve such materials or receive such materials upon request ( i.e. , by reference to a website containing the materials for retrieval or a contact for requesting copies of the materials).

        We have advised the depositary that under the Cayman Islands law and our constituent documents, each as in effect as of the date of the deposit agreement, voting at any meeting of shareholders is by show of hands unless a poll is (before or on the declaration of the results of the show of hands) demanded. In the event that voting on any resolution or matter is conducted on a show of hands basis in accordance with our constituent documents, the depositary will refrain from voting and the voting instructions (or the deemed voting instructions, as set out above) received by the depositary from holders shall lapse. The depositary will not demand a poll or join in demanding a poll, whether or not requested to do so by holders of ADSs. There is no guarantee that you will receive voting materials in time to instruct the depositary to vote and it is possible that you, or persons who hold their ADSs through brokers, dealers or other third parties, will not have the opportunity to exercise a right to vote.

Reports and Other Communications

        The depositary will make available for inspection by ADR holders at the offices of the depositary and the custodian the deposit agreement, the provisions of or governing deposited securities and any written communications from us which are both received by the custodian or its nominee as a holder of deposited securities and made generally available to the holders of deposited securities.

        Additionally, if we make any written communications generally available to holders of our shares, and we furnish copies thereof (or English translations or summaries) to the depositary, it will distribute the same to registered ADR holders.

Fees and Expenses

        The depositary may charge each person to whom ADSs are issued, including, without limitation, issuances against deposits of shares, issuances in respect of share distributions, rights and other distributions, issuances pursuant to a stock dividend or stock split declared by us or issuances pursuant to a merger, exchange of securities or any other transaction or event affecting the ADSs or deposited securities, and each person surrendering ADSs for withdrawal of deposited securities or whose ADRs are cancelled or reduced for any other reason, US $5.00 for each 100 ADSs (or any portion thereof) issued, delivered, reduced, cancelled or surrendered, as the case may be. The depositary may sell (by public or private sale) sufficient securities and property received in respect of a share distribution, rights and/or other distribution prior to such deposit to pay such charge.

        The following additional charges shall be incurred by the ADR holders, by any party depositing or withdrawing shares or by any party surrendering ADSs or to whom ADSs are issued (including, without limitation, issuance pursuant to a stock dividend or stock split declared by us or an exchange of stock regarding the ADSs or the deposited securities or a distribution of ADSs), whichever is applicable:

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        We will pay all other charges and expenses of the depositary and any agent of the depositary (except the custodian) pursuant to agreements from time to time between us and the depositary. The charges described above may be amended from time to time by agreement between us and the depositary.

        Our depositary has agreed to reimburse us for certain expenses we incur that are related to establishment and maintenance of the ADR program upon such terms and conditions as we and the depositary may agree from time to time. The Depositary may make available to us a set amount or a portion of the depositary fees charged in respect of the ADR program or otherwise upon such terms and conditions as we and the Depositary may agree from time to time. The depositary collects its fees for issuance and cancellation 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 will generally set off the amounts owing from distributions made to holders of ADSs. If, however, no distribution exists and payment owing is not timely received by the depositary, the depositary may refuse to provide any further services to holders that have not paid those fees and expenses owing until such fees and expenses have been paid. At the discretion of the depositary, all fees and charges owing under the deposit agreement are due in advance and/or when declared owing by the depositary.

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Payment of Taxes

        ADR holders must pay any tax or other governmental charge payable by the custodian or the depositary on any ADS or ADR, deposited security or distribution. If an ADR holder owes any tax or other governmental charge, the depositary may (i) deduct the amount thereof from any cash distributions, or (ii) sell deposited securities (by public or private sale) and deduct the amount owing from the net proceeds of such sale. In either case the ADR holder remains liable for any shortfall. Additionally, if any taxes or other governmental charges (including any penalties and/or interest) shall become payable by or on behalf of the custodian or the depositary with respect to any ADR, any deposited securities represented by the ADSs evidenced thereby or any distribution thereon, including, without limitation, any Chinese Enterprise Income Tax owing if the Circular Guoshuifa [2009] No. 82 issued by the Chinese State Administration of Taxation (SAT) or any other circular, edict, order or ruling, as issued and as from time to time amended, is applied or otherwise, such tax or other governmental charge shall be paid by the holder thereof to the depositary, and by holding or having held an ADR the holder and all prior holders thereof, jointly and severally, agree to indemnify, defend and save harmless each of the depositary and its agents in respect thereof. If any tax or governmental charge is unpaid, the depositary may also refuse to effect any registration, registration of transfer, split-up or combination of deposited securities or withdrawal of deposited securities until such payment is made. If any tax or governmental charge is required to be withheld on any cash distribution, the depositary may deduct the amount required to be withheld from any cash distribution or, in the case of a non-cash distribution, sell the distributed property or securities (by public or private sale) to pay such taxes and distribute any remaining net proceeds or the balance of any such property after deduction of such taxes to the ADR holders entitled thereto.

        By holding an ADR or an interest therein, you will be agreeing to indemnify us, the depositary, its custodian and any of our or their respective officers, directors, employees, agents and affiliates against, and hold each of them harmless from, any claims by any governmental authority with respect to taxes, additions to tax, penalties or interest arising out of any refund of taxes, reduced rate of withholding at source or other tax benefit obtained.

Reclassifications, Recapitalizations and Mergers

        If we take certain actions that affect the deposited securities, including (i) any change in par value, split-up, consolidation, cancellation or other reclassification of deposited securities or (ii) any distributions of shares or other property not made to holders of ADRs or (iii) any recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation, liquidation, receivership, bankruptcy or sale of all or substantially all of our assets, then the depositary may choose to, and shall if reasonably requested by us:

        If the depositary does not choose any of the above options, any of the cash, securities or other property it receives will constitute part of the deposited securities and each ADS will then represent a proportionate interest in such property.

Amendment and Termination

        We may agree with the depositary to amend the deposit agreement and the ADSs without your consent for any reason. ADR holders must be given at least 30 days' notice of any amendment that

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imposes or increases any fees or charges (other than stock transfer or other taxes and other governmental charges, transfer or registration fees, cable, telex or facsimile transmission costs, delivery costs or other such expenses), or otherwise prejudices any substantial existing right of ADR holders. Such notice need not describe in detail the specific amendments effectuated thereby, but must identify to ADR holders a means to access the text of such amendment. If an ADR holder continues to hold an ADR or ADRs after being so notified, such ADR holder is deemed to agree to such amendment and to be bound by the deposit agreement as so amended. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any governmental body or regulatory body should adopt new laws, rules or regulations which would require amendment or supplement of the deposit agreement or the form of ADR to ensure compliance therewith, we and the depositary may amend or supplement the deposit agreement and the ADR at any time in accordance with such changed laws, rules or regulations, which amendment or supplement may take effect before a notice is given or within any other period of time as required for compliance. No amendment, however, will impair your right to surrender your ADSs and receive the underlying securities, except in order to comply with mandatory provisions of applicable law.

        The depositary may, and shall at our written direction, terminate the deposit agreement and the ADRs by mailing notice of such termination to the registered holders of ADRs at least 30 days prior to the date fixed in such notice for such termination; provided, however, if the depositary shall have (i) resigned as depositary under the deposit agreement, notice of such termination by the depositary shall not be provided to registered holders unless a successor depositary shall not be operating under the deposit agreement within 60 days of the date of such resignation, and (ii) been removed as depositary under the deposit agreement, notice of such termination by the depositary shall not be provided to registered holders of ADRs unless a successor depositary shall not be operating under the deposit agreement on the 120 th  day after our notice of removal was first provided to the depositary. After the date so fixed for termination, (a) all Direct Registration ADRs shall cease to be eligible for the Direct Registration System and shall be considered ADRs issued on the ADR Register and (b) the depositary shall use its reasonable efforts to ensure that the ADSs cease to be DTC eligible so that neither DTC nor any of its nominees shall thereafter be a registered holder of ADRs. At such time as the ADSs cease to be DTC eligible and/or neither DTC nor any of its nominees is a registered holder of ADRs, the depositary shall (a) instruct its custodian to deliver all shares to us along with a general stock power that refers to the names set forth on the ADR Register and (b) provide us with a copy of the ADR Register. Upon receipt of such shares and the ADR Register, we have agreed to use our best efforts to issue to each registered holder a Share certificate representing the Shares represented by the ADSs reflected on the ADR Register in such registered holder's name and to deliver such Share certificate to the registered holder at the address set forth on the ADR Register. After providing such instruction to the custodian and delivering a copy of the ADR Register to us, the depositary and its agents will perform no further acts under the Deposit Agreement and the ADRs and shall cease to have any obligations under the Deposit Agreement and/or the ADRs.

Limitations on Obligations and Liability to ADR holders

        Prior to the issue, registration, registration of transfer, split-up, combination, or cancellation of any ADRs, or the delivery of any distribution in respect thereof, and from time to time in the case of the production of proofs as described below, we or the depositary or its custodian may require:

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        The issuance of ADRs, the acceptance of deposits of shares, the registration, registration of transfer, split-up or combination of ADRs or the withdrawal of shares, may be suspended, generally or in particular instances, when the ADR register or any register for deposited securities is closed or when any such action is deemed advisable by the depositary; provided that the ability to withdraw shares may only be limited under the following circumstances: (i) temporary delays caused by closing transfer books of the depositary or our transfer books 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, and (iii) compliance with any laws or governmental regulations relating to ADRs or to the withdrawal of deposited securities.

        The deposit agreement expressly limits the obligations and liability of the depositary, ourselves and our respective agents; provided, however, that no such disclaimer of liability under the Securities Act of 1933 is intended by any of the limitations of liabilities provisions of the deposit agreement. The deposit agreement provides that neither we nor the depositary nor any such agent will be liable if:

        Neither the depositary nor its agents have any obligation to appear in, prosecute or defend any action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any deposited securities or the ADRs. We and our agents shall only be obligated to appear in, prosecute or defend any action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any deposited securities or the ADRs, which in our opinion may involve us in expense or liability, if indemnity satisfactory to us against all expense (including fees and disbursements of counsel) and liability is furnished as often as may be required. The depositary and its agents may fully respond to any and all demands or requests for information maintained by or on its behalf in connection with the deposit agreement, any

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registered holder or holders of ADRs, any ADRs or otherwise related to the deposit agreement or ADRs to the extent such information is requested or required by or pursuant to any lawful authority, including without limitation laws, rules, regulations, administrative or judicial process, banking, securities or other regulators. The depositary shall not be liable for the acts or omissions made by, or the insolvency of, any securities depository, clearing agency or settlement system. Furthermore, the depositary shall not be responsible for, and shall incur no liability in connection with or arising from, the insolvency of any custodian that is not a branch or affiliate of the depositary. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the deposit agreement or any ADRs, the depositary shall not be responsible for, and shall incur no liability in connection with or arising from any act or omission to act on the part of the custodian except to the extent that the custodian (i) committed fraud or willful misconduct in the provision of custodial services to the depositary or (ii) failed to use reasonable care in the provision of custodial services to the depositary as determined in accordance with the standards prevailing in the jurisdiction in which the custodian is located. The depositary and the custodian(s) may use third party delivery services and providers of information regarding matters such as pricing, proxy voting, corporate actions, class action litigation and other services in connection with the ADRs and the deposit agreement, and use local agents to provide extraordinary services such as attendance at annual meetings of issuers of securities. Although the depositary and the custodian will use reasonable care (and cause their agents to use reasonable care) in the selection and retention of such third party providers and local agents, they will not be responsible for any errors or omissions made by them in providing the relevant information or services. The depositary shall not have any liability for the price received in connection with any sale of securities, the timing thereof or any delay in action or omission to act nor shall it be responsible for any error or delay in action, omission to act, default or negligence on the part of the party so retained in connection with any such sale or proposed sale.

        The depositary has no obligation to inform ADR holders or other holders of an interest in an ADS about the requirements of Cayman Islands or People's Republic of China law, rules or regulations or any changes therein or thereto.

        Additionally, none of us, the depositary or the custodian shall be liable for the failure by any registered holder of ADRs or beneficial owner therein to obtain the benefits of credits on the basis of non-U.S. tax paid against such holder's or beneficial owner's income tax liability. Neither we nor the depositary shall incur any liability for any tax consequences that may be incurred by holders or beneficial owners on account of their ownership of ADRs or ADSs.

        Neither the depositary nor its agents will be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote any of the deposited securities, for the manner in which any such vote is cast or for the effect of any such vote. The depositary may rely upon instructions from us or our counsel in respect of any approval or license required for any currency conversion, transfer or distribution. The depositary shall not incur any liability for the content of any information submitted to it by us or on our behalf for distribution to ADR holders or for any inaccuracy of any translation thereof, for any investment risk associated with acquiring an interest in the deposited securities, for the validity or worth of the deposited securities, for the credit-worthiness of any third party, for allowing any rights to lapse upon the terms of the deposit agreement or for the failure or timeliness of any notice from us. 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 while it acted as depositary. Neither the depositary nor any of its agents shall be liable to registered holders of ADRs or beneficial owners of interests in ADSs for any indirect, special, punitive or consequential damages (including, without limitation, lost profits) of any form incurred by any person or entity, whether or not foreseeable and regardless of the type of action in which such a claim may be brought.

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        In the deposit agreement each party thereto (including, for avoidance of doubt, each holder and beneficial owner and/or holder of interests in ADRs) 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 depositary and/or us directly or indirectly arising out of or relating to the shares or other deposited securities, the ADSs or the ADRs, the deposit agreement or any transaction contemplated therein, or the breach thereof (whether based on contract, tort, common law or any other theory).

        The depositary and its agents may own and deal in any class of our securities and in ADSs.

Disclosure of Interest in ADSs

        To the extent that the provisions of or governing any deposited securities may require disclosure of or impose limits on beneficial or other ownership of deposited securities, other shares and other securities and may provide for blocking transfer, voting or other rights to enforce such disclosure or limits, you agree to comply with all such disclosure requirements and ownership limitations and to comply with any reasonable instructions we may provide in respect thereof. We reserve the right to instruct you to deliver your ADSs for cancellation and withdrawal of the deposited securities so as to permit us to deal with you directly as a holder of shares, and by holding an ADS or an interest therein, you will be agreeing to comply with such instructions.

Books of Depositary

        The depositary or its agent will maintain a register for the registration, registration of transfer, combination and split-up of ADRs, which register shall include the depositary's direct registration system. Registered holders of ADRs may inspect such records at the depositary's office at all reasonable times, but solely for the purpose of communicating with other holders in the interest of the business of our company or a matter relating to the deposit agreement. Such register may be closed from time to time, when deemed expedient by the depositary.

        The depositary will maintain facilities for the delivery and receipt of ADRs.

Pre-release of ADSs

        In its capacity as depositary, the depositary shall not lend shares or ADSs; provided, however, that the depositary may (i) issue ADSs prior to the receipt of shares and (ii) deliver shares prior to the receipt of ADSs for withdrawal of deposited securities, including ADSs which were issued under (i) above but for which shares may not have been received (each such transaction a "pre-release"). The depositary may receive ADSs in lieu of shares under (i) above (which ADSs will promptly be canceled by the depositary upon receipt by the depositary) and receive shares in lieu of ADSs under (ii) above. Each such pre-release will be subject to a written agreement whereby the person or entity (the "applicant") to whom ADSs or shares are to be delivered (a) represents that at the time of the pre-release the applicant or its customer owns the shares or ADSs that are to be delivered by the applicant under such pre-release, (b) agrees to indicate the depositary as owner of such shares or ADSs in its records and to hold such shares or ADSs in trust for the depositary until such shares or ADSs are delivered to the depositary or the custodian, (c) unconditionally guarantees to deliver to the depositary or the custodian, as applicable, such shares or ADSs, and (d) agrees to any additional restrictions or requirements that the depositary deems appropriate. Each such pre-release will be at all times fully collateralized with cash, U.S. government securities or such other collateral as the depositary deems appropriate, terminable by the depositary on not more than five (5) business days' notice and subject to such further indemnities and credit regulations as the depositary deems appropriate. The depositary will normally limit the number of ADSs and shares involved in such pre-release at any one time to thirty percent (30%) of the ADSs outstanding (without giving effect to ADSs outstanding under (i) above); provided, however, that the depositary reserves the right to change or disregard such limit from time to time as it deems appropriate. The depositary may also set limits with respect to the number of ADSs and shares involved in pre-release with any one person on a case-by-case

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basis as it deems appropriate. The depositary may retain for its own account any compensation received by it in conjunction with the foregoing. Collateral provided in connection with pre-release transactions, but not the earnings thereon, shall be held for the benefit of the ADR holders (other than the applicant).

Appointment

        In the deposit agreement, each registered holder of ADRs and each person holding an interest in ADSs, upon acceptance of any ADSs (or any interest therein) issued in accordance with the terms and conditions of the deposit agreement will be deemed for all purposes to:

Governing Law

        The deposit agreement and the ADRs shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. In the deposit agreement, we have submitted to the jurisdiction of the courts of the State of New York and appointed an agent for service of process on our behalf. Notwithstanding the foregoing, (i) any action based on the deposit agreement or the transactions contemplated thereby may be instituted by the depositary and holders in any competent court in the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, the People's Republic of China and/or the United States, (ii) the depositary may, in its sole discretion, elect to institute any action, controversy, claim or dispute directly or indirectly based on, arising out of or relating to the deposit agreement or the ADRs or the transactions contemplated thereby, including without limitation any question regarding its or their existence, validity, interpretation, performance or termination, against any other party or parties to the deposit agreement (including, without limitation, against ADR holders and owners of interests in ADSs), by having the matter referred to and finally resolved by an arbitration conducted under the terms described below, and (iii) the depositary may in its sole discretion require that any action, controversy, claim, dispute, legal suit or proceeding brought against the depositary by any party or parties to the deposit agreement (including, without limitation, by ADR holders and owners of interests in ADSs) shall be referred to and finally settled by an arbitration conducted under the terms described below. Any such arbitration shall be conducted in the English language either in New York, New York in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association or in Hong Kong following the arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

        By holding an ADS or an interest therein, registered holders of ADRs and owners of ADSs each irrevocably agree that any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving us or the depositary, arising out of or based upon the deposit agreement or the transactions contemplated thereby, may only be instituted in a state or federal court in New York, New York, and each irrevocably waives any objection which it may have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding.

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SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE

        Upon completion of this offering, we will have            ADSs outstanding, representing            ordinary shares, or approximately        % of our outstanding ordinary shares. 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 our ADSs in the public market could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our ADSs. Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our ordinary shares or the ADSs, and while application has been made for the ADSs to be listed on the [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market], we cannot assure you that a regular trading market will develop in the ADSs. We do not expect that a trading market will develop for our ordinary shares not represented by the ADSs.

[Lock-Up Agreements

        We, our directors and executive officers, our existing shareholders and certain of our option holders have agreed, subject to some exceptions, not to transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any of our ordinary shares, in the form of ADSs or otherwise, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for our ordinary shares, in the form of 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:

        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 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 Capital—Registration Rights."

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TAXATION

         The following discussion of Cayman Islands, PRC and United States federal income tax consequences of an investment in our ADSs or 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 our ADSs or 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 Travers Thorp Alberga, our Cayman Islands counsel. To the extent that the discussion relates to matters of PRC tax law, it represents the opinion of Han Kun Law Offices, our PRC 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 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 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 Shares, nor will gains derived from the disposal of the Shares be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporation tax.

        No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of the Shares or on an instrument of transfer in respect of a Share.

People's Republic of China Taxation

        Under the EIT Law, 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 rules to the 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.

        Our PRC subsidiary and PRC consolidated VIE 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 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. The enterprise income tax is calculated based on the entity's global income as determined under PRC tax laws and accounting standards. We are subject to VAT at a rate of 6% on the services we provide, less any deductible VAT we have already paid or borne. We are also subject to surcharges on VAT payments in accordance with PRC law.

        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: senior management personnel and departments that are responsible for daily production, operation and management; financial and personnel decision making bodies; key properties, accounting books, company seal, minutes of board meetings and shareholders' meetings; and 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

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procedures and administration details of determination on resident status and administration on post-determination matters. COE 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 COE meet all of the conditions above or are PRC resident enterprises for PRC tax purposes. For the same 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 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. One example is that a 10% withholding tax would be imposed on dividends we pay to our non-PRC enterprise shareholders and with respect to gains derived by our non-PRC enterprise shareholders from transferring our shares or ADSs and potentially a 20% of withholding tax would be imposed on dividends we pay to our non-PRC individual shareholders and with respect to gains derived by our non-PRC individual shareholders from transferring our shares or ADSs. See "Risk Factors—Risk Related to Doing Business in China—Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a PRC "resident enterprise" for PRC enterprise income tax purposes. Such classification would likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders and has a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment."

        As a Cayman Islands holding company, we may receive dividends from our PRC subsidiary through COE HK Co I. The EIT Law and its implementing rules provide that dividends paid by a PRC entity to a non-resident 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 August 2015, the State Administration of Taxation promulgated the Administrative Measures for Non-Resident Taxpayers to Enjoy Treatment under Tax Treaties, or SAT Circular 60, which became effective on November 1, 2015. SAT Circular 60 provides that non-resident enterprises are not required to obtain pre-approval from the relevant tax authority in order to enjoy the reduced withholding tax. Instead, non-resident 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, COE HK Co I may be able to benefit from the 5% withholding tax rate for the dividends it receives from Dasheng Online, if it satisfies the conditions prescribed under SAT Circular 81 and other relevant tax rules and regulations. However, according to SAT Circular 81 and SAT Circular 60, 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.

        In January 2009, the SAT promulgated the Provisional Measures for the Administration of Withholding of Enterprise Income Tax for Non-resident Enterprises, pursuant to which the entities that have the direct obligation to make certain payments to a non-resident enterprise should be the relevant tax withholders for the non-resident enterprise, and such payments include: income from equity investments

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(including dividends and other return on investment), interest, rents, royalties and income from assignment of property as well as other incomes subject to enterprise income tax received by non-resident enterprises in China. Further, the measures provide that in case of an equity transfer between two non-resident enterprises which occurs outside China, the non-resident enterprise which receives the equity transfer payment must, by itself or engage an agent to, file tax declaration with the PRC tax authority located at place of the PRC company whose equity has been transferred, and the PRC company whose equity has been transferred should assist the tax authorities to collect taxes from the relevant non-resident enterprise. The SAT issued a SAT Circular 59 together with the MOF in April 2009 and a SAT Circular 698 in December 2009. Both Circular 59 and Circular 698 became effective retroactively as of January 1, 2008. By promulgating and implementing these two circulars, the PRC tax authorities have enhanced their scrutiny over the direct or indirect transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise by a non-resident enterprise. Under SAT Circular 698, where a non-resident enterprise transfers the equity interests of a PRC "resident enterprise" indirectly by disposition of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, and such overseas holding company is located in certain low tax jurisdictions, the non-resident enterprise, being the transferor, must report to the relevant tax authority of the PRC "resident enterprise" this Indirect Transfer. The PRC tax authority may disregard the existence of the overseas holding company if it lacks a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of reducing, avoiding or deferring PRC tax. As a result, gains derived from such Indirect Transfer may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of up to 10%. On February 3, 2015, the SAT issued the Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Several Issues Concerning the Enterprise Income Tax on Indirect Property Transfer by Non-Resident Enterprises, or SAT Bulletin 7, to supersede existing provisions in relation to the Indirect Transfer as set forth in Circular 698, while the other provisions of Circular 698 remain in force. SAT Bulletin 7 introduces a new tax regime that is significantly different from that under Circular 698. Public Notice extends its tax jurisdiction to capture not only Indirect Transfer as set forth under Circular 698 but also transactions involving transfer of immovable property in China and assets held under the establishment and place, in China of a foreign company through the offshore transfer of a foreign intermediate holding company. SAT Bulletin 7 also addresses transfer of the equity interest in a foreign intermediate holding company widely. In addition, SAT Bulletin 7 provides clearer criteria than Circular 698 on how to assess reasonable commercial purposes and introduces safe harbor scenarios applicable to internal group restructurings. However, it also brings challenges to both the foreign transferor and transferee of the Indirect Transfer as they have to make self-assessment on whether the transaction should be subject to PRC tax and to file or withhold the PRC tax accordingly. Although it appears that SAT Circular 698 and/or SAT Bulletin 7 was not intended to apply to share transfers of publicly traded companies, there is uncertainty as to the application of SAT Circular 698 and/or SAT Bulletin 7 and we and our non-resident investors may be at risk of being required to file a return and being taxed under SAT Circular 698 and/or SAT Bulletin 7 and we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with SAT Circular 698 or to establish that we should not be taxed under SAT Circular 698 and/or SAT Bulletin 7.

United States Federal Income Taxation

        The following discussion is a summary of U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to U.S. Holders (as defined below) of the ownership and disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares. This summary applies only to U.S. Holders that hold our ADSs or ordinary shares as capital assets (generally, property held for investment) and that have the U.S. dollar as their functional currency. This summary is based on U.S. tax laws in effect as of the date of this prospectus, on U.S. Treasury regulations in effect or, in some cases, proposed as of the date of this prospectus, and judicial and administrative interpretations thereof available on or before such date. All of the foregoing authorities are subject to change, which could apply retroactively and could affect the tax consequences described below. Moreover, this summary does not address the U.S. federal estate, gift, Medicare, backup withholding, and alternative minimum tax considerations, or any state, local, and non-U.S. tax considerations, relating to the ownership and

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disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares. The following summary does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be important to particular investors in light of their individual circumstances or to persons in special tax situations such as:

         Prospective investors are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the application of U.S. federal taxation to their particular circumstances, and the state, local, non-U.S., or other tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares.

        For purposes of this discussion, a "U.S. Holder" is a beneficial owner of our ADSs or ordinary shares that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

        If a partnership (or other entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is a beneficial owner of our ADSs or ordinary shares, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships holding our ADSs or ordinary shares and their partners are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding an investment in our ADSs or ordinary shares.

        For U.S. federal income tax purposes, a U.S. Holder of ADSs will generally be treated as the beneficial owner of the underlying shares represented by the ADSs. The remainder of this discussion assumes that a U.S. Holder of our ADSs will be treated in this manner. Accordingly, deposits or

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withdrawals of our ordinary shares for our ADSs will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income tax. The U.S. Treasury has expressed concerns that parties to whom ADSs are released before shares are delivered to the depositary (a "pre-release transaction"), or intermediaries in the chain of ownership between holders of ADSs and the issuer of the security underlying the ADSs, may be taking actions that are inconsistent with the claiming of foreign tax credits by holders of ADSs. These actions would also be inconsistent with the claiming of the reduced rate of tax, described below, applicable to dividends received by certain non-corporate holders. Accordingly, the creditability of any PRC taxes, and the availability of the reduced tax rate for dividends received by certain non-corporate U.S. Holders, each described below, could be affected by actions taken by such parties or intermediaries in respect of a pre-release transaction.

        A non-U.S. corporation, such as our company, will be classified as a PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year, if either (i) 75% or more of its gross income for such year consists of certain types of "passive" income or (ii) 50% or more of the value of its assets (determined on the basis of a quarterly average) during such year is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income (the "asset test"). For this purpose, cash and cash equivalents are categorized as passive assets and the company's goodwill and other unbooked intangibles are taken into account as non-passive assets. Passive income generally includes, among other things, dividends, interest, rents, royalties, and gains from the disposition of passive assets. We will be treated as owning a proportionate share of the assets and earning a proportionate share of the income of any other corporation in which we own, directly or indirectly, more than 25% (by value) of the stock.

        Although the law in this regard is not clear, we treat our consolidated VIEs as being owned by us for U.S. federal income tax purposes because we exercise effective control over the consolidated VIEs and are entitled to substantially all of their economic benefits. As a result, we consolidate their results of operations in our consolidated U.S. GAAP financial statements. If it were determined that we are not the owner of the consolidated VIEs for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we would likely be treated as a PFIC for the current taxable year and any subsequent taxable year. Assuming that we are the owner of the VIEs for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and based upon our current and expected income and assets (including goodwill, other unbooked intangibles, and the cash proceeds following this offering), we do not presently expect to be a PFIC for the current taxable year or the foreseeable future.

        While we do not expect to be or become a PFIC in the current or foreseeable taxable years, no assurance can be given in this regard because the determination of whether we will be or become a PFIC is a factual determination made annually that will depend, in part, upon the composition of our income and assets. Fluctuations in the market price of our ADSs may cause us to be classified as a PFIC for the current or future taxable years because the value of our assets for purposes of the asset test, including the value of our goodwill and unbooked intangibles, may be determined by reference to the market price of our ADSs from time to time (which may be volatile). In estimating the value of our goodwill and other unbooked intangibles, we have taken into account our current market capitalization. If our market capitalization subsequently declines, we may be or become classified as a PFIC for the current taxable year or future taxable years.

        Furthermore, the composition of our income and assets may also be affected by how, and how quickly, we use our liquid assets and the cash raised in this offering. Under circumstances where our revenue from activities that produce passive income significantly increase relative to our revenue from activities that produce non-passive income, or where we determine not to deploy significant amounts of cash for active purposes, our risk of becoming classified as a PFIC may substantially increase. In addition, because there are uncertainties in the application of the relevant rules, it is possible that the Internal Revenue Service may challenge our classification of certain income and assets as non-passive or our valuation of our tangible and intangible assets, each of which may result in our becoming a PFIC for the current or subsequent taxable years. If we were classified as a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. Holder held our

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ADSs or ordinary shares, we generally would continue to be treated as a PFIC for all succeeding years during which such U.S. Holder held our ADSs or ordinary shares even if we cease to be a PFIC in subsequent years, unless certain elections are made.

        The discussion below under "Dividends" and "Sale or Other Disposition" is written on the basis that we will not be or become classified as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If we are treated as a PFIC, the U.S. federal income tax considerations that apply generally are discussed under "Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules."

        Subject to the discussion below under "Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules," any cash distributions (including the amount of any PRC tax withheld) paid on our ADSs or ordinary shares out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles, will generally be includible in the gross income of a U.S. Holder as dividend income on the day actually or constructively received by the U.S. Holder, in the case of ordinary shares, or by the depositary, in the case of ADSs. Because we do not intend to determine our earnings and profits on the basis of U.S. federal income tax principles, any distribution we pay will generally be treated as a "dividend" for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A non-corporate U.S. Holder will be subject to tax on dividend income from a "qualified foreign corporation" at a lower applicable capital gains rate rather than the marginal tax rates generally applicable to ordinary income provided that certain holding period requirements are met. A non-U.S. corporation (other than a corporation that is classified as a PFIC for the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or the preceding taxable year) will generally be considered to be a qualified foreign corporation (i) if it is eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive tax treaty with the United States that the U.S. Secretary of Treasury determines is satisfactory for purposes of this provision and includes an exchange of information program, or (ii) with respect to any dividend it pays on stock (or ADSs in respect of such stock) that is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States, including the [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market]. We intend to apply to list the ADSs on the [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market]. Provided the listing is approved on the [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market], the ADSs are expected to be readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. Thus, we believe that we will be treated as a qualified foreign corporation with respect to the dividends we pay on our ADSs, but there can be no assurance in this regard. Since we do not expect that our ordinary shares will be listed on an established securities market, it is unclear whether dividends that we pay on our ordinary shares that are not represented by ADSs will meet the conditions required for the reduced tax rate. However, in the event that we are deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law (see "Taxation—People's Republic of China Taxation"), we may be eligible for the benefits of the United States-PRC income tax treaty. If we are eligible for such benefits, dividends we pay on our ADS or ordinary shares, regardless of whether such shares are represented by the ADSs, would be eligible for the reduced rates of taxation described in the preceding paragraph. You are urged to consult your tax advisor regarding the availability of the lower rate for dividends paid with respect to our ADSs or ordinary shares. Dividends received on our ADSs or ordinary shares will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction allowed to corporations.

        Dividends will generally be treated as income from foreign sources for U.S. foreign tax credit purposes and will generally constitute passive category income. Depending on the U.S. Holder's individual facts and circumstances, a U.S. Holder may be eligible, subject to a number of complex limitations, to claim a foreign tax credit not in excess of any applicable treaty rate in respect of any foreign withholding taxes imposed on dividends received on our ADSs or ordinary shares. A U.S. Holder who does not elect to claim a foreign tax credit for foreign tax withheld may instead claim a deduction, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in respect of such withholding, but only for a year in which such U.S. Holder elects to do so for all creditable foreign income taxes. The rules governing the foreign tax credit are complex and their outcome depends in large part on the U.S. Holder's individual facts and circumstances. Accordingly, U.S.

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Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of the foreign tax credit under their particular circumstances.

        Subject to the discussion below under "Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules," a U.S. Holder will generally recognize capital gain or loss upon the sale or other disposition of ADSs or ordinary shares in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized upon the disposition and the U.S. Holder's adjusted tax basis in such ADSs or ordinary shares. Any capital gain or loss will be long term if the ADSs or ordinary shares have been held for more than one year and will generally be U.S.-source gain or loss for U.S. foreign tax credit purposes. Long-term capital gains of non-corporate taxpayers are currently eligible for reduced rates taxation. In the event that gain from the disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares is subject to tax in the PRC, such gain may be treated as PRC-source gain under the United States-PRC income tax treaty. The deductibility of a capital loss may be subject to limitations. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences if a foreign tax is imposed on a disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares, including the availability of the foreign tax credit under their particular circumstances.

        If we are classified as a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares, and unless the U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election (as described below), the U.S. Holder will generally be subject to special tax rules that have a penalizing effect, regardless of whether we remain a PFIC, on (i) any excess distribution that we make to the U.S. Holder (which generally means any distribution paid during a taxable year to a U.S. Holder that is greater than 125 percent of the average annual distributions paid in the three preceding taxable years or, if shorter, the U.S. Holder's holding period for the ADSs or ordinary shares), and (ii) any gain realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or ordinary shares. Under these rules,

        If we are treated as a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares, or if any of our subsidiaries is also a PFIC, such U.S. Holder would be treated as owning a proportionate amount (by value) of the shares of any lower-tier PFICs for purposes of the application of these rules. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the application of the PFIC rules to any of our subsidiaries.

        As an alternative to the foregoing rules, a U.S. Holder of "marketable stock" in a PFIC may make a mark-to-market election with respect to such stock, provided that such stock is "regularly traded" within the meaning of applicable U.S. Treasury regulations. For this purpose, our ADSs, but not our ordinary shares, will be treated as marketable stock upon their listing on the [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market]. We anticipate that our ADSs should qualify as being regularly traded, but no assurances may be given in this regard. If an election is made, the U.S. Holder will generally (i) include as ordinary income for each

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taxable year that we are a PFIC the excess, if any, of the fair market value of ADSs held at the end of the taxable year over the adjusted tax basis of such ADSs and (ii) deduct as an ordinary loss the excess, if any, of the adjusted tax basis of the ADSs over the fair market value of such ADSs held at the end of the taxable year, but such deduction will only be allowed to the extent of the amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election. The U.S. Holder's adjusted tax basis in the ADSs would be adjusted to reflect any income or loss resulting from the mark-to-market election. If a U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election in respect of a corporation classified as a PFIC and such corporation ceases to be classified as a PFIC, the U.S. Holder will not be required to take into account the gain or loss described above during any period that such corporation is not classified as a PFIC. If a U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election, any gain such U.S. Holder recognizes upon the sale or other disposition of our ADSs in a year when we are a PFIC will be treated as ordinary income and any loss will be treated as ordinary loss, but such loss will only be treated as ordinary loss to the extent of the net amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election.

        Because a mark-to-market election cannot be made for any lower-tier PFICs that we may own, a U.S. Holder may continue to be subject to the PFIC rules with respect to such U.S. Holder's indirect interest in any investments held by us that are treated as an equity interest in a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

        Furthermore, as an alternative to the foregoing rules, a U.S. Holder that owns stock of a PFIC generally may make a "qualified electing fund" election regarding such corporation to elect out of the PFIC rules described above regarding excess distributions and recognized gains. We do not intend to provide information necessary for U.S. Holders 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 a U.S. Holder owns our ADSs or ordinary shares during any taxable year that we are a PFIC, the U.S. Holder must generally file an annual Internal Revenue Service Form 8621 and provide such other information as may be required by the U.S. Treasury Department, whether or not a mark-to-market election is or has been made. If we are or become a PFIC, you should consult your tax advisor regarding any reporting requirements that may apply to you.

        You should consult your tax advisors regarding how the PFIC rules apply to your investment in our ADSs or ordinary shares.

        Certain U.S. Holders are required to report information to the Internal Revenue Service relating to an interest in "specified foreign financial assets," including shares issued by a non-United States corporation, for any year in which the aggregate value of all specified foreign financial assets exceeds $50,000 (or a higher dollar amount prescribed by the Internal Revenue Service), subject to certain exceptions (including an exception for shares held in custodial accounts maintained with a U.S. financial institution). These rules also impose penalties if a U.S. Holder is required to submit such information to the Internal Revenue Service and fails to do so.

        In addition, U.S. Holders may be subject to information reporting to the Internal Revenue Service with respect to dividends on and proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares. Each U.S. Holder is advised to consult with its tax advisor regarding the application of the U.S. information reporting rules to their particular circumstances.

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UNDERWRITING

        Under the terms and subject to the conditions contained in an underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus, the underwriters named below, for whom Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC are acting as representatives, have severally agreed to purchase, and we have agreed to sell to them, severally, the number of ADSs indicated below:

Name
  Number of ADSs

Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc

   

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

   

Total

   

        The underwriters and the representatives are collectively referred to as the "underwriters" and the "representatives," respectively. The underwriters are offering the ADSs subject to their 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, including the absence of any material adverse change in our business and the receipt of certain certificates, opinions and letters from us, our counsel and the independent registered public accounting firm. 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. The underwriters are not required, however, to take or pay for the ADSs covered by the underwriters' over-allotment option to purchase additional ADSs described below. Any offers or sales of the ADSs in the United States will be conducted by registered broker-dealers in the United States.

        The underwriters initially propose to offer part of the ADSs directly to the public at the initial public offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus and part to certain dealers at a price that represents a concession not in excess of US$            per ADS under the initial public offering price. After the initial offering of the ADSs, the offering price and other selling terms may from time to time be varied by the representatives.

        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 at the public offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus less underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriters may exercise this option for the purpose of covering over-allotments, if any, made in connection with the offering of the ADSs offered by this prospectus. To the extent the option is exercised, each underwriter will become obligated, subject to certain conditions, to purchase about the same percentage of the additional ADSs as the number listed next to the underwriter's name in the preceding table bears to the total number of ADSs listed in the preceding table. If the underwriters' option is exercised in full, the total price to the public would be US$            , the total underwriters' discounts and commissions would be US$            and the total proceeds to us (before expenses) would be US$            .

        The table below shows the per ADS and total underwriting discounts and commissions that we will pay to the underwriters. The underwriting discounts and commissions are determined by negotiations among us and the underwriters and are a percentage of the offering price to the public. Among the factors considered in determining the discounts and commissions are the size of the offering, the nature of the security to be offered and the discounts and commissions charged in comparable transactions.

        These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters' option to purchase up to an additional                        ADSs.

Underwriting Discounts and Commissions
  No Exercise   Full Exercise  

Per ADS

  US$     US$    

Total by us

  US$     US$    

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        The underwriters have informed us that they do not intend sales to discretionary accounts to exceed five percent of the total number of ADSs offered by them.

        The total expenses of the offering payable by us, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions, will be approximately US$             million. Expenses include the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, filing fees, the [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market] listing fee, and printing, legal, accounting and miscellaneous expenses.

        We have applied for approval for listing the ADSs on [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market] under the symbol "            ."

        [We have agreed that, without the prior written consent of the representatives, subject to certain exceptions, we and they will not, during the period ending 180 days after the date of this prospectus:

whether any such transaction described above is to be settled by delivery of ordinary shares, ADSs, or such other securities, in cash or otherwise.

        Our directors, executive officers, existing shareholders and certain option holders have agreed that, without the prior written consent of the representatives, such director, officer, shareholder or option holder, subject to certain exceptions, will not, during the period ending 180 days after the date of this prospectus:

whether any such transaction described above is to be settled by delivery of ordinary shares, ADSs, or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. In addition, we and each such person agrees that, without the prior written consent of the representatives on behalf of the underwriters, we or such other person will not, during the restricted period, make any demand for, or exercise any right with respect to, the registration of any ordinary shares, ADSs, or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for ordinary shares or ADSs.

        The restrictions described in the preceding paragraphs to do not apply to:

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        Subject to compliance with the notification requirements under FINRA Rule 5131 applicable to lock-up agreements with our directors or officers, if the representatives, in their sole discretion, agree to release or waive the restrictions set forth in a lock-up agreement for an officer or director of us and provides us with notice of the impending release or waiver at least three business days before the effective date of the release or waiver, we agree to announce the impending release or waiver by issuing a press release through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver. Currently, there are no agreements, understandings or intentions, tacit or explicit, to release any of the securities from the lock-up agreements prior to the expiration of the corresponding period.]

        [In addition, we have instructed                        , as depositary, not to accept any deposit of any ordinary shares or issue any ADSs for 180 days after the date of this prospectus (other than in connection with this offering), unless we instruct the depositary otherwise.]

        To facilitate this offering of the ADSs, the underwriters may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the ADSs. Specifically, the underwriters may sell more ADSs than they are obligated to purchase under the underwriting agreement, creating a short position. A short sale is covered if the short position is no greater than the number of ADSs available for purchase by the underwriters under the over- allotment option. The underwriters can close out a covered short sale by exercising the over-allotment option or purchasing ADSs in the open market. In determining the source of ADSs to close out a covered short sale, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the open market price of ADSs compared to the price available under the over-allotment option. The underwriters may also sell ADSs in excess of the over-allotment option, creating a naked short position. The underwriters must close out any 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 this offering. In addition, to stabilize the price of the ADSs, the underwriters may bid for, and purchase, ADSs in the open market. Finally, the underwriting syndicate may reclaim selling concessions allowed to an underwriter or a dealer for distributing the ADSs in this offering, if the syndicate repurchases previously distributed ADSs to cover syndicate short positions or to stabilize the price of the ADSs. Any of these activities may raise or maintain the market price of the ADSs above independent market levels or prevent or retard a decline in the market price of the ADSs. The underwriters are not required to engage in these activities, and may end any of these activities at any time.

        The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.

        In addition, in the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers and may at any time hold long and short positions in such securities and instruments. Such investment and securities activities may involve our securities and

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instruments. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long or short positions in such securities and instruments. We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act and liabilities incurred in connection with the directed share program referred to below. If we are unable to provide this indemnification, we will contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make for these liabilities.

        [At our request, the underwriters have reserved for sale, at the initial public offering price, up to                        ADSs offered by this prospectus for sale, at the initial public offering price, to our directors, officers, employees, business associates and related persons. If purchased by these persons, these ADSs will be subject to a 180-day lock-up restriction. We will pay all fees and disbursements of counsel incurred by the underwriters in connection with offering the ADSs to such persons. Any sales to these persons will be made through a directed share program. The number of ADSs available for sale to the general public will be reduced to the extent such persons purchase such reserved ADSs. Any reserved ADSs not so purchased will be offered by the underwriters to the general public on the same basis as the other ADSs offered by this prospectus.]

        The address of Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc is 25 Cabot Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 4QA, United Kingdom. The address of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is Eleven Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010, United States.

Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution of ADSs

        A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on websites maintained by one or more underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering. The representatives may agree to allocate a number of ADSs to underwriters for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the representatives to underwriters that may make Internet distributions 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. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on any underwriter's or selling group member's website and any information contained in any other website maintained by any underwriter or selling group member is not part of the prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, has not been approved and/or endorsed by us or any underwriter or selling group member in its capacity as underwriter or selling group member and should not be relied upon by investors.

Pricing of the Offering

        Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for the ordinary shares or ADSs. The initial public offering price is determined by negotiations between us and the representatives. Among the factors considered in determining the initial public offering price are our future prospects and those of our industry in general, our sales, earnings, certain other financial and operating information in recent periods, the price-earnings ratios, price-sales ratios and market prices of securities and certain financial and operating information of companies engaged in activities similar to ours, the general condition of the securities markets at the time of this offering, the recent market prices of, and demand for, publicly traded ordinary share of generally comparable companies, and other factors deemed relevant by the representatives and us. Neither we nor the underwriters can assure investors that an active trading market will develop for the ADSs, or that the ADSs will trade in the public market at or above the initial public offering price.

Selling Restrictions

        No action may be taken in any jurisdiction other than the United States that would permit a public offering of the ADSs or the possession, circulation or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Accordingly, the ADSs may not be offered or sold, directly or

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indirectly, and neither the prospectus nor any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the ADSs may be distributed or published in or from any country or jurisdiction except under circumstances that will result in compliance with any applicable laws, rules and regulations of any such country or jurisdiction.

         Australia. This document has not been lodged with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and is only directed to certain categories of exempt persons. Accordingly, if you receive this document in Australia:

and to the extent that you are unable to confirm or warrant that you are an exempt sophisticated investor, associated person or professional investor under the Corporations Act, any offer made to you under this document is void and incapable of acceptance;

        Cayman Islands.     This prospectus does not constitute an invitation or offer to the public in the Cayman Islands of the ADSs, 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 in the Cayman Islands.

        European Economic Area.     In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a "Relevant Member State") an offer to the public of any shares which are the subject of the offering contemplated by this prospectus may not be made in that Relevant Member State unless the prospectus has been approved by the competent authority in such Relevant Member State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant Member State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Directive, except that an offer to the public in that Relevant Member State of any shares may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Directive, if they have been implemented in that Relevant Member State:

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        Any person making or intending to make any offer of shares within the EEA should only do so in circumstances in which no obligation arises for us or any of the underwriters to produce a prospectus for such offer. Neither we nor the underwriters have authorized, nor do they authorize, the making of any offer of shares through any financial intermediary, other than offers made by the underwriters which constitute the final offering of shares contemplated in this prospectus.

        For the purposes of this provision, and your representation below, the expression an "offer to the public" in relation to any shares 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 shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase any shares, as the same may be varied in that Relevant Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Relevant Member State and the expression "Prospectus Directive" means Directive 2003/71/EC (including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, to the extent implemented in the Relevant Member State) and includes any relevant implementing measure in each Relevant Member State and the expression "2010 PD Amending Directive" means Directive 2010/73/EU.

        Each person in a Relevant Member State who receives any communication in respect of, or who acquires any shares under, the offer of shares contemplated by this prospectus will be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed to and with us and each underwriter that:

        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 Directive) (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, or 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"). This document must not be acted on or relied on in the United Kingdom by persons who are not relevant persons. In the United Kingdom, any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is only available to, and will be engaged in with, relevant persons.

        Japan.     The ADSs have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan, and ADSs will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to any exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

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        Hong Kong.     The ADSs may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to "professional investors" within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a "prospectus" within the meaning of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), and 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 (in each case 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 in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the 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" within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.

        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 our ADSs may not be circulated or distributed, nor may our 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 (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore, or SFA, (ii) to a relevant person or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA, in each case subject to compliance with conditions set forth in the SFA.

        Where our ADSs are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 by a relevant person which is: (a) 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 (b) 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; shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures 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 under Section 275 of the SFA, except: (1) to an institutional investor (for corporations under Section 274 of the SFA) or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person pursuant to an offer that is made on terms that such shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or such rights and interest in that trust are acquired at a consideration of not less than S$200,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) for each transaction, whether such amount is to be paid for in cash or by exchange of securities or other assets, and further for corporations, in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA; (2) where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer; or (3) where the transfer is by operation of law.

        People's Republic of China.     This prospectus has not been and will not be circulated or distributed in the PRC, and ADSs may not be offered or sold, and will not be offered or sold to any person for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, to any resident of the PRC except pursuant to applicable laws and regulations of the PRC.

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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 [NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market] listing fee, all amounts are estimates.

SEC Registration Fee

  US$             

[NYSE/NASDAQ Global Market] Listing Fee

       

FINRA Filing Fee

       

Printing and Engraving Expenses

       

Legal Fees and Expenses

       

Accounting Fees and Expenses

       

Miscellaneous

       

Total

  US$             

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LEGAL MATTERS

        The validity of the ADSs and certain other legal matters with respect to U.S. federal and New York State law in connection with this offering will be passed upon for us by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Certain legal matters with respect to U.S. federal and New York State law in connection with this offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by Kirkland & Ellis International LLP. The validity of the 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 Travers Thorp Alberga. Legal matters as to PRC law will be passed upon for us by Han Kun Law Offices and for the underwriters by Commerce & Finance Law Offices. Legal matters as to Philippine law will be passed upon for us by Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP may rely upon Travers Thorp Alberga with respect to matters governed by Cayman Islands law, Han Kun Law Offices with respect to matters governed by PRC law and Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles with respect to matters governed by Philippine law. Kirkland & Ellis International LLP may rely upon Commerce & Finance Law Offices with respect to matters governed by PRC law.

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EXPERTS

        The consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2015 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 such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

        The office of PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP is located at 26/F Office Tower A, Beijing Fortune Plaza, 7 Dongsanhuan Zhong Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100020, People's Republic of China.

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WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

        We have filed a registration statement, including relevant exhibits, with the SEC on Form F-1 under the Securities Act with respect to underlying ordinary shares represented by the ADSs to be sold in this offering. We have also filed a related registration statement on Form F-6 with the SEC to register the ADSs. This prospectus, which constitutes a part of the registration statement on Form F-1, does not contain all of the information contained in the registration statement. You should read our registration statements and their exhibits and schedules for further information with respect to us and our ADSs.

        Immediately upon the effectiveness of the registration statement on Form F-1 to which this prospectus is a part, we will become subject to periodic reporting and other informational requirements of the Exchange Act as applicable to foreign private issuers. Accordingly, we will be required to file reports, including annual reports on Form 20-F, and other information with the SEC. All information filed with the SEC can be inspected over the internet at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can request copies of these documents, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by writing to the SEC.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 
  Page

Consolidated Financial Statements

   

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

  F-2

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015

  F-3

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss for the Years Ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015

  F-6

Consolidated Statements of Shareholders' Deficit for the Years Ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015

  F-7

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015

  F-8

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

  F-9

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of China Online Education Group:

        In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the related consolidated statements of comprehensive loss, of shareholders' deficit and of cash flows present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of China Online Education Group and its subsidiaries at December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2015 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits of these statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP
Beijing, the People's Republic of China
March 7, 2016

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

 
   
  As of December 31,  
 
  Notes   2013   2014   2015   2015  
 
   
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  US$
(Note 2(e))

 

ASSETS

                               

Current assets:

                               

Cash and cash equivalents

          61,502     209,774     46,873     7,236  

Time deposits

    2 (g)           167,078     25,792  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

    6     868     7,837     42,130     6,504  

Total current assets

          62,370     217,611     256,081     39,532  

Non-current assets:

                               

Property and equipment, net

    7     372     6,514     25,012     3,861  

Intangible assets, net

    8     539     801     2,608     403  

Goodwill

    5             4,223     652  

Other non-current assets

          215     2,141     3,626     560  

Total non-current assets

          1,126     9,456     35,469     5,476  

Total assets

          63,496     227,067     291,550     45,008  

LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT

                               

Current liabilities:

                               

Deferred revenues (including deferred revenue of the consolidated variable interest entities ("VIEs") without recourse to the Company of RMB16,407, RMB76,880 and RMB 264,411 as of December 31, 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively, Note 1)

          16,407     76,880     264,411     40,818  

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities (including accrued expenses and other current liabilities of the consolidated VIEs without recourse to the Company of RMB4,539, RMB21,864 and RMB 51,678 as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively, Note 1)

    9     5,861     25,155     84,323     13,017  

Taxes payable (including taxes payable of the consolidated VIEs without recourse to the Company of RMB1,822, RMB12,219 and RMB18,660 as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively, Note 1)

          1,822     12,242     20,314     3,136  

Total current liabilities

          24,090     114,277     369,048     56,971  

   

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Continued)

As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

 
   
  As of December 31,  
 
  Notes   2013   2014   2015   2015  
 
   
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  US$
(Note 2(e))

 

LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT

                               

Non-current liabilities:

                               

Deferred revenues (including deferred revenues of the consolidated VIEs without recourse to the Company of RMB72, RMB1,536 and RMB7,765 as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively, Note 1)

          72     1,536     7,765     1,199  

Deferred tax liabilities

    10 (d)           380     59  

Other non-current liabilities

                  674     104  

Total non-current liabilities

          72     1,536     8,819     1,362  

Total liabilities

          24,162     115,813     377,867     58,333  

Commitments and contingencies

    17                          

Mezzanine equity:

                               

Series A Preferred Shares (US$0.0001 par value; 30,000,000 shares authorized, issued and outstanding with redemption value of RMB27,914, RMB83,427 and RMB163,720 as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively; aggregated liquidation value of RMB12,357, RMB12,357 and RMB12,357 as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively)

    12     12,274     17,949     30,996     4,785  

Series B Preferred Shares (US$0.0001 par value; 48,233,710 shares authorized, issued and outstanding with redemption value of RMB64,151, RMB142,451 and RMB274,066 as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively; aggregated liquidation value of RMB53,275, RMB53,275 and RMB53,275 as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively)

    12     53,257     63,366     87,263     13,471  

   

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Continued)

As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

 
   
  As of December 31,  
 
  Notes   2013   2014   2015   2015  
 
   
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  US$
(Note 2(e))

 

Commitments and contingencies

    17                          

Mezzanine equity:

                               

Series C Preferred Shares (US$0.0001 par value; 71,200,613 shares authorized, issued and outstanding with redemption value of RMB271,867, and RMB432,467 as of December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively; aggregated liquidation value of RMB193,592 and RMB193,592 as of December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively)

    12         196,408     231,296     35,706  

Series D Preferred Shares (US$0.0001 par value; 21,494,316 shares authorized, issued and outstanding with redemption value of RMB173,755 as of December 31, 2015; aggregated liquidation value of RMB127,571 as of December 31, 2015)

    12             129,407     19,977  

Total mezzanine equity

          65,531     277,723     478,962     73,939  

Shareholders' deficit:

                               

Ordinary shares (US$0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 79,605,000, 72,267,532 and 72,267,532 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively)

    11     50     45     45     7  

Additional paid-in capital

    15                  

Accumulated other comprehensive (loss)/income

          (684 )   1,624     4,638     716  

Accumulated deficit

          (25,563 )   (168,138 )   (569,962 )   (87,987 )

Total shareholders' deficit

          (26,197 )   (166,469 )   (565,279 )   (87,264 )

Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders' deficit

          63,496     227,067     291,550     45,008  

   

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

 
   
  For the year ended December 31,  
 
  Notes   2013   2014   2015   2015  
 
   
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  US$
(Note 2(e))

 

Net revenues

          21,665     52,210     154,675     23,878  

Cost of revenues

          (9,302 )   (22,214 )   (59,668 )   (9,211 )

Gross profit

          12,363     29,996     95,007     14,667  

Operating expenses:

                               

Sales and marketing expenses

          (17,124 )   (81,269 )   (297,337 )   (45,901 )

Product development expenses

          (3,018 )   (10,781 )   (54,597 )   (8,428 )

General and administrative expenses

          (8,597 )   (31,553 )   (64,903 )   (10,019 )

Total operating expenses

          (28,739 )   (123,603 )   (416,837 )   (64,348 )

Loss from operations

          (16,376 )   (93,607 )   (321,830 )   (49,681 )

Interest and other expense, net

          (710 )   (1,213 )   (353 )   (54 )

Loss before income tax expenses

          (17,086 )   (94,820 )   (322,183 )   (49,735 )

Income tax expenses

    10 (c)   (710 )   (6,882 )   (4,903 )   (757 )

Net loss

          (17,796 )   (101,702 )   (327,086 )   (50,492 )

Accretions to preferred shares redemption value

    12     (322 )   (23,020 )   (75,665 )   (11,681 )

Deemed dividends at re-designation of ordinary shares to preferred shares          

    11     (2,309 )   (5,665 )        

Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders

          (20,427 )   (130,387 )   (402,751 )   (62,173 )

Net loss

          (17,796 )   (101,702 )   (327,086 )   (50,492 )

Other comprehensive (loss)/income:

                               

Foreign currency translation adjustments

          (571 )   2,308     3,014     465  

Total comprehensive loss

          (18,367 )   (99,394 )   (324,072 )   (50,027 )

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing basic and diluted loss per share

          84,660,041     76,308,165     72,267,532     72,267,532  

Net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders—basic and diluted

    14     (0.24 )   (1.71 )   (5.57 )   (0.86 )

   

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT

For the years ended December 31, 2013 2014 and 2015

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

 
   
  Ordinary Shares    
  Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
(Loss) / Income
   
   
 
 
   
  Additional
Paid-in
Capital
  Accumulated
Deficit
  Total
Shareholders'
Deficit
 
 
  Notes   Shares   Amount  
 
   
   
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Balance as of December 31, 2012

          85,000,000     53     2,075     (113 )   (3,587 )   (1,572 )

Re-designation of ordinary shares to Series B Preferred Shares and deemed dividends

    11, 12     (5,395,000 )   (3 )   (2,075 )       (3,858 )   (5,936 )

Accretions to preferred shares redemption value

    12                     (322 )   (322 )

Net loss

                          (17,796 )   (17,796 )

Foreign currency translation adjustment

                      (571 )       (571 )

Balances as of December 31, 2013

          79,605,000     50         (684 )   (25,563 )   (26,197 )

Re-designation of ordinary shares to Series C Preferred Shares and deemed dividends

    11, 12     (7,337,468 )   (5 )           (17,853 )   (17,858 )

Accretions to preferred shares redemption value

    12                     (23,020 )   (23,020 )

Net loss

                          (101,702 )   (101,702 )

Foreign currency translation adjustment

                      2,308         2,308  

Balance as of December 31, 2014

          72,267,532     45         1,624     (168,138 )   (166,469 )

Contribution from a shareholder

    18             927             927  

Accretions to preferred shares redemption value

    12             (927 )       (74,738 )   (75,665 )

Net loss

                          (327,086 )   (327,086 )

Foreign currency translation adjustment

                      3,014         3,014  

Balance as of December 31, 2015

          72,267,532     45         4,638     (569,962 )   (565,279 )

   

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

 
  For the year ended December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  US$
(Note 2(e))

 

Cash flows from operating activities:

                         

Net loss

    (17,796 )   (101,702 )   (327,086 )   (50,492 )

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

                         

Compensation to founding shareholders in connection with the re-designation of the ordinary shares           

        1,590          

Depreciation and amortization

    177     1,412     7,431     1,147  

Changes in assets and liabilities:

                         

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

    (862 )   (6,970 )   (34,293 )   (5,294 )

Other non-current assets

    (212 )   (1,926 )   (1,485 )   (229 )

Deferred revenue

    13,775     61,937     188,090     29,036  

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

    5,149     19,778     55,251     8,528  

Taxes payable

    1,725     10,420     8,072     1,246  

Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities

    1,956     (15,461 )   (104,020 )   (16,058 )

Cash flows from investing activities:

                         

Placement of time deposits

            (192,078 )   (29,651 )

Maturity of time deposits

            25,000     3,859  

Purchase of property and equipment

    (377 )   (7,472 )   (25,308 )   (3,907 )

Purchase of intangible assets

    (9 )   (342 )   (498 )   (77 )

Net cash used in investing activities

    (386 )   (7,814 )   (192,884 )   (29,776 )

Cash flows from financing activities:

                         

Proceeds from issuance of Series A Preferred Shares (net of issuance cost of RMB218)

    12,139              

Proceeds from issuance of Series B Preferred Shares (net of issuance cost of RMB181)

    47,134              

Proceeds from issuance of Series C Preferred Shares (net of issuance cost of RMB3,883)

        169,724          

Proceeds from issuance of Series D Preferred Shares (net of issuance cost of RMB1,997)

            125,574     19,385  

Net cash provided by financing activities

    59,273     169,724     125,574     19,385  

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

    (565 )   1,823     8,429     1,301  

Net increase/(decreased) in cash and cash equivalents

    60,278     148,272     (162,901 )   (25,148 )

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year

    1,224     61,502     209,774     32,384  

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

    61,502     209,774     46,873     7,236  

Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information

                         

Cash paid for income taxes

        449     1,473     227  

Non-cash supplemental financing activities

                         

Accretion to preferred shares redemption value

    322     23,020     75,665     11,681  

Deemed dividends at re-designation of ordinary shares to preferred shares

    2,309     5,665          

Contribution from a shareholder (Note 18)

            927     143  

Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed through non-cash business combination (Note 4)

            4,223     652  

   

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization

        China Online Education Group (the "Company" or "COE"), through its consolidated subsidiaries and variable interest entities ("VIEs") (collectively referred to as the "Group") is primarily engaged in providing online English language education services to students in the People's Republic of China (the "PRC" or "China").

        As of December 31, 2015, the Company's subsidiaries and VIEs are as follows:

Company
  Place of
Incorporation/
Establishment
  Date of
Incorporation/
Establishment
  Percentage of
Direct or Indirect
Economic Ownership
 

Subsidiaries

                 

China Online Education (HK) Limited

  Hong Kong     April 1, 2013     100 %

51Talk English International Limited

  Hong Kong     October 7, 2014     100 %

China Online Innovations Inc.*

  Philippines     October 9, 2014     99.99986 %

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. 

  PRC     June 4, 2013     100 %

VIEs

                 

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd

  PRC     July 8, 2011     100 %

51Talk English Philippines Corporation

  Philippines     August 3, 2012     100 %

*
The Company directly holds the 99.99986% shares of China Online Innovations Inc. and there is no substance of non-controlling interest for China Online Innovations Inc. as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015. The non-controlling shareholders are nominee shareholders consisting of local residents to comply with local regulations of the Philippines.
a.
History of the Group and Basis of Presentation for the Reorganization

        The Group began operations in July 2011 through Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.("Dasheng Zhixing"). The beneficial interest of Dasheng Zhixing was held by Mr. Jiajia Huang and Ms. Ting Shu (the "Founding Shareholders") and an angel investor in 2011.

        On January 5, 2012, another angel investor invested into Dasheng Zhixing. In accordance with the investment agreement, the Founding Shareholders set aside from their own holdings 15% of the ownership of Dasheng Zhixing for an employee option plan. While the plan to establish employee option plan was cancelled, the 15% ownership interest in Dasheng Zhixing was not returned to the Founding Shareholders. Consequently, beneficial interest of Dasheng Zhixing was then 71% by the Founding Shareholders and 29% held by angel investors.

        Given the cost advantage and high English proficiency of teachers in the Philippines, the Group retains teachers in the Philippines. To do this, in August 2012, the Founding Shareholders established, a company in the Philippines, 51Talk English Philippines Corporation (the "Philippines Co I"), using funds provided by Dasheng Zhixing. On September 3, 2012, Dasheng Zhixing entered into a service agreement with Philippines Co I, to formalize the business arrangements. Under the agreement, Philippines Co I provides teaching service for the Group in accordance with the Group's instructions. In return, Dasheng Zhixing pays for all the expenses incurred for the services provided by Philippines Co I. Philippines Co I is considered to have total equity investment at risk not sufficient to permit itself to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support provided by another party. As a result of the above, Dasheng Zhixing is considered to be the primary beneficiary of Philippines Co I as it has the power to

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

direct the activities of Philippines Co I that most significantly impact Philippines Co I's economic performance and has obligation to absorb losses of Philippines Co I. As such, Dasheng Zhixing consolidates Philippines Co I.

        Dasheng Zhixing was the predecessor of the Group and operated substantially all of the businesses of the Group prior to November 2012. In order to facilitate international financing, the Group underwent a reorganization (the "Reorganization") from November 2012 until October 2014.

        In November 2012, the Founding Shareholders incorporated the Company under the Laws of the Cayman Islands to be an offshore holding company for the Group. In June 2013, the Company issued ordinary shares to the two angel investors, in exchange for their equity beneficial ownerships in Dasheng Zhixing. Following the exchange, the ownership of the Company was held 71% by the Founding Shareholders and 29% by the angel investors.

        In April 2013, China Online Education (HK) Limited (the "COE HK Co I") was incorporated in Hong Kong as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co. Ltd., ("Dasheng Online"), was set up in June 2013 as a wholly owned subsidiary of COE HK Co I in the PRC.

        Due to PRC legal restrictions on foreign ownership and investment in the companies in value-added telecommunications market, the Group continues operate its online education platform through Dasheng Zhixing. Dasheng Zhixing holds the Internet Content Provider license ("ICP") and domain names of www.51talk.com and www.51talk.cn that are necessary to conduct online English education services in China. To comply with PRC laws and regulations, the Group provides substantially all of its services in China via Dasheng Zhixing.

        On June 18, 2013, as part of the restructuring, a series of contractual agreements discussed in 1.b. below were entered into among Dasheng Online, Dasheng Zhixing and shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing. As a result of the agreements, Dasheng Online has the ability to direct substantially all the activities of Dasheng Zhixing, and absorb substantially all of the risks and rewards of the Dasheng Zhixing. Dasheng Online became the primary beneficiary of Dasheng Zhixing and consolidates the financial results of Dasheng Zhixing. The restructuring provided the beneficial interest holders of Dasheng Zhixing received an interest in the Company equal to their beneficial interest in Dasheng Zhixing.

        On July 21 2014, a series of contractual agreements discussed in 1.b. below were entered into among COE HK Co I, Philippines Co I and the shareholders of Philippines Co I. Pursuant to these agreements COE HK Co I has the ability to direct substantially all the activities of Philippines Co I, and absorb substantially all of the risks and rewards of Philippines Co I. COE HK Co I replaced Dasheng Zhixing as the primary beneficiary of Philippines Co I, and the Group continued to consolidate the financial results of Philippines Co I.

        To further optimize the organizational structure of the Group, in October 2014, 51 Talk English International Limited (the "COE HK Co II") was incorporated with limited liability in Hong Kong as a wholly owned subsidiary of COE HK Co I. China Online Innovations Inc. (the "Philippines Co II") was incorporated by the Company with limited liability in the Philippines to eventually replace Philippines Co I. The Company owns 99.99986% of the equity interest of Philippines Co II. In order to comply with local laws, there are seven individual shareholders holding an aggregate of 0.00014% of the equity interest of Philippines Co II. A series of contractual arrangements was entered into among the Company, Philippines

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

Co II and the seven individual shareholders. Under these contractual arrangements, the Company has an exclusive option to purchase all of the equity interests in Philippines Co II held by the seven individuals and to exercise their rights as shareholders of Philippines Co II. Since then, Philippine foreign teachers delivering paid lessons on the Company's platform no longer entered into service agreements with Philippines Co I, but rather entered into service agreements with COE HK Co II. Furthermore, the bulk of the business operations in Philippines Co I was transferred to Philippines Co II, and the Group began to enter into employment agreements with free trial teachers and other full-time employees in the Philippines through Philippines Co II.

        The above series of transactions to reorganize the Group were accounted for in a manner similar to a pooling of interest with assets and liabilities at their historical amounts in the Group's consolidated financial statements. As such, the Group's consolidated financial statements were prepared as if the current corporate structure had been in existence for all periods presented.

b.
Contractual agreements with VIEs

        The following is a summary of (i) the contracts by and among Dasheng Online, Dasheng Zhixing, and the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing; and (ii) the contracts by and among COE HK Co I, Philippines Co I, and the shareholders of Philippines Co I.

Contractual Agreements with Dasheng Zhixing

        Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreements.     Under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement between Dasheng Online and Dasheng Zhixing, Dasheng Online has the exclusive right to provide technical support, consulting services and other services to Dasheng Zhixing in relation to the Dasheng Zhixing's principal business. Dasheng Zhixing agrees to accept all the consultation and services provided by Dasheng Online. Without Dasheng Online's prior written consent, Dasheng Zhixing is prohibited from engaging any third party to provide any of the services under this agreement. In addition, Dasheng Online exclusively owns all intellectual property rights arising out of or created during the performance of the agreement. The service fees to be paid by Dasheng Zhixing is determined by Dasheng Zhixing and Dasheng Online, after taking into account factors including the complexity and difficulty of the services provided, the time consumed, the seniority of the Dasheng Online employees providing services to Dasheng Zhixing, contents and value of services provided, the market price of comparable services and the operating conditions of Dasheng Zhixing. This agreement will remain effective unless Dasheng Online terminates the agreement in writing or a competent governmental authority rejects the renewal applications by either Dasheng Zhixing or Dasheng Online to renew its respective business license upon expiration. Dasheng Zhixing is not permitted to terminate this agreement in any event unless required by applicable laws. The service agreement was revised on December 14, 2015, that the service is solely determined by Dasheng Online.

        Exclusive Option Agreements.     Under the Exclusive Option Agreements between Dasheng Online, each of the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing and Dasheng Zhixing, each of the shareholders irrevocably granted Dasheng Online or its designated representative(s) an exclusive option to purchase, to the extent permitted under PRC law, all or part of his, her or its equity interests in Dasheng Zhixing, for a consideration of RMB 10 (US$1.6). If the lowest price permitted under PRC law is higher than the above price, the lowest price permitted under PRC law shall apply. Dasheng Online or its designated

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

representative(s) have sole discretion as to when to exercise such options, either in part or in full. Without Dasheng Online's prior written consent, Dasheng Zhixing's shareholders shall not sell, transfer, pledge, or otherwise dispose any equity interests in Dasheng Zhixing. These agreements will remain effective until all equity interests held in Dasheng Zhixing by Dasheng Zhixing's shareholders are transferred or assigned to Dasheng Online or Dasheng Online's designated representatives.

        Powers of Attorney.     Pursuant to the Powers of Attorney, the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing each irrevocably appointed Dasheng Online as the attorney-in-fact to act on their behalf on all matters pertaining to Dasheng Zhixing and to exercise all of their rights as a shareholder of Dasheng Zhixing, including but not limited to attend shareholders' meetings, vote on their behalf on all matters of Dasheng Zhixing requiring shareholders' approval under PRC laws and regulations and the articles of association of Dasheng Zhixing, designate and appoint legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer, and other senior management members of Dasheng Zhixing. Dasheng Online may authorize or assign its rights under this appointment to any other person or entity at its sole discretion without prior notice to the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing. Each Power of Attorney will remain in force until the shareholders cease to hold any equity interest in Dasheng Zhixing.

        Equity Interest Pledge Agreements.     Under the Equity Interest Pledge Agreements between Dasheng Online, Dasheng Zhixing and the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing, the shareholders pledged all of their equity interests in Dasheng Zhixing to Dasheng Online to guarantee Dasheng Zhixing's and Dasheng Zhixing's Shareholders' performance of their obligations under the contractual arrangements including the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, and the Powers of Attorney.

        If Dasheng Zhixing or any of Dasheng Zhixing's shareholders breaches its contractual obligations under the contractual arrangements, Dasheng Online, will be entitled to certain rights and entitlements, including receiving proceeds from the auction or sale of whole or part of the pledged equity interests of Dasheng Zhixing in accordance with legal procedures. Dasheng Online has the right to receive dividends generated by the pledged equity interests during the term of the pledge. The pledge will remain binding until Dasheng Zhixing and the shareholders discharge all their obligations under the contractual arrangements. The equity pledge has been registered with the registration authorities of industries and commerce in accordance with PRC law.

Contractual Agreements with Philippines Co I

        Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreements.     Under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement between COE HK Co I and Philippines Co I, COE HK Co I has the exclusive right to provide technical support, consulting services and other services to Philippines Co I, respectively, in relation to Philippines Co I's principal business. And Philippines Co I agrees to accept all the consultation and services provided by COE HK Co I. Without COE HK Co I's prior written consent, Philippines Co I is prohibited from engaging any third party to provide any of the services under this agreements. In addition, COE HK Co I exclusively owns all intellectual property rights arising out of or created during the performance of the agreements. Due to its control over Philippines Co I, COE HK Co I has the sole right to determine the service fees to be paid by Philippines Co I, after taking into account factors including the complexity and difficulty of the services provided, the time consumed, the seniority of COE HK Co I employees providing services to Philippines Co I, contents and value of services provided, the market price of comparable

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

services and the operating conditions of Philippines Co I. This agreement will remain effective unless COE HK Co I terminates the agreement in writing or a competent governmental authority rejects the renewal applications by either Philippines Co I or COE HK Co I to renew its respective business license upon expiration. Philippines Co I is not permitted to terminate this agreements in any event unless required by applicable laws.

        Exclusive Option Agreements.     Under the Exclusive Option Agreements between COE HK Co I, each of the shareholders of Philippines Co I and Philippines Co I, each of the Shareholders irrevocably granted COE HK Co I or its designated representative(s) an exclusive option to purchase, to the extent permitted under Philippine law, all or part of his, her or its equity interests in Philippines Co I, for a consideration of US$1. If the lowest price permitted under Philippine law is higher than the above price, the lowest price permitted under Philippine law shall apply. COE HK Co I or its designated representative(s) have sole discretion as to when to exercise such options, either in part or in full. Without COE HK Co I's prior written consent, Philippines Co I's Shareholders shall not sell, transfer, pledge, or otherwise dispose any equity interests in Philippines Co I. These agreements will remain effective until all equity interests held in Philippines Co I by Philippines Co I's Shareholders are transferred or assigned to COE HK Co I or COE HK Co I's designated representatives.

        Powers of Attorney.     Pursuant to the Powers of Attorney, the Shareholders of Philippines Co I each irrevocably appointed COE HK Co I as the attorney-in-fact to act on their behalf on all matters pertaining to Philippines Co I and to exercise all of their rights as a shareholder of Philippines Co I, including but not limited to attend shareholders' meetings, vote on their behalf on all matters of Philippines Co I requiring shareholders' approval under Philippine laws and regulations and the articles of association of Philippines Co I, designate and appoint legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer, and other senior management members of the VIE. COE HK Co I may authorize or assign its rights under this appointment to any other person or entity at its sole discretion without prior notice to the shareholders of Philippines Co I. Each Power of Attorney will remain in force until the Shareholder ceases to hold any equity interest in Philippines Co I.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

c.
Risks in relation to the VIE structure

        The following table sets forth the assets, liabilities, results of operations and changes in cash and cash equivalents of the VIEs taken as a whole, which were included in the Group's consolidated balance sheets and statements of comprehensive loss:

Dasheng Zhixing:

 
  As of December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Cash and cash equivalents

    8,334     14,467     26,731  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

    461     3,676     11,391  

Amounts due from inter-company entities*

    474     5,831     87,040  

Property and equipment, net

    308     4,347     9,191  

Other assets

    576     1,871     8,013  

Total assets

    10,153     30,192     142,366  

Deferred revenue—current

    16,407     76,880     264,411  

Deferred revenue—non-current

    72     1,536     7,765  

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

    3,477     19,523     50,134  

Taxes payable

    1,589     3,081     6,631  

Amounts due to inter-company entities*

    7,142     39,875     121,730  

Total liabilities

    28,687     140,895     450,671  

*
All inter-company balances have been eliminated upon consolidation.

 
  For the year ended December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Net revenues

    21,665     52,210     154,675  

Net loss

    (16,960 )   (92,170 )   (198,527 )

 

 
  For the year ended December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Net cash provided by operating activities

    7,740     10,932     21,567  

Net cash used in investing activities

    (302 )   (4,799 )   (10,230 )

Net cash provided by financing activities

            927  

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

    7,438     6,133     12,264  

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

Philippines Co I:

 
  As of December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Cash and cash equivalents

    554     245     1,453  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

    355     738     1,751  

Amounts due from inter-company entities*

    629     2,573     2,534  

Property and equipment, net

    64     1,581     952  

Other assets

    178     600     498  

Total assets

    1,780     5,737     7,188  

Advanced from inter-company entities*

            2,502  

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

    1,062     2,341     1,544  

Taxes payable

    233     9,138     12,029  

Total liabilities

    1,295     11,479     16,075  

*
All inter-company balances have been eliminated upon consolidation.

 
  For the year ended December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Net revenues**

    14,655     39,949     26,973  

Net income/(loss)

    456     (6,181 )   (3,260 )

**
All net revenues of Philippines Co I are service fees from Dasheng Zhixing, which have been eliminated upon consolidation.

 
  For the year ended December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Net cash provided by operating activities

    332     2,082     1,186  

Net cash used in investing activities

    (74 )   (2,344 )   (92 )

Effect of exchange

    (33 )   (47 )   114  

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

    225     (309 )   1,208  

        Under the contractual arrangements with the VIEs, the Company has the power to direct activities of the VIEs through Dasheng Online and COE HK Co I, and can have assets transferred freely out of the VIEs without restrictions. Therefore, the Company considers that there is no asset of the VIEs that can only be used to settle obligations of the respective VIEs, except for registered capital of Dasheng Zhixing amounting to RMB1,143, RMB1,143 and RMB1,143 as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. Since the VIEs are incorporated as limited liability companies under the PRC and Philippine Company

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

Law, creditors of the VIEs do not have recourse to the general credit of the Company. There is currently no contractual arrangement that would require the Company to provide additional financial support to the VIEs.

The Group believes that the contractual arrangements among Dasheng Online, COE HK Co I, the VIEs and their shareholders are in compliance with PRC and Philippine laws and regulations, as applicable, and are legally binding and enforceable. However, uncertainties in the PRC and Philippine legal system could limit the Company's ability to enforce these contractual arrangements.

        On January 19, 2015, the Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM"), released for public comment a proposed PRC law, the Draft FIE Law, that appears to include VIEs within the scope of entities that could be considered to be foreign invested enterprises, or FIEs, that would be subject to restrictions under existing PRC law on foreign investment in certain categories of industry. Specifically, the Draft FIE Law introduces the concept of "actual control" for determining whether an entity is considered to be an FIE. In addition to control through direct or indirect ownership or equity, the Draft FIE Law includes control through contractual arrangements within the definition of "actual control." If the Draft FIE Law is passed by the People's Congress of the PRC and goes into effect in its current form, these provisions regarding control through contractual arrangements could be construed to include the Group's VIE arrangements, and as a result the Group's PRC-organized VIEs could become explicitly subject to the current restrictions on foreign investment in certain categories of industry. The Draft FIE Law includes provisions that would exempt from the definition of foreign invested enterprises entities where the ultimate controlling shareholders are either entities organized under PRC law or individuals who are PRC citizens. The Draft FIE Law is silent as to what type of enforcement action might be taken against existing VIE, that operates in restricted or prohibited industries and is not controlled by entities organized under PRC law or individuals who are PRC citizens. If the restrictions and prohibitions on foreign invested enterprises included in the Draft FIE Law are enacted and enforced in their current form, the Group's ability to use the Group's VIE arrangements and the Group's ability to conduct business through the Group's PRC VIE could be severely limited.

        The Company's ability to control the VIEs also depends on the Power of Attorney Dasheng Online and COE HK Co I has to vote on all matters requiring shareholder approval in the VIEs. As noted above, the Company believes these Power of Attorney are legally enforceable but may not be as effective as direct equity ownership.

        In addition, if the Group's corporate structure or the contractual arrangements with the VIEs were found to be in violation of any existing PRC or Philippine laws and regulations, the PRC or the Philippine regulatory authorities could, within their respective jurisdictions:

    revoke the Group's business and operating licenses;

    require the Group to discontinue or restrict its operations;

    restrict the Group's right to collect revenues;

    block the Group's websites;

    require the Group to restructure the operations, re-apply for the necessary licenses or relocate the Group's businesses, staff and assets;

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

    impose additional conditions or requirements with which the Group may not be able to comply; or

    take other regulatory or enforcement actions against the Group that could be harmful to the Group's business.

The imposition of any of these restrictions or actions may result in a material adverse effect on the Group's ability to conduct its business. In addition, if the imposition of any of these restrictions causes the Group to lose the right to direct the activities of the VIEs or the right to receive their economic benefits, the Group would no longer be able to consolidate the financial statements of the VIEs. In the opinion of management, the likelihood of losing the benefits in respect of the Group's current ownership structure or the contractual arrangements with its VIEs is remote.

        As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the aggregate accumulated deficit of the Group's VIEs was approximately RMB20,091, RMB118,441 and RMB320,229 respectively, which have been included in the Company's accompanying consolidated financial statements.

d.
Liquidity

        The Group's consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and liquidation of liabilities during the normal course of operations. The Group incurred net losses of RMB17,796, RMB101,702 and RMB327,086 in the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively, and the net cash used in operating activities was RMB104,020 for the year ended December 31, 2015. Accumulated deficit was RMB25,563, RMB168,138 and RMB569,962 as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. The Group had negative cash flows from operating activities for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2015. The net current liabilities were RMB112,967 as of December 31, 2015. The Group assesses its liquidity by its ability to generate cash from operating activities to fund its operations, attract investors and borrow funds on favorable economic terms.

        Historically, the Group has relied principally on both operational sources of cash and non-operational sources of financing from investors to fund its operations and business development. The Group's ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on management's ability to successfully execute its business plan, which includes increasing revenues while controlling operating expenses, as well as, generating operational cash flows and continuing to gain support from outside sources of financing. The Group has been continuously receiving financing support from outside investors through the issuance of preferred shares. The latest round of preferred shares financing was completed in August 31, 2015, with a total consideration of RMB127,571 (US$20,000). In addition, if the Company successfully completes a qualified initial public offering before July 21, 2019, thereby triggering the automatic conversion of all series of preferred shares into ordinary shares, it will eliminate the possibility of any future cash outflow that may result from the holders of preferred shares exercising their share redemption rights. In the event the initial public offering has to be deferred to beyond July 21, 2019, management is of the opinion that the Group will be able to continue to gain the support from its existing investors, and management does not foresee a request for shares redemption from its preferred shares holders. Moreover, the Company can adjust the pace of its operation expansion and control the operating expenses of the Group. Based on the above considerations, the Group's 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.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

2. Significant Accounting Policies

a.
Basis of presentation

        The consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP"). Significant accounting policies followed by the Company in the preparation of the accompanying consolidated financial statements are summarized below.

b.
Principles of consolidation

        The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company, its subsidiaries and the VIEs for which the Company is the primary beneficiary.

        Subsidiaries are those entities 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, or to cast a majority of votes at the meeting of board of directors, or has the power 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, has the power to direct the activities that most significant impact the entity's economic performance, 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 among the Company, its subsidiaries and the VIEs have been eliminated upon consolidation.

c.
Use of estimates

        The preparation of the Group's unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with the U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent liabilities at the balance sheet date and reported revenues and expenses during the reported periods in the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Significant accounting estimates include, but are not limited to, the determination of the fair value of identifiable assets and liabilities acquired through business combinations, assessment for the impairment of long-lived assets, the valuation allowance of deferred tax assets, determination of the fair value of ordinary shares and preferred shares, and the valuation and recognition of share-based compensation.

d.
Functional currency and foreign currency translation

        The Group uses Renminbi ("RMB") as its reporting currency. The functional currency of the Company and its overseas subsidiaries incorporated in the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong is United States dollars ("US$"), and the functional currency of the Philippines entities is Peso ("PHP"). The functional currency of the PRC entities in the Group is RMB.

        In the consolidated financial statements, the financial information of the Company and other entities located outside of the PRC have been translated into RMB. Assets and liabilities are translated at the exchange rates on the balance sheet date, equity amounts are translated at historical exchange rates, and revenues, expenses, gains and losses are translated using the average rate for the year. Translation

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

2. Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)

adjustments are reported as foreign currency translation adjustments, and are shown as a component of other comprehensive (loss)/income in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

        Foreign currency transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency are translated into the functional currency using the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the transactions. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into the functional currency using the applicable exchange rates at the balance sheet dates. Net gains and losses resulting from foreign exchange transactions are included in interest and other expense, net.

e.
Convenience Translation

        Translations of balances in the consolidated balance sheets, consolidated statements of comprehensive loss and statements of cash flows from RMB into US$ as of and for the year ended December 31, 2015 are solely for the convenience of the reader and were calculated at the rate of US$1.00 = RMB6.4778, representing the noon buying rate in The City of New York for cable transfers of RMB as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on December 31, 2015. No representation is made that the RMB amounts represent or could have been, or could be, converted, realized or settled into US$ at that rate on December 31, 2015, or at any other rate.

f.
Fair value measurments

Financial instruments

        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 measurements 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 instrument's 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 applies to assets or liabilities for which there are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

    Level 2 applies to assets or liabilities for which there are inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical asset or liabilities in markets with insufficient volume or infrequent transactions (less active markets); or model-derived valuations in which significant inputs are observable or can be derived principally from, or corroborated by, observable market data.

    Level 3 applies to asset or liabilities for which there are unobservable inputs to the valuation methodology that are significant to the measurement of the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

2. Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)

        The Company's financial instruments include time deposits, other current assets and accrued expenses, tax payable and other current liabilities. Their carrying amounts approximate their fair value due to their relatively short maturity.

g.
Time deposits

        Time deposits represent demand deposits placed with banks with original maturities of more than three months but less than one year. Interest earned is recorded as interest income in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss during the periods. Time deposits are valued based on the prevailing interest rates in the market.

h.
Cash and cash equivalents

        The Group considers all highly liquid investments, which are unrestricted as to withdrawal or use, with original maturities of three months or less as cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Group had certain amounts of cash held in accounts managed by Alipay and 99bill in connection with the collection of tuition fees online for a total amount of RMB6,637, RMB4,177 and RMB4,794, respectively, which have been classified as cash and cash equivalents on the balance sheets.

i.
Long-lived assets

Property and equipment

        Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation, amortization and impairment, if any. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, generally from three years for computers and equipment and five years for furniture and fixtures. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the estimated useful lives of the assets or the remaining lease term. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred. The gain or loss on the disposal of property and equipment is the difference between the net sales proceeds and the carrying amount of the relevant assets and is recognized in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

Intangible assets

        Intangible assets mainly comprise of intellectual property and a trademark. Intangible assets are recorded at cost less accumulated amortization with no residual value. Amortization is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets.

Goodwill

        Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the identifiable assets and liabilities of 91waijiao.com when it was acquired by Dasheng Zhixing in January 2015.

        Goodwill is not depreciated or amortized but is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level on an annual basis every December 31, and in between annual tests when an event occurs or circumstances change that could indicate that the asset might be impaired. Commencing September 2011, in accordance with the FASB revised guidance on "Testing of Goodwill for Impairment," a company first has the option to assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

2. Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)

unit is less than its carrying amount. If the company decides, as a result of its qualitative assessment, that it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the quantitative impairment test is mandatory. Otherwise, no further testing is required. The quantitative impairment test consists of a comparison of the fair value of each reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the carrying amount of each reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment charge equal to the difference between the implied fair value of the reporting unit's goodwill and the carrying amount of goodwill will be recorded. Application of a goodwill impairment test requires significant management judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assigning assets and liabilities to reporting units, assigning goodwill to reporting units, and determining the fair value of each reporting unit.

        The Group as a whole, including recently acquired 91waijiao.com , is determined to be one reporting unit for goodwill impairment testing. The Company directly applied the quantitative assessment and performed the goodwill impairment test by quantitatively comparing the fair values of the reporting unit to its carrying amounts, and no impairment loss has been identified for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Impairment of long-lived assets

        Long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances (such as a significant adverse change to market conditions that will impact the future use of the assets) indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be fully recoverable or that the useful life is shorter than the Group had originally estimated. When these events occur, the Group evaluates the impairment for the long-lived assets by comparing the carrying value of the assets to an estimate of future undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated from the use of the assets and their eventual disposition. If the sum of the expected future undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying value of the assets, the Group recognizes an impairment loss based on the excess of the carrying value of the assets over the fair value of the assets. No impairment charge was recognized for any of the periods presented.

j.
Revenue recognition

        Revenues are generated from providing online English language education services. Students purchase the services by subscribing to prepaid credit packages or prepaid membership packages directly from the Company or through authorized distribution agents. Tuition is generally paid in advance and is initially recorded as deferred revenue.

        Revenues are recognized when the following four revenue recognition criteria are met: (1) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; (2) delivery has occurred or services have been provided; (3) the selling price is fixed or determinable, and (4) collectability is reasonably assured. Revenues are deferred until these criteria are met.

        Sales commission to third-party distribution agents are calculated based on the sales volume within a specific period of time in accordance to the Company's sales commission policy and are recorded as sales and marketing expense.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

2. Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)

Prepaid credit packages

        Prepaid credit packages typically ranging from 60 lesson credits to 720 lesson credits with validity period from 3 months to 36 months. The package subscription fees are paid in advance. The students can book lessons within the validity period. Revenue is recognized when the lesson credit is consumed. Actual usage is tracked by the Company on an individual basis. Upon the expiration of the prepaid credit packages, the Company will recognize any remaining untaken lessons as revenue. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, expiration rate of the prepaid credit packages were approximately 7%, 10% and 15%, respectively. Expiration rate represents total number of lessons expired and untaken during the year, divided by total number of lessons taken during the year.

Prepaid membership packages

        Prepaid membership packages range from 3 months to 36 months. Students can book one lesson per day within their membership period. The package subscription fees are paid in advance. Revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the membership period from the day in which the students subscribe to the courses to the day in which the membership period expires.

        The Company offers free-trial lessons to students upon registration. Students are not obligated to subscribe any course packages with the Company to obtain the free-trial lessons. The Company records the cost incurred in providing the free-trial lessons as sales and marketing expenses when the lesson is booked and taken by the students.

k.
Cost of revenues

        Cost of revenues primarily include service expenses involved in the delivery of paid courses and payment processing fees paid to payment channels for processing the payments from students. These costs are expensed as incurred except for payment processing fees in relation to the deferral of the revenues as described above, which are recognized as "cost of revenue" in the period in which the related revenues are recognized in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss. The indirect cost of server and bandwidth is expensed as incurred.

l.
Product development expenses

        Product development expenses consist primarily of payroll-related expenses incurred for the innovation of course content, as well as the development and enhancement to the Company's websites and platforms of applications. The Group expenses all costs incurred for the planning and post implementation phases of development and costs associated with repair or maintenance of the existing platform. Since the inception, the amount of costs qualifying for capitalization has been immaterial and, as a result, all development costs have been expensed as incurred.

m.
Sales and marketing expenses

        Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of marketing and promotional expenses, salaries and other compensation-related expenses to the Group's sales and marketing personnel and office rental, depreciation and other related expenses related to the Group's sales and marketing team. Advertising expenses consist primarily of costs for the promotion of corporate image and product marketing. The Group expenses all advertising costs as incurred and classifies these costs under sales and marketing

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

2. Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)

expense. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the advertising expenses were RMB8,770, RMB40,393 and RMB136,507, respectively.

n.
Operating leases

        Leases where substantially all the rewards and risks of ownership of assets remain with the lessor are accounted for as operating leases. The Group leases office space under operating lease agreements with initial lease term up to three years. Rental expense is recognized from the date of initial possession of the leased property on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. Certain lease agreements contain rent holidays, which are recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Lease renewal periods are considered on a lease-by-lease basis and are generally not included in the initial lease terms. Rental expenses incurred were RMB1,335, RMB5,946 and RMB15,364 for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

        The Group has no capital leases for any of the periods presented.

o.
Share-based compensation

        The Company accounts for share-based awards granted to employees in accordance with ASC 718 Stock Compensation and share-based awards to nonemployees in accordance with ASC 505. In accordance with the guidance, the Company determines whether a share-based award should be classified and accounted for as a liability award or equity award.

        For options granted to employees determined to be equity classified awards, the related share-based compensation expense is recognized in the financial statements based on their grant date fair values which are calculated using the binomial option pricing model. The binomial option pricing model requires a number of complex assumptions. The determination of the fair value is affected by the share price as well as assumptions regarding a number of complex and subjective variables, including the expected share price volatility, actual and projected employee share option exercise behavior, risk-free interest rates and expected dividends. Share-based compensation expense is recorded net of estimated forfeitures using graded-vesting method, such that expenses are recorded only for those share-based awards that are expected to ultimately vest.

        Stock options granted to employees vest upon satisfaction of a service condition, which is generally satisfied over four years. Additionally, employees can only exercise vested options upon the occurrence of an IPO. Options for which the service condition has been satisfied are forfeited should employment terminate prior to the occurrence of an IPO, which substantially creates a performance condition. Because the IPO performance condition has not occurred and is outside the Company's control, the satisfaction of the IPO performance condition becomes probable upon occurrence. For options granted for which the service condition has been satisfied as of such date, cumulative stock-based compensation expense for these options will be recorded upon the completion of the IPO.

p.
Employee benefits

PRC Contribution Plan

        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

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

2. Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)

other welfare benefits are provided to the employees. Chinese labor regulations require that the PRC subsidiaries and VIEs 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. The total amounts for such employee benefit expenses, which were expensed as incurred, were approximately RMB2,597, RMB14,329 and RMB49,925 for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively.

Philippine Employee Benefit Plan

        The Company's subsidiary and VIE in the Philippines participate in government mandated, multiemployer, defined contribution plans, including Social Security System ("SSS Benefits"), Home Development Mutual Fund ("Pag-IBIG Fund") and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation ("PhilHealth"). Pursuance to these plans certain retirement, medical and housing benefits are provided to full-time employees. Obligations for contributions to these defined contribution plans are recognized as expenses in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss as incurred. The total amounts for such employee benefits were RMB146, RMB717 and RMB1,335 for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

        In addition, the Company's subsidiary and VIE in the Philippines also participate in a defined benefits plan, which was unfunded as of December 31, 2015. The liability recognized in the consolidated balance sheets in respect of defined benefit pension plan is the present value of the defined benefit obligation at the end of the reporting period. Changes in the present value of the defined benefit obligation is included in operating expenses in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss. The defined benefit obligation is calculated annually by independent actuaries using the projected unit credit method. The total liability amounts for such employee benefits were RMB674 for the year ended December 31, 2015.

q.
Taxation

Income taxes

        Current income taxes are provided on the basis of income/(loss) for financial reporting purposes, adjusted for income and expense items which are not assessable or deductible for income tax purposes, in accordance with the regulations of the relevant tax jurisdictions. Deferred income taxes are provided using the liability method. Under this method, deferred income taxes are recognized for the tax consequences of temporary differences by applying enacted statutory rates applicable to future years to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and the tax bases of existing assets and liabilities. The tax base of an asset or liability is the amount attributed to that asset or liability for tax purposes. The effect on deferred taxes of a change in tax rates is recognized in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss in the period of change. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce the amount of deferred tax assets if it is considered more likely than not that some portion of, or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

Uncertain tax positions

        In order to assess uncertain tax positions, the Group applies a more likely than not threshold and a two-step approach for the tax position measurement and financial statement recognition. Under the

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

2. Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)

two-step approach, the first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely of being realized upon settlement. The Group recognizes interest and penalties, if any, under accrued expenses and other current liabilities on its consolidated balance sheet and under other expenses in its consolidated statement of comprehensive loss. The Group did not have any significant unrecognized uncertain tax positions as of and for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

r.
Related parties

        Parties are considered to be related if one party has the ability, directly or indirectly, to control the other party or exercise significant influence over the other party in making financial and operating decisions. Parties are also considered to be related if they are subject to common control or significant influence, such as a family member or relative, shareholder, or a related corporation.

s.
Loss per share

        Loss per share is computed in accordance with ASC 260, Earnings per Share . The two-class method is used for computing earnings per share in the event the Group has net income available for distribution. Under the two-class method, net income is allocated between ordinary shares and participating securities based on dividends declared (or accumulated) and participating rights in undistributed earnings as if all the earnings for the reporting period had been distributed. The Company's preferred shares are participating securities because they are entitled to receive dividends or distributions on an as converted basis. For the periods presented herein, the computation of basic loss per share using the two-class method is not applicable as the Group is in a net loss position and net loss is not allocated to other participating securities because in accordance with their contractual terms they are not obligated to share in the losses.

        Basic net loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. Options are not considered outstanding in computation of basic earnings per share. Diluted net income (loss) per share is computed using the weighted average number of ordinary shares and potential ordinary shares outstanding during the period under treasury stock method. Potential ordinary shares include options to purchase ordinary shares and preferred shares, unless they were anti-dilutive. The computation of diluted net income (loss) per share does not assume conversion, exercise, or contingent issuance of securities that would have an anti-dilutive effect (i.e. an increase in earnings per share amounts or a decrease in loss per share amounts) on net income (loss) per share.

t.
Comprehensive income/(loss)

        Comprehensive income/(loss) is defined to include all changes in equity/(deficit) of the Group during a period arising from transactions and other events and circumstances excluding transactions resulting from investments by shareholders and distributions to shareholders. Other comprehensive (loss)/income, as presented on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, consists of accumulated foreign currency translation adjustments.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

2. Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)

u.
Segment reporting

        Based on the criteria established by ASC 280 "Segment Reporting", the Group's chief operating decision maker has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer, who reviews consolidated results when making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance of the Group. The Group has internal reporting of revenue, cost and expenses by nature as a whole. Hence, the Group has only one operating segment.

        The Group operates in two principal geographical areas—China and the Philippines. For all periods presented, all revenues from external customers are attributed to China.

        The following table summarizes property, plant and equipment of the Group by geographical location.

 
  Property, plant
and equipment
As of December 31,
 
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

China

    308     4,933     18,779  

Philippines

    64     1,581     6,233  
v.
Statutory reserves

        In accordance with China's Company Laws, the Company's VIE in PRC must make appropriations from their after-tax profit (as determined under the Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises as promulgated by the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China ("PRC GAAP")) 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 the respective company. Appropriation to the discretionary surplus fund is made at the discretion of the respective company.

        Pursuant to the laws applicable to China's Foreign Investment Enterprises, the Company's subsidiary that is a foreign investment enterprise in China have to make appropriations 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 the respective company. Appropriations to the other two reserve funds are at the respective companies' discretion.

        The Group has made no appropriations to statutory surplus fund and other reserve funds for all periods presented as the Company's subsidiary and VIE in China were in accumulated loss position.

w.
Recently issued accounting pronouncements

        In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)." This guidance supersedes current guidance on revenue recognition in Topic 605, "Revenue Recognition." In addition, there are disclosure requirements related to the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue recognition. This guidance will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

2. Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)

after December 15, 2016, including interim reporting periods, and will be required to be applied retrospectively. Early application of the guidance is not permitted. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No.2015-14 to defer the effective date of ASU No. 2014-09 for all entities by one year. Therefore, the Company will adopt this guidance for its 2018 fiscal year. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance.

        In June 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-12, "Accounting for Share-Based Payments When the Terms of an Award Provide That a Performance Target Could Be Achieved after the Requisite Service Period". The new standard requires that a performance target that affects vesting and that could be achieved after the requisite service period be treated as a performance condition. A reporting entity should apply existing guidance in Topic 718, Compensation-Stock Compensation, as it relates to awards with performance conditions that affect vesting to account for such awards. The performance target should not be reflected in estimating the grant-date fair value of the award. Compensation cost should be recognized in the period in which it becomes probable that the performance target will be achieved and should represent the compensation cost attributable to the period(s) for which the requisite service has already been rendered. If the performance target becomes probable of being achieved before the end of the requisite service period, the remaining unrecognized compensation cost should be recognized prospectively over the remaining requisite service period. The total amount of compensation cost recognized during and after the requisite service period should reflect the number of awards that are expected to vest and should be adjusted to reflect those awards that ultimately vest. The requisite service period ends when the employee can cease rendering service and still be eligible to vest in the award if the performance target is achieved. The amendments in this ASU are effective for annual periods and interim periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015. Earlier adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance.

        In August 2014, FASB issued ASU No. 2014-15, "Presentation of Financial Statements—Going Concern (Subtopic 205-40): Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity's Ability to Continue as a Going Concern." The new standard addresses management's responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity's ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures. Management's evaluation should be based on relevant conditions and events that are known and reasonably knowable at the date that the financial statements are issued. The new standard will be effective for the first interim period within annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance.

        In September 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-16, "Business Combinations (Topic 805): Simplifying the Accounting for Measurement-Period Adjustments". The new guidance requires entities to recognize adjustments to provisional amounts that are identified during the measurement period in the reporting period in which the adjustment amounts are determined. Measurement period adjustments were previously required to be retrospectively adjusted as of the acquisition date. The provisions of this update are effective for public-traded companies for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2015 (early adoption is permitted), and should be applied prospectively. The Company does not expect this guidance to have a material effect on its consolidated financial statements at the time of adoption of this standard.

        In November 2015, FASB issued ASU No. 2015-17, "Income Taxes (Topic 740): Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes". The new guidance requires entities to present all deferred tax assets and liabilities, along with any related valuation allowance, as non-current on the balance sheet. The guidance is effective for public-traded companies for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016 (early adoption is permitted). The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

3. Risks and Concentration

a.
Concentration of credit risk

        Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents. The Company limits its exposure to credit loss by depositing its cash and cash equivalents with financial institutions in the PRC, Hong Kong, Philippines and the United States, which are among the largest and most reputable with high ratings from internationally-recognized rating agencies, that management believes are of high credit quality. The Company periodically reviews these institutions' reputations, track records and reported reserves.

        As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Group had RMB47,771, RMB188,567 and RMB10,387 in cash and cash equivalents with a large bank in Hong Kong, respectively. Hong Kong has an official Deposit Protection Scheme (DPS), similar to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the United States. Deposits in the licensed banks are protected by DPS, up to a limit of HKD 500,000. In addition, the Group believes that the risk of failure of the Hong Kong bank is remote.

        As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Group had RMB6,445, RMB16,524 and RMB27,338 in cash and cash equivalents and RMB123,078(US$19,000) time deposits with large domestic banks in China, respectively. In May 2015, a new Deposit Insurance System (DIS) managed by the People's Bank of China ("PBOC") was implemented by the Chinese government. Deposits in the licensed banks are protected by DIS, up to a limit of RMB 500,000. In addition, the Group believes that the risk of failure of the banks in China is remote.

        As of December 31, 2015, the Group had RMB44,000 time deposits with a large bank in the United States. The Group believes that the credit risk associated with this institution is remote.

b.
Major customers and supplying channels

        There were no customers whose revenues individually represent greater than 10% of the total revenues of the Group for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

        Also there were no distribution channels individually represent greater than 10% of the total revenues of the Group for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

c.
Concentration of foreign currency risks

        For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the majority of the Group's revenues derived were in RMB. As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Group's cash and cash equivalents and time deposits balance denominated in RMB was RMB8,238, RMB58,284 and RMB74,862, accounting for 13.4%, 27.8% and 35.0% of the Group's total cash and cash equivalents and time deposits balance. As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Group's liabilities balance denominated in RMB was RMB21,500, RMB101,326 and RMB353,592, accounting for 89.0%, 87.5% and 93.6% of its total liabilities balance, respectively.

        RMB is not freely convertible into foreign currencies. The value of the RMB is affected by changes in central government policies and international economic and political developments. In the PRC, certain foreign exchange transactions are required by law to be transacted only by authorized financial institutions at exchange rates set by PBOC. Remittances in currencies other than RMB by companies in China must be processed through PBOC or other PRC foreign exchange regulatory bodies and requires certain supporting documentation in order to affect the remittance.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

4. Business Combination

        The Company accounts for business combinations using acquisition method of accounting, which requires the acquisition cost be allocated to the assets and liabilities of the company acquired, including separately identifiable intangible assets, based on their estimated fair values. The Company makes estimates and judgments in determining the fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities based on independent appraisal reports as well as its experience with similar assets and liabilities in similar industries. If different judgments or assumptions were used, the amounts assigned to the individual acquired assets or liabilities could be materially different.

91waijiao.com

        On January 9, 2015, Dasheng Zhixing entered into an agreement with Oneworld Education Limited and its affiliates in PRC as well as the founder Ms. Rose Gong (together as the "Transferor"), pursuant to which, the Company acquired from the transferor 100% business operation of one high-end online one-on-one English tutoring platform, 91waijiao.com and all associated assets and liability with zero cash consideration. The Company will undertake all contractual obligations, including unfinished course service agreements and employment contracts as of December 31, 2014. The main purpose of the transaction is to further expand the service offerings to the Group's customers and achieve synergies between 51talk.com and 91waijiao.com . The transaction was completed on January 9, 2015.

        In accordance with ASC 805, the acquisition of 91waijiao.com had been accounted for as a business combination and the results of operations of the 91waijiao.com from the acquisition date, i.e. January 9, 2015, have been included in the Group's consolidated financial statements. The Group made estimates and judgments in determining the fair value of acquired assets and liabilities, based on an independent valuation report and management's experiences with similar assets and liabilities.

        The allocation of the purchase price is as follows:

 
  As of acquisition
date
  Amortization
Years
 
 
  RMB
   
 

Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed

             

Brand name and domain name

    1,050     9  

Software

    880     3  

Deferred revenue

    (5,670 )      

Deferred tax liabilities

    (483 )      

Identifiable net liabilities acquired (a)

    (4,223 )      

Total consideration (b)

           

Goodwill (b-a)

    4,223        

        Goodwill arising from this transaction primarily represents the expected synergies from combining the operations of the Group with 91waijiao.com , which are complementary in a way to each other, and any other intangible benefits that would accrue to the Group that do not qualify for separate recognition. The excess of purchase price over net tangible assets and identifiable intangible assets acquired were recorded as goodwill. The goodwill is not expected to be deductible for tax purposes. No measurement period adjustment has been recorded. Total identifiable intangible assets acquired upon acquisition mainly

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

4. Business Combination (Continued)

included brand name and domain name of RMB1,050 and software of RMB880, with estimated average weighted useful life of nine and three years respectively.

        Based on the assessment on the financial performance of 91waijiao.com made by the Group, acquired company including its subsidiary is not considered material to the Group. Thus the presentation of the pro-forma financial information with regard to a summary of the results of operations of the Group for the business combination is not required.

5. Goodwill

        The changes in the carrying value of goodwill is as follows:

 
  Balance  
 
  RMB
 

As of December 31, 2014

     

Acquisition of 91waijiao.com

    4,223  

Impairment losses

     

As of December 31, 2015

    4,223  

6. Prepaid expenses and other current assets

        Prepaid expenses and other current assets consist of the following:

 
  As of December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Prepaid advertising expenses

    69     2,896     21,341  

Prepaid value-added tax input

    46     1,666     7,481  

Prepaid rental and other deposits

    306     1,695     3,525  

Advance to employees

    231     344     2,957  

Prepaid professional service fees

        267     2,296  

Prepaid commission fees to third-party payment channels

    133     512     1,736  

Others

    83     457     2,794  

Total

    868     7,837     42,130  

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

7. Property and equipment, net

        Property and equipment consist of the following:

 
  As of December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Computers and equipment

    486     5,093     17,114  

Leasehold improvement

        2,457     13,514  

Furniture and fixtures

    13     421     2,651  

Total

    499     7,971     33,279  

Less: Accumulated depreciation

    (127 )   (1,457 )   (8,267 )

Property and equipment, net

    372     6,514     25,012  

        For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, depreciation expenses amounted to RMB108, RMB1,330 and RMB6,810, respectively.

8. Intangible assets, net

        The following table summarizes the Group's intangible assets, net:

 
  As of December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Trademark

        26     1,187  

Computer software

    708     1,026     2,293  

Total

    708     1,052     3,480  

Less: Accumulated amortization

    (169 )   (251 )   (872 )

Intangible assets, net

    539     801     2,608  

        For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, amortization expenses amounted to RMB69, RMB82 and RMB621 respectively.

        As of December 31, 2015, amortization expense of intangible assets for future years is expected to be as follows:

 
  Amortization
Expense
 
 
  RMB
 

2016

    645  

2017

    636  

2018

    243  

2019

    239  

2020 and thereafter

    845  

    2,608  

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

9. Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

        Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consist of the following:

 
  As of December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Salaries and welfare payable

    4,308     20,027     75,033  

Accrued advertising and other expenses

    11     551     6,397  

Accrued professional service fees

    1,200     3,079     1,754  

Security deposits

        420     601  

Advance from agents

        943     407  

Others

    342     135     131  

Total

    5,861     25,155     84,323  

10. Taxation

a.
Transition from PRC Business Tax to PRC Value Added Tax

        A Pilot Program for transition from Business Tax to value-added tax ("VAT") for revenues from certain industries was launched in Shanghai on January 1, 2012. On August 1, 2013, all regions in China have launched the pilot program.

b.
Business Tax and Value-added tax ("VAT")

        Prior to the pilot program, the Company's subsidiary and VIE incorporated in China were subject to Business Tax of 5% and related surcharges on revenues from providing online English language education services. Business tax and the related surcharges are recognized when the revenue is earned. After the launch of the pilot program, the Group's subsidiary and VIE incorporated in China, Dasheng Online and Dasheng Zhixing, were subject to 3% VAT for revenues from providing online English language education services before May 1, 2015 and May 1, 2014, respectively. After then, Dasheng Online and Dasheng Zhixing were subject to 6% VAT for revenues from providing online English language education services.

        The Group adopted the net presentation method for its revenues from providing online English language education services.

c.
Income taxes

Cayman Islands ("Cayman")

        Under the current tax laws of the Cayman Islands, the Company is not subject to tax on income or capital gains. In addition, upon payments of dividends by the Company to its shareholders, no Cayman Islands withholding tax will be imposed.

Hong Kong

        Under the current Hong Kong Inland Revenue Ordinance, the Company's Hong Kong subsidiary is subject to Hong Kong profits tax at the rate of 16.5% on its taxable income generated from the operations

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

10. Taxation (Continued)

in Hong Kong. Payments of dividends by the subsidiary to the Company is not subject to withholding tax in Hong Kong.

Philippines

        Entities incorporated in the Philippines are subject to enterprise income tax in the Philippines at a rate of 30%. As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Company's subsidiary and VIE in the Philippines were in the position of accumulated profit. The deferred tax assets for the Philippine subsidiary and VIE as at December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 consisted of accrued expenses and other current liabilities, for which no valuation allowance has been provided, as management believes it is more likely than not that these assets will be realized in the future. Payments of dividends by Philippines Co I and Philippines Co II is subject to withholding tax in the Philippines at the rate of 30%. As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Company did not record any withholding tax on the retained earnings of its subsidiary and consolidated VIE in the Philippines, as the impact was immaterial as of December 31, 2013, and they were in accumulated deficit position as of December 31, 2014 and 2015.

        Philippines Co II is registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority ("PEZA"). The registration with PEZA provides Philippines Co II a four-year income tax holiday from year 2015 to 2018. The income tax holiday can be extended at PEZA's discretion for another three years provided specific criteria are met for each additional year and prior PEZA's approval is obtained.

PRC

        Effective January 1, 2008, the Enterprise Income Tax Law (the "EIT Law") in China unifies the enterprise income tax rate for the entities incorporated in China at 25% if they are not eligible for any preferential tax treatment. Accordingly, the Company's subsidiary and VIE operated in PRC were subject to tax at statutory rate of 25% for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

        The EIT Law also provides that an enterprise established under the laws of a foreign country or region but whose "de facto management body" is located in the PRC should 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 "de facto management body" as "the place where the exercising, in substance, of the overall management and control of the production and business operation, personnel, accounting, properties, etc., of a non-PRC company is located." Based on a review of surrounding facts and circumstances, the Company 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, should the Company be treated as a resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes, the Company will be subject to PRC tax on worldwide income at a uniform tax rate of 25% retroactive to January 1, 2008.

PRC Withholding Tax on Dividends

        The EIT Law also imposes a withholding income tax of 10% on dividends distributed by a foreign-invested entity ("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

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

10. Taxation (Continued)

company within China, unless such immediate holding company's jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for a different withholding arrangement. Such withholding income tax was exempted under the Previous EIT Law. The Cayman Islands, where the Company incorporated, does not have such tax treaty with China. 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). The State Administration of Taxation ("SAT") further promulgated Circular 601 on October 27, 2009, which provides that tax treaty benefits will be denied to "conduit" or shell companies without business substance and that a beneficial ownership analysis will be used based on a "substance-over-form" principle to determine whether or not to grant the tax treaty benefits.

        Dasheng Zhixing is controlled by the Company through various contractual agreements. To the extent that Dasheng Zhixing has undistributed earnings, the Company will accrue appropriate expected tax associated with repatriation of such undistributed earnings. As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Company did not record any withholding tax on the retained earnings of its subsidiary and VIE in the PRC as they were still in accumulated deficit position.

 
  For the year ended December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  Overseas
entities
  PRC
entities
  Total   Overseas
entities
  PRC
entities
  Total   Overseas
entities
  PRC
entities
  Total  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

(Loss)/income before income tax expenses

    (469 )   (16,617 )   (17,086 )   (2,792 )   (92,028 )   (94,820 )   3,637     (325,820 )   (322,183 )

Current income tax expenses

    257     453     710     6,923         6,923     5,005         5,005  

Deferred income tax (benefit)

                (41 )       (41 )       (102 )   (102 )

Income tax expenses

    257     453     710     6,882         6,882     5,005     (102 )   4,903  

Reconciliation of the differences between statutory tax rate and the effective tax rate for China operations

        Reconciliation of the differences between the PRC statutory tax rate of 25% and the Group's effective tax rate is as follows:

 
  As of December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  

PRC statutory tax rate

    25.00 %   25.00 %   25.00 %

Permanent book-tax differences—non-deductible expenses

    (17.60 )%   (9.00 )%   (4.70 )%

Effect on tax rates in different tax jurisdiction

    (2.30 )%   (8.10 )%   (6.80 )%

Changes in valuation allowance

    (9.30 )%   (15.20 )%   (15.00 )%

Effective tax rate

    (4.20 )%   (7.30 )%   (1.50 )%

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

10. Taxation (Continued)

d.
Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities  Deferred taxes were measured using the enacted tax rates for the periods in which they are expected to be reversed. Significant components of the Group's deferred tax assets are as follows:

 
  As of December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Deferred tax assets, current

                   

Accruals and other liabilities

        439     886  

Total current deferred tax assets

        439     886  

Less: Valuation allowance

        (398 )   (846 )

Total current deferred tax assets, net

        41     40  

Deferred tax assets, non-current

                   

Tax loss carryforwards

    27     5,418     26,289  

Advertising expenses carryforwards

        8,076     35,286  

Total non-current deferred tax assets

    27     13,494     61,575  

Less: Valuation allowance

    (27 )   (13,494 )   (61,575 )

Total non-current deferred tax assets, net

             

        Significant components of the Group's deferred tax liabilities are as follows:

 
  As of December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Deferred tax liabilities, non-current

                   

Intangible assets from business acquisitions

            380  

Total deferred tax liabilities

            380  

Movement of Valuation Allowance  The following table shows the movement of valuation allowance for the periods presented:

 
  For the year ended December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Balance at beginning of the year

        (27 )   (13,892 )

Current period addition

    (27 )   (13,865 )   (48,529 )

Balance at end of the year

    (27 )   (13,892 )   (62,421 )

11. Ordinary shares

        In December 2013, in order to minimize dilution of the existing shareholders' equity interest at the issuance of Series B Preferred Shares, the Company redesignated 5,395,000 ordinary shares held by one

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

11. Ordinary shares (Continued)

ordinary shareholder into Series B Preferred Shares, and the ordinary shareholder then sold the 5,395,000 Series B Preferred Shares to two of the Series B Preferred Shares subscribers at the price of RMB4,768 (US$780). The Company did not receive any proceeds for the transfer between the ordinary shareholder and the Series B Preferred Shareholders, nor did the Company receive any consideration for the redesignation for the shares transferred between the ordinary shareholder and the Series B Preferred Shares subscribers. Neither the selling ordinary shareholders nor the Series B Preferred Shares subscribers were officers or employees of the Company. Such redeisgnation, in substance, is the same as a repurchase and cancellation of ordinary shares and a separate issuance of Series B Preferred Shares. The Company accounted for such redesignation as a retirement of treasury stock and issuance of new preferred shares whereby the difference of the fair value of ordinary shares and the par value of ordinary shares of RMB3,624 is allocated to accumulated deficit; and the difference of the fair value of Series B Preferred Shares and the fair value of ordinary shares, of RMB2,309, is accounted for as deemed dividend. In the absence of retained earnings, the total amount was recognized in additional paid-in capital and in accumulated deficit after the additional paid-in capital was reduced to zero.

        In July and August 2014, in order to minimize dilution of the existing shareholders' equity interest at the issuance of Series C Preferred Shares, the Company redesignated 5,752,212 ordinary shares held by two ordinary shareholders into Series C Preferred Shares, and the ordinary shareholders then sold 5,752,212 Series C Preferred Shares to two of the Series C Preferred Shares subscribers at the price of RMB15,633 (US$2,540). The Company did not receive any proceeds for the transfer between ordinary shareholders and Series C Preferred Share subscribers, nor did the Company receive any consideration for the redesignation for the shares transferred between ordinary shareholders and Series C Preferred Shares subscribers. Neither the selling ordinary shareholders nor the Series C Preferred Shares subscribers were officers or employees of the Company. Such redesignation, in substance, is the same as a repurchase and cancellation of ordinary shares and a separate issuance of Series C Preferred Shares. The Company accounted for such redesignation as a retirement of treasury stock and issuance of new preferred shares whereby the difference of the fair value of ordinary shares and the par value of ordinary shares, of RMB9,555, is allocated to accumulated deficit; and the difference of the fair value of ordinary shares and the fair value of the Series C Preferred Shares, of RMB5,665, is accounted for as deemed dividend and allocated to accumulated deficit.

        Concurrent with the issuance of Series C Preferred Share, in July 2014, in order to minimize further dilution of the existing shareholders' equity interest, the Company redesignated 1,585,256 ordinary shares held by the Founders, who are employees of the Company, into Series C Preferred Shares, and the Founding Shareholders then sold 1,585,256 Series C Preferred Shares to two of the Series C Preferred Shares subscribers at the purchase price of RMB4,308 (US$700). The Company did not receive any proceeds for the transfer between the Founding Shareholders and Series C Preferred Shares subscribers, nor did the Company receive any consideration for the redesignation for the shares transferred between the Founding Shareholders and Series C Preferred Shares subscribers. Such redesignation, in substance, is the same as a repurchase and cancellation of ordinary shares and a separate issuance of Series C Preferred Shares. The Company accounted for such redesignation as a retirement of treasury stock and issuance of new preferred share whereby the difference of the fair value of ordinary shares and par values of ordinary shares, of RMB2,633 is allocated to accumulated deficit; and the difference of the fair value of Series C Preferred Shares and fair value of ordinary shares, of RMB1,590, is accounted as compensation expense.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

11. Ordinary shares (Continued)

        As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, there were 500,000,000 ordinary shares authorized, and 79,605,000, 72,267,532 and 72,267,532 ordinary shares issued and outstanding respectively.

12. Preferred shares

        In May 2013, the Company entered into an agreement with DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P. ("DCM"), and issued 30,000,000 Series A Convertible Preferred Shares ("Series A Preferred Shares") for a total cash consideration of RMB12,357 (US$2,000).

        In December 2013, the Company entered into an agreement with DCM, Shunwei TMT II Limited ("Shunwei") and Duowan Entertainment Corp. ("YY") and issued 9,638,710; 18,758,000 and 14,442,000 Series B Convertible and Redeemable Preferred Shares ("Series B Preferred Shares") for cash considerations of RMB10,637 (US$1,740), RMB20,723 (US$3,390) and RMB15,955 (US$2,610), respectively.

        In July and August 2014, the Company entered into an agreement with DCM, Shunwei, YY and SCC Venture V Holdco I, Ltd ("Sequoia") and issued 13,972,645; 7,563,064; 6,041,674 and 36,285,762 Series C Convertible and Redeemable Preferred Shares ("Series C Preferred Shares") for cash considerations of RMB37,974 (US$6,170), RMB20,601(US$3,340), RMB16,433(US$2,670) and RMB98,599(US$16,020), respectively.

        In August 2015, the Company entered into an agreement with Sequoia, DCM, Shunwei, Engage Capital Partners I, L.P., and Huaxing Capital Partners, L.P. and issued 10,747,158; 5,092,152; 3,238,092; 2,201,811 and 215,103 Series D Convertible and Redeemable Preferred Shares ("Series D Preferred Shares") for cash considerations of RMB63,893 (US$10,000), RMB30,273 (US$4,738), RMB19,036(US$3,013), RMB13,090 (US$2,049), and RMB1,279 (US$200), respectively.

        The Series A, B, C and D Preferred Shares are collectively referred to as the "Preferred Shares".

Accounting of Preferred Shares

        The Company has classified the Preferred Shares in the mezzanine equity of the consolidated balance sheets. In addition, the Company records accretions on the Preferred Shares to the redemption value from the issuance dates to the earliest redemption dates. The accretions are recorded against retained earnings, or in the absence of retained earnings, by charges against additional paid-in capital. Once additional paid-in capital has been exhausted, additional charges are recorded by increasing the accumulated deficit. Each issuance of the Preferred Shares is recognized at the respective issue price at the date of issuance net of issuance costs. The issuance costs for Series A, Series B, Series C and Series D Preferred Shares were RMB218, RMB181, RMB3,883 and RMB1,997, respectively.

        The preferred shareholders have the ability to convert the Preferred Shares into the Company's ordinary shares at any time, at the option of the holder, on a one to one share basis. Upon the occurrence of certain events, the conversion ratio may be subsequently adjusted.

        The Company has determined that there was no beneficial conversion feature attributable to any of the preferred shares because the initial effective conversion prices of these preferred shares were higher than the fair value of the Company's common shares determined by the Company with the assistance from an independent valuation firm. In addition, the carrying values of the Preferred Shares are accreted from

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

12. Preferred shares (Continued)

the share issuance dates to the redemption value on the earliest redemption dates. The accretions are recorded against retained earnings, or in the absence of retained earnings, by charges against additional paid-in capital. Once additional paid-in capital has been exhausted, additional charges are recorded by increasing the accumulated deficit.

        The Company assesses whether an amendment to the terms of its Preferred Shares is an extinguishment or a modification using the fair value model. When Preferred Shares are extinguished, the difference between the fair value of the consideration transferred to the convertible preferred shareholders and the carrying amount of the convertible preferred shares (net of issuance costs) is treated as deemed dividends to preferred shareholders. The Company considers that a significant change in fair value after the change of the terms to be substantive and thus triggers extinguishment. A change in fair value which is not significant immediately after the change of the terms is considered non-substantive and thus is subject to modification accounting. When Preferred Shares are modified, the Company evaluates whether there is a transfer of value from ordinary shareholders to preferred shareholders as a result of the modification and therefore, should record a reduction of, or increase to, retained earnings as a deemed dividend.

        As of December 31, 2015, the preferred shares are comprised of the following:

Series
  Issuance date   Shares
authorized
  Shares
issued
  Issue price
per share
  Proceeds
from issuance
 
   
   
   
  US$
  RMB

A

  June 28, 2013     30,000,000     30,000,000     0.0667   12,357    (US$2,000)

B

  December 9, 2013     48,233,710     48,233,710 *   0.1807   47,315    (US$7,740)

C

  July 21, 2014     71,200,613     71,200,613 **   0.4416   173,607 (US$28,200)

D

  August 31, 2015     21,494,316     21,494,316     0.9305   127,571 (US$20,000)

*
Including 5,395,000 shares re-designated from issued ordinary shares;

**
Including 7,337,468 shares re-designated from issued ordinary shares.

        The Group has classified all preferred shares as mezzanine equity as they are contingently redeemable at the options of the holders.

        The key terms of the preferred shares are as follows:

Conversion right

        The Preferred Shares are convertible, at the option of the holders, into the Company's ordinary shares at an initial conversion ratio of 1:1 at any time after the original issuance date. In the event that the Company issues additional ordinary shares at a price lower than the then-applicable conversion price for the Preferred Shares, the conversion price of the Preferred Shares shall be adjusted. The conversion prices are also subject to adjustments upon certain dilution events. In addition, the Preferred Shares are automatically convertible into such number of ordinary shares of the Company as shall be determined by reference to the then effective and applicable conversion ratio upon the earlier of (i) the closing of a Qualified Initial Public Offering as defined in the Memorandum and Articles of Association, or (ii) the date specified by written consent or agreement of holders of a majority of the outstanding Series A, B, C and D Preferred Shares, each voting as a separate class.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

12. Preferred shares (Continued)

Redemption right

        Prior to the issuance of Series B Preferred Shares, the Series A Preferred Shares were redeemable only upon a liquidation event or deemed liquidation events, as defined in the Memorandum and Articles of Association. The redemption price was to be the sum of the original issue price of Series A Preferred Shares and all declared but unpaid dividend.

        Upon the issuance of the Series B Preferred Shares, Series A Preferred Shares was modified to be redeemable, at the holders' discretion, at any time on or after the earlier to occur of (i) at any time on or after sixty (60) months of the closing date of Series B Preferred Shares, and (ii) there is a material breach by any group company or any Founding Shareholder, The redemption price shall be the greater of (a) each series issue price per share, plus all declared but unpaid dividends and (b) the fair market value of the relevant series of Preferred Shares on the date of redemption.

        Upon the issuance of Series C Preferred Shares, Series A Preferred Shares and Series B Preferred Shares become redeemable at the holders' discretion at any time on or after sixty (60) months of the Series C Issue Date. The holders of Series C Preferred Shares shall also have the rights, at the holders' discretion, at any time on or after the earlier to occur of (i) sixty months of the Series C Issue Date, and (ii) any material breach by any group company or any Founding Shareholder, to request the Company to redeem all of the then outstanding Series C Preferred Shares. The redemption price shall be the greater of (a) each series issue price per share, plus all declared but unpaid dividends and (b) the fair market value of the relevant series of Preferred Shares on the date of redemption.

        There was no change in the redemption period upon the Company's issuance of the Series D Preferred Shares on August 31, 2015.

        The Company accretes changes in the redemption value over the period from the date of issuance to the earliest redemption date of the Preferred Shares using effective interest method. Changes in the redemption value are considered to be changes in accounting estimates. The accretion will be recorded against retained earnings, or in the absence of retained earnings, by charges against additional paid-in capital. Once additional paid-in capital has been exhausted, additional charges should be recorded by increasing the accumulated deficit.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

12 Preferred shares (Continued)

        The Company's preferred shares activities for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 are summarized below:

 
  Series A Preferred Shares   Series B Preferred Shares   Series C Preferred Shares   Series D Preferred Shares   Mezzanine Equity  
 
  Number
of shares
  Amount   Number
of shares
  Amount   Number
of shares
  Amount   Number
of shares
  Amount   Total number
of shares
  Total
Amount
 
 
   
  RMB
   
  RMB
   
  RMB
   
  RMB
   
  RMB
 

Balance as of January 1, 2013

                                         

Issuance of Preferred Shares

    30,000,000     12,139     42,838,710     47,134                     72,838,710     59,273  

Re-designation of ordinary shares to Series B preferred shares

            5,395,000     5,936                     5,395,000     5,936  

Accretion to preferred shares redemption value

        135         187                         322  

Balance as of December 31, 2013

    30,000,000     12,274     48,233,710     53,257                     78,233,710     65,531  

Issuance of Preferred Shares

                    63,863,145     169,724             63,863,145     169,724  

Re-designation of ordinary shares to Series C preferred shares

                    7,337,468     19,448             7,337,468     19,448  

Accretion to preferred shares redemption value

        5,675           10,109         7,236                 23,020  

Balance as of December 31, 2014

    30,000,000     17,949     48,233,710     63,366     71,200,613     196,408             149,434,323     277,723  

Issuance of Preferred Shares

                            21,494,316     125,574     21,494,316     125,574  

Accretion to preferred shares redemption value

        13,047         23,897         34,888         3,833         75,665  

Balance as of December 31, 2015

    30,000,000     30,996     48,233,710     87,263     71,200,613     231,296     21,494,316     129,407     170,928,639     478,962  

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

12. Preferred shares (Continued)

Liquidation right

        In the event of any liquidation including deemed liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, holders of the Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive a per share amount equal to 100% of the original preferred share issue price of the respective series of Preferred Shares, as adjusted for share dividends, share splits, combinations, recapitalizations or similar events, plus all accrued and declared but unpaid dividends thereon, in the sequence of Series D Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares, Series B Preferred Shares and Series A Preferred Shares. 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.

Dividend right

        Preferred Shares holders are entitled to receive dividends if declared by the Board of Directors, in an amount equal to 8% of the original preferred share issue price of the respective series of Preferred Shares per annum non-cumulative from the issuance date of the respective Preferred Shares.

        The remaining undistributed earnings of the Company after full payment of the above amounts on the Preferred Shares, shall be distributed on a pro rata basis to the holders of ordinary shares and Preferred Shares on an as-converted basis.

Voting rights

        Each preferred share shall be entitled to that number of votes corresponding to the number of ordinary shares on an as-converted basis. Preferred shares shall vote separately as a class with respect to certain specified matters. Otherwise, the holders of preferred shares and ordinary shares shall vote together as a single class.

13. Share-based Compensation

        The Company adopted 2013 Employee Stock Option Plan (the "2013 Plan") and 2014 Employee Stock Option Plan (the "2014 Plan"), which allow the plan administrator to grant stock options, share appreciation rights, dividend equivalent right, restricted share units and restricted shares to employees, directors and consultants of the Company and its affiliates, up to a maximum of 18,333,333 ordinary shares. In 2014, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the number of shares available for issuance under the plan to 36,229,922 ordinary shares respectively. In February 2016, the Company amended the number of shares available for issuance under 2014 Plan to 32,229,922 ordinary share.

        Since adoption of the 2013 Plan and 2014 Plan, the Company only granted options to employees. All options granted have a contractual term of ten years, and vest over a period of four years of continuous service, one half ( 1 / 2 ) of which vest upon the second anniversary of the date of vesting commencement date and the remaining vest monthly thereafter in 36 equal monthly instalments. Under the option plan, options are only exercisable subject to the grantee's continuous service and the listing of the stock of the Company on a public stock exchange market, and options for which the service condition has been satisfied are forfeited should employment terminate before the Company's public listing. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Group did not recognize any stock-based compensation for the

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

13. Share-based Compensation (Continued)

options granted as the performance condition is contingent upon IPO which is not considered probable until the event happens.

Valuation of Stock Options

        The Group uses the Binominal option pricing model to estimate the fair value of stock options. The assumptions used to value the Company's option grants were as follows:

 
  For the year ended December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  

Stock options:

                   

Expected term (in years)

    10.01-10.01     9.76-10.25     10.00-10.00  

Expected volatility

    55.7%-55.7%     54.6%-55.3%     54.2%-55.4%  

Exercise multiple

    2.2-2.2     2.2-2.8     2.2-2.8  

Expected dividend yield

             

Risk-free interest rate (per annum)

    2.6%-2.6%     2.2%-2.5%     1.9%-2.4%  

Expected forfeiture rate (post-vesting)

             

        The Group estimated the risk free rate based on the yield to maturity of U.S. treasury bonds denominated in USD at the option valuation date. The exercise multiple is estimated as the ratio of fair value of underlying shares over the exercise price as at the time the option is exercised, based on a consideration of empirical studies on the actual exercise behavior of employees. Expected term is the contract life of the option. The expected volatility at the date of grant date and each option valuation date was estimated based on the historical stock prices of comparable companies. The Group has never declared or paid any cash dividends on its capital stock, and the Group does not anticipate any dividend payments in the foreseeable future.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

13. Share-based Compensation (Continued)

Summary of option activities under the 2013 Plan and 2014 Plan

        The following table sets forth the summary of option activities under the Company's 2013 Plan and 2014 Plan:

 
  Options
Outstanding
  Weighted Average
Exercise Price
  Weighted Average
Remaining
Contractual Life
  Aggregate
Intrinsic Value
  Weighted Average
Grant Date Fair Value
 
 
   
  US$
  (In years)
  US$
  RMB
  US$
  RMB
 

December 31, 2012 (Unaudited)

                             

Granted

    4,000,000     0.0167                 0.0532     0.3381  

Forfeited

                             

December 31, 2013

    4,000,000     0.0167     9.75     373     2,372     0.0532     0.3381  

Granted

    9,900,000     0.0500                   0.3047     1.9366  

Forfeited

    (1,000,000 )   0.0167                   0.0532     0.3381  

December 31, 2014

    12,900,000     0.0423     9.63     3,970     25,231     0.2545     1.6173  

Granted

    6,570,000     0.0713                   0.4296     2.7828  

Forfeited

    (600,000 )   0.0533                   0.3238     2.0975  

December 31, 2015

    18,870,000     0.0520     8.73     12,039     77,986     0.3338     2.1625  

        The aggregate intrinsic value is calculated as the difference between the exercise price of the underlying awards and the estimated fair value of the underlying stock at each reporting date. As a result of the exercisable event conditions included in the option plan, none of the options vested were exercisable as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

        As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the unrecognized compensation cost, adjusted for estimated forfeitures, related to non-vested stock options with IPO vesting condition granted to the Group's employees was RMB1,217, RMB19,570 and RMB36,112, respectively. The options with IPO vesting condition would be recognized upon the completion of the Company's IPO.

14. Net loss per share

        Basic net loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of the ordinary shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share ("EPS") is computed using the weighted average number of ordinary shares and potential ordinary shares outstanding during the period under the treasury stock method. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, stock options to purchase ordinary shares that were anti-dilutive and excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share of the Company were 2,522,182, 7,475,147 and 10,233,127 on a weighted average basis, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Series A, Series B, Series C and Series D Preference Shares convertible into ordinary shares that were anti-dilutive and excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share of the Company were 21,145,869, 110,030,148 and 156,677,613 on a weighted average basis, respectively.

        In periods during which the Company is profitable, the preferred shares issued and outstanding are participating securities and, therefore, all profits of the Company are allocated to ordinary shares and

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

14. Net loss per share (Continued)

participating securities based on their dividend rights, as if all of the earnings for the period had been distributed. Considering that the holder of preferred shares has no contractual obligation to fund the losses of the Group in excess of the initial investment, the Group believes that in applying the two-class method of calculating EPS in accordance with ASC 260-10 in periods during which the Group recognizes losses, any losses from the Group should not be allocated to the preferred shares.

        The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net loss per share for the periods indicated:

 
  For the year ended December 31,  
 
  2013   2014   2015  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Numerator:

                   

Net loss

    (17,796 )   (101,702 )   (327,086 )

Deemed dividends at re-designation of ordinary shares to preferred shares

    (2,309 )   (5,665 )    

Accretion to Series A Preferred Shares redemption value

    (135 )   (5,675 )   (13,047 )

Accretion to Series B Preferred Shares redemption value

    (187 )   (10,109 )   (23,897 )

Accretion to Series C Preferred Shares redemption value

        (7,236 )   (34,888 )

Accretion to Series D Preferred Shares redemption value

            (3,833 )

Numerator for basic and diluted loss per share

    (20,427 )   (130,387 )   (402,751 )

Denominator:

   
 
   
 
   
 
 

Weighted average ordinary shares outstanding—basic and diluted

    84,660,041     76,308,165     72,267,532  

Basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders

    (0.24 )   (1.71 )   (5.57 )

15. Unaudited pro forma loss per share

        All of the preferred shares will automatically be converted into ordinary shares at the applicable conversion price upon closing of a qualified initial public offering.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

15. Unaudited pro forma loss per share (Continued)

        Unaudited pro forma basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share reflects the effect of the conversion of Preferred Shares as follows, as if the conversion occurred at January 1, 2015:

 
  For the year
ended
December 31,
2015
 
 
  RMB
 

Numerator:

       

Net loss attribute to ordinary sharholders

    (402,751 )

Accretion to Preferred Shares redemption value reversed

    75,665  

Numerator for pro forma basic and diluted loss per share

    (327,086 )

Denominator:

   
 
 

Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding

    72,267,532  

Pro forma effect of the conversion of Preferred Shares

    170,928,639  

Denominator for pro forma basic and diluted loss per share

    243,196,171  

Pro forma basic and diluted net loss per share

    (1.34 )

16. Fair value measurement

        The Company's time deposits and non-financial assets, such as property and equipment, intangible assets were measured at fair value, only if they were determined to be impaired on an other than temporary basis.

        Time deposits placed with banks have an original maturity over three months. The fair value of time deposits is determined based on the prevailing interest rates in the market, which are also the interest rates as stated in the contracts with the banks. The Company classifies the valuation techniques that use the prevailing interest rates input as Level 2 of fair value measurements. This is because there generally are no quoted prices in active markets for identical time deposits at the reporting date. Hence, in order to determine the fair value, the Company must use observable inputs other than quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in inactive markets, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

17. Commitments and contingencies

a.
Commitments

        Operating lease commitments include the commitments under the lease agreements for the Group's office premises. The Group leases its office facilities under non-cancelable operating leases with various expiration dates through 2017. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, lease expenses

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

17. Commitments and contingencies (Continued)

were RMB1,335 RMB5,946 and RMB15,364, respectively. Based on the current rental lease agreements, future minimum lease payments required as of December 31, 2015 were as follows:

 
  Total   Less than
One Year
  One to
Three Years
  Over
Three Years
 
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Operating lease commitments

    36,917     21,958     14,959      

        Purchase commitments mainly include minimum commitments for non-cancellable advertising service contracts. Purchase commitments as of December 31, 2015 were as follows:

 
  Total   Less than
One Year
  Over
One Year
 
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Purchase commitments

    50,332     47,195     3,137  
b.
Contingencies

        There are no claims, lawsuits, investigations and proceedings, including unasserted claims that are probable to be assessed, that have in the recent past had, or to the Group's knowledge, are likely to have, a material change on the Group's financial position results of operations or cash flow.

18. Related party transactions

        In June 2014, Dasheng Zhixing entered into a technology service agreement with Duowan Entertainment Corporation ("YY"), one of the Company's principal shareholders, for a term of five years. This agreement provides Dasheng Zhixing with the right to use the audio and video streaming software, technical support service, servers and Internet connection bandwidth capacity from YY. The right to use the audio and video streaming software, servers, Internet connection bandwidth capacity and technology support are collectively referred to as "audio and video streaming solution". The audio and video streaming solution provided by YY is free of charge up to a preset level of bandwidth usage.

        The Company estimated the fair value of the audio and video streaming solution service provided by YY based on market value. For the year ended 2015, the fair value of the audio and video streaming solution provided by YY is estimated to be RMB927, which is recognized as cost of revenues in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss, and a shareholder contribution in the consolidated balance sheet of the Company. For the year ended 2014, the fair value of the audio and video streaming solution service provided by YY was estimated to be immaterial.

19. Profit appropriation and restricted net assets

        PRC laws and regulations permit payments of dividends by the subsidiaries and the VIEs incorporated in the PRC only out of their retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of the Company's subsidiaries VIEs and VIE subsidiaries is required to annually appropriate 10% of net after-tax income to the statutory general reserve fund (Note 2(v)) prior to payment of any dividends, unless such reserve funds have reached 50% of its respective registered capital.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

19. Profit appropriation and restricted net assets (Continued)

        As a result of these and other restrictions under PRC laws and regulations, the Company's PRC subsidiary and VIE are restricted in their ability to transfer a portion of their net assets to the Company either in the form of dividends, loans or advances of the Group's total consolidated net assets. Total restricted net assets of the Company's PRC subsidiary and VIE as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 were RMB4,593, RMB11,095 and RMB61,217, respectively.

        Even though the Company currently does not require any such dividends, loans or advances from subsidiaries and VIEs for working capital and other funding purposes, the Company may in the future require additional cash resources from them due to changes in business conditions, to fund future acquisitions and development or merely to declare and pay dividends or distributions to its shareholders.

        Except for the above, there is no other restriction on the use of proceeds generated by the Company's subsidiaries and VIEs to satisfy any obligations of the Company.

20. Subsequent events

        On January 14, 2016, On Demand English Innovations Inc. (the "Philippines Co III") was incorporated by the Company with limited liability in the Philippines to eventually replace Philippines Co I. The Company is in the process of transfering all business operations and assets of Philippines Co I to Philippines Co III, including the office leasehold and office equipment in Baguio City, Philippines. Philippines Co III will also make offers to the free trial teachers and support staff currently employed by Philippines Co I and enter into new employment agreements with them upon their acceptance. The Company owns 99.996% of the equity interest of Philippines Co III. In order to comply with local laws, there are five individual shareholders, who are also directors, of Philippines Co III holding an aggregate of 0.004% of the equity interest of Philippines Co III. A series of contractual arrangements were entered into among the Company, Philippines Co III and such five shareholders of Philippines Co III on February 1, 2016. These contractual arrangements provide the Company with an exclusive option to purchase all of the equity interests in Philippines Co III held by these five individual shareholders and the power to exercise their respective shareholder's rights.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

INDEX TO UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

As of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

 
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
 
   
  As of  
 
   
  December 31,
2015
  March 31,
2016
  March 31,
2016
  March 31,
2016
  March 31,
2016
 
 
  Notes  
 
   
  RMB
  RMB
  US$
  RMB
  US$
 
 
   
   
   
  (Note 2(e))
  Pro forma
  (Note 2(e))
 
 
   
   
   
   
  (Note 11)
  Pro forma
 
 
   
   
   
   
   
  (Note 11)
 

ASSETS

                                     

Current assets:

                                     

Cash and cash equivalents

          46,873     76,873     11,922     76,873     11,922  

Time deposits

          167,078     125,584     19,476     125,584     19,476  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

    5     42,130     36,719     5,695     36,719     5,695  

Total current assets

          256,081     239,176     37,093     239,176     37,093  

Non-current assets:

                                     

Property and equipment, net

          25,012     27,887     4,325     27,887     4,325  

Intangible assets, net

          2,608     3,406     528     3,406     528  

Goodwill

    3,4     4,223     4,223     655     4,223     655  

Other non-current assets

          3,626     4,205     652     4,205     652  

Total non-current assets

          35,469     39,721     6,160     39,721     6,160  

Total assets

          291,550     278,897     43,253     278,897     43,253  

LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT

                                     

Current liabilities:

                                     

Deferred revenues (including deferred revenue of the consolidated variable interest entities ("VIEs") without recourse to the Company of RMB264,411 and RMB333,150 as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively, Note 1)

          264,411     333,150     51,667     333,150     51,667  

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities (including accrued expenses and other current liabilities of the consolidated VIEs without recourse to the Company of RMB51,678 and RMB55,761 as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively, Note 1)

    6     84,323     92,120     14,287     92,120     14,287  

Taxes payable (including taxes payable of the consolidated VIEs without recourse to the Company of RMB18,660 and RMB20,316 as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively, Note 1)

          20,314     22,036     3,417     22,036     3,417  

Total current liabilities

          369,048     447,306     69,371     447,306     69,371  

   

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Continued)

As of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

 
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
 
   
  As of  
 
   
  December 31,
2015
  March 31,
2016
  March 31,
2016
  March 31,
2016
  March 31,
2016
 
 
  Notes  
 
   
  RMB
  RMB
  US$
  RMB
  US$
 
 
   
   
   
  (Note 2(e))
  Pro forma
  (Note 2(e))
 
 
   
   
   
   
  (Note 11)
  Pro forma
 
 
   
   
   
   
   
  (Note 11)
 

LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT

                                     

Non-current liabilities:

                                     

Deferred revenues (including deferred revenues of the consolidated VIEs without recourse to the Company of RMB7,765 and RMB14,986 as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively, Note 1)

          7,765     14,986     2,324     14,986     2,324  

Deferred tax liabilities

    7 (d)   380     354     55     354     55  

Other non-current liabilities

          674     857     133     857     133  

Total non-current liabilities

          8,819     16,197     2,512     16,197     2,512  

Total liabilities

          377,867     463,503     71,883     463,503     71,883  

Commitments and contingencies

    13                                

Mezzanine equity:

                                     

Series A Preferred Shares (US$0.0001 par value; 30,000,000 shares authorized, issued and outstanding with redemption value of RMB163,720 and RMB279,465 as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively; aggregated liquidation value of RMB12,357 and RMB12,357 as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively; none issued and outstanding on a pro forma basis as of March 31, 2016)

    8     30,996     38,382     5,953          

Series B Preferred Shares (US$0.0001 par value; 48,233,710 shares authorized, issued and outstanding with redemption value of RMB274,066 and RMB452,037 as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively; aggregated liquidation value of RMB53,275 and RMB53,275 as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively; none issued and outstanding on a pro forma basis as of March 31, 2016)

    8     87,263     101,188     15,693          

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Continued)

As of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

 
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
 
   
  As of  
 
   
  December 31,
2015
  March 31,
2016
  March 31,
2016
  March 31,
2016
  March 31,
2016
 
 
  Notes  
 
   
  RMB
  RMB
  US$
  RMB
  US$
 
 
   
   
   
  (Note 2(e))
  Pro forma
  (Note 2(e))
 
 
   
   
   
   
  (Note 11)
  Pro forma
 
 
   
   
   
   
   
  (Note 11)
 

Commitments and contingencies

    13                                

Mezzanine equity:

                                     

Series C Preferred Shares (US$0.0001 par value; 71,200,613 shares authorized, issued and outstanding with redemption value of RMB432,467 and RMB682,482 as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively; aggregated liquidation value of RMB193,592 and RMB193,592 as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively; none issued and outstanding on a pro forma basis as of March 31, 2016)

    8     231,296     253,686     39,343          

Series D Preferred Shares (US$0.0001 par value; 21,494,316 shares authorized, issued and outstanding with redemption value of RMB173,775 and RMB231,147 as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively; aggregated liquidation value of RMB127,571 and RMB127,571 as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively; none issued and outstanding on a pro forma basis as of March 31, 2016)

    8     129,407     135,521     21,018          

Total mezzanine equity

          478,962     528,777     82,007          

Shareholders' deficit:

                                     

Ordinary shares (US$0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 72,267,532 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively; 243,196,171 shares issued and outstanding on a pro forma basis as of March 31, 2016)

          45     45     7     155     24  

Additional paid-in capital

    11                 528,667     81,990  

Accumulated other comprehensive income

          4,638     5,219     809     5,219     809  

Accumulated deficit

          (569,962 )   (718,647 )   (111,453 )   (718,647 )   (111,453 )

Total shareholders' deficit

          (565,279 )   (713,383 )   (110,637 )   (184,606 )   (28,630 )

Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders' deficit

          291,550     278,897     43,253     278,897     43,253  

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF
COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

For the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

 
   
   
   
   
 
 
   
  For the three months ended March 31,  
 
  Notes   2015   2016   2016  
 
   
  RMB
  RMB
  US$
 
 
   
   
   
  (Note 2(e))
 

Net revenues

          24,374     72,191     11,196  

Cost of revenues

          (9,816 )   (26,308 )   (4,080 )

Gross profit

          14,558     45,883     7,116  

Operating expenses:

                         

Sales and marketing expenses

          (49,050 )   (94,245 )   (14,616 )

Product development expenses

          (7,153 )   (26,542 )   (4,116 )

General and administrative expenses

          (9,337 )   (25,658 )   (3,979 )

Total operating expenses

          (65,540 )   (146,445 )   (22,711 )

Loss from operations

          (50,982 )   (100,562 )   (15,595 )

Interest and other (expense)/income, net

          (322 )   1,666     258  

Loss before income tax expenses

          (51,304 )   (98,896 )   (15,337 )

Income tax expenses

    7 (c)   (2,399 )   (362 )   (56 )

Net loss

          (53,703 )   (99,258 )   (15,393 )

Accretions to preferred shares redemption value          

    8     (11,368 )   (49,815 )   (7,726 )

Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders

          (65,071 )   (149,073 )   (23,119 )

Net loss

          (53,703 )   (99,258 )   (15,393 )

Other comprehensive (loss)/income:

                         

Foreign currency translation adjustments

          (94 )   581     90  

Total comprehensive loss

          (53,797 )   (98,677 )   (15,303 )

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing basic and diluted loss per share

          72,267,532     72,267,532     72,267,532  

Net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders—basic and diluted

    10     (0.90 )   (2.06 )   (0.32 )

   

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF
SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT

For the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016
(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

 
   
  Ordinary Shares    
  Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income
   
   
 
 
   
  Additional
Paid-in
Capital
  Accumulated
Deficit
  Total
Shareholders'
Deficit
 
 
  Notes   Shares   Amount  
 
   
   
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Balance as of January 1, 2015

          72,267,532     45         1,624     (168,138 )   (166,469 )

Contribution from a shareholder

    14             93             93  

Accretions to preferred shares redemption value

    8             (93 )       (11,275 )   (11,368 )

Net loss

                          (53,703 )   (53,703 )

Foreign currency translation adjustment

                      (94 )       (94 )

Balance as of March 31, 2015

          72,267,532     45         1,530     (233,116 )   (231,541 )

Balance as of January 1, 2016

          72,267,532     45         4,638     (569,962 )   (565,279 )

Contribution from a shareholder

    14             388             388  

Accretions to preferred shares redemption value

    8             (388 )       (49,427 )   (49,815 )

Net loss

                          (99,258 )   (99,258 )

Foreign currency translation adjustment

                      581         581  

Balance as of March 31, 2016

          72,267,532     45         5,219     (718,647 )   (713,383 )

   

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

For the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

 
   
   
   
 
 
  For the three months ended
March 31,
 
 
  2015   2016   2016  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  US$
 
 
   
   
  (Note 2(e))
 

Net cash used in operating activities

    (13,351 )   (3,719 )   (577 )

Cash flows from investing activities:

                   

Placement of time deposits

        (40,000 )   (6,203 )

Withdrawal of time deposits

        81,494     12,639  

Purchase of property and equipment

    (6,520 )   (5,919 )   (918 )

Purchase of intangible assets

        (990 )   (154 )

Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities

    (6,520 )   34,585     5,364  

Net cash used in financing activities

             

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

    82     (866 )   (134 )

Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents

    (19,789 )   30,000     4,653  

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period

    209,774     46,873     7,269  

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period

    189,985     76,873     11,922  

Non-cash supplemental financing activities

                   

Accretion to preferred shares redemption value (Note 8)

    11,368     49,815     7,726  

Contribution from a shareholder (Note 14)

    93     388     60  

Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed through non-cash business combination (Note 3)

    4,223          

   

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization

        China Online Education Group (the "Company" or "COE"), through its consolidated subsidiaries and variable interest entities ("VIEs") (collectively referred to as the "Group") is primarily engaged in providing online English language education services to students in the People's Republic of China (the "PRC" or "China").

        As of March 31, 2016, the Company's subsidiaries and VIEs are as follows:

Company
  Place of
Incorporation/
Establishment
  Date of
Incorporation/
Establishment
  Percentage of
Direct or Indirect
Economic Ownership
 

Subsidiaries

                 

China Online Education (HK) Limited

  Hong Kong     April 1, 2013     100 %

51Talk English International Limited

  Hong Kong     October 7, 2014     100 %

China Online Innovations Inc.*

  Philippines     October 9, 2014     99.99986 %

On Demand English Innovations Inc.*

  Philippines     January 14, 2016     99.996 %

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. 

  PRC     June 4, 2013     100 %

VIEs

                 

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. 

  PRC     July 8, 2011     100 %

51Talk English Philippines Corporation

  Philippines     August 3, 2012     100 %

*
The Company directly holds the 99.99986% and 99.996% shares of China Online Innovations Inc. and On Demand English Innovations Inc., respectively. There is no substance of non-controlling interest for China Online Innovations Inc. and On Demand English Innovations Inc. as of March 31, 2016. The non-controlling shareholders are nominee shareholders mainly consisting of local residents to comply with local regulations of the Philippines.
a.
History of the Group and Basis of Presentation for the Reorganization

        The Group began operations in July 2011 through Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. ("Dasheng Zhixing"). The beneficial interest of Dasheng Zhixing was held by Mr. Jiajia Huang and Ms. Ting Shu (the "Founding Shareholders") and an angel investor in 2011.

        On January 5, 2012, another angel investor invested into Dasheng Zhixing. In accordance with the investment agreement, the Founding Shareholders set aside from their own holdings 15% of the ownership of Dasheng Zhixing for an employee option plan. While the plan to establish employee option plan was cancelled, the 15% ownership interest in Dasheng Zhixing was not returned to the Founding Shareholders. Consequently, beneficial interest of Dasheng Zhixing was then 71% by the Founding Shareholders and 29% held by angel investors.

        Given the cost advantage and high English proficiency of teachers in the Philippines, the Group retains teachers in the Philippines. To do this, in August 2012, the Founding Shareholders established, a company in the Philippines, 51Talk English Philippines Corporation (the "Philippines Co I"), using funds provided by Dasheng Zhixing. On September 3, 2012, Dasheng Zhixing entered into a service agreement with Philippines Co I, to formalize the business arrangements. Under the agreement, Philippines Co I provides teaching service for the Group in accordance with the Group's instructions. In return, Dasheng Zhixing pays for all the expenses incurred for the services provided by Philippines Co I. Philippines Co I is

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

considered to have total equity investment at risk not sufficient to permit itself to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support provided by another party. As a result of the above, Dasheng Zhixing is considered to be the primary beneficiary of Philippines Co I as it has the power to direct the activities of Philippines Co I that most significantly impact Philippines Co I's economic performance and has obligation to absorb losses of Philippines Co I. As such, Dasheng Zhixing consolidates Philippines Co I.

        Dasheng Zhixing was the predecessor of the Group and operated substantially all of the businesses of the Group prior to November 2012. In order to facilitate international financing, the Group underwent a reorganization (the "Reorganization") from November 2012 until October 2014.

        In November 2012, the Founding Shareholders incorporated the Company under the Laws of the Cayman Islands to be an offshore holding company for the Group. In June 2013, the Company issued ordinary shares to the two angel investors, in exchange for their equity beneficial ownerships in Dasheng Zhixing. Following the exchange, the ownership of the Company was held 71% by the Founding Shareholders and 29% by the angel investors.

        In April 2013, China Online Education (HK) Limited (the "COE HK Co I") was incorporated in Hong Kong as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co. Ltd., ("Dasheng Online"), was set up in June 2013 as a wholly owned subsidiary of COE HK Co I in the PRC.

        Due to PRC legal restrictions on foreign ownership and investment in the companies in value-added telecommunications market, the Group continues operate its online education platform through Dasheng Zhixing. Dasheng Zhixing holds the Internet Content Provider license ("ICP") and domain names of www.51talk.com and www.51talk.cn that are necessary to conduct online English education services in China. To comply with PRC laws and regulations, the Group provides substantially all of its services in China via Dasheng Zhixing.

        On June 18, 2013, as part of the restructuring, a series of contractual agreements discussed in 1.b. below were entered into among Dasheng Online, Dasheng Zhixing and shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing. As a result of the agreements, Dasheng Online has the ability to direct substantially all the activities of Dasheng Zhixing, and absorb substantially all of the risks and rewards of the Dasheng Zhixing. Dasheng Online became the primary beneficiary of Dasheng Zhixing and consolidates the financial results of Dasheng Zhixing. The restructuring provided the beneficial interest holders of Dasheng Zhixing received an interest in the Company equal to their beneficial interest in Dasheng Zhixing.

        On July 21 2014, a series of contractual agreements discussed in 1.b. below were entered into among COE HK Co I, Philippines Co I and the shareholders of Philippines Co I. Pursuant to these agreements COE HK Co I has the ability to direct substantially all the activities of Philippines Co I, and absorb substantially all of the risks and rewards of Philippines Co I. COE HK Co I replaced Dasheng Zhixing as the primary beneficiary of Philippines Co I, and the Group continued to consolidate the financial results of Philippines Co I.

        To further optimize the organizational structure of the Group, in October 2014, 51 Talk English International Limited (the "COE HK Co II") was incorporated with limited liability in Hong Kong as a wholly owned subsidiary of COE HK Co I. China Online Innovations Inc. (the "Philippines Co II") was

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

incorporated by the Company with limited liability in the Philippines to eventually replace Philippines Co I. The Company owns 99.99986% of the equity interest of Philippines Co II. In order to comply with local laws, there are seven individual shareholders holding an aggregate of 0.00014% of the equity interest of Philippines Co II. A series of contractual arrangements was entered into among the Company, Philippines Co II and the seven individual shareholders. Under these contractual arrangements, the Company has an exclusive option to purchase all of the equity interests in Philippines Co II held by the seven individuals and to exercise their rights as shareholders of Philippines Co II. Since then, foreign teachers delivering paid lessons on the Company's platform no longer entered into service agreements with Philippines Co I, but rather entered into service agreements with COE HK Co II. Furthermore, the bulk of the business operations in Philippines Co I was transferred to Philippines Co II, and the Group began to enter into employment agreements with free trial teachers and other full-time employees in the Philippines through Philippines Co II.

        To further optimize group structure, on January 14, 2016, On Demand English Innovations Inc. (the "Philippines Co III") was incorporated by the Company with limited liability in the Philippines to replace Philippines Co I. The Company owns 99.996% of the equity interest of Philippines Co III. In order to comply with local laws, there are five individual shareholders holding an aggregate of 0.004% of the equity interest of Philippines Co III. A series of contractual arrangements was entered into among the Company, Philippines Co III and the five individual shareholders. Under these contractual arrangements, the Company has an exclusive option to purchase all of the equity interests in Philippines Co III held by the five individuals and the power to exercise their rights as shareholders of Philippines Co III. In April 2016, all business operations and assets of Philippines Co I were transferred to Philippines Co III, including the office leasehold and office equipment in Baguio City, Philippines. Philippines Co III also entered into new employment agreement with the free trial teachers and support staff previously employed by Philippines Co I.

        The above series of transactions to reorganize the Group were accounted for in a manner similar to a pooling of interest with assets and liabilities at their historical amounts in the Group's consolidated financial statements. As such, the Group's consolidated financial statements were prepared as if the current corporate structure had been in existence for all periods presented.

b.
Contractual agreements with VIEs

        The following is a summary of (i) the contracts by and among Dasheng Online, Dasheng Zhixing, and the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing; and (ii) the contracts by and among COE HK Co I, Philippines Co I, and the shareholders of Philippines Co I.

Contractual Agreements with Dasheng Zhixing

        Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreements.     Under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement between Dasheng Online and Dasheng Zhixing, Dasheng Online has the exclusive right to provide technical support, consulting services and other services to Dasheng Zhixing in relation to the Dasheng Zhixing's principal business. Dasheng Zhixing agrees to accept all the consultation and services provided by Dasheng Online. Without Dasheng Online's prior written consent, Dasheng Zhixing is prohibited from engaging any third party to provide any of the services under this agreement. In addition, Dasheng Online

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

exclusively owns all intellectual property rights arising out of or created during the performance of the agreement. The service fees to be paid by Dasheng Zhixing is determined by Dasheng Zhixing and Dasheng Online, after taking into account factors including the complexity and difficulty of the services provided, the time consumed, the seniority of the Dasheng Online employees providing services to Dasheng Zhixing, contents and value of services provided, the market price of comparable services and the operating conditions of Dasheng Zhixing. This agreement will remain effective unless Dasheng Online terminates the agreement in writing or a competent governmental authority rejects the renewal applications by either Dasheng Zhixing or Dasheng Online to renew its respective business license upon expiration. Dasheng Zhixing is not permitted to terminate this agreement in any event unless required by applicable laws. The service agreement was revised on December 14, 2015, that the service is solely determined by Dasheng Online.

        Exclusive Option Agreements.     Under the Exclusive Option Agreements between Dasheng Online, each of the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing and Dasheng Zhixing, each of the shareholders irrevocably granted Dasheng Online or its designated representative(s) an exclusive option to purchase, to the extent permitted under PRC law, all or part of his, her or its equity interests in Dasheng Zhixing, for a consideration of RMB10 (US$1.6). If the lowest price permitted under PRC law is higher than the above price, the lowest price permitted under PRC law shall apply. Dasheng Online or its designated representative(s) have sole discretion as to when to exercise such options, either in part or in full. Without Dasheng Online's prior written consent, Dasheng Zhixing's shareholders shall not sell, transfer, pledge, or otherwise dispose any equity interests in Dasheng Zhixing. These agreements will remain effective until all equity interests held in Dasheng Zhixing by Dasheng Zhixing's shareholders are transferred or assigned to Dasheng Online or Dasheng Online's designated representatives.

        Powers of Attorney.     Pursuant to the Powers of Attorney, the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing each irrevocably appointed Dasheng Online as the attorney-in-fact to act on their behalf on all matters pertaining to Dasheng Zhixing and to exercise all of their rights as a shareholder of Dasheng Zhixing, including but not limited to attend shareholders' meetings, vote on their behalf on all matters of Dasheng Zhixing requiring shareholders' approval under PRC laws and regulations and the articles of association of Dasheng Zhixing, designate and appoint legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer, and other senior management members of Dasheng Zhixing. Dasheng Online may authorize or assign its rights under this appointment to any other person or entity at its sole discretion without prior notice to the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing. Each Power of Attorney will remain in force until the shareholders cease to hold any equity interest in Dasheng Zhixing.

        Equity Interest Pledge Agreements.     Under the Equity Interest Pledge Agreements between Dasheng Online, Dasheng Zhixing and the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing, the shareholders pledged all of their equity interests in Dasheng Zhixing to Dasheng Online to guarantee Dasheng Zhixing's and Dasheng Zhixing's shareholders' performance of their obligations under the contractual arrangements including the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, and the Powers of Attorney.

        If Dasheng Zhixing or any of Dasheng Zhixing's shareholders breaches its contractual obligations under the contractual arrangements, Dasheng Online will be entitled to certain rights and entitlements, including receiving proceeds from the auction or sale of whole or part of the pledged equity interests of

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

Dasheng Zhixing in accordance with legal procedures. Dasheng Online has the right to receive dividends generated by the pledged equity interests during the term of the pledge. The pledge will remain binding until Dasheng Zhixing and the shareholders discharge all their obligations under the contractual arrangements. The equity pledge has been registered with the registration authorities of industries and commerce in accordance with PRC law.

Contractual Agreements with Philippines Co I

        Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreements.     Under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement between COE HK Co I and Philippines Co I, COE HK Co I has the exclusive right to provide technical support, consulting services and other services to Philippines Co I, respectively, in relation to Philippines Co I's principal business. And Philippines Co I agrees to accept all the consultation and services provided by COE HK Co I. Without COE HK Co I's prior written consent, Philippines Co I is prohibited from engaging any third party to provide any of the services under this agreements. In addition, COE HK Co I exclusively owns all intellectual property rights arising out of or created during the performance of the agreements. Due to its control over Philippines Co I, COE HK Co I has the sole right to determine the service fees to be paid by Philippines Co I, after taking into account factors including the complexity and difficulty of the services provided, the time consumed, the seniority of COE HK Co I employees providing services to Philippines Co I, contents and value of services provided, the market price of comparable services and the operating conditions of Philippines Co I. This agreement will remain effective unless COE HK Co I terminates the agreement in writing or a competent governmental authority rejects the renewal applications by either Philippines Co I or COE HK Co I to renew its respective business license upon expiration. Philippines Co I is not permitted to terminate this agreements in any event unless required by applicable laws.

        Exclusive Option Agreements.     Under the Exclusive Option Agreements between COE HK Co I, each of the shareholders of Philippines Co I and Philippines Co I, each of the Shareholders irrevocably granted COE HK Co I or its designated representative(s) an exclusive option to purchase, to the extent permitted under Philippine law, all or part of his, her or its equity interests in Philippines Co I, for a consideration of US$1. If the lowest price permitted under Philippine law is higher than the above price, the lowest price permitted under Philippine law shall apply. COE HK Co I or its designated representative(s) have sole discretion as to when to exercise such options, either in part or in full. Without COE HK Co I's prior written consent, Philippines Co I's Shareholders shall not sell, transfer, pledge, or otherwise dispose any equity interests in Philippines Co I. These agreements will remain effective until all equity interests held in Philippines Co I by Philippines Co I's Shareholders are transferred or assigned to COE HK Co I or COE HK Co I's designated representatives.

        Powers of Attorney.     Pursuant to the Powers of Attorney, the Shareholders of Philippines Co I each irrevocably appointed COE HK Co I as the attorney-in-fact to act on their behalf on all matters pertaining to Philippines Co I and to exercise all of their rights as a shareholder of Philippines Co I, including but not limited to attend shareholders' meetings, vote on their behalf on all matters of Philippines Co I requiring shareholders' approval under Philippine laws and regulations and the articles of association of Philippines Co I, designate and appoint legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer, and other senior management members of the VIE. COE HK Co I may authorize or assign its rights under this

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

appointment to any other person or entity at its sole discretion without prior notice to the shareholders of Philippines Co I. Each Power of Attorney will remain in force until the shareholder ceases to hold any equity interest in Philippines Co I.

c.
Risks in relation to the VIE structure

        The following table sets forth the assets, liabilities, results of operations and changes in cash and cash equivalents of the VIEs taken as a whole, which were included in the Group's consolidated balance sheets and statements of comprehensive loss:

Dasheng Zhixing:

 
  As of  
 
  December 31,
2015
  March 31,
2016
 
 
  RMB
  RMB
 

Cash and cash equivalents

    26,731     36,439  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

    11,391     8,907  

Amounts due from inter-company entities*

    87,040     101,811  

Property and equipment, net

    9,191     8,901  

Other assets

    8,013     8,890  

Total assets

    142,366     164,948  

Deferred revenue—current

    264,411     333,150  

Deferred revenue—non-current

    7,765     14,986  

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

    50,134     54,295  

Taxes payable

    6,631     8,112  

Amounts due to inter-company entities*

    121,730     114,485  

Total liabilities

    450,671     525,028  

*
All inter-company balances have been eliminated upon consolidation.


 
  For the three
months ended
March 31,
 
 
  2015   2016  
 
  RMB
  RMB
 

Net revenues

    24,374     72,191  

Net loss

    (43,134 )   (51,924 )

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)


 
  For the three
months ended
March 31,
 
 
  2015   2016  
 
  RMB
  RMB
 

Net cash provided by operating activities

    4,518     11,430  

Net cash used in investing activities

    (4,612 )   (1,722 )

Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents

    (94 )   9,708  

Philippines Co I:

 
  As of  
 
  December 31,
2015
  March 31,
2016
 
 
  RMB
  RMB
 

Cash and cash equivalents

    1,453     3,666  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

    1,751     1,870  

Amounts due from inter-company entities*

    2,534     2,578  

Property and equipment, net

    952     881  

Other assets

    498     274  

Total assets

    7,188     9,269  

Advanced from inter-company entities*

    2,502     4,932  

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

    1,544     1,466  

Taxes payable

    12,029     12,204  

Total liabilities

    16,075     18,602  

*
All inter-company balances have been eliminated upon consolidation.


 
  For the three
months ended
March 31,
 
 
  2015   2016  
 
  RMB
  RMB
 

Net revenues**

    12,080     4,210  

Net (loss)/income

    (4,898 )   33  

**
All net revenues of Philippines Co I are service fees from Dasheng Zhixing, which have been eliminated upon consolidation.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

 

 
  For the three
months ended
March 31,
 
 
  2015   2016  
 
  RMB
  RMB
 

Net cash provided by operating activities

    5,947     2,559  

Net cash used in investing activities

    (52 )    

Effect of exchange

    112     (345 )

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

    6,007     2,214  

        Under the contractual arrangements with the VIEs, the Company has the power to direct activities of the VIEs through Dasheng Online and COE HK Co I, and can have assets transferred freely out of the VIEs without restrictions. Therefore, the Company considers that there is no asset of the VIEs that can only be used to settle obligations of the respective VIEs, except for registered capital of Dasheng Zhixing amounting to RMB1,143 and RMB1,143 as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016 respectively. Since the VIEs are incorporated as limited liability companies under the PRC and Philippine Company Law, creditors of the VIEs do not have recourse to the general credit of the Company. There is currently no contractual arrangement that would require the Company to provide additional financial support to the VIEs.

        The Group believes that the contractual arrangements among Dasheng Online, COE HK Co I, the VIEs and their shareholders are in compliance with PRC and Philippine laws and regulations, as applicable, and are legally binding and enforceable. However, uncertainties in the PRC and Philippine legal system could limit the Company's ability to enforce these contractual arrangements.

        On January 19, 2015, the Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM"), released for public comment a proposed PRC law, the Draft FIE Law, that appears to include VIEs within the scope of entities that could be considered to be foreign invested enterprises, or FIEs, that would be subject to restrictions under existing PRC law on foreign investment in certain categories of industry. Specifically, the Draft FIE Law introduces the concept of "actual control" for determining whether an entity is considered to be an FIE. In addition to control through direct or indirect ownership or equity, the Draft FIE Law includes control through contractual arrangements within the definition of "actual control". If the Draft FIE Law is passed by the People's Congress of the PRC and goes into effect in its current form, these provisions regarding control through contractual arrangements could be construed to include the Group's VIE arrangements, and as a result the Group's PRC-organized VIEs could become explicitly subject to the current restrictions on foreign investment in certain categories of industry. The Draft FIE Law includes provisions that would exempt from the definition of foreign invested enterprises entities where the ultimate controlling shareholders are either entities organized under PRC law or individuals who are PRC citizens. The Draft FIE Law is silent as to what type of enforcement action might be taken against existing VIE, that operates in restricted or prohibited industries and is not controlled by entities organized under PRC law or individuals who are PRC citizens. If the restrictions and prohibitions on foreign invested enterprises included in the Draft FIE Law are enacted and enforced in their current form, the Group's ability to use the Group's VIE arrangements and the Group's ability to conduct business through the Group's PRC VIE could be severely limited.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

        The Company's ability to control the VIEs also depends on the Power of Attorney Dasheng Online and COE HK Co I has to vote on all matters requiring shareholder approval in the VIEs. As noted above, the Company believes these Power of Attorney are legally enforceable but may not be as effective as direct equity ownership.

        In addition, if the Group's corporate structure or the contractual arrangements with the VIEs were found to be in violation of any existing PRC or Philippine laws and regulations, the PRC or the Philippine regulatory authorities could, within their respective jurisdictions:

    revoke the Group's business and operating licenses;

    require the Group to discontinue or restrict its operations;

    restrict the Group's right to collect revenues;

    block the Group's websites;

    require the Group to restructure the operations, re-apply for the necessary licenses or relocate the Group's businesses, staff and assets;

    impose additional conditions or requirements with which the Group may not be able to comply; or

    take other regulatory or enforcement actions against the Group that could be harmful to the Group's business.

The imposition of any of these restrictions or actions may result in a material adverse effect on the Group's ability to conduct its business. In addition, if the imposition of any of these restrictions causes the Group to lose the right to direct the activities of the VIEs or the right to receive their economic benefits, the Group would no longer be able to consolidate the financial statements of the VIEs. In the opinion of management, the likelihood of losing the benefits in respect of the Group's current ownership structure or the contractual arrangements with its VIEs is remote.

        As of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, the aggregate accumulated deficit of the Group's VIEs was approximately RMB320,229 and RMB372,409, respectively, which have been included in the Company's accompanying consolidated financial statements.

d.
Liquidity

        The Group's consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and liquidation of liabilities during the normal course of operations. The Group incurred net losses of RMB53,703 and RMB99,258 for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016, respectively, and the net cash used in operating activities was RMB13,351 and RMB3,719 for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016. Accumulated deficit was RMB569,962 and RMB718,647 as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively. The net current liabilities were RMB208,130 as of March 31, 2016. The Group assesses its liquidity by its ability to generate cash from operating activities to fund its operations, attract investors and borrow funds on favorable economic terms.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

1. Operations and Reorganization (Continued)

        Historically, the Group has relied principally on both operational sources of cash and non-operational sources of financing from investors to fund its operations and business development. The Group's ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on management's ability to successfully execute its business plan, which includes increasing revenues while controlling operating expenses, as well as, generating operational cash flows and continuing to gain support from outside sources of financing. The Group has been continuously receiving financing support from outside investors through the issuance of preferred shares. The latest round of preferred shares financing was completed in August 31, 2015, with a total consideration of RMB127,571 (US$20,000). In addition, if the Company successfully completes a qualified initial public offering before July 21, 2019, thereby triggering the automatic conversion of all series of preferred shares into ordinary shares, it will eliminate the possibility of any future cash outflow that may result from the holders of preferred shares exercising their share redemption rights. In the event the initial public offering has to be deferred to beyond July 21, 2019, management is of the opinion that the Group will be able to continue to gain the support from its existing investors, and management does not foresee a request for shares redemption from its preferred shares holders. Moreover, the Company can adjust the pace of its operation expansion and control the operating expenses of the Group. Based on the above considerations, the Group's 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.

2. Significant Accounting Policies

a.
Basis of presentation

        The consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP"). Significant accounting policies followed by the Company in the preparation of the accompanying consolidated financial statements are summarized below.

b.
Principles of consolidation

        The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company, its subsidiaries and the VIEs for which the Company is the primary beneficiary.

        Subsidiaries are those entities 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, or to cast a majority of votes at the meeting of board of directors, or has the power 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, has the power to direct the activities that most significant impact the entity's economic performance, 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 among the Company, its subsidiaries and the VIEs have been eliminated upon consolidation.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

2. Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)

c.
Use of estimates

        The preparation of the Group's unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with the U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent liabilities at the balance sheet date and reported revenues and expenses during the reported periods in the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Significant accounting estimates include, but are not limited to, the determination of the fair value of identifiable assets and liabilities acquired through business combinations, assessment for the impairment of long-lived assets, the valuation allowance of deferred tax assets, determination of the fair value of ordinary shares and preferred shares, and the valuation and recognition of share-based compensation.

d.
Functional currency and foreign currency translation

        The Group uses Renminbi ("RMB") as its reporting currency. The functional currency of the Company and its overseas subsidiaries incorporated in the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong is United States dollars ("US$"), and the functional currency of the Philippines entities is Peso ("PHP"). The functional currency of the PRC entities in the Group is RMB.

        In the consolidated financial statements, the financial information of the Company and other entities located outside of the PRC have been translated into RMB. Assets and liabilities are translated at the exchange rates on the balance sheet date, equity amounts are translated at historical exchange rates, and revenues, expenses, gains and losses are translated using the average rate for the year. Translation adjustments are reported as foreign currency translation adjustments, and are shown as a component of other comprehensive (loss)/income in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

        Foreign currency transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency are translated into the functional currency using the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the transactions. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into the functional currency using the applicable exchange rates at the balance sheet dates. Net gains and losses resulting from foreign exchange transactions are included in interest and other expense, net.

e.
Convenience Translation

        Translations of balances in the consolidated balance sheets, consolidated statements of comprehensive loss and statements of cash flows from RMB into US$ as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2016 are solely for the convenience of the reader and were calculated at the rate of US$1.00 = RMB6.4480, representing the noon buying rate in The City of New York for cable transfers of RMB as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on March 31, 2016. No representation is made that the RMB amounts represent or could have been, or could be, converted, realized or settled into US$ at that rate on March 31, 2016, or at any other rate.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

2. Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)

f.
Fair value measurments

Financial instruments

        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 measurements 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 instrument's 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 applies to assets or liabilities for which there are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

    Level 2 applies to assets or liabilities for which there are inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical asset or liabilities in markets with insufficient volume or infrequent transactions (less active markets); or model-derived valuations in which significant inputs are observable or can be derived principally from, or corroborated by, observable market data.

    Level 3 applies to asset or liabilities for which there are unobservable inputs to the valuation methodology that are significant to the measurement of the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

        The Company's financial instruments include time deposits, other current assets and accrued expenses, tax payable and other current liabilities. Their carrying amounts approximate their fair value due to their relatively short maturity.

g.
Segment reporting

        Based on the criteria established by ASC 280 "Segment Reporting", the Group's chief operating decision maker has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer, who reviews consolidated results when making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance of the Group. The Group has internal reporting of revenue, cost and expenses by nature as a whole. Hence, the Group has only one operating segment.

        The Group operates in two principal geographical areas—China and the Philippines. For all periods presented, all revenues from external customers are attributed to China.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

2. Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)

        The following table summarizes property, plant and equipment of the Group by geographical location.

 
  Property, plant and
equipment
As of
 
 
  December 31,
2015
  March 31,
2016
 
 
  RMB
  RMB
 

China

    18,779     19,695  

Philippines

    6,233     8,192  
h.
Recently issued accounting pronouncements

        In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)." This guidance supersedes current guidance on revenue recognition in Topic 605, "Revenue Recognition." In addition, there are disclosure requirements related to the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue recognition. This guidance will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim reporting periods, and will be required to be applied retrospectively. Early application of the guidance is not permitted. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14 to defer the effective date of ASU No. 2014-09 for all entities by one year. Therefore, the Company will adopt this guidance for its 2018 fiscal year. In April 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-10 to clarify the following two aspects of Topic 606: identifying performance obligations and the licensing implementation guidance, while retaining the related principles for these areas. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance.

        In August 2014, FASB issued ASU No. 2014-15, "Presentation of Financial Statements—Going Concern (Subtopic 205-40): Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity's Ability to Continue as a Going Concern." The new standard addresses management's responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity's ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures. Management's evaluation should be based on relevant conditions and events that are known and reasonably knowable at the date that the financial statements are issued. The new standard will be effective for the first interim period within annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect this guidance to have a material effect on its consolidated financial statements at the time of adoption of this standard.

        In November 2015, FASB issued ASU No. 2015-17, "Income Taxes (Topic 740): Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes". The new guidance requires entities to present all deferred tax assets and liabilities, along with any related valuation allowance, as non-current on the balance sheet. The guidance is effective for public-traded companies for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016 (early adoption is permitted). The Company does not expect this guidance to have a material effect on its consolidated financial statements at the time of adoption of this standard.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

2. Significant Accounting Policies (Continued)

        In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, "Leases (Topic 842)". The new guidance requires that a lessee recognize the assets and liabilities that arise from operating leases. A lessee should recognize in the statement of financial position a liability to make lease payments (the lease liability) and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term. For leases with a term of 12 months or less, a lessee is permitted to make an accounting policy election by class of underlying asset not to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities. In transition, lessees and lessors are required to recognize and measure leases at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach. Public business entities should apply the amendments in ASU No. 2016-02 for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years (i.e., January 1, 2019, for a calendar year entity). Early application is permitted for all public business entities and all nonpublic business entities upon issuance. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance.

        In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, "Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting (Topic 718)". The new update will require all income tax effects of awards to be recognized in the income statement when the awards vest or are settled. It also will allow an employer to repurchase more of an employee's shares than it can today for tax withholding purposes without triggering liability accounting and to make a policy election to account for forfeitures as they occur. The guidance is effective for the Company on January 1, 2017. Early application is permitted in any annual or interim period for which financial statements haven't been issued or made available for issuance, but all of the guidance must be adopted in the same period. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance.

3. Business Combination

        The Company accounts for business combinations using acquisition method of accounting, which requires the acquisition cost be allocated to the assets and liabilities of the company acquired, including separately identifiable intangible assets, based on their estimated fair values. The Company makes estimates and judgments in determining the fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities based on independent appraisal reports as well as its experience with similar assets and liabilities in similar industries. If different judgments or assumptions were used, the amounts assigned to the individual acquired assets or liabilities could be materially different.

91waijiao.com

        On January 9, 2015, Dasheng Zhixing entered into an agreement with Oneworld Education Limited and its affiliates in PRC as well as the founder Ms. Rose Gong (together as the "Transferor"), pursuant to which, the Company acquired from the transferor 100% business operation of one high-end online one-on-one English tutoring platform, 91waijiao.com and all associated assets and liability with zero cash consideration. The Company will undertake all contractual obligations, including unfinished course service agreements and employment contracts as of December 31, 2014. The main purpose of the transaction is to further expand the service offerings to the Group's customers and achieve synergies between 51talk.com and 91waijiao.com . The transaction was completed on January 9, 2015.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

3. Business Combination (Continued)

        In accordance with ASC 805, the acquisition of 91waijiao.com had been accounted for as a business combination and the results of operations of the 91waijiao.com from the acquisition date, i.e. January 9, 2015, have been included in the Group's consolidated financial statements. The Group made estimates and judgments in determining the fair value of acquired assets and liabilities, based on an independent valuation report and management's experiences with similar assets and liabilities.

        The allocation of the purchase price is as follows:

 
  As of acquisition
date
  Amortization
Years
 
 
  RMB
   
 

Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed

             

Brand name and domain name

    1,050     9  

Software

    880     3  

Deferred revenue

    (5,670 )      

Deferred tax liabilities

    (483 )      

Identifiable net liabilities acquired (a)

    (4,223 )      

Total consideration (b)

           

Goodwill (b-a)

    4,223        

        Goodwill arising from this transaction primarily represents the expected synergies from combining the operations of the Group with 91waijiao.com , which are complementary in a way to each other, and any other intangible benefits that would accrue to the Group that do not qualify for separate recognition. The excess of purchase price over net tangible assets and identifiable intangible assets acquired were recorded as goodwill. The goodwill is not expected to be deductible for tax purposes. No measurement period adjustment has been recorded. Total identifiable intangible assets acquired upon acquisition mainly included brand name and domain name of RMB1,050 and software of RMB880, with estimated average weighted useful life of nine and three years respectively.

        Based on the assessment on the financial performance of 91waijiao.com made by the Group, acquired company including its subsidiary is not considered material to the Group. Thus the presentation of the pro-forma financial information with regard to a summary of the results of operations of the Group for the business combination is not required.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

4. Goodwill

        The changes in the carrying value of goodwill is as follows:

 
  Balance  
 
  RMB
 

As of January 1, 2015

     

Acquisition

    4,223  

Impairment losses

     

As of March 31, 2015

    4,223  

As of January 1, 2016

    4,223  

Acquisition

     

Impairment losses

     

As of March 31, 2016

    4,223  

5. Prepaid expenses and other current assets

        Prepaid expenses and other current assets consist of the following:

 
  As of  
 
  December 31,
2015
  March 31,
2016
 
 
  RMB
  RMB
 

Prepaid advertising expenses

    21,341     16,618  

Prepaid value-added tax input

    7,481     7,890  

Prepaid rental and other deposits

    3,525     3,285  

Prepaid professional service fees

    2,296     2,320  

Prepaid commission fees to third-party payment channels

    1,736     2,127  

Advance to employees

    2,957     1,478  

Others

    2,794     3,001  

Total

    42,130     36,719  

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

6. Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

        Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consist of the following:

 
  As of  
 
  December 31,
2015
  March 31,
2016
 
 
  RMB
  RMB
 

Salaries and welfare payable

    75,033     85,413  

Accrued advertising and other expenses

    6,397     5,936  

Security deposits

    601     611  

Accrued professional service fees

    1,754     77  

Others

    538     83  

Total

    84,323     92,120  

7. Taxation

a.
Transition from PRC Business Tax to PRC Value Added Tax

        A Pilot Program for transition from Business Tax to value-added tax ("VAT") for revenues from certain industries was launched in Shanghai on January 1, 2012. On August 1, 2013, all regions in China have launched the pilot program.

b.
Business Tax and Value-added tax ("VAT")

        Prior to the pilot program, the Company's subsidiary and VIE incorporated in China were subject to Business Tax of 5% and related surcharges on revenues from providing online English language education services. Business tax and the related surcharges are recognized when the revenue is earned. After the launch of the pilot program, the Group's subsidiary and VIE incorporated in China, Dasheng Online and Dasheng Zhixing, were subject to 3% VAT for revenues from providing online English language education services before May 1, 2015 and May 1, 2014, respectively. After then, Dasheng Online and Dasheng Zhixing were subject to 6% VAT for revenues from providing online English language education services.

        The Group adopted the net presentation method for its revenues from providing online English language education services.

c.
Income taxes

Cayman Islands ("Cayman")

        Under the current tax laws of the Cayman Islands, the Company is not subject to tax on income or capital gains. In addition, upon payments of dividends by the Company to its shareholders, no Cayman Islands withholding tax will be imposed.

Hong Kong

        Under the current Hong Kong Inland Revenue Ordinance, the Company's Hong Kong subsidiary is subject to Hong Kong profits tax at the rate of 16.5% on its taxable income generated from the operations

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

7. Taxation (Continued)

in Hong Kong. Payments of dividends by the subsidiary to the Company is not subject to withholding tax in Hong Kong.

Philippines

        Entities incorporated in the Philippines are subject to enterprise income tax in the Philippines at a rate of 30%. As of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, the Company's subsidiary and VIE in the Philippines were in a profit position. The deferred tax assets for the Philippine subsidiary and VIE as at December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016 consisted of accrued expenses and other current liabilities, for which no valuation allowance has been provided, as management believes it is more likely than not that these assets will be realized in the future. Payments of dividends by Philippines Co I, Philippines Co II and Philippines Co III are subject to withholding tax in the Philippines at the rate of 30%. As of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, the Company did not record any withholding tax on the retained earnings of its subsidiary and consolidated VIE in the Philippines, as they were an accumulated deficit position as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016.

        Philippines Co II is registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority ("PEZA"). The registration with PEZA provides Philippines Co II a four-year income tax holiday from year 2015 to 2018. The income tax holiday can be extended at PEZA's discretion for another three years provided specific criteria are met for each additional year and prior PEZA's approval is obtained.

PRC

        Effective January 1, 2008, the Enterprise Income Tax Law (the "EIT Law") in China unifies the enterprise income tax rate for the entities incorporated in China at 25% if they are not eligible for any preferential tax treatment. Accordingly, the Company's subsidiary and VIE operated in PRC were subject to tax at statutory rate of 25% for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016.

        The EIT Law also provides that an enterprise established under the laws of a foreign country or region but whose "de facto management body" is located in the PRC should 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 "de facto management body" as "the place where the exercising, in substance, of the overall management and control of the production and business operation, personnel, accounting, properties, etc., of a non-PRC company is located." Based on a review of surrounding facts and circumstances, the Company 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, should the Company be treated as a resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes, the Company will be subject to PRC tax on worldwide income at a uniform tax rate of 25% retroactive to January 1, 2008.

PRC Withholding Tax on Dividends

        The EIT Law also imposes a withholding income tax of 10% on dividends distributed by a foreign-invested entity ("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

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

7. Taxation (Continued)

the received dividends have no connection with the establishment or place of such immediate holding company within China, unless such immediate holding company's jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for a different withholding arrangement. Such withholding income tax was exempted under the Previous EIT Law. The Cayman Islands, where the Company incorporated, does not have such tax treaty with China. 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). The State Administration of Taxation ("SAT") further promulgated Circular 601 on October 27, 2009, which provides that tax treaty benefits will be denied to "conduit" or shell companies without business substance and that a beneficial ownership analysis will be used based on a "substance-over-form" principle to determine whether or not to grant the tax treaty benefits.

        Dasheng Zhixing is controlled by the Company through various contractual agreements. To the extent that Dasheng Zhixing has undistributed earnings, the Company will accrue appropriate expected tax associated with repatriation of such undistributed earnings. As of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, the Company did not record any withholding tax on the retained earnings of its subsidiary and VIE in the PRC as they were still in accumulated deficit position.

 
  For the three months ended March 31,  
 
  2015   2016  
 
  Overseas
entities
  PRC
entities
  Total   Overseas
entities
  PRC
entities
  Total  
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

(Loss)/income before income tax expenses

    (5,258 )   (46,046 )   (51,304 )   2,818     (101,714 )   (98,896 )

Current income tax expenses

    2,425         2,425     388         388  

Deferred income tax (benefit)

        (26 )   (26 )       (26 )   (26 )

Income tax expenses

    2,425     (26 )   2,399     388     (26 )   362  

Reconciliation of the differences between statutory tax rate and the effective tax rate for China operations

        Reconciliation of the differences between the PRC statutory tax rate of 25% and the Group's effective tax rate is as follows:

 
  As of  
 
  December 31,
2015
  March 31,
2016
 

PRC statutory tax rate

    25.00 %   25.00 %

Permanent book-tax differences—non-deductible expenses

    (4.70 )%   (1.00 )%

Effect on tax rates in different tax jurisdiction

    (6.80 )%   (5.90 )%

Changes in valuation allowance

    (15.00 )%   (18.50 )%

Effective tax rate

    (1.50 )%   (0.40 )%

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

7. Taxation (Continued)

d.
Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

        Deferred taxes were measured using the enacted tax rates for the periods in which they are expected to be reversed. Significant components of the Group's deferred tax assets are as follows:

 
  As of  
 
  December 31,
2015
  March 31,
2016
 
 
  RMB
  RMB
 

Deferred tax assets, current

             

Accruals and other liabilities

    886     1,361  

Total current deferred tax assets

    886     1,361  

Less: Valuation allowance

    (846 )   (1,320 )

Total current deferred tax assets, net

    40     41  

Deferred tax assets, non-current

             

Tax loss carryforwards

    26,289     33,654  

Advertising expenses carryforwards

    35,286     41,487  

Total non-current deferred tax assets

    61,575     75,141  

Less: Valuation allowance

    (61,575 )   (75,141 )

Total non-current deferred tax assets, net

         

        Significant components of the Group's deferred tax liabilities are as follows:

 
  As of  
 
  December 31,
2015
  March 31,
2016
 
 
  RMB
  RMB
 

Deferred tax liabilities, non-current

             

Intangible assets from business acquisitions

    380     354  

Total deferred tax liabilities

    380     354  

Movement of Valuation Allowance

        The following table shows the movement of valuation allowance for the periods presented:

 
  For the three
months ended
March 31,
 
 
  2015   2016  
 
  RMB
  RMB
 

Balance at beginning of the period

    (13,892 )   (62,421 )

Current period addition

    (1,834 )   (14,040 )

Balance at end of the period

    (15,726 )   (76,461 )

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

8. Preferred shares

        In May 2013, the Company entered into an agreement with DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P. ("DCM"), and issued 30,000,000 Series A Convertible Preferred Shares ("Series A Preferred Shares") for a total cash consideration of RMB12,357 (US$2,000).

        In December 2013, the Company entered into an agreement with DCM, Shunwei TMT II Limited ("Shunwei") and Duowan Entertainment Corp. ("YY") and issued 9,638,710; 18,758,000 and 14,442,000 Series B Convertible and Redeemable Preferred Shares ("Series B Preferred Shares") for cash considerations of RMB10,637 (US$1,740), RMB20,723 (US$3,390) and RMB15,955 (US$2,610), respectively.

        In July and August 2014, the Company entered into an agreement with DCM, Shunwei, YY and SCC Venture V Holdco I, Ltd ("Sequoia") and issued 13,972,645; 7,563,064; 6,041,674 and 36,285,762 Series C Convertible and Redeemable Preferred Shares ("Series C Preferred Shares") for cash considerations of RMB37,974 (US$6,170), RMB20,601(US$3,340), RMB16,433(US$2,670) and RMB98,599(US$16,020), respectively.

        In August 2015, the Company entered into an agreement with Sequoia, DCM, Shunwei, Engage Capital Partners I, L.P., and Huaxing Capital Partners, L.P. and issued 10,747,158; 5,092,152; 3,238,092; 2,201,811 and 215,103 Series D Convertible and Redeemable Preferred Shares ("Series D Preferred Shares") for cash considerations of RMB63,893 (US$10,000), RMB30,273 (US$4,738), RMB19,036(US$3,013), RMB13,090 (US$2,049), and RMB1,279 (US$200), respectively.

        The Series A, B, C and D Preferred Shares are collectively referred to as the "Preferred Shares".

Accounting of Preferred Shares

        The Company has classified the Preferred Shares in the mezzanine equity of the consolidated balance sheets. In addition, the Company records accretions on the Preferred Shares to the redemption value from the issuance dates to the earliest redemption dates. The accretions are recorded against retained earnings, or in the absence of retained earnings, by charges against additional paid-in capital. Once additional paid-in capital has been exhausted, additional charges are recorded by increasing the accumulated deficit. Each issuance of the Preferred Shares is recognized at the respective issue price at the date of issuance net of issuance costs. The issuance costs for Series A, Series B, Series C and Series D Preferred Shares were RMB218, RMB181, RMB3,883 and RMB1,997, respectively.

        The preferred shareholders have the ability to convert the Preferred Shares into the Company's ordinary shares at any time, at the option of the holder, on a one to one share basis. Upon the occurrence of certain events, the conversion ratio may be subsequently adjusted.

        The Company has determined that there was no beneficial conversion feature attributable to any of the preferred shares because the initial effective conversion prices of these preferred shares were higher than the fair value of the Company's common shares determined by the Company with the assistance from an independent valuation firm. In addition, the carrying values of the Preferred Shares are accreted from the share issuance dates to the redemption value on the earliest redemption dates. The accretions are recorded against retained earnings, or in the absence of retained earnings, by charges against additional

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

8. Preferred shares (Continued)

paid-in capital. Once additional paid-in capital has been exhausted, additional charges are recorded by increasing the accumulated deficit.

        The Company assesses whether an amendment to the terms of its Preferred Shares is an extinguishment or a modification using the fair value model. When Preferred Shares are extinguished, the difference between the fair value of the consideration transferred to the convertible preferred shareholders and the carrying amount of the convertible preferred shares (net of issuance costs) is treated as deemed dividends to preferred shareholders. The Company considers that a significant change in fair value after the change of the terms to be substantive and thus triggers extinguishment. A change in fair value which is not significant immediately after the change of the terms is considered non-substantive and thus is subject to modification accounting. When Preferred Shares are modified, the Company evaluates whether there is a transfer of value from ordinary shareholders to preferred shareholders as a result of the modification and therefore, should record a reduction of, or increase to, retained earnings as a deemed dividend.

        As of March 31, 2016, the preferred shares are comprised of the following:

Series
  Issuance date   Shares
authorized
  Shares
issued
  Issue price
per share
  Proceeds
from issuance
 
 
   
   
   
  US$
  RMB
 

A

  June 28, 2013     30,000,000     30,000,000     0.0667   12,357 (US$2,000 )

B

  December 9, 2013     48,233,710     48,233,710 *   0.1807   47,315 (US$7,740 )

C

  July 21, 2014     71,200,613     71,200,613 **   0.4416   173,607 (US$28,200 )

D

  August 31, 2015     21,494,316     21,494,316     0.9305   127,571 (US$20,000 )

*
Including 5,395,000 shares re-designated from issued ordinary shares;

**
Including 7,337,468 shares re-designated from issued ordinary shares.

        The Group has classified all preferred shares as mezzanine equity as they are contingently redeemable at the options of the holders.

        The key terms of the preferred shares are as follows:

Conversion right

        The Preferred Shares are convertible, at the option of the holders, into the Company's ordinary shares at an initial conversion ratio of 1:1 at any time after the original issuance date. In the event that the Company issues additional ordinary shares at a price lower than the then-applicable conversion price for the Preferred Shares, the conversion price of the Preferred Shares shall be adjusted. The conversion prices are also subject to adjustments upon certain dilution events. In addition, the Preferred Shares are automatically convertible into such number of ordinary shares of the Company as shall be determined by reference to the then effective and applicable conversion ratio upon the earlier of (i) the closing of a Qualified Initial Public Offering as defined in the Memorandum and Articles of Association, or (ii) the date specified by written consent or agreement of holders of a majority of the outstanding Series A, B, C and D Preferred Shares, each voting as a separate class.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

8. Preferred shares (Continued)

Redemption right

        Prior to the issuance of Series B Preferred Shares, the Series A Preferred Shares were redeemable only upon a liquidation event or deemed liquidation events, as defined in the Memorandum and Articles of Association. The redemption price was to be the sum of the original issue price of Series A Preferred Shares and all declared but unpaid dividend.

        Upon the issuance of the Series B Preferred Shares, Series A Preferred Shares was modified to be redeemable, at the holders' discretion, at any time on or after the earlier to occur of (i) at any time on or after sixty (60) months of the closing date of Series B Preferred Shares, and (ii) there is a material breach by any group company or any Founding Shareholder, The redemption price shall be the greater of (a) each series issue price per share, plus all declared but unpaid dividends and (b) the fair market value of the relevant series of Preferred Shares on the date of redemption.

        Upon the issuance of Series C Preferred Shares, Series A Preferred Shares and Series B Preferred Shares become redeemable at the holders' discretion at any time on or after sixty (60) months of the Series C Issue Date. The holders of Series C Preferred Shares shall also have the rights, at the holders' discretion, at any time on or after the earlier to occur of (i) sixty months of the Series C Issue Date, and (ii) any material breach by any group company or any Founding Shareholder, to request the Company to redeem all of the then outstanding Series C Preferred Shares. The redemption price shall be the greater of (a) each series issue price per share, plus all declared but unpaid dividends and (b) the fair market value of the relevant series of Preferred Shares on the date of redemption.

        There was no change in the redemption period upon the Company's issuance of the Series D Preferred Shares on August 31, 2015.

        The Company accretes changes in the redemption value over the period from the date of issuance to the earliest redemption date of the Preferred Shares using effective interest method. Changes in the redemption value are considered to be changes in accounting estimates. The accretion will be recorded against retained earnings, or in the absence of retained earnings, by charges against additional paid-in capital. Once additional paid-in capital has been exhausted, additional charges should be recorded by increasing the accumulated deficit.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

8 Preferred shares (Continued)

        The Company's preferred shares activities for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016 are summarized below:

 
  Series A Preferred
Shares
  Series B Preferred
Shares
  Series C Preferred
Shares
  Series D Preferred
Shares
  Mezzanine Equity  
 
  Number
of shares
  Amount   Number
of shares
  Amount   Number
of shares
  Amount   Number
of shares
  Amount   Total number
of shares
  Total
Amount
 
 
   
  RMB
   
  RMB
   
  RMB
   
  RMB
   
  RMB
 

Balance as of January 1, 2015

    30,000,000     17,949     48,233,710     63,366     71,200,613     196,408             149,434,323     277,723  

Accretion to preferred shares redemption value

        2,105         3,759         5,504                 11,368  

Balance as of March 31, 2015

    30,000,000     20,054     48,233,710     67,125     71,200,613     201,912             149,434,323     289,091  

Balance as of January 1, 2016

    30,000,000     30,996     48,233,710     87,263     71,200,613     231,296     21,494,316     129,407     170,928,639     478,962  

Accretion to preferred shares redemption value

        7,386         13,925         22,390         6,114         49,815  

Balance as of March 31, 2016

    30,000,000     38,382     48,233,710     101,188     71,200,613     253,686     21,494,316     135,521     170,928,639     528,777  

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

8. Preferred shares (Continued)

Liquidation right

        In the event of any liquidation including deemed liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, holders of the Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive a per share amount equal to 100% of the original preferred share issue price of the respective series of Preferred Shares, as adjusted for share dividends, share splits, combinations, recapitalizations or similar events, plus all accrued and declared but unpaid dividends thereon, in the sequence of Series D Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares, Series B Preferred Shares and Series A Preferred Shares. 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.

Dividend right

        Preferred Shares holders are entitled to receive dividends if declared by the Board of Directors, in an amount equal to 8% of the original preferred share issue price of the respective series of Preferred Shares per annum non-cumulative from the issuance date of the respective Preferred Shares.

        The remaining undistributed earnings of the Company after full payment of the above amounts on the Preferred Shares, shall be distributed on a pro rata basis to the holders of ordinary shares and Preferred Shares on an as-converted basis.

Voting rights

        Each preferred share shall be entitled to that number of votes corresponding to the number of ordinary shares on an as-converted basis. Preferred shares shall vote separately as a class with respect to certain specified matters. Otherwise, the holders of preferred shares and ordinary shares shall vote together as a single class.

9. Share-based Compensation

        The Company adopted 2013 Employee Stock Option Plan (the "2013 Plan") and 2014 Employee Stock Option Plan (the "2014 Plan"), which allow the plan administrator to grant stock options, share appreciation rights, dividend equivalent right, restricted share units and restricted shares to employees, directors and consultants of the Company and its affiliates, up to a maximum of 18,333,333 ordinary shares. In 2014, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the number of shares available for issuance under the plan to 36,229,922 ordinary shares respectively. In February 2016, the Company amended the number of shares available for issuance under 2014 Plan to 32,229,922 ordinary share.

        Since adoption of the 2013 Plan and 2014 Plan, the Company only granted options to employees. All options granted have a contractual term of ten years, and vest over a period of four years of continuous service, one half ( 1 / 2 ) of which vest upon the second anniversary of the date of vesting commencement date and the remaining vest monthly thereafter in 36 equal monthly instalments. Under the option plan, options are only exercisable subject to the grantee's continuous service and the listing of the stock of the Company on a public stock exchange market, and options for which the service condition has been satisfied are forfeited should employment terminate before the Company's public listing.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

9. Share-based Compensation (Continued)

        For the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016 the Group did not recognize any stock-based compensation for the options granted as the performance condition is contingent upon IPO which is not considered probable until the event happens.

Summary of option activities under the 2013 Plan and 2014 Plan

        The following table sets forth the summary of option activities under the Company's 2013 Plan and 2014 Plan:

 
  Options
Outstanding
  Weighted Average
Exercise Price
  Weighted Average
Remaining
Contractual Life
  Aggregate
Intrinsic Value
  Weighted Average
Grant Date Fair
Value
 
 
   
  US$
  (In years)
  US$
  RMB
  US$
  RMB
 

January 1, 2015

    12,900,000     0.0423     9.63     3,970     25,231     0.2545     1.6173  

Granted

    400,000     0.0500                 0.3546     2.1982  

Forfeited

    (250,000 )   0.0500                 0.3066     1.9006  

March 31, 2015

    13,050,000     0.0423     9.16     4,667     28,931     0.2683     1.6631  

January 1, 2016

   
18,870,000
   
0.0520
   
8.73
   
12,039
   
77,986
   
0.3338
   
2.1625
 

Granted

    4,414,000     0.1500                 1.0841     6.9902  

Forfeited

    (438,000 )   0.1272                 0.8292     5.3465  

March 31, 2016

    22,846,000     0.0695     9.26     26,284     169,479     0.5011     3.2310  

        The aggregate intrinsic value is calculated as the difference between the exercise price of the underlying awards and the estimated fair value of the underlying stock at each reporting date. As a result of the exercisable event conditions included in the option plan, none of the options vested were exercisable as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, respectively.

        As of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, the unrecognized compensation cost, adjusted for estimated forfeitures, related to non-vested stock options with IPO vesting condition granted to the Group's employees was RMB36,112 and RMB52,591, respectively. The options with IPO vesting condition would be recognized upon the completion of the Company's IPO.

10. Net loss per share

        Basic net loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of the ordinary shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share ("EPS") is computed using the weighted average number of ordinary shares and potential ordinary shares outstanding during the period under the treasury stock method. For the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016, stock options to purchase ordinary shares that were anti-dilutive and excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share of the Company were 8,414,304 and 16,595,422 on a weighted average basis, respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016, the Series A, Series B, Series C and Series D Preference Shares convertible into ordinary shares that were anti-dilutive and excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share of the Company were 149,434,323 and 170,928,639 on a weighted average basis, respectively.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

10. Net loss per share (Continued)

        In periods during which the Company is profitable, the preferred shares issued and outstanding are participating securities and, therefore, all profits of the Company are allocated to ordinary shares and participating securities based on their dividend rights, as if all of the earnings for the period had been distributed. Considering that the holder of preferred shares has no contractual obligation to fund the losses of the Group in excess of the initial investment, the Group believes that in applying the two-class method of calculating EPS in accordance with ASC 260-10 in periods during which the Group recognizes losses, any losses from the Group should not be allocated to the preferred shares.

        The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net loss per share for the periods indicated:

 
  Three months ended
March 31,
 
 
  2015   2016  
 
  RMB
  RMB
 

Numerator:

             

Net loss

    (53,703 )   (99,258 )

Accretion to Series A Preferred Shares redemption value

    (2,105 )   (7,386 )

Accretion to Series B Preferred Shares redemption value

    (3,759 )   (13,925 )

Accretion to Series C Preferred Shares redemption value

    (5,504 )   (22,390 )

Accretion to Series D Preferred Shares redemption value

        (6,114 )

Numerator for basic and diluted loss per share

    (65,071 )   (149,073 )

Denominator:

   
 
   
 
 

Weighted average ordinary shares outstanding—basic and diluted

    72,267,532     72,267,532  

Basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders

    (0.90 )   (2.06 )

11. Unaudited pro forma balance sheet and loss per share

        All of the preferred shares will automatically be converted into ordinary shares at the applicable conversion price upon closing of a qualified initial public offering. The unaudited pro forma balance sheet information as of March 31, 2016 assumes the automatic conversion of all of the outstanding Preferred Shares into ordinary shares on a one-to-one basis, as if conversion has occurred as of March 31, 2016.

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

11. Unaudited pro forma balance sheet and loss per share (Continued)

        Unaudited pro forma basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share reflects the effect of the conversion of Preferred Shares as follows, as if the conversion occurred at January 1, 2016:

 
  Three months
ended
March 31,
2016
 
 
  RMB
 

Numerator:

       

Net loss attribute to ordinary sharholders

    (149,073 )

Accretion to Preferred Shares redemption value reversed

    49,815  

Numerator for pro forma basic and diluted loss per share

    (99,258 )

Denominator:

   
 
 

Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding

    72,267,532  

Pro forma effect of the conversion of Preferred Shares

    170,928,639  

Denominator for pro forma basic and diluted loss per share

    243,196,171  

Pro forma basic and diluted net loss per share

    (0.41 )

12. Fair value measurement

        The Company's time deposits and non-financial assets, such as property and equipment, intangible assets were measured at fair value, only if they were determined to be impaired on an other than temporary basis.

        Time deposits placed with banks have an original maturity over three months. The fair value of time deposits is determined based on the prevailing interest rates in the market, which are also the interest rates as stated in the contracts with the banks. The Company classifies the valuation techniques that use the prevailing interest rates input as Level 2 of fair value measurements. This is because there generally are no quoted prices in active markets for identical time deposits at the reporting date. Hence, in order to determine the fair value, the Company must use observable inputs other than quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in inactive markets, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

13. Commitments and contingencies

a.
Commitments

        Operating lease commitments include the commitments under the lease agreements for the Group's office premises. The Group leases its office facilities under non-cancelable operating leases with various expiration dates through 2017. For the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016, lease expenses were

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CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(In thousands, except for share and per share data)

13. Commitments and contingencies (Continued)

RMB2,430 and RMB5,291, respectively. Based on the current rental lease agreements, future minimum lease payments required as of March 31, 2016 were as follows:

 
  Total   Less than
One Year
  One to
Three Years
  Over
Three Years
 
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Operating lease commitments

    31,935     19,958     11,977      

        Purchase commitments mainly include minimum commitments for non-cancellable advertising service contracts. Purchase commitments as of March 31, 2016 were as follows:

 
  Total   Less than
One Year
  Over
One Year
 
 
  RMB
  RMB
  RMB
 

Purchase commitments

    38,887     35,657     3,230  
b.
Contingencies

        There are no claims, lawsuits, investigations and proceedings, including unasserted claims that are probable to be assessed, that have in the recent past had, or to the Group's knowledge, are likely to have, a material change on the Group's financial position results of operations or cash flow.

14. Related party transactions

        In June 2014, Dasheng Zhixing entered into a five-year technology service agreement with Duowan Entertainment Corporation ("YY"), one of the Company's principal shareholders, which was amended in December 2015. This agreement provides Dasheng Zhixing with the right to use the audio and video streaming software, technical support service, servers and Internet connection bandwidth capacity from YY. The right to use the audio and video streaming software, servers, Internet connection bandwidth capacity and technology support are collectively referred to as "audio and video streaming solution". The audio and video streaming solution provided by YY is free of charge up to a preset level of bandwidth usage.

        The Company estimated the fair value of the audio and video streaming solution service provided by YY based on market value. For the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2016, the fair value of the audio and video streaming solution provided by YY is estimated to be RMB93 and RMB388, respectively, which is recognized as cost of revenues in the interim condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive loss, and a shareholder contribution in the interim condensed consolidated balance sheet of the Company.

15. Subsequent events

        In April 2016, the Group transferred all business operations and assets of Philippines Co I to Philippines Co III, including the office leasehold and office equipment in Baguio City, Philippines. Philippines Co III also entered into new employment agreements with the free trial tearchers and support staff previously employed by Philippines Co I.

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PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

ITEM 6.    INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

        Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company's articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent that 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. The post-offering amended and restated articles of association that will be adopted to become effective upon the completion of this offering provide for indemnification of officers and directors for losses, damages, costs and expenses incurred in their capacities as such, except through fraud, dishonesty, willful neglect or willful default of those officers or directors.

        Pursuant to the form of indemnification agreements filed as Exhibit 10.3 to this Registration Statement, we will agree to indemnify our directors and officers against certain liabilities and expenses incurred by such persons in connection with claims made by reason of their being such a director or officer.

        The Underwriting Agreement, the form of which is 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 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. We believe that each of the following issuances was exempt from registration under the Securities Act pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Securities Act regarding transactions not involving a public offering or in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act regarding sales by an issuer in offshore transactions.

Purchaser
  Date of Sale or
Issuance
  Number of Securities   Consideration
Kei Hattori and Zhen Partners Fund I, L.P.   June 28, 2013   25,000,000 ordinary shares   US$0.2 million
DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P.   June 28, 2013   30,000,000 series A preferred shares   US$2.0 million
DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P., Shunwei TMT II Limited and Duowan Entertainment Corp.   December 9, 2013   42,838,710 series B preferred shares   US$7.7 million
Shunwei TMT II Limited and Duowan Entertainment Corp.   December 9, 2013   5,395,000 series B preferred shares  
DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P., Duowan Entertainment Corp. and SCC Venture V Holdco I, Ltd.   July 21, 2014   56,300,081 series C preferred shares   US$24.9 million
Huaxing Capital Partners, L.P.   July 21, 2014   2,264,651 series C preferred shares  
Shunwei TMT II Limited   August 1, 2014   7,563,064 series C preferred shares   US$3.3 million
Shunwei TMT II Limited   August 1, 2014   5,072,817 series C preferred shares  
DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P., Shunwei TMT II Limited, Huaxing Capital Partners, L.P., SCC Growth I Holdco A, Ltd. and Engage Capital Partners I. L.P.   August 31, 2015   21,494,316 series D preferred shares   US$20 million
Certain officers and employees as a group       outstanding options to purchase 22,846,000 ordinary shares as of March 31, 2016   Past and future services to our Company

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ITEM 8.    EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.

(a)
Exhibits

        See Exhibit Index beginning on page II-6 of this registration statement.

        The agreements included as exhibits to this registration statement contain representations and warranties by each of the parties to the applicable agreement. These representations and warranties were made solely for the benefit of the other parties to the applicable agreement and (i) were not intended to be treated as categorical statements of fact, but rather as a way of allocating the risk to one of the parties if those statements prove to be inaccurate; (ii) may have been qualified in such agreement by disclosures that were made to the other party in connection with the negotiation of the applicable agreement; (iii) may apply contract standards of "materiality" that are different from "materiality" under the applicable securities laws; and (iv) were made only as of the date of the applicable agreement or such other date or dates as may be specified in the agreement.

        We acknowledge that, notwithstanding the inclusion of the foregoing cautionary statements, we are responsible for considering whether additional specific disclosures of material information regarding material contractual provisions are required to make the statements in this registration statement not misleading.

(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 or the Notes thereto.

ITEM 9.    UNDERTAKINGS.

        The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriter at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriter to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

        Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the provisions described in Item 6, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act 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 whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

        The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:

    (1)
    For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, 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 under Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act 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, 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.

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Table of Contents

    (3)
    For the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act to any purchaser, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use.

    (4)
    For the purpose of determining any liability of the registrant under the Securities Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

    (i)
    Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

    (ii)
    Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

    (iii)
    The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

    (iv)
    Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

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Table of Contents


SIGNATURES

        Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, 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 Beijing, China, on May 12, 2016.

  China Online Education Group

 

By:

 

/s/ JACK JIAJIA HUANG


      Name:   Jack Jiajia Huang

      Title:   Director and Chief Executive Officer


POWER OF ATTORNEY

        Each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints each of Jack Jiajia Huang and Jimmy Lai as attorneys-in-fact with full power of substitution, for him or her in any and all capacities, to do any and all acts and all things and to execute any and all instruments which said attorney and agent may deem necessary or desirable to enable the registrant to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and any rules, regulations and requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder, in connection with the registration under the Securities Act of ordinary shares of the registrant (the "Shares"), including, without limitation, the power and authority to sign the name of each of the undersigned in the capacities indicated below to the Registration Statement on Form F-1 (the "Registration Statement") to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission with respect to such Shares, to any and all amendments or supplements to such Registration Statement, whether such amendments or supplements are filed before or after the effective date of such Registration Statement, to any related Registration Statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, and to any and all instruments or documents filed as part of or in connection with such Registration Statement or any and all amendments thereto, whether such amendments are filed before or after the effective date of such Registration Statement; and each of the undersigned hereby ratifies and confirms all that such attorney and agent shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

        Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 
Signature
 
Title
 
Date

 

 

 

 

 

 
  /s/ JACK JIAJIA HUANG

Jack Jiajia Huang
  Director and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)   May 12, 2016

 

/s/ TING SHU

Ting Shu

 

Director and Senior Vice President

 

May 12, 2016

 

/s/ JIMMY LAI

Jimmy Lai

 

Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)

 

May 12, 2016

 

/s/ FRANK LIN

Frank Lin

 

Director

 

May 12, 2016

 

/s/ XING LIU

Xing Liu

 

Director

 

May 12, 2016

 

/s/ WEI LI

Wei Li

 

Director

 

May 12, 2016

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Table of Contents


SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES

        Pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of China Online Education Group has signed this registration statement or amendment thereto in New York on May 12, 2016.

  Authorized U.S. Representative



 

By:

 

/s/ GISELLE MANON

      Name:   Giselle Manon, on behalf of Law Debenture Corporate Services Inc.

      Title:   SOP Officer

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Table of Contents


China Online Education Group

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
Number
  Description of Document
  1.1 * Form of Underwriting Agreement
        
  3.1   Fourth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Registrant, as currently in effect
        
  3.2 * Form of Fifth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Registrant, as effective upon the completion of this offering
        
  4.1 * Registrant's Specimen American Depositary Receipt (included in Exhibit 4.3)
        
  4.2 * Registrant's Specimen Certificate for ordinary shares
        
  4.3 * Form of Deposit Agreement, among the Registrant, the depositary and holder of the American Depositary Receipts
        
  4.4   Third Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement dated as of August 31, 2015 among the Registrant, certain shareholders of the Registrant and other parties thereto
        
  5.1 * Opinion of Travers Thorp Alberga regarding the validity of the ordinary shares being registered
        
  8.1 * Opinion of Travers Thorp Alberga regarding certain Cayman Islands tax matters (included in Exhibit 5.1)
        
  8.2   Opinion of Han Kun Law Offices regarding certain PRC tax matters (included in Exhibit 99.2)
        
  8.3 * Opinion of Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles regarding certain Philippine tax matters (included in Exhibit 99.3)
        
  10.1   2013 Share Incentive Plan
        
  10.2   2014 Share Incentive Plan (as amended in February 2016)
        
  10.3   Form of Indemnification Agreement with the Registrant's directors and executive officers
        
  10.4   Form of Employment Agreement between the Registrant and an Executive Officer of the Registrant
        
  10.5   Amended and Restated Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement between Dasheng Online and Dasheng Zhixing dated December 14, 2015
        
  10.6   Exclusive Option Agreement among Dasheng Online, the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing and Dasheng Zhixing dated June 18, 2013
        
  10.7   Equity Interest Pledge Agreement among Dasheng Online, the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing and Dasheng Zhixing dated June 18, 2013
        
  10.8   Powers of Attorney granted by the shareholders of Dasheng Zhixing dated June 18, 2013
        
  10.9   Spousal Consent granted by Xiaoping Xu dated June 18, 2013
        
  10.10   Spousal Consent granted by Jack Jiajia Huang dated December 14, 2015
        
  10.11   Spousal Consent granted by Ting Shu dated December 14, 2015
        
  10.12   Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement between COE HK CO I and Philippines Co I dated July 21, 2014
        

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Table of Contents

Exhibit
Number
  Description of Document
  10.13   Exclusive Option Agreement among COE HK CO I, the shareholders of Philippines Co I and Philippines Co I dated July 21, 2014 and August 31, 2015
        
  10.14   Powers of Attorney granted by the shareholders of Philippines Co I dated July 21, 2014 and August 31, 2015
        
  10.15   Exclusive Option Agreement among COE, the shareholders of Philippines Co II and Philippines Co II dated August 31, 2015
        
  10.16   Powers of Attorney granted by the shareholders of Philippines Co II dated August 31, 2015
        
  10.17   Exclusive Option Agreement among COE, the shareholders of Philippines Co III and Philippines Co III dated February 1, 2016
        
  10.18   Powers of Attorney granted by the shareholders of Philippines Co III dated February 1, 2016
        
  10.19   English translation of Technology Service Agreement between Dasheng Zhixing and Guangzhou Huaduo dated December 28, 2015
        
  21.1   Principal subsidiaries and Variable Interest Entity of the Registrant
        
  23.1   Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
        
  23.2 * Consent of Travers Thorp Alberga (included in Exhibit 5.1)
        
  23.3   Consent of Han Kun Law Offices (included in Exhibit 99.2)
        
  23.4 * Consent of Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles (included in Exhibit 99.3)
        
  23.5   Consent of Frost & Sullivan
        
  24.1   Powers of Attorney (included on signature page)
        
  99.1 * Code of Business Conduct and Ethics of the Registrant
        
  99.2   Opinion of Han Kun Law Offices regarding certain PRC law matters
        
  99.3 * Opinion of Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles regarding certain Philippine law matters
        
  99.4   Waiver Request and Representations of the Registrant
        
  99.5   Consent of Conor Chia-hung Yang, an independent director appointee
        
  99.6   Consent of Xiaoguang Wu, an independent director appointee

*
To be filed by amendment.

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Exhibit 3.1

 

Company No.: 273567

 

FOURTH AMENDED AND RESTATED

 

MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

 

OF

 

China Online Education Group

 

Incorporated on the 30 th  day of November , 20 12

 

INCORPORATED IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS

 



 

THE COMPANIES LAW (201 3 Revision)

 

OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS

 

COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES

 

FOURTH AMENDED AND RESTATED MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION

 

OF

 

China Online Education Group

 

( As adopted by special resolution on August 31, 20 15 )

 

1.        The name of the Company is China Online Education Group.

 

2.                           The Registered Office of the Company shall be at the offices of NovaSage Incorporations (Cayman) Limited, Floor 4, Willow House, Cricket Square, P.O. Box 2582, Grand Cayman KY1-1103, Cayman Islands, or at such other place as the Directors may from time to time decide.

 

3.                           The objects for which the Company is established are unrestricted and shall include, but without limitation, the following:

 

(a)                                  (i)                   To carry on the business of an investment company and to act as promoters and entrepreneurs and to carry on business as financiers, capitalists, concessionaires, merchants, brokers, traders, dealers, agents, importers and exporters and to undertake and carry on and execute all kinds of investment, financial, commercial, mercantile, trading and other operations.

 

(ii)                To carry on whether as principals, agents or otherwise howsoever the business of realtors, developers, consultants, estate agents or managers, builders, contractors, engineers, manufacturers, dealers in or vendors of all types of property including services.

 

(b)                                  To exercise and enforce all rights and powers conferred by or incidental to the ownership of any shares, stock, obligations or other securities including without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing all such powers of veto or control as may be conferred by virtue of the holding by the Company of some special proportion of the issued or nominal amount thereof, to provide managerial and other executive, supervisory and consultant services for or in relation to any company in which the Company is interested upon such terms as may be thought fit.

 

(c)                                To purchase or otherwise acquire, to sell, exchange, surrender, lease, mortgage, charge, convert, turn to account, dispose of and deal with real and personal property and rights of all kinds and, in particular, mortgages, debentures, produce, concessions, options, contracts, patents, annuities, licenses, stocks, shares, bonds, policies, book debts, business concerns, undertakings, claims, privileges and choses in action of all kinds.

 

(d)                               To subscribe for, conditionally or unconditionally, to underwrite issue on commission or otherwise, take, hold, deal in and convert stocks, shares and securities of all kinds and to enter into partnership or into any arrangement for sharing profits, reciprocal concessions or cooperation with any person or company and to promote and aid in promoting, to constitute, form or organize any company syndicate or partnership of any kind, for the purpose of acquiring and undertaking any property and liabilities of the Company or of advancing, directly or indirectly, the objects of the Company or for any other purpose which the Company may think expedient.

 

(e)                                To stand surety for or to guarantee, support or secure the performance of all or any of the obligations of any person, firm or company whether or not related or affiliated to the Company

 

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in any manner and whether by personal covenant or by mortgage, charge or lien upon the whole or any part of the undertaking, property and assets of the Company, both present and future, including its uncalled capital or by any such method and whether or not the Company shall receive valuable consideration thereof.

 

(f)                                 To engage in or carry on any other lawful trade, business or enterprise which may at any time appear to the Directors of the Company capable of being conveniently carried on in conjunction with any of the aforementioned businesses or activities or which may appear to the Directors or the Company likely to be profitable to the Company.

 

In the interpretation of this Memorandum of Association in general and of this Clause 3 in particular no object, business or power specified or mentioned shall be limited or restricted by reference to or inference from any other object, business or power, or the name of the Company, or by the juxtaposition of two or more objects, businesses or powers and that, in the event of any ambiguity in this clause or elsewhere in this Memorandum of Association, the same shall be resolved by such interpretation and construction as will widen and enlarge and not restrict the objects, businesses and powers of and exercisable by the Company.

 

4 .                        Except as prohibited or limited by the Companies Law (2013 Revision) (as amended or modified from time to time), the Company shall have full power and authority to carry out any object and shall have and be capable of from time to time and at all times exercising any and all of the powers at any time or from time to time exercisable by a natural person or body corporate in doing in any part of the world whether as principal, agent, contractor or otherwise whatever may be considered by it necessary for the attainment of its objects and whatever else may be considered by it as incidental or conducive thereto or consequential thereon, including, but without in any way restricting the generality of the foregoing, the power to make any alterations or amendments to this Memorandum of Association and the Articles of Association of the Company considered necessary or convenient in the manner set out in the Articles of Association of the Company, and the power to do any of the following acts or things, viz: to pay all expenses of and incidental to the promotion, formation and incorporation of the Company; to register the Company to do business in any other jurisdiction; to sell, lease or dispose of any property of the Company; to draw, make, accept, endorse, discount, execute and issue promissory notes, debentures, bills of exchange, bills of lading, warrants and other negotiable or transferable instruments; to lend money or other assets and to act as guarantors; to borrow or raise money on the security of the undertaking or on all or any of the assets of the Company including uncalled capital or without security; to invest monies of the Company in such manner as the Directors determine; to promote other companies; to sell the undertaking of the Company for cash or any other consideration; to distribute assets in specie to Members of the Company; to make charitable or benevolent donations; to pay pensions or gratuities or provide other benefits in cash or kind to Directors, officers, employees, past or present and their families; to purchase Directors and officers liability insurance and to carry on any trade or business and generally to do all acts and things which, in the opinion of the Company or the Directors, may be conveniently or profitably or usefully acquired and dealt with, carried on, executed or done by the Company in connection with the business aforesaid PROVIDED THAT the Company shall only carry on the businesses for which a license is required under the laws of the Cayman Islands when so licensed under the terms of such laws.

 

5 .                        The liability of each Member is limited to the amount from time to time unpaid on such Member’s shares.

 

6 .                        The share capital of the Company is US$50,000 divided into (i) 329,071,361 Ordinary Shares of par value of US$0.0001 each, (ii) 30,000,000 convertible Series A Preferred Shares of par value of US$0.0001 each, (iii) 48,233,710 convertible Series B Preferred Shares of par value of US$0.0001 each, (iv) 71,200,613 convertible Series C Preferred Shares of par value of US$0.0001 and (v) 21,494,316 convertible Series D Preferred Shares of par value of US$0.0001 each, all of which with power for the Company insofar as is permitted by law, to redeem or purchase any of its shares and to increase or reduce the said capital subject to the provisions of the Companies Law (2013 Revision) (as amended or modified from time to time) and the Articles of Association and to issue any part of its capital, whether original, redeemed or increased with or without any preference, priority or special

 

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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 hereinbefore contained.

 

7 .                        If the Company is registered as exempted, its operations will be carried on subject to the provisions of Section 174 of the Companies Law (2013 Revision) (as amended or modified from time to time) and, subject to the provisions of the Companies Law (2013 Revision) (as amended or modified from time to time) and the Articles of Association, 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 deregistered in the Cayman Islands.

 

8 .                        The Company may amend its Memorandum of Association by a Special Resolution of Members in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Articles of Association.

 

9 .                        Capitalized terms that are not defined herein shall bear the same meanings as those given in the Articles of Association of the Company.

 

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THE COMPANIES LAW (2013 Revision)

 

OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS

 

COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES

 

FOURTH AMENDED AND RESTATED ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

 

OF

 

China Online Education Group

 

(As adopted by special resolution on August 31, 2015)

 

1.                                       In these Articles Table A in the Schedule to the Statute does not apply and, unless there be something in the subject or context inconsistent therewith,

 

Additional Ordinary Share

 

shall bear the meaning as ascribed to it in Article 17(e).

 

 

 

Affiliate

 

means: (i) as to any individual, his spouse, child, brother, sister, parent, trustee of any trust in which such individual or any of his immediate family members is a beneficiary or a discretionary object, or any entity or company Controlled by any of the aforesaid persons; and (ii) as to any Person not an individual, any Person which, directly or indirectly, Controls, is Controlled by or is under common Control with such Person, including, without limitation any member, general partner, officer or director of such Person and any venture capital fund now or hereafter existing which is controlled by or under common control with one or more general partners or shares the same management company with such Person. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the parties acknowledge and agree that (a) the name “Sequoia Capital” is commonly used to describe a variety of entities (collectively, the “ Sequoia Entities ”) that are affiliated by ownership or operational relationship and engaged in a broad range of activities related to investing and securities trading and (b) notwithstanding any other provision of these Articles to the contrary, these Articles shall not be binding on, or restrict the activities of, any (i) Sequoia Entity outside of the Sequoia China Sector Group or (ii) entity primarily engaged in investment and trading in the secondary securities market. For purposes of the foregoing, the “ Sequoia China Sector Group ” means all Sequoia Entities (whether currently existing or formed in the future) that are principally focused on companies located in, or with connections to, the People’s Republic of China.

 

 

 

Articles

 

means these Articles of Association as originally adopted or as from time to time altered by Special Resolution.

 

 

 

as adjusted

 

means as appropriately adjusted for any subsequent bonus issue, share split, consolidation, subdivision, reclassification, recapitalization or similar arrangement.

 

 

 

Auditors

 

means the Persons for the time being performing the duties of auditors of the Company, which shall be one of the “big-4” accounting firms or other accounting firm with international recognition and acceptable to all Investor Directors.

 

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Board of Directors ” or “ Board

 

means the board of directors of the Company.

 

 

 

“business day”

 

means a day, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, on which banks in Hong Kong are required to open for business throughout their normal business hours.

 

 

 

Chairman

 

means the chairman of the Board of Directors, or the chairman temporarily appointed at each of the general meeting of Members.

 

 

 

Company

 

means China Online Education Group, an exempted company organized and existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands.

 

 

 

Control” or “Controlled

 

means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management of a Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, credit arrangement or proxy, as trustee, executor, agent or otherwise. For the purpose of this definition, a Person shall be deemed to Control another Person if such first Person, directly or indirectly, owns or holds more than 50% of the voting equity interests in such other Person.

 

 

 

Cooperation Documents

 

has the meaning ascribed to it in the Shareholders’ Agreement.

 

 

 

Conversion Price

 

means, with respect to the Series A Preferred Shares, the Series A Conversion Price, with respect to the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series B Conversion Price, with respect to the Series C Preferred Shares, the Series C Conversion Price and with respect to the Series D Preferred Shares, the Series D Conversion Price, collectively, the “ Conversion Prices ”.

 

 

 

debenture

 

means debenture stock, mortgages, bonds and any other such securities of the Company whether constituting a charge on the assets of the Company or not.

 

 

 

Directors

 

means the members of the Board of Directors of the Company.

 

 

 

Dispose

 

means to make or to effect any sale, assignment, exchange, transfer, or to grant any option, right of first refusal or other right or interest whatsoever or to enter into agreement for any of the same and the expression “ Disposal ” shall be construed accordingly.

 

 

 

Encumbrance

 

means any mortgage, charge, pledge, lien (otherwise than arising by statute or operation of law), hypothecation, equities, adverse claims, or other encumbrance, priority or security interest, over or in any property, assets or rights of whatsoever nature or interest or any agreement for any off the same.

 

 

 

Equity Securities

 

means any Ordinary Shares or Ordinary Share Equivalents of the Company.

 

 

 

ESOP

 

means any stock option plan or equity incentive plan in relation to the grant or issue of shares, stock options or any other securities to its employees, officers, directors, consultants and/or other eligible persons from time to time adopted by the Company by the written resolutions of the Board of Directors dated September 16, 2013, as amended from time to time.

 

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Founders

 

means collectively, HUANG Jiajia, whose PRC ID number is 320623198512176631, and SHU Ting, whose PRC ID number is 360702198602110645.

 

 

 

Founder Entities

 

means collectively, Dasheng Global Limited and Dasheng Online Limited, and each a “ Founder Entity ”.

 

 

 

GAAP

 

means the generally accepted accounting principles in any jurisdiction in effect satisfactory to the Majority Preferred Holders from time to time.

 

 

 

Group Companies

 

means the (i) Company, (ii) China Online Education (HK) Limited, a company organized under the laws of Hong Kong, (iii) 51 Talk English International Limited, a company organized under the laws of Hong Kong, (iv) 51Talk English Philippines Corporation, an export market enterprise organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines, (v) China Online Innovations Inc., an enterprise organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines, (vi) Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. ( 北京大生在线科技有限公司 ), a wholly foreign-owned enterprise organized and existing under the Laws of the PRC, (vii) Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. ( 北京大生知行科技有限公司 ), a limited liability company organized and existing under the Laws of the PRC, and (vi) their respective Subsidiaries from time to time (with each of such Group Companies being referred to as a “ Group Company ”).

 

 

 

“IFRS”

 

means the International Financial Reporting Standards prepared by the International Accounting Standards Board, as amended from time to time.

 

 

 

Liquidation Event

 

means (A) any liquidation, winding up or dissolution of the Company; (B) a sale, lease, transfer, exclusive license or other Disposal, in a single transaction or series of related transactions, by the Group Companies of all or substantially all of the assets and/or intellectual property of the Group Companies, taken as a whole; (C) a sale, transfer or other disposition of a majority of the issued and outstanding share capital of any Group Company or a majority of the voting power of such Group Company; or (D) a merger, consolidation, amalgamation or acquisition of the Company by a third party, or any other corporate reorganization or scheme of arrangement, in which the Members of any Group Company immediately before such transaction own less than fifty percent (50%) of the voting power of such Group Company, the surviving entity or the entity controlling the surviving entity immediately after such transaction (excluding any transaction effected solely for tax purposes or to change the Company’s domicile).

 

 

 

“Majority A Holders”

 

means the holder(s) of a majority of the Series A Preferred Shares then outstanding.

 

 

 

“Majority B Holders”

 

means the holder(s) of a majority of the Series B Preferred Shares then outstanding.

 

 

 

“Majority C Holders”

 

means the holder(s) of a majority of the Series C Preferred Shares then outstanding.

 

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“Majority D Holders”

 

means the holder(s) of a majority of the Series D Preferred Shares then outstanding.

 

 

 

“Majority Preferred Holders”

 

means the Majority A Holders, the Majority B Holders, the Majority C Holders and the Majority D Holders.

 

 

 

Main Business

 

the main business operated by the Group Companies, including on-line English training.

 

 

 

Member

 

shall bear the meaning as ascribed to it in the Statute.

 

 

 

Memorandum

 

means the memorandum of association of the Company in force and effect, as amended and restated from time to time.

 

 

 

month

 

means calendar month.

 

 

 

Ordinary Share

 

means the ordinary shares in the capital of the Company with a par value of US$0.0001per share.

 

 

 

Ordinary Share Equivalents

 

means any rights, options, or warrants to purchase or exercisable for Ordinary Shares (the “ Options ”), or any evidence of indebtedness, or securities of any type whatsoever that are, or may become, convertible into, exchangeable for or exercisable for the said equity securities (the “ Convertible Securities ”), including, without limitation, the Preferred Shares.

 

 

 

ordinary resolution

 

a resolution of Members passed either (i) as a written resolution signed by all Members of the Company, or (ii) at a meeting by Members holding not less than two thirds (2/3) of all the issued and outstanding shares of the Company, calculated on a fully converted basis, subject to Articles 74 and 75.

 

 

 

paid-up

 

means paid-up and/or credited as paid-up.

 

 

 

Person” or “person

 

means any natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, trust, public body or government or other entity of any kind or nature.

 

 

 

Preferred Shares

 

means the Series A Preferred Shares, the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series C Preferred Shares and the Series D Preferred Shares, and “ Preferred Share ” shall mean any of them.

 

 

 

Qualified IPO

 

means an initial public offering of the Ordinary Shares of the Company in the United States of America pursuant to an effective registration under the Securities Act of 1933 of the United States of America (including any amendments and any similar federal statute and rules and regulations of commission thereunder) or on a reputable stock exchange in Tokyo, London, Hong Kong, Singapore or other jurisdictions acceptable to the Majority Preferred Holders, with a pre-IPO valuation of the Company of not less than US$500,000,000 (before deduction of underwriting commissions and expenses).

 

 

 

Redemption Date

 

means, with respect to the Series A Preferred Shares, the Series A Redemption Date, with respect to the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series B Redemption Date, with respect to the Series C Preferred Shares, the Series C Redemption Date, and with respect to the Series D Preferred Shares, the Series D Redemption Date, and collectively,

 

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the “ Redemption Dates ”.

 

 

 

Redemption Price

 

means with respect to the Series A Preferred Shares, the Series A Redemption Price, with respect to the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series B Redemption Price, with respect to the Series C Preferred Shares, the Series C Redemption Price, and with respect to the Series D Preferred Shares, the Series D Redemption Price, and collectively, the “ Redemption Prices ”.

 

 

 

Redemption Start Date

 

means, with respect to the Series A Preferred Shares, the Series A Redemption Start Date, with respect to the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series B Redemption Start Date, with respect to the Series C Preferred Shares, the Series C Redemption Start Date, and with respect to the Series D Preferred Shares, the Series D Redemption Start Date, and collectively, the “ Redemption Start Date ”.

 

 

 

registered office

 

means the registered office for the time being of the Company.

 

 

 

Seal

 

means the common seal of the Company and includes every duplicate seal.

 

 

 

Secretary

 

includes an Assistant Secretary and any person appointed to perform the duties of Secretary of the Company.

 

 

 

Securities

 

means any shares, stocks, debentures, funds, bonds, notes or any rights, warrants, options or interests in respect of any of the foregoing or any other derivatives or instruments having similar economic effect.

 

 

 

Senior Managers

 

means Vice Presidents and above positions of the Group Companies.

 

 

 

Sequoia

 

means collectively, SCC Growth I Holdco A, Ltd. and/or SCC Venture V Holdco I, Ltd., including their respective successor(s) and/or assign(s).

 

 

 

Series A Conversion Price

 

shall bear the meaning as ascribed to it in Article 16(a).

 

 

 

Series A Preference Amount

 

shall bear the meaning as ascribed to it in Article 138.

 

 

 

Series A Preferred Shares

 

means the convertible series A preferred shares in the capital of the Company with par value of US$0.0001 per share having the rights set out in these Articles.

 

 

 

Series A Purchase Price

 

means original purchase price of the Series A Preferred Shares, i.e., US$0.0667 per Series A Preferred Share.

 

 

 

Series B Conversion Price

 

shall bear the meaning as ascribed to it in Article 16(a).

 

 

 

Series B Preference Amount

 

shall bear the meaning as ascribed to it in Article 138.

 

 

 

Series B Preferred Shares

 

means the convertible series B preferred shares in the capital of the Company with par value of US$0.0001 per share having the rights set out in these Articles.

 

 

 

Series B Purchase Price

 

means US$0.1807 per Series B Preferred Share.

 

 

 

Series C Conversion Price

 

shall bear the meaning as ascribed to it in Article 16(a).

 

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Series C Issue Date

 

means the date on which the Series C Preferred Shares was first issued.

 

 

 

Series C Preference Amount

 

shall bear the meaning as ascribed to it in Article 138.

 

 

 

Series C Preferred Shares

 

means the convertible series C preferred shares in the capital of the Company with par value of US$0.0001 per share having the rights set out in these Articles.

 

 

 

Series C Purchase Price

 

means US$0.4416 per Series C Preferred Share.

 

 

 

Series D Conversion Price

 

shall bear the meaning as ascribed to it in Article 16(a).

 

 

 

Series D Issue Date

 

means the date on which the Series D Preferred Shares was first issued.

 

 

 

Series D Preference Amount

 

shall bear the meaning as ascribed to it in Article 138.

 

 

 

Series D Preferred Shares

 

means the convertible series D preferred shares in the capital of the Company with par value of US$0.0001 per share having the rights set out in these Articles.

 

 

 

Series D Purchase Price

 

means US$[0.930] per Series D Preferred Share.

 

 

 

Series D Purchase Agreement

 

means the means the share subscription agreement dated August 29, 2015 by and among the Group Companies, the Founders, the Founder Entity, and certain other parties thereto with respect to the sales and purchase of Series D Preferred Shares.

 

 

 

share

 

means any of the Ordinary Shares and the Preferred Shares including a fraction of a share.

 

 

 

Shareholders’ Agreement

 

means the Third Amended and Restated Shareholders’ Agreement dated August 31, 2015 by and among, inter alia, the holders of Ordinary Shares, the holders of Preferred Shares and the Company.

 

 

 

Special Resolution

 

means in accordance with the Statute and these Articles: (i) a Members’ resolution passed by Members who hold, in the aggregate, at least two-thirds (2/3) of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company, calculated on an as converted basis, and who, being entitled to do so, vote in Person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy, or, in the case of corporations, by their duly authorized representatives, at a general meeting of which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a Special Resolution has been duly given, or (ii) a unanimous written resolution of all Members entitled to vote and expressed to be a special resolution, subject to Article 74 and Article 75.

 

 

 

Share Restriction Agreement

 

means the third amended and restated share restriction agreement dated August 31, 2015, by and among the Company, the Founders and certain other parties thereto.

 

 

 

Statute

 

means the Companies Law of the Cayman Islands as amended and every statutory modification or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force.

 

 

 

“Subsidiary” or “ subsidiary

 

means, as of the relevant date of determination, with respect to any Person (the “subject entity”), (i) any Person (x) more than fifty percent

 

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(50%) of whose shares or other interests entitled to vote in the election of directors or (y) more than a fifty percent (50%) interest in the profits or capital of such Person are owned or controlled directly or indirectly by the subject entity or through one (1) or more Subsidiaries of the subject entity, (ii) any Person whose assets, or portions thereof, are consolidated with the net earnings of the subject entity and are recorded on the books of the subject entity for financial reporting purposes in accordance with IFRS or GAAP, or (iii) any Person with respect to which the subject entity has the power to otherwise direct the business and policies of that entity directly or indirectly through another subsidiary.

 

 

 

Transaction Documents

 

means, collectively, the Series D Purchase Agreement, the Shareholders Agreement, theses Articles and the Share Restriction Agreement.

 

 

 

written ” and “ in writing

 

include all modes of representing or reproducing words in visible form.

 

 

 

YY

 

means collectively, Duowan Entertainment Corp. and/or Engage Capital Partners I, L.P., including their respective successor(s) and/or assign(s).

 

Words importing the singular number also include the plural number and vice versa.

 

Words importing the masculine gender also include the feminine gender.

 

Words importing persons also include corporations.

 

Capitalized words not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Shareholders’ Agreement.

 

2.                                       The business of the Company may be commenced as soon after incorporation as the Directors shall see fit, notwithstanding that only part of the shares may have been allotted.

 

3.                                       The Directors may pay, out of the capital or any other monies of the Company, all expenses incurred in or about the formation and establishment of the Company including the expenses of registration.

 

CERTIFICATES FOR SHARES

 

4.                                       Certificates representing shares of the Company shall be in such form as shall be determined by the Directors.  Such certificates may be under Seal.  Share certificates shall be signed by one or more Directors or other persons authorized by the Directors.  The Company shall not be bound to issue more than one certificate for shares held jointly by more than one person and delivery of a certificate to one joint holder shall be a sufficient delivery to all of them.  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 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.

 

Each certificate representing the shares shall bear legends substantially in the following form (in addition to any legend required under the laws of the Cayman Islands):

 

THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO

 

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CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER AS SET FORTH IN A SHAREHOLDERS’ AGREEMENT DATED AS OF AUGUST 31, 2015 AS MAY BE AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME, A COPY OF WHICH IS ON FILE AT THE PRINCIPAL OFFICE OF THE COMPANY AND WILL BE FURNISHED UPON REQUEST TO THE HOLDER OF RECORD OF THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE.

 

5.                                       Notwithstanding Article 4 of these Articles, if a share certificate be defaced, lost or destroyed, it may be renewed on payment of a fee of one dollar (US$1.00) or such less sum and on such terms (if any) as to evidence and indemnity and the payment of the expenses incurred by the Company in investigating evidence, as the Directors may prescribe.

 

ISSUE OF SHARES

 

6.                                       Subject to the provisions, if any, in the Memorandum, and these Articles and to any direction that may be given by the Company in a general meeting, the rights of first offer of the relevant Member(s) under the Shareholders’ Agreement, and without prejudice to any special rights previously conferred on the holders of existing shares, the Directors may allot, issue, grant options over or otherwise dispose of shares of the Company (including fractions of a share) with or without preferred, deferred or other special rights or restrictions, whether in regard to dividend, voting, return of capital or otherwise and to such persons, at such times and on such other terms as they think proper PROVIDED ALWAYS that, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in these Articles, the Company shall be precluded from issuing bearer shares, bearer warrants, bearer coupons or bearer certificates.

 

7.                                       The Company shall maintain a register of its Members and every person whose name is entered as a Member in the register of Members shall be entitled without payment to receive within two (2) months after allotment or lodgement of transfer (or within such other period as the conditions of issue shall provide) one certificate for all his shares or several certificates each for one or more of his shares upon payment of fifty cents (US$0.50) for every certificate after the first or such less sum as the Directors shall from time to time determine 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 the several joint holders shall be sufficient delivery to all such holders.

 

TRANSFER OF SHARES

 

8.                                       The instrument of transfer of any share shall be in writing and shall be executed by or on behalf of the transferor and the transferor shall be deemed to remain the holder of a share until the name of the transferee is entered in the register in respect thereof.  Any sale, assigning or other transfer or disposal of shares shall be made in accordance to the Shareholders’ Agreement, the Share Restriction Agreement and the Articles.

 

9.                                       The Directors may not decline to register any transfer of shares unless such registration of transfer would be contrary to any provisions in the Memorandum, any provisions of these Articles, the Statute, or any other agreement binding on the Company (including the Shareholders’ Agreement and the Share Restriction Agreement), or such refusal to register the transfer is with reasonable cause.  If the Directors refuse to register a transfer, they shall notify the transferee of such refusal within five (5) business days after receipt of a request for such transfer, providing a detailed explanation of the reason therefore.

 

10.                                The registration of transfers may be suspended at such time and for such periods as the Directors may from time to time determine, provided always that such registration shall not be suspended for more than forty-five (45) days in any year.

 

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REDEMPTION AND PURCHASE OF SHARES

 

11.                    (a) Subject to the provisions of the Statute, these Articles, the Memorandum, the Shareholders’ Agreement and the Share Restriction Agreement, shares may be issued on the terms that they are, or at the option of the Company, to be redeemed on such terms and in such manner as the Company, before the issue of the shares, may by Ordinary Resolution determine.

 

(b)    Subject to the provisions of the Statute, these Articles, the Memorandum, the Shareholders’ Agreement and the Share Restriction Agreement, the Company may purchase its own shares (including fractions of a share), including any redeemable shares, provided that the manner of purchase has first been authorized by the Company in general meeting by a Special Resolution and may make payment therefor in any manner authorized by the Statute, including out of capital.

 

11 A.   (a)     Notwithstanding Article 11(b), at any time on or after the earlier to occur of (i) sixty (60) months of the Series C Issue Date, and (ii) any material breach by any Group Company or any Founder or Founder Entity of the Transaction Documents (such earlier date, the “ Series D Redemption Start Date ”), and subject to the Statute, at the option of a holder of the Series D Preferred Shares, the Company shall redeem all or any of the issued and outstanding Series D Preferred Shares held by the requesting holder out of funds legally available therefor including capital, at a redemption price (the “ Series  D Redemption Price ”) per Series D Preferred Share equal to the greater of (i) Series D Purchase Price, plus all declared but unpaid dividends thereon up to the date of redemption, proportionally adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, reclassifications, consolidations or mergers; and (ii) the fair market value of such Series D Preferred Share, the valuation of which shall be determined through an independent appraisal performed by a reputable appraisal firm mutually agreed upon by the Majority D Holders (voting as a separate class and on an as-converted basis) and the Company; provided that such valuation shall not take into account any liquidity or minority interest discounts.

 

( b)    Notwithstanding Article 11(b), at any time on or after sixty (60) months of the Series C Issue Date or when any other series of Preferred Shares becomes redeemable, whichever is earlier (the “ Series  C Redemption Start Date ”), and subject to the Statute, at the option of a holder of the Series C Preferred Shares, the Company shall redeem all of the issued and outstanding Series C Preferred Shares held by the requesting holder out of funds legally available therefor including capital, at a redemption price (the “ Series  C Redemption Price ”) per Series C Preferred Share equal to the greater of (i) Series C Purchase Price, plus all declared but unpaid dividends thereon up to the date of redemption, proportionally adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, reclassifications, consolidations or mergers; and (ii) the fair market value of such Series C Preferred Share, the valuation of which shall be determined through an independent appraisal performed by a reputable appraisal firm mutually agreed upon by the Majority C Holders (voting as a separate class and on an as-converted basis) and the Company; provided that such valuation shall not take into account any liquidity or minority interest discounts.

 

( c)     Notwithstanding Article 11(b), at any time on or after sixty (60) months of the Series C Issue Date (the “ Series B Redemption Start Date ”), and subject to the Statute, at the option of a holder of the Series B Preferred Shares, the Company shall redeem all of the issued and outstanding Series B Preferred Shares held by the requesting holder out of funds legally available therefor including capital, at a redemption price (the “ Series B Redemption Price ”) per Series B Preferred Share equal to the greater of (i) Series B Purchase Price, plus all declared but unpaid dividends thereon up to the date of redemption, proportionally adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, reclassifications, consolidations or mergers; and (ii) the fair market value of such Series B Preferred Share, being no less than par, the valuation of which shall be determined through an independent appraisal performed by a reputable appraisal firm mutually agreed upon by the Majority B Holders (voting as a separate class and on an as-converted basis) and the Company; provided that such valuation shall not take into account any liquidity or minority interest discounts.

 

( d)    Notwithstanding Article 11(b), at any time on or after the  sixty (60) months of the Series C Issue Date (the “ Series  A Redemption Start Date ”, collectively with the Series B Redemption Start

 

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Date, Series C Redemption Start Date and Series D Redemption Start Date, the “ Redemption Start Date ), and subject to the Statute, at the option of a holder of the Series A Preferred Shares, the Company shall redeem all of the issued and outstanding Series A Preferred Shares held by the requesting holder out of funds legally available therefor including capital, at a redemption price (the “ Series  A Redemption Price ”, collectively with the Series B Redemption Price, Series C Redemption Price and Series D Redemption Price, the “ Redemption Price ”) per Series A Preferred Share equal to the greater of (i) Series A Purchase Price, plus all declared but unpaid dividends thereon up to the date of redemption, proportionally adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, reclassifications, consolidations or mergers; and (ii) the fair market value of such Series A Preferred Share, the valuation of which shall be determined through an independent appraisal performed by a reputable appraisal firm mutually agreed upon by the Majority A Holders (voting as a separate class and on an as-converted basis) and the Company; provided that such valuation shall not take into account any liquidity or minority interest discounts.

 

(e)     A notice of redemption (the “ Redemption Notice ”) by the holders of the applicable Preferred Shares to be redeemed (as the case may be) shall be given by hand or by mail to the registered office of the Company at any time on or after the date falling thirty (30) days before the applicable Redemption Start Date, stating the date on or after such applicable Redemption Start Date on which the Series A Preferred Shares are to be redeemed (the “ Series A Redemption Date ”) or on which the Series B Preferred Shares are to be redeemed (the “ Series B R edemption Date ”) or on which the Series C Preferred Shares are to be redeemed (the “ Series C R edemption Date ”) or on which the Series D Preferred Shares are to be redeemed (the “ Series D R edemption Date ”, together with the Series A Redemption Date, Series B Redemption Date and Series C Redemption Start Date,  collectively, the “ Redemption Dates ”), PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that no Redemption Date shall be earlier than the applicable Redemption Start Date or the date thirty (30) days after Redemption Notice for such redemption is given, whichever is later. Upon receipt of any such request, the Company shall promptly give written notice of the redemption request to each non-requesting holder of record of such class of Preferred Shares stating the existence of such request, the applicable Redemption Price, the applicable Redemption Date and the mechanics of redemption.

 

( f)      If on the applicable Redemption Date, the number of Preferred Shares that may then be legally redeemed by the Company is less than the number of all the Preferred Shares to be redeemed, then, (i) the funds of the Company legally available for redemption shall first be used to redeem the Series D Preferred Shares from each holder thereof requesting for redemption in proportion to their respective number of Series D Preferred Shares to be redeemed, (ii) the remaining funds, if any, shall be used to redeem the Series C Preferred Shares from each holder thereof requesting for redemption in proportion to their respective number of Series C Preferred Shares to be redeemed, (iii) the remaining funds, if any, shall be used to redeem the Series B Preferred Shares from each holder thereof requesting for redemption in proportion to their respective number of Series B Preferred Shares to be redeemed, and (iv) the remaining funds, if any, shall be used to redeem the Series A Preferred Shares from each holder thereof requesting for redemption in proportion to their respective number of Series A Preferred Shares to be redeemed.  The remaining Preferred Shares to be redeemed shall be carried forward and redeemed as soon as the Company has legally available funds to do so.

 

(g)     Before any holder of Preferred Shares shall be entitled for redemption under the provisions of this Article 11A, such holder shall surrender his/her/its certificate or certificates representing such Preferred Shares to be redeemed to the Company in the manner and at the place designated by the Company for that purpose, and thereupon the applicable Redemption Price shall be payable to the order of the person whose name appears on such certificate or certificates as the owner of such shares and each such certificate shall be cancelled and the Company shall update its register of members accordingly. In the event less than all the shares represented by any such certificate are redeemed, a new certificate shall be promptly issued representing the unredeemed shares. Unless there has been a default in payment of the applicable Redemption Price, upon cancellation of the certificate representing such Preferred Shares to be redeemed, all dividends on such Preferred Shares designated for redemption on the applicable Redemption Date shall cease to accrue and all rights of the holders thereof, except the right to receive the applicable Redemption Price thereof

 

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(including all accrued and unpaid dividend up to the applicable Redemption Date), without interest, shall cease and terminate and such Preferred Shares shall cease to be issued shares of the Company.

 

( h)    If the Company fails (for whatever reason) to redeem any Preferred Shares on its due date for redemption then, as from such date until the date on which the same are redeemed the Company shall not declare or pay any dividend nor otherwise make any distribution of or otherwise decrease its profits available for distribution.

 

( i)        To the extent permitted by law and the Articles, the Company shall procure that the profits of each Subsidiary of the Company for the time being available for distribution shall be paid to it by way of dividend or in any other manner if and to the extent that, but for such payment, the Company would not itself otherwise have sufficient profits available for distribution to make any redemption of Preferred Shares required to be made pursuant to this Article.

 

( j)  The rights of the holders of Series D Preferred Shares under this Article 11A shall be pari passu and pro rata based on the respective total numbers of Series D Preferred Shares held by such participating holders (calculated on an as-converted basis).  The rights of the holders of Series C Preferred Shares under this Article 11A shall be pari passu and pro rata based on the respective total numbers of Series C Preferred Shares held by such participating holders (calculated on an as-converted basis).  The rights of the holders of Series B Preferred Shares under this Article 11A shall be pari passu and pro rata based on the respective total numbers of Series B Preferred Shares held by such participating holders (calculated on an as-converted basis).  The rights of the holders of Series A Preferred Shares under this Article 11A shall be pari passu and pro rata based on the respective total numbers of Series A Preferred Shares held by such participating holders (calculated on an as-converted basis).

 

(k) Notwithstanding anything to contrary in this Article 11A, if on the Series D Redemption Date, Series C Redemption Date, Series B Redemption Date, or the Series A Redemption Date, as the case may be, the number of Series D Preferred Shares, the number of Series C Preferred Shares, the number of Series B Preferred Shares, or the number of Series A Preferred Shares, as the case may be, that may then be legally redeemed by the Company is less than the number of all Series D Preferred Share, the number of all Series C Preferred Share, the number of all Series B Preferred Shares, or the number of all Series A Preferred Shares to be redeemed, as the case may be, at the written request and approval of the Majority D Holders, the Majority C Holders, the Majority B Holders, or the Majority A Holders, as the case may be, the Company shall, and all the shareholders of the Company (including the holders of the Preferred Shares and Ordinary Shares) shall vote for or otherwise cause the Company to, dissolve and liquidate the Company pursuant to Article 138.

 

VARIATION OF RIGHTS OF SHARES

 

12.                      Subject to the Shareholders’ Agreement, if at any time the share capital of the Company is divided into different classes or series of shares, the rights attached 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, be varied with the consent in writing of the holders of three-fourths of the issued shares of that class or series or with the sanction of a Special Resolution passed at a general meeting of the holders of the shares of that class or series.

 

The provisions of these Articles relating to general meetings shall apply to every such general meeting of the holders of one class or series of shares except that the necessary quorum shall be one person holding or representing by proxy at least half of the issued shares of the class or series and that any holder of shares of the class or series present in person or by proxy may demand a poll.

 

13.                    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 further shares ranking pari passu therewith.

 

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COMMISSION ON SALE OF SHARES

 

14.                    The Company may in so far as the Statute from time to time permits and with the consents of the Majority Preferred Holders, (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 of the Company.  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 fee as may be lawful and commercially reasonable.

 

NON-RECOGNITION OF TRUSTS

 

15.                    No person shall be recognized by the Company as holding any share upon any trust and the Company shall not be bound by or be compelled in any way to recognize (even when having notice thereof) any equitable, contingent, future, or partial interest in any share, or any interest in any fractional part of a share, or (except only as is otherwise provided by these Articles or the Statute) any other rights in respect of any share except an absolute right to the entirety thereof in the registered holder.

 

CONVERSION OF PREFERRED SHARES

 

16.                    The holders of Preferred Shares shall have the conversion rights as follows:

 

(a)     Right to Convert.

 

(A)                                Each Series A Preferred Share shall be convertible, at the option of the holder of such Series A Preferred Share, at any time after the date of issuance of such Series A Preferred Share, into such number of fully paid and non-assessable Ordinary Shares as is determined by dividing Series A Purchase Price by the conversion price applicable to such Series A Preferred Share (the “Series A Conversion Price” ), being no less than par value per share, determined as hereafter provided, in effect on the date the certificate is surrendered for conversion.  The initial Series A Conversion Price shall initially equal to the Series A Purchase Price, and shall be adjusted from time to time as provided below.  For the avoidance of doubt, the initial conversion ratio for Series A Preferred Shares to Ordinary Shares shall be 1:1.

 

( B)                                Each Series B Preferred Share shall be convertible, at the option of the holder of such Series B Preferred Share, at any time after the date of issuance of such Series B Preferred Share, into such number of fully paid and non-assessable Ordinary Shares as is determined by dividing Series B Purchase Price by the conversion price applicable to such Series B Preferred Share (the “Series  B Conversion Price” ), determined as hereafter provided, in effect on the date the certificate is surrendered for conversion.  The initial Series B Conversion Price shall initially equal to the Series B Purchase Price, and shall be adjusted from time to time as provided below.  For the avoidance of doubt, the initial conversion ratio for Series B Preferred Shares to Ordinary Shares shall be 1:1.

 

( C)                                Each Series C Preferred Share shall be convertible, at the option of the holder of such Series C Preferred Share, at any time after the date of issuance of such Series C Preferred Share, into such number of fully paid and non-assessable Ordinary Shares as is determined by dividing Series C Purchase Price by the conversion price applicable to such Series C Preferred Share (the “Series  C Conversion Price” ), determined as hereafter provided, in effect on the date the certificate is surrendered for conversion.  The initial Series C Conversion Price shall initially equal to the Series C Purchase Price, and shall be adjusted from time to time as provided below.  For the avoidance of doubt, the initial conversion ratio for Series C Preferred Shares to Ordinary Shares shall be 1:1.

 

( D)                                Each Series D Preferred Share shall be convertible, at the option of the holder of such Series D Preferred Share, at any time after the date of issuance of such Series D Preferred Share, into such number of fully paid and non-assessable Ordinary Shares as

 

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is determined by dividing Series  D Purchase Price by the conversion price applicable to such Series D Preferred Share (the “Series  D Conversion Price” ), determined as hereafter provided, in effect on the date the certificate is surrendered for conversion.  The initial Series D Conversion Price shall initially equal to the Series D Purchase Price, and shall be adjusted from time to time as provided below.  For the avoidance of doubt, the initial conversion ratio for Series D Preferred Shares to Ordinary Shares shall be 1:1.

 

(b)          Automatic Conversion.  Without any action being required by the holder of such share and whether or not the certificates representing such share are surrendered to the Company or its transfer agent, each Preferred Share shall automatically be converted into Ordinary Shares at the then effective applicable Conversion Price upon (i) the closing of a Qualified IPO, or (ii) the written consents of the Majority A Holders (on an as-if-converted basis) with respect to the conversion of the Series A Preferred Shares, the written consents of Majority B Holders (on an as-if-converted basis) with respect to the conversion of the Series B Preferred Shares, the written consents of the Majority C Holders (on an as-if-converted basis) with respect to the conversion of the Series C Preferred Shares or the written consents of the Majority D Holders (on an as-if-converted basis) with respect to the conversion of the Series D Preferred Shares (each of the conversions effected pursuant to this Article 16(b), a “ Automatic Conversion ”, collectively, the “ Automatic Conversion s ”).

 

On and after the date of a ny Automatic Conversion, notwithstanding that any certificates for the Preferred Shares shall not have been surrendered for conversion, the Preferred Shares evidenced thereby shall be deemed to be no longer issued and outstanding, and all rights with respect thereto shall forthwith cease and terminate, except only the rights of the holder (i) to receive the Ordinary Shares to which such holder shall be entitled upon conversion thereof, (ii) to receive the amount of cash payable in respect of any fractional share of Ordinary Shares to which it shall be entitled and (iii) with respect to dividends declared but unpaid on such Preferred Shares prior to such conversion date.

 

(c)           Mechanics of Conversion. The Company shall give effect to any conversion pursuant to these Articles by any of the following methods (or a combination thereof) and in all such cases the form, manner, timing and execution of the conversion shall, subject to these Articles, occur as set out below:

 

(i)      In the event the total nominal par value of the shares being converted is equal to the total nominal par value of the shares into which they convert, the Company may, by resolution of the Board of Directors, re-designate shares of a particular class to shares of another class.  Upon the passing of such resolution, each share to be converted shall be re-designated as a share of the class into which it is being converted (with the rights, privileges, terms and obligations of such class) and the converted share shall from that point form part of the class into which it has been converted (and shall cease to form part of the class from which it was converted);

 

(ii)     The Company may repurchase or redeem the converting shares and, in consideration thereof, then issue appropriate number of shares of the class into which such shares are to be converted. The Board of Directors has the authority (notwithstanding any other provision of these Articles to the contrary) to effect such repurchase or redemption and issue of shares in such manner as it considers appropriate and, in particular, may ascribe such value as it considers appropriate by way of determination of the repurchase or redemption price and issue price.  Shares which are repurchased or redeemed pursuant to this Article are cancelled as a matter of law and shall not be re-issued as shares carrying a conversion right; and

 

(iii)    The Company may take such other method as may be permitted by law from time to time as the Directors consider to be in the best interests of the Company.

 

No fractional Ordinary Shares shall be issued upon conversion of the Preferred Shares. All Ordinary Shares (including any fractions thereof) issuable upon conversion of Preferred Shares by a holder thereof shall be aggregated for purposes of determining whether the issuance would

 

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result in the issuance of any fractional share.  In lieu of any fractional shares to which the holder thereof would otherwise be entitled, the Company shall pay cash equal to such fraction multiplied by the then effective applicable Conversion Price, unless the payment would amount to less than US$50.00 in aggregate payable to any single converting holder of Preferred Shares in which case such amount will not be distributed but shall be retained for the benefit of the Company.

 

Before any holder of the Preferred Shares shall be entitled to convert the same into Ordinary Shares and to receive certificates therefore, such holder shall give not less than two (2) business days prior written notice to the Company at such office that it elects to convert the same and surrender the certificate or certificates therefore, duly endorsed, at the office of the Company or of any transfer agent for the Preferred Shares on the expiry of such two (2) business days period; provided, however, that in the event of an Automatic Conversion pursuant to Article 16(b), the issued and outstanding Preferred Shares shall be converted automatically without any further action by the holders of such shares and whether or not the certificates representing such shares are surrendered to the Company or its transfer agent, and provided further that the Company shall not be obligated to issue certificates evidencing the shares of Ordinary Shares issuable upon such Automatic Conversion unless the certificates evidencing such Preferred Shares are either delivered to the Company or its transfer agent as provided above, or the holder notifies the Company or its transfer agent that such certificates have been lost, stolen, or destroyed and has delivered to the Company an indemnity by the holder in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Directors.

 

The Company shall, as soon as practicable after such delivery, or such notification in the case of a lost certificate (subject to an indemnity by the holder in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Directors), issue and deliver at such office to such holder of the Preferred Shares, a certificate or certificates for the number of Ordinary Shares to which such holder shall be entitled as aforesaid and a check payable to the holder in the amount of any cash amounts payable as the result of a conversion into fractional Ordinary Shares.  Such conversion shall be deemed to have been made immediately prior to the close of business on the date of such surrender of the Preferred Shares to be converted, or in the case of Automatic Conversion effected upon closing of a Qualified IPO, on the date of, and immediately prior to, the closing of the Qualified IPO, and the person or persons entitled to receive Ordinary Shares issuable upon such conversion shall be treated for all purposes as the record holder or holders of such Ordinary Shares at such time.  For the avoidance of doubt, no conversion shall prejudice the right of a holder of Preferred Shares to receive dividends and other distributions declared but not paid as at the date of conversion on the Preferred Shares being converted.

 

17.                    Adjustments to Conversion Price .

 

( a)               Adjustment for Share Splits and Combinations .  Subject to the Statute and the Articles, if the Company shall at any time, or from time to time, effect a subdivision of the issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares, the Conversion Prices in effect immediately prior to such subdivision shall be proportionately decreased.  Conversely, subject to the Statute and the Articles, if the Company shall at any time, or from time to time, combine the issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares into a smaller number of shares, the Conversion Prices in effect immediately prior to the combination shall be proportionately increased.  Any adjustment under this paragraph shall become effective at the close of business on the date the subdivision or combination becomes effective.  Except to the limited extent in the case of a reverse stock split, combination, consolidation or other similar transaction or the readjustment set out herein, no adjustment of any Conversion Price pursuant to Article 17 shall have the effect of increasing the Conversion Price above the Conversion Price in effect immediately prior to such adjustment.

 

( b)               Adjustment for Ordinary Share Dividends and Distributions .  If the Company makes (or fixes a record date for the determination of holders of Ordinary Shares entitled to receive) a dividend or other distribution to the holders of Ordinary Shares payable in additional Ordinary Shares, the Conversion Prices then in effect shall be decreased as of the time of such issuance (or in the

 

14



 

event such record date is fixed, as of the close of business on such record date) by multiplying such Conversion Price then in effect by a fraction (i) the numerator of which is the total number of Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding immediately prior to the time of such issuance or the close of business on such record date, and (ii) the denominator of which is the total number of Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding immediately prior to the time of such issuance or the close of business on such record date plus the number of Ordinary Shares issuable in payment of such dividend or distribution.

 

( c)                Adjustments for Other Dividends .  If 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) a dividend or other distribution payable in securities of the Company other than Ordinary Shares or Ordinary Share Equivalents, then, and in each such event, provision shall be made so that, upon conversion of any Preferred Share thereafter, the holder thereof shall receive, in addition to the number of Ordinary Shares issuable thereon, the amount of securities of the Company which the holder of such share would have received had the Preferred Shares been converted into Ordinary Shares immediately prior to such event, all subject to further adjustment as provided herein.

 

( d)               Reorganizations, Mergers, Consolidations, Reclassifications, Exchanges, Substitutions .  If at any time, or from time to time, any capital reorganization or reclassification of the Ordinary Shares (other than as a result of a share dividend, subdivision, split or combination otherwise treated above) occurs or the Company is consolidated, merged or amalgamated with or into another Person (other than a consolidation, merger or amalgamation treated as a Liquidation Event), then in any such event, provision shall be made so that, upon conversion of any Preferred Share thereafter, the holder thereof shall receive the kind and amount of shares and other securities and property which the holder of such share would have received had the Preferred Shares been converted into Ordinary Shares on the date of such event, all subject to further adjustment as provided herein, or with respect to such other securities or property, in accordance with any terms applicable thereto.

 

( e)                Sale of Shares below the Conversion Price .

 

(A)                                Adjustment of Conversion Price Upon Issuance of Additional Ordinary Share.

 

(1)                                              In the event the Company shall at any time after the Series D Issue Date issue Additional Ordinary Share, for a consideration per share less than the applicable Conversion Price of any series of Preferred Shares in effect immediately prior to such issue, then the Conversion Price of such series of Preferred Shares shall be reduced, concurrently with such issue, to a price (calculated to the nearest one-hundredth of a cent) determined in accordance with the following formula:

 

CP2 = CP1 * (A + B) / (A + C).

 

(2)                                              For purposes of the foregoing formula, the following definitions shall apply:

 

(a)                                  CP2 shall mean the Conversion Price of such series of Preferred Shares in effect immediately after such issue of Additional Ordinary Share;

 

(b)                                  CP1 shall mean the Conversion Price of such series of Preferred Shares in effect immediately prior to such issue of Additional Ordinary Share;

 

(c)                                   “A” shall mean the number of Ordinary Shares outstanding immediately prior to such issue of Additional Ordinary Share, treating for this purpose as outstanding all Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of Options outstanding immediately prior to such issue or

 

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upon conversion or exchange of Equity Securities (including the Preferred Shares) outstanding (assuming exercise of any outstanding Ordinary Share Equivalents therefor) immediately prior to such issue;

 

(d)                                  “B” shall mean the number of Ordinary Shares that would have been issued if such Additional Ordinary Share 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 Share issued in such transaction.

 

For purposes of this Article 17, “Additional Ordinary Share” shall mean all Ordinary Shares issued or deemed to be issued by the Company after the Series D Issue Date other than: (I) up to an aggregate of 36,229,922 Ordinary Shares (and/or options or warrants therefor) (including any of such shares which are repurchased) reserved for the issuance to officers, directors, employees and consultants of the Company pursuant to the ESOP or pursuant to an amendment of the ESOP as may be approved by the Board of Directors (including the affirmative consents or votes of all Investor Directors); (II) the Ordinary Shares issued pursuant to adjustments made to share splits, combinations, subdivisions, recapitalizations or similar events or as a dividend or distribution with respect to the Preferred Shares; (III) the Ordinary Shares issued upon conversion of the Preferred Shares authorized herein, (IV) the Ordinary Shares issued in connection with any bona fide acquisition of the Company, (V) the Ordinary Shares issued pursuant to strategic transactions, entered into for primarily non-equity financing purposes as approved by the Board of Directors (including the affirmative consents or votes of all the Investor Directors), or (VI) pursuant to equipment financing or leasing arrangements or bank financing transactions entered into for primarily non-equity financing purposes as approved by the Board of Directors (including the affirmative consents or votes of all Investor Directors).

 

(B)                                Determination of Consideration .  For the purpose of making any adjustment to any Conversion Price or the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of the Preferred Shares as provided above:

 

(1)                                              To the extent it consists of cash, the consideration received by the Company for any issue or sale of securities shall be computed at the net amount of cash received by the Company after deduction of any underwriting or similar commissions, compensations, discounts or concessions paid or allowed by the Company in connection with such issue or sale;

 

(2)                                              To the extent it consists of property other than cash, consideration other than cash received by the Company for any issue or sale of securities shall be computed at the fair market value thereof (as determined in good faith by a majority of the Board of Directors, including the affirmative consents or votes of all Investor Directors), as of the date of the adoption of the resolution specifically authorizing such issue or sale, irrespective of any accounting treatment of such property;

 

(3)                                              If Additional Ordinary Shares or Ordinary Share Equivalents exercisable, convertible or exchangeable for Additional Ordinary Shares are issued or sold together with other stock or securities or other assets of the Company for consideration which covers both, the consideration received for the Additional Ordinary Shares or such Ordinary Share Equivalents shall be computed as that portion of the consideration received (as determined in good faith by a majority of the Board of Directors, including the affirmative consents or votes of all Investor Directors) to be allocable to such Additional Ordinary Shares or Ordinary Share Equivalents;

 

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( 4)                                              The consideration per share received by the Company for Additional Ordinary Shares deemed to have been issued pursuant to Article 17(f), relating to Ordinary Share Equivalents, shall be determined by dividing

 

( x)          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 Ordinary Share Equivalents, 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, conversion or exchange of such Ordinary Share Equivalents, 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,

 

(y)          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, conversion or exchange of such Ordinary Share Equivalents.

 

(C)                                No Exercise .  If all of the rights to exercise, convert or exchange any Ordinary Share Equivalents shall expire without any of such rights having been exercised, the Conversion Price as adjusted upon the issuance of such Ordinary Share Equivalents shall be readjusted to the Conversion Price which would have been in effect had such adjustment not been made.

 

( D)                                Other Adjustment Events . As a result of one or more events or circumstances not referred to in this Article 17, if (i) the Majority A Holders reasonably determine that an adjustment should be made to the Series A Conversion Price, (ii) the Majority B Holders reasonably determine that an adjustment should be made to the Series B Conversion Price, (iii) the Majority C Holders reasonably determine that an adjustment should be made to the Series C Conversion Price, or (iv) the Majority D Holders reasonably determine that an adjustment should be made to the Series D Conversion Price, the Company shall request such firm of internationally recognized independent accountants jointly selected by the Company and (w) such Majority A Holders with respect to the Series A Conversion Price, (x) such Majority B Holders with respect to the Series B Conversion Price, (y) such Majority C Holders with respect to the Series C Conversion Price, or (z) such Majority D Holders with respect to the Series D Conversion Price acting as experts, to determine as soon as practicable what adjustment (if any) to the relevant Conversion Price is fair and reasonable to take account thereof and the date on which such adjustment should take effect, and upon such determination such adjustment (if any) shall be made and shall take effect in accordance with such determination, the costs, fees and expenses of the accountants selected shall be borne by the Company.

 

( E)                                 Notices Regarding Winding-up . If, at any time when any Preferred Share are issued and outstanding, a notice is given announcing the convening of a meeting of the Members of the Company for the purpose of passing a resolution for the winding up of the Company, the Company forthwith shall give notice to all holders of the Preferred Shares. Each such holder of the Preferred Shares shall be entitled at any time within two (2) weeks after the date on which such resolution for the winding of the Company is passed (but not thereafter) to elect by notice in writing delivered to the Company to be treated as if it had, immediately before the date of the passing of such resolution, exercised its conversion rights in respect of all Preferred Shares of which it is the holder and it shall be entitled to receive an amount equal to the amount which it would have received had it been the holder of Ordinary Shares to which it would have become entitled by virtue of such exercise.

 

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( F)                      No Adjustment . No adjustment of the Conversion Price shall be made in an amount less than US$0.001 per Preferred Share.

 

( f)            Deemed Issue of Additional Ordinary Shares.

 

In the event the Company at any time or from time to time after the Series  D Issue Date shall issue any Ordinary Share Equivalents or shall fix a record date for the determination of holders of any class or series of shares entitled to receive any such Ordinary Share Equivalent, 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 (B) of this Article 17(f) below) issuable upon the exercise, conversion or exchange of such Ordinary Share Equivalent, 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 the issue price per share (determined pursuant to Article 17(e)(B) above) of such Additional Ordinary Shares would be less than the applicable Conversion Price 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:

 

( A)                           no further adjustment in the applicable Conversion Price shall be made upon the subsequent issue of Ordinary Share Equivalents or Ordinary Shares upon the exercise, conversion or exchange of such Ordinary Share Equivalent;

 

( B)                           if such Ordinary Share Equivalents 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 for each affected series of Preferred Share computed upon the issuance 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;

 

(C)                           upon the expiration of any such Ordinary Share Equivalents or any rights of conversion or exchange thereunder which shall not have been exercised, the Conversion Price for each affected series of Preferred Share computed upon the issuance 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:

 

( 1)                                  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

 

(2)                                  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

 

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received by the Company upon the issue of the Convertible Securities with respect to which such Options were actually exercised;

 

(D)                           no readjustment pursuant to clause (B) or (C) above shall have the effect of increasing the Conversion Price of any series of Preferred Shares to an amount which exceeds the lower of (i) the Conversion Price for such series of Preferred Shares on the original adjustment date, or (ii) the Conversion Price for such series of Preferred Shares that would have resulted from any issuance of Additional Ordinary Shares between the original adjustment date and such readjustment date; and

 

( E)                            in the case of any Options which expire by their terms not more than 30 days after the date of issue thereof, no adjustment of the Conversion Price for any series of Preferred Shares shall be made until the expiration or exercise of all such Options, whereupon such adjustment shall be made in the manner provided in clause (C) above.

 

18.                                       No Impairment . The Company will not, by amendment of its Memorandum or 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 the Articles 16 and 17 and in the taking of all such action as may be necessary or appropriate in order to protect the conversion rights of the holders of Preferred Shares against impairment.

 

19.                                       Certificates as to Adjustments .  Upon the occurrence of each adjustment or readjustment of the Conversion Price pursuant to Article 17, 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 subject to such adjustment or readjustment, a certificate setting forth such adjustment or readjustment and showing in detail the facts upon which such adjustment or readjustment is based and shall mail such certificate, by first class mail, postage prepaid, to each registered holder of such series of Preferred Shares at such holder’s address as shown in the Company’s books.  The Company shall furnish or cause to be furnished to such holder a like certificate setting forth (i) such adjustments and readjustments, (ii) the applicable conversion price then in effect, 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 such series of Preferred Shares.

 

GENERAL CONVERSION PROVISIONS

 

20.                                       Notices of Record Date .  In the event that the Company shall propose at any time:

 

(a)                   to declare any dividend or distribution upon its Ordinary Shares or other class or series of  shares, whether in cash, property, stock, or other securities, and whether or not a regular cash dividend;

 

(b)                   to offer for subscription pro rata to the holders of any additional shares of any class or series or other rights;

 

(c)                    to effect any reclassification or recapitalization of its Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding involving a change in the Ordinary Shares; or

 

(d)                   to merge or consolidate with or into any other corporation, or sell, lease, or convey all or substantially all its property, assets or business, or a majority of the capital stock of the Company, or to liquidate, dissolve, or wind up;

 

then, in connection with each such event, the Company shall send to the holders of Preferred Shares:

 

( x)                   at least thirty (30) days’ prior written notice of the date on which a record shall be taken for

 

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such dividend, distribution, or subscription rights (and specifying the date on which the holders of Ordinary Shares shall be entitled thereto) or for determining rights to vote in respect of the matters referred to in subparagraphs (c) and (d) of this Article 20; and

 

( y)                   in the case of the matters referred to in subparagraphs (c) and (d) of this Article 20, at least thirty (30) days’ prior written notice of the date when the same shall take place (and specifying the date on which the holders of Ordinary Shares shall be entitled to exchange their Ordinary Shares for securities or other property deliverable upon the occurrence of such event or the record date for the determination of such holders if such record date is earlier).

 

Each such written notice shall be delivered personally or given by first class mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the holders of Preferred Shares at the address for each such holder as shown on the books of the Company.

 

21.                                       Issue Taxes .  The Company shall pay any and all issue and other taxes (other than income taxes) that may be payable in respect of any issue or allotment of Ordinary Shares on conversion of Preferred Shares pursuant hereto; provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to pay any transfer taxes resulting from any transfer requested by any holder in connection with any such conversion.

 

22.                                       Reservation of Stock Issuable Upon Conversion .  The Company shall at all times reserve and keep available out of its authorized but unissued Ordinary Shares, solely for the purpose of effecting the conversion of Preferred Shares, such number of 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, the Company will take such corporate action as may be necessary to increase its authorized but unissued Ordinary Shares to such number as shall be sufficient for such purpose, including, without limitation, engaging in best efforts to obtain the requisite Members’ approval of any necessary amendment to its Memorandum and these Articles.

 

LIEN ON SHARES

 

23.                                       The Company shall have a first and paramount lien and charge on all shares (not being a fully paid-up share) registered in the name of a Member (whether solely or jointly with others) for all debts, liabilities or engagements to or with the Company (whether presently payable or not) by such Member or his estate, either alone or jointly with any other person, whether a Member or not, but the Directors may at any time declare any share to be wholly or in part exempt from the provisions of this Article. The registration of a transfer of any such share shall operate as a waiver of the Company’s lien (if any) thereon. The Company’s lien (if any) on a share shall extend to all dividends or other monies payable in respect thereof.

 

24.                                       The Company may sell, in such manner as the Directors think fit, any shares on which the Company has a lien, but no sale shall be made unless a sum 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 or holders for the time being of the share, or the person, of which the Company has notice, entitled thereto by reason of his death or bankruptcy.

 

25.                                       To give effect to any such sale the Directors may authorize 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.

 

26.                                       The proceeds of such sale shall be received by the Company and applied in payment of such part

 

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of the amount in respect of which the lien exists as is presently payable and the residue, if any, shall (subject to a like lien for sums not presently payable as existed upon the shares before the sale) be paid to the person entitled to the shares at the date of the sale.

 

CALL ON SHARES

 

27.                                (a)                                 The Directors may from time to time make calls upon the Members in respect of any monies unpaid on their shares (whether on account of the nominal value of the shares or by way of premium or otherwise) and not by the conditions of allotment thereof made payable at fixed terms, provided that no call shall be payable at less than one (1) month from the date fixed for the payment of the last preceding call, and each Member shall (subject to receiving at least fourteen (14) days notice specifying the time or times of payment) pay to the Company at the time or times so specified the amount called on the shares.  A call may be revoked or postponed as the Directors may determine.  A call may be made payable by installments.

 

(b)                                  A call shall be deemed to have been made at the time when the resolution of the Directors authorizing such call was passed.

 

(c)                                   The joint holders of a share shall be jointly and severally liable to pay all calls in respect thereof.

 

28 .                                       If a sum called in respect of a share is not paid before or on a day appointed for payment thereof, the persons from whom the sum is due shall pay interest on the sum from the day appointed for payment thereof to the time of actual payment at such rate not exceeding ten per cent per annum as the Directors may determine, but the Directors shall be at liberty to waive payment of such interest either wholly or in part.

 

29.                                       Any sum which by the terms of issue of a share becomes payable on allotment or at any fixed date, whether on account of the nominal value of the share or by way of premium or otherwise, shall for the purposes of these Articles be deemed to be a call duly made, notified and payable on the date on which by the terms of issue the same becomes payable, and in the case of non-payment all the relevant provisions of these Articles as to payment of interest forfeiture or otherwise shall apply as if such sum had become payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified.

 

30.                                       The Directors may, on the issue of shares, differentiate between the holders as to the amount of calls or interest to be paid and the times of payment.

 

31.                                (a)                         The Directors may, if they think fit, receive from any Member willing to advance the same, all or any part of the monies uncalled and unpaid upon any shares held by him, and upon all or any of the monies so advanced may (until the same would but for such advances, become payable) pay interest at such rate not exceeding (unless the Company in general meeting shall otherwise direct) seven per cent per annum, as may be agreed upon between the Directors and the Member paying such sum in advance.

 

(b)                        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

 

32.                                (a)                         If a Member fails to pay any call or installment of a call or to make any payment required by the terms of issue on the day appointed for payment thereof, the Directors may, at any time thereafter during such time as any part of the call, installment or payment remains unpaid, give notice requiring payment of so much of the call, installment or payment as is unpaid, together with any interest which may have accrued and all expenses that have been incurred by the Company by reason of such non-payment.  Such notice shall name a day (not earlier than the expiration of fourteen (14) days from the date of giving of the notice) on or before

 

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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 such notice was given will be liable to be forfeited.

 

(b)                        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 the notice has been made, be forfeited by a resolution of the Directors to that effect.  Such forfeiture shall include all dividends declared in respect of the forfeited share and not actually paid before the forfeiture.

 

(c)                         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.

 

33 .                                          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 monies which, at the date of forfeiture were payable by him to the Company in respect of the shares together with interest thereon, but his liability shall cease if and when the Company shall have received payment in full of all monies whenever payable in respect of the shares.

 

34 .                                          A certificate in writing under the hand of one Director or the Secretary of the Company that a share in the Company has been duly forfeited on a date stated in the declaration shall be conclusive evidence of the fact therein stated as against all persons claiming to be entitled to the share. The Company may receive the consideration given for the share on any sale or disposition thereof and may execute a transfer of the share in favor of the person to whom the share is sold or disposed of and he shall thereupon 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 share be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in reference to the forfeiture, sale or disposal of the share.

 

35 .                                          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 payable at a fixed time, whether on account of the nominal value of the share or by way of premium as if the same had been payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified.

 

REGISTRATION OF EMPOWERING INSTRUMENTS

 

36 .                                          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.

 

TRANSMISSION OF SHARES

 

37 .                                          In case of the death of a Member, the survivor or survivors where the deceased was a joint holder, and the legal personal representatives of the deceased where he was a sole holder, shall be the only persons recognized by the Company as having any title to his interest in the shares, but nothing herein contained shall release the estate of any such deceased holder from any liability in respect of any shares which had been held by him solely or jointly with other persons.

 

38 .                                (a)                         Any person becoming entitled to a share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy or liquidation or dissolution of a Member (or in any other way than by transfer) may, upon such evidence being produced as may from time to time be required by the Directors and subject as hereinafter provided, elect either to be registered himself as holder of the share or to make such transfer of the share to such other person nominated by him as the deceased or bankrupt person could have made and to have such person registered as the transferee thereof, 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 that Member before his death or

 

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bankruptcy as the case may be.

 

(b)                        If the person so becoming entitled shall elect to be registered himself as holder he shall deliver or send to the Company a notice in writing signed by him stating that he so elects.

 

39 .                                          A person becoming entitled to a share by reason of the death or bankruptcy or liquidation or dissolution of the holder (or in any other case than by transfer) 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 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 (90) 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.

 

A MENDMENT OF MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION, CHANGE OF LOCATION OF REGISTERED OFFICE & ALTERATION OF CAPITAL

 

40 .                                (a)                         Subject to and in so far as permitted by the provisions of the Statute and these Articles, in particular Articles 74 and 75 and all other Transaction Documents, the Company may from time to time by Ordinary Resolution alter or amend its Memorandum otherwise than with respect to its name and objects and may, without restricting the generality of the foregoing:

 

(i)                          increase the share capital by such sum to be divided into shares of such amount or without nominal or par value as the resolution shall prescribe and with such rights, priorities and privileges annexed thereto, as the Company in general meeting may determine;

 

(ii)                       consolidate and divide all or any of its share capital into shares of larger amount than its existing shares;

 

(iii)                    by subdivision of its existing shares or any of them divide the whole or any part of its share capital into shares of smaller amount than is fixed by the Memorandum;

 

(iv)                   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.

 

(b)                        All new shares created hereunder shall be subject to the same provisions with reference to the payment of calls, liens, transfer, transmission, forfeiture and otherwise as the shares in the original share capital.

 

(c)                         Subject to the provisions of the Statute, the Company may by Special Resolution change its name or alter its objects.

 

(d)                        Without prejudice to Articles 11 and 11A hereof and subject to the provisions of the Statute, the Company may by Special Resolution reduce its share capital and any capital redemption reserve fund.

 

(e)                         Subject to the provisions of the Statute, the Directors may change the location of the registered office of the Company.

 

CLOSING REGISTER OF MEMBERS OR FIXING RECORD DATE

 

41.                                          For the purpose of determining Members entitled to notice of or to vote at any meeting of Members or any adjournment thereof, or Members entitled to receive payment of any dividend, or in order to make a determination of Members for any other proper purpose, the Directors of the

 

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Company may provide that the register of Members shall be closed for transfers for a stated period but not to exceed in any case forty (40) days.  If the register of Members shall be so closed for the purpose of determining Members entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of Members such 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.

 

42.                                          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 Members entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of the Members and for the purpose of determining the Members 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.

 

43 .                                          If the register of Members is not so closed and no record date is fixed for the determination of Members entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of Members or Members entitled to receive payment of a dividend, the date on which notice of the meeting is mailed 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 Members entitled to vote at any meeting of Members has been made as provided in this section, such determination shall apply to any adjournment thereof.

 

GENERAL MEETING

 

44 .                                (a)                         All general meetings other than annual general meeting shall be called extraordinary general meetings.  The Company may hold a general meeting as its annual general meeting but shall not (unless required by the Statute) be obligated to hold an annual general meeting.  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 o’clock in the morning.

 

(b)                        Any matters to be passed on the general meeting of the Company shall be subject to the approval of holders of not less than two thirds (2/3) of all the outstanding shares of the Company, calculated on a fully converted basis.

 

45 .                                (a)                         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 such of the paid-up capital of the Company 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.

 

(b)                        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.

 

(c)                         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 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 after the expiration of the said twenty-one (21) days.

 

(d)                        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

 

46 .                                          At least ten (10) days notice shall be given by the Board of Directors of an annual general meeting

 

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or any other general meeting to the Members whose names on the date of the notice appear as a shareholder in the register of members of the Company and are entitled to vote at the meeting, unless such notice is waived either before, at, or after such annual or other general meeting (a) in the case of a general meeting called as an annual general meeting, by all the Members entitled to attend and vote thereat or their proxies; and (b) in the case of any other general meeting, by holders of not less than the minimum number of shares required to approve the actions submitted to the Members for approval at such meeting, or their proxies (collectively, the “ Required Consenters ”).  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 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 regulation has been given and whether or not the provisions of Article 45 have been complied with, be deemed to have been duly convened if it is so agreed by the Required Consenters.

 

47 .                                          The accidental omission to give notice of a general meeting to, or the non-receipt of notice of a meeting by any person entitled to receive notice shall not invalidate the proceedings of that meeting.

 

PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS

 

48 .                                          A general meeting shall be deemed duly constituted if, at the commencement of and throughout the meeting, there are present in person or by proxy (i) the holders of more than fifty percent (50%) of the issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares, (ii) the Majority Preferred Holders, provided always that if the Company has one Member of record the quorum shall be that one Member present in person or by proxy. No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless the aforesaid quorum of Members is present at the time when the meeting proceeds to business.

 

49 .                                          A resolution (including a Special Resolution) in writing (in one or more counterparts) signed by all Members for the time being entitled to receive notice of and to attend and vote at general meetings (or being corporations by their duly authorized 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.

 

50.                                          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 Members, shall be dissolved and in any other case it shall stand adjourned to the same time and place seven (7) business days later or such other place as the Directors may determine and if at the adjourned meeting a quorum is not present within forty-five (45) minutes from the time appointed for the meeting, the Members 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.

 

51.                                          The general meeting of the Company and any Group Company may be held and any Member or shareholder, as the case may be, may participate in such meeting, by means of a conference telephone or similar communication equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting are capable of hearing each other; and such participation shall be deemed to constitute presence in person at that meeting.

 

52.                                          The Chairman of the Board of Directors shall preside as Chairman at every general meeting of the Company, or if there is no such Chairman, or if he shall not be present within fifteen (15) minutes after the time appointed for the holding of the meeting, or is unwilling to act, the Directors present shall elect one of their number to be Chairman of the meeting.

 

53 .                                          If at any general meeting no Director is willing to act as Chairman or if no Director is present within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting, the Members present shall choose one of their numbers to be Chairman of the meeting.

 

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54 .                                          The Chairman may, with the consent of any general meeting duly constituted hereunder, and shall if so directed by the meeting, adjourn the 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 general meeting is adjourned for thirty (30) days or more, notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given as in the case of an 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 general meeting.

 

55 .                                          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 any other Member present in person or by proxy.

 

56 .                                          Unless a poll be so demanded a declaration by the Chainman that a resolution has on a show of hands been carried, or carded unanimously, or by a particular majority, or lost, and an entry to that effect in the Company’s Minute Book containing the Minutes of the proceedings of the meeting shall be conclusive evidence of that fact without proof of the number or proportion of the votes recorded in favor of or against such resolution.

 

57 .                                          The demand for a poll may be withdrawn.

 

58 .                                          Except as provided in Article 60, 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 general meeting at which the poll was demanded.

 

59 .                                          In the case of an equality of votes, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, the Chainman of the general 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.

 

60 .                                          A poll demanded on the election of a Chairman 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 general 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.

 

VOTES OF MEMBERS

 

61.                                          Subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to any class or classes of shares, on a show of hands every Member of record present in person or by proxy at a general meeting shall have one vote and on a poll every Member of record present in person or by proxy shall have one vote for each share registered in his name in the register of Members, unless otherwise provided in Article 62 below.

 

62.                                          Each Preferred Share shall carry such number of votes as is equal to the number of votes of Ordinary Shares then issuable upon the conversion of such Preferred Shares. The holders of Preferred Shares and the holders of Ordinary Shares shall vote together and not as a separate class, unless otherwise provided in these Articles, the Memorandum, the Shareholders’ Agreement and the applicable Statute.

 

63 .                                          In the case of joint holders of record 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 holders, and for this purpose seniority shall be determined by the order in which the names stand in the register of Members.

 

64 .                                          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, receiver, curator bonis, or other person in the nature of a committee, receiver or curator bonis appointed by that court, and any such committee, receiver, curator bonis or other persons may

 

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vote by proxy.

 

65 .                                          No Member shall be entitled to vote at any general meeting unless he is registered as a shareholder 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.

 

66 .                                          No objection shall be raised to the qualification of any voter except at the general meeting or adjourned general meeting at which the vote objected to is given or tendered and every vote not disallowed at such general meeting shall be valid for all purposes. Any such objection made in due time shall be referred to the Chairman of the general meeting whose decision shall be final and conclusive.

 

67 .                                          On a poll or on a show of hands votes may be given either personally or by proxy.

 

PROXIES

 

68 .                                          The instrument appointing a proxy shall be in writing and shall be executed under the hand of the appointor or of his attorney duly authorized in writing, or, if the appointor is a corporation under the hand of an officer or attorney duly authorized in that behalf. A proxy need not be a Member of the Company.

 

69.                                          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.

 

70.                                          The instrument appointing a proxy may be in any usual or common form and may be expressed to be for a particular meeting or any adjournment thereof or generally until revoked. An instrument appointing a proxy shall be deemed to include the power to demand or join or concur in demanding a poll.

 

71.                                          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 provided that no intimation 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.

 

72.                                          Any corporation which is a Member of record of the Company may in accordance with its Articles or in the absence of such provision by resolution of its Directors or other governing body authorize such person as it thinks fit to act as its representative at any meeting of the Company or of any class of Members of the Company, and the person so authorized shall be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of the corporation which he represents as the corporation could exercise if it were an individual Member of record of the Company.

 

73 .                                          Shares of its own capital belonging to the Company or held by it in a fiduciary capacity shall not be voted, directly or indirectly, at any meeting and shall not be counted in determining the total number of issued and outstanding shares at any given time.

 

PROTECTIVE PROVISIONS

 

74 .                                          In addition to any other vote or consent required elsewhere in these Articles or by the Statute, the Company shall take all steps necessary to ensure that none of the Group Companies shall directly or indirectly carry out any of the following actions, and no affirmative Board or Members’

 

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resolution shall be adopted to directly or indirectly approve or carry out the same, except with the prior written consents of the Majority Preferred Holders:

 

(a)                      any action that authorizes, creates, reclassifies or issues any Securities of any class in the Group Company, excluding (a) any issuance of Ordinary Shares upon conversion of Preferred Shares and (b) pursuant to the terms under the ESOP approved by the Board, the issuance or repurchase of such employee equity incentive shares (or options or warrants therefore);

 

(b)                      any declaration or payment of any dividend or other distribution on any Securities of any class in the Group Company;

 

(c)                       any redemptions or repurchases of Ordinary Shares, Preferred Shares or any other Securities except for purchases at cost upon termination of service or the exercise by the Company of any contractual rights of first refusal over such shares, or the redemption of any series of Preferred Shares pursuant to the Memorandum and these Articles;

 

(d)                      consummation of any acquisition transaction of any company, corporation, partnership or any other entity, including the Group Companies;

 

(e)                       any increase or decrease in the authorized number of any class or series of shares;

 

(f)                        any adverse change to the rights, preferences, privileges or power, or the restriction provided for the benefit of, any series of Preferred Shares;

 

(g)                       any change in the maximum number of the members or votes of the Board of Directors and the board of directors of any Subsidiary of the Company not otherwise provided for in the Shareholders’ Agreement, or any change in the manners in which the Directors and/or the directors of any Subsidiary of the Company are appointed;

 

(h)                      any amendment, modification or change to or of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, the Memorandum, these Articles or any constitutional or charter documents of any Group Company;

 

(i)                          any exclusive licensing of all or substantially all of any Group Company’s intellectual property to a third party;

 

(j)                         any merger, spin-off, sale, Disposal of, or creation of any Encumbrance over all or substantially all of the assets or goodwill, or any assets or goodwill of any Group Company (including without limitation any Group Company’s interest in any of its Subsidiaries, the intellectual property or business in connection with any of its products or services as may be developed or engaged from time to time) the Disposal of which would have a material effect on the business of such Group Company;

 

(k)                      the liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of any Group Company;

 

(l)                          any action resulting in any merger, consolidation, or other corporate reorganization, or any transaction or series of transactions in which in excess of 50% of any Group Company’s voting power is transferred or in which all or substantially all of the assets of any Group Company are sold;

 

(m)                  approval of or any amendment to the annual budget and business plan of the Group Companies;

 

(n)                      consummation of a Qualified IPO or an initial public offering;

 

(o)                      termination of or any material amendment to the Cooperation Documents;

 

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(p)                      transfer of any Ordinary Shares by an Angel Investor (as defined in the Shareholders’ Agreement) to any Person engaging in, directly or indirectly, any business that is in competition with the Business (as defined in the Shareholders’ Agreement); and

 

(q)                      agree or commit to carry out any of the foregoing actions.

 

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, where any such act listed in clauses (a) through (q) above requires a Special Resolutions of the Members of the Company in accordance with the Statute, and the consent of any of the Majority A Holders, the Majority B Holders, the Majority C Holders or the Majority D Holders has not been obtained, then with respect to such act, the Majority A Holders, the Majority B Holders, the Majority C Holders or the Majority D Holders which vote against such act shall be deemed to have the voting rights equal to all the members who approved or voted in favor of such act, plus one.

 

75.                                          In addition to any other vote or consent required elsewhere in these Articles or by the Statute, the Company shall not, and the Company shall procure that each of the Group Companies does not, directly or indirectly, carry out any of the following actions, and no affirmative board or members’ resolutions shall be adopted to approve or carry out the same, except with the prior written consents of all Investor Directors:

 

(a)                      any loan or advance or guarantee for indebtedness, through one transaction or a series of transactions, in excess of US$50,000 in the aggregate in any fiscal year to any Person, including without limitation any employee or director of any Group Company, except for the advances and similar expenditures under the terms of the ESOP as approved by the Board with the affirmative votes of all Investor Directors;

 

(b)                      any acquisition, purchase or disposal of any business or assets of any Group Companies, through one transaction or a series of transactions, in excess of US$500,000;

 

(c)                       any equity investment by any Group Company in any other corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture, association or other entity, or the establishment of any brands by any Group Company for any entity other than the Group Companies;

 

(d)                      any transaction that is outside the ordinary course of business of the Group Companies and having an amount in excess of US$500,000 or involving exclusive relationship;

 

(e)                       any appointment, removal or replacement of the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief operation officer, chief technology officer (if applicable) and any other chief officers of any Group Company (collectively, the “ Chief Officers ”);

 

(f)                        any change in compensation of the Chief Officers;

 

(g)                       any borrowing or other incurrence of indebtedness (including the assumption of contingent liability under any guarantee, surety or indemnity but excluding any trade debts owed or trade credits granted) by any Group Company (in one transaction or a series of related transactions) which is in excess of US$500,000;

 

(h)                      the adoption of, or any amendment to, or implementation of the ESOP or any other employee equity incentive plans of the Company;

 

(i)                          the initiation, waiver, compromise, or settlement of any material dispute, claim, litigation or arbitration;

 

(j)                         any material alteration or change in the principal business of the Group Companies, entry into a new line of business, or existing the Group Company’s existing line of business;

 

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(k)                      any transaction or agreement between (i) any of the Group Companies and (ii) any of the following: (A) any of the Founders, (B) any of the Group Companies’ employees, officers, directors, (C) any shareholders holding more than three percent (3%) of all the issued and outstanding shares of the Company (on an as-converted and fully-diluted basis), or (D) any Affiliate of such Founders, employees, officers, directors or shareholders listed in items (A) to (C) above; and

 

(l)                          agree or commit to carry out any of the foregoing actions.

 

75A.                                 Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the rights, preferences, privileges or power of, or the restriction provided for the benefit of, any Series D Preferred Shares shall not be subordinated and will at all times be at least equal to the rights granted to all other shares of the Company, except with written consent(s) of the holder(s) of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Series D Preferred Shares. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the rights, preferences, privileges or power of, or the restriction provided for the benefit of, any Series C Preferred Shares shall not be subordinated (except for the subordination to the Series D Preferred Shares) and will at all times be at least equal to the rights granted to all other shares of the Company (except for the Series D Preferred Shares), except with written consent(s) of the holder(s) of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Series C Preferred Shares. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the rights, preferences, privileges or power of, or the restriction provided for the benefit of, any Series B Preferred Shares shall not be subordinated (except for the subordination to the Series D Preferred Shares and the Series C Preferred Shares) and will at all times be at least equal to the rights granted to all other shares of the Company (except for the Series D Preferred Shares and the Series C Preferred Shares), except with written consent(s) of the holder(s) of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Series B Preferred Shares. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the rights, preferences, privileges or power of, or the restriction provided for the benefit of, Series A Preferred Shares shall not be subordinated (except for the subordination to the Series D Preferred Shares, the Series C Preferred Shares and the Series B Preferred Shares) and will at all times be at least equal to the rights granted to all other shares of the Company (except for the Series D Preferred Shares, the Series C Preferred Shares and the Series B Preferred Shares), except with written consent(s) of the holder(s) of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Series A Preferred Shares.

 

DIRECTORS

 

76 .                                          There shall be a Board of Directors consisting of up to seven (7) persons.

 

77 .                                          All the directors shall be elected by the Members for such term as the Members may determine.

 

78 .                                          The seven (7) directors in the Board of the Company shall be elected in the following manner:

 

(a)                                  The Majority A Holders shall be entitled to nominate, elect and remove one (1) Director (the “ Series A Director ”) to the Board and to remove such Director nominated by it and to nominate and elect another person to replace the Director removed.

 

(b)                                  The Majority B Holders shall be entitled to nominate, elect and remove one (1) Director (the “ Series B Director ”) to the Board and to remove such Director nominated by such holders and to nominate and elect another person to replace the Director removed.

 

(c)                                   As long as Sequoia remain the Majority C Holder(s) and/or the Majority D Holder(s), they shall be entitled to nominate, elect and remove one (1) Director (the “ Sequoia Director ”, collectively with the Series A Director and the Series B Director, the “ Investor Directors ”, and each, an “ Investor Director ”) to the Board and to remove such Director nominated by such holders and to nominate and elect another person to replace the Director removed.

 

(d)                                  The holders of a majority of the then issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares, voting

 

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together as a single class, shall have the right to elect, remove from the office and replace four (4) Directors to the Board (the “ Ordinary Share Director s ”), one of whom shall be the then Chairman of the Company.

 

79 .                                          Each director holds office until his successor takes office or until his earlier death, resignation or removal.

 

80.                                          For so long as any of YY holds any Series B Preferred Shares or Series D Preferred Shares, YY shall be entitled to designate a representative (an “ Observer ”) to attend all meetings of the Board and all committees of the Board in a non-voting observer capacity, and to receive concurrently with the Board members all notice of Board meetings (and copies of materials distributed at or in connection with Board meetings); provided that (i) the Observer shall agree to hold in confidence and trust and to act in a fiduciary manner with respect to all information provided, (ii) the Observer may be excluded from all or any portion of a meeting where the presence of the Observer could reasonably result in (A) the disclosure of trade secrets to a competitor of the Company or any other Group Companies, or (B) the loss of attorney-client privilege in relation to the Company or any other Group Companies, and (iii) the rights of YY and their Observer provided under this Article 80 shall terminate in the event that any of YY or any of its Affiliates is engaged in the business of provision of online English training via Philippine teachers, lecturers or trainers.

 

81.                                          The remuneration to be paid to the Directors shall be such remuneration as the Directors shall determine.  Such remuneration shall be deemed to accrue from day to day.  The Directors shall also 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 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.

 

82.                                          The Directors may by resolution award special remuneration to any Director of the Company undertaking any special work or services for, or undertaking any special mission on behalf of, the Company other than his ordinary routine work as a Director.  Any fees paid to a Director who is also counsel or solicitor to the Company, or otherwise serves it in a professional capacity shall be in addition to his remuneration as a Director.

 

83.                                          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.

 

84 .                                          A 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.

 

85.                                          A shareholding qualification for Directors may be fixed by the Company in general meeting, but unless and until so fixed no qualification shall be required.

 

86.                                          Subject to these Articles, a Director of the Company may be or become a director or other officer of or otherwise interested in any company promoted by the Company or in which the Company may be interested as shareholder or otherwise and no such Director shall be accountable to the Company for any remuneration or other benefits received by him as a director or officer of, or from his interest in, such other company.

 

87.                                          In addition to any further restrictions set forth in these Articles, no person shall be disqualified from the office of Director or prevented by such office from contracting with the Company, either as vendor, purchaser or otherwise, nor shall any such contract or any contract or transaction entered into by or on behalf of the Company in which any Director shall be in any way interested be or 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 transaction by reason of

 

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such Director holding office or of the fiduciary relation thereby established.  Subject to the Shareholders’ Agreement , a Director shall be at liberty to vote in respect of any contract or transaction in which he is so interested as aforesaid PROVIDED HOWEVER 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.

 

88.                                          A general notice that a Director is a shareholder of any specified firm or company and is to be regarded as interested in any transaction with such firm or company shall be sufficient disclosure under Article 87 and after such general notice it shall not be necessary to give special notice relating to any particular transaction.

 

89 .                                          Each Director (including the Chairman) shall be entitled to one vote for the purpose of any board meeting or written board resolution, except that (i) in the event there are only two (2) Ordinary Share Directors holding office (including the Chairman) at the time of such meeting or resolutions, the Chairman shall be entitled to three (3) votes; and in the event there are only three (3) Ordinary Share Directors holding office (including the Chairman) at the time of such meeting or resolutions, the Chairman shall be entitled to two (2) votes, subject and without prejudice to the provisions under Articles 75.

 

POWERS AND DUTIES OF DIRECTORS

 

90.                                          The business of the Company shall be managed in the best interests of the Company by the Directors (or a sole Director if only one is appointed) who may pay all expenses incurred in promoting, registering and setting up the Company, and may exercise all such powers of the Company as are not, from time to time by the Statute, or by these Articles, or such regulations, being not inconsistent with the aforesaid, as may be prescribed by the Company in general meeting required to be exercised by the Company in general meeting PROVIDED HOWEVER that no regulations made by the Company in general meeting shall invalidate any prior act of the Directors which would have been valid if that regulation had not been made.

 

91.                                          The Directors may from time to time and at any time by powers of attorney appoint any company, firm, person or body of persons, whether nominated directly or indirectly by the Directors, to be the attorney or attorneys of the Company for such purpose and with such powers, authorities and discretions (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 powers of attorney may contain such provisions for the protection and convenience of persons dealing with any such attorneys as the Directors may think fit and may also authorize any such attorney to delegate all or any of the powers, authorities and discretions vested in him.

 

92.                                          All cheques, promissory notes, drafts, bills of exchange and other negotiable instruments and all receipts for monies paid to the Company shall be signed, drawn, accepted, endorsed or otherwise executed as the case may be in such manner as the Directors shall from time to time by resolution determine.

 

93.                                          The Directors shall cause minutes to be made in books provided for the purpose:

 

(a)  of all appointments of officers made by the Directors;

 

(b)  of the names of the Directors (including those represented thereat by proxy) present at each meeting of the Directors and of any committee of the Directors; and

 

(c)           of all resolutions and proceedings at all meetings of the Company and of the Directors and of committees of Directors.

 

94.                                          Subject to these Articles, the Directors on behalf of the Company may pay a gratuity or pension or allowance on retirement to any Director who has held any other salaried office or place of profit with the Company or to his widow or dependants and may make contributions to any fund and

 

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pay premiums for the purchase or provision of any such gratuity, pension or allowance.

 

95.                                          Subject to these Articles, 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 and to issue debentures, debenture stock and other securities whether outright or as security for any debt, liability or obligation of the Company or of any third party.

 

MANAGEMENT

 

96.                                          Subject to these Articles and the Shareholders’ Agreement:

 

(a)          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 paragraphs shall be without prejudice to the general powers conferred by this paragraph.

 

(b)          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 persons to be members of such committees or local boards or any managers or agents and may fix their remuneration.

 

(c)           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 authorize the members for the time being of any such local board, or any of them to fill up 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.

 

(d)          Any such delegates as aforesaid may be authorized by the Directors to subdelegate all or any of the powers, authorities, and discretions for the time being vested in them.

 

MANAGING DIRECTORS

 

97.                                          Subject to these Articles, the Directors (with the consents of all Investor Directors) may, from time to time, appoint one or more of their body to the office of Managing Director 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) as they may think fit but his appointment shall be subject to determination ipso facto if he ceases from any cause to be a Director.

 

98.                                          Subject to these Articles, the Directors may entrust to and confer upon a Managing Director any of the powers exercisable by them upon such terms and conditions and with such restrictions as they may think fit and either collaterally with or to the exclusion of their own powers and may from time to time revoke, withdraw, alter or vary all or any of such powers.

 

PROCEEDINGS OF DIRECTORS

 

99.                                          Except as otherwise provided by these Articles, the Directors shall meet together for the dispatch of business, convening, adjourning and otherwise regulating their meetings as they think fit, but no less frequent than one (1) meeting each quarter in every fiscal year.  Subject to other provisions in these Articles and the Shareholders’ Agreement, questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the Directors present at a meeting at which there is a quorum.

 

100.                                   A Director may, and the Secretary on the requisition of a Director shall, at any time summon a meeting of the Directors by at least ten (10) business days’ written notice to every Director which

 

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notice shall set forth the general nature of the business to be considered unless such notice is waived in writing by all the Directors either at, before or after the meeting is held, PROVIDED THAT the presence of a Director at a meeting shall be deemed to constitute a waiver on his part in respect of such meeting, and PROVIDED FURTHER if the notice is given in person, by cable, telex or telecopy the same shall be deemed to have been given on the day it is delivered to the Directors or transmitting organization as the case may be.  The provisions of Article  46 shall apply mutatis mutandis with respect to notices of meetings of Directors.

 

101.                                   The quorum necessary for the transaction of the business of the Directors shall be five (5) Directors, including all Investor Directors, PROVIDED ALWAYS (i) a Director being considered only one person for this purpose, and (ii) if there shall at any time be only a sole Director the quorum shall be one.  For the purpose of this Article, a proxy appointed by a Director shall be counted in a quorum at a meeting at which the Director appointing him is not present.

 

102.                                   Subject to Article 75, any resolution of the Board (or any Subsidiary board) must be approved by a majority of the votes entitled by the directors of the Board (or any Subsidiary board) present at a meeting at which there is a quorum in order to be valid.  A resolution signed by all members of the Board of Directors entitled to receive notice of a meeting of the Board of Directors shall be as valid and effectual for all purposes as a resolution of such Directors duly passed at a meeting of the Board duly convened, held and constituted.

 

103.                                   Subject to Article 101, 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 or Director may act for the purpose of increasing the number of Directors to that number, or of summoning a general meeting of the Company, but for no other purpose.

 

104.                                   The Directors may elect a Chairman of their Board 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 thirty (30) minutes after the time appointed for holding the same, the Directors present may choose one of their number to be Chairman of the meeting.

 

105.                                   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 the Board of Directors 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.

 

1 06.                                   A committee may meet and adjourn as it thinks proper.  Except as otherwise provided by these Articles, questions arising at any meeting shall be determined by a majority of votes of the members present, and the Chairman shall not have a second or casting vote.

 

1 07.                                   All acts done by any meeting of the Directors or of a committee of Directors shall, notwithstanding that it be afterwards discovered that there was some defect in the appointment of any Director, or that they or any of them were disqualified, be as valid as if every such person had been duly appointed and qualified to be a Director as the case may be.

 

108.                                   Members of the Board of Directors or of any committee thereof may participate in a meeting of the Board or of such committee by means of conference telephone or similar communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other and participation in a meeting pursuant to this provision shall constitute presence in person at such meeting.

 

109.                                   (a)                       A Director may be represented at any meetings of the Board of Directors by a proxy appointed by him in which event the presence or vote of the proxy shall for all purposes be deemed to be that of the Director.

 

(b)                       The provisions of Articles 68-73 shall mutatis mutandis apply to the appointment of proxies

 

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by Directors.

 

VACATION OF OFFICE OF DIRECTOR

 

110.                                   The office of a Director shall be vacated:

 

(a)               if he gives notice in writing to the Company that he resigns the office of Director;

 

(b)               if he absents himself (without being represented by proxy) from three consecutive meetings of the Board of Directors without special leave of absence from the Directors, and they pass a resolution that he has by reason of such absence vacated office;

 

(c)                if he dies, becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors generally; or

 

(d)               if he is found a lunatic or becomes of unsound mind.

 

APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL OF DIRECTORS

 

111.                                   A Director can only be removed from the Board of Directors by the party or parties which appointed him as provided in Article 78, unless such director resigns voluntarily or the term of his service expires, in which case the party or parties entitled to appoint such director as provided in Article 78 shall be entitled to nominate a replacement to be appointed by the Board of Directors to fill the vacancy thus created.

 

112.                                   Directors may only be appointed to and removed from the Board by the relevant Members in accordance with the Shareholders’ Agreement and these Articles, in particular under the circumstances provided in Article 78 of these Articles.

 

PRESUMPTION OF ASSENT

 

1 13.                                   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 Secretary of the meeting before the adjournment thereof or shall forward such dissent by registered mail 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.

 

SEAL

 

1 14.                                   (a)           The Company may, if the Directors so determine, have a Seal which shall, subject to paragraph (c) hereof, only be used by the authority of the Directors or of a committee of the Directors authorised by the Directors in that behalf and every instrument to which the Seal has been affixed shall be signed by one person who shall be either a Director or the Secretary or Secretary-Treasurer or some person appointed by the Directors for the purpose.

 

(b)          The Company may have for use in any place or places outside the Cayman Islands a duplicate Seal or Seals each of which shall be a facsimile of the Common Seal of the Company and, if the Directors so determine, with the addition on its face of the name of every place where it is to be used.

 

(c)           A Director, Secretary or other officer or representative or attorney may without further authority of the Directors affix the Seal of the Company over his signature alone to any document of the Company required to be authenticated by him under Seal or to be filed with the Registrar of companies in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere wheresoever.

 

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OFFICERS

 

1 15.                                   The Company may have a president, a secretary or secretary-treasurer appointed by the Directors who may also from time to time appoint such other officers as they consider necessary, all for such terms, at such remuneration and to perform such duties, and subject to such provisions as to disqualification and removal as the Directors from time to time prescribe.

 

DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND RESERVE

 

1 16.                                   Subject to the Statute and these Articles, the Directors may from time to time declare dividends (including interim dividends) and distributions on shares of the Company outstanding and authorise payment of the same out of the funds of the Company lawfully available therefor.

 

1 17.                                   The Directors may, before declaring any dividends or distributions, set aside such sums as they think proper as a reserve or reserves which shall at the discretion of the Directors, be applicable for any purpose of the Company and pending such application may, at the like discretion, be employed in the business of the Company.

 

1 17A.                          Each holder of the Series D Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive preferential and non-cumulative dividends at the rate of eight percent (8%) per annum of the Series D Purchase Price for each Series D Preferred Share (as adjusted for any share splits, share dividends, combinations, recapitalizations or similar transactions) held by such holder, payable out of funds when and as such funds becomes legally available therefor on parity with each other, prior and in preference to any dividend on any other Shares (including the Series C Preferred Shares, the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series A Preferred Shares and the Ordinary Shares), provided that, such preferential and non-cumulative dividends shall be payable only when and if any dividend on any share is declared by the Board.

 

1 17B.                          After payment of such dividends on Series D Preferred Shares pursuant to Article 117A above, each holder of the Series C Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive preferential and non-cumulative dividends at the rate of eight percent (8%) per annum of the Series C Purchase Price for each Series C Preferred Share (as adjusted for any share splits, share dividends, combinations, recapitalizations or similar transactions) held by such holder, payable out of funds when and as such funds becomes legally available therefor on parity with each other, prior and in preference to any dividend on any other Shares (including the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series A Preferred Shares and the Ordinary Shares), provided that, such preferential and non-cumulative dividends shall be payable only when and if any dividend on any share is declared by the Board.

 

1 17C.                          After payment of such dividends on Series D Preferred Shares pursuant to Article 117A above and such dividends on Series C Preferred Shares pursuant to Article 117B above, each holder of the Series B Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive preferential and non-cumulative dividends at the rate of eight percent (8%) per annum of the Series B Purchase Price for each Series B Preferred Share (as adjusted for any share splits, share dividends, combinations, recapitalizations or similar transactions) held by such holder, payable out of funds when and as such funds becomes legally available therefor on parity with each other, prior and in preference to any dividend on any other Shares (including the Series A Preferred Shares and the Ordinary Shares), provided that such dividends shall be payable only when, as, and if declared by the Board.

 

1 18.                                   After payment of such dividends on Series D Preferred Shares pursuant to Article 117A above, such dividends on Series C Preferred Shares pursuant to Article 117B above and such dividends on Series B Preferred Shares pursuant to Article 117C above, each holder of the Series A Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive preferential and non-cumulative dividends at the rate of eight percent (8%) per annum of the Series A Purchase Price for each Series A Preferred Share (as adjusted for any share splits, share dividends, combinations, recapitalizations or similar transactions) held by such holder, payable out of funds when and as such funds becomes legally

 

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available therefor on parity with each other, prior and in preference to any dividend on any other Shares other than Series B Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares and Series D Preferred Shares; provided that such dividends shall be payable only when, as, and if declared by the Board.

 

1 18A.                         No dividends or other distributions shall be made or declared, whether in cash, in property, or in any other shares of the Company, with respect to any other class or series of Shares of the Company, unless and until dividends have been paid in full on each Preferred Share pursuant to Articles 117A, 117B, 117C, and 118 above. After the payment of the above-mentioned preferential dividends, each Preferred Shareholder shall be entitled to participate in any subsequent distribution among any other Shares (including but not limited to Ordinary Shares) pro rata based on the number of Ordinary Shares held by such holder of the Preferred Shares (calculated on an as-converted basis).

 

1 19.                                   Unless and until any dividends or other distributions in like amount have been paid in full on the Preferred Shares (on an as-converted basis), the Company shall not declare, pay or set apart for payment, any dividend and other distributions on any other Shares (including but not limited to Ordinary Shares) or make any payment on account of, or set apart for payment, money for a sinking or other similar fund for, the purchase, redemption or other retirement of, any other Shares or any warrants, rights, calls or options exercisable or exchangeable for or convertible into any other Shares (including but not limited to Ordinary Shares), or make any distribution in respect thereof, either directly or indirectly, and whether in cash, obligations or shares of the Company or other property.

 

120.                                   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 as paid on the share.

 

121.                                   Subject to these Articles, 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 Director 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.

 

1 22.                                   Any dividend, distribution, interest or other monies payable in cash in respect of shares may be paid by cheque or warrant sent through the post directed to the registered address of the holder or, in the case of joint holders, to the holder who is first named on the register of Members or to such person and to such address as such holder or joint holders may in writing direct. Every such cheque or warrant shall be made payable to the order of the person to whom it is sent. Any one of two or more joint holders may give effectual receipts for any dividends, bonuses, or other monies payable in respect of the share held by them as joint holders.

 

1 23.                                   No dividend or distribution shall bear interest against the Company.

 

CAPITALISATION

 

1 24.                                   Subject to these Articles and the Shareholders’ Agreement, the Company may upon the recommendation of the Directors by ordinary resolution (including the affirmative consents or votes of all Investor Directors) authorize the Directors to capitalise any sum standing to the credit of any of the Company’s reserve accounts (including share premium account and capital redemption reserve fund) or any sum standing to the credit of profit and loss account or otherwise available for distribution and to appropriate such sum to Members in the proportions in which

 

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such sum would have been divisible amongst them had the same been a distribution of profits by way of dividend and to apply such sum on their behalf in paying up in full unissued shares for allotment and distribution credited as fully paid up to and amongst them in the proportion aforesaid. In such event the directors shall do all acts and things required to give effect to such capitalisation, with full power to the Directors to make such provisions as they think fit for the case of shares becoming distributable in fractions (including provisions whereby the benefit of fractional entitlements accrue to the Company rather than to the Members concerned). The Directors may authorise any person to enter on behalf of all of the Members interested into an agreement with the Company providing for such capitalisation and matters incidental thereto and any agreement made under such authority shall be effective and binding on all concerned.

 

BOOKS OF ACCOUNT

 

1 25.                                   The Directors shall cause proper books of account to be kept with respect to:

 

(a)          all sums of money received and expended by the Company and the matters in respect of which the receipt or expenditure takes place;

 

(b)          all sales and purchases of goods by the Company; and

 

(c)           the assets and liabilities of the Company.

 

Proper books shall not be deemed to be kept if there are not kept such books of account as are necessary to give a true and fair view of the state of the Company’s affairs and to explain its transactions.

 

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 Statute or authorized by the Directors or by the Company in general meeting.

 

127.                                   The Directors may from time to time cause to be prepared and to be laid before the Company in general meeting profit and loss accounts, balance sheets, group accounts (if any) and such other reports and accounts as may be required by law.

 

AUDIT

 

12 8.                                   Subject to Article 75, the Directors (including the affirmative votes of all Investor Directors) may at any time appoint or remove an Auditor or Auditors of the Company who shall hold office for a period specified by the Board of Directors.

 

1 29.                                   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.

 

1 30.                                   Auditors shall, following their appointment and at any other time during their term of office, upon request of the Directors, make a report on the accounts of the Company in general meeting during their tenure of office.

 

NOTICES

 

1 31.                                   Notices shall be in writing and may be given by the Company to any Member either personally or by sending it by post, cable, telex or telecopy to him or to his address as shown in the register of Members, such notice, if mailed, to be forwarded airmail if the address be outside the Cayman

 

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Islands.

 

1 32.                                   (a)                        Where a notice is sent by next-day or second-day courier service, service of the notice shall be deemed to be effected by properly addressing, pre-paying and sending by next-day or second-day service through an internationally-recognized courier a letter containing the notice, with a confirmation of delivery, and by three (3) days having passed after the letter containing the same is sent as aforesaid.

 

(b)                        Where a notice is sent by cable, telex, telecopy or electronic message, service of the notice shall be deemed to be effected by properly addressing, and sending such notice through a transmitting organisation and to have been effected on the day the same is sent as aforesaid.

 

133.                                   A notice may be given by the Company to the joint holders of record of a share by giving the notice to the joint holder first named on the register of Members in respect of the share.

 

1 34.                                   A notice may be given by the Company to the person or persons which the Company has been advised are entitled to a share or shares in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Member by sending it through the post as aforesaid in a pre-paid letter addressed to them by name, or by the title of representatives of the deceased, or trustee of the bankrupt, or by any like description at the address supplied for that purpose by the persons claiming to be so entitled, or at the option of the Company by giving the notice in any manner in which the same might have been given if the death or bankruptcy had not occurred.

 

1 35.                                   Notice of every general meeting shall be given in any manner hereinbefore authorised to:

 

(a)                       every person shown as a Member in the register of Members as of the record date for such meeting except that in the case of joint holders the notice shall be sufficient if given to the joint holder first named in the register of Members.

 

(b)                       every person upon whom the ownership of a share devolves by reason of his being a legal personal representative or a trustee in bankruptcy of a Member of record where the Member of record but for his death or bankruptcy would be entitled to receive notice of the meeting; and

 

(c)                         No other person shall be entitled to receive notices of general meetings.

 

WINDING UP

 

136.                                   Subject to the Article 138, 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 Statute and these Articles, 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 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 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.

 

1 37.                                   Subject to the Article 138, if the Company shall be wound up, and the assets available for distribution amongst the Members as such shall be insufficient to repay the whole of the paid-up 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 capital paid up, or which ought to have been paid up, at the commencement of the winding up on the shares held by them respectively. And, if in a winding up the assets available for distribution amongst the Members shall be more than sufficient to repay the whole of the capital paid up at the commencement of the winding up, the excess shall be distributed amongst the Members in proportion to the capital paid up at the commencement of the winding up on the shares held by them respectively. This Article is to be without prejudice to the

 

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rights of the holders of the Preferred Shares.

 

LIQUIDATION PREFERENCE

 

138.                                   If a Liquidation Event occurs, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, the proceeds or assets from such Liquidation Event available for distribution to Members shall be distributed in the following manner:

 

(a)          Each holder of the Series D Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive out of the proceeds or assets from such Liquidation Event available for distribution to its Members, prior and in preference to any distribution of any proceeds or assets from such Liquidation Event to the holders of the Series C Preferred Shares, the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series A Preferred Shares, the Ordinary Shares and any other class of shares of the Company by reason of their ownership of such shares, the amount equal to 100% of the Series D Purchase Price (as said price may be adjusted for combinations, consolidations, subdivisions, or stock splits or the like), plus all accrued or declared but unpaid dividends and distributions on such Series D Preferred Shares (collectively, the “ Series  D Preference Amount ”).

 

( b)          After setting aside or paying in full the Series D Preference Amount, each holder of the Series C Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive out of the proceeds or assets from such Liquidation Event available for distribution to its Members, prior and in preference to any distribution of any proceeds or assets from such Liquidation Event to the holders of the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series A Preferred Shares, the Ordinary Shares and any other class of shares of the Company by reason of their ownership of such shares, the amount equal to 100% of the Series C Purchase Price (as said price may be adjusted for combinations, consolidations, subdivisions, or stock splits or the like), plus all accrued or declared but unpaid dividends and distributions on such Series C Preferred Shares (collectively, the “ Series  C Preference Amount ”).

 

( c)           After setting aside or paying in full the Series D Preference Amount and the Series C Preference Amount, each holder of the Series B Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive out of the proceeds or assets from such Liquidation Event available for distribution to its Members, prior and in preference to any distribution of any proceeds or assets from such Liquidation Event to the holders of the Series A Preferred Shares, the Ordinary Shares and any other class of shares of the Company by reason of their ownership of such shares, the amount equal 100% of the Series B Purchase Price (as said price may be adjusted for combinations, consolidations, subdivisions, or stock splits or the like), plus all accrued or declared but unpaid dividends and distributions on such Series B Preferred Shares (collectively, the “ Series  B Preference Amount ”).

 

( c)           After setting aside or paying in full the Series D Preference Amount, the Series C Preference Amount and the Series B Preference Amount, each holder of the Series A Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive out of the proceeds or assets from such Liquidation Event available for distribution to its Members, prior and in preference to any distribution of any proceeds or assets from such Liquidation Event to the holders of the Ordinary Shares and any other class of shares of the Company by reason of their ownership of such shares, the amount equal 100% of the Series A Purchase Price (as said price may be adjusted for combinations, consolidations, subdivisions, or stock splits or the like), plus all accrued or declared but unpaid dividends and distributions on such Series A Preferred Shares (collectively, the “ Series A Preference Amount ”).

 

( d)          If the assets and surplus funds distributable among the holders of Series D Preferred Shares are insufficient to permit the full payment for the Series D Preference Amount, then the entire proceeds or assets from such Liquidation Event available for distribution to such holders of Series D Preferred Shares shall be distributed ratably among the holders of Series D Preferred Shares in proportion to the number of Series D Preferred Shares owned by each such holder.  If after full distribution of the Series D Preference Amount, the remaining

 

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assets and surplus funds distributable among the holders of Series C Preferred Shares are insufficient to permit the full payment for the Series C Preference Amount, then the proceeds or assets from such Liquidation Event available for distribution to such holders shall be distributed ratably among the holders of Series C Preferred Shares in proportion to the number of Series C Preferred Shares owned by each such holder. If after full distribution of the Series D Preference Amount and the Series C Preference Amount, the remaining assets and surplus funds distributable among the holders of Series B Preferred Shares are insufficient to permit the full payment for the Series B Preference Amount, then the proceeds or assets from such Liquidation Event available for distribution to such holders shall be distributed ratably among the holders of Series B Preferred Shares in proportion to the number of Series B Preferred Shares owned by each such holder.  If after full distribution of the Series D Preference Amount, the Series C Preference Amount and the Series B Preference Amount, the remaining assets and surplus funds distributable among the holders of Series A Preferred Shares are insufficient to permit the full payment for the Series A Preference Amount, then the proceeds or assets from such Liquidation Event available for distribution to such holders shall be distributed ratably among the holders of Series A Preferred Shares in proportion to the number of Series A Preferred Shares owned by each such holder.

 

( e)           After the payment of the Series D Preferred Amount, the Series C Preferred Amount, the Series B Preferred Amount and the Series A Preference Amount have been made pursuant to this Article 138, the remaining assets and funds of the Company available for distribution to Members shall be distributed pro rata among all the holders of Preferred Shares (on an as if converted basis) and Ordinary Shares.

 

For purposes of this Article 138, the Majority Preferred Holders may collectively waive the treatment of a transaction as a Liquidation Event.

 

(d)                                  Amount Deemed Paid or Distributed .

 

The amount deemed paid or distributed to the shareholders of the Company upon any such Liquidation Event shall be the cash or the value of the property, rights or securities paid or distributed to such holders by the Company or the acquiring Person.  If the amount deemed paid or distributed under this Article 138 is made in property other than in cash, the value of such distribution shall be the fair market value of such property, determined in good faith by the Board (including all Investor Directors). Any securities not subjected 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 security’s closing prices on such exchange over the thirty (30) day period ending one (1) day prior to the distribution;

 

(ii)                                   If 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 Board (including all Investor Directors).

 

The method of valuation of securities subject to investment letter or other 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 Board (including all Investor Directors), or by a liquidator if one is appointed.

 

T he Majority A Holders, the Majority B Holders, the Majority C Holders, or the Majority D Holders shall have the right to challenge any determination by the Board of fair market value pursuant to this Article 138(d), in which case the determination of fair market value shall be made by an independent appraiser selected jointly by the Board (including all Investor Directors) and the challenging parties,

 

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the cost of such appraisal to be borne equally by the Company and the challenging parties.

 

INDEMNITY

 

139.                                   The Directors and officers for the time being of the Company and any trustee for the time being acting in relation to any of the affairs of the Company and their heirs, executors, administrators and personal representatives respectively shall be indemnified out of the assets of the Company from and against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, losses, damages and expenses which they or any of them shall or may incur or sustain by reason of any act done or omitted in or about the execution of their duty in their respective offices or trusts, except such (if any) as they shall incur or sustain by or through their own willful neglect or default respectively and no such Director, officer or trustee shall be answerable for the acts, receipts, neglects or defaults of any other Director, officer or trustee or for joining in any receipt for the sake of conformity or for the solvency or honesty of any banker or other persons with whom any monies or effects belonging to the Company may be lodged or deposited for safe custody or for any insufficiency of any security upon which any monies of the Company may be invested or for any other loss or damage due to any such cause as aforesaid or which may happen in or about the execution of his office or trust unless the same shall happen through the willful neglect or default of such Director, Officer or trustee.

 

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the Directors and officers for the time being of the Company and any trustee for the time being acting in relation to any of the affairs of the Company and their heirs, executors, administrators and personal representatives respectively shall not be personally liable to the Company or its Members for monetary damages for breach of their duty in their respective offices, except such (if any) as they shall incur or sustain by or through their own willful neglect or willful default respectively.

 

FINANCIAL YEAR

 

140.                                   Unless the Directors otherwise prescribe, the financial year of the Company shall end on December 31st in each year and, following the year of incorporation, shall begin on January 1st in each year.

 

AMENDMENTS OF ARTICLES

 

1 41.                                   Subject to the Statute and these Articles, the Company may at any time and from time to time by Special Resolution alter or amend these Articles in whole or in part.

 

TRANSFER BY WAY OF CONTINUATION

 

142.                            If the Company is exempted as defined in the Statute, it shall, subject to the provisions of the Statute and with the approval of a Special Resolution, have the power to register by way of continuation as a body corporate under the laws of any jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands and to be deregistered in the Cayman Islands.

 

CORPORATE OPPORTUNITY

 

143.                            The Company hereby renounces any interest or expectancy of the Company in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, or in being informed about, an Excluded Opportunity.  An “ Excluded Opportunity ” is any matter, transaction or interest that is presented to, or acquired, created or developed by, or which otherwise comes into the possession of any holder of Preferred Shares or any affiliate, partner, member, director, stockholder, employee, agent or other related person of any such holder, other than someone who is an employee of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (collectively, “ Covered Persons ”), unless such matter, transaction or interest is presented to, or acquired, created or developed by, or otherwise comes into the possession of, a Covered Person expressly and exclusively in such Covered Person’s capacity as a director of the Company.

 

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Exhibit 4.4

 

DATED : August 31, 2015

 

(1).                               CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

(2).                               CHINA ONLINE INNOVATION INC.

(3).                               CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION (HK) LIMITED

(4).                               51 TALK ENGLISH INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

(5).                               51TALK ENGLISH PHILIPPINES CORPORATION

(6).                               BEIJING DASHENG ONLINE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.

(7).                               BEIJING DASHENG ZHIXING TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.

(8).                               SCC GROWTH I HOLDCO A, LTD.

(9).                               SCC VENTURE V HOLDCO I, LTD.

(10).                        HUAXING CAPITAL PARTNERS, L.P.

(11).                        SHUNWEI TMT II LIMITED

(12).                        DUOWAN ENTERTAINMENT CORP.

(13).                        ENGAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS I, L.P.

(14).                        DCM HYBRID RMB FUND, L.P.

(15).                        ZHEN PARTNERS FUND I, L.P.

(16).                        HATTORI KEI

(17).                        PERSONS NAMED IN PART A OF SCHEDULE 1

 


 

THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED

SHAREHOLDERS ’ A GREEMENT

 

relating to

 

China Online Education Group

 


 



 

THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT

 

DATED :                                                August 31, 2015

 

AMONG :

 

(1)                                  China Online Education Group , a company duly incorporated and validity existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands, with its registered office located at Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 2582, Grand Cayman KY1-1103,Cayman Islands (the “ Company ”);

 

(2)                                  China Online Education (HK) Limited , a limited liability company incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong, with its registered office located at Room 2701, 27/F., Tesbury Centre, 28 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, HongKong (the “ HK Co I ”);

 

(3)                                  51 Talk English International Limited , a limited liability company incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong with its registered office located at RM 504, 5/F Valley CTR No.80-82 Morrison Hill RD, Wanchai, Hong Kong (the “ HK Co II ”, together with the HK Co I, collectively as the “ HK Companies ”);

 

(4)                                  51Talk English Philippines Corporation , an export market enterprise organized under the laws of the Philippines with its principal office at Unit 212 2 nd  Floor, Jocfer Building, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, the Philippines (the “ Philippines Co I ”);

 

(5)                                  China Online Innovations Inc. , an enterprise organized under the laws of the Philippines with its principal office at 8th Floor Robinson Cyberscape Alpha Garnett and Sapphire Road Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1206 (the “ Philippines Co II ”, together with the Philippines Co I, collectively as the “ Philippines Companies ”);

 

(6)                                  Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. ( 北京大生在线科技有限公司 ) , a wholly foreign owned limited liability company incorporated under the laws of the PRC with its registered office located at South No.1, Floor 6, Deshi Building, No. 9 Shangdi East Street, Haidian District, Beijing ( 北京市海淀区上地东路 9 号《得实大厦》六层南区一号 ) (the “ WFOE ”)

 

(7)                                  Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. ( 北京大生知行科技有限公司 ) , a limited liability company incorporated under the laws of the PRC with its registered office located at Suite 9154, Building No. 3, 3 Xijing Road, Badachu High-Tech Park, Shijiangshan District, Beijing, the PRC ( 北京市石景山区八大处高科技园区西井路 3 3 号楼 9154 房间 ) (the “ Domestic Company ”, collectively with the WFOE, the “ PRC Companies ”);

 

(8)                                  SCC Growth I Holdco A, Ltd. , an exempted company duly formed and validly existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“ SCC Growth ”)

 

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(9)                                  SCC Venture V Holdco I, Ltd. , an exempted company duly formed and validly existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“ SCC Venture ”);

 

(10)                           Huaxing Capital Partners, L.P. , an exempted company duly formed and validly existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“ Huaxing ”);

 

(11)                           DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P . , a partnership duly formed and validity existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands with its registered office located at Campbell Corporate Services Limited, P.O. Box 268 GT, 4 th  Floor Scotiabank Building, George Town, Cayman Islands, KY1-1104 (“ DCM ”);

 

(12)                           Zhen Partners Fund I, L.P ., a limited partnership duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the Zhen Fund );

 

(13)                           Shunwei TMT II Limited , a BVI business company established under the laws of the British Virgin Islands ( “Shunwei” );

 

(14)                           Duowan Entertainment Corp. , an exempted company with limited liability established under the laws of the British Virgin Islands ( “Duowan” );

 

(15)                           Engage Capital Partners I, L.P. , a partnership with limited liability established under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“ Engage Capital ”);

 

(16)                           Hattori Kei, a Japanese individual with his passport No. of ******; and

 

(17)                           the individuals and their holding companies as set out Schedule 1 attached hereto (such individuals, collectively, the “ Founders ”, and each a “ Founder ”; such holding companies, collectively, the “ Founder Entities ” , and each a “ Founder Entity ”).

 

The parties set forth above are collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”, and individually, a “ Party ”.

 

WHEREAS:

 

(A)                                The Series A Preferred Shareholders, the Series B Preferred Shareholders, the Series C Preferred Shareholders, the Series D Preferred Shareholders, the Key Holders and the Angel Investors (each as defined below) are directly and indirectly the legal and beneficial holders of all of the issued share capital of the Company.

 

(B)                                The Company, the Series A Preferred Shareholders, the Series B Preferred Shareholders, the Series C Preferred Shareholders, the Key Holders and the Angel Investors have entered into a second amended and restated shareholders agreement, dated as of July 21, 2014 (the “ Prior Agreement ”);

 

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(C)                                The Series D Shareholders have agreed to purchase from the Company, and the Company has agreed to sell to each Series D Shareholders, certain Series D Preferred Shares on the terms and conditions set forth in the Subscription Agreement (as defined below);

 

(D)                                The Subscription Agreement provides that the execution and delivery of this Agreement shall be a condition precedent to the consummation of the transactions contemplated under the Subscription Agreement, which shall supersede and replace the Prior Agreement in its entirety; and

 

(E)                                 The Parties now wish to enter into this Agreement for the purposes of regulating the rights and obligations among them as well as the business and management of the Group Companies (as defined below) from the date hereof.

 

NOW IT IS HEREBY AGREED AS FOLLOWS :

 

1.                                       INTERPRETATION

 

1.1                                In this Agreement, the following expressions shall, except where the context otherwise requires, have the following meanings:

 

Affiliate ” means, (i) as to any individual, his spouse, child, brother, sister, parent, trustee of any trust in which such individual or any of his immediate family members is a beneficiary or a discretionary object, or any entity or company Controlled by any of the aforesaid persons; and (ii) with respect to any Person not an individual, any Person which, directly or indirectly, controls, is controlled by or is under common control with such Person, including, without limitation any member, general partner, officer or director of such Person and any venture capital fund now or hereafter existing which is controlled by or under common control with one or more general partners or shares the same management company with such Person.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the parties acknowledge and agree that (a) the name “Sequoia Capital” is commonly used to describe a variety of entities (collectively, the “ Sequoia Entities ”) that are affiliated by ownership or operational relationship and engaged in a broad range of activities related to investing and securities trading and (b) notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement to the contrary, this Agreement shall not be binding on, or restrict the activities of, any (i) Sequoia Entity outside of the Sequoia China Sector Group or (ii) entity primarily engaged in investment and trading in the secondary securities market.  For purposes of the foregoing, the “ Sequoia China Sector Group ” means all Sequoia Entities (whether currently existing or formed in the future) that are principally focused on companies located in, or with connections to, the PRC.

 

“Agreement” means this Shareholders’ Agreement;

 

“Angel Investors” means collectively, Hattori Kei and the Zhen Fund, and an “ Angel Investor ” means any of them.

 

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“Board” or “Board of Directors” means the board of directors of the Company;

 

“Business” means on-line English training business as currently conducted by the Group Companies;

 

Business Day means a day, excluding Saturdays and Sundays, on which banks in Hong Kong, the PRC and United States are open for business throughout their normal business hours;

 

Control” , “Controls” , “Controlled” or any correlative term means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management of a Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, credit arrangement or proxy, as trustee, executor, agent or otherwise.  For the purpose of this definition, a Person shall be deemed to Control another Person if such first Person, directly or indirectly, owns or holds more than 50% of the voting equity interests in such other Person;

 

“DCM Group” means DCM and any affiliated venture capital fund, a partner or member of such partnership or affiliated entity or a retired partner or member of such partnership or affiliated entity who retires after the date hereof, or to the estate of any such partner, member, retired partner or retired member or the transfer by gift, will or intestate succession of any partner or member to his or her spouse or to the siblings, lineal descendants or ancestors of such partner or member or his or her spouse;

 

Director ” means any director of the Company appointed by the Shareholder(s) from time to time;

 

Dispose ” means to make or to effect any sale, assignment, exchange, transfer, or to grant any option, right of first refusal or other right or interest whatsoever or to enter into agreement for any of the same and the expression Disposal shall be construed accordingly;

 

Encumbrance ” means any mortgage, charge, pledge, lien (otherwise than arising by statute or operation of law), hypothecation, equities, adverse claims, or other encumbrance, priority or security interest, over or in any property, assets or rights of whatsoever nature or interest or any agreement for any of the same and the expression Encumber shall be construed accordingly;

 

ESOP ” means the Company’s employee share option plan (or any equivalent equity incentive program or arrangement) adopted by the Company by a board resolution dated September 16, 2013, as amended from time to time;

 

ESOP Share ” means any Ordinary Share awarded, or issuable upon exercise of the options awarded pursuant to the ESOP;

 

“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 of the United States of America, as amended, and any successor statute;

 

“GAAP” means the generally accepted accounting principles in any

 

4



 

jurisdiction in effect satisfactory to the Majority Preferred Holders from time to time;

 

Group Companies ” means the Company, the HK Companies, the Philippines Companies, the PRC Companies and their respective Subsidiaries from time to time; and a “Group Company” means any one of them;

 

Hong Kong ” means the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the PRC;

 

“IFRS” means the International Financial Reporting Standards prepared by the International Accounting Standards Board, as amended from time to time;

 

“Key Holders” means collectively, the Founders and the Founder Entities;

 

Liquidation Event means (A) any liquidation, winding up or dissolution of the Company; (B) a sale, lease, transfer, exclusive license or other Disposal, in a single transaction or series of related transactions, by the Group Companies of all or substantially all of the assets and/or intellectual property of the Group Companies, taken as a whole; (C) a sale, transfer or other disposition of a majority of the issued and outstanding share capital of any Group Company or a majority of the voting power of such Group Company; or (D) a merger, consolidation, amalgamation or acquisition of the Company or any other Group Company by a third party, or any other corporate reorganization or scheme of arrangement, in which the shareholders of any Group Company immediately before such transaction own less than fifty percent (50%) of the voting power of such Group Company, the surviving entity or the entity controlling the surviving entity immediately after such transaction (excluding any transaction effected solely for tax purposes or to change the Company or any other Group Company’s domicile);

 

“Majority A Holders” means the holder(s) of a majority of the Series A Preferred Shares then issued and outstanding.

 

“Majority B Holders” means the holder(s) of a majority of the Series B Preferred Shares then issued and outstanding.

 

“Majority C Holders” means the holder(s) of a majority of the Series C Preferred Shares then issued and outstanding.

 

“Majority D Holders” means the holder(s) of a majority of the Series D Preferred Shares then issued and outstanding.

 

“Majority Preferred Holders” means, collectively, the Majority A Holders, the Majority B Holders, the Majority C Holders and the Majority D Holders.

 

“Memorandum and Articles of Association” shall mean the forth amended and restated memorandum of association and articles of association of the Company, as amended from time to time;

 

Ordinary Shares means ordinary shares of par value of US$0.0001 each in

 

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the capital of the Company;

 

Ordinary Shareholder means a holder of any Ordinary Share other than a holder who only holds ESOP Shares;

 

PRC means the People’s Republic of China (for the purpose of this Agreement, excluding Hong Kong, Macau Special Administrative Region of the PRC and Taiwan);

 

“Pr eferred Shares means, collectively, the Series A Preferred Shares, the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series C Preferred Shares and the Series D Preferred Shares, and a “Pr eferred Share means any of them;

 

“Pr eferred Shareholders means the Series A Preferred Shareholders, the Series B Preferred Shareholders, the Series C Preferred Shareholders and the Series D Preferred Shareholders, and a “Pr eferred Shareholder means any of them;

 

“Person” means any natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, trust, public body or government or other entity;

 

Qualified IPO means an initial public offering (“ IPO ”) of the Ordinary Shares of the Company in the United States of America pursuant to an effective registration under the Securities Act or on a reputable stock exchange in Tokyo, London, Hong Kong, Singapore or other jurisdiction acceptable to the Majority Preferred Holders, with a pre-IPO valuation of the Company of not less than US$500,000,000;

 

Cooperation Documents” has the meaning ascribed to it in the Subscription Agreement;

 

“Rule 144” shall mean Rule 144 as promulgated by the Commission under the Securities Act, as such Rule may be amended from time to time, or any similar successor rule that may be promulgated by the Commission;

 

SEC or “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;

 

Securities means any shares, stocks, debentures, funds, bonds, notes or any rights, warrants, options or interests in respect of any of the foregoing or any other derivatives or instruments having similar economic effect;

 

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;

 

“Senior Managers” means Vice Presidents and above positions of the Group Companies;

 

6



 

Sequoia ” means collectively, SCC Growth and/or SCC Venture, including their respective successor(s) and/or assign(s).

 

Series A Preferred Shares means convertible series A preferred shares in the capital of the Company each with par value of US$0.0001 having the rights, privileges and restrictions as set out in this Agreement, the Shareholders’ Agreement, and the Memorandum and Articles of Association from time to time in effect;

 

“Series A Preferred Shareholder” means any holder of any Series A Preferred Share;

 

Series A Purchase Price ” means the original purchase price of the Series A Preferred Shares, i.e., US$0.0667 per Series A Preferred Share.

 

Series  B Preferred Shares means convertible series B preferred shares in the capital of the Company each with par value of US$0.0001 having the rights, privileges and restrictions as set out in this Agreement and the Memorandum and Articles of Association from time to time in effect;

 

“Series  B Preferred Shareholder” means any holder of any Series B Preferred Share;

 

Series B Purchase Price ” means the original subscription price of the Series B Preferred Shares, i.e., US$0.1807 per Series B Preferred Share.

 

Series  C Preferred Shares means convertible series C preferred shares in the capital of the Company each with par value of US$0.0001 having the rights, privileges and restrictions as set out in this Agreement and the Memorandum and Articles of Association from time to time in effect;

 

“Series  C Preferred Shareholder” means any holder of any Series C Preferred Share;

 

Series C Purchase Price ” means the original subscription price of the Series C Preferred Shares, i.e., US$0.4416 per Series C Preferred Share.

 

Series  D Preferred Shares means convertible series D preferred shares in the capital of the Company each with par value of US$0.0001 having the rights, privileges and restrictions as set out in this Agreement and the Memorandum and Articles of Association from time to time in effect;

 

“Series  D Preferred Shareholder” means any holder of any Series D Preferred Share;

 

Series D Purchase Price ” means the original subscription price of the Series D Preferred Shares, i.e., US$0.9305 per Series D Preferred Share.

 

Shares means the Ordinary Shares and the Preferred Shares, and Share means any of them;

 

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Shareholders means any or all of those persons and entities at any time holding any Shares of the Company and “Shareholder” means any one of them;

 

“Statute” means the Companies Law of the Cayman Islands as amended and every statutory modification or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force.

 

Subscription Agreement means the share subscription agreement dated August 29, 2015 by and among the Company, the HK Companies, the Philippines Companies, the PRC Companies, the Key Holders, Sequoia China, Huaxing, DCM, Shunwei and Engage Capital;

 

Subsidiary or “subsidiary” means, as of the relevant date of determination, with respect to any Person (the “subject entity”), (i) any Person (x) more than fifty percent (50%) of whose shares or other interests entitled to vote in the election of directors or (y) more than a fifty percent (50%) interest in the profits or capital of such Person are owned or controlled directly or indirectly by the subject entity or through one (1) or more Subsidiaries of the subject entity, (ii) any Person whose assets, or portions thereof, are consolidated with the net earnings of the subject entity and are recorded on the books of the subject entity for financial reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP, or (iii) any Person with respect to which the subject entity has the power to otherwise direct the business and policies of that entity directly or indirectly through another subsidiary;

 

Subsidiary Boards means the boards of directors from time to time of the HK Companies, the Philippines Companies, the PRC Companies and any of other Subsidiaries of the Company, and a Subsidiary Board means any of them;

 

“Transaction Documents” means this Agreement, the Subscription Agreement, the Memorandum and Article of Associations, the Share Restriction Agreement (as defined in the Subscription Agreement), the exhibits attached to any of the foregoing and each of the agreements and other documents otherwise required in connection with implementing the transactions contemplated by any of the foregoing.

 

U S$ means United States dollars, the lawful currency of the United States of America.

 

“YY” means collectively, Duowan and/or Engage Capital, including their respective successor(s) and/or assign(s).

 

1.2                                In this Agreement:

 

(a)                                  references to recitals, Sections, Schedules and Exhibits are to the clauses and sub-clauses of, and the recitals, schedules and exhibits to, this Agreement;

 

(b)                                  references to any statutory provision or any rule or regulation (whether

 

8



 

or not having the force of law) shall be construed as references to the same as amended, varied, modified, consolidated or re-enacted from time to time and to any subordinate legislation made under such statutory provision;

 

(c)                                   words importing the singular include the plural and vice versa; words importing one gender include every gender; and references to persons include bodies corporate and unincorporated; and

 

(d)                                  headings are for ease of reference only and shall not affect the interpretation of this Agreement.

 

1.3                                The Recitals, the Schedules and the Exhibits form part of this Agreement and shall have the same force and effect as if expressly set out in the body of this Agreement and any reference to this Agreement shall include the Recitals, the Schedules and the Exhibits.

 

1.4                                The expressions Ordinary Shareholder , Series A Preferred Shareholder , Series  B Preferred Shareholder ”, “ Series  C Preferred Shareholder ”, “ Series  D Preferred Shareholder and “Preferred Shareholder” , shall, where the context permits, include their respective successors, assigns (where applicable).

 

1.5                                For the avoidance of doubt, if any Shareholder holds two or more classes of Shares, such Shareholder shall be deemed as, in each case as applicable, (i) a Series A Shareholder solely with respect to the Series A Preferred Shares that it owns, (ii) a Series B Shareholder solely with respect to the Series B Preferred Shares that it owns, (ii) a Series C Shareholder solely with respect to the Series C Preferred Shares that it owns, and/or (iv) a Series D Shareholder solely with respect to the Series D Preferred Shares that it owns.

 

2.                                       BUSINESS OF THE GROUP COMPANIES

 

2.1                                The Group Companies shall not conduct any business or activity other than the Business unless in accordance with business plans approved by the Board from time to time.

 

3.                                       BOARD CONSTITUTION , BOARD MEETING AND BOARD COMMITTEE

 

3.1.                             The maximum number of persons comprising of the Board shall be seven (7).

 

3.2.                             The Majority A Holders shall be entitled to nominate and elect one (1) Director (the “ Series A Director ”) to the Board and to remove such Director nominated by it and to nominate and elect another person to replace the Director removed.  The Majority B Holders shall be entitled to nominate and elect one (1) Director (the “ Series  B Director ”) to the Board and to remove such Director nominated by such holders and to nominate and elect another person to replace the Director removed. As long as Sequoia remain the Majority C Holder(s) and/or the Majority D Holder(s), they shall be entitled to

 

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nominate and elect one (1) Director (the “ Sequoia Director ”, collectively with the Series A Director and the Series B Director, the “ Investor Directors ”, and each, an “ Investor Director ”) to the Board and to remove such Director nominated by such holders and to nominate and elect another person to replace the Director removed. The Group Companies and the Key Holders shall cause one (1) representative nominated by the Majority A Holders (the “ Series A Representative ”), one (1) representative nominated by the Majority B Holders (the “ Series B Representative ”), and one (1) representative nominated by Sequoia (as long as Sequoia remain the Majority C Holder(s) and/or the Majority D Holder(s)) (the “ Sequoia Representative ”; collectively with the Series A Representative and Series B Representative, the “ Investor Representatives ”) to be elected to each Subsidiary Board.  The composition of the board of directors of each Subsidiary Board (other than the board of directors of the Philippines Companies), whether now in existence or formed in the future, shall mirror those of the Company, unless otherwise approved by the Board (including the affirmative votes of all Investor Directors) in writing.  As soon as permitted by the applicable law, the Group Companies and the Key Holders shall cause the composition of the board of directors of the Philippines Co I and/or the Philippines Co II to mirror those of the Company, unless otherwise approved by the Board (including the affirmative votes of all Investor Directors) in writing.

 

3.3.                             The holders of a majority of the then outstanding Ordinary Shares shall be entitled to nominate and elect four (4) Directors (the “ Ordinary Share Director s ”) to the Board of the Company, and to remove any of such Directors nominated by it/them and to nominate and elect another person to replace the Director removed.  The Ordinary Share Directors shall initially be HUANG Jiajia and SHU Ting.  One of the Ordinary Share Directors, initially being HUANG Jiajia, shall be the Chairman of the Company.

 

3.4.                             For so long as any of YY holds any Series B Preferred Shares or Series D Preferred Shares, YY shall be entitled to designate a representative (an “ Observer ”) to attend all meetings of the Board and all committees of the Board in a non-voting observer capacity, and to receive concurrently with the Board members all notice of Board meetings (and copies of materials distributed at or in connection with Board meetings); provided that , (i) the Observer shall agree to hold in confidence and trust and to act in a fiduciary manner with respect to all information provided, (ii) the Observer may be excluded from all or any portion of a meeting where the presence of the Observer could reasonably result in the disclosure of trade secrets to a competitor of the Company or any other Group Companies, and (iii) the rights of YY and the Observer provided under this Section 3.4 shall terminate in the event that any of YY or any of its Associates is engaged in the business of provision of online English training via Philippine teachers, lecturers or trainers (the “ Exclusive Business ”).

 

3.5.                             Each Party agrees to elect the persons nominated by the other Parties to the Board or the Subsidiary Boards in accordance with this Agreement.  The Series A Director can only be removed from the Board by the Majority A Holders, unless such Director resigns voluntarily or the term of his/her service

 

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expires, in which case the Majority A Holders shall be entitled to nominate a replacement to be appointed to fill the vacancy thus created. The Series B Director can only be removed from the Board by the Majority B Holders, unless such Director resigns voluntarily or the term of his/her service expires, in which case the Majority B Holders shall be entitled to nominate a replacement to be appointed to fill the vacancy thus created.  The Sequoia Director can only be removed from the Board by Sequoia, unless such Director resigns voluntarily or the term of his/her service expires, in which case Sequoia shall be entitled to nominate a replacement to be appointed to fill the vacancy thus created.

 

3.6.                             The Series A Representative can only be removed from such Subsidiary Boards upon request of the Majority A Holders, unless such representative resigns voluntarily or the term of his/her service expires, in which case the Majority A Holders shall be entitled to nominate a replacement to be appointed to fill the vacancy thus created.  The Series B Representative can only be removed from such Subsidiary Boards upon request of the Majority B Holders, unless such representative resigns voluntarily or the term of his/her service expires, in which case the Majority B Holders shall be entitled to nominate a replacement to be appointed to fill the vacancy thus created. The Sequoia Representative can only be removed from such Subsidiary Boards upon request of Sequoia, unless such representative resigns voluntarily or the term of his/her service expires, in which case Sequoia shall be entitled to nominate a replacement to be appointed to fill the vacancy thus created.

 

3.7.                             The Board shall convene at least four (4) meetings each fiscal year with one (1) meeting in each fiscal quarter.

 

3.8.                             In relation to meetings of the Board, each Director shall be given not less than ten (10) Business Days’ written notice of meetings, but any meeting held without such notice having been given to all Directors shall be valid if all the Directors entitled to vote at the meeting waive notice of the meeting in writing; and for this purpose, the presence of a Director at a meeting shall be deemed to constitute a waiver on his part in respect of such meeting.

 

3.9.                             Five (5) Directors, including all Investor Directors, in attendance in person, telephone, video conference or other medium of simultaneous voice communication shall constitute a quorum for a board meeting of any Group Company.  The quorum of any Subsidiary Board shall include all Investor Representatives.  Each director of the Board (or any Subsidiary Board) shall be entitled to one vote for the purpose of any board meeting or written board resolution, except that (i) in the event there are only two (2) Ordinary Share Directors holding office (including the Chairman) at the time of such meeting or resolutions, the Chairman shall be entitled to three (3) votes; and in the event there are only three (3) Ordinary Share Directors holding office (including the Chairman) at the time of such meeting or resolutions, the Chairman shall be entitled to two (2) votes, subject and without prejudice to the provisions under Section 4.  Any resolution of the Board (or any Subsidiary Board) must be approved by a majority of the votes entitled by the directors of the Board (or any Subsidiary Board) present at a meeting at which

 

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there is a quorum in order to be valid. A resolution signed by all members of the Board (or any Subsidiary Board) entitled to receive notice of a meeting of the Board (or Subsidiary Board) shall be as valid and effectual for all purposes as a resolution of such directors duly passed at a meeting of the Board (or Subsidiary Board) duly convened, held and constituted, provided that resolutions relating to matters provided in Section 4 shall not be effective unless and until any consent of the relevant Shareholders or the Board as required under Section 4 has been obtained.

 

3.10.                      At the request of any of the Directors, the Company shall obtain within ninety (90) days of the date upon receipt of such notice a commercially reasonable directors and officers liability insurance policy from financially sound and reputable insurers, the amount of which shall be approved by the Board (including the affirmative votes of all Investor Directors).

 

3.11.                      The Board may establish and delegate any of their powers to a Compensation Committee or other committees consisting of such member or members of the Board as they think fit, provided that the each Investor Director shall have the right in his or her sole discretion to be a member of any committee of the Board and shall, if he or she becomes a member of such committee, have veto right to any matter to be decided by 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 Board.

 

3.12.                      The Company shall reimburse Directors, committee members and/or Shareholders appointing such Directors and committee members for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Directors and committee members in connection with attending any meetings of the Board, the Subsidiary Boards and all committees thereof.

 

4.                                       MATTERS REQUIRING CONSENT S OF PREFERRED SHARE S

 

4.1.                             In addition to any other vote or consent required in this Agreement, the Memorandum and Articles of Association or by any applicable statute, each of the Group Companies shall not, and the Key Holders shall procure that each of the Group Companies does not, directly or indirectly, carry out any of the following actions, and no affirmative board or members’ resolutions shall be adopted to approve or carry out the same, except with the prior written consents of the Majority Preferred Holders:

 

(a)                                  any action that authorizes, creates, reclassifies or issues any Securities of any class in the Group Company, excluding (a) any issuance of Ordinary Shares upon conversion of Preferred Shares and (b) pursuant to the terms under the ESOP approved by the Board, the issuance or repurchase of such employee equity incentive shares (or options or warrants therefore);

 

(b)                                  any declaration or payment of any dividend or other distribution on any Securities of any class in the Group Company;

 

(c)                                   any redemptions or repurchases of Shares or any other Securities of the

 

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Company except for purchases at cost upon termination of service or the exercise by the Company of any contractual rights of first refusal over such shares, or the redemption of any series of Preferred Shares pursuant to the Memorandum and Articles of Associations of the Company;

 

(d)                                  consummation of any acquisition transaction of any company, corporation, partnership or any other entity, including the Group Companies;

 

(e)                                   any increase or decrease in the authorized number of any class or series of Shares;

 

(f)                                    any adverse change to the rights, preferences, privileges or power of, or the restriction provided for the benefit of, any series of Preferred Shares;

 

(g)                                   any change in the maximum number of the members or votes of the Board of Directors and the board of directors of any Subsidiary of the Company not otherwise provided for in this Agreement, or any change in the manners in which the Directors and/or the directors of any Subsidiary of the Company are appointed;

 

(h)                                  any amendment, modification or change to or of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, the Memorandum and Articles of Associations or any constitutional or charter documents of any other Group Company;

 

(i)                                      any exclusive licensing of all or substantially all of any Group Company’s intellectual property to a third party;

 

(j)                                     any merger, spin-off, sale, Disposal of, or creation of any Encumbrance over all or substantially all of the assets or goodwill, or any assets or goodwill of any Group Company (including without limitation any Group Company’s interest in any of its Subsidiaries, the intellectual property or business in connection with any of its products or services as may be developed or engaged from time to time) the Disposal of which would have a material effect on the business of such Group Company;

 

(k)                                  the liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of any Group Company;

 

(l)                                      any action resulting in any merger, consolidation, or other corporate reorganization, or any transaction or series of transactions in which in excess of 50% of any Group Company’s voting power is transferred or in which all or substantially all of the assets of any Group Company are sold;

 

(m)                              approval of or any amendment to the annual budget and business plan of the Group Companies;

 

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(n)                                  consummation of a Qualified IPO or an initial public offering;

 

(o)                                  termination of or any material amendment to the Cooperation Documents;

 

(p)                                  transfer of any Ordinary Shares by an Angel Investor to any Person engaging in, directly or indirectly, any business that is in competition with the Business; and

 

(q)                                  agree or commit to carry out any of the foregoing actions.

 

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, where any such act listed in clauses (a) through (q) above requires a Special Resolution of the Shareholders of the Company in accordance with the Companies Law (2013 Revision) of the Cayman Islands (the “ Statute ”), and the consent of any of the Majority A Holders, the Majority B Holders, the Majority C Holders or the Majority D Holders has not been obtained, then with respect to such act, the Majority A Holders, the Majority B Holders, the Majority C Holders or the Majority D Holders which vote against such act shall be deemed to have the voting rights equal to all the members who approved or voted in favor of such act, plus one.

 

4.2.                             Subject to the Statute, in addition to any other vote or consent required in this Agreement, the Memorandum and Articles of Association or by any applicable statute, each of the Group Companies shall not, and the Key Holders shall procure that each of the Group Companies does not, directly or indirectly, carry out any of the following actions, and no affirmative board or members’ resolutions shall be adopted to approve or carry out the same, except with the prior written consents of all Investor Directors:

 

(a)                                  any loan or advance or guarantee for indebtedness, through one transaction or a series of transactions, in excess of US$50,000 in the aggregate in any fiscal year to any Person, including without limitation any employee or director of any Group Company, except for the advances and similar expenditures under the terms of the ESOP as approved by the Board with the affirmative votes of all Investor Directors;

 

(b)                                  any acquisition, purchase or disposal of any business or assets of any Group Companies, through one transaction or a series of transactions, in excess of US$500,000;

 

(c)                                   any equity investment by any Group Company in any other corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture, association or other entity, or the establishment of any brands by any Group Company for any entity other than the Group Companies;

 

(d)                                  any transaction that is outside the ordinary course of business of the Group Companies and having an amount in excess of US$500,000 or involving exclusive relationship;

 

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(e)                                   any appointment, removal or replacement of the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief operation officer, chief technology officer (if applicable) any other chief officers of any Group Company and the Key Employees as provided under the Subscription Agreement (collectively, the “ Chief Officers ”);

 

(f)                                    any change in compensation of the Chief Officers;

 

(g)                                   any borrowing or other incurrence of indebtedness (including the assumption of contingent liability under any guarantee, surety or indemnity but excluding any trade debts owed or trade credits granted) by any Group Company (in one transaction or a series of related transactions) which is in excess of US$500,000;

 

(h)                                  the adoption of, or any amendment to, or implementation of the ESOP or any other employee equity incentive plans of the Company;

 

(i)                                      the initiation, waiver, compromise, or settlement of any material dispute, claim, litigation or arbitration;

 

(j)                                     any material alteration or change in the principal business of the Group Companies, entry into a new line of business, or exit from the Group Companies’ existing line of business;

 

(k)                                  any transaction or agreement between (i) any of the Group Companies and (ii) any of the following: (A) any of the Founders, (B) any of the Group Company’s employees, officers, directors, (C) any shareholders holding more than three percent (3%) of all the issued and outstanding shares of the Company (on an as-converted and fully-diluted basis), or (D) any Associate of such Founders, employees, officers, directors or shareholders listed in items (A) to (C) above; and

 

(l)                                      agree or commit to carry out any of the foregoing actions.

 

4.3.                             Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the rights, preferences, privileges or power of, or the restriction provided for the benefit of, any Series D Preferred Shares shall not be subordinated and will at all times be at least equal to the rights granted to all other shares of the Company, except with written consent(s) of the holder(s) of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Series D Preferred Shares.  Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the rights, preferences, privileges or power of, or the restriction provided for the benefit of, any Series C Preferred Shares shall not be subordinated (except for the subordination to the Series D Preferred Shares) and will at all times be at least equal to the rights granted to all other Shares (except for the Series D Preferred Shares), except with written consent(s) of the holder(s) of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Series C Preferred Shares.  Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the rights, preferences, privileges or power of, or the restriction provided for the benefit of, any Series B Preferred Shares shall not be subordinated (except for the subordination to the Series C Preferred Shares

 

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and the Series D Preferred Shares) and will at all times be at least equal to the rights granted to all other Shares (except for the Series C Preferred Shares and the Series D Preferred Shares), except with written consent(s) of the holder(s) of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Series B Preferred Shares.   Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the rights, preferences, privileges or power of, or the restriction provided for the benefit of, Series A Preferred Shares shall not be subordinated (except for the subordination to the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series C Preferred Shares and the Series D Preferred Shares) and will at all times be at least equal to the rights granted to all other Shares (except for the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series C Preferred Shares and the Series D Preferred Shares), except with written consent(s) of the holder(s) of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Series A Preferred Shares.

 

5.                                       INCREASE IN AUTHORIZED SHARE CAPITAL

 

Each Shareholder agrees to vote all of its Shares from time to time and at all times, in whatever manner shall be necessary to authorize an increase in the authorized share capital of the Company so that there will be sufficient Ordinary Shares available for conversion of all of the then-outstanding Preferred Shares at any time that an adjustment to the relevant conversion price with respect to such Preferred Share is made under the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

 

6.                                       CONFIDENTIALITY

 

6.1.                             The terms and conditions of this Agreement (including its existence) shall be confidential information and shall not be disclosed by any Party or any of their Associates to any person not being a Party hereto except as permitted under this Section 6.

 

6.2.                             Notwithstanding Section 6.1, any Party may disclose the terms of this Agreement to its investors, employees, investment bankers, lenders, accountants, attorneys, business partners, directors, shareholders and senior management and bona fide prospective investors, in each case only where such persons or entities are on a need-to-know bases and under appropriate non-disclosure obligations.  For the avoidance of doubt, other than disclosures to the foregoing permitted persons, none of the Parties may disclose the investment amounts in relation to the Preferred Shares held by the Preferred Shareholder, the amount of valuation of the Company, the rights and privileges of the Preferred Shareholder under this Agreement and any other Transaction Documents and the share capital structure of the Company to any person except with the prior written consents of the Preferred Shareholders (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld).

 

6.3.                             In the event that any Party becomes legally compelled (including without limitation, pursuant to securities laws and regulations) to make disclosure not permitted under Section 6.1 and 6.2, such Party (the “Disclosing Party” ) shall provide the other Parties (the “Non-Disclosing Parties” ) with prompt written notice of that fact so that the appropriate Party may seek (with the co-operation and reasonable efforts of the other Parties) a protective order, confidential treatment or other appropriate remedies.  In such event, the

 

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Disclosing Party shall furnish only that portion of the information which is legally required and shall exercise reasonable efforts to obtain reliable assurance that confidential treatment will be accorded to such information to the extent reasonably requested by any Non-Disclosing Party.

 

6.4.                             Each of the Group Companies, the Key Holders and the Angel Investors acknowledges and agrees that, subject to Section 21.5, the Preferred Shareholder will not maintain an exclusive relationship with the Company and nothing contained herein shall prevent any Preferred Shareholder, any of its Associates or members from (a) entering into any business, entering into any agreement with a third party, or investing in, evaluating or engaging in investment discussions with a third party or (b) making any disclosures required by law, rule, regulation or court or other governmental order.

 

7.                                       MANAGEMENT

 

7.1.                             The Parties confirm that the Business and affairs of the Group Companies shall be overseen by the Board in the best interests of the Group Companies taken as a whole.  In furtherance of the foregoing, the Parties agree that, after the date hereof, neither they, nor any of their Associates will enter into any contract, agreement, arrangement or other transaction with any Group Companies unless (i) the terms and provisions of such contract, agreement or other arrangement or the terms on which such transaction is conducted, as the case may be, are fair to such Group Company and are not less favourable than those obtainable in an arm’s length relationship, and (ii) the consent(s) required under Section 4 have been obtained.

 

7.2.                             Save as otherwise agreed between the Parties, the Group Companies shall, and the Shareholders shall procure the directors of such Group Companies to, exercise their powers and control in relation to the Group Companies so as to ensure that each of the Group Companies shall:

 

( a)                                        carry on and conduct businesses and affairs in a proper and efficient manner and for the benefit of such Group Company and in accordance with the terms of this Agreement;

 

( b)                                        keep proper books of account and therein make true and complete entries of all its dealings and transactions of and in relation to its business; and

 

( c)                                         conduct its business in accordance with all applicable legal requirements, including the obtaining of all necessary licences, consents and approvals.

 

7.3.                             Subject to the consents of the Directors (including all Investor Directors), each of the Board and the Subsidiary Boards may appoint one or more managing Director for the efficiency in daily operations.

 

8.                                       DIVIDENDS

 

8.1.                             Each Series D Preferred Shareholder shall be entitled to receive preferential

 

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and non-cumulative dividends at the rate of eight percent (8%) per annum of the Series D Purchase Price for each Series D Preferred Share (as adjusted for any share splits, share dividends, combinations, recapitalizations or similar transactions) held by such holder, payable out of funds when and as such funds becomes legally available therefor on parity with each other, prior and in preference to any dividend on any other Shares (including the Series C Preferred Shares, the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series A Preferred Shares and the Ordinary Shares), provided that, such preferential and non-cumulative dividends to the Series D Preferred Shareholders shall be payable only when and if any dividend on any Shares is declared by the Board.

 

8.2.                             After payment of such dividends on Series D Preferred Shares pursuant to Section 8.1 above, each Series C Preferred Shareholder shall be entitled to receive preferential and non-cumulative dividends at the rate of eight percent (8%) per annum of the Series C Purchase Price for each Series C Preferred Share (as adjusted for any share splits, share dividends, combinations, recapitalizations or similar transactions) held by such holder, payable out of funds when and as such funds becomes legally available therefor on parity with each other, prior and in preference to any dividend on any other Shares (including the Series B Preferred Shares, the Series A Preferred Shares and the Ordinary Shares), provided that, such preferential and non-cumulative dividends shall be payable only when and if any dividend on any share is declared by the Board.

 

8.3.                             After payment of such dividends on Series D Preferred Shares pursuant to Section 8.1 above and such dividends on Series C Preferred Shares pursuant to Section 8.2 above, each Series B Preferred Shareholder shall be entitled to receive preferential and non-cumulative dividends at the rate of eight percent (8%) per annum of the Series B Purchase Price for each Series B Preferred Share (as adjusted for any share splits, share dividends, combinations, recapitalizations or similar transactions) held by such holder, payable out of funds when and as such funds becomes legally available therefor on parity with each other, prior and in preference to any dividend on any other Shares (including the Series A Preferred Shares and the Ordinary Shares), provided that, such preferential and non-cumulative dividends shall be payable only when and if any dividend on any share is declared by the Board.

 

8.4.                             After payment of such dividends on Series D Preferred Shares pursuant to Section 8.1 above, such dividends on Series C Preferred Shares pursuant to Section 8.2 above and such dividends on Series B Preferred Shares pursuant to Section 8.3 above, each Series A Preferred Shareholder shall be entitled to receive preferential, non-cumulative dividends at the rate of eight percent (8%) per annum of the Series A Purchase Price for each Series A Preferred Share (as adjusted for any share splits, share dividends, combinations, recapitalizations or similar transactions) held by such holder, payable out of funds when and as such funds becomes legally available therefor on parity with each other, prior and in preference to any dividend on any other Shares other than the Series B Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares and Series D Preferred Shares; provided that such dividends shall be payable only when, as, and if declared by the Board.

 

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8.5.                             No dividends or other distributions shall be made or declared, whether in cash, in property, or in any other shares of the Company, with respect to any other class or series of Shares of the Company, unless and until dividends have been paid in full on each Preferred Share pursuant to Sections 8.1, 8.2, 8.3 and 8.4 above. After the payment of the above-mentioned preferential dividends, each Preferred Shareholder shall be entitled to participate in any subsequent distribution among any other Shares (including but not limited to Ordinary Shares) pro rata based on the number of Ordinary Shares held by such holder of Preferred Shares (calculated on an as-converted basis).

 

9.                                       USE OF A SHARE HOLDERS NAME OR LOGO

 

None of the Group Companies shall be entitled to use, publish or reproduce the name, trademark or logo of any holder of Preferred Shares, or any similar name, trademark and/or logo in any of their marketing, advertising or promotion materials or otherwise for any marketing, advertising or promotional purposes without the prior written authorizations of such holder of Preferred Shares.

 

10.                                EMPLOYEE SHARES

 

10.1.                      The Board shall have the power to grant share options to the employees, directors, consultants and officers of any Group Company to acquire Ordinary Shares pursuant to the ESOP.  A total of 36,229,922 Ordinary Shares shall be reserved for the ESOP. The number of Ordinary Shares reserved under the ESOP shall not be increased without prior written approval by the Board, including the affirmative consents or votes of all Investor Directors.

 

10.2.                      Unless otherwise approved by the Board (including affirmative consents of all Investor Directors) in writing, all employees, directors, consultants and officers of the Company who shall purchase, or receive options to purchase, Ordinary Shares under the ESOP shall be required to execute share purchase or option agreements providing for (i) vesting of Ordinary Shares over not less than a four-year period with the first twenty-five percent (25%) of such Ordinary Shares vesting at the end of twelve (12) months after commencement of employment or services and the remaining shares vesting in equal monthly installments over the next thirty six (36) months, and (ii) acceleration of vesting of such Ordinary Shares only when (a) the Control of the Company is transferred and (b) the options are not assumed by the surviving entity; (iii) up to a one-hundred and eighty (180)-day lockup period in connection with the Company’s Qualified IPO or initial public offering.  The Company shall retain a right to repurchase any and all of the shares vested under the ESOP.

 

11.                                INFORMATION RIGHTS

 

11.1.                      The Company shall, deliver to each Preferred Shareholder, the following documents and information of each Group Company:

 

a)                  audited annual consolidated financial statements within ninety (90)

 

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days after the end of each fiscal year;

 

b)                  unaudited quarterly consolidated financial statements and management accounts signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Company within forty-five (45) days after the end of each of the first three fiscal quarters;

 

c)                   unaudited monthly consolidated financial statements and the capitalization report (including the type and amount of the Securities held by each Shareholder) within twenty-one (21) days after the end of each month;

 

d)                  an annual consolidated budget (including but not limited to a draft annual capital expenditure and operating budget) and strategic plan at least thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, provided that the final budget shall be approved by the Board (including the affirmative votes of all Investor Directors); and

 

e)                   any documents or materials submitted to any Shareholders.

 

Unless otherwise agreed by the Majority Preferred Holders, a ll financial statements referred to in this Section 11.1 shall be prepared and/or audited by one of the Big-Four accounting firms or other accounting firm acceptable to the Board (including the affirmative consents of all Investor Directors) in accordance with GAAP or IFRS on a consolidated basis (including without limitation each of the Group Companies).  All financial statements and budgets to be provided to the Preferred Shareholders pursuant to this Section 11.1 shall include a balance sheet, an income statement and a statement of cash flows and, only in respect of audited statements, all directors’ notes thereto (if any).

 

11.2.                      Each Preferred Shareholder shall have the following rights during normal business hours: (i) the right to inspect the books and records (including without limitation financial records) of all Group Companies, (ii) the right to inspect the plant, equipment, stock in trade and facilities of any Group Companies, and (iii) the right to discuss the business, operations and management and other matters of any Group Companies with their respective directors, officers, employees, accountants, auditors, financial advisors, legal counsel and investment bankers, provided that a written notice shall be given to the Group Company ten (10) business days prior to such inspection and in no event shall such exercise of the inspection rights materially impair the normal business operations of the Group Companies.

 

11.3.                      All information delivered to or received by any Preferred Shareholder in accordance with this Section 11 shall be confidential information and shall not be disclosed by any Preferred Shareholder to any person not being a Party hereto except as permitted under Section 6 of this Agreement.

 

11.4.                      The information rights of the Preferred Shareholders under this Section 11 shall terminate upon the consummation of a Qualified IPO.

 

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12.                                RIGHT OF PARTICIPATION

 

12.1.                      Each Preferred Shareholder shall have a right of participation, but not obligation, to purchase and subscribe for its Pro Rata Portion of all (or any part) of any New Securities which the Company proposes to issue from time to time after the date of this Agreement (the “ Right of Participation ”).  A Preferred Shareholder’s “ Pro Rata Portion ” for purposes of the Right of Participation shall mean the ratio of (a) the number of Ordinary Shares (assuming full conversion and exercise of all convertible and exercisable Securities then held by such Preferred Shareholder) held by such Preferred Shareholder, to (b) the total number of Ordinary Shares (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.  “ New Securities ” shall mean any Securities of the Company other than:

 

a)                  Up to 36,229,922 in the aggregate (including any of such shares which are repurchased) Ordinary Shares (and/or options or warrants therefor) reserved for employees, directors, consultants and officers pursuant to the ESOP;

 

b)                  Ordinary Shares issued or issuable in connection with any share split, share dividend, combination, recapitalization or other similar transaction of the Company;

 

c)                   Ordinary Shares issued or issuable upon conversion of any Preferred Share;

 

d)                  Securities issued in connection with a bona fide business acquisition by the Company approved by the Board (including affirmative consents of all Investor Directors);

 

e)                   Securities issued or issuable pursuant to strategic transactions, entered into for primarily non-equity financing purposes approved by the Board (including the affirmative consents or votes of all Investor Directors); and

 

f)                    Securities issued or issuable pursuant to equipment lease financings or bank credit arrangements approved by the Board (including the affirmative consents or votes of all Investor Directors).

 

12.2.                      If the Company wishes to make any issue of New Securities, it shall prior to such issue give each Preferred Shareholder a written notice setting forth the terms and conditions of the proposed issue (including the type and the number of New Securities to be offered, and the price and the general terms on which the Company proposes to offer such New Securities), and the number of New Securities that such Preferred Shareholder can elect to purchase.  Such notice shall constitute an offer to issue the relevant portion of the New Securities to the Preferred Shareholder on such terms and conditions.

 

12.3.                      Each Preferred Shareholder may accept such offer by delivering a written notice of acceptance (an Acceptance Notice ) to the Company within ten (10)

 

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Business Days after receipt of the notice of the Company of the proposed issue , stating therein the quantity of New Securities to be purchased (not to exceed such Preferred Shareholder’s Pro Rata Portion) by such Preferred Shareholder.  If any Preferred Shareholder fails to purchase or does not accept its Pro Rata Portion of the New Securities, the Company shall promptly inform each Preferred Shareholder that has elected to fully exercise its Right of Participation (the “ Fully Exercising Preferred Shareholder ”) in writing (the “ Second Participation Notice ”) of any Preferred Shareholder’s failure to do likewise.  Each of the Fully Exercising Preferred Shareholder shall have ten (10) Business Days after being informed by the Company to notify the Company of its desire to purchase more than its Pro Rata Portion of the New Securities by delivering the Company a written notice, stating the number of the additional New Securities it proposes to buy (the “ Additional Number ”).  Such written notice may be made by telephone if confirmed in writing within two (2) Business Days.  If, as a result thereof, such oversubscription exceeds the total number of the remaining New Securities available for purchase, each oversubscribing Fully Exercising Preferred Shareholder will be cut back by the Company with respect to its oversubscription to that number of remaining New Securities equal to the lesser of (x) the Additional Number 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 (assuming full conversion and exercise of all convertible and exercisable Securities then held by such Fully Exercising Preferred Shareholder) held by such oversubscribing Fully Exercising Preferred Shareholder and the denominator of which is the total number of Ordinary Shares (assuming full conversion and exercise of all convertible and exercisable Securities then held by all the Fully Exercising Preferred Shareholders) held by all the oversubscribing Fully Exercising Preferred Shareholders.  Each Fully Exercising Preferred Shareholder shall be obligated to buy such number of New Securities as determined by the Company pursuant to this Section 12.3 and the Company shall so notify the Fully Exercising Preferred Shareholders within fifteen (15) days following the date of the Second Participation Notice.

 

12.4.                      If any Preferred Shareholder who elects to exercise its Right of Participation does not complete the subscription of such New Securities within twenty (20) Business Days after delivery of its Acceptance Notice to the Company, the Company may complete the issue of New Securities on the terms and conditions specified in the Company’s notice within ten (10) Business Days following the expiration of such twenty (20) Business Day period.

 

12.5.                      If the Company does not complete the issue of the New Securities within such ten (10) Business Day period described in Section 12.4 above, the Right of Participation provided in this Section 12 in respect of such New Securities shall be deemed to be revived and the New Securities shall not be offered to any person unless first re-offered to each Preferred Shareholder in accordance with this Section 12.

 

12.6.                      The Right of Participation of the Preferred Shareholders under this Section 12 shall terminate upon the consummation of a Qualified IPO.

 

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13.                                RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL

 

13.1.                      Subject to the Share Restriction Agreement, before any Securities of the Company may be sold or otherwise transferred or Disposed of (the “Proposed Transfer” ) by any Key Holder and/or any Angel Investor (collectively, the “ Selling Shareholder s ” and each a “ Selling Shareholder ”) to any proposed purchaser or other transferee (the “ Proposed Transferee ”), each of the Company and the Preferred Shareholders shall have the rights of first refusal to purchase such Securities (the “ Offered Securities ”) in accordance with the terms of this Section 13.  For avoidance of doubt, any change in the equity interest of a Key Holder that is an entity, including without limitation as a result of (i) the issuance or redemption by such Key Holder of any portion of its outstanding shares or equity, or (ii) a Disposal of such Key Holder’s equity by its equity holder, shall constitute a Proposed Transfer for purposes of this Agreement and such equity interest to be transferred or issued by such holder shall be treated as “ Offered Securities ” for all purposes under this Agreement.  Any Proposed Transfer shall be made in compliance with this Agreement and the Share Restriction Agreement.  In the case of any Proposed Transfer by a Selling Shareholder who is also a Preferred Shareholder, the terms “Preferred Shareholder” as used in this Sections 13 and 14 below shall not include such Selling Shareholder.

 

13.2.                      Prior to sale, transfer or Disposal of any Offered Securities, the Selling Shareholder shall deliver to each of the Company and the Preferred Shareholders a written notice (the “ Transfer Notice ”) stating:

 

(a)                                  the Selling Shareholder’s intention to sell or otherwise transfer or Dispose of such Offered Securities;

 

(b)                                  the identity of the Proposed Transferees;

 

(c)                                   the number of Offered Securities to be transferred to each Proposed Transferee;

 

(d)                                  the price at which the Offered Shares are being transferred (the “ Offered Price ”); and

 

(e)                                   the terms on which the Offered Securities are being transferred.

 

The Transfer Notice shall constitute an irrevocable offer by the Selling Shareholder to sell the Offered Securities at the Offered Price to the Company and/or the Preferred Shareholders.

 

13.3.                      (a)                                  The Company shall have the right (the “ Company Right of First Refusal ”), upon notice to the Selling Shareholder at any time within five (5) Business Days after receipt of the Transfer Notice (the “ Purchase Right Period ”), to purchase all or any portion of the Offered Securities at the Offered Price and upon the same terms as set forth in the Transfer Notice, and the Selling Shareholder shall, upon receipt of the notice of purchase from the Company, sell the Offered Securities to the Company pursuant to such terms as set forth in the

 

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Transfer Notice .

 

(b)                                  Subject to the Company Right of First Refusal as provided in Section 13.3(a), and to the extent that the Company elects not to purchase all of the Offered Securities, the Preferred Shareholders shall have the right of first refusal (the “ Investor R ight of First Refusal ”) to purchase all or any part of its Pro Rata Share of the remaining Offered Securities (the “ Remaining Securities ”); provided that each Preferred Shareholder so electing to exercise its Investor Right of First Refusal shall give written notice of the exercise of such right to the Selling Shareholder no later than ten (10) Business Days following the expiration of the Purchase Right Period (the “ Investor Right Period ”).  Upon the earlier to occur of (a) the termination of the Purchase Right Period, or (b) the time when the Selling Shareholder has received written confirmation from the Company regarding its exercise of its Company Right of First Refusal, the Company shall be deemed to have made its election with respect to the Offered Securities.  For the purposes of this Section 13, a Preferred Shareholder’s “ P ro R ata S hare ” shall be equal to the product obtained by multiplying the number of Remaining Securities by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of Ordinary Shares held by such Preferred Shareholder (assuming full conversion and exercise of all convertible and exercisable Securities then held by such Preferred Shareholder) on the date of the Transfer Notice, and the denominator of which shall be the total number of Ordinary Shares held by all the Preferred Shareholders (assuming full conversion and exercise of all convertible and exercisable Securities then held by all the Preferred Shareholder) on the date of the Transfer Notice.

 

(c)                                   In the event that any Preferred Shareholder elects not to purchase its full Pro Rata Share of the Remaining Securities available to it pursuant to its rights under Section 13.3(b) above within the Investor Right Period, the Selling Shareholder shall grant each Preferred Shareholder who has elected to purchase its full Pro Rata Share of the Remaining Securities (each a “ Fully Participating Preferred Shareholder ”) the right to purchase up to that number of Remaining Securities equal to the product of the balance of the Remaining Securities multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of Ordinary Shares held by such Fully Participating Preferred Shareholder (assuming full conversion and exercise of all convertible and exercisable Securities then held by such Fully Participating Preferred Shareholder) and the denominator of which shall be the number of Ordinary Shares held by all the Fully Participating Preferred Shareholder (assuming full conversion and exercise of all convertible and exercisable securities then held by all Fully Participating Preferred Shareholders).  The Selling Shareholder and the Fully Participating Preferred Shareholder shall, within five (5) Business Days after the end of the Investor Right Period (the “ Extension Period ”), make such adjustments to the number of Offered Securities that the Fully Participating Preferred Shareholder elect to purchase so that the balance of the Remaining Securities may be allocated to the Fully

 

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Participating Preferred Shareholders exercising such oversubscription right in accordance with this Section 13.3(c).

 

(d)                                  Within five (5) Business Days after expiration of the Extension Period, the Selling Shareholder shall provide notice to the Company and/or each Preferred Shareholder specifying (i) the number of Offered Securities that was purchased by the Company and/or the Preferred Shareholders by exercising the Company Right of First Refusal and/or the Investor Right of First Refusal, and (ii) the total number of the remaining Offered Securities with respect to which the Company and/or the Preferred Shareholder have not exercised its Company Right of First Refusal and/or the Investor Right of First Refusal, as well as the number of the Securities of the Company that each Co-Sale Preferred Shareholder may participate with (the “ Expiration Notice ”) by exercising its Right of Co-Sale.

 

13.4.                      If and to the extent any of the Offered Securities proposed in the Transfer Notice to be transferred or Disposed are not purchased by the Company or the Preferred Shareholder after the expiration of the Extension Period, then after the issuance of the Expiration Notice and subject to the Right of Co-Sale set forth in Section 14,the Selling Shareholder may sell or otherwise transfer or Dispose of such Offered Securities which have not been purchased and with respect to which no Right of Co-Sale has been exercised to the Proposed Transferee(s) at the Offered Price or at a higher price, which price, in the aggregate, shall be no more favourable than that has been offered to Company and the Preferred Shareholders, and on terms and conditions that are no more favourable than those set forth by the Selling Shareholder in the Transfer Notice.

 

13.5.                      In the event that the Proposed Transferee(s) pays for the Offered Securities in consideration other than in cash, the value of such consideration shall be appraised by a qualified asset appraisal firm approved by the Board of Directors (including the affirmative consents of all Investor Directors).

 

13.6.                      The Company Right of First Refusal and Investor Right of First Refusal under this Section 13 shall terminate upon the consummation of a Qualified IPO.

 

13.7.                      For avoidance of any doubt, any holder of Preferred Shares shall be entitled to transfer all or any portion of its Securities of the Company to any Person in accordance with the Shareholders’ Agreement and the Memorandum and Articles of Association without being subject to any consent, approval, pre-emptive rights, right of first refusal or co-sale right hereunder.

 

13.8.                      Following the exercise of any rights of first refusal in this Section 13, the Company shall be obligated to update the Company’s register of members accordingly.

 

14.                                CO-SALE RIGHTS

 

14.1.                      In the event that any Offered Securities are not purchased by the Preferred Shareholders pursuant to Section 13 above (the “ Co-Sale Eligible Shares ”),

 

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each Preferred Shareholder who has not exercised its Investor Right of First Refusal (the “ Co-Sale Preferred Shareholder ”) shall have the right (the “ Right of Co-Sale ”) to participate on a pro-rata basis in the Proposed Transfer to the Proposed Transferee on the same terms and conditions specified in the Transfer Notice, provided that, if the Proposed Transferee objects to the delivery of Preferred Shares in lieu of Ordinary Shares, the Preferred Shareholder shall convert the Securities of the Company with respect to which it wishes to sell by exercising its Right of Co-Sale into Ordinary Shares, and the Company shall effect any such conversion concurrent with the actual transfer of such Securities to the Proposed Transferee and contingent on such transfer.  Each Co-Sale Preferred Shareholder shall exercise its Right of Co-Sale by delivering to the Selling Shareholder, within five (5) Business Days after receipt of the Expiration Notice (the “ Co-Sale Period ”), a written notice of its intention to participate, specifying the number and type of Securities such Co-Sale Preferred Shareholder desires to sell to the Proposed Transferee.  At the closing of the transaction, such Co-Sale Preferred Shareholder shall deliver one or more certificates representing the number of Securities which it elects to sell hereunder together with other documents necessary for transfer of such Securities to the Proposed Transferee, and the Selling Shareholder shall ensure that the Proposed Transferee shall pay to such Co-Sale Preferred Shareholder the full purchase price for such Securities.  To facilitate the delivery of share certificates representing such Securities, the Company undertakes to the Co-Sale Preferred Shareholder that it shall effect and register the conversion of all applicable Securities into Ordinary Shares, and provide relevant share certificates therefore to the Selling Shareholder as soon as practicable upon any request for conversion.

 

14.2.                      Each Co-Sale Preferred Shareholder shall have the right to co-sell up to such number of Securities of the Company equal to the product obtained by multiplying the number of Co-Sale Eligible Shares by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of Ordinary Shares held by such Co-Sale Preferred Shareholder (assuming full conversion and exercise of all convertible and exercisable securities then held by such Co-Sale Preferred Shareholder), and the denominator of which is the number of Ordinary Shares held by the Selling Shareholder and all Co-Sale Preferred Shareholders (assuming full conversion and exercise of all convertible and exercisable securities then held by all Co-Sale Preferred Shareholders).  In the event that the Proposed Transferee desires to purchase a number of Securities less than the amount of the Co-Sale Eligible Shares, the amount that the Proposed Transferee desires to purchase shall be substituted for Co-Sale Eligible Shares in the above equation for the purpose of determining the number of Shares that each Co-Sale Preferred Shareholder may sell by exercising its Right of Co-Sale.

 

14.3.                      If the Proposed Transferee refuses to purchase Securities from any Co-Sale Preferred Shareholder exercising its Right of Co-Sale under this Section 14, the Selling Shareholder shall not sell to the Proposed Transferee any Securities unless and until, simultaneously with such sale or transfer, such Selling Shareholder shall purchase such Securities from such Co-Sale Preferred Shareholder on the same terms and conditions specified in the Transfer Notice.

 

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14.4.                      The exercise or non-exercise of the Right of Co-Sale under this Section 14 with respect to a particular sale or Disposal by any Selling Shareholder shall not adversely affect the Preferred Shareholder’s right to participate in subsequent sales or Disposals by any Selling Shareholder pursuant to this Section 14.

 

14.5.                      Any sale, assignment or other transfer or Disposal of Offered Securities by any Selling Shareholder contrary to the provisions of this Agreement or the Share Restriction Agreement shall be null and void, and the transferee shall not be recognized by the Company as the holder or owner of the Offered Securities sold, assigned, or transferred for any purpose (including, without limitation, voting or dividend rights), unless and until such Selling Shareholder has satisfied the requirements of this Agreement and the Share Restriction Agreement with respect to such sale or Disposal.

 

14.6.                      To the extent the Company and the Preferred Shareholder do not elect to purchase or participate in the sale of all of the Offered Securities by exercising their rights provided under Sections 13 and 14, the Selling Shareholder may, not later than twenty (20) Business Days following the expiration of the Co-Sale Period, conclude a transfer of the Offered Securities which shall have not been elected to be purchased by the Company and the Preferred Shareholder and the number of which shall have not been reduced pursuant to the Right of Co-Sale of the Preferred Shareholder hereunder, which in each case shall be on terms and conditions not more favourable to the Proposed Transferee(s) than those described in the Transfer Notice.  Any Proposed Transfer on terms and conditions which are more favourable than those described in the Transfer Notice, as well as any subsequent Proposed Transfer of any Securities by the Selling Shareholder, shall again be subject to the Company Right of First Refusal, the Investor Right of First Refusal and the Right of Co-Sale and shall require compliance by the Selling Shareholder with the procedures described in Sections 13 and 14 of this Agreement.

 

14.7.                      The Investor Right of First Refusal set forth in Section 13 and the Right of Co-Sale set forth in Section 14 shall not apply to (i) bona fide transfers of Shares to any spouse, children or other immediately family members (the “Family Members” ) of the Key Holders or the Angel Investor (other than Zhen Fund), or entities wholly and legally and beneficially owned by the Key Holders or the Angel Investor (other than Zhen Fund) or their respective Family Members, or, as to Zhen Fund, its Affiliate (each being a “Permitted Transferee” ), and (ii) bona fide transfers of Shares solely for estate planning purposes; and further, the Right of Co-Sale set forth in Section 14 shall not apply to any transfer of Shares to Senior Managers by any Key Holder for incentive purposes; provided that in each of the foregoing cases, the Selling Shareholder shall remain to be bound by this Agreement and the Permitted Transferee shall agree to be bound by this Agreement and that the Selling Shareholder shall procure that the Permitted Transferee shall not transfer its Securities except to the Selling Shareholder or other Permitted Transferee(s) of the Selling Shareholder.

 

14.8.                      Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, except for transfers by the Selling Shareholders to Permitted Transferees as provided in Section 14.7

 

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above , without the prior written approval of the Majority Preferred Holders, none of the Key Holders shall directly or indirectly, pledge, hypothecate, mortgage, Encumber or otherwise Dispose through one or a series of transactions any Securities of the Company held directly or indirectly by such Key Holder or their respective Permitted Transferees to any person prior to the Qualified IPO.

 

14.9.                      Any attempt by a Key Holder or an Angel Investor to transfer or otherwise Dispose of any Securities of the Company in violation of Sections 13 and 14 shall be void and the Company hereby agrees it will not effect such a transfer nor will it treat any alleged transferee as the holder of such Company Securities without the prior written approval of the Majority Preferred Holders.

 

14.10.               Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, without the prior written approvals of the Majority Preferred Holders:

 

(a)                                  Each of the Founders shall not, and each Founder shall cause any other shareholder of each of the Founder Entities (if any) not to, directly or indirectly, pledge, hypothecate, mortgage, Encumber or Dispose through one or a series of transactions any equity interest held, directly or indirectly, by such Founder or shareholder (if any) in each of the Founder Entities to any Person, and each of the Founder Entities hereby agrees it will not effect a transfer in violation of the foregoing sentence nor will it treat any alleged transferee as the holder of such shares.  Each of the Founder Entities shall not, and each Founder shall cause each of the Founder Entities not to, issue to any person any equity securities of each of the Founder Entities or any options or warrants for, or any other securities exchangeable for or convertible into, such equity securities of each of the Founder Entities.

 

( b)                                  Each of the Founders shall not, and each Key Holder shall cause any other shareholder of the Group Companies (other than the Company) not to, directly or indirectly, pledge, hypothecate, mortgage, Encumber or Dispose through one or a series of transactions any equity interest held or controlled by him or such shareholder in the Group Companies (other than the Company) to any Person, unless otherwise contemplated in the Transaction Documents.  Any transfer in violation of this Section 14.10(b) shall be void, and each of the Group Companies (other than the Company) hereby agrees it will not effect such a transfer nor will it treat any alleged transferee as the holder of such equity interest without the prior written approval of the Majority Preferred Holders.

 

(c)                                   The Group Companies (other than the Company) shall not, and each Key Holder shall cause the Group Companies (other than the Company) not to, issue to any person any equity securities of the Group Companies (other than the Company), or any options or warrants for, or any other securities exchangeable for or convertible into, such equity securities of Group Companies (other than the Company).

 

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14.11.               The rights of the Preferred Shareholder under Sections 14.1 to 14.10 shall terminate upon the consummation of a Qualified IPO.

 

14.12.               Each certificate representing the Ordinary Shares shall bear legends in the following form (in addition to any legend required under any other applicable securities laws):

 

THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER AS SET FORTH IN A SHAREHOLDERS’ AGREEMENT DATED AS OF AUGUST 31, 2015 AS MAY BE AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME, A COPY OF WHICH IS ON FILE AT THE PRINCIPAL OFFICE OF THE COMPANY AND WILL BE FURNISHED UPON REQUEST TO THE HOLDER OF RECORD OF THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE.

 

14.13.               The Parties agree that any purchaser of Shares (unless already a Party to this Agreement) from a Selling Shareholder shall be required to sign a deed in the form and substance satisfactory to the Board (including the affirmative votes of all Investor Directors) confirming its agreement to be bound by this Agreement as a condition of his/her/its becoming a Shareholder.

 

15.                                DRAG ALONG RIGHT

 

15.1.                      In the event that Shareholders (which must include the Majority Preferred Holders; collectively, the “ Drag Along Requestors ”) approve a Drag Along Transaction and which has been approved by the Board (including the affirmative votes of all Investor Directors), then, in any such event, upon written notice from such Drag-Along Requester requesting them to do so, each of the other Shareholders shall:

 

(a)                                  vote all the Shares held by them in the same manner as the Drag-Along Requestors;

 

(b)                                  refrain from exercising any dissenters’ rights or rights of appraisal under applicable law at any time with respect to such Drag-Along Transaction;

 

(c)                                   execute and deliver all related documentation and take such other action in support of the Drag Along Transaction as shall reasonably be requested by the Company or the Drag Along Requestors, including without limitation amending the then existing constitutional documents of the Company; and

 

(d)                                  in the event that the Drag Along Transaction is to be effected by the sale of Shares held by Drag Along Requestors without the need for shareholder approval, sell all Shares of the Company beneficially held by such other Shareholders (or in the event that the Drag-Along Requestors are selling fewer than all of their Shares held in the Company, Shares in the same proportion as the Drag Along Requestors are selling) to the Person to whom the Drag Along Requestors propose

 

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to sell their Shares, for the same per-share consideration (on an as-converted basis) and on the same terms and conditions as that of the Drag-Along Requestors.

 

15.2.                      For purposes of this Agreement, a “ Drag Along Transaction ” shall mean (A) a sale, lease, transfer, exclusive license or other Disposal, in a single transaction or series of related transactions, by the Group Companies of all or substantially all of the assets and/or intellectual property of the Group Companies, taken as a whole; (B) a sale, transfer or other Disposal of a majority of the issued and outstanding share capital of any Group Company or a majority of the voting power of such Group Company; or (C) a merger, consolidation, amalgamation or acquisition of the Company or any other Group Company by a third party, or any other corporate reorganization or scheme of arrangement, in which the shareholders of the Company or any other Group Company immediately before such transaction own less than fifty percent (50%) of the voting power of the Company, such other Group Company, the surviving entity or the entity controlling the surviving entity immediately after such transaction (excluding any transaction effected solely for tax purposes or to change the Company or any other Group Company’s domicile); in each case, the gross proceeds derived from such Drag Along Transaction are equal or greater than US$500,000,000.

 

15.3.                      Sections 15.1 shall terminate upon the consummation of a Qualified IPO.

 

16.                                Corporate Opportunity

 

16.1                         The Company acknowledges that the shareholders of the Company except for the Founders and Hattori Kei and their affiliates, members, equity holders, director representatives, partners, employees, agents and other related persons are engaged in the business of investing in private and public companies in a wide range of industries, including the industry segment in which the Company operates (the “ Company Industry Segment ”).  Accordingly, unless otherwise provided herein, the Company and the shareholder of the Company hereby acknowledge and agree that a Covered Person (as defined in the Memorandum and Articles of Association) shall:

 

(a)                                  have no obligation or duty (contractual or otherwise) to the Company to refrain from participating as a director, investor or otherwise with respect to any company or other Person or entity that is engaged in the Company Industry Segment or is otherwise competitive with the Company, except for those companies listed in Schedule 3 (each, a “ Competitor ”, and collectively, the “ Competitors ”); provided that, subject to the restrictions listed in this Section 16.1(a) below, the above restriction on participation in the Competitors shall not be applicable: (i) if the participation in the Competitors by any shareholder of the Company is approved by the Board; or (ii) to the participation by Sequoia or its Affiliates in VIPKID, provided that (x) after the participation, Sequoia or its Affiliates holds no more than four point nine percent (4.9%) of all issued and outstanding shares of the VIPKID group (on an as-converted and fully-diluted basis); (y) after the participation, Sequoia or its Affiliates does not hold a seat in the board

 

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of VIPKID ; and (z) Sequoia or its Affiliates shall not disclose any proprietary information of the Group Companies to VIPKID and shall ensure that adequate internal arrangements (e.g. a Chinese wall) has been established to effectively prohibit any of its personnel in charge of affairs concerning the Company from disclosing or sharing any information relating to the Group Companies with those in charge of matters relating to VIPKID (notwithstanding the foregoing, the aforementioned investment restrictions shall terminate immediately upon the earlier of: (i) the consummation of a Qualified IPO and (ii) solely with respect to Sequoia, as long as Sequoia don’t have the right to appoint a director to the Board of Directors); and

 

(b)                                  in connection with making investment decisions, to the fullest extent permitted by law, have no obligation or duty (contractual or otherwise) to the Company to refrain from using any information, including, but not limited to, market trend and market data, which comes into such Covered Person’s possession, whether as a director or, or investor in, the Company or otherwise.

 

17.                                LIQUIDATION AND REDEMPTION

 

17.1.                      If a Liquidation Event occurs, the Parties acknowledge and agree that distributions to the members of the Company shall be made in accordance with the Company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association.

 

17.2.                      In the event any holder of Preferred Shares requires the Company to redeem or repurchase all or any part of the Preferred Shares held by it, the Company shall and the Founders and the Founder Entities shall cause the Company to, redeem the Preferred Shares from such requesting shareholders in accordance with the Company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association.

 

18.                                REGISTRATION RIGHTS

 

18.1.                      The Preferred Shareholder shall be entitled to the registration rights set out in Schedule 2.  Such registration rights shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the fifth (5th) anniversary of the closing of a Qualified IPO, or (b) such time at which all Registrable Securities (as defined in Schedule 2) held by the Preferred Shareholder (and any Associate of the Preferred Shareholder with whom the Preferred Shareholder must aggregate its sales under Rule 144 of the Securities Act) proposed to be sold may be sold under Rule 144 of the Securities Act in any ninety (90)-day period without registration in compliance with Rule 144 of the Securities Act.

 

19.                                CONTROL OF SUBSIDIARIES

 

19.1.                      All material aspects of the formation, maintenance and compliance of any direct or indirect Subsidiary or entity Controlled by the Company, whether now in existence or formed in the future, shall be subject to the review and approval by the Board (including the consents of all Investor Directors) and the Company shall promptly provide each Preferred Shareholder with copies of all materially related documents and correspondence.  The Company shall

 

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ensure that the Subsidiary Boards shall not have independent decision making power over their respective entities, and that the Company shall have sole decision making power over all business and affairs of any of its Subsidiaries.

 

19.2.                      The Company shall at any time institute and shall keep in place arrangements reasonably satisfactory to the Board of Directors (including all Investor Directors) such that the Company will be permitted to properly consolidate the financial results for any direct or indirect Subsidiary of the Company (including without limitation the HK Companies, the Philippines Companies and the PRC Companies) in consolidated financial statements for the Company prepared under GAAP or IFRS.

 

19.3.                      The composition of the board of directors of any direct or indirect Subsidiary or entity Controlled by the Company (other than the Philippines Companies), whether now in existence or formed in the future, shall mirror those of the Company, unless otherwise approved by the Board of Directors (including the consents of all Investor Directors) in writing.  As soon as permitted by the applicable law, the Group Companies and the Key Holders shall cause the composition of the board of directors of each of the Philippines Companies to mirror those of the Company, unless otherwise approved by the Board (including the affirmative votes of all Investor Directors) in writing.

 

19.4.                      The Company undertakes not to and not to permit any of its Subsidiaries or Associates or any of its or their respective directors, officers, managers, employees, 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 Non-U.S. Official, in each case, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of the United States of America (the “ FCPA ”), the U.K. Bribery Act, or any other applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption law.  The Company further represents that it shall and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries or Associates to cease all of its or their respective activities, as well as remediate any actions taken by the Company, its Subsidiaries or Associates, or any of their respective directors, officers, managers, employees, independent contractors, representatives or agents in violation of the FCPA, the U.K. Bribery Act, or any other applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption law.  The Company further represents that it shall and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries and Associates to maintain systems of internal controls (including, but not limited to, accounting systems, purchasing systems and billing systems) to ensure compliance with the FCPA, the U.K. Bribery Act, or any other applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption law.

 

19.5.                      The Company shall take all necessary actions to maintain any direct or indirect Subsidiary or entity Controlled by it, whether now in existence or formed in the future, as is necessary to conduct the Business as conducted or as proposed to be conducted.

 

19.6.                      The Company shall use its best efforts to cause any direct or indirect Subsidiary, whether now in existence or formed in the future, to comply in all material respects with all applicable laws. In particular, each of the Company

 

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and its Subsidiaries and the Key Holders shall ensure that all applicable filings and registrations with the PRC authorities so required shall be duly completed in accordance with the relevant rules and regulations, including, without limitation, any such filings and registrations with the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Information Industry, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, the State Administration for Foreign Exchange, tax bureau, customs authorities, product registration authorities, health regulatory authorities and the local counter-part of each of the aforementioned governmental authorities, in each case, as applicable.

 

19.7.                      The Company shall cause any direct or indirect Subsidiary or entity controlled by the Company, whether now in existence or formed in the future, to have a board of directors and each member thereof shall serve at the pleasure of the Company and shall be reasonably acceptable to the Board of Directors (including the consents of all Investor Directors).

 

20.                                U.S. TAX MATTERS.

 

20.1.                      The Company shall upon the request of any Preferred Shareholder (a) determine, with respect to such taxable year whether the Company (or any of its Affiliates) is a passive foreign investment company (“ PFIC ”) as described in Section 1297 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “ Code ”) (including whether any exception to PFIC status may apply) or is or may be classified as a partnership or branch for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and (b) provide such information reasonably available to the Company as any Preferred Shareholder may reasonably request to permit such Preferred Shareholder to elect to treat the Company and/or any such entity (including a Subsidiary of the Company) as a “qualified electing fund” (within the meaning of Section 1295 of the Code) (a “ QEF Election ”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The Company shall also, reasonably promptly upon request, obtain and provide any and all other information reasonably deemed necessary by the Preferred Shareholders to comply with the provisions of this Section 20.1.  The Company shall, upon the request of any Preferred Shareholder, appoint an internationally reputable accounting firm acceptable to such Preferred Shareholder to prepare and submit its U.S. tax filings.  The Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to avoid PFIC status and minimize the effects of PFIC status to the extent it occurs.

 

20.2.                      If a determination is made by the Company that the Company is a PFIC for a particular taxable year, then for such year and for each year thereafter, the Company shall also provide each Preferred Shareholder within 60 days upon the request of such Preferred Shareholder with a completed “PFIC Annual Information Statement” as required by Treasury Regulation Section 1.1295-1(g) and any other information reasonably required by any Preferred Shareholder to comply with any reporting or other requirements in connection with the QEF Election.

 

20.3.                      The Company shall promptly provide a Preferred Shareholder with written notice if it (or any of its Subsidiaries) becomes aware that it is a controlled foreign corporation as described in Section 957 of the Code (“ CFC ”).  The

 

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Company shall, upon the reasonable request of any Preferred Shareholder, furnish on a timely basis all information requested by such Preferred Shareholder to satisfy its U.S. federal income tax return filing requirements, if any, arising from its investment in the Company and relating to the Company or any Group Company’s classification as a CFC.  The Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to minimize the effects of CFC status to the extent it occurs.

 

20.4.                      The Company, upon a reasonable request, will comply and will cause its Subsidiaries to comply with all record-keeping, reporting, and other requests reasonably necessary for the Company and its Subsidiaries to allow any Preferred Shareholder to comply with any applicable U.S. federal income tax law.  The Company, will also provide any Preferred Shareholder with any information reasonably requested to allow such Preferred Shareholder to comply with any applicable U.S. federal income tax law (including but not limited to information relating to the transfer of any equity interests of the Company (or any Subsidiary) and the issuance or redemption by the Company (or any Subsidiary) of any equity interests).

 

20.5.                      The Company shall, if reasonably requested by a Preferred Shareholder, cooperate in determining whether it would be desirable, reasonable and appropriate for the Company and/or any Subsidiary 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, including by filing or by causing to be filed, Internal Revenue Service Form 8832 (or any successor form), and the Company shall not permit such election, once made, to be terminated or revoked without the written consent of the such Preferred Shareholder; provided that the Company shall notify all the Preferred Shareholders prior to the making of any such election.

 

20.6.                      The Company shall, and shall cause each Group Company to, timely and accurately file tax returns in each jurisdiction in which such returns are required to be filed.

 

21.                                RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS

 

21 .1                         Each of the Founders hereof acknowledges that the Preferred Shareholders agree to invest in the Company and become the Preferred Shareholders on the basis of continued and exclusive services of and full devotion and commitment by the Founders to the Group Companies, and agree that the Preferred Shareholders should have reasonable assurance of such basis of investment.  Each of the Founders hereof jointly and severally undertakes to the Preferred Shareholders that, unless with prior written consents of the Majority Preferred Holders, neither he/she nor any of his/her Associates, nominees, trustees or the like will directly or indirectly:

 

( a)                       save and except for purchasing and/or holding no more than 2% of any securities issued by a publicly traded company engaging in business competing with the Business, during the Relevant Period and for a period of three (3) years (unless otherwise as shortened by law) after the

 

34



 

Relevant Period (collectively Restriction Period ), participate, assist, advise, consult, be concerned with, engaged or interested in, any business or entity in any manner, directly or indirectly, alone or in concert with others, which is in competition with the on-line English training business carried on by any Group Company at any time during the Restriction Period;

 

( b)                        during the Restriction Period, solicit in any manner any person who is or has been during the Restriction Period a customer or client of any Group Company for the purpose of offering to such person any goods or services similar to or competing with any of the businesses conducted by any Group Company at any time during the Restriction Period;

 

(c)                         during the Restriction Period, solicit or entice away, or endeavour to solicit or entice away, any employee or officer of any Group Company; or

 

( d)                        during the Relevant Period, disclose or use for any purpose (except for the ordinary business of the Group Companies), any information concerning the business, accounts, finance, transactions or intellectual property rights of any Group Company or any trade secrets or confidential information of or relating to any of the Group Companies.

 

21 .2                         Each undertaking in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of Section 21.1 shall be treated as independent of the other undertakings so that, if any of them is held to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason, the remaining undertakings shall be valid to the extent that they are not affected.

 

21 .3                         Each of the Founders hereby expressly acknowledges and declares that he/she has duly considered the undertakings set out in Section 21.1 and considers that they are reasonable in the circumstances and warrants and undertakes to the Preferred Shareholders that he/she shall not challenge or query the validity and enforceability of these undertakings.

 

21.4                         For the purposes of this Section 21, Relevant Period means, in relation to a Founder and/or his/her Associates, nominees, trustees or the like, the period during which he or his Associates, nominees, trustees or the like is a shareholder, director, employee and/or has any direct or indirect interest (legal or beneficial) in the capital of any of the Group Companies.

 

21.5                         Duowan hereby agrees and undertakes to the Group Companies that, it will not operate any business by itself that is in competition with the Exclusive Business, nor will it purchase or hold any equity interests in any entity that’s engaged in the Exclusive Business as long as Duowan holds any Shares in the Company.

 

21.6                         The Group Companies shall not enter into any banking or nonbanking transaction with Green Dot Corporation or any of its subsidiaries (Next Estate Communications and Bonneville Bancorp) without the prior written consent of Sequoia.

 

35


 

22.                                TERMINATION

 

22.1.                      This Agreement shall continue in full force and effect until the earlier of the following:

 

(a)                                  the Company has been dissolved, wound up or otherwise ceases to exist as a separate corporate entity; or

 

(b)                                  the consummation of a Qualified IPO.

 

22.2.                      Notwithstanding the provision of Section 22.1, the registration rights under Schedule 2 shall be terminated in accordance with Schedule 2 or Section 22, whichever is the later.

 

22.3.                      Termination of this Agreement shall not release any Party from any liability which at the time of termination has already accrued to the other Parties or any liability arising or maturing after such termination as a result of any breach, omission committed or omitted prior to such termination.

 

23.                                SEVERABILITY

 

23.1.                      If at any time any one or more provisions hereof are or become invalid, illegal, unenforceable or incapable of performance in any respect, the validity, legality, enforceability or performance of the remaining provisions hereof shall not thereby in any way be affected or impaired, and this Agreement shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision had never been contained herein.

 

24.                                ENTIRE AGREEMENT

 

24.1.                      Except as otherwise specified in this Agreement, this Agreement constitutes the entire agreement and understanding among the Parties in connection with the subject matter of this Agreement and supersedes all previous term sheets, proposals, representations, warranties, agreements or undertakings relating thereto whether oral, written or otherwise and replaces all other agreements (including without limitation, the Prior Agreement) between and among any of the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof.  No Party has relied or is entitled to rely on any such term sheets, proposals, representations, warranties, agreements or undertakings.

 

25.                                NATURE OF THIS AGREEMENT

 

25.1.                      In the event of any conflict between the provisions of this Agreement and the terms of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company, the provisions of this Agreement shall prevail as among the shareholders of the Company only and, if any of the Parties shall so require, the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company shall be revised so as to reflect the provisions of this Agreement.

 

25.2.                      It is agreed and understood that monetary damages would not adequately

 

36



 

compensate an injured Party for the breach of this Agreement by any other Party, that this Agreement shall be specifically enforceable, and that any breach or threatened breach of this Agreement shall be the proper subject of a temporary or permanent injunction or restraining order. Further, each Party waives any claim or defence that there is an adequate remedy at law for such breach or threatened breach.

 

26.                                TIME

 

26.1.                      Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement.

 

26.2.                      No time or indulgence given by any Party to the other shall be deemed or in any way be construed as a waiver of any of its rights and remedies hereunder.

 

27.                                ASSIGNMENT AND COUNTERPARTS

 

27.1.                      This Agreement shall be binding on and inure for the benefits of the Parties, and their respective successors and assigns.

 

27.2.                      Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Memorandum and Articles of Association, each of the Series A Preferred Shareholder, the Series B Preferred Shareholder, Series C Preferred Shareholder and Series D Preferred Shareholder may transfer all or any part of the Series A Preferred Shares, the Series B Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shareholder and/or Series D Preferred Shares held by it to any Person, and assign any of its respective rights, interests, or obligations hereunder by reason of its ownership of the Series A Preferred Shares, the Series B Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shareholder or Series D Preferred Shares together with the transfer of such Series A Preferred Shares, Series B Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shareholder or Series D Preferred Shares.  Each transferee or assignee of such Series A Preferred Shares, Series B Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shareholder or Series D Preferred Shares shall continue to be subject to the terms hereof.  Save as aforesaid, and unless otherwise provided herein (including but not limited to Section 13.7), no party hereto may assign or transfer any of his or its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other parties hereto.

 

27.3.                      This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts and by the Parties on separate counterparts, each of which, when so executed and delivered, shall be an original but all the counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.

 

28.                                PROCEEDS OF SUBSCRIPTION

 

28.1.                      The Parties acknowledge and agree that the proceeds received by the Company from the subscription for the Preferred Shares shall be used, in accordance with the relevant subscription agreement in connection with such subscription of Preferred Shares, or the directions of the Company’s Board of Directors, as it shall be constituted in accordance herein, for mergers and acquisitions, capital expenditures and general working capital of the Group Companies.  Without the prior consents of the Majority Preferred Holders,

 

37



 

the aforesaid proceeds shall not by any means be used in the payment of any debt of the Company or its subsidiaries held by any shareholders, or be used to purchase or trade any shares or Securities of any listed companies, or corporate bonds or any other negotiable securities.

 

29.                                NOTICES AND OTHER COMMUNICATION

 

29.1.                      Any notice or other communication to be given under this Agreement shall be in writing and may be delivered by hand or given by facsimile or sent by an established courier service to the address or fax number from time to time designated, the initial address and fax number so designated by each Party being set out in Schedule 1.  Any such notice or communication shall be sent to the Party to whom it is addressed and must contain sufficient reference and/or particulars to render it readily identifiable with the subject-matter of this Agreement.  If so delivered by hand or given by facsimile such notice or communication shall be deemed received on the date of despatch and if so sent by an established courier service shall be deemed received three (3) Business Days after the date of despatch.

 

29.2.                      Each person making a communication hereunder by facsimile shall promptly confirm by telephone to the person to whom such communication was addressed, but the absence of such confirmation shall not affect the validity of any such communication.

 

30.                                GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION

 

30.1.                      This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong.

 

30.2.                      Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or the breach, termination or invalidity thereof shall be settled by arbitration in Hong Kong under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules in accordance with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre Procedures for the Administration of International Arbitration in force at the date of this contract.  The appointing authority shall be the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre.

 

30.3.                      There shall be one (1) arbitrator appointed by the Parties in dispute or, failing such agreement within ten (10) days after any Party in dispute has given to the other Party(ies) in dispute a written request to concur in the appointment of an arbitrator, a single arbitrator to be appointed, on the request of any Party, by the Chairman for the time being of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (as the appointing authority).

 

31.                                AMENDMENTS AND WAIVERS

 

31.1.                      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 (i) as to any Group Company, only by the Company, (ii) as to the Founders and the Founder Entities, only by the Founder(s) directly or indirectly holding a majority of the outstanding Ordinary Shares (on a fully diluted basis) held by

 

38



 

all the Founders, provided that any Founder may waive any of his/her rights without obtaining the consent of the other Founder(s) or the Founder Entities, (iii) as to the holders of Ordinary Shares, only by the holder(s) of a majority of the then outstanding Ordinary Shares, provided that any holder of Ordinary Share may waive any of his/her/its rights without obtaining the consent of the other holder(s) of Ordinary Share, (iv) as to the holder(s) of Series A Preferred Shares, only by the Majority A Holders, provided that any holder of Series A Preferred Shares may waive any of its rights without obtaining the consent of the other holder(s) of Series A Preferred Shares, (v) as to the holders of Series B Preferred Shares, by the Majority B Holders, provided that any holder of Series B Preferred Shares may waive any of its rights without obtaining the consent of the other holders of Series B Shares; (v) as to the holders of Series C Preferred Shares, by the Majority C Holders, provided that any holder of Series C Preferred Shares may waive any of its rights without obtaining the consent of the other holders of Series C Shares (vi) as to the holders of Series D Preferred Shares, by the Majority D Holders, provided that any holder of Series D Preferred Shares may waive any of its rights without obtaining the consent of the other holders of Series D Shares; provided, however, that in the event that such amendment or waiver adversely affects the pecuniary interest of Zhen Fund or Hattori Kei, so long as Zhen Fund or Hattori Kei holds any Ordinary Shares, such amendment or waiver shall require the written consents of Zhen Fund or Hattori Kei. Any amendment, termination or waiver effected in accordance with this paragraph shall be binding upon each Party and each of their respective successors and assigns, even if they do not execute such consent.  The Company shall give prompt written notice of any amendment or termination hereof or waiver hereunder to any Party that did not consent in writing to such amendment, termination or waiver.  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.

 

32.                                MISCELLANEOUS

 

32.1.                      The single or partial exercise of any right, power or remedy provided by law or under this Agreement shall not preclude any other or further exercise of it or the exercise of any other right, power or remedy.

 

32.2.                      The rights, powers and remedies provided in this Agreement are cumulative and not exclusive of any rights, powers and remedies provided by law.

 

32.3.                      Subject to Section 22, if this Agreement is terminated or rescinded for whatsoever reason, all further rights and obligations of the Parties shall cease to have effect upon such termination or rescission except that the termination or rescission will not affect the then accrued rights and obligations of the Parties.

 

32.4.                      The Parties acknowledge that any applicable law that would require interpretation of any claimed ambiguities in this Agreement against the Party that drafted it, has no application and is expressly waived.  If any claim is made by a Party relating to any conflict, omission or ambiguity in the

 

39



 

provisions of this Agreement, no presumption or burden of proof or persuasion will be implied because this Agreement was prepared by or at the request of any Party or its counsel.

 

- EXECUTION PAGE FOLLOWS -

 

40


 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

 

COMPANY:

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name: Huang Jiajia

 

Title: Director

 

 

HK CO I:

China Online Education (HK) Limited

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name: Huang Jiajia

 

Title: Director

 

 

HK CO II:

51 Talk English International Limited

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name: Huang Jiajia

 

Title: Director

 

SIGNATURE PAGE TO THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT

 



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

 

PHILIPPINES CO I:

51Talk English Philippines Corporation

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Nelson Tan

 

Name: Nelson Tan

 

Title: Director

 

 

PHILIPPINES CO II:

China Online Innovation Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Shu Ting

 

Name: Shu Ting

 

Title: Director

 

SIGNATURE PAGE TO THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT

 



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

 

WFOE:

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. (北京大生在线科技有限公司)

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name: Huang Jiajia

 

Title: Legal Representative

 

 

 

Affix Seal: /s/ Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

DOMESTIC COMPANY:

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. (北京大生知行科技有限公司)

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name: Huang Jiajia

 

Title: Legal Representative

 

 

 

Affix Seal: /s/ Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

 

SIGNATURE PAGE TO THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT

 



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

 

KEY HOLDERS:

Dasheng Global Limited

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name: Huang Jiajia

 

Title: Director

 

 

 

 

 

Dasheng Online Limited

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Shu Ting

 

Name: Shu Ting

 

Title: Director

 

 

 

 

 

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name: Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Shu Ting

 

Name: Shu Ting

 

SIGNATURE PAGE TO THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT

 



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

 

ANGEL INVESTORS:

ZHEN PARTNERS FUND I, L.P.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Susan Park

 

Name: Susan Park

 

Title: Authorized Signatory

 

 

 

 

 

Hattori Kei

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Hattori Kei

 

Name: Hattori Kei

 

SIGNATURE PAGE TO THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT

 



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

 

SERIES A PREFERRED SHAREHOLDER/SERIES B PREFERRED SHAREHOLDER/SERIES C PREFERRED SHAREHOLDER/SERIES D PREFERRED SHAREHOLDER:

 

DCM Hybrid RMB Fund, L.P.

 

 

By: DCM Hybrid RMB Fund Investment Management, L.P.

its General Partner

 

 

By: DCM Hybrid RMB Fund International, Ltd.

its General Partner

 

 

By:

/s/ Matthew C. Bonner

 

Matthew C. Bonner, an authorized signatory

 

SIGNATURE PAGE TO THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT

 


 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

 

SERIES B PREFERRED SHAREHOLDER/SERIES C PREFERRED SHAREHOLDER/SERIES D PREFERRED SHAREHOLDER

 

SHUNWEI TMT II LIMITED

 

 

By:

/s/ Tuck Lye Koh

Name: Tuck Lye Koh

Title: Authorized Signatory

 

SIGNATURE PAGE TO THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT

 



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

 

SERIES B PREFERRED SHAREHOLDER/SERIES C PREFERRED SHAREHOLDER:

 

DUOWAN ENTERTAINMENT CORP.

 

 

By:

/s/ Xueling Li

Name: Xueling Li

Title: Authorized Signatory

 

SIGNATURE PAGE TO THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT

 



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

 

SERIES D PREFERRED SHAREHOLDER:

ENGAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS I, L.P.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Simon Wang

 

Name: Simon Wang

 

Title: Authorized Signatory

 



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

 

SERIES C PREFERRED SHAREHOLDER:

SCC VENTURE V HOLDCO I, LTD.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Kok Wai Yee

 

Name: Kok Wai Yee

 

Title: Authorized Signatory

 

SIGNATURE PAGE TO THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT

 



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

 

SERIES C PREFERRED SHAREHOLDER/SERIES D PREFERRED SHAREHOLDER:

 

HUAXING CAPITAL PARTNERS, L.P.

 

 

By:

/s/ Bao Fan

Name: Bao Fan

Title: Authorized Signatory

 

SIGNATURE PAGE TO THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT

 



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

 

SERIES D PREFERRED SHAREHOLDER:

SCC GROWTH I HOLDCO A, LTD.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Kok Wai Yee

 

Name: Kok Wai Yee

 

Title: Authorized Signatory

 

SIGNATURE PAGE TO THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT

 


 

SCHEDULE 1

 

ADDRESS AND FAX NUMBERS FOR NOTIFICATION

 

Part A

 

Founders and Founder Entities

 

1

 

DASHENG GLOBAL LIMITED

 

 

 

Address:

 

Suite 1611, Tower C, Caizhi Plaza, No.18, East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing (北京市海淀区中关村东路18号财智大厦C座1611室)

Attn:

 

Huang Jiajia(黄佳佳)

 

 

 

2

 

DASHENG ONLINE LIMITED

 

 

 

Address:

 

Suite 1611, Tower C, Caizhi Plaza, No.18, East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing (北京市海淀区中关村东路18号财智大厦C座1611室)

Attn:

 

Shu Ting(舒婷)

 

 

 

3

 

HUANG JIAJIA

 

 

 

Address:

 

Suite 1611, Tower C, Caizhi Plaza, No.18, East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing (北京市海淀区中关村东路18号财智大厦C座1611室)

Attn:

 

Huang Jiajia(黄佳佳)

 

 

 

4

 

SHU TING

 

 

 

Address:

 

Suite 1611, Tower C, Caizhi Plaza, No.18, East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing (北京市海淀区中关村东路18号财智大厦C座1611室)

Attn:

 

Shu Ting(舒婷)

 



 

Part B

 

 

 

1

 

ZHEN PARTNERS FUND I, L.P.

 

 

 

Address:

 

Suite 525, Guomao Plaza, No. 1 Jianguomenwai Street Chaoyang District, Beijing (北京朝阳区国贸一期525)

Attn:

 

Anna Fang

 

 

 

2

 

HATTORI KEI

 

 

 

Address:

 

1-6-15 Midorigaoka Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Attn:

 

Hattori Kei

 

 

 

3

 

COMPANY

 

 

 

Address:

 

Suite 1611, Tower C, Caizhi Plaza, No.18, East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing (北京市海淀区中关村东路18号财智大厦C座1611室)

Attn:

 

Huang Jiajia(黄佳佳)

 

 

 

4

 

HK CO I

 

 

 

Address:

 

Suite 1611, Tower C, Caizhi Plaza, No.18, East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing (北京市海淀区中关村东路18号财智大厦C座1611室)

Attn:

 

Huang Jiajia (黄佳佳)

 

 

 

5

 

HK CO II

 

 

 

Address:

 

Suite 1611, Tower C, Caizhi Plaza, No.18, East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing (北京市海淀区中关村东路18号财智大厦C座1611室)

Attn:

 

Huang Jiajia (黄佳佳)

 

 

 

6

 

PHILIPPINES CO I

 

 

 

Address:

 

Suite 1611, Tower C, Caizhi Plaza, No.18, East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing (北京市海淀区中关村东路18号财智大厦C座1611室)

Attn:

 

Huang Jiajia(黄佳佳)

 



 

7

 

PHILIPPINES CO II

 

 

 

Address:

 

Suite 1611, Tower C, Caizhi Plaza, No.18, East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing (北京市海淀区中关村东路18号财智大厦C座1611室)

Attn:

 

Huang Jiajia(黄佳佳)

 

 

 

8

 

WFOE

 

 

 

Address:

 

Suite 1611, Tower C, Caizhi Plaza, No.18, East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing (北京市海淀区中关村东路18号财智大厦C座1611室)

Attn:

 

Huang Jiajia(黄佳佳)

 

 

 

9

 

BEIJING DASHENG ZHIXING TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.

 

 

 

Address:

 

Suite 1611, Tower C, Caizhi Plaza, No.18, East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing (北京市海淀区中关村东路18号财智大厦C座1611室)

Attn:

 

Huang Jiajia(黄佳佳)

 

 

 

10

 

DCM HYBRID RMB FUND, L.P.

 

 

 

Address:

 

2420 Sand Hill Road, Suite 200, Menlo Park, CA 94025

Attn:

 

Matthew C. Bonner

Fax No. :

 

+1 650-854-9159

 

 

 

11

 

SHUNWEI TMT II LIMITED

 

 

 

Address:

 

P.O. Box 957, Offshore Incorporations Centre, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Attn:

 

Mr. Tuck Lye Koh (许达来)

Email:

 

tlkoh@shunwei.com

 

 

 

With a copy to :

Attention:

 

Mr. Tuck Lye Koh (许达来)

Address:

 

Unit 1309A, 13/F, Cable TV Tower, No. 9 Hoi Shing Road, Tsuen Wan, N.T., Hong Kong

Telephone:

 

+852 24050088

Fax:

 

+852 24050003

 


 

12

 

DUOWAN ENTERTAINMENT CORP.

 

 

 

Address:

 

P.O. Box 957, Offshore Incorporation Centre, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Attn:

 

Mr. Wang Shumin

Email:

 

wangshumin@yy.com

 

 

 

With a copy to:

Attention:

 

Mr. Wang Shumin (王澍敏)

Address:

 

Building 3-08, Yangcheng Creative Industry Zone, No.309 Huangpu Avenue Middle, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, P.R.China, 510655

Telephone:

 

+86 020-29162114

Fax:

 

+86 020-29162115

Email:

 

wangshumin@yy.com

 

 

 

13

 

SCC Venture V Holdco I, Ltd.

 

 

 

Address:

 

Suite 2215, 22/F Two Pacific Place 88 Queensway Road, Hong Kong

Tel:

 

+852 2501 8989

Fax:

 

+852 2501 5249

Attention:

 

Kok Wai Yee

 

 

 

14

 

SCC Growth I Holdco A, Ltd.

 

 

 

Address:

 

Suite 2215, 22/F Two Pacific Place 88 Queensway Road, Hong Kong

Tel:

 

+852 2501 8989

Fax:

 

+852 2501 5249

Attention:

 

Kok Wai Yee

 

 

 

15

 

Huaxing Capital Partners, L.P.

 

 

 

Address:

 

21st Floor, Tower C, Central International Trade Center, 6 Jianguomenwai Avenue, Beijing 100022, China

Tel:

 

010 85679988

Fax:

 

010 85679989

Attention:

 

Wang Xinwei

Email:

 

xwwang@huaxing.com

 



 

16

 

Engage Capital Partners I, L.P.

 

 

 

Address:

 

P.O. Box 957, Offshore Incorporation Centre, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Attn:

 

Mr. Wang Shumin

Email:

 

wangshumin@yy.com

 

 

 

With a copy to:

Attention:

 

Mr. Wang Shumin (王澍敏)

Address:

 

Building 3-08, Yangcheng Creative Industry Zone, No.309 Huangpu Avenue Middle, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, P.R.China, 510655

Telephone:

 

+86 020-29162114

Fax:

 

+86 020-29162115

Email:

 

wangshumin@yy.com

 


 

SCHEDULE 2

 

REGISTRATION RIGHTS

 

1.                                       Applicability of Rights .  The Preferred Shareholders shall be entitled to the following rights with respect to any potential public offering of the Preferred Shares or the Ordinary Shares in the United States and shall be entitled to reasonably analogous or equivalent rights with respect to any other offering of Securities in any other jurisdiction pursuant to which the Company undertakes to publicly offer or list such Securities for trading on a recognized securities exchange.

 

2.                                       Definitions .  For purposes of this Schedule 2:

 

(a)                                  Registration .  The terms “ register ,” “ registered ,” and “ registration ” refer to a registration effected by preparing and filing a registration statement in compliance with the Securities Act, and the declaration or ordering of effectiveness of such registration statement.

 

(b)                                  Registrable Securities .  The term “ Registrable Securities ” means:  (1) any Ordinary Shares of the Company issued or to be issued upon conversion of any Preferred Shares; (2) any Ordinary Shares of the Company issued as (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 Preferred Shares described in clause (1) of this subsection (b); and (3) any other Ordinary Shares owned or hereafter acquired by a Preferred Shareholder.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, “ Registrable Securities ” shall exclude any Registrable Securities sold by a person in a transaction in which rights under this Schedule 2 are not assigned in accordance with this Agreement or any Registrable Securities sold in a public offering, whether sold pursuant to Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act, or in a registered offering, or otherwise.

 

(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.

 

(d)                                  Holder .  For purposes of this Schedule 2, the term “ Holder ” means any person owning of record Registrable Securities that have not been sold to the public or pursuant to Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act or any permitted assignee of record of such Registrable Securities to whom rights under this Schedule 2 have been duly assigned in accordance with this Agreement.

 

(e)                                   Form S-3 and Form F-3 .  The terms “ Form S-3 ” and “ Form F-3 ” mean such respective form under the Securities Act as is in effect on the date hereof 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.

 

3.                                       Demand Registration .

 

(a)                                  Request by Holders .  If the Company shall at any time after the earlier of (i) the date four (4) years following the Completion, or (ii) the date six (6) months following the consummation of the Company’s IPO, receive a written request from the Holders of at least thirty percent (30%) 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, and if the anticipated gross receipts from the offering are to exceed US$7,500,000, 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 all reasonable efforts to effect, as soon as practicable, the registration under the Securities Act of all Registrable Securities that Holders (including other Shareholders who so) request to be registered and included in such registration by written notice given by such Holders to the Company within twenty (20) Business Days after receipt of the Request Notice, subject only to the limitations of this Section 3; provided that the Registrable Securities requested by all Holders to be registered pursuant to such request must be at least thirty percent (30%) of all Registrable Securities then outstanding; and provided further 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 or Section 5, or in which the Holders had an opportunity to participate pursuant to the provisions of Section 4, 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 Section 4(a).

 

(b)                                  Underwriting .  If the Holders initiating the registration request under this Section 3 (“ 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 and the Company shall include such information in the written notice referred to in subsection 3(a).  In such event, the right of any Holder to include his Registrable Securities in such registration shall be conditional upon such Holder’s participation in such underwriting and the inclusion of such Holder’s 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 (including a market stand-off agreement of up to 180 days if required by such underwriter or underwriters).  Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 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.  Any Registrable Securities excluded and withdrawn from such underwriting shall be withdrawn from the registration.  If the underwriter has not limited the number of Registrable Securities to be underwritten, the Company may include its securities for its own account in such registration if the underwriter so agrees and if the number of Registrable Securities which would otherwise have been included in such registration and underwriting will not thereby be limited.

 

(c)                                   Maximum Number of Demand Registrations .  The Company shall be obligated to effect only two (2) such registrations pursuant to this Section 3 so long as such registrations have been declared or ordered effective.

 

(d)                                  Deferral .  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be required to effect a registration pursuant to this Section 3:

 

(i)                                      during the period starting with the date sixty (60) days prior to the Company’s good faith estimate of the date of the filing of, and ending on a date one hundred eighty (180) days following the effective date of, a Company-initiated registration subject to Section 4 below, provided that the Company is actively employing in good faith all reasonable efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective;

 

(ii)                                   if the Initiating Holders propose to Dispose of Registrable Securities that may be registered on Form S-3 or Form F-3 pursuant to Section 5 hereof; or

 



 

(iii)                                if the Company shall furnish to Holders requesting the filing of a registration statement pursuant to this Section 3, a certificate signed by the President or 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, 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 twelve (12) month period.

 

(e)                                   Expenses .  All expenses incurred in connection with any registration pursuant to this Section 3, including without limitation all U.S. federal, “blue sky” and all foreign registration, filing and qualification fees, printer’s and accounting fees, and fees and disbursements of counsel for the Company including reasonable expenses of one legal counsel for the Holders (but excluding underwriters’ discounts and commissions relating to shares sold by the Holders), shall be borne by the Company.  Each Holder participating in a registration pursuant to this Section 3 shall bear such Holder’s proportionate share (based on the total number of shares sold in such registration other than for the account of the Company) of all discounts, commissions or other amounts payable to underwriter(s) or brokers, in connection with such offering by the Holders.

 

4.                                       Piggyback Registrations .  The Company shall notify all Holders of Registrable Securities in writing at least twenty (20) 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 registration under Section 3 or Section 5 of this Schedule 2 or to any employee benefit plan or a corporate reorganization) and will 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 such Holder shall within eighteen (18) 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.

 

(a)                                  Right to Terminate Registration .  The Company shall have the right to terminate or withdraw any registration initiated by it under this Section 4 prior to the effectiveness of such registration whether or not

 



 

any Holder has elected to include securities in such registration.  The expenses of such withdrawn registration shall be borne by the Company in accordance with Section 4(c) hereof.

 

(b)                                  Underwriting .  If a registration statement under which the Company gives notice under this Section 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 Holder’s Registrable Securities to be included in a registration pursuant to this Section 4 shall be conditional upon such Holder’s participation in such underwriting and the inclusion of such Holder’s 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 (including a market stand-off agreement of up to 180 days if required by such underwriter or underwriters).  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 (including up to one hundred percent (100%) of the Registrable Securities for an IPO and up to seventy percent (70%) of the Registrable Securities for any offering thereafter) 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 Registrable Securities then held by each such Holder, and third , to the 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 included in any such registration for an offering other than an IPO is not reduced below thirty percent (30%) of the aggregate number 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 Key Holder and any person who is an employee, officer, consultant 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.  For any Holder that is a partnership, the Holder and the partners and retired partners of such Holder, or the estates and family members of any such partners and retired partners and any trusts for the benefit of any of the foregoing persons, and for any Holder that is a corporation, the Holder

 



 

and all corporations that are Associates of such Holder, shall be deemed to be a single “Holder” and any pro rata reduction with respect to such “Holder” shall be based upon the aggregate amount of shares carrying registration rights owned by all entities and individuals included in such “Holder”, as defined in this sentence.

 

(c)                                   Expenses .  All expenses incurred in connection with a registration pursuant to this Section 4 (excluding underwriters’ and brokers’ discounts and commissions relating to shares sold by the Holders), including, without limitation all U.S. federal, “blue sky” and all foreign registration, filing and qualification fees, printers’ and accounting fees, and fees and disbursements of counsel for the Company and reasonable expenses of one legal counsel for the Holders, shall be borne by the Company.

 

(d)                                  Not Demand Registration .  Registration pursuant to this Section 4 shall not be deemed to be a demand registration as described in Section 3 above.  Except as otherwise provided herein, there shall be no limit on the number of times the Holders may request registration of Registrable Securities under this Section 4.

 

5.                                       Form S-3 or Form F-3 Registration .  In case the Company shall receive from any Holder or Holders of at least thirty percent (30%) of all Registrable Securities then outstanding a written request or requests that the Company effect a registration on Form S-3 or 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 Holder’s 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 all such qualifications and compliances 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 fourteen (14) Business Days after the Company provides the notice contemplated by Section 5(a); provided , however , that the Company shall not be obligated to effect any such registration, qualification or compliance pursuant to this Section 5:

 

(1)                                  if Form S-3 or Form F-3 is not available for such offering by the Holders;

 

(2)                                  if the Holders propose to sell Registrable Securities at an aggregate price to the public (net of any underwriters’ discounts or commissions) of less than US$2,000,000;

 


 

(3)                                  if the Company shall furnish to the Holders a certificate signed by the President or 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 S-3 or 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 S-3 or Form F-3 registration statement no more than once during any 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 5; or

 

(4)                                  if the Company has, within the twelve (12) month period preceding the date of such request, already effected two (2) registrations 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 Section 4(a).

 

(c)                                   Expenses .  The Company shall pay all expenses incurred in connection with each registration requested pursuant to this Section 5 (excluding underwriters’ or brokers’ discounts and commissions relating to shares sold by the Holders), including without limitation all U.S. federal, “blue sky” and all foreign registration, filing and qualification fees, printers’ and accounting fees, and fees and disbursements of counsel and reasonable expenses of one legal counsel for the Holders.

 

(d)                                  Not Demand Registration .  Form S-3 or Form F-3 registrations shall not be deemed to be demand registrations as described in Section 3 above.  Except as otherwise provided herein, there shall be no limit on the number of times the Holders may request registration of Registrable Securities under this Section 5.

 

6.                                       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 all reasonable efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective, provided , however , that the Company shall not be required to keep any such registration statement effective for more than sixty (60) days.

 

(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 all reasonable 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.

 

(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 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) a “comfort” letter dated as of such date, 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.

 

(h)                                  Notwithstanding any of the foregoing provisions, the Company shall not be required to pay for any expenses of any registration proceeding begun pursuant to Section 3 or Section 5 if the registration request is subsequently withdrawn at the request of the Holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities to be registered (in which case the participating Holders requesting for the withdrawal shall bear such expenses), unless, in the case of a registration requested under Section 3, all of the Holders of the Registrable Securities agree to forfeit their right to one demand registration pursuant to Section 3.

 

7.                                       Furnish Information . It shall be a condition precedent to the obligations of the Company to take any action pursuant to this Schedule 2 with respect to the Registrable Securities of the selling Holders that such 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.  In this connection, each selling Holder shall be required to represent and warrant to the Company that all such information which is given in writing expressly for inclusion in such registration is true and accurate in all material respects.

 

8.                                       No Registration Rights to Third Parties .  Without the prior consent of the holders of a majority of then issued and outstanding Series A Preferred Shares, the Company covenants and agrees that it shall not grant, or cause or permit to be created, for the benefit of any person or entity any registration rights of any kind (whether similar to the demand, “piggyback” or Form S-3 or Form F-3 registration rights described in this Schedule 2, or otherwise) relating to any Securities of the Company, other than rights that are subordinate in right to the Series A Preferred Shareholder.  Without the prior consent of the holders of a majority of then issued and outstanding Series B Preferred Shares, the Company covenants and agrees that it shall not grant, or cause or permit to be created, for the benefit of any person or entity any registration rights of any kind (whether similar to the demand, “piggyback” or Form S-3 or Form F-3 registration rights described in this Schedule 2, or otherwise) relating to any Securities of the Company, other than rights that are subordinate in right to the Series B Preferred Shareholder.  Without the prior consent of the holders of a majority of then issued and outstanding Series C Preferred Shares, the Company covenants and agrees that it shall not grant, or cause or permit to be created, for the benefit of any person or entity any registration rights of any kind (whether similar to the demand, “piggyback” or Form S-3 or Form F-3 registration rights described in this Schedule 2, or otherwise) relating to any Securities of the Company, other than rights that are subordinate in right to the Series C Preferred Shareholder.  Without the prior consent of the holders of a majority of then issued and outstanding Series D Preferred Shares, the Company covenants and agrees that it shall not grant, or cause or permit to be created, for the benefit of any person or entity any registration rights of any kind (whether similar to the demand, “piggyback” or Form S-3 or Form F-3 registration rights described in this Schedule 2, or otherwise) relating to any

 



 

Securities of the Company, other than rights that are subordinate in right to the Series D Preferred Shareholder.

 

9.                                       Assignment .  The registration rights under this Schedule 2 may be transferred or assigned to any transferee of the Series A Preferred Shares, Series B Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares or Series D Preferred Shares representing five percent (5%) or more of the issued share capital of the Company.

 

10.                                Market Stand-Off Agreement .  Each Holder hereby agrees that it will not, without the prior written consent of the managing underwriter, during the period commencing on the date of the final prospectus relating to the Company’s initial public offering and ending on the date specified by the Company and the managing underwriter (such period not to exceed one hundred eighty (l80) days) (i) lend, 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, or otherwise transfer or Dispose of, directly or indirectly, any Ordinary Shares or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Ordinary Shares (whether such shares or any such securities are then owned by the Holder or are thereafter acquired), or (ii) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Ordinary Shares, whether any such transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by allotment of Ordinary Shares or such other securities, in cash or otherwise.  The foregoing provisions of this Section 10 shall apply only to the Company’s initial public offering of equity securities, shall not apply to the sale of any shares to an underwriter pursuant to an underwriting agreement, and shall only be applicable to the Holders if all officers and directors and greater than one percent (1%) Shareholders of the Company enter into similar agreements.  The underwriters in connection with the Company’s initial public offering are intended third party beneficiaries of this Section 10 and shall have the right, power and authority to enforce the provisions hereof as though they were a Party hereto.  In order to enforce the foregoing covenant, the Company may impose stop-transfer instructions with respect to the Registrable Securities of each Holder (and the shares or securities of every other person subject to the foregoing restriction) until the end of such period. The Company shall require all future acquirers of the Company’s securities holding at least one percent (1%) of the then outstanding share capital of the Company to execute prior to a Qualified IPO a market stand-off agreement containing substantially similar provisions as those contained in this Section 10.

 

11.                                Indemnification .      In the event any Registrable Securities are included in a registration statement under Sections 3, 4 or 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 law, 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 ”):

 

a)                  any untrue statement or alleged 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;

b)                  the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein, or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; or

c)                   any violation or alleged violation by the Company of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or any United States federal or state securities law, or any rule or regulation promulgated under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or any United States federal or state securities law in connection with the offering covered by such registration statement;

 

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 subsection (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 (severally but not jointly with other Selling Holders), if Registrable Securities held by 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 Holder’s 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 law, 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 subsection (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 (b) exceed the net proceeds received by such Holder in the registered offering out of which the applicable Violation arises.

 

(c)                                   Notice .  Promptly after receipt by an indemnified Party under this Section 11 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 11, 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 11 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 11.

 

(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 11 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 11 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 11; 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 so that a Holder (together with its related persons) is responsible for the portion represented by the percentage that the public offering price of its Registrable Securities offered by and sold under the registration statement bears to the public offering price of all securities offered by and sold under such registration statement, and the Company and other selling Holders are responsible for the remaining portion.  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 or entity guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) will be entitled to contribution from any person or entity who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.

 

(e)                                   Survival; Consents to Judgments and Settlements .  The obligations of the Company and Holders under this Section 11 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.

 



 

Schedule 3

 

List of Competitors

 

VIPKID

Tutor Group (VIPABC)

ABC360 ( 伯瑞英语 )

杰森英语 Jason English

环汛教育 huanxunedu.com

好外教

和其他用菲律宾外教为主要师资的在线英语培训机构。

 




Exhibit 10.1

 

CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

EMPLOYEE EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

 

September 27, 2013

 



 

CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

 

EMPLOYEE EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

 

1.                              Purposes of the Plan . The purposes of this Plan are to attract and retain the best available personnel, to provide additional incentives to Employees, Directors and Consultants and to promote the success of the Company’s business.

 

2.                              Definitions . The following definitions shall apply as used herein and in the individual Award Agreements except as defined otherwise in an individual Award Agreement. In the event a term is separately defined in an individual Award Agreement, such definition shall supersede the definition contained in this Section 2.

 

(a)     “Administrator” means the Board or any entity appointed by the Board to administrate the Plan.

 

(b)                   “Affiliate” and “Associate” shall have the respective meanings ascribed to such terms in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Exchange Act.

 

(c)                    “Applicable Laws” means the legal requirements relating to the Plan and the Awards under applicable provisions of federal securities laws, state corporate and securities laws, the Code, the rules of any applicable stock exchange or national market system, and the rules of any jurisdiction applicable to Awards granted to residents therein.

 

(d)                   “Assumed” means that pursuant to a Corporate Transaction either (i) the Award is expressly affirmed by the Company or (ii) the contractual obligations represented by the Award are expressly assumed (and not simply by operation of law) by the successor entity or its Parent in connection with the Corporate Transaction with appropriate adjustments to the number and type of securities of the successor entity or its Parent subject to the Award and the exercise or purchase price thereof which at least preserves the compensation element of the Award existing at the time of the Corporate Transaction as determined in accordance with the instruments evidencing the agreement to assume the Award.

 

(e)                    “Award” means the grant of an Option, SAR, Dividend Equivalent Right, Restricted Share, Restricted Share Unit or other right or benefit under the Plan.

 

(f)                     “Award Agreement” means the written agreement evidencing the grant of an Award executed by the Company and the Grantee, including any amendments thereto.

 

(g)                    “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

 

(h)                   “Cause” means, with respect to the termination by the Company or a Related Entity of the Grantee’s Continuous Service, that such termination is for “Cause” as such term is expressly defined in a then-effective written agreement between the Grantee and the Company or such Related Entity, or in the absence of such then-effective written agreement and

 

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definition, is based on, in the determination of the Administrator, the Grantee’s: (i) performance of any act or failure to perform any act in bad faith and to the detriment of the Company or a Related Entity; (ii) dishonesty, intentional misconduct or material breach of any agreement with the Company or a Related Entity; or (iii) commission of a crime involving dishonesty, breach of trust, or physical or emotional harm to any person.

 

(i)       “Change in Control” means a change in the ownership or control of the Company after the Registration Date effected through either of the following transactions:

 

(i)                            the direct or indirect acquisition by any person or related group of persons (other than an acquisition from or by the Company or by a Company-sponsored employee benefit plan or by a person that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, the Company) 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 Company’s outstanding securities pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made directly to the Company’s shareholders which a majority of the Continuing Directors who are not Affiliates or Associates of the offer or do not recommend such shareholders accept, or

 

(ii)                         a change in the composition of the Board over a period of thirty-six (36) months or less such that a majority of the Board members (rounded up to the next whole number) ceases, by reason of one or more contested elections for Board membership, to be comprised of individuals who are Continuing Directors.

 

(j)                           “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

 

(k)                        “Committee” means any committee composed of members of the Board appointed by the Board to administer the Plan.

 

(l) “Ordinary Share” means a share of US$0.0001 nominal or par value, of the Company having the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions set out in the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.

 

(m)“Company” means CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP, a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands or any successor corporation that adopts the Plan in connection with a Corporate Transaction.

 

(n)                        “Consultant” means any person (other than an Employee or a Director, solely with respect to rendering services in such person’s capacity as a Director) who is engaged by the Company or any Related Entity to render consulting or advisory services to the Company or such Related Entity.

 

(o)                        “Continuing Directors” means members of the Board who either (i) have been Board members continuously for a period of at least thirty-six (36) months or (ii) have been Board members for less than thirty-six (36) months and were elected or nominated for election as Board members by at least a majority of the Board members described in clause (i) who were still in office at the time such election or nomination was approved by the Board.

 

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(p)                        “Continuous Service” means that the provision of services to the Company or a Related Entity in any capacity of Employee, Director or Consultant is not interrupted or terminated. In jurisdictions requiring notice in advance of an effective termination as an Employee, Director or Consultant, Continuous Service shall be deemed terminated upon the actual cessation of providing services to the Company or a Related Entity notwithstanding any required notice period that must be fulfilled before the termination of an Employee, Director or Consultant become effective under Applicable Laws. A Grantee’s Continuous Service shall be deemed to have terminated either upon an actual termination of Continuous Service or upon the entity for which the Grantee provides services ceasing to be a Related Entity. Continuous Service shall not be considered interrupted in the case of (i) any approved leave of absence, (ii) transfers among the Company, any Related Entity, or any successor, in any capacity of Employee, Director or Consultant, or (iii) any change in status as long as the individual remains in the service of the Company or a Related Entity in any capacity of Employee, Director or Consultant (except as otherwise provided in the Award Agreement). An approved leave of absence shall include sick leave, military leave, or any other authorized personal leave.

 

(q)                        “Corporate Transaction” means any of the following transactions, provided, however, that the Administrator shall determine under following parts (iv) and (v) whether multiple transactions are related, and its determination shall be final, binding and conclusive:

 

(i)                            a merger or consolidation in which the Company is not the surviving entity, except for a transaction the principal purpose of which is to change the state in which the Company is incorporated;

 

(ii)                         the sale, transfer or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company;

 

(iii)                      the complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company;

 

(iv)                     any reverse merger or series of related transactions culminating in a reverse merger (including, but not limited to, a tender offer followed by a reverse merger) in which the Company is the surviving entity but (A) the Ordinary Shares outstanding immediately prior to such merger are converted or exchanged by virtue of the merger into other property, whether in the form of securities, cash or otherwise, or (B) in which securities possessing more than forty percent (40%) of the total combined voting power of the Company’s outstanding securities are transferred to a person or persons different from those who held such securities immediately prior to such merger or the initial transaction culminating in such merger, but excluding any such transaction or series of related transactions that the Administrator determines shall not be a Corporate Transaction; or

 

(v)                        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 Company’s outstanding securities but excluding any such transaction or

 

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series of related transactions that the Administrator determines shall not be a Corporate Transaction.

 

(r)          “Director” means a member of the Board or the board of directors of any Related Entity.

 

(s)          “Disability” means as defined under the long-term disability policy of the Company or the Related Entity to which the Grantee provides services regardless of whether the Grantee is covered by such policy. If the Company or the Related Entity to which the Grantee provides service does not have a long-term disability plan in place, “Disability” means that a Grantee is unable to carry out the responsibilities and functions of the position held by the Grantee by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment for a period of not less than ninety (90) consecutive days. A Grantee will not be considered to have incurred a Disability unless he or she furnishes proof of such impairment sufficient to satisfy the Administrator in its discretion.

 

(t)          “Dividend Equivalent Right” means a right entitling the Grantee to compensation measured by dividends paid with respect to Ordinary Shares.

 

(u)         “Employee” means any person, including an Officer or Director, who is in the employment of the Company or any Related Entity, subject to the control and direction of the Company or any Related Entity as to both the work to be performed and the manner and method of performance. The payment of a director’s fee by the Company or a Related Entity shall not be sufficient to constitute “employment” by the Company.

 

(v)         “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

 

(w)        “Fair Market Value” means, as of any date, the value of Ordinary Shares determined as follows.

 

(i)          If the Ordinary Shares are listed on one or more established stock exchanges or national market systems, including without limitation The Nasdaq National Market or The Nasdaq SmallCap Market of 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 Ordinary Shares are listed (as determined by the Administrator) 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 Administrator deems reliable;

 

(ii)         If the Ordinary 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 on the date of determination, but if selling prices are not reported, the Fair Market Value of an Ordinary Share shall be the mean between the high bid and low asked prices for the Ordinary 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 Administrator deems reliable; or

 

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(iii)  In the absence of an established market for the Ordinary Shares of the type described in (i) and (ii), above, the Fair Market Value thereof shall be determined by the Administrator in good faith by reference to the issuance price of each share to be sold as of the closing of the Company’s latest round of financing.

 

(x)          “Grantee” means an Employee, Director or Consultant who receives an Award under the Plan.

 

(y)          “Officer” means a person who is an officer of the Company or a Related Entity within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

(z)           “Option” means an option to purchase Shares pursuant to an Award Agreement granted under the Plan.

 

(aa)     “Parent” means a “parent corporation”, whether now or hereafter existing, as defined in Section 424(e) of the Code.

 

(bb)     “Plan” means this Employee Equity Incentive Plan.

 

(cc)      “Registration Date” means the first to occur of (i) the closing of the first sale to the general public pursuant to a registration statement filed with and declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, of (A) the Ordinary Shares or (B) the same class of securities of a successor corporation (or its Parent) issued pursuant to a Corporate Transaction in exchange for or in substitution of the Ordinary Shares; and (ii) in the event of a Corporate Transaction, the date of the consummation of the Corporate Transaction if the same class of securities of the successor corporation (or its Parent) issuable in such Corporate Transaction shall have been sold to the general public pursuant to a registration statement filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, on or prior to the date of consummation of such Corporate Transaction.

 

(dd)     “Related Entity” means any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company and any business, corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity in which the Company or a Parent or a Subsidiary of the Company holds a substantial ownership interest, directly or indirectly.

 

(ee)      “Replaced” means that pursuant to a Corporate Transaction the Award is replaced with a comparable share or stock award or a cash incentive program of the Company, the successor entity (if applicable) or Parent of either of them which preserves the compensation element of such Award existing at the time of the Corporate Transaction and provides for subsequent payout in accordance with the same (or a more favorable) vesting schedule applicable to such Award. The determination of Award comparability shall be made by the Administrator and its determination shall be final, binding and conclusive.

 

(ff)       “Restricted Share” means a Share issued under the Plan to the Grantee for such consideration, if any, and subject to such restrictions on transfer, rights of first refusal,

 

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repurchase provisions, forfeiture provisions, and other terms and conditions as established by the Administrator.

 

(gg)                “Restricted Share Units” means an Award which may be earned in whole or in part upon the passage of time and which may be settled for cash, Shares or other securities or a combination of cash, Shares or other securities as established by the Administrator.

 

(hh)              “Rule 16b-3” means Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act or any successor thereto.

 

(ii)                         “SAR” means a share appreciation right entitling the Grantee to Shares or cash compensation, as established by the Administrator, measured by appreciation in the value of Ordinary Shares.

 

(jj)                    “Share” means an Ordinary Share of the Company.

 

(kk)              “Spin-off Transaction” means a distribution by the Company to its shareholders of all or any portion of the securities of any Subsidiary of the Company.

 

(ll)                         “Subsidiary” means a “subsidiary corporation”, whether now or hereafter existing, as defined in Section 424(f) of the Code.

 

3.                              Shares Subject to the Plan .

 

(a)                        Subject to the provisions of Section 15, below, the maximum aggregate number of Shares which may be issued pursuant to all Awards is 18,333,333 Shares * . The Shares to be issued pursuant to Awards may be authorized, but unissued, or reacquired Ordinary Shares.

 

(b)                        Any Shares covered by an Award (or portion of an Award) which is forfeited, canceled or expires (whether voluntarily or involuntarily) shall be deemed not to have been issued for purposes of determining the maximum aggregate number of Shares which may be issued under the Plan. Shares that actually have been issued under the Plan pursuant to an Award shall not be returned to the Plan and shall not become available for future issuance under the Plan, except that if unvested Shares are forfeited, or repurchased by the Company at the lower of their original purchase price or their Fair Market Value at the time of repurchase, such Shares shall become available for future grant under the Plan. To the extent not prohibited by Section 422(b)(1) of the Code (and the corresponding regulations thereunder), the listing requirements of The Nasdaq National Market (or other established stock exchange or national market system on which the Ordinary Shares are traded) and Applicable Law, any Shares covered by an Award which are surrendered (i) in payment of the Award exercise or purchase price or (ii) in satisfaction of tax withholding obligations incident to the exercise of an Award shall be deemed not to have been issued for purposes of determining the maximum number of Shares which may be issued pursuant to all Awards under the Plan, unless otherwise determined by the Administrator.

 


*                                            Pursuant to the written resolutions of the board of directors of the Company dated February 15, 2016, no Award shall be granted under the Plan on or after the date thereof. As of February 15, 2016, Awards to purchase up to 4,000,000 Shares were granted under the Plan, which shall remain valid and effective subject to the terms and conditions herein.

 

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4.                              Administration of the Plan .

 

(a)                             Plan Administrator .

 

With respect to grants of Awards to Directors, Consultants or Employees including Officers of the Company, the Plan shall be administered by the Board. The Board may authorize the Chief Executive Officer to grant such Awards and may limit such authority as the Board determines from time to time.

 

(b)                             Administration Errors .

 

In the event an Award is granted in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of this subsection (a), such Award shall be presumptively valid as of its grant date to the extent permitted by the Applicable Laws.

 

(c)                              Powers of the Administrator .

 

Subject to Applicable Laws and the provisions of the Plan (including any other powers given to the Administrator hereunder), and except as otherwise provided by the Board, the Administrator shall have the authority, in its discretion:

 

(i)                            to select the Employees, Directors and Consultants to whom Awards may be granted from time to time hereunder;

 

(ii)                         to determine whether and to what extent Awards are granted hereunder;

 

(iii)                      to determine the number of Shares or the amount of other consideration to be covered by each Award granted hereunder;

 

(iv)                     to approve forms of Award Agreements for use under the Plan;

 

(v)                        to determine the terms and conditions of any Award granted hereunder (including the vesting schedule set forth in the Notice of Stock Option Award);

 

(vi)                     to amend the terms of any outstanding Award granted under the Plan, provided that any amendment that would adversely affect the Grantee’s rights under an outstanding Award shall not be made without the Grantee’s written consent;

 

(vii)                  to construe and interpret the terms of the Plan and Awards, including without limitation, any notice of award or Award Agreement, granted pursuant to the Plan;

 

(viii)               to grant Awards to Employees, Directors and Consultants employed outside the United States on such terms and conditions different from those specified in the Plan as may, in the judgment of the Administrator, be necessary or desirable to further the purpose of the Plan;

 

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(ix)                     to take such other action, not inconsistent with the terms of the Plan, as the Administrator deems appropriate.

 

5.                              Indemnification . In addition to such other rights of indemnification as they may have as members of the Board or as Officers or Employees of the Company or a Related Entity, members of the Board and any Officer or Employee of the Company or a Related Entity to whom authority to act for the Board, the Administrator or the Company is delegated shall be defended and indemnified by the Company to the extent permitted by law on an after-tax basis against all reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees actually and necessarily incurred in connection with the defense of any claim, investigation, action, suit or proceeding, or in connection with any appeal therein, to which they or any of them may be a party by reason of any action taken or failure to act under or in connection with the Plan, or any Award granted hereunder, and against all amounts paid by them in settlement thereof (provided such settlement is approved by the Company) or paid by them in satisfaction of a judgment in any such claim, investigation, action, suit or proceeding, except in relation to matters as to which it shall be adjudged in such claim, investigation, action, suit or proceeding that such person is liable for gross negligence, bad faith or intentional misconduct; provided, however, that within thirty (30) days after the institution of such claim, investigation, action, suit or proceeding, such person shall offer to the Company, in writing, the opportunity at the Company’s expense to defend the same.

 

6.                              Eligibility. Awards may be granted to Employees, Directors and Consultants. An Employee, Director or Consultant who has been granted an Award may, if otherwise eligible, be granted additional Awards.

 

7.                              Terms and Conditions of Awards.

 

(a)                        Types of Awards. The Administrator is authorized under the Plan to award any type of arrangement to an Employee, Director or Consultant that is not inconsistent with the provisions of the Plan and that by its terms involves or might involve the issuance of (i) Shares, (ii) cash or (iii) an Option, a SAR, or similar right with a fixed or variable price related to the Fair Market Value of the Shares and with an exercise or conversion privilege related to the passage of time or the occurrence of one or more events. Such awards include, without limitation, Options, SARs, sales or bonuses of Restricted Share, Restricted Share Units or Dividend Equivalent Rights, and an Award may consist of one such security or benefit, or two (2) or more of them in any combination or alternative.

 

(b)                        Designation of Award. Each Award shall be designated in the Award Agreement.

 

(c)                         Conditions of Award. Subject to the terms of the Plan, the Administrator shall determine the provisions, terms, and conditions of each Award including, but not limited to, the Award vesting schedule, repurchase provisions, rights of first refusal, forfeiture provisions, form of payment (cash, Shares, or other consideration) upon settlement of the Award and payment contingencies.

 

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(d)                        Acquisitions and Other Transactions. The Administrator may issue Awards under the Plan in settlement, assumption or substitution for, outstanding awards or obligations to grant future awards in connection with the Company or a Related Entity acquiring another entity, an interest in another entity or an additional interest in a Related Entity whether by merger, share purchase, asset purchase or other form of transaction.

 

(e)                         Deferral of Award Payment. The Administrator may establish one or more programs under the Plan to permit selected Grantees the opportunity to elect to defer receipt of consideration upon exercise of an Award or other event that absent the election would entitle the Grantee to payment or receipt of Shares or other consideration under an Award. The Administrator may establish the election procedures, the timing of such elections, the mechanisms for payments of, and accrual of interest or other earnings, if any, on amounts, Shares or other consideration so deferred, and such other terms, conditions, rules and procedures that the Administrator deems advisable for the administration of any such deferral program.

 

(f)                          Separate Programs. The Administrator may establish one or more separate programs under the Plan for the purpose of issuing particular forms of Awards to one or more classes of Grantees on such terms and conditions as determined by the Administrator from time to time.

 

(g)                         Early Exercise. The Award Agreement may, but need not, include a provision whereby the Grantee may elect at any time while an Employee, Director or Consultant to exercise any part or all of the Award prior to the full vesting of the Award. Any unvested Shares received pursuant to such exercise may be subject to a repurchase right in favor of the Company or a Related Entity or to any other restriction the Administrator determines to be appropriate.

 

(h)                        Term of Award. The term of each Award shall be the term stated in the Award Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the specified term of any Award shall not include any period for which the Grantee has elected to defer the receipt of the Shares or cash issuable pursuant to the Award.

 

(i)                            Transferability of Awards. The Awards shall be transferable (i) by will and by the laws of descent and distribution and (ii) during the lifetime of the Grantee, to the extent and in the manner authorized by the Administrator. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Grantee may designate one or more beneficiaries of the Grantee’s Award in the event of the Grantee’s death on a beneficiary designation form provided by the Administrator.

 

(j)                           Time of Granting Awards. The date of grant of an Award shall for all purposes be the date on which the Administrator issues the Notice of Stock Option Award to the Grantee, or such other date as is determined by the Administrator.

 

8.                              Award Exercise or Purchase Price, Consideration and Taxes .

 

(a)                        Exercise or Purchase Price. The exercise or purchase price, if any, for an Award shall be determined by the Administrator.

 

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(b)                        Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 8(a), in the case of an Award issued pursuant to Section 7(d), above, the exercise or purchase price for the Award shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of the relevant instrument evidencing the agreement to issue such Award.

 

(c)                         Consideration. Subject to Applicable Laws, the consideration to be paid for the Shares to be issued upon exercise or purchase of an Award including the method of payment, shall be determined by the Administrator. In addition to any other types of consideration the Administrator may determine, the Administrator is authorized to accept as consideration for Shares issued under the Plan the following:

 

(i)                                 cash;

 

(ii)                              check;

 

(iii)                           if the exercise or purchase occurs on or after the Registration Date, surrender of Shares or delivery of a properly executed form of attestation of ownership of Shares as the Administrator may require which have a Fair Market Value on the date of surrender or attestation equal to the aggregate exercise price of the Shares as to which said Award shall be exercised, provided, however, that Shares acquired under the Plan or any other equity compensation plan or agreement of the Company must have been held by the Grantee for a period of more than six (6) months (and not used for another Award exercise by attestation during such period);

 

(iv)                          with respect to Options, if the exercise occurs on or after the Registration Date, payment through a broker-dealer sale and remittance procedure pursuant to which the Grantee (A) shall provide written instructions to a Company designated brokerage firm to effect the immediate sale of some or all of the purchased Shares and remit to the Company sufficient funds to cover the aggregate exercise price payable for the purchased Shares and (B) shall provide written directives to the Company to deliver the certificates for the purchased Shares directly to such brokerage firm in order to complete the sale transaction; or

 

(v)                             any combination of the foregoing methods of payment.

 

The Administrator may at any time or from time to time, by adoption of or by amendment to the standard forms of Award Agreement described in Section 4(c)(iv), or by other means, grant Awards which do not permit all of the foregoing forms of consideration to be used in payment for the Shares or which otherwise restrict one or more forms of consideration.

 

(d)                        Taxes. No Shares shall be delivered under the Plan to any Grantee or other person until such Grantee or other person has made arrangements acceptable to the Administrator for the satisfaction of any non-U.S., federal, state, or local income and employment tax withholding obligations. Upon exercise of an Award the Company shall withhold or collect from Grantee an amount sufficient to satisfy such tax obligations.

 

9.                                   Exercise of Award.

 

(a)                        Procedure for Exercise; Rights as a Shareholder.

 

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(i)                                 Any Award granted hereunder shall be exercisable at such times and under such conditions as determined by the Administrator under the terms of the Plan and specified in the Award Agreement.

 

(ii)                              An Award shall be deemed to be exercised when written notice of such exercise has been given to the Company in accordance with the terms of the Award by the person entitled to exercise the Award and full payment for the Shares with respect to which the Award is exercised, including, to the extent selected, use of the broker-dealer sale and remittance procedure to pay the purchase price as provided in Section 8(c)(iv).

 

(b)                   Exercise of Award Following Termination of Continuous Service.

 

(i)                                 An Award may not be exercised after the termination date of such Award set forth in the Award Agreement and may be exercised following the termination of a Grantee’s Continuous Service only to the extent provided in the Award Agreement.

 

(ii)                              Where the Award Agreement permits a Grantee to exercise an Award following the termination of the Grantee’s Continuous Service for a specified period, the Award shall terminate to the extent not exercised on the last day of the specified period or the last day of the original term of the Award, whichever occurs first.

 

10.                      Conditions Upon Issuance of Shares.

 

(a)                             Shares shall not be issued pursuant to the exercise of an Award unless the exercise of such Award and the issuance and delivery of such Shares pursuant thereto shall comply with all Applicable Laws, and shall be further subject to the approval of counsel for the Company with respect to such compliance.

 

(b)                             As a condition to the exercise of an Award, the Company may require the person exercising such Award to represent and warrant at the time of any such exercise that the Shares are being purchased only for investment and without any present intention to sell or distribute such Shares if, in the opinion of counsel for the Company, such a representation is required by any Applicable Laws.

 

(c)                              As a condition to the exercise of an Award, the Grantee shall grant the power of attorney to the Board or any person designated by the Board to exercise the voting rights with respect to the Shares.

 

11.                      Adjustments Upon Changes in Capitalization.

 

Subject to any required action by the shareholders of the Company, the number of Shares covered by each outstanding Award, and the number of Shares which have been authorized for issuance under the Plan but as to which no Award have yet been granted or which have been returned to the Plan, the exercise or purchase price of each such outstanding Award, the maximum number of Shares with respect to which Awards may be granted to any Grantee in any fiscal year of the Company, as well as any other terms that the Administrator determines require adjustment shall be proportionately adjusted for (i) any increase or decrease in the number of issued Shares resulting from a share split, reverse share split, share dividend, combination or

 

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reclassification of the Shares, or similar transaction affecting the Shares, (ii) any other increase or decrease in the number of issued Shares effected without receipt of consideration by the Company, or (iii) as the Administrator may determine in its discretion, any other transaction with respect to Ordinary Shares including a corporate merger, consolidation, acquisition of property or equity, separation (including a spin-off or other distribution of shares or property), reorganization, liquidation (whether partial or complete) or any similar transaction; provided, however that conversion of any convertible securities of the Company shall not be deemed to have been “effected without receipt of consideration.” Such adjustment shall be made by the Administrator and its determination shall be final, binding and conclusive. Except as the Administrator determines, 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 hereof shall be made with respect to, the number or price of Shares subject to an Award. In the event of a Spin-off Transaction, the Administrator may in its discretion make such adjustments and take such other action as it deems appropriate with respect to outstanding Awards under the Plan, including but not limited to: (i) adjustments to the number and kind of Shares, the exercise or purchase price per Share and the vesting periods of outstanding Awards, (ii) prohibit the exercise of Awards during certain periods of time prior to the consummation of the Spin-off Transaction, or (iii) the substitution, exchange or grant of Awards to purchase securities of the Subsidiary; provided that the Administrator shall not be obligated to make any such adjustments or take any such action hereunder. Notwithstanding the forgoing, no inferior adjustment with respect to the substantial conditions offered to the Grantee in any outstanding Awards shall be made by the Administrator, unless with prior approval of the Board by means of board resolutions,

 

12.                                Corporate Transactions and Changes in Control .

 

(a)                                Termination of Award to Extent Not Assumed in Corporate Transaction.

 

Effective upon the consummation of a Corporate Transaction, all outstanding Awards under the Plan shall terminate. However, all such Awards shall not terminate to the extent they are Assumed in connection with the Corporate Transaction.

 

(b)                                Acceleration of Award Upon Corporate Transaction or Change in Control.

 

(i)                                      Corporate Transaction. Except as provided otherwise in a separate Board resolution or an individual Award Agreement and except for the complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company, in the event of a Corporate Transaction, for the portion of each Award that is neither Assumed nor Replaced, such portion of the Award shall automatically become fully vested and exercisable and be released from any repurchase or forfeiture rights (other than repurchase rights exercisable at Fair Market Value) for all of the Shares at the time represented by such portion of the Award, immediately prior to the specified effective date of such Corporate Transaction, provided that the Grantee’s Continuous Service has not terminated prior to such date. The portion of the Award that is not Assumed shall terminate under subsection (a) of this Section 12 to the extent not exercised prior to the consummation of such Corporate Transaction.

 

(ii)                                   Change in Control. Except as provided otherwise in a separate Board resolution or an individual Award Agreement, in the event of a Change in Control (other

 

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than a Change in Control which also is a Corporate Transaction), each Award which is at the time outstanding under the Plan automatically shall become fully vested and exercisable and be released from any repurchase or forfeiture rights (other than repurchase rights exercisable at Fair Market Value), immediately prior to the specified effective date of such Change in Control, for all of the Shares at the time represented by such Award, provided that the Grantee’s Continuous Service has not terminated prior to such date.

 

13.                                Effective Date and Term of Plan.

 

The Plan shall become effective upon its adoption by the Board of the Company. It shall continue in effect for a term of ten (10) years unless sooner terminated by the approval of the Board of the Company with its unanimous resolutions. Subject to Section 14, below, and Applicable Laws, Awards may be granted under the Plan upon its becoming effective.

 

14.                                Amendment, Suspension or Termination of the Plan.

 

(a)                                  The Board may at any time amend, suspend or terminate the Plan; provided, however, that no such amendment shall be made without the approval of the Company’s shareholders to the extent such approval is required by Applicable Laws, or if such amendment would change any of the provisions of Section 4(c)(vi) or this Section 14(a).

 

(b)                                  No Award may be granted during any suspension of the Plan or after termination of the Plan.

 

(c)                                   No suspension or termination of the Plan (including termination of the Plan under Section 13 above) shall adversely affect any rights under Awards already granted to a Grantee.

 

15.                                Reservation of Shares.

 

(a)                                  The Company, during the term of the Plan, will at all times reserve and keep available such number of Shares as shall be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Plan.

 

(b)                                  The inability of the Company to obtain authority from any regulatory body having jurisdiction, which authority is deemed by the Company’s counsel to be necessary to the lawful issuance and sale of any Shares hereunder, shall relieve the Company of any liability in respect of the failure to issue or sell such Shares as to which such requisite authority shall not have been obtained.

 

16.                                No Effect on Terms of Emplovment/Consulting Relationship . The Plan shall not confer upon any Grantee any right with respect to the Grantee’s Continuous Service, nor shall it interfere in any way with his or her right or the right of the Company or any Related Entity to terminate the Grantee’s Continuous Service at any time, with or without Cause, and with or without notice. The ability of the Company or any Related Entity to terminate the employment of a Grantee who is employed at will is in no way affected by its determination that the Grantee’s Continuous Service has been terminated for Cause for the purposes of this Plan.

 

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17.                                No Effect on Retirement and Other Benefit Plans . Except as specifically provided in a retirement or other benefit plan of the Company or a Related Entity, Awards shall not be deemed compensation for purposes of computing benefits or contributions under any retirement plan of the Company or a Related Entity, and shall not affect any benefits under any other benefit plan of any kind or any benefit plan subsequently instituted under which the availability or amount of benefits is related to the level of compensation. The Plan is not a “Retirement Plan” or “Welfare Plan” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.

 

18.                                Unfunded Obligation . Grantees shall have the status of general unsecured creditors of the Company. Any amounts payable to Grantees pursuant to the Plan shall be unfunded and unsecured obligations for all purposes, including, without limitation, Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended. Neither the Company nor any Related Entity shall be required to segregate any monies from its general funds, or to create any trusts, or establish any special accounts with respect to such obligations. The Company shall retain at all times beneficial ownership of any investments, including trust investments, which the Company may make to fulfill its payment obligations hereunder. Any investments or the creation or maintenance of any trust or any Grantee account shall not create or constitute a trust or fiduciary relationship between the Administrator, the Company or any Related Entity and a Grantee, or otherwise create any vested or beneficial interest in any Grantee or the Grantee’s creditors in any assets of the Company or a Related Entity. The Grantees shall have no claim against the Company or any Related Entity for any change in the value of any assets that may be invested or reinvested by the Company with respect to the Plan.

 

19.                                Construction . Captions and titles contained herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the meaning or interpretation of any provision of the Plan. Except otherwise indicated by the context, the singular shall include the plural and the plural shall include the singular. Use of the term “or” is not intended to be exclusive, unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

 

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Exhibit 10.2

 

CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

 

EMPLOYEE EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

 

December 17 , 201 4

 

(Amended by the written resolutions of the board of directors dated February 15, 2016)

 



 

CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

 

EMPLOYEE EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

 

1.                                       Purposes of the Plan .  The purposes of this Plan are to attract and retain the best available personnel, to provide additional incentives to Employees, Directors and Consultants and to promote the success of the Company’s business.

 

2.                                       Definitions .  The following definitions shall apply as used herein and in the individual Award Agreements except as defined otherwise in an individual Award Agreement.  In the event a term is separately defined in an individual Award Agreement, such definition shall supersede the definition contained in this Section 2.

 

(a)          “Administrator” means the Board or any entity appointed by the Board to administrate the Plan.

 

(b)                                  “Affiliate” and “Associate” shall have the respective meanings ascribed to such terms in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Exchange Act.

 

(c)                                   “Applicable Laws” means the legal requirements relating to the Plan and the Awards under applicable provisions of federal securities laws, state corporate and securities laws, the Code, the rules of any applicable stock exchange or national market system, and the rules of any jurisdiction applicable to Awards granted to residents therein.

 

(d)                                  “Assumed” means that pursuant to a Corporate Transaction either (i) the Award is expressly affirmed by the Company or (ii) the contractual obligations represented by the Award are expressly assumed (and not simply by operation of law) by the successor entity or its Parent in connection with the Corporate Transaction with appropriate adjustments to the number and type of securities of the successor entity or its Parent subject to the Award and the exercise or purchase price thereof which at least preserves the compensation element of the Award existing at the time of the Corporate Transaction as determined in accordance with the instruments evidencing the agreement to assume the Award.

 

(e)                                   “Award” means the grant of an Option, SAR, Dividend Equivalent Right, Restricted Share, Restricted Share Unit or other right or benefit under the Plan.

 

(f)                                    “Award Agreement” means the written agreement evidencing the grant of an Award executed by the Company and the Grantee, including any amendments thereto.

 

(g)                                   “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

 

(h)                                  “Cause” means, with respect to the termination by the Company or a Related Entity of the Grantee’s Continuous Service, that such termination is for “Cause” as such term is expressly defined in a then-effective written agreement between the Grantee and the Company or such Related Entity, or in the absence of such then-effective written agreement and

 

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definition, is based on, in the determination of the Administrator, the Grantee’s:  (i) performance of any act or failure to perform any act in bad faith and to the detriment of the Company or a Related Entity; (ii) dishonesty, intentional misconduct or material breach of any agreement with the Company or a Related Entity; or (iii) commission of a crime involving dishonesty, breach of trust, or physical or emotional harm to any person.

 

(i)                                      “Change in Control” means a change in the ownership or control of the Company after the Registration Date effected through either of the following transactions:

 

(i)                                      the direct or indirect acquisition by any person or related group of persons (other than an acquisition from or by the Company or by a Company-sponsored employee benefit plan or by a person that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, the Company) 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 Company’s outstanding securities pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made directly to the Company’s shareholders which a majority of the Continuing Directors who are not Affiliates or Associates of the offer or do not recommend such shareholders accept, or

 

(ii)                                   a change in the composition of the Board over a period of thirty-six (36) months or less such that a majority of the Board members (rounded up to the next whole number) ceases, by reason of one or more contested elections for Board membership, to be comprised of individuals who are Continuing Directors.

 

(j)                                     “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

 

(k)                                  “Committee” means any committee composed of members of the Board appointed by the Board to administer the Plan.

 

(l)              “Ordinary Share” means a share of US$0.0001 nominal or par value, of the Company having the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions set out in the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.

 

(m)      “Company” means CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP, a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands or any successor corporation that adopts the Plan in connection with a Corporate Transaction.

 

(n)                                  “Consultant” means any person (other than an Employee or a Director, solely with respect to rendering services in such person’s capacity as a Director) who is engaged by the Company or any Related Entity to render consulting or advisory services to the Company or such Related Entity.

 

(o)                                  “Continuing Directors” means members of the Board who either (i) have been Board members continuously for a period of at least thirty-six (36) months or (ii) have been Board members for less than thirty-six (36) months and were elected or nominated for election as Board members by at least a majority of the Board members described in clause (i) who were still in office at the time such election or nomination was approved by the Board.

 

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(p)                                  “Continuous Service” means that the provision of services to the Company or a Related Entity in any capacity of Employee, Director or Consultant is not interrupted or terminated.  In jurisdictions requiring notice in advance of an effective termination as an Employee, Director or Consultant, Continuous Service shall be deemed terminated upon the actual cessation of providing services to the Company or a Related Entity notwithstanding any required notice period that must be fulfilled before the termination of an Employee, Director or Consultant become effective under Applicable Laws.  A Grantee’s Continuous Service shall be deemed to have terminated either upon an actual termination of Continuous Service or upon the entity for which the Grantee provides services ceasing to be a Related Entity.  Continuous Service shall not be considered interrupted in the case of (i) any approved leave of absence, (ii) transfers among the Company, any Related Entity, or any successor, in any capacity of Employee, Director or Consultant, or (iii) any change in status as long as the individual remains in the service of the Company or a Related Entity in any capacity of Employee, Director or Consultant (except as otherwise provided in the Award Agreement).  An approved leave of absence shall include sick leave, military leave, or any other authorized personal leave.

 

(q)                                  “Corporate Transaction” means any of the following transactions, provided, however, that the Administrator shall determine under following parts (iv) and (v) whether multiple transactions are related, and its determination shall be final, binding and conclusive:

 

(i)                                      a merger or consolidation in which the Company is not the surviving entity, except for a transaction the principal purpose of which is to change the state in which the Company is incorporated;

 

(ii)                                   the sale, transfer or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company;

 

(iii)                                the complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company;

 

(iv)                               any reverse merger or series of related transactions culminating in a reverse merger (including, but not limited to, a tender offer followed by a reverse merger) in which the Company is the surviving entity but (A) the Ordinary Shares outstanding immediately prior to such merger are converted or exchanged by virtue of the merger into other property, whether in the form of securities, cash or otherwise, or (B) in which securities possessing more than forty percent (40%) of the total combined voting power of the Company’s outstanding securities are transferred to a person or persons different from those who held such securities immediately prior to such merger or the initial transaction culminating in such merger, but excluding any such transaction or series of related transactions that the Administrator determines shall not be a Corporate Transaction; or

 

(v)                                  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 Company’s outstanding securities but excluding any such transaction or

 

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series of related transactions that the Administrator determines shall not be a Corporate Transaction.

 

(r)                                     “Director” means a member of the Board or the board of directors of any Related Entity.

 

(s)                                    “Disability” means as defined under the long-term disability policy of the Company or the Related Entity to which the Grantee provides services regardless of whether the Grantee is covered by such policy.  If the Company or the Related Entity to which the Grantee provides service does not have a long-term disability plan in place, “Disability” means that a Grantee is unable to carry out the responsibilities and functions of the position held by the Grantee by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment for a period of not less than ninety (90) consecutive days.  A Grantee will not be considered to have incurred a Disability unless he or she furnishes proof of such impairment sufficient to satisfy the Administrator in its discretion.

 

(t)                                     “Dividend Equivalent Right” means a right entitling the Grantee to compensation measured by dividends paid with respect to Ordinary Shares.

 

(u)                                  “Employee” means any person, including an Officer or Director, who is in the employment of the Company or any Related Entity, subject to the control and direction of the Company or any Related Entity as to both the work to be performed and the manner and method of performance.  The payment of a director’s fee by the Company or a Related Entity shall not be sufficient to constitute “employment” by the Company.

 

(v)                                  “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

 

(w)                                “Fair Market Value” means, as of any date, the value of Ordinary Shares determined as follows:

 

(i)                                      If the Ordinary Shares are listed on one or more established stock exchanges or national market systems, including without limitation The Nasdaq National Market or The Nasdaq SmallCap Market of 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 Ordinary Shares are listed (as determined by the Administrator) 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 Administrator deems reliable;

 

(ii)                                   If the Ordinary 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 on the date of determination, but if selling prices are not reported, the Fair Market Value of an Ordinary Share shall be the mean between the high bid and low asked prices for the Ordinary 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 Administrator deems reliable; or

 

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(iii)                                In the absence of an established market for the Ordinary Shares of the type described in (i) and (ii), above, the Fair Market Value thereof shall be determined by the Administrator in good faith.

 

(x)                                  “Grantee” means an Employee, Director or Consultant who receives an Award under the Plan.

 

(y)                                  “Officer” means a person who is an officer of the Company or a Related Entity within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

(z)                                   “Option” means an option to purchase Shares pursuant to an Award Agreement granted under the Plan.

 

(aa)                           “Parent” means a “parent corporation”, whether now or hereafter existing, as defined in Section 424(e) of the Code.

 

(bb)                           “Plan” means this Employee Equity Incentive Plan.

 

(cc)                             “Registration Date” means the first to occur of (i) the closing of the first sale to the general public pursuant to a registration statement filed with and declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, of (A) the Ordinary Shares or (B) the same class of securities of a successor corporation (or its Parent) issued pursuant to a Corporate Transaction in exchange for or in substitution of the Ordinary Shares; and (ii) in the event of a Corporate Transaction, the date of the consummation of the Corporate Transaction if the same class of securities of the successor corporation (or its Parent) issuable in such Corporate Transaction shall have been sold to the general public pursuant to a registration statement filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, on or prior to the date of consummation of such Corporate Transaction.

 

(dd)                           “Related Entity” means any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company and any business, corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity in which the Company or a Parent or a Subsidiary of the Company holds a substantial ownership interest, directly or indirectly.

 

(ee)                             “Replaced” means that pursuant to a Corporate Transaction the Award is replaced with a comparable share or stock award or a cash incentive program of the Company, the successor entity (if applicable) or Parent of either of them which preserves the compensation element of such Award existing at the time of the Corporate Transaction and provides for subsequent payout in accordance with the same (or a more favorable) vesting schedule applicable to such Award.  The determination of Award comparability shall be made by the Administrator and its determination shall be final, binding and conclusive.

 

(ff)                               “Restricted Share” means a Share issued under the Plan to the Grantee for such consideration, if any, and subject to such restrictions on transfer, rights of first refusal, repurchase provisions, forfeiture provisions, and other terms and conditions as established by the Administrator.

 

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(gg)                             “Restricted Share Units” means an Award which may be earned in whole or in part upon the passage of time and which may be settled for cash, Shares or other securities or a combination of cash, Shares or other securities as established by the Administrator.

 

(hh)                           “Rule 16b-3” means Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act or any successor thereto.

 

(ii)                                   “SAR” means a share appreciation right entitling the Grantee to Shares or cash compensation, as established by the Administrator, measured by appreciation in the value of Ordinary Shares.

 

(jj)                                 “Share” means an Ordinary Share of the Company.

 

(kk)                           “Spin-off Transaction” means a distribution by the Company to its shareholders of all or any portion of the securities of any Subsidiary of the Company.

 

(ll)                                   “Subsidiary” means a “subsidiary corporation”, whether now or hereafter existing, as defined in Section 424(f) of the Code.

 

3.                                       Shares Subject to the Plan .

 

(a)                                  Subject to the provisions of Section 15, below, the maximum aggregate number of Shares which may be issued pursuant to all Awards shall be 32,229,922 ordinary share.  The Shares to be issued pursuant to Awards may be authorized, but unissued, or reacquired Ordinary Shares.

 

(b)                                  Any Shares covered by an Award (or portion of an Award) which is forfeited, canceled or expires (whether voluntarily or involuntarily) shall be deemed not to have been issued for purposes of determining the maximum aggregate number of Shares which may be issued under the Plan.  Shares that actually have been issued under the Plan pursuant to an Award shall not be returned to the Plan and shall not become available for future issuance under the Plan, except that if unvested Shares are forfeited, or repurchased by the Company at the lower of their original purchase price or their Fair Market Value at the time of repurchase, such Shares shall become available for future grant under the Plan.  To the extent not prohibited by Section 422(b)(1) of the Code (and the corresponding regulations thereunder), the listing requirements of The Nasdaq National Market (or other established stock exchange or national market system on which the Ordinary Shares are traded) and Applicable Law, any Shares covered by an Award which are surrendered (i) in payment of the Award exercise or purchase price or (ii) in satisfaction of tax withholding obligations incident to the exercise of an Award shall be deemed not to have been issued for purposes of determining the maximum number of Shares which may be issued pursuant to all Awards under the Plan, unless otherwise determined by the Administrator.

 

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4.                                       Administration of the Plan .

 

(a)                                  Plan Administrator .

 

With respect to grants of Awards to Directors , Consultants or Employees including Officers of the Company, the Plan shall be administered by the Board. The Board may authorize the Chief Executive Officer to grant such Awards and may limit such authority as the Board determines from time to time.

 

(b)                                  Administration Errors .

 

In the event an Award is granted in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of this subsection (a), such Award shall be presumptively valid as of its grant date to the extent permitted by the Applicable Laws.

 

(c)                                   Powers of the Administrator .

 

Subject to Applicable Laws and the provisions of the Plan (including any other powers given to the Administrator hereunder), and except as otherwise provided by the Board, the Administrator shall have the authority, in its discretion:

 

(i)                                      to select the Employees, Directors and Consultants to whom Awards may be granted from time to time hereunder;

 

(ii)                                   to determine whether and to what extent Awards are granted hereunder;

 

(iii)                                to determine the number of Shares or the amount of other consideration to be covered by each Award granted hereunder;

 

(iv)                               to approve forms of Award Agreements for use under the Plan;

 

(v)                                  to determine the terms and conditions of any Award granted hereunder (including the vesting schedule set forth in the Notice of Stock Option Award);

 

(vi)                               to amend the terms of any outstanding Award granted under the Plan, provided that any amendment that would adversely affect the Grantee’s rights under an outstanding Award shall not be made without the Grantee’s written consent;

 

(vii)                            to construe and interpret the terms of the Plan and Awards, including without limitation, any notice of award or Award Agreement, granted pursuant to the Plan;

 

(viii)                         to grant Awards to Employees, Directors and Consultants employed outside the United States on such terms and conditions different from those specified in the Plan as may, in the judgment of the Administrator, be necessary or desirable to further the purpose of the Plan;

 

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(ix)                               to take such other action, not inconsistent with the terms of the Plan, as the Administrator deems appropriate.

 

5.                                       Indemnification .  In addition to such other rights of indemnification as they may have as members of the Board or as Officers or Employees of the Company or a Related Entity, members of the Board and any Officer or Employee of the Company or a Related Entity to whom authority to act for the Board, the Administrator or the Company is delegated shall be defended and indemnified by the Company to the extent permitted by law on an after-tax basis against all reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees actually and necessarily incurred in connection with the defense of any claim, investigation, action, suit or proceeding, or in connection with any appeal therein, to which they or any of them may be a party by reason of any action taken or failure to act under or in connection with the Plan, or any Award granted hereunder, and against all amounts paid by them in settlement thereof (provided such settlement is approved by the Company) or paid by them in satisfaction of a judgment in any such claim, investigation, action, suit or proceeding, except in relation to matters as to which it shall be adjudged in such claim, investigation, action, suit or proceeding that such person is liable for gross negligence, bad faith or intentional misconduct; provided, however, that within thirty (30) days after the institution of such claim, investigation, action, suit or proceeding, such person shall offer to the Company, in writing, the opportunity at the Company’s expense to defend the same.

 

6.                                       Eligibility.   Awards may be granted to Employees, Directors and Consultants.  An Employee, Director or Consultant who has been granted an Award may, if otherwise eligible, be granted additional Awards.

 

7.                                       Terms and Conditions of Awards.

 

(a)                                  Types of Awards.  The Administrator is authorized under the Plan to award any type of arrangement to an Employee, Director or Consultant that is not inconsistent with the provisions of the Plan and that by its terms involves or might involve the issuance of (i) Shares, (ii) cash or (iii) an Option, a SAR, or similar right with a fixed or variable price related to the Fair Market Value of the Shares and with an exercise or conversion privilege related to the passage of time or the occurrence of one or more events.  Such awards include, without limitation, Options, SARs, sales or bonuses of Restricted Share, Restricted Share Units or Dividend Equivalent Rights, and an Award may consist of one such security or benefit, or two (2) or more of them in any combination or alternative.

 

(b)                                  Designation of Award.  Each Award shall be designated in the Award Agreement.

 

(c)                                   Conditions of Award.  Subject to the terms of the Plan, the Administrator shall determine the provisions, terms, and conditions of each Award including, but not limited to, the Award vesting schedule, repurchase provisions, rights of first refusal, forfeiture provisions, form of payment (cash, Shares, or other consideration) upon settlement of the Award and payment contingencies.

 

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(d)                                  Acquisitions and Other Transactions.  The Administrator may issue Awards under the Plan in settlement, assumption or substitution for, outstanding awards or obligations to grant future awards in connection with the Company or a Related Entity acquiring another entity, an interest in another entity or an additional interest in a Related Entity whether by merger, share purchase, asset purchase or other form of transaction.

 

(e)                                   Deferral of Award Payment.  The Administrator may establish one or more programs under the Plan to permit selected Grantees the opportunity to elect to defer receipt of consideration upon exercise of an Award or other event that absent the election would entitle the Grantee to payment or receipt of Shares or other consideration under an Award.  The Administrator may establish the election procedures, the timing of such elections, the mechanisms for payments of, and accrual of interest or other earnings, if any, on amounts, Shares or other consideration so deferred, and such other terms, conditions, rules and procedures that the Administrator deems advisable for the administration of any such deferral program.

 

(f)                                    Separate Programs.  The Administrator may establish one or more separate programs under the Plan for the purpose of issuing particular forms of Awards to one or more classes of Grantees on such terms and conditions as determined by the Administrator from time to time.

 

(g)                                   Early Exercise.  The Award Agreement may, but need not, include a provision whereby the Grantee may elect at any time while an Employee, Director or Consultant to exercise any part or all of the Award prior to the full vesting of the Award. Any unvested Shares received pursuant to such exercise may be subject to a repurchase right in favor of the Company or a Related Entity or to any other restriction the Administrator determines to be appropriate.

 

(h)                                  Term of Award.  The term of each Award shall be the term stated in the Award Agreement.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the specified term of any Award shall not include any period for which the Grantee has elected to defer the receipt of the Shares or cash issuable pursuant to the Award.

 

(i)                                      Transferability of Awards.  The Awards shall be transferable (i) by will and by the laws of descent and distribution and (ii) during the lifetime of the Grantee, to the extent and in the manner authorized by the Administrator.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Grantee may designate one or more beneficiaries of the Grantee’s Award in the event of the Grantee’s death on a beneficiary designation form provided by the Administrator.

 

(j)                                     Time of Granting Awards.  The date of grant of an Award shall for all purposes be the date on which the Administrator makes the determination to grant such Award, or such other date as is determined by the Administrator.

 

8.                                       Award Exercise or Purchase Price, Consideration and Taxes .

 

(a)                                  Exercise or Purchase Price.  The exercise or purchase price, if any, for an Award shall be determined by the Administrator.

 

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(b)                                  Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 8(a), in the case of an Award issued pursuant to Section 7(d), above, the exercise or purchase price for the Award shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of the relevant instrument evidencing the agreement to issue such Award.

 

(c)                                   Consideration.  Subject to Applicable Laws, the consideration to be paid for the Shares to be issued upon exercise or purchase of an Award including the method of payment, shall be determined by the Administrator. In addition to any other types of consideration the Administrator may determine, the Administrator is authorized to accept as consideration for Shares issued under the Plan the following:

 

(i)                                      cash;

 

(ii)                                   check;

 

(iii)                                if the exercise or purchase occurs on or after the Registration Date, surrender of Shares or delivery of a properly executed form of attestation of ownership of Shares as the Administrator may require which have a Fair Market Value on the date of surrender or attestation equal to the aggregate exercise price of the Shares as to which said Award shall be exercised, provided, however, that Shares acquired under the Plan or any other equity compensation plan or agreement of the Company must have been held by the Grantee for a period of more than six (6) months (and not used for another Award exercise by attestation during such period);

 

(iv)                               with respect to Options, if the exercise occurs on or after the Registration Date, payment through a broker-dealer sale and remittance procedure pursuant to which the Grantee (A) shall provide written instructions to a Company designated brokerage firm to effect the immediate sale of some or all of the purchased Shares and remit to the Company sufficient funds to cover the aggregate exercise price payable for the purchased Shares and (B) shall provide written directives to the Company to deliver the certificates for the purchased Shares directly to such brokerage firm in order to complete the sale transaction; or

 

(v)                                  any combination of the foregoing methods of payment.

 

The Administrator may at any time or from time to time, by adoption of or by amendment to the standard forms of Award Agreement described in Section  4(c)(iv), or by other means, grant Awards which do not permit all of the foregoing forms of consideration to be used in payment for the Shares or which otherwise restrict one or more forms of consideration.

 

(d)                                  Taxes.  No Shares shall be delivered under the Plan to any Grantee or other person until such Grantee or other person has made arrangements acceptable to the Administrator for the satisfaction of any non-U.S., federal, state, or local income and employment tax withholding obligations. Upon exercise of an Award the Company shall withhold or collect from Grantee an amount sufficient to satisfy such tax obligations.

 

9.                                       Exercise of Award.

 

(a)                                  Procedure for Exercise; Rights as a Shareholder.

 

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(i)                                      Any Award granted hereunder shall be exercisable at such times and under such conditions as determined by the Administrator under the terms of the Plan and specified in the Award Agreement.

 

(ii)                                   An Award shall be deemed to be exercised when written notice of such exercise has been given to the Company in accordance with the terms of the Award by the person entitled to exercise the Award and full payment for the Shares with respect to which the Award is exercised, including, to the extent selected, use of the broker-dealer sale and remittance procedure to pay the purchase price as provided in Section 8(c)(iv).

 

(b)                                  Exercise of Award Following Termination of Continuous Service.

 

(i)                                      An Award may not be exercised after the termination date of such Award set forth in the Award Agreement and may be exercised following the termination of a Grantee’s Continuous Service only to the extent provided in the Award Agreement.

 

(ii)                                   Where the Award Agreement permits a Grantee to exercise an Award following the termination of the Grantee’s Continuous Service for a specified period, the Award shall terminate to the extent not exercised on the last day of the specified period or the last day of the original term of the Award, whichever occurs first.

 

10.                                Conditions Upon Issuance of Shares.

 

(a)                                  Shares shall not be issued pursuant to the exercise of an Award unless the exercise of such Award and the issuance and delivery of such Shares pursuant thereto shall comply with all Applicable Laws, and shall be further subject to the approval of counsel for the Company with respect to such compliance.

 

(b)                                  As a condition to the exercise of an Award, the Company may require the person exercising such Award to represent and warrant at the time of any such exercise that the Shares are being purchased only for investment and without any present intention to sell or distribute such Shares if, in the opinion of counsel for the Company, such a representation is required by any Applicable Laws.

 

(c)                                   As a condition to the exercise of an Award, the Grantee shall grant the power of attorney to the Board or any person designated by the Board to exercise the voting rights with respect to the Shares.

 

11.                                Adjustments Upon Changes in Capitalization.

 

Subject to any required action by the shareholders of the Company, the number of Shares covered by each outstanding Award, and the number of Shares which have been authorized for issuance under the Plan but as to which no Award have yet been granted or which have been returned to the Plan, the exercise or purchase price of each such outstanding Award, the maximum number of Shares with respect to which Awards may be granted to any Grantee in any fiscal year of the Company, as well as any other terms that the Administrator determines require adjustment shall be proportionately adjusted for (i) any increase or decrease in the number of issued Shares resulting from a share split, reverse share split, share dividend, combination or

 

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reclassification of the Shares, or similar transaction affecting the Shares, (ii) any other increase or decrease in the number of issued Shares effected without receipt of consideration by the Company, or (iii) as the Administrator may determine in its discretion, any other transaction with respect to Ordinary Shares including a corporate merger, consolidation, acquisition of property or equity, separation (including a spin-off or other distribution of shares or property), reorganization, liquidation (whether partial or complete) or any similar transaction; provided, however that conversion of any convertible securities of the Company shall not be deemed to have been “effected without receipt of consideration.”  Such adjustment shall be made by the Administrator and its determination shall be final, binding and conclusive. Except as the Administrator determines, 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 hereof shall be made with respect to, the number or price of Shares subject to an Award.  In the event of a Spin-off Transaction, the Administrator may in its discretion make such adjustments and take such other action as it deems appropriate with respect to outstanding Awards under the Plan, including but not limited to: (i) adjustments to the number and kind of Shares, the exercise or purchase price per Share and the vesting periods of outstanding Awards, (ii) prohibit the exercise of Awards during certain periods of time prior to the consummation of the Spin-off Transaction, or (iii) the substitution, exchange or grant of Awards to purchase securities of the Subsidiary; provided that the Administrator shall not be obligated to make any such adjustments or take any such action hereunder. Notwithstanding the forgoing, no inferior adjustment  with respect to the substantial conditions offered to the Grantee in any outstanding Awards shall be made by the Administrator, unless with prior approval of the Board by means of board resolutions,

 

12.                                Corporate Transactions and Changes in Control .

 

(a)                                  Termination of Award to Extent Not Assumed in Corporate Transaction.

 

Effective upon the consummation of a Corporate Transaction, all outstanding Awards under the Plan shall terminate. However, all such Awards shall not terminate to the extent they are Assumed in connection with the Corporate Transaction.

 

(b)                                  Acceleration of Award Upon Corporate Transaction or Change in Control.

 

(i)                                      Corporate Transaction. Except as provided otherwise in a separate Board resolution or an individual Award Agreement and except for the complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company, in the event of a Corporate Transaction, for the portion of each Award that is neither Assumed nor Replaced, such portion of the Award shall automatically become fully vested and exercisable and be released from any repurchase or forfeiture rights (other than repurchase rights exercisable at Fair Market Value) for all of the Shares at the time represented by such portion of the Award, immediately prior to the specified effective date of such Corporate Transaction, provided that the Grantee’s Continuous Service has not terminated prior to such date.  The portion of the Award that is not Assumed shall terminate under subsection (a) of this Section 12 to the extent not exercised prior to the consummation of such Corporate Transaction.

 

(ii)                                   Change in Control.  Except as provided otherwise in a separate Board resolution or an individual Award Agreement, in the event of a Change in Control (other

 

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than a Change in Control which also is a Corporate Transaction), each Award which is at the time outstanding under the Plan automatically shall become fully vested and exercisable and be released from any repurchase or forfeiture rights (other than repurchase rights exercisable at Fair Market Value), immediately prior to the specified effective date of such Change in Control, for all of the Shares at the time represented by such Award, provided that the Grantee’s Continuous Service has not terminated prior to such date.

 

13.                                Effective Date and Term of Plan.

 

The Plan shall become effective upon its adoption by the Board of the Company.  It shall continue in effect for a term of ten (10) years unless sooner terminated by the approval of the Board of the Company with its unanimous resolutions. Subject to Section 14, below, and Applicable Laws, Awards may be granted under the Plan upon its becoming effective.

 

14.                                Amendment, Suspension or Termination of the Plan.

 

(a)                                  The Board may at any time amend, suspend or terminate the Plan; provided, however, that no such amendment shall be made without the approval of the Company’s shareholders to the extent such approval is required by Applicable Laws, or if such amendment would change any of the provisions of Section 4(c)(vi) or this Section 14(a).

 

(b)                                  No Award may be granted during any suspension of the Plan or after termination of the Plan.

 

(c)                                   No suspension or termination of the Plan (including termination of the Plan under Section 13 above) shall adversely affect any rights under Awards already granted to a Grantee.

 

15.                                Reservation of Shares.

 

(a)                                  The Company, during the term of the Plan, will at all times reserve and keep available such number of Shares as shall be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Plan.

 

(b)                                  The inability of the Company to obtain authority from any regulatory body having jurisdiction, which authority is deemed by the Company’s counsel to be necessary to the lawful issuance and sale of any Shares hereunder, shall relieve the Company of any liability in respect of the failure to issue or sell such Shares as to which such requisite authority shall not have been obtained.

 

16.                                No Effect on Terms of Employment/Consulting Relationship .  The Plan shall not confer upon any Grantee any right with respect to the Grantee’s Continuous Service, nor shall it interfere in any way with his or her right or the right of the Company or any Related Entity to terminate the Grantee’s Continuous Service at any time, with or without Cause, and with or without notice. The ability of the Company or any Related Entity to terminate the employment of

 

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a Grantee who is employed at will is in no way affected by its determination that the Grantee’s Continuous Service has been terminated for Cause for the purposes of this Plan.

 

17.                                No Effect on Retirement and Other Benefit Plans .  Except as specifically provided in a retirement or other benefit plan of the Company or a Related Entity, Awards shall not be deemed compensation for purposes of computing benefits or contributions under any retirement plan of the Company or a Related Entity, and shall not affect any benefits under any other benefit plan of any kind or any benefit plan subsequently instituted under which the availability or amount of benefits is related to the level of compensation.  The Plan is not a “Retirement Plan” or “Welfare Plan” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.

 

18.                                Unfunded Obligation . Grantees shall have the status of general unsecured creditors of the Company. Any amounts payable to Grantees pursuant to the Plan shall be unfunded and unsecured obligations for all purposes, including, without limitation, Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.  Neither the Company nor any Related Entity shall be required to segregate any monies from its general funds, or to create any trusts, or establish any special accounts with respect to such obligations.  The Company shall retain at all times beneficial ownership of any investments, including trust investments, which the Company may make to fulfill its payment obligations hereunder.  Any investments or the creation or maintenance of any trust or any Grantee account shall not create or constitute a trust or fiduciary relationship between the Administrator, the Company or any Related Entity and a Grantee, or otherwise create any vested or beneficial interest in any Grantee or the Grantee’s creditors in any assets of the Company or a Related Entity. The Grantees shall have no claim against the Company or any Related Entity for any change in the value of any assets that may be invested or reinvested by the Company with respect to the Plan.

 

19.                                Construction . Captions and titles contained herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the meaning or interpretation of any provision of the Plan.  Except otherwise indicated by the context, the singular shall include the plural and the plural shall include the singular.  Use of the term “or” is not intended to be exclusive, unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

 

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Exhibit 10.3

 

INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT

 

THIS INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”) is made as of             , 2016 by and between China Online Education Group, an exempted company with limited liability incorporated and existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “ Company ”), and                                 ([Passport/ID] Number                    ) (the “ Indemnitee ”).

 

WHEREAS, the Indemnitee has agreed to render valuable services to the Company; and

 

WHEREAS, in order to induce and encourage highly experienced and capable persons such as the Indemnitee to render valuable services to the Company, the board of directors of the Company (the “ Board of Directors ”) has determined that this Agreement is not only reasonable and prudent, but necessary to promote and ensure the best interests of the Company and its shareholders;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and mutual agreements hereinafter set forth, and other good and valuable consideration, including, without limitation, the service of the Indemnitee, the receipt of which hereby is acknowledged, and in order to induce the Indemnitee to render valuable services the Company, the Company and the Indemnitee hereby agree as follows:

 

1.              Definitions. As used in this Agreement:

 

(a)            Change in Control ” shall mean a change in control of the Company of a nature that would be required to be reported in response to Item 6(e) of Schedule 14A of Regulation 14A (or in response to any similar item on any similar or successor schedule or form) promulgated under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (collectively, the “ Act ”), whether or not the Company is then subject to such reporting requirement; provided, however, that, without limitation, such a Change in Control shall be deemed to have occurred (irrespective of the applicability of the initial clause of this definition) if (i) any “person” (as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Act, but excluding any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities pursuant to an employee benefit or welfare plan or employee share plan of the Company or any subsidiary or affiliate of the Company, or any entity organized, appointed, established or holding securities of the Company with voting power for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan) becomes the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Act), directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing 30% or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities without the prior approval of at least two-thirds of the Continuing Directors (as defined below) in office immediately prior to such person’s attaining such interest; (ii) the Company is a party to a merger, consolidation, scheme of arrangement, sale of assets or other reorganization, or a proxy contest, as a consequence of which Continuing Directors in office immediately prior to such transaction or event constitute less than a majority of the Board of Directors of the Company (or any successor entity) thereafter; or (iii) during any period of two (2) consecutive years, individuals who at the beginning of such period constituted the Board of Directors of the Company (including for this purpose any new director whose election or

 



 

nomination for election by the Company’s shareholders was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the directors then still in office who were directors at the beginning of such period) (such directors being referred to herein as “ Continuing Directors ”) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the Board of Directors of the Company.

 

(b)            Disinterested Director ” with respect to any request by the Indemnitee for indemnification or advancement of expenses hereunder shall mean a director of the Company who neither is nor was a party to the Proceeding (as defined below) in respect of which indemnification or advancement is being sought by the Indemnitee.

 

(c)            The term “ Expenses ” shall mean, without limitation, expenses of Proceedings, including attorneys’ fees, disbursements and retainers, accounting and witness fees, expenses related to preparation for service as a witness and to service as a witness, travel and deposition costs, expenses of investigations, judicial or administrative proceedings and appeals, amounts paid in settlement of a Proceeding by or on behalf of the Indemnitee, costs of attachment or similar bonds, any expenses of attempting to establish or establishing a right to indemnification or advancement of expenses, under this Agreement, the Company’s Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association as currently in effect (the “ Articles ”), applicable law or otherwise, and reasonable compensation for time spent by the Indemnitee in connection with the investigation, defense or appeal of a Proceeding or action for indemnification for which the Indemnitee is not otherwise compensated by the Company or any third party. The term “Expenses” shall not include the amount of judgments, fines, interest or penalties, or excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, which are actually levied against or sustained by the Indemnitee to the extent sustained after final adjudication.

 

(d)            The term “ Independent Legal Counsel ” shall mean any firm of attorneys reasonably selected by the Board of Directors of the Company, so long as such firm has not represented the Company, the Company’s subsidiaries or affiliates, the Indemnitee, any entity controlled by the Indemnitee, or any party adverse to the Company, within the preceding five (5) years. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term “Independent Legal Counsel” shall not include any person who, under applicable standards of professional conduct then prevailing, would have a conflict of interest in representing either the Company or the Indemnitee in an action to determine the Indemnitee’s right to indemnification or advancement of expenses under this Agreement, the Company’s Articles, applicable law or otherwise.

 

(e)            The term “ Proceeding ” shall mean any threatened, pending or completed action, suit, arbitration, alternate dispute resolution mechanism, or other proceeding (including, without limitation, an appeal therefrom), formal or informal, whether brought in the name of the Company or otherwise, whether of a civil, criminal, administrative or investigative nature, and whether by, in or involving a court or an administrative, other governmental or private entity or body (including, without limitation, an investigation by the Company or its Board of Directors), by reason of (i) the fact that the Indemnitee is or was a director or officer of the Company, or is or was serving at the request of the Company as an agent of another enterprise, whether or not the Indemnitee is serving in such capacity at the time any liability or expense is incurred for which indemnification or reimbursement is to be provided under this Agreement, (ii) any actual

 

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or alleged act or omission or neglect or breach of duty, including, without limitation, any actual or alleged error or misstatement or misleading statement, which the Indemnitee commits or suffers while acting in any such capacity, or (iii) the Indemnitee attempting to establish or establishing a right to indemnification or advancement of expenses pursuant to this Agreement, the Company’s Articles, applicable law or otherwise.

 

(f)             The phrase “ serving at the request of the Company as an agent of another enterprise ” or any similar terminology shall mean, unless the context otherwise requires, serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, trust, employee benefit or welfare plan or other enterprise, foreign or domestic. The phrase “serving at the request of the Company” shall include, without limitation, any service as a director/an executive officer of the Company which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director/executive officer with respect to the Company or any of the Company’s subsidiaries, affiliates, employee benefit or welfare plans, such plan’s participants or beneficiaries or any other enterprise, foreign or domestic. In the event that the Indemnitee shall be a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, trust, employee benefit or welfare plan or other enterprise, foreign or domestic, 50% or more of the ordinary shares, combined voting power or total equity interest of which is owned by the Company or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof, then it shall be presumed conclusively that the Indemnitee is so acting at the request of the Company.

 

2.              Services by the Indemnitee .  The Indemnitee agrees to serve as a director or officer of the Company under the terms of the Indemnitee’s agreement with the Company for so long as the Indemnitee is duly elected or appointed or until such time as the Indemnitee tenders a resignation in writing or is removed from the Indemnittee’s position; provided, however, that the Indemnitee may at any time and for any reason resign from such position (subject to any other contractual obligation or other obligation imposed by operation of law).

 

3.              Proceedings by or in the Right of the Company . The Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee if the Indemnitee is a party to or threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise involved in any Proceeding by or in the right of the Company to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the Indemnitee is or was a director or officer of the Company, or is or was serving at the request of the Company as an agent of another enterprise, against all Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties, and excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, which are actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with the defense or settlement of such a Proceeding, if the Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner the Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Company; except that no indemnification under this section shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudicated by final judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction to be liable to the Company for willful misconduct in the performance of his/her duty to the Company, unless and only to the extent that the court in which such Proceeding was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such amounts which such other court shall deem proper.

 

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4.              Proceeding Other Than a Proceeding by or in the Right of the Company . The Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee if the Indemnitee is a party to or threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise involved in any Proceeding (other than a Proceeding by or in the right of the Company), by reason of the fact that the Indemnitee is or was a director or officer of the Company, or is or was serving at the request of the Company as an agent of another enterprise, against all Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties, and excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, which are actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with such a Proceeding, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law; provided, however, that any settlement of a Proceeding must be approved in advance in writing by the Company (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld).

 

5.              Indemnification for Costs, Charges and Expenses of Witness or Successful Party . Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement (except as set forth in subparagraph 9(a) hereof), and without a requirement for determination as required by Paragraph 8 hereof, to the extent that the Indemnitee (a) has prepared to serve or has served as a witness in any Proceeding in any way relating to (i) the Company or any of the Company’s subsidiaries, affiliates, employee benefit or welfare plans or such plan’s participants or beneficiaries or (ii) anything done or not done by the Indemnitee as a director or officer of the Company or in connection with serving at the request of the Company as an agent of another enterprise, or (b) has been successful in defense of any Proceeding or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, on the merits or otherwise, including the dismissal of a Proceeding without prejudice or the settlement of a Proceeding without an admission of liability, the Indemnitee shall be indemnified against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in connection therewith to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

 

6.              Partial Indemnification .  If the Indemnitee is entitled under any provision of this Agreement to indemnification by the Company for a portion of the Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties, or excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, which are actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in the investigation, defense, appeal or settlement of any Proceeding, but not, however, for the total amount of the Indemnitee’s Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties, or excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, then the Company shall nevertheless indemnify the Indemnitee for the portion of such Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties or excise taxes to which the Indemnitee is entitled.

 

7.              Advancement of Expenses .  The Expenses incurred by the Indemnitee in any Proceeding shall be paid promptly by the Company in advance of the final disposition of the Proceeding at the written request of the Indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law; provided, however, that the Indemnitee shall set forth in such request reasonable evidence that such Expenses have been incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with such Proceeding, a statement that such Expenses do not relate to any matter described in subparagraph 9(a) of this Agreement, and an undertaking in writing to repay any advances if it is ultimately determined as provided in subparagraph 8(b) of this Agreement that the Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification under this Agreement.

 

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8.              Indemnification Procedure; Determination of Right to Indemnification .

 

(a)            Promptly after receipt by the Indemnitee of notice of the commencement of any Proceeding, the Indemnitee shall, if a claim for indemnification or advancement of Expenses in respect thereof is to be made against the Company under this Agreement, notify the Company of the commencement thereof in writing. The omission to so notify the Company will not relieve the Company from any liability which the Company may have to the Indemnitee under this Agreement unless the Company shall have lost significant substantive or procedural rights with respect to the defense of any Proceeding as a result of such omission to so notify.

 

(b)            The Indemnitee shall be conclusively presumed to have met the relevant standards of conduct, if any, as defined by applicable law, for indemnification pursuant to this Agreement and shall be absolutely entitled to such indemnification, unless a determination is made that the Indemnitee has not met such standards by (i) the Board of Directors by a majority vote of a quorum thereof consisting of Disinterested Directors, (ii) the shareholders of the Company by majority vote of a quorum thereof consisting of shareholders who are not parties to the Proceeding due to which a claim for indemnification is made under this Agreement, (iii) Independent Legal Counsel as set forth in a written opinion (it being understood that such Independent Legal Counsel shall make such determination only if the quorum of Disinterested Directors referred to in clause (i) of this subparagraph 8(b) is not obtainable or if the Board of Directors of the Company by a majority vote of a quorum thereof consisting of Disinterested Directors so directs), or (iv) a court of competent jurisdiction; provided, however, that if a Change of Control shall have occurred and the Indemnitee so requests in writing, such determination shall be made only by a court of competent jurisdiction.

 

(c)            If a claim for indemnification or advancement of Expenses under this Agreement is not paid by the Company within thirty (30) days after receipt by the Company of written notice thereof, the rights provided by this Agreement shall be enforceable by the Indemnitee in any court of competent jurisdiction. Such judicial proceeding shall be made de novo. The burden of proving that indemnification or advances are not appropriate shall be on the Company. Neither the failure of the directors or shareholders of the Company or Independent Legal Counsel to have made a determination prior to the commencement of such action that indemnification or advancement of Expenses is proper in the circumstances because the Indemnitee has met the applicable standard of conduct, if any, nor an actual determination by the directors or shareholders of the Company or Independent Legal Counsel that the Indemnitee has not met the applicable standard of conduct shall be a defense to an action by the Indemnitee or create a presumption for the purpose of such an action that the Indemnitee has not met the applicable standard of conduct. The termination of any Proceeding by judgment, order, settlement or conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself (i) create a presumption that the Indemnitee did not act in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the Company and/or its shareholders, and, with respect to any criminal Proceeding, that the Indemnitee had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful or (ii) otherwise adversely affect the rights of the Indemnitee to indemnification or advancement of Expenses under this Agreement, except as may be provided herein.

 

(d)            If a court of competent jurisdiction shall determine that the Indemnitee is entitled to any indemnification or advancement of Expenses hereunder, the Company shall pay

 

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all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with such adjudication (including, but not limited to, any appellate proceedings).

 

(e)            With respect to any Proceeding for which indemnification or advancement of Expenses is requested, the Company will be entitled to participate therein at its own expense and, except as otherwise provided below, to the extent that it may wish, the Company may assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnitee. After notice from the Company to the Indemnitee of its election to assume the defense of a Proceeding, the Company will not be liable to the Indemnitee under this Agreement for any Expenses subsequently incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with the defense thereof, other than as provided below. The Company shall not settle any Proceeding in any manner which would impose any penalty or limitation on the Indemnitee without the Indemnitee’s written consent. The Indemnitee shall have the right to employ his/her own counsel in any Proceeding, but the fees and expenses of such counsel incurred after notice from the Company of its assumption of the defense of the Proceeding shall be at the expense of the Indemnitee, unless (i) the employment of counsel by the Indemnitee has been authorized by the Company, (ii) the Indemnitee shall have reasonably concluded that there may be a conflict of interest between the Company and the Indemnitee in the conduct of the defense of a Proceeding, or (iii) the Company shall not in fact have employed counsel to assume the defense of a proceeding, in each of which cases the fees and expenses of the Indemnitee’s counsel shall be advanced by the Company. The Company shall not be entitled to assume the defense of any Proceeding brought by or on behalf of 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.

 

9.              Limitations on Indemnification .  No payments pursuant to this Agreement shall be made by the Company:

 

(a)            To indemnify or advance funds to the Indemnitee for Expenses with respect to (i) Proceedings initiated or brought voluntarily by the Indemnitee and not by way of defense, except with respect to Proceedings brought to establish or enforce a right to indemnification under this Agreement or any other statute or law or otherwise as required under applicable law or (ii) Expenses incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with preparing to serve or serving, prior to a Change in Control, as a witness in cooperation with any party or entity who or which has threatened or commenced any action or proceeding against the Company, or any director, officer, employee, trustee, agent, representative, subsidiary, parent corporation or affiliate of the Company, but such indemnification or advancement of Expenses in each such case may be provided by the Company if the Board of Directors finds it to be appropriate;

 

(b)            To indemnify the Indemnitee for any Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties, or excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, sustained in any Proceeding for which payment is actually made to the Indemnitee under a valid and collectible insurance policy, except in respect of any excess beyond the amount of payment under such insurance;

 

(c)            To indemnify the Indemnitee for any Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties sustained in any Proceeding for an accounting of profits made from the purchase or sale by the Indemnitee of securities of the Company pursuant to the provisions of Section 16(b)

 

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of the Act or similar provisions of any foreign or United States federal, state or local statute or regulation;

 

(d)            To indemnify the Indemnitee for any Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties, or excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, for which the Indemnitee is indemnified by the Company otherwise than pursuant to this Agreement;

 

(e)            To indemnify the Indemnitee for any Expenses (including without limitation any Expenses relating to a Proceeding attempting to enforce this Agreement), judgments, fines, interest or penalties, or excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, on account of the Indemnitee’s conduct if such conduct shall be finally adjudged to have been knowingly fraudulent, deliberately dishonest or willful misconduct, including, without limitation, breach of the duty of loyalty; or

 

(f)             If a court of competent jurisdiction finally determines that any indemnification hereunder is unlawful. In this respect, the Company and the Indemnitee have been advised that the Securities and Exchange Commission takes the position that indemnification for liabilities arising under securities laws is against public policy and is, therefore, unenforceable and that claims for indemnification should be submitted to appropriate courts for adjudication;

 

(g)            To indemnify the Indemnitee in connection with Indemnitee’s personal tax matter; or

 

(h)            To indemnify the Indemnitee with respect to any claim related to any dispute or breach arising under any contract or similar obligation between the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates and such Indemnitee.

 

10.           Continuation of Indemnification . All agreements and obligations of the Company contained herein shall continue during the period that the Indemnitee is a director or officer of the Company (or is or was serving at the request of the Company as an agent of another enterprise, foreign or domestic) and shall continue thereafter so long as the Indemnitee shall be subject to any possible Proceeding by reason of the fact that the Indemnitee was a director or officer of the Company or serving in any other capacity referred to in this Paragraph 10.

 

11.           Indemnification Hereunder Not Exclusive .  The indemnification provided by this Agreement shall not be deemed to be exclusive of any other rights to which the Indemnitee may be entitled under the Company’s Articles, any agreement, vote of shareholders or vote of Disinterested Directors, provisions of applicable law, or otherwise, both as to action or omission in the Indemnitee’s official capacity and as to action or omission in another capacity on behalf of the Company while holding such office.

 

12.           Successors and Assigns .

 

(a)            This Agreement shall be binding upon the Indemnitee, and shall inure to the benefit of, the Indemnitee and the Indemnitee’s heirs, executors, administrators and assigns,

 

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whether or not the Indemnitee has ceased to be a director or officer, and the Company and its successors and assigns. Upon the sale of all or substantially all of the business, assets or share capital of the Company to, or upon the merger of the Company into or with, any corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other person, this Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon both the Indemnitee and such purchaser or successor person. Subject to the foregoing, this Agreement may not be assigned by either party without the prior written consent of the other party hereto.

 

(b)            If the Indemnitee is deceased and is entitled to indemnification under any provision of this Agreement, the Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee’s estate and the Indemnitee’s spouse, heirs, executors, administrators and assigns against, and the Company shall, and does hereby agree to assume, any and all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by or for the Indemnitee or the Indemnitee’s estate, in connection with the investigation, defense, appeal or settlement of any Proceeding. Further, when requested in writing by the spouse of the Indemnitee, and/or the Indemnitee’s heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, the Company shall provide appropriate evidence of the Company’s agreement set out herein to indemnify the Indemnitee against and to itself assume such Expenses.

 

13.           Subrogation .  In the event of payment under this Agreement, the Company shall be subrogated to the extent of such payment to all of the rights of recovery of the Indemnitee, who shall execute all documents required and shall do all acts that may be necessary to secure such rights and to enable the Company effectively to bring suit to enforce such rights.

 

14.           Severability .  Each and every paragraph, sentence, term and provision of this Agreement is separate and distinct so that if any paragraph, sentence, term or provision thereof shall be held to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable for any reason, such invalidity, unlawfulness or unenforceability shall not affect the validity, unlawfulness or enforceability of any other paragraph, sentence, term or provision hereof. To the extent required, any paragraph, sentence, term or provision of this Agreement may be modified by a court of competent jurisdiction to preserve its validity and to provide the Indemnitee with the broadest possible indemnification permitted under applicable law. The Company’s inability, pursuant to a court order or decision, to perform its obligations under this Agreement shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement.

 

15.           Savings Clause .  If this Agreement or any paragraph, sentence, term or provision hereof is invalidated on any ground by any court of competent jurisdiction, the Company shall nevertheless indemnify the Indemnitee as to any Expenses, judgments, fines, interest or penalties, or excise taxes assessed with respect to any employee benefit or welfare plan, which are incurred with respect to any Proceeding to the fullest extent permitted by any (a) applicable paragraph, sentence, term or provision of this Agreement that has not been invalidated or (b) applicable law.

 

16.           Interpretation; Governing Law .  This Agreement shall be construed as a whole and in accordance with its fair meaning and any ambiguities shall not be construed for or against either party. Headings are for convenience only and shall not be used in construing meaning. This Agreement shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to the conflict of laws principles thereof.

 

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17.           Amendments .  No amendment, waiver, modification, termination or cancellation of this Agreement shall be effective unless in writing signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought. The indemnification rights afforded to the Indemnitee hereby are contract rights and may not be diminished, eliminated or otherwise affected by amendments to the Company’s Articles, or by other agreements, including directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies, of the Company.

 

18.           Counterparts .  This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, all of which shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when one or more counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to the other.

 

19.           Notices .  Any notice required to be given under this Agreement shall be directed to the Chief Financial Officer of the Company at 6 th  Floor Deshi Building North, Shangdi Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100085, People’s Republic of China, and to the Indemnitee at                                                                 or to such other address as either shall designate to the other in writing.

 

[The remainder of this page is intentionally left blank.]

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Indemnification Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

 

INDEMNITEE

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

 

 

 

CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

[ Signature Page to Indemnification Agreement ]

 




Exhibit 10.4

 

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

 

This EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (the “ Agreement” ) is entered into as of              , 201   by and between China Online Education Group, an exempted company with limited liability incorporated and existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “ Company ”) and              , an individual (the “ Executive ”). The term “Company” as used herein with respect to all obligations of the Executive hereunder shall be deemed to include the Company and all of its direct or indirect subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively, the “ Group ”).

 

RECITALS

 

A.            The Company desires to employ the Executive and to assure itself of the services of the Executive during the term of Employment (as defined below).

 

B.            The Executive desires to be employed by the Company during the term of Employment and under the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

 

AGREEMENT

 

The parties hereto agree as follows:

 

1.                                       POSITION

 

The Executive hereby accepts a position of               (the “ Employment ”) of the Company.

 

2.                                       TERM

 

Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the initial term of the Employment shall be commencing on            , 20   (the “ Effective Date ”), until            , 20  , unless terminated earlier pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. The Company and the Executive can determine to extend the Employment through mutual agreement. .

 

3.                                       PROBATION

 

There is no probation period for the Employment.

 

4.                                       DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

 

The Executive’s duties at the Company will include all jobs assigned by the Board of Directors of the Company (the “ Board ”) or, if authorized by the Board, by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.

 

The Executive shall devote all of his/her working time, attention and skills to the performance of his/her duties at the Company and shall faithfully and diligently serve the Company in accordance with this Agreement and the guidelines, policies and procedures of the Company approved from time to time by the Board.

 

The Executive shall use his/her best efforts to perform his/her duties hereunder.  The Executive shall not, without the prior written consent of the Board, become an employee or consultant of

 



 

any entity other than the Company and/or any member of the Group, and shall not carry on or be interested in the business or entity that competes with that carried on by the Group (any such business or entity, a “ Competitor ”), provided that nothing in this clause shall preclude the Executive from holding any shares or other securities of any Competitor that is listed on any securities exchange or recognized securities market anywhere.  The Executive shall notify the Company in writing of his/her interest in such shares or securities in a timely manner and with such details and particulars as the Company may reasonably require.

 

5.                                       NO BREACH OF CONTRACT

 

The Executive hereby represents to the Company that: (i) the execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Executive and the performance by the Executive of the Executive’s duties hereunder shall not constitute a breach of, or otherwise contravene, the terms of any other agreement or policy to which the Executive is a party or otherwise bound, except for agreements that are required to be entered into by and between the Executive and any member of the Group pursuant to applicable law of the jurisdiction where the Executive is based, if any; (ii) that the Executive has no information (including, without limitation, confidential information and trade secrets) relating to any other person or entity which would prevent, or be violated by, the Executive entering into this Agreement or carrying out his/her duties hereunder; and (iii) that the Executive is not bound by any confidentiality, trade secret or similar agreement with any other person or entity except for other member(s) of the Group, as the case may be.

 

6.                                       LOCATION

 

The Executive will be based in             , China until both parties hereto agree to change otherwise.

 

7.                                       COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

 

Unless set forth separately in Schedule A , Executive shall receive such compensation and benefits as described in this Section 7.

 

(a)                                  Cash Compensation .  The Executive’s cash compensation (including salary and bonus) shall be determined by the Company and specified in a standalone agreement between the Executive and the Company’s designated subsidiary or affiliated entity and such compensation is subject to annual review and adjustment by the Company, except in the case of the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, his compensation shall be determined by the Board of Directors of the Company or the compensation committee thereof, subject to annual review and adjustment.

 

(b)                                  Equity Incentives .  The Executive will be eligible for participating in the Company’s equity incentive plan(s) pursuant to the terms and conditions thereof as determined by the Board, and any award granted thereunder will be governed by an award agreement to be entered into separately between the Company and the Executive.

 

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(c)                                   Benefits .  The Executive is eligible for participation in any standard employee benefit plan of the Company that currently exists or may be adopted by the Company in the future, including, but not limited to, any retirement plan, life insurance plan, health insurance plan and annual holiday plan.

 

8.                                       TERMINATION OF THE AGREEMENT

 

(a)                                  By the Company .  The Company may terminate the Employment for cause, at any time, without advance notice or remuneration, if (1) the Executive is convicted or pleads guilty to a felony or to an act of fraud, misappropriation or embezzlement, (2) the Executive has been negligent or acted dishonestly to the detriment of the Company, (3) the Executive has engaged in actions amounting to misconduct or failed to perform his/her duties hereunder and such failure continues after the Executive is afforded a reasonable opportunity to cure such failure, (4) the Executive has died, or (5) the Executive has a disability which shall mean a physical or mental impairment which, as reasonably determined by the Board, renders the Executive unable to perform the essential functions of his/her employment with the Company, even with reasonable accommodation that does not impose an undue hardship on the Company, for more than 180 days in any 12-month period, unless a longer period is required by applicable law, in which case that longer period would apply.  In addition, the Company may terminate the Employment without cause, at any time, upon three-month prior written notice to the Executive.  Upon termination without cause, the Company shall provide severance payments to the Executive as expressly required by applicable law of the jurisdiction where the Executive is based.

 

(b)                                  By the Executive .  The Executive may resign from the Company at any time with a three-month prior written notice to the Company.

 

(c)                                   Notice of Termination.   Any termination of the Executive’s employment under this Agreement shall be communicated by written notice of termination from the terminating party to the other party.

 

9.                                       CONFIDENTIALITY AND NONDISCLOSURE

 

(a)                                 Confidentiality and Non-disclosure .  The Executive agrees at all times during and after the Employment, to hold in the strictest confidence, and not to use, or to disclose to any person, corporation or other entity without written consent of the Company, any Confidential Information, except as required in the performance of the Executive’s duties in connection with the Employment or pursuant to applicable law. The Executive understands that “Confidential Information” means any proprietary or confidential information of the Company, its affiliates, or their respective clients, customers or partners, including, without limitation, technical data, trade secrets, research and development information, product plans, services, customer lists and customers, supplier lists and suppliers, software developments, inventions, processes, formulas, technology, designs, hardware configuration information, personnel information, marketing, finances, information about the suppliers, joint ventures, franchisees, distributors and other persons with whom the Company does business, information regarding the skills and compensation of other employees of the Company or other business information disclosed to the Executive by or obtained by the Executive from the Company, its affiliates, or their respective clients, customers or partners either directly or indirectly in

 

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writing, orally or otherwise, if specifically indicated to be confidential or reasonably expected to be confidential. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Confidential Information shall not include information that is generally available and known to the public through no  breaching the confidential obligations of this agreement by  the Executive.

 

(b)                                  Trade Secrets.   During and after the Employment, the Executive shall hold the Trade Secrets (as defined below) in strict confidence; the Executive shall not disclose the Trade Secrets to anyone except other employees of the Company who have a need to know the Trade Secrets in connection with the Company’s business.  The Executive shall not use the Trade Secrets other than for his /her duties of the Company and for the benefits of the Company.

 

Trade Secrets ” means information deemed confidential by the Company, treated by the Company or which the Executive knows or ought reasonably to have known to be confidential, and trade secrets, including without limitation designs, processes, pricing policies, methods, inventions, conceptions, technology, technical data, financial information, corporate structure and know-how, relating to the business and affairs of the Company and its subsidiaries, affiliates and business associates, whether embodied in memoranda, manuals, letters or other documents, computer disks, tapes or other information storage devices, hardware, or other media or vehicles.  Trade Secrets do not include information generally known or released to public domain through no breaching the confidential obligations of this agreement by  the Executive.

 

(c)                                  Company Property . The Executive understands that all documents (including computer records, facsimile and e-mail) and materials created, received or transmitted in connection with his or her work or using the facilities of the Company are property of the Company and subject to inspection by the Company, at any time. Upon termination of the Employment (or at any other time when requested by the Company), the Executive will promptly deliver to the Company all documents and materials of any nature pertaining to his work with the Company and will provide written certification of his or her compliance with this Agreement. Under no circumstances will the Executive have, following his or her termination, in his or her possession any property of the Company, or any documents or materials or copies thereof containing any Confidential Information.

 

(d)                                 Former Employer Information .  The Executive represents and agrees that, during the term of his/her employment with the Company, he/she has not improperly used or disclosed, and will not improperly use or disclose, any proprietary information or trade secrets of any former employer or other person or entity with which the Executive has an agreement to keep in confidence information acquired by the Executive, if any.  The Executive will indemnify the Company and hold it harmless from and against all claims, liabilities, damages and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of suit, arising out of or in connection with any violation of the foregoing.

 

(e)                                   Third Party Information .  The Executive recognizes that the Company may have received, and in the future may receive, from third parties their confidential or proprietary information subject to a duty on the Company’s part to maintain the confidentiality of such information and to use it only for certain limited purposes.  The Executive agrees that the Executive owes the Company and such third parties, during the Executive’s employment by the Company and thereafter, a duty to hold all such confidential or proprietary information in the strictest confidence and not to disclose it to any person or

 

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firm and to use it in a manner consistent with, and for the limited purposes permitted by, the Company’s agreement with such third party.

 

This Section 9 shall survive the termination of this Agreement for any reason.  In the event the Executive breaches this Section 9, the Company shall have right to seek remedies permissible under applicable law.

 

10.                                INVENTIONS

 

(a)                                  Inventions Retained and Licensed. The Executive has attached hereto, as Schedule B , a list describing all inventions, ideas, improvements, designs and discoveries, whether or not patentable and whether or not reduced to practice, original works of authorship and trade secrets made or conceived by or belonging to the Executive (whether made solely by the Executive or jointly with others) that (i) were developed by the Executive prior to the Executive’s employment by the Company (collectively, “ Prior Inventions ”), (ii) relate to the Company’ actual or proposed business, products or research and development, and (iii) are not assigned to the Company hereunder; or, if no such list is attached, the Executive represents that there are no such Prior Inventions.  Except to the extent set forth in Schedule B , the Executive hereby acknowledges that, if in the course of his/her service for the Company, the Executive incorporates into a Company product, process or machine a Prior Invention owned by the Executive or in which he/she has an interest, the Company is hereby granted and shall have a nonexclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right and license (which may be freely transferred by the Company to any other person or entity) to make, have made, modify, use, sell, sublicense and otherwise distribute such Prior Invention as part of or in connection with such product, process or machine.

 

(b)                                  Disclosure and Assignment of Inventions.      The Executive understands that the Company engages in research and development and other activities in connection with its business and that, as an essential part of the Employment, the Executive is expected to make new contributions to and create inventions of value for the Company.

 

From and after the Effective Date, the Executive shall disclose in confidence to the Company all inventions, improvements, designs, original works of authorship, formulas, processes, compositions of matter, computer software programs, databases, mask works and trade secrets (collectively, the “ Inventions ”), which the Executive may solely or jointly conceive or develop or reduce to practice, or cause to be conceived or developed or reduced to practice, during the period of the Executive’s Employment at the Company.  The Executive acknowledges that copyrightable works prepared by the Executive within the scope of and during the period of the Executive’s Employment with the Company are “works for hire” and that the Company will be considered the author thereof.  The Executive agrees that all the Inventions shall be the sole and exclusive property of the Company and the Executive hereby assigns all his/her right, title and interest in and to any and all of the Inventions to the Company or its successor in interest without further consideration.

 

(c)                                   Patent and Copyright Registration.   The Executive agrees to assist the Company in every proper way to obtain for the Company and enforce patents, copyrights, mask work rights, trade secret rights, and other legal protection for the Inventions.  The Executive will execute any documents that the Company may reasonably request for use in obtaining or enforcing such patents, copyrights, mask work rights, trade secrets and other

 

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legal protections.  The Executive’s obligations under this paragraph will continue beyond the termination of the Employment with the Company, provided that the Company will reasonably compensate the Executive after such termination for time or expenses actually spent by the Executive at the Company’s request on such assistance.

 

(d)                                  Return of Confidential Materials.   In the event of the Executive’s termination of employment with the Company for any reason whatsoever, the Executive agrees promptly to surrender and deliver to the Company all records, materials, equipment, drawings, documents and data of any nature pertaining to any confidential information or to his/her employment, and the Executive will not retain or take with him/her any tangible materials or electronically stored data, containing or pertaining to any confidential information that the Executive may produce, acquire or obtain access to during the course of his/her employment.

 

This Section 10 shall survive the termination of this Agreement for any reason.  In the event the Executive breaches this Section 10, the Company shall have right to seek remedies permissible under applicable law.

 

11.                                NON-COMPETITION AND NON-SOLICITATION

 

In consideration of the Employment, the Executive agrees that during the term of the Employment and for a period of two (2) years following the termination of the Employment for whatever reason:

 

(a)                                  The Executive will not approach suppliers, clients, customers or contacts of the Company or other persons or entities introduced to the Executive in the Executive’s capacity as a representative of the Company for the purposes of doing business with such persons or entities which will harm the business relationship between the Company and such persons and/or entities;

 

(b)                                  unless expressly consented to by the Company, the Executive will not assume employment with or provide services as a director or otherwise for any Competitor, or engage, whether as principal, partner, licensor or otherwise, any Competitor; and

 

(c)                                   unless expressly consented to by the Company, the Executive will not seek directly or indirectly, by the offer of alternative employment or other inducement whatsoever, to solicit the services of any employee of the Company employed as at or after the date of such termination, or in the year preceding such termination.

 

In consideration of the foregoing, the Company shall pay, through its designated subsidiary or affiliated entity, compensation to the Executive in an aggregate amount equal to       % of the Executive’s annual base salary for the last year prior to the termination of the Employment, in        equal installments on a monthly basis after the termination of the Employment.

 

The provisions contained in this Section 11 are considered reasonable by the Executive and the Company.  In the event that any such provisions should be found to be void under applicable laws but would be valid if some part thereof was deleted or the period or area of application reduced, such provisions shall apply with such modification as may be necessary to make them valid and effective.

 

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This Section 11 shall survive the termination of this Agreement for any reason.  In the event the Executive breaches this Section 11, the Executive acknowledges that there will be no adequate remedy at law, and the Company shall be entitled to injunctive relief and/or a decree for specific performance, and such other relief as may be proper (including monetary damages if appropriate).  In any event, the Company shall have right to seek all remedies permissible under applicable law.

 

12.                                WITHHOLDING TAXES

 

Notwithstanding anything else herein to the contrary, the Company may withhold (or cause there to be withheld, as the case may be) from any amounts otherwise due or payable under or pursuant to this Agreement such national, provincial, local or any other income, employment, or other taxes as may be required to be withheld pursuant to any applicable law or regulation.

 

13.                                ASSIGNMENT

 

This Agreement is personal in its nature and neither of the parties hereto shall, without the consent of the other, assign or transfer this Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder; provided, however, that (i) the Company may assign or transfer this Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder to any member of the Group without such consent, and (ii) in the event of a merger, consolidation, or transfer or sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company with or to any other individual or entity, this Agreement shall, subject to the provisions hereof, be binding upon and inure to the benefit of such successor and such successor shall discharge and perform all the promises, covenants, duties, and obligations of the Company hereunder.

 

14.                                SEVERABILITY

 

If any provision of this Agreement or the application thereof is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this Agreement which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or applications and to this end the provisions of this Agreement are declared to be severable.

 

15.                                ENTIRE AGREEMENT

 

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement and understanding between the Executive and the Company regarding the terms of the Employment and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous oral or written agreements concerning such subject matter.  The Executive acknowledges that he/she has not entered into this Agreement in reliance upon any representation, warranty or undertaking which is not set forth in this Agreement.

 

16.                                GOVERNING LAW

 

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of the Cayman Islands.

 

17.                                AMENDMENT

 

This Agreement may not be amended, modified or changed (in whole or in part), except by a formal, definitive written agreement expressly referring to this Agreement, which agreement is executed by both of the parties hereto.

 

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18.                                WAIVER

 

Neither the failure nor any delay on the part of a party to exercise any right, remedy, power or privilege under this Agreement shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, power or privilege preclude any other or further exercise of the same or of any right, remedy, power or privilege, nor shall any waiver of any right, remedy, power or privilege with respect to any occurrence be construed as a waiver of such right, remedy, power or privilege with respect to any other occurrence.  No waiver shall be effective unless it is in writing and is signed by the party asserted to have granted such waiver.

 

19.                                NOTICES

 

All notices, requests, demands and other communications required or permitted under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given and made if (i) delivered by hand, (ii) otherwise delivered against receipt therefor, or (iii) sent by a recognized courier with next-day or second-day delivery to the last known address of the other party.

 

20.                                COUNTERPARTS

 

This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original as against any party whose signature appears thereon, and all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.  This Agreement shall become binding when one or more counterparts hereof, individually or taken together, shall bear the signatures of all of the parties reflected hereon as the signatories.  Photographic copies of such signed counterparts may be used in lieu of the originals for any purpose.

 

21.                                NO INTERPRETATION AGAINST DRAFTER

 

Each party recognizes that this Agreement is a legally binding contract and acknowledges that such party has had the opportunity to consult with legal counsel of choice.  In any construction of the terms of this Agreement, the same shall not be construed against either party on the basis of that party being the drafter of such terms.

 

[Remainder of this page has been intentionally left blank.]

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Agreement has been executed as of the date first written above.

 

 

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Signature:

 

 

Name:

 

 

[Signature Page to Employment Agreement]

 



 

Schedule A

 

Terms of Compensation and Benefits

 



 

Schedule B

 

List of Prior Inventions

 

Title

 

Date

 

Identifying Number
or Brief Description

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

              No inventions or improvements

 

              Additional Sheets Attached

 

Signature of Executive:

 

 

 

 

 

Print Name of Executive:

 

 

 

 

 

Date:

 

 

 

 




Exhibit 10.5

 

Amended and Restated Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement

 

This Amended and Restated Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement (this “ Agreement ”) is made and entered into by and between the following parties on December 14, 2015 in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (“ China ” or the “ PRC ”).

 

Party A:             Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

Address:              South No.1, Floor 6, No. 9 Shangdi East Street, Haidian District, Beijing

 

Party B:             Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

Address:              Room 9154, Suite 3, No.3 Xi Jing Street, High-tech Park, Ba Da Chu, Shijingshan District, Beijing

 

Each of Party A and Party B shall be hereinafter referred to as a “ Party ” respectively, and as the “ Parties ” collectively.

 

Whereas,

 

1.                   Party A is a wholly foreign owned enterprise established in China, and has the necessary resources to provide technical and consulting services;

 

2.                   Party B is a company established in China with exclusively domestic capital and is permitted to engage in online English training by relevant PRC government authorities.  The businesses conducted by Party B currently and any time during the term of this Agreement are collectively referred to as the “ Principal Business ”;

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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3.                   Party A and Party B have executed the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement dated June 18, 2013 (“ Prior Agreement ”), pursuant to which Party A  provides Party B with technical support, consulting services and other services on exclusive basis in relation to the Principal Business, utilizing its advantages in technology, human resources, and information. Now, the Parties agree to continue the cooperation, and intend to enter into this Agreement to amend and restate the terms and conditions under the Prior Agreement, to further clarify the rights and obligations of each Party in relation to the cooperation.

 

Now, therefore, through mutual discussion, the Parties have reached the following agreements:

 

1.                               Provision of Services

 

1.1                                Party B hereby appoints Party A as Party B’s exclusive services provider to provide Party B with comprehensive technical support, consulting services and other services during the term of this Agreement, in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including but not limited to the follows:

 

(1)                       Licensing Party B to use any software legally owned by Party A;

 

(2)                       Development, maintenance and update of software involved in Party B’s business;

 

(3)                       Design, installation, daily management, maintenance and updating of network system, hardware and database design;

 

(4)                       Technical support and training for employees of Party B;

 

(5)                       Assisting Party B in consultancy, collection and research of technology and market information (excluding market research business that wholly foreign-owned enterprises are prohibited from conducting under PRC law);

 

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(6)                       Providing business management consultation for Party B;

 

(7)                       Providing marketing and promotion services for Party B;

 

(8)                       Providing customer order management and customer services for Party B;

 

(9)                       Leasing of equipments or properties;

 

(10)                Sourcing and selecting qualified third-party service providers for Party B;

 

(11)                Daily management and development of third party service providers for Party B;

 

(12)                Providing curriculum design and quality management services for Party B;

 

(13)                Providing offshore business consultation services for Party B; and

 

(14)                Other services requested by Party B from time to time to the extent permitted under PRC law and the laws of other jurisdiction where the services are provided.

 

1.2                                Party B agrees to accept all the services provided by Party A.  Party B further agrees that unless with Party A’s prior written consent, during the term of this Agreement, Party B shall not directly or indirectly accept the same or any similar services provided by any third party and shall not establish similar cooperation relationship with any third party regarding the matters contemplated by this Agreement.  Party A may,

 

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at its sole discretion, appoint other parties (including Party A’s affiliates, referred to hereinafter as “ Party A  Designees ”, and each a “ Party A  Designee ”; together with Party A, collectively, “ Service Providers ”, and each a “ Service Provider ”), to enter into certain agreements described in Section 1.3 with Party B, to provide Party B with the services under this Agreement.

 

1.3                                Service Providing Methodology

 

1.3.1                      Party A and Party B agree that during the term of this Agreement, where necessary, Party B and the Service Providers may enter into one or more separate service agreements  to specify the contents, manner, personnel, and fees arrangement for the services.

 

1.3.2                      To fulfill this Agreement, Party A and Party B agree that, during the term of this Agreement, where necessary, Party B and Service Providers may, based on the needs of the business of Party B, enter into one or more equipment or property leases that permit Party B to use relevant equipment or property owned by the Service Providers.

 

1.3.3                      Party B hereby grants to Party A an irrevocable and exclusive option to purchase from Party B, at Party A’s sole discretion, any or all of the assets and business of Party B, to the extent permitted under PRC law, at the lowest purchase price permitted by PRC law.  The Parties shall then enter into a separate assets or business transfer agreement, specifying the terms and conditions of the transfer of the assets.

 

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2.                               The Calculation and Payment of the Service Fee s

 

2.1                              The service fee payable by Party B for the services provided hereunder shall  consist of management fee and fee for services provided, which shall be determined by the Party A after considering:

 

(1)                                  Complexity and difficulty of the services provided by the Service Providers;

 

(2)                                  Title of and time consumed by employees of the Service Providers providing the services;

 

(3)                                  Contents and value of the services provided by the Service Providers;

 

(4)                                  The benchmark price of the similar services in the market;

 

(5)                                  Operation conditions of the Party B.

 

2.2                               Service Providers will calculate service fee payable on a monthly basis and send the corresponding invoices to Party B. Party B shall pay the fee to the bank account designated by the Service Providers within ten (10) business days after receipt of such invoices. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, Party A may adjust the time and method of the payment of service fee at its sole discretion. Party B shall accept such adjustments.

 

2.3                               If Service Providers transfers technology to Party B or develops software or other technology as entrusted by Party B or leases equipments or properties to Party B, the technology transfer price, development fees or rent shall be determined by the Parties based on the actual situations.

 

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3.                               Intellectual Property Rights and Confidentiality Clauses

 

3.1                                Party A shall have exclusive and proprietary ownership, rights and interests in any and all intellectual properties arising out of or created during the performance of this Agreement, including but not limited to copyrights, patents, patent applications, software, technical secrets, trade secrets and others.  Party B shall execute all appropriate documents, take all appropriate actions, submit all filings and/or applications, render all appropriate assistance and otherwise conduct whatever is necessary as deemed by Party A at its sole discretion for the purposes of vesting any ownership, right or interest of any such intellectual property rights in Party A, and/or perfecting the protections for any such intellectual property rights in Party A.

 

3.2                                The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of the other Party, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third party, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential

 

6



 

information by the shareholders, director, employees of or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

4.                               Representations and Warranties

 

4.1                              Party A hereby represents, warrants and covenants as follows:

 

4.1.1                      Party A is a wholly foreign owned enterprise legally established and validly existing in accordance with the laws of China; The execution and performance of this Agreement by Party A are within its corporate power and business scope..

 

4.1.2                      Party A has taken all necessary corporate actions, obtained all necessary authorizations as well as all consents and approvals from third parties and government agencies (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.    Party A’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement do not violate any explicit requirements under any law or regulation.

 

4.1.3                      Upon execution, this Agreement constitutes Party A’s legal, valid and binding obligations, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms.

 

4.2                              Party B hereby represents, warrants and covenants as follows:

 

4.2.1                      Party B is a company legally established and validly existing in accordance with the laws of China. The execution and performance of this Agreement by Party B are within its corporate power and business scope.

 

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4.2.2                      Party B has taken all necessary corporate actions, obtained all necessary authorizations as well as all consents and approvals from third parties and government agencies (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.    Party B’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement do not violate any explicit requirements under any law or regulation.

 

4.2.3                      Upon execution, this Agreement constitutes Party B’s legal, valid and binding obligations, and shall be enforceable against it in accordance with its terms.

 

5.                               Term of Agreement

 

5.1                              This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties.  Unless terminated in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement or terminated in writing by Party A, this Agreement shall remain effective.

 

5.2                              During the term of this Agreement, each Party shall renew its operation term prior to the expiration thereof so as to enable this Agreement to remain effective.  This Agreement shall be terminated upon the expiration of the operation term of a Party if the application for renewal of its operation term is not approved by relevant government authorities.

 

5.3                              The rights and obligations of the Parties under Sections 3, 6, 7 and this Section 5.3 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

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6.                               Governing Law and Resolution of Disputes

 

6.1                              The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of China.

 

6.2                              In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its arbitration rules.  The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing.  The arbitration award shall be final and binding on both Parties.

 

6.3                              Upon the occurrence of any disputes arising from the construction and performance of this Agreement or during the pending arbitration of any dispute, except for the matters under dispute, the Parties shall continue to exercise their respective rights under this Agreement and perform their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

7.                               Breach of Agreement and Indemnification

 

7.1                              If Party B conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B to indemnify all damages; this Section 7.1 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein.

 

7.2                              Unless otherwise required by applicable laws, Party B shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event.

 

9



 

7.3                              Party B shall indemnify and hold harmless Party A from any losses, injuries, obligations or expenses caused by any lawsuit, claims or other demands against Party A arising from or caused by the services provided by Party A to Party B pursuant this Agreement, except where such losses, injuries, obligations or expenses arise from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of Party A.

 

8.                               Force Majeure

 

8.1                              In the case of any force majeure events (“ Force Majeure ”) such as earthquake, typhoon, flood, fire, flu, war, strikes or any other events that cannot be predicted and are unpreventable and unavoidable by the affected Party, which directly or indirectly causes the failure of either Party to perform or completely perform this Agreement, then the Party affected by such Force Majeure shall give the other Party written notices without any delay, and shall provide details of such event within 15 days after sending out such notice, explaining the reasons for such failure of, partial or delay of performance.

 

8.2                              If such Party claiming Force Majeure fails to notify the other Party and furnish it with proof pursuant to the above provision, such Party shall not be excused from the non-performance of its obligations hereunder.  The Party so affected by the event of Force Majeure shall use reasonable efforts to minimize the consequences of such Force Majeure and to promptly resume performance hereunder whenever the causes of such excuse are cured.  Should the Party so affected by the event of Force Majeure fail to resume performance hereunder when the causes of such excuse are cured, such Party shall be liable to the other Party.

 

10



 

8.3                              In the event of Force Majeure, the Parties shall immediately consult with each other to find an equitable solution and shall use all reasonable endeavours to minimize the consequences of such Force Majeure.

 

9.                               Notices

 

9.1                              All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, postage prepaid, or by a commercial courier service to the address of such Party set forth below.    A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.   Notices given by personal delivery, by courier service or by registered mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices.

 

9.2                              For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Party A:                                                 Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

Address:                                                  South No.1, Floor 6, No. 9 Shangdi East Street, Haidian

District, Beijing

Attn:                                                                     Huang Jiajia

Email:                                                             huangjj@51talk.com

 

Party B:                                                 Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

 

Address:                                                  Room 9154, Suite 3, No.3 Xi Jing Street, High-tech
Park, Ba Da Chu, Shijingshan District, Beijing

Attn:                                                                     Huang Jiajia

Email:                                                             huangjj@51talk.com

 

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9.3                              Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Party in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

10.                        Assignment

 

10.1                       Without Party A’s prior written consent, Party B shall not assign its rights and obligations under this Agreement to any third party.

 

10.2                       Party B agrees that Party A may assign its obligations and rights under this Agreement to any third party and in case of such assignment, Party A is only required to give written notice to Party B and does not need any consent from Party B for such assignment.

 

11.                        Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any aspect.  The Parties shall negotiate in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

12.                        Amendments and Supplements

 

Any amendments and supplements to this Agreement shall be in writing.  The amendment agreements and supplementary agreements that have been signed by the Parties and relate to this Agreement shall be an integral part of this Agreement and shall have the same legal validity as this Agreement.

 

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13.                        Language and Counterparts

 

This Agreement is written in both Chinese and English language in two copies, each Party having one copy.  If there is any inconsistency or conflict between English and Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail .

 

13



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Amended and Restated Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 




Exhibit 10.6

 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this Agreement ”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of June 18, 2013 in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (“ China ” or the “ PRC ”):

 

Party A:             Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co.,  Ltd. , a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at C1612, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing;

 

Party B:             Chen Ling , a Chinese citizen with Identification No.: ******; and

 

Party C:             Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. , a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at Room 9154, Suite 3, No.3 Xi Jing Street, High-tech Park, Ba Da Chu, Shijingshan District, Beijing.

 

In this Agreement, Party A, Party B, and Party C shall each be referred to as a Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties .”

 

Whereas:

 

1.                   Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 12.5% of the equity interests of Party C, representing RMB142,857 in the registered capital of Party C.

 

After mutual discussions and negotiations, the Parties have now reached the following agreement:

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1        Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of RMB 10 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A a binding and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “Designee”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B at once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Chinese laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option ”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “person” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts, or non-corporate organizations.

 

1.2        Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of China, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice”), specifying:(a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “Optioned Interests”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

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1.3        Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “ Base Price ”) shall be RMB 10.  If PRC law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by PRC law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “Equity Interest Purchase Price”).

 

1.4        Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                     Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                     Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                     Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                     The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements, or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits, and take all necessary actions to transfer the valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “security interests” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention, or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security interest created by this Agreement, Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement, and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Interest Pledge Agreement executed by and among Party A, Party B and Party Con the date hereof and any modifications, amendments, and restatements thereto.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modifications, amendments, and restatements thereto.

 

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2.                   Covenants

 

2.1                      Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant on the following:

 

2.1.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change, or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                     They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, as well as obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

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2.1.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage, or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than RMB 500,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interests;

 

2.1.4                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee, or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                     They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding RMB500,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with a loan or credit;

 

2.1.8                     They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

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2.1.9                     If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire, or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11              They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration, or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business, or revenue;

 

2.1.12              To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14              At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15              Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

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2.1.16              Unless otherwise required by PRC law, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2                      Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants to the following:

 

2.2.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage, or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage, or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A,Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                     Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration, or administrative

 

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proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                     Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

2.2.6                     To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.7                     Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.8                     Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal in regards to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement, the equity interest pledge agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement, Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement, and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any actions in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.9                     Party B shall promptly donate any profits, interests, dividends, or proceeds of liquidation to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable PRC laws; and

 

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2.2.10              Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C, and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

3.                    Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                               They have the power, capacity, and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “ Transfer Contract ”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid, and binding obligations, and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

3.2                               Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the relevant government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery, and performance of this Agreement.

 

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3.3                               The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violations of any applicable PRC laws; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws, or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.4                      Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.5                      Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

3.6                      Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within its normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.7                      Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of China applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.8                      There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration, or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C, or Party C itself.

 

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4.                    Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain in effect until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                    Governing L aw and Dispute R esolution

 

5.1                      Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment, and termination of this Agreement as well as any dispute resolution hereunder shall be governed by the laws of the PRC.

 

5.2                      Methods of Dispute R esolution

 

In the event of any dispute arising with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first attempt to resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event that the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Parties for dispute resolution through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its arbitration rules.  The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing, and the arbitration award shall be final and binding to all Parties.

 

6.                    Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses, and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of China in

 

11



 

connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

7.                    Notices

 

7.1                      All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, commercial courier services, or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1                     Notices given by personal delivery, courier services, registered mail, or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for such notices;

 

7.1.2                     Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of the transmission).

 

7.2                      For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Party A:

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

Address:

C1612, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing

 

 

Attn:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

Party B:

Chen Ling

 

 

Address:

Room 3101, Yintai Center, 2 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District, Beijing

 

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Party C:

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

Address:

Room 9154, Suite 3, No.3 Xi Jing Street, High-tech Park, Ba Da Chu, Shijingshan District, Beijing

 

 

Attn:

Huang Jiajia

 

7.3                      Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by having a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                    C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain the confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be featured in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidential obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and that Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

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9.                    Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute the documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and to take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

10.             Breach of Agreement

 

10.1               If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2               Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.             Miscellaneous

 

11.1               Amendments, changes, and supplements

 

Any amendments, changes, and supplements to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2               Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements, or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written

 

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consultations, representations, and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3               Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain, or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4               Language

 

This Agreement is written in both Chinese and English, and contains three copies, with each Party having one copy.  If there is any inconsistency or conflict between English and Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail..

 

11.5               Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality, or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal, or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by the relevant laws and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal, or unenforceable provisions.

 

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11.6               Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7               Survival

 

11.7.1              Any obligations that occur or are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2              The provisions of Sections 5,8, 10,and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8               Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the authorized representatives of the Parties have executed this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Chen Ling

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Chen Ling

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 


 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this “Agreement”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of June 18, 2013 in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (“ China ” or the “ PRC ”):

 

Party A:

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. , a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at C1602, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing;

 

 

Party B:

Huang Jiajia , a Chinese citizen with Identification No.: ******; and

 

 

Party C:

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. , a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at Room 9154, Suite 3, No.3 Xi Jing Street, High-tech Park, Ba Da Chu, Shijingshan District, Beijing.

 

In this Agreement, Party A, Party B, and Party C shall each be referred to as a Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties .”

 

Whereas:

 

1.                   Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 61.25% of the equity interests of Party C, representing RMB700,000 in the registered capital of Party C.

 

After mutual discussions and negotiations, the Parties have now reached the following agreement:

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1                      Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of RMB 10 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A a binding and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “ Designee ”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B at once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Chinese laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option ”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “ person ” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts, or non-corporate organizations.

 

1.2                      Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of China, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice ”), specifying:(a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “ Optioned Interests ”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

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1.3                      Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “ Base Price ”) shall be RMB 10.  If PRC law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by PRC law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “ Equity Interest Purchase Price ”).

 

1.4                      Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                     Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                     Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                     Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

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1.4.4                     The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements, or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits, and take all necessary actions to transfer the valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “security interests” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention, or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security interest created by this Agreement, Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement, and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Interest Pledge Agreement executed by and among Party A, Party B and Party Con the date hereof and any modifications, amendments, and restatements thereto.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modifications, amendments, and restatements thereto.

 

2.                    Covenants

 

2.1                      Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant on the following:

 

2.1.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change, or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                     They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, as well as obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

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2.1.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage, or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than RMB 500,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interests;

 

2.1.4                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee, or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                     They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding RMB500,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with a loan or credit;

 

2.1.8                     They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

5



 

2.1.9                     If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire, or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11              They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration, or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business, or revenue;

 

2.1.12              To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14              At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15              Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

6



 

2.1.16              Unless otherwise required by PRC law, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2                      Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants to the following:

 

2.2.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage, or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                     Without the prior written consent of Party A,Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage, or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                     Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration, or administrative

 

7


 

proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                     Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

2.2.6                     To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.7                     Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.8                     Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal in regards to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement, the equity interest pledge agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement, Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement, and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any actions in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.9                     Party B shall promptly donate any profits, interests, dividends, or proceeds of liquidation to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable PRC laws; and

 

8



 

2.2.10              Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C, and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

3.                    Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                      They have the power, capacity, and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “ Transfer Contract ”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid, and binding obligations, and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

3.2                      Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the relevant government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery, and performance of this Agreement.

 

9



 

3.3                      The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violations of any applicable PRC laws; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws, or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.4                      Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.5                      Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

3.6                      Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within its normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.7                      Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of China applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.8                      There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration, or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C, or Party C itself.

 

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4.                   Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain in effect until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                    Governing L aw and Dispute R esolution

 

5.1                      Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment, and termination of this Agreement as well as any dispute resolution hereunder shall be governed by the laws of the PRC.

 

5.2                      Methods of Dispute R esolution

 

In the event of any dispute arising with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first attempt to resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event that the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Parties for dispute resolution through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its arbitration rules.  The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing, and the arbitration award shall be final and binding to all Parties.

 

6.                    Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses, and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of China in

 

11



 

connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

7.                   Notices

 

7.1                      All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, commercial courier services, or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1                     Notices given by personal delivery, courier services, registered mail, or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for such notices;

 

7.1.2                     Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of the transmission).

 

7.2                      For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Party A:

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

Address:

C1602, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing

Attn:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

Party B:

Huang Jiajia

Address:

C1602, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing

 

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Party C:

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

Address:

Room 9154, Suite 3, No.3 Xi Jing Street, High-tech Park, Ba Da Chu, Shijingshan District, Beijing

Attn:

Huang Jiajia

 

7.3                      Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by having a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                   C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain the confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be featured in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidential obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and that Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

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9.                    Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute the documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and to take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

10.             Breach of Agreement

 

10.1               If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2               Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.             Miscellaneous

 

11.1               Amendments, changes, and supplements

 

Any amendments, changes, and supplements to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2               Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements, or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written

 

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consultations, representations, and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3               Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain, or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4               Language

 

This Agreement is written in both Chinese and English, and contains three copies, with each Party having one copy.  If there is any inconsistency or conflict between English and Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

 

11.5               Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality, or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal, or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by the relevant laws and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal, or unenforceable provisions.

 

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11.6               Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7               Survival

 

11.7.1              Any obligations that occur or are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2              The provisions of Sections 5,8, 10,and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8               Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the authorized representatives of the Parties have executed this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 


 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this Agreement ”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of June 18, 2013 in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (“ China ” or the “ PRC ”):

 

Party A:               Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd., a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at C1612, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing;

 

Party B:               Shu Ting , a Chinese citizen with Identification No.: ******; and

 

Party C:               Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. , a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at Room 9154, Suite 3, No.3 Xi Jing Street, High-tech Park, Ba Da Chu, Shijingshan District, Beijing.

 

In this Agreement, Party A, Party B, and Party C shall each be referred to as a Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties .”

 

Whereas:

 

1.                   Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 26.25% of the equity interests of Party C, representing RMB300,000 in the registered capital of Party C.

 

After mutual discussions and negotiations, the Parties have now reached the following agreement:

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1                      Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of RMB 10 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A a binding and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “ Designee ”) to purchasethe equity interests in Party C then held by Party B at once or at multiple timesat any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Chinese laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option ”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “person” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts, or non-corporate organizations.

 

1.2                      Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of China, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice ”), specifying:(a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “ Optioned Interests ”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

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1.3                    Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “Base Price”) shall be RMB 10.  If PRC law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by PRC law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “ Equity Interest Purchase Price ”).

 

1.4                     Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                     Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                     Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party Cgiving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                     Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

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1.4.4                     The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements, or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits, and take all necessary actions to transfer the valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “security interests” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention, or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security interest created by this Agreement, Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement, and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Interest Pledge Agreement executed by and amongParty A, Party B and Party Con the date hereof and any modifications, amendments, and restatements thereto.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modifications, amendments, and restatements thereto.

 

2.                   Covenants

 

2.1                      Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant on the following:

 

2.1.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change, or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                     They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, as well as

 

4



 

obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage, or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than RMB 500,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interests;

 

2.1.4                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee, or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                     They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding RMB500,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with a loan or credit;

 

2.1.8                     They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

5



 

2.1.9                     If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire, or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11              They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration, or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business, or revenue;

 

2.1.12              To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14              At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15              Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

6



 

2.1.16              Unless otherwise required by PRC law, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2                      Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants to the following:

 

2.2.1                    Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage, or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                    Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage, or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                    Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                    Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration, or administrative

 

7



 

proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                    Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

2.2.6                    To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.7                    Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.8                    Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal in regards to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement, the equity interest pledge agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement, Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement, and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any actions in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.9                    Party B shall promptly donate any profits, interests, dividends, or proceeds of liquidation to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable PRC laws; and

 

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2.2.10              Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C, and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

3.                    Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                      They have the power, capacity, and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid, and binding obligations, and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

3.2                      Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the relevant government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery, and performance of this Agreement.

 

9



 

3.3                      The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violations of any applicable PRC laws; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws, or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.4                      Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Equity Interest Pledge Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.5                      Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

3.6                      Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within its normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.7                      Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of China applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.8                      There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration, or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C, or Party C itself.

 

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4.                    Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain in effect until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                    Governing L aw and Dispute R esolution

 

5.1                     Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment, and termination of this Agreement as well as any dispute resolution hereunder shall be governed by the laws of the PRC.

 

5.2                     Methods of Dispute R esolution

 

In the event of any dispute arising with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first attempt to resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event that the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Parties for dispute resolution through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its arbitration rules.  The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing, and the arbitration award shall be final and binding to all Parties.

 

6.                    Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses, and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of China in

 

11



 

connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

7.                    Notices

 

7.1                     All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, commercial courier services, or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1                      Notices given by personal delivery, courier services, registered mail, or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for such notices;

 

7.1.2                      Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of the transmission).

 

7.2                     For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Party A:

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

Address:

C1612, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing

Attn:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

Party B:

Shu Ting

Address:

C1612, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing

 

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Party C:

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

Address:

Room 9154, Suite 3, No.3 Xi Jing Street, High-tech Park, Ba Da Chu, Shijingshan District, Beijing

Attn:

Huang Jiajia

 

7.3                     Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by having a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                    C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain the confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be featured in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidential obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and that Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

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9.                    Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute the documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and to take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

10.             Breach of Agreement

 

10.1               If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2               Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.             Miscellaneous

 

11.1               Amendments, changes, and supplements

 

Any amendments, changes, and supplements to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2               Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements, or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written

 

14



 

consultations, representations, and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3               Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain, or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4               Language

 

This Agreement is written in both Chinese and English, and contains three copies, with each Party having one copy. If there is any inconsistency or conflict between English and Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

 

11.5               Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality, or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal, or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by the relevant laws and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal, or unenforceable provisions.

 

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11.6               Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7               Survival

 

11.7.1              Any obligations that occur or are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2              The provisions of Sections 5,8, 10,and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8               Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the authorized representatives of the Parties have executed this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 




Exhibit 10.7

 

Equity Interest Pledge Agreement

 

This Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (this “ Agreement ”) has been executed by and among the following parties on June 18, 2013 in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (“ China ” or the “ PRC ”):

 

Party A:                   Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “ Pledgee ”), a wholly foreign owned enterprise, organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at C1612, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing ;

 

Party B:                   Chen Ling (hereinafter “ Pledgor ”), a Chinese citizen with Chinese Identification No.: ******; and

 

Party C:                   Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. , a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at Room 9154, Suite 3, No.3 Xi Jing Street, High-tech Park, Ba Da Chu, Shijingshan District, Beijing.

 

In this Agreement, each of Pledgee, Pledgor and Party C shall be referred to as a “ Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.               Pledgor is a citizen of China who as of the date hereof holds 12.5% of equity interests of Party C, representing RMB142,857 in the registered capital of Party C.  Party C is a limited liability company registered in Beijing, China, engaging in online English training. Party C acknowledges the respective rights and obligations of Pledgor and Pledgee under this Agreement, and intends to provide any necessary assistance in registering the Pledge;

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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2.               Pledgee is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise registered in China.  Pledgee and Party C which is partially owned by Pledgor have executed an Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement (as defined below) in Beijing; Party C, Pledgee and Pledgor have executed an Exclusive Option Agreement (as defined below); and Pledgor has executed a Power of Attorney (as defined below) in favor of Pledgee

 

3.               To ensure that Party C and Pledgor fully perform their obligations under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, and the Power of Attorney, Pledgor hereby pledges to the Pledgee all of the equity interest that Pledgor holds in Party C as security for Party C’s and Pledgor’s obligations under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, and the Power of Attorney.

 

To perform the provisions of the Transaction Documents (as defined below), the Parties have mutually agreed to execute this Agreement upon the following terms.

 

1.               Definitions

 

Unless otherwise provided herein, the terms below shall have the following meanings:

 

1.1                  Pledge: shall refer to the security interest granted by Pledgor to Pledgee pursuant to Section 2 of this Agreement, i.e., the right of Pledgee to be paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest.

 

1.2                  Equity Interest: shall refer to 12.5% equity interests in Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. currently held by Pledgor, representing RMB142,857 in the registered capital of Beijing Dasheng Zhixing

 

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Technology Co., Ltd., and all of the equity interest hereafter acquired by Pledgor in Party C.

 

1.3                  Term of Pledge: shall refer to the term set forth in Section 3 of this Agreement.

 

1.4                  Transaction Documents: shall refer to the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement executed by and between Party C and Pledgee on June 18, 2013 (the “ Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement ”), the Exclusive Option Agreement executed by and among Party C, Pledgee and Pledgor on June 18, 2013 (the “ Exclusive Option Agreement ”), Power of Attorney executed on June 18, 2013 by Pledgor (the “ Power of Attorney ”) and any modification, amendment and restatement to the aforementioned documents.

 

1.5                  Contract Obligations: shall refer to all the obligations of Pledgor under the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Power of Attorney and this Agreement; all the obligations of Party C under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement and this Agreement.

 

1.6                  Secured Indebtedness: shall refer to all the direct, indirect and derivative losses and losses of anticipated profits, suffered by Pledgee, incurred as a result of any Event of Default.  The amount of such loss shall be calculated in accordance with the reasonable business plan and profit forecast of Pledgee, the consulting and service fees payable to Pledgee under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, all expenses occurred in connection with enforcement by Pledgee of Pledgor’s and/or Party C’s Contract Obligations and etc.

 

1.7                  Event of Default: shall refer to any of the circumstances set forth in Section 7 of this Agreement.

 

1.8                  Notice of Default: shall refer to the notice issued by Pledgee in accordance

 

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with this Agreement declaring an Event of Default.

 

2.               Pledge

 

2.1                  Pledgor agrees to pledge all the Equity Interest as security for performance of the Contract Obligations and payment of the Secured Indebtedness under this Agreement.  Party C hereby assents that Pledgor pledges the Equity Interest to the Pledgee pursuant to this Agreement.

 

2.2                  During the term of the Pledge, Pledgee is entitled to receive dividends distributed on the Equity Interest.  Pledgor may receive dividends distributed on the Equity Interest only with prior written consent of Pledgee.  Dividends received by Pledgor on Equity Interest after deduction of individual income tax paid by Pledgor shall be, as required by Pledgee, (1) deposited into an account designated and supervised by Pledgee and used to secure the Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness prior and in preference to make any other payment; or (2) unconditionally donated to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws.

 

2.3                  Pledgor may subscribe for capital increase in Party C only with prior written consent of Pledgee.  Any equity interest obtained by Pledgor as a result of Pledgor’s subscription of the increased registered capital of the Company shall also be deemed as Equity Interest.

 

2.4                  In the event that Party C is required by PRC law to be liquidated or dissolved, any interest distributed to Pledgor upon Party C’s dissolution or liquidation shall, upon the request of the Pledgee, be (1) deposited into an account designate and supervised by Pledgee and used to secure the Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness prior and in

 

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preference to make any other payment; or (2) unconditionally donated to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws.

 

3.               Term of Pledge

 

3.1                  The Pledge shall become effective on such date when the pledge of the Equity Interest contemplated herein is registered with relevant administration for industry and commerce (the “ AIC ”).  The Pledge shall remain effective until all Contract Obligations have been fully performed and all Secured Indebtedness have been fully paid.  Pledgor and Party C shall (1) register the Pledge in the shareholders’ register of Party C within 3 business days following the execution of this Agreement, and (2) submit an application to the AIC for the registration of the Pledge of the Equity Interest contemplated herein within 30 business days following the execution of this Agreement.  The parties covenant that for the purpose of registration of the Pledge, the parties hereto and all other shareholders of Party C shall submit to the AIC this Agreement or an equity interest pledge contract in the form required by the AIC at the location of Party C which shall truly reflect the information of the Pledge hereunder (the “ AIC Pledge Contract ”).  For matters not specified in the AIC Pledge Contract, the parties shall be bound by the provisions of this Agreement.  Pledgor and Party C shall submit all necessary documents and complete all necessary procedures, as required by the PRC laws and regulations and the relevant AIC, to ensure that the Pledge of the Equity Interest shall be registered with the AIC as soon as possible after submission for filing.

 

3.2                  During the Term of Pledge, in the event Pledgor and/or Party C fails to perform the Contract Obligations or pay Secured Indebtedness, Pledgee shall have the right, but not the obligation, to exercise the Pledge in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

 

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4.               Custody of Records for Equity Interest subject to Pledge

 

4.1                  During the Term of Pledge set forth in this Agreement, Pledgor shall deliver to Pledgee’s custody the capital contribution certificate for the Equity Interest and the shareholders’ register containing the Pledge within one week from the execution of this Agreement.  Pledgee shall have custody of such documents during the entire Term of Pledge set forth in this Agreement.

 

5.               Representations and Warranties of Pledgor and Party C

 

As of the execution date of this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C hereby jointly and severally represent and warrant to Pledgee that:

 

5.1                  Pledgor is the sole legal and beneficial owner of the Equity Interest.

 

5.2                  Pledgee shall have the right to dispose of and transfer the Equity Interest in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Agreement.

 

5.3                  Except for the Pledge, Pledgor has not placed any security interest or other encumbrance on the Equity Interest.

 

5.4                  Pledgor and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from applicable government authorities and third parties (if required) for execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

5.5                  The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement will not: (i) violate any relevant PRC laws; (ii) conflict with Party C’s articles of association or other constitutional documents; (iii) result in any breach of or constitute any default under any contract or instrument to which it is a party or by which it is otherwise bound; (iv) result in any violation of any

 

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condition for the grant and/or maintenance of any permit or approval granted to any Party; or (v) cause any permit or approval granted to any Party to be suspended, cancelled or attached with additional conditions.

 

6.               Covenants of Pledgor and Party C

 

6.1                  During the term of this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C hereby jointly and severally covenant to the Pledgee:

 

6.1.1                      Pledgor shall not transfer the Equity Interest, place or permit the existence of any security interest or other encumbrance on the Equity Interest or any portion thereof, without the prior written consent of Pledgee, except for the performance of the Transaction Documents;

 

6.1.2                      Pledgor and Party C shall comply with the provisions of all laws and regulations applicable to the pledge of rights, and within five (5) days of receipt of any notice, order or recommendation issued or prepared by relevant competent authorities regarding the Pledge, shall present the aforementioned notice, order or recommendation to Pledgee, and shall comply with the aforementioned notice, order or recommendation or submit objections and representations with respect to the aforementioned matters upon Pledgee’s reasonable request or upon consent of Pledgee;

 

6.1.3                      Pledgor and Party C shall promptly notify Pledgee of any event or notice received by Pledgor that may have an impact on the Equity Interest or any portion thereof, as well as any event or notice received by Pledgor that may have an impact on any guarantees and other obligations of Pledgor arising out of this Agreement.

 

6.1.4                      Party C shall complete the registration procedures for extension of the term of operation within three (3) months prior to the expiration of such term to maintain the validity of this Agreement.

 

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6.2                  Pledgor agrees that the rights acquired by Pledgee in accordance with this Agreement with respect to the Pledge shall not be interrupted or harmed by Pledgor or any heirs or representatives of Pledgor or any other persons through any legal proceedings.

 

6.3                  To protect or perfect the security interest granted by this Agreement for the Contract Obligations and Secured Indebtedness, Pledgor hereby undertakes to execute in good faith and to cause other parties who have an interest in the Pledge to execute all certificates, agreements, deeds and/or covenants required by Pledgee.  Pledgor also undertakes to perform and to cause other parties who have an interest in the Pledge to perform actions required by Pledgee, to facilitate the exercise by Pledgee of its rights and authority granted thereto by this Agreement, and to enter into all relevant documents regarding ownership of Equity Interest with Pledgee or designee(s) of Pledgee (natural persons/legal persons).  Pledgor undertakes to provide Pledgee within a reasonable time with all notices, orders and decisions regarding the Pledge that are required by Pledgee.

 

6.4                  Pledgor hereby undertakes to comply with and perform all guarantees, promises, agreements, representations and conditions under this Agreement.  In the event of failure or partial performance of its guarantees, promises, agreements, representations and conditions, Pledgor shall indemnify Pledgee for all losses resulting therefrom.

 

7.               Event of Breach

 

7.1                  The following circumstances shall be deemed Event of Default:

 

7.1.1                      Pledgor’s any breach to any obligations under the Transaction Documents and/or this Agreement.

 

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7.1.2                      Party C’s any breach to any obligations under the Transaction Documents and/or this Agreement.

 

7.2                  Upon notice or discovery of the occurrence of any circumstances or event that may lead to the aforementioned circumstances described in Section 7.1, Pledgor and Party C shall immediately notify Pledgee in writing accordingly.

 

7.3                  Unless an Event of Default set forth in this Section 7.1 has been successfully resolved to Pledgee’s satisfaction within twenty (20) days after the Pledgee and /or Party C delivers a notice to the Pledgor requesting ratification of such Event of Default, Pledgee may issue a Notice of Default to Pledgor in writing at any time thereafter, demanding the Pledgor to immediately exercise the Pledge in accordance with the provisions of Section 8 of this Agreement.

 

8.               Exercise of Pledge

 

8.1                  Pledgee shall issue a written Notice of Default to Pledgor when it exercises the Pledge.

 

8.2                  Subject to the provisions of Section 7.3, Pledgee may exercise the right to enforce the Pledge at any time after the issuance of the Notice of Default in accordance with Section 8.1.  Once Pledgee elects to enforce the Pledge, Pledgor shall cease to be entitled to any rights or interests associated with the Equity Interest.

 

8.3                  After Pledgee issues a Notice of Default to Pledgor in accordance with Section 8.1, Pledgee may exercise any remedy measure under applicable

 

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PRC laws, the Transaction Documents and this Agreement, including but not limited to being paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest.  The Pledgee shall not be liable for any loss incurred by its duly exercise of such rights and powers.

 

8.4                  The proceeds from exercise of the Pledge by Pledgee shall be used to pay for tax and expenses incurred as result of disposing the Equity Interest and to perform Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness to the Pledgee prior and in preference to any other payment.  After the payment of the aforementioned amounts, the remaining balance shall be returned to Pledgor or any other person who have rights to such balance under applicable laws or be deposited to the local notary public office where Pledgor resides, with all expense incurred being borne by Pledgor.  To the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws, Pledgor shall unconditionally donate the aforementioned proceeds to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee.

 

8.5                  Pledgee may exercise any remedy measure available simultaneously or in any order.  Pledgee may exercise the right to being paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest under this Agreement, without exercising any other remedy measure first.

 

8.6                  Pledgee is entitled to designate an attorney or other representatives to exercise the Pledge on its behalf, and Pledgor or Party C shall not raise any objection to such exercise.

 

8.7                  When Pledgee disposes of the Pledge in accordance with this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C shall provide necessary assistance to enable Pledgee to enforce the Pledge in accordance with this Agreement.

 

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9.               Breach of Agreement

 

9.1                  If Pledgor or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Pledgee shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Pledgor or Party C to indemnify all damages; this Section 9 shall not prejudice any other rights of Pledgee herein;

 

9.2                  Pledgor or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by applicable laws.

 

10.        Assignment

 

10.1           Without Pledgee’s prior written consent, Pledgor and Party C shall not have the right to assign or delegate their rights and obligations under this Agreement.

 

10.2           This Agreement shall be binding on Pledgor and his/her successors and permitted assigns, and shall be valid with respect to Pledgee and each of his/her successors and assigns.

 

10.3           At any time, Pledgee may assign any and all of its rights and obligations under the Transaction Documents and this Agreement to its designee(s), in which case the assigns shall have the rights and obligations of Pledgee under the Transaction Documents and this Agreement, as if it were the original party to the Transaction Documents and this Agreement.

 

10.4           In the event of change of Pledgee due to assignment, Pledgor and/or Party C shall, at the request of Pledgee, execute a new pledge agreement with the new pledgee on the same terms and conditions as this Agreement, and register the same with the relevant AIC.

 

10.5           Pledgor and Party C shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by the Parties hereto or any of them, including the Transaction Documents, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  Any remaining rights of Pledgor with respect to the Equity Interest pledged hereunder shall not be exercised by Pledgor except in accordance with the written instructions of Pledgee.

 

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11.        Termination

 

11.1           Upon the fulfillment of all Contract Obligations and the full payment of all Secured Indebtedness by Pledgor and Party C, Pledgee shall release the Pledge under this Agreement upon Pledgor’s request as soon as reasonably practicable and shall assist Pledgor to de-register the Pledge from the shareholders’ register of Party C and with relevant PRC local administration for industry and commerce.

 

11.2           The provisions under Sections 9, 13, 14 and 11.2 herein of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement.

 

12.        Handling Fees and Other Expenses

 

All fees and out of pocket expenses relating to this Agreement, including but not limited to legal costs, costs of production, stamp tax and any other taxes and fees, shall be borne by Party C.

 

13.        Confidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of the other Party, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section. Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

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14.        Governing Law and Resolution of Disputes

 

14.1           The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of China.

 

14.2           In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Parties for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its Arbitration Rules.  The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing.  The arbitration award shall be final and binding on all Parties.

 

14.3           Upon the occurrence of any disputes arising from the construction and performance of this Agreement or during the pending arbitration of any dispute, except for the matters under dispute, the Parties to this Agreement shall continue to exercise their respective rights under this Agreement and perform their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

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15.        Notices

 

15.1           All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, postage prepaid, by a commercial courier service or by facsimile transmission to the address of such party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by E-mail.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

15.2           Notices given by personal delivery, by courier service or by registered mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed effectively given on the date of delivery or refusal at the address specified for notices.

 

15.3           Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

15.4           For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Party A:                         Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

Address:                          C1612, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing

Attn:                                             Huang Jiajia

 

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Party B:                         Chen Ling

Address:                          Room 3101, Yintai Center, 2 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District, Beijing

 

Party C:                         Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

Address:                          Room 9154, Suite 3, No.3 Xi Jing Street, High-tech Park, Ba Da Chu, Shijingshan District, Beijing

Attn:                                             Huang Jiajia

 

15.5           Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

16.        Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Contract are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Contract shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

17.        Attachments

 

The attachments set forth herein shall be an integral part of this Agreement.

 

18.        Effectiveness

 

18.1           This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties.

 

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18.2               Any amendments, changes and supplements to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall become effective upon completion of the governmental filing procedures (if applicable) after the affixation of the signatures or seals of the Parties.

 

19.        Language and Counterparts

 

This Agreement is written in Chinese and English in four copies.  Pledgor, Pledgee and Party C shall hold one copy respectively and the other copy shall be used for registration.  If there is any inconsistency or conflict between English and Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

 

The Remainder of this page is intentionally left blank

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Equity Interest Pledge Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Chen Ling

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Chen Ling

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

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Attachments:

 

1.                               Shareholders’ Register of Party C;

 

2.                               The Capital Contribution Certificate for Party C;

 

3.                               Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement.

 

4.                               Exclusive Option Agreement

 

5.                               Power of Attorney

 

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Equity Interest Pledge Agreement

 

This Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (this “ Agreement ”) has been executed by and among the following parties on June 18, 2013 in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (“ China ” or the “ PRC ”):

 

Party A:                   Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “ Pledgee ”), a wholly foreign owned enterprise, organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at C1612, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing;

 

Party B:                     Huang Jiajia (hereinafter “ Pledgor ”), a Chinese citizen with Chinese Identification No.: ******; and

 

Party C:                     Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. , a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at Room 9154, Suite 3, No.3 Xi Jing Street, High-tech Park, Ba Da Chu, Shijingshan District, Beijing.

 

In this Agreement, each of Pledgee, Pledgor and Party C shall be referred to as a “ Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.               Pledgor is a citizen of China who as of the date hereof holds 61.25% of equity interests of Party C, representing RMB700,000 in the registered capital of Party C.  Party C is a limited liability company registered in Beijing, China, engaging in online English training. Party C acknowledges the respective rights and obligations of Pledgor and Pledgee under this Agreement, and intends to provide any necessary assistance in registering the Pledge;

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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2.               Pledgee is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise registered in China.  Pledgee and Party C which is partially owned by Pledgor have executed an Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement (as defined below) in Beijing; Party C, Pledgee and Pledgor have executed an Exclusive Option Agreement (as defined below); and Pledgor has executed a Power of Attorney (as defined below) in favor of Pledgee

 

3.               To ensure that Party C and Pledgor fully perform their obligations under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, and the Power of Attorney, Pledgor hereby pledges to the Pledgee all of the equity interest that Pledgor holds in Party C as security for Party C’s and Pledgor’s obligations under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, and the Power of Attorney.

 

To perform the provisions of the Transaction Documents (as defined below), the Parties have mutually agreed to execute this Agreement upon the following terms.

 

1.               Definitions

 

Unless otherwise provided herein, the terms below shall have the following meanings:

 

1.1                  Pledge: shall refer to the security interest granted by Pledgor to Pledgee pursuant to Section 2 of this Agreement, i.e., the right of Pledgee to be paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest.

 

1.2                  Equity Interest: shall refer to 61.25 % equity interests in Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. currently held by Pledgor, representing RMB700,000 in the registered capital of Beijing Dasheng Zhixing

 

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Technology Co., Ltd., and all of the equity interest hereafter acquired by Pledgor in Party C.

 

1.3                  Term of Pledge: shall refer to the term set forth in Section 3 of this Agreement.

 

1.4                  Transaction Documents: shall refer to the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement executed by and between Party C and Pledgee on June 18, 2013 (the “Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement”), the Exclusive Option Agreement executed by and among Party C, Pledgee and Pledgor on June 18, 2013 (the “ Exclusive Option Agreement ”), Power of Attorney executed on June 18, 2013 by Pledgor (the “ Power of Attorney ”) and any modification, amendment and restatement to the aforementioned documents.

 

1.5                  Contract Obligations: shall refer to all the obligations of Pledgor under the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Power of Attorney and this Agreement; all the obligations of Party C under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement and this Agreement.

 

1.6                  Secured Indebtedness: shall refer to all the direct, indirect and derivative losses and losses of anticipated profits, suffered by Pledgee, incurred as a result of any Event of Default.  The amount of such loss shall be calculated in accordance with the reasonable business plan and profit forecast of Pledgee, the consulting and service fees payable to Pledgee under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, all expenses occurred in connection with enforcement by Pledgee of Pledgor’s and/or Party C’s Contract Obligations and etc.

 

1.7                  Event of Default: shall refer to any of the circumstances set forth in Section 7 of this Agreement.

 

1.8                  Notice of Default: shall refer to the notice issued by Pledgee in accordance

 

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with this Agreement declaring an Event of Default.

 

2.               Pledge

 

2.1                  Pledgor agrees to pledge all the Equity Interest as security for performance of the Contract Obligations and payment of the Secured Indebtedness under this Agreement.  Party C hereby assents that Pledgor pledges the Equity Interest to the Pledgee pursuant to this Agreement.

 

2.2                  During the term of the Pledge, Pledgee is entitled to receive dividends distributed on the Equity Interest.  Pledgor may receive dividends distributed on the Equity Interest only with prior written consent of Pledgee.  Dividends received by Pledgor on Equity Interest after deduction of individual income tax paid by Pledgor shall be, as required by Pledgee, (1) deposited into an account designated and supervised by Pledgee and used to secure the Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness prior and in preference to make any other payment; or (2) unconditionally donated to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws.

 

2.3                  Pledgor may subscribe for capital increase in Party C only with prior written consent of Pledgee.  Any equity interest obtained by Pledgor as a result of Pledgor’s subscription of the increased registered capital of the Company shall also be deemed as Equity Interest.

 

2.4                  In the event that Party C is required by PRC law to be liquidated or dissolved, any interest distributed to Pledgor upon Party C’s dissolution or liquidation shall, upon the request of the Pledgee, be (1) deposited into an account designate and supervised by Pledgee and used to secure the Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness prior and in

 

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preference to make any other payment; or (2) unconditionally donated to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws.

 

3.               Term of Pledge

 

3.1                  The Pledge shall become effective on such date when the pledge of the Equity Interest contemplated herein is registered with relevant administration for industry and commerce (the “ AIC ”).  The Pledge shall remain effective until all Contract Obligations have been fully performed and all Secured Indebtedness have been fully paid.  Pledgor and Party C shall (1) register the Pledge in the shareholders’ register of Party C within 3 business days following the execution of this Agreement, and (2) submit an application to the AIC for the registration of the Pledge of the Equity Interest contemplated herein within 30 business days following the execution of this Agreement.  The parties covenant that for the purpose of registration of the Pledge, the parties hereto and all other shareholders of Party C shall submit to the AIC this Agreement or an equity interest pledge contract in the form required by the AIC at the location of Party C which shall truly reflect the information of the Pledge hereunder (the “ AIC Pledge Contract ”).  For matters not specified in the AIC Pledge Contract, the parties shall be bound by the provisions of this Agreement.  Pledgor and Party C shall submit all necessary documents and complete all necessary procedures, as required by the PRC laws and regulations and the relevant AIC, to ensure that the Pledge of the Equity Interest shall be registered with the AIC as soon as possible after submission for filing.

 

3.2                  During the Term of Pledge, in the event Pledgor and/or Party C fails to perform the Contract Obligations or pay Secured Indebtedness, Pledgee shall have the right, but not the obligation, to exercise the Pledge in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

 

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4.               Custody of Records for Equity Interest subject to Pledge

 

4.1                  During the Term of Pledge set forth in this Agreement, Pledgor shall deliver to Pledgee’s custody the capital contribution certificate for the Equity Interest and the shareholders’ register containing the Pledge within one week from the execution of this Agreement.  Pledgee shall have custody of such documents during the entire Term of Pledge set forth in this Agreement.

 

5.               Representations and Warranties of Pledgor and Party C

 

As of the execution date of this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C hereby jointly and severally represent and warrant to Pledgee that:

 

5.1                  Pledgor is the sole legal and beneficial owner of the Equity Interest.

 

5.2                  Pledgee shall have the right to dispose of and transfer the Equity Interest in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Agreement.

 

5.3                  Except for the Pledge, Pledgor has not placed any security interest or other encumbrance on the Equity Interest.

 

5.4                  Pledgor and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from applicable government authorities and third parties (if required) for execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

5.5                  The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement will not: (i) violate any relevant PRC laws; (ii) conflict with Party C’s articles of association or other constitutional documents; (iii) result in any breach of or constitute any default under any contract or instrument to which it is a party or by which it is otherwise bound; (iv) result in any violation of any

 

6



 

condition for the grant and/or maintenance of any permit or approval granted to any Party; or (v) cause any permit or approval granted to any Party to be suspended, cancelled or attached with additional conditions.

 

6.               Covenants of Pledgor and Party C

 

6.1                  During the term of this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C hereby jointly and severally covenant to the Pledgee:

 

6.1.1                      Pledgor shall not transfer the Equity Interest, place or permit the existence of any security interest or other encumbrance on the Equity Interest or any portion thereof, without the prior written consent of Pledgee, except for the performance of the Transaction Documents;

 

6.1.2                      Pledgor and Party C shall comply with the provisions of all laws and regulations applicable to the pledge of rights, and within five (5) days of receipt of any notice, order or recommendation issued or prepared by relevant competent authorities regarding the Pledge, shall present the aforementioned notice, order or recommendation to Pledgee, and shall comply with the aforementioned notice, order or recommendation or submit objections and representations with respect to the aforementioned matters upon Pledgee’s reasonable request or upon consent of Pledgee;

 

6.1.3                      Pledgor and Party C shall promptly notify Pledgee of any event or notice received by Pledgor that may have an impact on the Equity Interest or any portion thereof, as well as any event or notice received by Pledgor that may have an impact on any guarantees and other obligations of Pledgor arising out of this Agreement.

 

6.1.4                      Party C shall complete the registration procedures for extension of the term of operation within three (3) months prior to the expiration of such term to maintain the validity of this Agreement.

 

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6.2                  Pledgor agrees that the rights acquired by Pledgee in accordance with this Agreement with respect to the Pledge shall not be interrupted or harmed by Pledgor or any heirs or representatives of Pledgor or any other persons through any legal proceedings.

 

6.3                  To protect or perfect the security interest granted by this Agreement for the Contract Obligations and Secured Indebtedness, Pledgor hereby undertakes to execute in good faith and to cause other parties who have an interest in the Pledge to execute all certificates, agreements, deeds and/or covenants required by Pledgee.  Pledgor also undertakes to perform and to cause other parties who have an interest in the Pledge to perform actions required by Pledgee, to facilitate the exercise by Pledgee of its rights and authority granted thereto by this Agreement, and to enter into all relevant documents regarding ownership of Equity Interest with Pledgee or designee(s) of Pledgee (natural persons/legal persons).  Pledgor undertakes to provide Pledgee within a reasonable time with all notices, orders and decisions regarding the Pledge that are required by Pledgee.

 

6.4                  Pledgor hereby undertakes to comply with and perform all guarantees, promises, agreements, representations and conditions under this Agreement.  In the event of failure or partial performance of its guarantees, promises, agreements, representations and conditions, Pledgor shall indemnify Pledgee for all losses resulting therefrom.

 

7.               Event of Breach

 

7.1                  The following circumstances shall be deemed Event of Default:

 

7.1.1                             Pledgor’s any breach to any obligations under the Transaction Documents and/or this Agreement.

 

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7.1.2                             Party C’s any breach to any obligations under the Transaction Documents and/or this Agreement.

 

7.2                  Upon notice or discovery of the occurrence of any circumstances or event that may lead to the aforementioned circumstances described in Section 7.1, Pledgor and Party C shall immediately notify Pledgee in writing accordingly.

 

7.3                  Unless an Event of Default set forth in this Section 7.1 has been successfully resolved to Pledgee’s satisfaction within twenty (20) days after the Pledgee and /or Party C delivers a notice to the Pledgor requesting ratification of such Event of Default, Pledgee may issue a Notice of Default to Pledgor in writing at any time thereafter, demanding the Pledgor to immediately exercise the Pledge in accordance with the provisions of Section 8 of this Agreement.

 

8.               Exercise of Pledge

 

8.1                  Pledgee shall issue a written Notice of Default to Pledgor when it exercises the Pledge.

 

8.2                  Subject to the provisions of Section 7.3, Pledgee may exercise the right to enforce the Pledge at any time after the issuance of the Notice of Default in accordance with Section 8.1.  Once Pledgee elects to enforce the Pledge, Pledgor shall cease to be entitled to any rights or interests associated with the Equity Interest.

 

8.3                  After Pledgee issues a Notice of Default to Pledgor in accordance with Section 8.1, Pledgee may exercise any remedy measure under applicable

 

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PRC laws, the Transaction Documents and this Agreement, including but not limited to being paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest.  The Pledgee shall not be liable for any loss incurred by its duly exercise of such rights and powers.

 

8.4                  The proceeds from exercise of the Pledge by Pledgee shall be used to pay for tax and expenses incurred as result of disposing the Equity Interest and to perform Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness to the Pledgee prior and in preference to any other payment.  After the payment of the aforementioned amounts, the remaining balance shall be returned to Pledgor or any other person who have rights to such balance under applicable laws or be deposited to the local notary public office where Pledgor resides, with all expense incurred being borne by Pledgor.  To the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws, Pledgor shall unconditionally donate the aforementioned proceeds to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee.

 

8.5                  Pledgee may exercise any remedy measure available simultaneously or in any order.  Pledgee may exercise the right to being paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest under this Agreement, without exercising any other remedy measure first.

 

8.6                  Pledgee is entitled to designate an attorney or other representatives to exercise the Pledge on its behalf, and Pledgor or Party C shall not raise any objection to such exercise.

 

8.7                  When Pledgee disposes of the Pledge in accordance with this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C shall provide necessary assistance to enable Pledgee to enforce the Pledge in accordance with this Agreement.

 

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9.               Breach of Agreement

 

9.1                  If Pledgor or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Pledgee shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Pledgor or Party C to indemnify all damages; this Section 9 shall not prejudice any other rights of Pledgee herein;

 

9.2                  Pledgor or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by applicable laws.

 

10.        Assignment

 

10.1           Without Pledgee’s prior written consent, Pledgor and Party C shall not have the right to assign or delegate their rights and obligations under this Agreement.

 

10.2           This Agreement shall be binding on Pledgor and his/her successors and permitted assigns, and shall be valid with respect to Pledgee and each of his/her successors and assigns.

 

10.3           At any time, Pledgee may assign any and all of its rights and obligations under the Transaction Documents and this Agreement to its designee(s), in which case the assigns shall have the rights and obligations of Pledgee under the Transaction Documents and this Agreement, as if it were the original party to the Transaction Documents and this Agreement.

 

10.4           In the event of change of Pledgee due to assignment, Pledgor and/or Party C shall, at the request of Pledgee, execute a new pledge agreement with the new pledgee on the same terms and conditions as this Agreement, and register the same with the relevant AIC.

 

10.5           Pledgor and Party C shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by the Parties hereto or any of them, including the Transaction Documents, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  Any remaining rights of Pledgor with respect to the Equity Interest pledged hereunder shall not be exercised by Pledgor except in accordance with the written instructions of Pledgee.

 

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11.        Termination

 

11.1           Upon the fulfillment of all Contract Obligations and the full payment of all Secured Indebtedness by Pledgor and Party C, Pledgee shall release the Pledge under this Agreement upon Pledgor’s request as soon as reasonably practicable and shall assist Pledgor to de-register the Pledge from the shareholders’ register of Party C and with relevant PRC local administration for industry and commerce.

 

11.2           The provisions under Sections 9, 13, 14 and 11.2 herein of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement.

 

12.        Handling Fees and Other Expenses

 

All fees and out of pocket expenses relating to this Agreement, including but not limited to legal costs, costs of production, stamp tax and any other taxes and fees, shall be borne by Party C.

 

13.        Confidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of the other Party, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section. Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

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14.        Governing Law and Resolution of Disputes

 

14.1           The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of China.

 

14.2           In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Parties for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its Arbitration Rules.  The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing.  The arbitration award shall be final and binding on all Parties.

 

14.3           Upon the occurrence of any disputes arising from the construction and performance of this Agreement or during the pending arbitration of any dispute, except for the matters under dispute, the Parties to this Agreement shall continue to exercise their respective rights under this Agreement and perform their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

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15.        Notices

 

15.1           All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, postage prepaid, by a commercial courier service or by facsimile transmission to the address of such party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by E-mail.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

15.2           Notices given by personal delivery, by courier service or by registered mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed effectively given on the date of delivery or refusal at the address specified for notices.

 

15.3           Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

15.4           For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Party A:                         Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

Address:                          C1612, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing

Attn:                                             Huang Jiajia

 

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Party B:                         Huang Jiajia

Address:                          C1612, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing

 

Party C:                         Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

Address:                          Room 9154, Suite 3, No.3 Xi Jing Street, High-tech Park, Ba Da Chu, Shijingshan District, Beijing

Attn:                                             Huang Jiajia

 

15.5           Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

16.        Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Contract are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Contract shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

17.        Attachments

 

The attachments set forth herein shall be an integral part of this Agreement.

 

18.        Effectiveness

 

18.1              This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties.

 

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18.2              Any amendments, changes and supplements to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall become effective upon completion of the governmental filing procedures (if applicable) after the affixation of the signatures or seals of the Parties.

 

19.        Language and Counterparts

 

This Agreement is written in Chinese and English in four copies.  Pledgor, Pledgee and Party C shall hold one copy respectively and the other copy shall be used for registration.  If there is any inconsistency or conflict between English and Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail..

 

The Remainder of this page is intentionally left blank

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Equity Interest Pledge Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

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Attachments:

 

1.                               Shareholders’ Register of Party C;

 

2.                               The Capital Contribution Certificate for Party C;

 

3.                               Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement.

 

4.                               Exclusive Option Agreement

 

5.                               Power of Attorney

 

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Equity Interest Pledge Agreement

 

This Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (this “ Agreement ”) has been executed by and among the following parties on June 18, 2013 in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (“ China ” or the “ PRC ”):

 

Party A:                         Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “ Pledgee ”), a wholly foreign owned enterprise, organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at C1612, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing;

 

Party B:                         Shu Ting (hereinafter “ Pledgor ”), a Chinese citizen with Chinese Identification No.: ******; and

 

Party C:                         Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. , a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the PRC, with its address at Room 9154, Suite 3, No.3 Xi Jing Street, High-tech Park, Ba Da Chu, Shijingshan District, Beijing.

 

In this Agreement, each of Pledgee, Pledgor and Party C shall be referred to as a “ Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.               Pledgor is a citizen of China who as of the date hereof holds 26.25% of equity interests of Party C, representing RMB300,000 in the registered capital of Party C.  Party C is a limited liability company registered in Beijing, China, engaging in online English training. Party C acknowledges the respective rights and obligations of Pledgor and Pledgee under this Agreement, and intends to provide any necessary assistance in registering the Pledge;

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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2.               Pledgee is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise registered in China.  Pledgee and Party C which is partially owned by Pledgor have executed an Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement (as defined below) in Beijing; Party C, Pledgee and Pledgor have executed an Exclusive Option Agreement (as defined below); and Pledgor has executed a Power of Attorney (as defined below) in favor of Pledgee

 

3.               To ensure that Party C and Pledgor fully perform their obligations under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, and the Power of Attorney, Pledgor hereby pledges to the Pledgee all of the equity interest that Pledgor holds in Party C as security for Party C’s and Pledgor’s obligations under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement, and the Power of Attorney.

 

To perform the provisions of the Transaction Documents (as defined below), the Parties have mutually agreed to execute this Agreement upon the following terms.

 

1.               Definitions

 

Unless otherwise provided herein, the terms below shall have the following meanings:

 

1.1                  Pledge: shall refer to the security interest granted by Pledgor to Pledgee pursuant to Section 2 of this Agreement, i.e., the right of Pledgee to be paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest.

 

1.2                  Equity Interest: shall refer to 26.25 % equity interests in Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. currently held by Pledgor, representing RMB300,000 in the registered capital of Beijing Dasheng Zhixing

 

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Technology Co., Ltd., and all of the equity interest hereafter acquired by Pledgor in Party C.

 

1.3                  Term of Pledge: shall refer to the term set forth in Section 3 of this Agreement.

 

1.4                  Transaction Documents: shall refer to the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement executed by and between Party C and Pledgee on June 18, 2013 (the “ Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement ”), the Exclusive Option Agreement executed by and among Party C, Pledgee and Pledgor on June 18, 2013 (the “ Exclusive Option Agreement ”), Power of Attorney executed on June 18, 2013 by Pledgor (the “ Power of Attorney ”) and any modification, amendment and restatement to the aforementioned documents.

 

1.5                  Contract Obligations: shall refer to all the obligations of Pledgor under the Exclusive Option Agreement, the Power of Attorney and this Agreement; all the obligations of Party C under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, the Exclusive Option Agreement and this Agreement.

 

1.6                  Secured Indebtedness: shall refer to all the direct, indirect and derivative losses and losses of anticipated profits, suffered by Pledgee, incurred as a result of any Event of Default.  The amount of such loss shall be calculated in accordance with the reasonable business plan and profit forecast of Pledgee, the consulting and service fees payable to Pledgee under the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement, all expenses occurred in connection with enforcement by Pledgee of Pledgor’s and/or Party C’s Contract Obligations and etc.

 

1.7                  Event of Default: shall refer to any of the circumstances set forth in Section 7 of this Agreement.

 

1.8                  Notice of Default: shall refer to the notice issued by Pledgee in accordance

 

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with this Agreement declaring an Event of Default.

 

2.               Pledge

 

2.1                  Pledgor agrees to pledge all the Equity Interest as security for performance of the Contract Obligations and payment of the Secured Indebtedness under this Agreement.  Party C hereby assents that Pledgor pledges the Equity Interest to the Pledgee pursuant to this Agreement.

 

2.2                  During the term of the Pledge, Pledgee is entitled to receive dividends distributed on the Equity Interest.  Pledgor may receive dividends distributed on the Equity Interest only with prior written consent of Pledgee.  Dividends received by Pledgor on Equity Interest after deduction of individual income tax paid by Pledgor shall be, as required by Pledgee, (1) deposited into an account designated and supervised by Pledgee and used to secure the Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness prior and in preference to make any other payment; or (2) unconditionally donated to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws.

 

2.3                  Pledgor may subscribe for capital increase in Party C only with prior written consent of Pledgee.  Any equity interest obtained by Pledgor as a result of Pledgor’s subscription of the increased registered capital of the Company shall also be deemed as Equity Interest.

 

2.4                  In the event that Party C is required by PRC law to be liquidated or dissolved, any interest distributed to Pledgor upon Party C’s dissolution or liquidation shall, upon the request of the Pledgee, be (1) deposited into an account designate and supervised by Pledgee and used to secure the Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness prior and in

 

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preference to make any other payment; or (2) unconditionally donated to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee to the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws.

 

3.               Term of Pledge

 

3.1                  The Pledge shall become effective on such date when the pledge of the Equity Interest contemplated herein is registered with relevant administration for industry and commerce (the “ AIC ”).  The Pledge shall remain effective until all Contract Obligations have been fully performed and all Secured Indebtedness have been fully paid.  Pledgor and Party C shall (1) register the Pledge in the shareholders’ register of Party C within 3 business days following the execution of this Agreement, and (2) submit an application to the AIC for the registration of the Pledge of the Equity Interest contemplated herein within 30 business days following the execution of this Agreement.  The parties covenant that for the purpose of registration of the Pledge, the parties hereto and all other shareholders of Party C shall submit to the AIC this Agreement or an equity interest pledge contract in the form required by the AIC at the location of Party C which shall truly reflect the information of the Pledge hereunder (the “ AIC Pledge Contract ”).  For matters not specified in the AIC Pledge Contract, the parties shall be bound by the provisions of this Agreement.  Pledgor and Party C shall submit all necessary documents and complete all necessary procedures, as required by the PRC laws and regulations and the relevant AIC, to ensure that the Pledge of the Equity Interest shall be registered with the AIC as soon as possible after submission for filing.

 

3.2                  During the Term of Pledge, in the event Pledgor and/or Party C fails to perform the Contract Obligations or pay Secured Indebtedness, Pledgee shall have the right, but not the obligation, to exercise the Pledge in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

 

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4.               Custody of Records for Equity Interest subject to Pledge

 

4.1                  During the Term of Pledge set forth in this Agreement, Pledgor shall deliver to Pledgee’s custody the capital contribution certificate for the Equity Interest and the shareholders’ register containing the Pledge within one week from the execution of this Agreement.  Pledgee shall have custody of such documents during the entire Term of Pledge set forth in this Agreement.

 

5.               Representations and Warranties of Pledgor and Party C

 

As of the execution date of this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C hereby jointly and severally represent and warrant to Pledgee that:

 

5.1                  Pledgor is the sole legal and beneficial owner of the Equity Interest.

 

5.2                  Pledgee shall have the right to dispose of and transfer the Equity Interest in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Agreement.

 

5.3                  Except for the Pledge, Pledgor has not placed any security interest or other encumbrance on the Equity Interest.

 

5.4                  Pledgor and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from applicable government authorities and third parties (if required) for execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

5.5                  The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement will not: (i) violate any relevant PRC laws; (ii) conflict with Party C’s articles of association or other constitutional documents; (iii) result in any breach of or constitute any default under any contract or instrument to which it is a party or by which it is otherwise bound; (iv) result in any violation of any

 

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condition for the grant and/or maintenance of any permit or approval granted to any Party; or (v) cause any permit or approval granted to any Party to be suspended, cancelled or attached with additional conditions.

 

6.               Covenants of Pledgor and Party C

 

6.1                  During the term of this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C hereby jointly and severally covenant to the Pledgee:

 

6.1.1                      Pledgor shall not transfer the Equity Interest, place or permit the existence of any security interest or other encumbrance on the Equity Interest or any portion thereof, without the prior written consent of Pledgee, except for the performance of the Transaction Documents;

 

6.1.2                      Pledgor and Party C shall comply with the provisions of all laws and regulations applicable to the pledge of rights, and within five (5) days of receipt of any notice, order or recommendation issued or prepared by relevant competent authorities regarding the Pledge, shall present the aforementioned notice, order or recommendation to Pledgee, and shall comply with the aforementioned notice, order or recommendation or submit objections and representations with respect to the aforementioned matters upon Pledgee’s reasonable request or upon consent of Pledgee;

 

6.1.3                      Pledgor and Party C shall promptly notify Pledgee of any event or notice received by Pledgor that may have an impact on the Equity Interest or any portion thereof, as well as any event or notice received by Pledgor that may have an impact on any guarantees and other obligations of Pledgor arising out of this Agreement.

 

6.1.4                      Party C shall complete the registration procedures for extension of the term of operation within three (3) months prior to the expiration of such term to maintain the validity of this Agreement.

 

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6.2                  Pledgor agrees that the rights acquired by Pledgee in accordance with this Agreement with respect to the Pledge shall not be interrupted or harmed by Pledgor or any heirs or representatives of Pledgor or any other persons through any legal proceedings.

 

6.3                  To protect or perfect the security interest granted by this Agreement for the Contract Obligations and Secured Indebtedness, Pledgor hereby undertakes to execute in good faith and to cause other parties who have an interest in the Pledge to execute all certificates, agreements, deeds and/or covenants required by Pledgee.  Pledgor also undertakes to perform and to cause other parties who have an interest in the Pledge to perform actions required by Pledgee, to facilitate the exercise by Pledgee of its rights and authority granted thereto by this Agreement, and to enter into all relevant documents regarding ownership of Equity Interest with Pledgee or designee(s) of Pledgee (natural persons/legal persons).  Pledgor undertakes to provide Pledgee within a reasonable time with all notices, orders and decisions regarding the Pledge that are required by Pledgee.

 

6.4                  Pledgor hereby undertakes to comply with and perform all guarantees, promises, agreements, representations and conditions under this Agreement.  In the event of failure or partial performance of its guarantees, promises, agreements, representations and conditions, Pledgor shall indemnify Pledgee for all losses resulting therefrom.

 

7.               Event of Breach

 

7.1                  The following circumstances shall be deemed Event of Default:

 

7.1.1                      Pledgor’s any breach to any obligations under the Transaction Documents and/or this Agreement.

 

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7.1.2                      Party C’s any breach to any obligations under the Transaction Documents and/or this Agreement.

 

7.2                  Upon notice or discovery of the occurrence of any circumstances or event that may lead to the aforementioned circumstances described in Section 7.1, Pledgor and Party C shall immediately notify Pledgee in writing accordingly.

 

7.3                  Unless an Event of Default set forth in this Section 7.1 has been successfully resolved to Pledgee’s satisfaction within twenty (20) days after the Pledgee and /or Party C delivers a notice to the Pledgor requesting ratification of such Event of Default, Pledgee may issue a Notice of Default to Pledgor in writing at any time thereafter, demanding the Pledgor to immediately exercise the Pledge in accordance with the provisions of Section 8 of this Agreement.

 

8.               Exercise of Pledge

 

8.1                  Pledgee shall issue a written Notice of Default to Pledgor when it exercises the Pledge.

 

8.2                  Subject to the provisions of Section 7.3, Pledgee may exercise the right to enforce the Pledge at any time after the issuance of the Notice of Default in accordance with Section 8.1.  Once Pledgee elects to enforce the Pledge, Pledgor shall cease to be entitled to any rights or interests associated with the Equity Interest.

 

8.3                  After Pledgee issues a Notice of Default to Pledgor in accordance with Section 8.1, Pledgee may exercise any remedy measure under applicable

 

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PRC laws, the Transaction Documents and this Agreement, including but not limited to being paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest.  The Pledgee shall not be liable for any loss incurred by its duly exercise of such rights and powers.

 

8.4                  The proceeds from exercise of the Pledge by Pledgee shall be used to pay for tax and expenses incurred as result of disposing the Equity Interest and to perform Contract Obligations and pay the Secured Indebtedness to the Pledgee prior and in preference to any other payment.  After the payment of the aforementioned amounts, the remaining balance shall be returned to Pledgor or any other person who have rights to such balance under applicable laws or be deposited to the local notary public office where Pledgor resides, with all expense incurred being borne by Pledgor.  To the extent permitted under applicable PRC laws, Pledgor shall unconditionally donate the aforementioned proceeds to Pledgee or any other person designated by Pledgee.

 

8.5                  Pledgee may exercise any remedy measure available simultaneously or in any order.  Pledgee may exercise the right to being paid in priority with the Equity Interest based on the monetary valuation that such Equity Interest is converted into or from the proceeds from auction or sale of the Equity Interest under this Agreement, without exercising any other remedy measure first.

 

8.6                  Pledgee is entitled to designate an attorney or other representatives to exercise the Pledge on its behalf, and Pledgor or Party C shall not raise any objection to such exercise.

 

8.7                  When Pledgee disposes of the Pledge in accordance with this Agreement, Pledgor and Party C shall provide necessary assistance to enable Pledgee to enforce the Pledge in accordance with this Agreement.

 

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9.               Breach of Agreement

 

9.1                  If Pledgor or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Pledgee shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Pledgor or Party C to indemnify all damages; this Section 9 shall not prejudice any other rights of Pledgee herein;

 

9.2                  Pledgor or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by applicable laws.

 

10.        Assignment

 

10.1           Without Pledgee’s prior written consent, Pledgor and Party C shall not have the right to assign or delegate their rights and obligations under this Agreement.

 

10.2           This Agreement shall be binding on Pledgor and his/her successors and permitted assigns, and shall be valid with respect to Pledgee and each of his/her successors and assigns.

 

10.3           At any time, Pledgee may assign any and all of its rights and obligations under the Transaction Documents and this Agreement to its designee(s), in which case the assigns shall have the rights and obligations of Pledgee under the Transaction Documents and this Agreement, as if it were the original party to the Transaction Documents and this Agreement.

 

10.4           In the event of change of Pledgee due to assignment, Pledgor and/or Party C shall, at the request of Pledgee, execute a new pledge agreement with the new pledgee on the same terms and conditions as this Agreement, and register the same with the relevant AIC.

 

10.5           Pledgor and Party C shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by the Parties hereto or any of them, including the Transaction Documents, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  Any remaining rights of Pledgor with respect to the Equity Interest pledged hereunder shall not be exercised by Pledgor except in accordance with the written instructions of Pledgee.

 

11



 

11.        Termination

 

11.1           Upon the fulfillment of all Contract Obligations and the full payment of all Secured Indebtedness by Pledgor and Party C, Pledgee shall release the Pledge under this Agreement upon Pledgor’s request as soon as reasonably practicable and shall assist Pledgor to de-register the Pledge from the shareholders’ register of Party C and with relevant PRC local administration for industry and commerce.

 

11.2           The provisions under Sections 9, 13, 14 and 11.2 herein of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement.

 

12.        Handling Fees and Other Expenses

 

All fees and out of pocket expenses relating to this Agreement, including but not limited to legal costs, costs of production, stamp tax and any other taxes and fees, shall be borne by Party C.

 

13.        Confidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of the other Party, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section. Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

12



 

14.        Governing Law and Resolution of Disputes

 

14.1           The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of China.

 

14.2           In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Parties for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration, in accordance with its Arbitration Rules.  The arbitration shall be conducted in Beijing.  The arbitration award shall be final and binding on all Parties.

 

14.3           Upon the occurrence of any disputes arising from the construction and performance of this Agreement or during the pending arbitration of any dispute, except for the matters under dispute, the Parties to this Agreement shall continue to exercise their respective rights under this Agreement and perform their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

13



 

15.        Notices

 

15.1           All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, postage prepaid, by a commercial courier service or by facsimile transmission to the address of such party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by E-mail.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

15.2           Notices given by personal delivery, by courier service or by registered mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed effectively given on the date of delivery or refusal at the address specified for notices.

 

15.3           Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

15.4           For the purpose of notices, the addresses of the Parties are as follows:

 

Party A:                        Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

Address:                         C1612, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing

Attn:                                             Huang Jiajia

 

14



 

Party B:                         Shu Ting

Address:                          C1612, NO.18 East Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing

 

Party C:                         Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

Address:                          Room 9154, Suite 3, No.3 Xi Jing Street, High-tech Park, Ba Da Chu, Shijingshan District, Beijing

Attn:                                             Huang Jiajia

 

15.5           Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

16.        Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Contract are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Contract shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

17.        Attachments

 

The attachments set forth herein shall be an integral part of this Agreement.

 

18.        Effectiveness

 

18.1           This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties.

 

15



 

18.2           Any amendments, changes and supplements to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall become effective upon completion of the governmental filing procedures (if applicable) after the affixation of the signatures or seals of the Parties.

 

19.        Language and Counterparts

 

This Agreement is written in Chinese and English in four copies.  Pledgor, Pledgee and Party C shall hold one copy respectively and the other copy shall be used for registration.  If there is any inconsistency or conflict between English and Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail..

 

The Remainder of this page is intentionally left blank

 

16



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Equity Interest Pledge Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

17



 

Attachments:

 

1.                               Shareholders’ Register of Party C;

 

2.                               The Capital Contribution Certificate for Party C;

 

3.                               Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement.

 

4.                               Exclusive Option Agreement

 

5.                               Power of Attorney

 

18




Exhibit 10.8

 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Chen Ling, a People’s Republic of China (“ China ” or the “ PRC ”) citizen with PRC Identification Card No.: ******, and a holder of 12.5% of the entire registered capital in Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. (“ Dasheng Zhixing ”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. (“ WFOE ”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in Dasheng Zhixing (“My Shareholding”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The WFOE is hereby authorized to act on my behalf as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including but not limited to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of Dasheng Zhixing; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights that I am entitled to under the relevant PRC laws and Dasheng Zhixing Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, pledge, or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing on my behalf the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer, and other senior management members of Dasheng Zhixing.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the WFOE shall have the power and authority to, on my behalf, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the WFOE, and Dasheng Zhixing on June 18th, 2013 and the Equity Pledge Agreement entered into by and among me, the WFOE, and Dasheng Zhixing on June 18th, 2013 (including any modifications, amendments, and restatements thereto, collectively referred to as the “ Transaction Documents ”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the WFOE shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the WFOE shall be deemed as executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the WFOE.

 

The WFOE is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by PRC laws, the WFOE shall designate a PRC citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of Dasheng Zhixing, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the WFOE through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in Chinese and English.  If there is any inconsistency or conflict between English and Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

 

 

 

Chen Ling

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Chen Ling

 

 

 

June 18, 2013

 

 

Accepted by

 

 

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

 

2



 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

3


 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Huang Jiajia, a People’s Republic of China (“ China ” or the “ PRC ”) citizen with PRC Identification Card No.: ******, and a holder of 61.25% of the entire registered capital in Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. (“ Dasheng Zhixing ”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. (“ WFOE ”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in Dasheng Zhixing (“ My Shareholding ”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The WFOE is hereby authorized to act on my behalf as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including but not limited to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of Dasheng Zhixing; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights that I am entitled to under the relevant PRC laws and Dasheng Zhixing Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, pledge, or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing on my behalf the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer, and other senior management members of Dasheng Zhixing.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the WFOE shall have the power and authority to, on my behalf, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the WFOE, and Dasheng Zhixing on June 18th, 2013 and the Equity Pledge Agreement entered into by and among me, the WFOE, and Dasheng Zhixing on June 18th, 2013 (including any modifications, amendments, and restatements thereto, collectively referred to as the “ Transaction Documents ”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the WFOE shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the WFOE shall be deemed as executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the WFOE.

 

The WFOE is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by PRC laws, the WFOE shall designate a PRC citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of Dasheng Zhixing, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the WFOE through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in Chinese and English.  If there is any inconsistency or conflict between English and Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

 

 

 

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

June 18th, 2013

 

2



 

Accepted by

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

3


 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Shu Ting, a People’s Republic of China (“ China ” or the “ PRC ”) citizen with PRC Identification Card No.: ******, and a holder of 26.25% of the entire registered capital in Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. (“ Dasheng Zhixing ”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. (“ WFOE ”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in Dasheng Zhixing (“ My Shareholding ”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The WFOE is hereby authorized to act on my behalf as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including but not limited to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of Dasheng Zhixing; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights that I am entitled to under the relevant PRC laws and Dasheng Zhixing Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, pledge, or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing on my behalf the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer, and other senior management members of Dasheng Zhixing.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the WFOE shall have the power and authority to, on my behalf, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the WFOE, and Dasheng Zhixing on June 18th, 2013 and the Equity Pledge Agreement entered into by and among me, the WFOE, and Dasheng Zhixing on June 18th, 2013 (including any modifications, amendments, and restatements thereto, collectively referred to as the “ Transaction Documents ”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the WFOE shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the WFOE shall be deemed as executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the WFOE.

 

The WFOE is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by PRC laws, the WFOE shall designate a PRC citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of Dasheng Zhixing, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the WFOE through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in Chinese and English.  If there is any inconsistency or conflict between English and Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail..

 

 

 

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

June 18, 2013

 

Accepted by

 

 

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd.

 

2



 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

Title:

Legal Representative

 

 

3




Exhibit 10.9

 

Spousal Consent

 

The undersigned, Xu Xiaoping, a citizen of Canada with Passport Number: ******, is the lawful spouse of Chen Ling, a PRC citizen with PRC Identification Card No.: ******.  I hereby unconditionally and irrevocably agree to the execution of the following documents (hereinafter referred to as the “ Transaction Documents ”) by Chen Ling on June 18th, 2013, and the disposal of the equity interests of Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.  (“ Dasheng Zhixing ”) held by Chen Ling and registered in his/her name according to the following documents:

 

(1)                                  The Equity Interest Pledge Agreement entered into between Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the “ WFOE ”) and Dasheng Zhixing;

 

(2)                                  The Exclusive Option Agreement entered into between the WFOE and Dasheng Zhixing;

 

(3)                                  The Power of Attorney executed by Chen Ling.

 

I hereby undertake not to make any assertions in connection with the equity interests of Dasheng Zhixing which are held by Chen Ling.  I hereby further confirm that Chen Ling can perform the Transaction Documents and further amend or terminate the Transaction Documents without the authorization or consent from me.

 

I hereby undertake to execute all necessary documents and take all necessary actions to ensure appropriate performance of the Transaction Documents (as may be amended from time to time).

 



 

I hereby agree and undertake that if I obtain any equity interests of Dasheng Zhixing which are held by Chen Ling for any reasons, I shall be bound by the Transaction Documents and the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement entered into between the WFOE and Dasheng Zhixing as of June 18th, 2013 (the “ Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement ”) (as may be amended from time to time) and comply with the obligations thereunder as a shareholder of Dasheng Zhixing.  For this purpose, upon the WFOE’s request, I shall sign a series of written documents in substantially the same format and content as the Transaction Documents and the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement (as may be amended from time to time).

 

/s/ Xu Xiaoping

 

 

Xu Xiaoping

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date: June 18, 2013

 




Exhibit 10.10

 

Spousal Consent

 

The undersigned, Huang Jiajia, a PRC citizen with PRC Identification Card No.: ******, is the lawful spouse of Shu Ting, a PRC citizen with PRC Identification Card No.: ******.  I hereby unconditionally and irrevocably agree to the execution of the following documents (hereinafter referred to as the “ Transaction Documents ”) by Shu Ting, and the disposal of the equity interests of Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.  (“ Dasheng Zhixing ”) held by Shu Ting and registered in his/her name according to the following documents:

 

(1)                                  The Equity Interest Pledge Agreement entered into by and among, Shu Ting, Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the “ WFOE ”) and Dasheng Zhixing on June 18, 2013;

 

(2)                                  The Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among, Shu Ting, the WFOE and Dasheng Zhixing on June 18, 2013;

 

(3)                                  The Power of Attorney executed by Shu Ting on June 18, 2013.

 

I hereby undertake not to make any assertions in connection with the equity interests of Dasheng Zhixing which are held by Shu Ting.  I hereby further confirm that Shu Ting can perform the Transaction Documents and further amend or terminate the Transaction Documents without the authorization or consent from me.

 

I hereby undertake to execute all necessary documents and take all necessary actions to ensure appropriate performance of the Transaction Documents (as may be amended from time to time).

 



 

I hereby agree and undertake that if I obtain any equity interests of Dasheng Zhixing which are held by Shu Ting for any reasons, I shall be bound by the Transaction Documents and the Amended and Restated Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement entered into between the WFOE and Dasheng Zhixing as of December 14, 2015 (the “ Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement ”) (as may be amended from time to time) and comply with the obligations thereunder as a shareholder of Dasheng Zhixing.  For this purpose, upon the WFOE’s request, I shall sign a series of written documents in substantially the same format and content as the Transaction Documents and the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement (as may be amended from time to time).

 

 

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date: December 14, 2015

 




Exhibit 10.11

 

Spousal Consent

 

The undersigned, Shu Ting, a PRC citizen with PRC Identification Card No.: ******, is the lawful spouse of Huang Jiajia, a PRC citizen with PRC Identification Card No.: ******.  I hereby unconditionally and irrevocably agree to the execution of the following documents (hereinafter referred to as the “ Transaction Documents ”) by Huang Jiajia, and the disposal of the equity interests of Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.  (“ Dasheng Zhixing ”) held by Huang Jiajia and registered in his/her name according to the following documents:

 

(1)                                  The Equity Interest Pledge Agreement entered into by and among, Huang Jiajia, Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the “ WFOE ”) and Dasheng Zhixing on June 18, 2013;

 

(2)                                  The Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among, Huang Jiajia, the WFOE and Dasheng Zhixing on June 18, 2013;

 

(3)                                  The Power of Attorney executed by Huang Jiajia on June 18, 2013.

 

I hereby undertake not to make any assertions in connection with the equity interests of Dasheng Zhixing which are held by Huang Jiajia.  I hereby further confirm that Huang Jiajia can perform the Transaction Documents and further amend or terminate the Transaction Documents without the authorization or consent from me.

 

I hereby undertake to execute all necessary documents and take all necessary actions to ensure appropriate performance of the Transaction Documents (as may be amended from time to time).

 



 

I hereby agree and undertake that if I obtain any equity interests of Dasheng Zhixing which are held by Huang Jiajia for any reasons, I shall be bound by the Transaction Documents and the Amended and Restated Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement entered into between the WFOE and Dasheng Zhixing as of December 14, 2015 (the “ Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement ”) (as may be amended from time to time) and comply with the obligations thereunder as a shareholder of Dasheng Zhixing.  For this purpose, upon the WFOE’s request, I shall sign a series of written documents in substantially the same format and content as the Transaction Documents and the Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement (as may be amended from time to time).

 

 

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date: December 14, 2015

 




Exhibit 10.12

 

Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement

 

This Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into by and between the following parties on July 21, 2014 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “Philippines” ).

 

Party A:             China Online Education (HK) Limited

 

Address:              Room 2701, 27/F., Tesbury Centre, 28 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, HongKong

 

Party B:             51 Talk English Philippines Corporation

 

Address:              Unit 212 2nd Floor, Jocfer Building, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines

 

Each of Party A and Party B shall be hereinafter referred to as a “Party” respectively, and as the “Parties” collectively.

 

Whereas,

 

1.                   Party A is a limited liability company established under the laws of Hong Kong, and has the necessary resources to provide technical and consulting services;

 

2.                   Party B is a company established in the Philippines with exclusively domestic capital and is permitted to engage in online English training by the relevant Philippines government authorities.  The businesses conducted by Party B currently and any time during the term of this Agreement are collectively referred to as the “Principal Business”;

 

3.                   Party A is willing to provide Party B with technical support, consulting services and other services on an exclusive basis in relation to the Principal Business during the term of this Agreement, utilizing its advantages in technology, human resources, and information, and Party B is willing to accept such services provided by Party A or Party A’s designee(s), each on the terms set forth herein.

 

Now, therefore, through mutual discussion, the Parties have reached the following agreements:

 

1.                                       Services Provided by Party A

 

1.1                                Party B hereby appoints Party A as Party B’s exclusive services provider to provide Party B with comprehensive technical support,

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

consulting services and other services during the term of this Agreement, in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including but not limited to the following:

 

(1)                    Licensing Party B to use any software legally owned by Party A;

 

(2)                    Development, maintenance and updating of software involved in Party B’s business;

 

(3)                    Design, installation, daily management, maintenance and updating of network systems, hardware and database design;

 

(4)                    Technical support and training for employees of Party B;

 

(5)                    Assisting Party B in consultancy, collection and research of technology and market information;

 

(6)                    Providing business management consultation for Party B;

 

(7)                    Providing marketing and promotional services for Party B;

 

(8)                    Providing customer order management and customer services for Party B;

 

(9)                    Leasing of equipment or properties; and

 

(10)             Other services requested by Party B from time to time.

 

1.2                                Party B agrees to accept all the services provided by Party A.  Party B further agrees that unless with Party A’s prior written consent, during the term of this Agreement, Party B shall not directly or indirectly accept the same or any similar services provided by any third party and shall not establish similar corporation relationships with any third party regarding the matters contemplated by this Agreement.  Party A may appoint other parties, who may enter into certain agreements described in Section 1.3 with Party B, to provide Party B with the services under this Agreement.

 

2



 

1.3                                Service Providing Methodology

 

1.3.1                      Party A and Party B agree that during the term of this Agreement, where necessary, Party B may enter into further service agreements with Party A or any other party designated by Party A, which shall provide the specific contents, methods, personnel, and fees for specific services.

 

1.3.2                      To fulfill this Agreement, Party A and Party B agree that during the term of this Agreement, where necessary, Party B may enter into equipment or property leases with Party A or any other party designated by Party A which shall permit Party B to use Party A’s relevant equipment or property based on the business needs of Party B.

 

1.3.3                      Party B hereby grants to Party A an irrevocable and exclusive option to purchase from Party B, at Party A’s sole discretion, any or all of the assets and business of Party B, to the extent permitted under the Philippine law, and at the lowest purchase price permitted by the Philippine law.  The Parties shall then enter into a separate assets or business transfer agreement, specifying the terms and conditions of the transfer of the assets.

 

2.                                       The Calculation and Payment of Service Fee s

 

2.1                                The fees payable by Party B to Party A during the term of this Agreement shall be calculated as follows:

 

2.1.1                      Party B shall pay a service fee to Party A in each month.  The service fee for each month shall consist of a management fee and a fee for services provided, which shall be determined by the Parties through negotiation after considering:

 

(1)                                  Complexity and difficulty of the services provided by Party A;

 

(2)                                  Title of and time consumed by the employees of Party A providing the services;

 

(3)                                  Contents and value of the services provided by Party A;

 

(4)                                  Market price of the same type of services;

 

(5)                                  Operation conditions of Party B.

 

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2.1.2                      If Party A transfers technology to Party B, develops software or other technology as entrusted by Party B, or leases equipments or properties to Party B, the technology transfer price, development fees or rent shall be determined by the Parties based on the actual situations.

 

3.                                       Intellectual Property Rights and Confidentiality Clauses

 

3.1                                Party A shall have exclusive and proprietary ownership, rights and interests in any and all intellectual properties arising out of or created during the performance of this Agreement, including but not limited to copyrights, patents, patent applications, software, technical secrets, trade secrets and others.  Party B shall execute all appropriate documents, take all appropriate actions, submit all filings and/or applications, render all appropriate assistance and otherwise conduct whatever is necessary as deemed by Party A at its sole discretion for the purposes of vesting any ownership, right or interest of any such intellectual property rights in Party A, and/or perfecting the protections for any such intellectual property rights in Party A.

 

3.2                                The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of the other Party, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third party, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

4.                                       Representations and Warranties

 

4.1                                Party A hereby represents, warrants and covenants as follows:

 

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4.1.1                      Party A is a limited liability company legally established and validly existing in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong; Party A or the service providers designated by Party A will obtain all government permits and licenses for providing the service under this Agreement before providing such services.

 

4.1.2                      Party A has taken all necessary corporate actions, obtained all necessary authorizations as well as all consents and approvals from third parties and government agencies (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.  Party A’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement do not violate any explicit requirements under any law or regulation.

 

4.1.3                      This Agreement constitutes Party A’s legal, valid and binding obligations, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms.

 

4.2                                Party B hereby represents, warrants and covenants as follows:

 

4.2.1                      Party B is a company legally established and validly existing in accordance with the laws of the Philippines and has obtained and will maintain all permits and licenses for engaging in the Principal Business in a timely manner.

 

4.2.2                      Party B has taken all necessary corporate actions, obtained all necessary authorizations as well as all consents and approvals from third parties and government agencies (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.  Party B’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement do not violate any explicit requirements under any law or regulation.

 

4.2.3                      This Agreement constitutes Party B’s legal, valid and binding obligations, and shall be enforceable against it in accordance with its terms.

 

5.                                       Terms of Agreement

 

5.1                                This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties.  Unless terminated in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement or terminated in writing by Party A, this Agreement shall remain effective.

 

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5.2                                During the term of this Agreement, each Party shall renew its operation term prior to the expiration thereof so as to enable this Agreement to remain effective.  This Agreement shall be terminated upon the expiration of the operation term of a Party if the application for the renewal of its operation term is not approved by the relevant government authorities.

 

5.3                                The rights and obligations of the Parties under Sections 3, 6, 7 and this Section 5.3 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

6.                                       Governing Law and Resolution of Disputes

 

6.1                                The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

 

6.2                                In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center (“HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6.3                                Upon the occurrence of any disputes arising from the construction and performance of this Agreement or during the pending arbitration of any dispute, except for the matters under dispute, the Parties shall continue to exercise their respective rights under this Agreement and perform their respective obligations under this Agreement.

 

7.                                       Breach of Agreement and Indemnification

 

7.1                                If Party B conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have the right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B to indemnify all damages; this Section 7.1 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein.

 

7.2                                Unless otherwise required by the applicable laws, Party B shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event.

 

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7.3                                Party B shall indemnify and hold harmless Party A from any losses, injuries, obligations or expenses caused by any lawsuit, claims or other demands against Party A arising from or caused by the services provided by Party A to Party B pursuant this Agreement, except where such losses, injuries, obligations or expenses arise from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of Party A.

 

8.                                       Force Majeure

 

8.1                                In the case of any force majeure events (“Force Majeure”) such as earthquakes, typhoons, floods, fires, flu, wars, strikes or any other events that cannot be predicted and are unpreventable and unavoidable by the affected Party, which directly or indirectly causes the failure of either Party to perform or completely perform this Agreement, then the Party affected by such Force Majeure shall give the other Party written notices without any delay, and shall provide details of such event within 15 days after sending out such notice, explaining the reasons for such failure of, partial or delay of performance.

 

8.2                                If such Party claiming Force Majeure fails to notify the other Party and furnish it with proof pursuant to the above provision, such Party shall not be excused from the non-performance of its obligations hereunder.  The Party so affected by the event of Force Majeure shall use reasonable efforts to minimize the consequences of such Force Majeure and to promptly resume performance hereunder whenever the causes of such excuse are cured.  Should the Party so affected by the event of Force Majeure fail to resume performance hereunder when the causes of such excuse are cured, such Party shall be liable to the other Party.

 

8.3                                In the event of Force Majeure, the Parties shall immediately consult with each other to find an equitable solution and shall use all reasonable endeavours to minimize the consequences of such Force Majeure.

 

9.                                       Notices

 

9.1                                All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

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9.1.1                      Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices.

 

9.1.2                      Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

9.2                                Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Party in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

10.                                Assignment

 

10.1                         Without Party A’s prior written consent, Party B shall not assign its rights and obligations under this Agreement to any third party.

 

10.2                         Party B agrees that Party A may assign its obligations and rights under this Agreement to any third party and in case of such assignment, Party A is only required to give written notice to Party B and does not need any consent from Party B for such assignment.

 

11.                                Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any aspect.  The Parties shall negotiate in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

12.                                Amendments and Supplements

 

Any amendments and supplements to this Agreement shall be in writing.  The amendment agreements and supplementary agreements that have been signed by the Parties and relate to this Agreement shall be an integral part of this Agreement and shall have the same legal validity as this Agreement.

 

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13.                                Language and Counterparts

 

This Agreement is written in English language in two copies, each Party having one copy.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education (HK) Limited

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

51 Talk English Philippines Corporation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 




Exhibit 10.13

 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this “Agreement”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of July 21, 2014 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “Philippines”):

 

Party A:                         China Online Education (HK) Limited, a limited liability company, organized and existing under the laws of Hong Kong, with its address at Room 2701, 27/F., Tesbury Centre, 28 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, HongKong;

 

Party B:                         Huang Jiajia, a Chinese citizen with Identification No.: ******; and

 

Party C:                         51 Talk English Philippines Corporation, a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines, with its address at Unit 212 2nd Floor, Jocfer Building, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a “Party” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “Parties”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                    Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 99.92% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 4,996 shares of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1             Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “Designee”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “Equity Interest Purchase Option”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “person” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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1.2             Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “Optioned Interests”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3             Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “Base Price”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “Equity Interest Purchase Price”).

 

1.4             Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                      Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                      Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                      Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                      The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “security interests” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security

 

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interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                    Covenants

 

2.1             Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                      They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than  US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                      They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

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2.1.8                      They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                      If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10               Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11               They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12               To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13               Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14               At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15               Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16               Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2             Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

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interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                      Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                      Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

2.2.6                      To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.7                      Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.8                      Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.9                      Party B shall promptly donate any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.10               Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

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3.                    Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                      They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2                      The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3                      Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4                      Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

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3.5                      Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6                      Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7                      There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4.                    Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                    Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1             Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

 

5.2             Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6.                    Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

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7.                    Notices

 

7.1                      All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1                      Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2                      Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2                      Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                    C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such  Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9.                    Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

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10.             Breach of Agreement

 

10.1               If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2               Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.             Miscellaneous

 

11.1               Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2               Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3               Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4               Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5               Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

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11.6               Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7               Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8               Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education (HK) Limited

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

51 Talk English Philippines Corporation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 


 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this “Agreement”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of July 21, 2014 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “Philippines”):

 

Party A:                         China Online Education (HK) Limited, a limited liability company, organized and existing under the laws of Hong Kong, with its address at Room 2701, 27/F., Tesbury Centre, 28 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, HongKong;

 

Party B:                         Kei Hattori, a Japanese citizen with Community Tax Certificate NO. : ******; and

 

Party C:                         51 Talk English Philippines Corporation, a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines, with its address at Unit 212 2nd Floor, Jocfer Building, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a “Party” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “Parties”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                    Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 0.02% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 1 share of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1             Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “Designee”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “Equity Interest Purchase Option”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “person” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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1.2             Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “Optioned Interests”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3             Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “Base Price”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “Equity Interest Purchase Price”).

 

1.4             Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                      Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                      Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                      Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                      The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “security interests” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security

 

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interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                    Covenants

 

2.1                      Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                      They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                      They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

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2.1.8                      They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                      If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10               Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11               They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12               To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13               Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14               At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15               Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16               Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2                      Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

4



 

interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                      Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                      Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

2.2.6                      To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.7                      Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.8                      Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.9                      Party B shall promptly donate any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.10               Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

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3.                    Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                      They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2                      The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3                      Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4                      Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

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3.5                      Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6                      Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7                      There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4.                    Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                    Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1                      Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

 

5.2                      Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6.                    Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

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7.                    Notices

 

7.1                      All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1                      Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2                      Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2                      Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                    C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9.                    Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

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10.             Breach of Agreement

 

10.1                         If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2                         Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.             Miscellaneous

 

11.1                         Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2                         Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3                         Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4                         Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5                         Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

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11.6                         Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7                         Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8                         Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education (HK) Limited

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Kei Hattori

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Kei Hattori

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

51 Talk English Philippines Corporation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 


 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this “Agreement”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of August 31, 2015 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “Philippines”):

 

Party A:             China Online Education (HK) Limited, a limited liability company, organized and existing under the laws of Hong Kong, with its address at Room 2701, 27/F., Tesbury Centre, 28 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, HongKong;

 

Party B:             Frank Lin, a American citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being ******; and

 

Party C:             51 Talk English Philippines Corporation, a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines, with its address at Unit 212 2nd Floor, Jocfer Building, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a “Party” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “Parties”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                   Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 0.02% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 1 share of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1                      Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “Designee”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “Equity Interest Purchase Option”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “person” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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1.2                      Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “Optioned Interests”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3                    Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “Base Price”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “Equity Interest Purchase Price”).

 

1.4                     Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                     Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                     Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                     Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                     The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “security interests” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney. 

 

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“Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                   Covenants

 

2.1                      Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                     They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than  US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                     They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

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2.1.8                     They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                     If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11              They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12              To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14              At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15              Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16              Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2                      Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

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interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                     Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                     Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

2.2.6                     To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.7                     Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.8                     Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.9                     Party B shall promptly donate any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.10              Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

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3.                   Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                     They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2                     The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3                     Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4                     Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

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3.5                     Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6                     Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7                     There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4.                   Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                   Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1                      Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

 

5.2                      Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6.                   Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

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7.                   Notices

 

7.1                     All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1              Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2              Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2                      Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                   C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such  Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9.                   Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

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10.            Breach of Agreement

 

10.1                         If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2                         Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.            Miscellaneous

 

11.1                         Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2                         Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3                         Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4                         Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5                         Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

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11.6                         Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7                         Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8                         Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education (HK) Limited

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Frank Lin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Frank Lin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

51 Talk English Philippines Corporation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 


 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this “Agreement”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of August 31, 2015 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “Philippines”):

 

Party A:             China Online Education (HK) Limited, a limited liability company, organized and existing under the laws of Hong Kong, with its address at Room 2701, 27/F., Tesbury Centre, 28 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, HongKong;

 

Party B:             Nelson Tan, a Philippines citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being ******; and

 

Party C:             51 Talk English Philippines Corporation, a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines, with its address at Unit 212 2nd Floor, Jocfer Building, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a “Party” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “Parties”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                   Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 0.02% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 1 share of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1                      Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “Designee”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “Equity Interest Purchase Option”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “person” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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1.2                      Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “Optioned Interests”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3                    Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “Base Price”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “Equity Interest Purchase Price”).

 

1.4                     Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                     Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                     Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                     Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                     The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “security interests” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney. 

 

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“Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                   Covenants

 

2.1                      Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                     They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                     They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

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2.1.8                     They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                     If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11              They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12              To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14              At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15              Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16              Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2                      Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

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interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                     Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                     Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

2.2.6                     To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.7                     Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.8                     Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.9                     Party B shall promptly donate any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.10              Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

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3.                   Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                     They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2                     The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3                     Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4                     Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

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3.5                     Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6                     Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7                     There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4.                   Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                   Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1                     Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

 

5.2                     Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6.                   Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

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7.                   Notices

 

7.1                      All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1             Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2             Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2                     Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                   C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9.                   Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

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10.            Breach of Agreement

 

10.1                         If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2                         Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.            Miscellaneous

 

11.1                        Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2                        Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3                        Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4                        Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5                        Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

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11.6                        Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7                        Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8                        Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

10



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education (HK) Limited

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Nelson Tan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Nelson Tan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

51 Talk English Philippines Corporation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 




Exhibit 10.14

 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Huang Jiajia, a People’s Republic of China (“China” or the “PRC”) citizen with PRC Identification Card No.: ******, and a holder of 99.92% of the entire registered capital in 51 Talk English Philippines Corporation (the “Philippines Company”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education (HK) Limited (the “HK CO”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“My Shareholding”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The HK CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, pledge or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing on behalf of myself the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the HK CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the HK CO and the Philippines Company on July 21, 2014 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “Transaction Documents”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the HK CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the HK CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the HK CO.

 

The HK CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the HK CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the HK CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on July 21, 2014.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education (HK) Limited

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

51 Talk English Philippines Corporation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

2


 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Kei Hattori, a Japanese citizen with Community Tax Certificate NO. : ******, and a holder of 0.02% of the entire registered capital in 51 Talk English Philippines Corporation (the “Philippines Company”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education (HK) Limited (the “HK CO”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“My Shareholding”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The HK CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, pledge or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing on behalf of myself the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the HK CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the HK CO and the Philippines Company on July 21, 2014 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “Transaction Documents”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the HK CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the HK CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the HK CO.

 

The HK CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the HK CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the HK CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on July 21, 2014.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Kei Hattori

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Kei Hattori

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education (HK) Limited

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

51 Talk English Philippines Corporation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

2


 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Frank Lin, a American citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being ******, and a holder of 0.02% of the entire registered capital in 51 Talk English Philippines Corporation (the “Philippines Company”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education (HK) Limited (the “HK CO”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“My Shareholding”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The HK CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, pledge or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing on behalf of myself the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the HK CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the HK CO and the Philippines Company on August 31, 2015 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “Transaction Documents”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the HK CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the HK CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the HK CO.

 

The HK CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the HK CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the HK CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on August 31, 2015.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Frank Lin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Frank Lin

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education (HK) Limited

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

51 Talk English Philippines Corporation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Nelson Tan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Nelson Tan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

2


 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Nelson Tan, a Philippines citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being ******, and a holder of 0.02% of the entire registered capital in 51 Talk English Philippines Corporation (the “Philippines Company”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education (HK) Limited (the “HK CO”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“My Shareholding”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The HK CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, pledge or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing on behalf of myself the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the HK CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the HK CO and the Philippines Company on August 31, 2015 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “Transaction Documents”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the HK CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the HK CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the HK CO.

 

The HK CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the HK CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the HK CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on August 31, 2015.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Nelson Tan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Nelson Tan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education (HK) Limited

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

51 Talk English Philippines Corporation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Nelson Tan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Nelson Tan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

2




Exhibit 10.15

 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this Agreement ”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of August 31, 2015 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “ Philippines ”):

 

Party A:                    China Online Education Group, a company duly incorporated and validity existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands with its registered office located at Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 2582, Grand Cayman KY1-1103,Cayman Islands;;

 

Party B:                    Shu Ting, a Chinese citizen with PRC Identification No. being ****** (with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being 433-309-565); and

 

Party C:                    China Online Innovations Inc., a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines, with its address at 8th Floor Robinson Cyberscape Alpha Garnett and Sapphire Road Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1206.

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                    Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 0.00002% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 1 share of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1                      Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “ Designee ”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option ”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “ person ” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

1.2                      Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice ”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “ Optioned Interests ”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3                      Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “ Base Price ”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “ Equity Interest Purchase Price ”).

 

1.4                      Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                      Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                      Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                      Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                      The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “ security interest s ” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security

 

2



 

interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                    Covenants

 

2.1                      Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                      They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than  US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                      They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

3



 

2.1.8                      They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                      If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10               Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11               They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12               To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13               Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14               At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15               Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16               Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2                      Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

4



 

interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                      Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                      Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

2.2.6                      To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.7                      Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.8                      Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.9                      Party B shall promptly donate any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.10               Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

5



 

3.                    Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                      They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2                      The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3                      Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4                      Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

6



 

3.5                      Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6                      Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7                      There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4 .                    Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                    Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1                      Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

 

5.2                      Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6.                    Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

7



 

7.                    Notices

 

7.1                      All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1                      Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2                      Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2                      Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                    C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such  Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9.                    Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

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10.             Breach of Agreement

 

10.1                         If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2                         Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.             Miscellaneous

 

11.1                         Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2                         Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3                         Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4                         Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5                         Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

9



 

11.6                         Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7                         Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8                         Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

10



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

China Online Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

Name:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 


 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this Agreement ”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of August 31, 2015 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “ Philippines ”):

 

Party A:                    China Online Education Group, a company duly incorporated and validity existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands with its registered office located at Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 2582, Grand Cayman KY1-1103,Cayman Islands;

 

Party B:                     Yuan Huiru, a Chinese citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being ******; and

 

Party C:                    China Online Innovations Inc., a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines, with its address at 8th Floor Robinson Cyberscape Alpha Garnett and Sapphire Road Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1206.

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                    Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 0.00002% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 1 share of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1                      Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “ Designee ”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option ”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “ person ” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

1.2                      Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice ”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “ Optioned Interests ”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3                      Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “ Base Price ”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “ Equity Interest Purchase Price ”).

 

1.4                      Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                      Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                      Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                      Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                      The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “ security interest s ” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security

 

2



 

interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                    Covenants

 

2.1                      Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                      They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than  US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                      They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

3



 

2.1.8                      They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                      If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10               Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11               They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12               To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13               Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14               At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15               Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16               Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2                      Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

4



 

interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                      Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                      Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

2.2.6                      To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.7                      Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.8                      Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.9                      Party B shall promptly donate any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.10               Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

5



 

3.                    Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                      They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2                      The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3                      Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4                      Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

6



 

3.5                      Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6                      Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7                      There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4.                    Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                    Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1                      Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

 

5.2                      Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6.                    Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

7



 

7.                    Notices

 

7.1                      All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1                      Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2                      Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2                      Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                    C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such  Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9.                    Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

8



 

10.             Breach of Agreement

 

10.1                         If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2                         Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.             Miscellaneous

 

11.1                         Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2                         Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3                         Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4                         Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5                         Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

9



 

11.6                         Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7                         Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8                         Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

10



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Huiru Yuan

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Huiru Yuan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

China Online Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

Name:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 


 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this Agreement ”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of August 31, 2015 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “ Philippines ”):

 

Party A:                    China Online Education Group, a company duly incorporated and validity existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands with its registered office located at Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 2582, Grand Cayman KY1-1103,Cayman Islands;

 

Party B:                    Christine Ang, a Philippines citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being ******; and

 

Party C:                    China Online Innovations Inc., a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines, with its address at 8th Floor Robinson Cyberscape Alpha Garnett and Sapphire Road Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1206.

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                    Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 0.00002% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 1 share of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1                      Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “ Designee ”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option ”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “ person ” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

1.2                      Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice ”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “ Optioned Interests ”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3                      Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “ Base Price ”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “ Equity Interest Purchase Price ”).

 

1.4                      Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                      Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                      Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                      Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                      The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “ security interest s ” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security

 

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interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                    Covenants

 

2.1                      Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                      They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than  US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                      They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

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2.1.8                      They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                      If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10               Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11               They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12               To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13               Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14               At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15               Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16               Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2                      Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

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interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                      Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                      Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

2.2.6                      To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.7                      Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.8                      Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.9                      Party B shall promptly donate any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.10               Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

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3.                    Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                      They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2                      The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3                      Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4                      Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

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3.5                      Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6                      Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7                      There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4.                    Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                    Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1                      Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

 

5.2                      Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6.                    Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

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7.                    Notices

 

7.1                      All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1                      Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2                      Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2                      Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                    C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such  Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9.                    Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

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10.             Breach of Agreement

 

10.1                         If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2                         Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.             Miscellaneous

 

11.1                         Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2                         Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3                         Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4                         Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5                         Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

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11.6                         Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7                         Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8                         Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Christine Ang

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Christine Ang

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

China Online Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

Name:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 


 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this Agreement ”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of August 31, 2015 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “ Philippines ”):

 

Party A:                    China Online Education Group, a company duly incorporated and validity existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands with its registered office located at Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 2582, Grand Cayman KY1-1103,Cayman Islands;;

 

Party B:                    Jennifer Que, a Philippines citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being ******; and

 

Party C:                    China Online Innovations Inc., a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines, with its address at 8th Floor Robinson Cyberscape Alpha Garnett and Sapphire Road Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1206.

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                    Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 0.00002% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 1 share of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1                      Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “ Designee ”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option ”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “ person ” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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1.2                      Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice ”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “ Optioned Interests ”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3                      Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “ Base Price ”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “ Equity Interest Purchase Price ”).

 

1.4                      Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                      Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                      Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                      Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                      The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “ security interest s ” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security

 

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interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                    Covenants

 

2.1                      Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                      They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than  US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                      They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

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2.1.8                      They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                      If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10               Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11               They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12               To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13               Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14               At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15               Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16               Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2                      Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

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interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                      Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                      Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                      Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

2.2.6                      To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.7                      Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.8                      Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.9                      Party B shall promptly donate any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.10               Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

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3.                    Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                      They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2                      The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3                      Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4                      Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

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3.5                      Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6                      Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7                      There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4.                    Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                    Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1                      Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

 

5.2                      Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6.                    Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

7



 

7.                    Notices

 

7.1                      All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1                      Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2                      Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2                      Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                    C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such  Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9.                    Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

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10.             Breach of Agreement

 

10.1                         If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2                         Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.             Miscellaneous

 

11.1                         Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2                         Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3                         Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4                         Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5                         Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

9



 

11.6                         Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7                         Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8                         Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Jennifer Que

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Jennifer Que

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

China Online Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

Name:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 


 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this Agreement ”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of August 31, 2015 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “ Philippines ”):

 

Party A:               China Online Education Group, a company duly incorporated and validity existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands with its registered office located at Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 2582, Grand Cayman KY1-1103,Cayman Islands;;

 

Party B:               Samuel Celestino, a Philippines citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being ******; and

 

Party C:               China Online Innovations Inc., a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines, with its address at 8th Floor Robinson Cyberscape Alpha Garnett and Sapphire Road Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1206.

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                   Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 0.00002% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 1 share of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1             Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “ Designee ”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option ”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “ person ” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

1.2             Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice ”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “ Optioned Interests ”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3             Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “ Base Price ”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “ Equity Interest Purchase Price ”).

 

1.4             Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                     Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                     Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                     Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                     The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “ security interest s ” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security

 

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interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                   Covenants

 

2.1             Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                     They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than  US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                     They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

3



 

2.1.8                     They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                     If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11              They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12              To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14              At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15              Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16              Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2             Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

4



 

interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                     Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                     Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

2.2.6                     To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.7                     Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.8                     Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.9                     Party B shall promptly donate any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.10              Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

5



 

3.                   Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1             They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2             The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3             Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4             Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

6



 

3.5             Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6             Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7             There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4.                   Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                   Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1             Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

 

5.2             Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6.                   Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

7



 

7.                   Notices

 

7.1             All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1            Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2            Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2             Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                   C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such  Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9.                   Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

8



 

10.            Breach of Agreement

 

10.1               If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2               Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.            Miscellaneous

 

11.1               Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2               Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3               Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4               Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5               Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

9



 

11.6               Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7               Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8               Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

10



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Samuel Celestino

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Samuel Celestino

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

China Online Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

Name:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 


 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this Agreement ”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of August 31, 2015 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “ Philippines ”):

 

Party A:               China Online Education Group, a company duly incorporated and validity existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands with its registered office located at Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 2582, Grand Cayman KY1-1103,Cayman Islands;;

 

Party B:               Wei Li, a Chinese citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being ******; and

 

Party C:               China Online Innovations Inc., a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines, with its address at 8th Floor Robinson Cyberscape Alpha Garnett and Sapphire Road Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1206.

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                   Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 0.00002% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 1 share of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1             Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “ Designee ”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option ”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “ person ” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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1.2             Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice ”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “ Optioned Interests ”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3             Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “ Base Price ”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “ Equity Interest Purchase Price ”).

 

1.4             Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                     Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                     Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                     Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                     The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “ security interest s ” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security

 

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interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                   Covenants

 

2.1             Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                     They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than  US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                     They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

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2.1.8                     They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                     If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11              They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12              To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14              At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15              Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16              Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2             Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

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interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                     Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                     Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

2.2.6                     To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.7                     Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.8                     Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.9                     Party B shall promptly donate any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.10              Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

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3.                   Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1             They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2             The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3             Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4             Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

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3.5             Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6             Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7             There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4.                    Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                    Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1             Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

 

5.2             Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6.                    Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

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7.                    Notices

 

7.1             All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1            Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2            Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2             Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                    C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such  Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9.                    Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

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10.             Breach of Agreement

 

10.1               If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2               Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.             Miscellaneous

 

11.1               Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2               Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3               Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4               Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5               Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

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11.6               Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7               Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8               Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Li Wei

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Li Wei

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

China Online Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

Name:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 


 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this Agreement ”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of August 31, 2015 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “ Philippines ”) :

 

Party A:               China Online Education Group, a company duly incorporated and validity existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands with its registered office located at Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 2582, Grand Cayman KY1-1103,Cayman Islands;

 

Party B:               Xing Liu, a American citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being ******; and

 

Party C:               China Online Innovations Inc., a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines, with its address at 8th Floor Robinson Cyberscape Alpha Garnett and Sapphire Road Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1206.

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                   Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 0.00002% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 1 share of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1             Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “ Designee ”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option ”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “ person ” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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1.2             Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice ”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “ Optioned Interests ”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3             Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “ Base Price ”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “ Equity Interest Purchase Price ”).

 

1.4             Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                     Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                     Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                     Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                     The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “ security interest s ” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security

 

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interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                   Covenants

 

2.1             Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                     They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than  US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                     They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

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2.1.8                     They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                     If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11              They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12              To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14              At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15              Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16              Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2             Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

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interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                     Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                     Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A;

 

2.2.6                     To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.7                     Party B shall appoint any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.8                     Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.9                     Party B shall promptly donate any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation to Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.10              Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

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3.                   Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1             They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2             The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3             Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4             Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

6



 

3.5             Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6             Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7             There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4.                   Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                   Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1             Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

 

5.2             Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6.                   Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

7



 

7.                   Notices

 

7.1             All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1            Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2            Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2             Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                   C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such  Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9.                   Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

8



 

10.            Breach of Agreement

 

10.1               If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2               Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.            Miscellaneous

 

11.1               Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2               Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3               Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4               Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5               Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

9



 

11.6               Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7               Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8               Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

10



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Liu Xing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Liu Xing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

China Online Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

Name:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 




Exhibit 10.16

 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Shu Ting, a People’s Republic of China (“ China ” or the “ PRC ”) citizen with PRC Identification Card No. being ****** (with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being ******), and a holder of 0.00002% of the entire registered capital in China Online Innovations Inc. (the “ Philippines Company ”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education Group (the “ CAYMAN CO ”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“ My Shareholding ”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The CAYMAN CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, pledge or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing on behalf of myself the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the CAYMAN CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the CAYMAN CO and the Philippines Company on August 31, 2015 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “ Transaction Documents ”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the CAYMAN CO.

 

The CAYMAN CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the CAYMAN CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the CAYMAN CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on August 31, 2015.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

2


 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Yuan Huiru, a People’s Republic of China (“ China ” or the “ PRC ”) citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being 455-444-174, and a holder of 0.00002% of the entire registered capital in China Online Innovations Inc. (the “ Philippines Company ”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education Group (the “ CAYMAN CO ”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“ My Shareholding ”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The CAYMAN CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, pledge or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing on behalf of myself the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the CAYMAN CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the CAYMAN CO and the Philippines Company on August 31, 2015 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “ Transaction Documents ”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the CAYMAN CO.

 

The CAYMAN CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the CAYMAN CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the CAYMAN CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on August 31, 2015.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Yuan Huiru

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Yuan Huiru

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

2


 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Christine Ang, a Philippines citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being ******, and a holder of 0.00002% of the entire registered capital in China Online Innovations Inc. (the “ Philippines Company ”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education Group (the “ CAYMAN CO ”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“ My Shareholding ”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The CAYMAN CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, pledge or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing on behalf of myself the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the CAYMAN CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the CAYMAN CO and the Philippines Company on August 31, 2015 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “ Transaction Documents ”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the CAYMAN CO.

 

The CAYMAN CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the CAYMAN CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the CAYMAN CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on August 31, 2015.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Christine Ang

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Christine Ang

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

2


 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Jennifer Que, a Philippines citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being *****, and a holder of 0.00002% of the entire registered capital in China Online Innovations Inc. (the “ Philippines Company ”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education Group (the “ CAYMAN CO ”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“ My Shareholding ”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The CAYMAN CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, pledge or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing on behalf of myself the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the CAYMAN CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the CAYMAN CO and the Philippines Company on August 31, 2015 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “ Transaction Documents ”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the CAYMAN CO.

 

The CAYMAN CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the CAYMAN CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the CAYMAN CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on August 31, 2015.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Jennifer Que

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Jennifer Que

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

2


 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Samuel Celestino, a Philippines citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being ******, and a holder of 0.00002% of the entire registered capital in China Online Innovations Inc. (the “ Philippines Company ”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education Group (the “ CAYMAN CO ”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“ My Shareholding ”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The CAYMAN CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, pledge or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing on behalf of myself the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the CAYMAN CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the CAYMAN CO and the Philippines Company on August 31, 2015 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “ Transaction Documents ”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the CAYMAN CO.

 

The CAYMAN CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the CAYMAN CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the CAYMAN CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on August 31, 2015.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Samuel Celestino

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Samuel Celestino

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

2


 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Wei Li, a Chinese citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being ******, and a holder of 0.00002% of the entire registered capital in China Online Innovations Inc. (the “ Philippines Company ”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education Group (the “ CAYMAN CO ”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“ My Shareholding ”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The CAYMAN CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, pledge or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing on behalf of myself the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the CAYMAN CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the CAYMAN CO and the Philippines Company on August 31, 2015 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “ Transaction Documents ”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the CAYMAN CO.

 

The CAYMAN CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the CAYMAN CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the CAYMAN CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on August 31, 2015.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Wei Li

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Wei Li

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

2


 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Xing Liu, a American citizen with Tax Identification No. for Filipinos and Foreigners being ******, and a holder of 0.00002% of the entire registered capital in China Online Innovations Inc. (the “ Philippines Company ”) as of the date when the Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education Group (the “ CAYMAN CO ”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“ My Shareholding ”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The CAYMAN CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) attending shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, pledge or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing on behalf of myself the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the CAYMAN CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the CAYMAN CO and the Philippines Company on August 31, 2015 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “ Transaction Documents ”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the CAYMAN CO.

 

The CAYMAN CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the CAYMAN CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the CAYMAN CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on August 31, 2015.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Xing Liu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Xing Liu

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Huang Jiajia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Shu Ting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

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Exhibit 10.17

 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this Agreement ”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of February 1, 2016 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “ Philippines ”):

 

Party A:                China Online Education Group, a company duly incorporated and validly existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands with its registered office located at Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 2582, Grand Cayman KY1-1103, Cayman Islands;

 

Party B:                Alfonso Ang Po, a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines with Philippine Tax Identification No. ******; and

 

Party C:                On Demand English Innovations Inc., a limited liability company organized and validly existing under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, with its address at 6th Floor EDY Building, 144 Kisad Road, Baguio City.

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                   Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 0.0008% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 1 share of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1                  Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “ Designee ”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option ”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “ person ” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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1.2                  Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice ”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “ Optioned Interests ”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3                  Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “ Base Price ”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “ Equity Interest Purchase Price ”).

 

1.4                  Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                      Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                      Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                      Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                      The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “ security interest s ” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security

 

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interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                   Covenants

 

2.1                      Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                     They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                     They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

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2.1.8                     They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                     If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11              They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12              To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14              At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15              Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16              Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2                      Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

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interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                     Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                     Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A; To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.6                     Party B shall exercise [his/her] equity interests in Party C to vote in favor of electing any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.7                     Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.8                     Party B waives any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation in favor of Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.9                     Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

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3.                   Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                      They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2                      The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3                      Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4                      Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

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3.5                      Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6                      Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7                      There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4.                   Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                   Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1                     Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.

 

5.2                      Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6 .                   Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

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7.                   Notices

 

7.1                      All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1            Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2            Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2                      Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                   C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9.                   Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

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10.            Breach of Agreement

 

10.1                         If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2                         Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.            Miscellaneous

 

11.1                         Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2                         Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3                         Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4                         Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5                         Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

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11.6                         Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7                         Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8                         Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Alfonso Ang Po

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Alfonso Ang Po

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

On Demand English Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 


 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this Agreement ”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of February 1, 2016 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “ Philippines ”):

 

Party A:                China Online Education Group, a company duly incorporated and validly existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands with its registered office located at Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 2582, Grand Cayman KY1-1103, Cayman Islands;

 

Party B:                Frank Lin, a citizen of the United States of America with Philippine Tax Identification No. ******; and

 

Party C:                On Demand English Innovations Inc., a limited liability company organized and validly existing under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, with its address at 6th Floor EDY Building, 144 Kisad Road, Baguio City.

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                   Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 0.0008% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 1 share of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1 .                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1                  Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “ Designee ”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option ”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “ person ” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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1.2                  Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice ”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “ Optioned Interests ”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3                  Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “ Base Price ”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “ Equity Interest Purchase Price ”).

 

1.4                  Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                      Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                      Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                      Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                      The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “ security interest s ” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security

 

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interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                   Covenants

 

2.1                      Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                     They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                     They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

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2.1.8                     They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                     If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11              They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12              To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14              At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15              Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16              Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2                      Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

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interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                     Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                     Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A; To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.6                     Party B shall exercise [his/her] equity interests in Party C to vote in favor of electing any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.7                     Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.8                     Party B waives any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation in favor of Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.9                     Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

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3.                Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                      They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2                      The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3                      Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4                      Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

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3.5                      Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6                      Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7                      There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4.                Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                   Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1                      Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.

 

5.2                     Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6 .                Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

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7.                   Notices

 

7.1                      All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1            Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2            Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2                      Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9 .                Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

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10.            Breach of Agreement

 

10.1                         If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2                         Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11 .            Miscellaneous

 

11.1                         Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2                         Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3                         Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4                         Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5                         Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

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11.6                         Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7                         Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8                         Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Frank Lin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Frank Lin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

On Demand English Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 


 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this Agreement ”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of February 1, 2016 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “ Philippines ”):

 

Party A:                China Online Education Group, a company duly incorporated and validly existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands with its registered office located at Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 2582, Grand Cayman KY1-1103, Cayman Islands;

 

Party B:                Jimmy Y. Lai, a citizen of the United States of America with Philippine Tax Identification No. ******; and

 

Party C:                On Demand English Innovations Inc., a limited liability company organized and validly existing under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, with its address at 6th Floor EDY Building, 144 Kisad Road, Baguio City.

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                   Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 0.0008% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 1 share of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1                  Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “ Designee ”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option ”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “ person ” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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1.2                  Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice ”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “ Optioned Interests ”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3                  Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “ Base Price ”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “ Equity Interest Purchase Price ”).

 

1.4                  Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                     Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                     Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                     Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                     The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “ security interest s ” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security

 

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interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                   Covenants

 

2.1                      Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                     They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                     They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

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2.1.8                     They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                     If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11              They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12              To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14              At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15              Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16              Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2                      Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

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interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                     Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                     Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A; To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.6                     Party B shall exercise [his/her] equity interests in Party C to vote in favor of electing any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.7                     Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.8                     Party B waives any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation in favor of Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.9                     Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

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3.                   Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                      They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2                      The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3                      Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4                      Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

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3.5                      Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6                      Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7                      There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4.                   Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                   Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1                      Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.

 

5.2                      Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6.                   Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

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7.                   Notices

 

7.1                      All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1                                              Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2                                              Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2                      Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                   C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9.                   Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

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10.            Breach of Agreement

 

10.1                         If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2                         Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.            Miscellaneous

 

11.1                         Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2                         Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3                         Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4                         Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5                         Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

9



 

11.6                         Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7                         Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8                         Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

10



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

On Demand English Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 


 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this Agreement ”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of February 1, 2016 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “ Philippines ”):

 

Party A:               China Online Education Group, a company duly incorporated and validly existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands with its registered office located at Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 2582, Grand Cayman KY1-1103, Cayman Islands;

 

Party B:               Luzviminda Santos Castro, a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines with Philippine Tax Identification No. ******; and

 

Party C:               On Demand English Innovations Inc., a limited liability company organized and validly existing under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, with its address at 6th Floor EDY Building, 144 Kisad Road, Baguio City.

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                   Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 0.0008% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 1 share of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1                  Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “ Designee ”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option ”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “ person ” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

1.2                  Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice ”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “ Optioned Interests ”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3                  Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “ Base Price ”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “ Equity Interest Purchase Price ”).

 

1.4                  Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                      Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                      Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                      Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                      The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “ security interest s ” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security

 

2



 

interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                   Covenants

 

2.1                      Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                     They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                     They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

3



 

2.1.8                     They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                     If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11              They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12              To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14              At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15              Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16              Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2                      Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

4



 

interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                     Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                     Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A; To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.6                     Party B shall exercise [his/her] equity interests in Party C to vote in favor of electing any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.7                     Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.8                     Party B waives any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation in favor of Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.9                     Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

5



 

3.                   Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                      They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2                      The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3                      Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4                      Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

6



 

3.5                      Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6                      Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7                      There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4.                   Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                   Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1                     Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.

 

5.2                      Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6 .                   Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

7



 

7.                   Notices

 

7.1                      All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1            Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2            Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2                      Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                   C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9.                   Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

8



 

10.            Breach of Agreement

 

10.1                         If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2                         Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.            Miscellaneous

 

11.1                         Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2                         Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3                         Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4                         Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5                         Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

9



 

11.6                         Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7                         Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8                         Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

10



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Luzviminda Santos Castro

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Luzviminda Santos Castro

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

On Demand English Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 


 

Exclusive Option Agreement

 

This Exclusive Option Agreement (this Agreement ”) is executed by and among the following Parties as of February 1, 2016 in the Republic of the Philippines (the “ Philippines ”):

 

Party A:               China Online Education Group, a company duly incorporated and validly existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands with its registered office located at Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 2582, Grand Cayman KY1-1103, Cayman Islands;

 

Party B:               Nelson Tan, a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines with Philippine Tax Identification No. ******; and

 

Party C:               On Demand English Innovations Inc., a limited liability company organized and validly existing under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, with its address at 6th Floor EDY Building, 144 Kisad Road, Baguio City.

 

In this Agreement, each of Party A, Party B and Party C shall be referred to as a Party ” respectively, and they shall be collectively referred to as the “ Parties ”.

 

Whereas:

 

1.                   Party B is a shareholder of Party C and as of the date hereof holds 0.0008% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Party C, representing 1 share of Party C.

 

Now therefore, upon mutual discussion and negotiation, the Parties have reached the following agreement:

 

1.                   S ale and Purchase of Equity Interest

 

1.1                  Option Granted

 

In consideration of the payment of US$1.00 by Party A, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Party B, Party B hereby irrevocably grants Party A an irrevocable and exclusive right to purchase, or designate one or more persons (each, a “ Designee ”) to purchase the equity interests in Party C then held by Party B once or at multiple times at any time in part or in whole at Party A’s sole and absolute discretion to the extent permitted by Philippine laws and at the price described in Section 1.3 herein (such right being the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option ”).  Except for Party A and the Designee(s), no other person shall be entitled to the Equity Interest Purchase Option or other rights with respect to the equity interests of Party B.  Party C hereby agrees to the grant by Party B of the Equity Interest Purchase Option to Party A.  The term “ person ” as used herein shall refer to individuals, corporations, partnerships, partners, enterprises, trusts or non-corporate organizations.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

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1.2                  Steps for Exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option

 

Subject to the provisions of the laws and regulations of the Philippines, Party A may exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option by issuing a written notice to Party B (the “ Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice ”), specifying: (a) Party A’s or the Designee’s decision to exercise the Equity Interest Purchase Option; (b) the portion of equity interests to be purchased by Party A or the Designee from Party B (the “ Optioned Interests ”); and (c) the date for purchasing the Optioned Interests or the date for the transfer of the Optioned Interests.

 

1.3                  Equity Interest Purchase Price

 

T he purchase price of the Optioned Interests (the “ Base Price ”) shall be US$1.00.  If Philippine law requires a minimum price higher than the Base Price when Party A exercises the Equity Interest Purchase Option, the minimum price regulated by Philippine law shall be the purchase price (collectively, the “ Equity Interest Purchase Price ”).

 

1.4                  Transfer of Optioned Interests

 

For each exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option:

 

1.4.1                      Party B shall cause Party C to promptly convene a shareholders’ meeting, at which a resolution shall be adopted approving Party B’s transfer of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s);

 

1.4.2                      Party B shall obtain written statements from the other shareholders of Party C giving consent to the transfer of the equity interest to Party A and/or the Designee(s) and waiving any right of first refusal related thereto;

 

1.4.3                      Party B shall execute an equity interest transfer contract with respect to each transfer with Party A and/or each Designee (whichever is applicable), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Equity Interest Purchase Option Notice regarding the Optioned Interests;

 

1.4.4                      The relevant Parties shall execute all other necessary contracts, agreements or documents, obtain all necessary government licenses and permits and take all necessary actions to transfer valid ownership of the Optioned Interests to Party A and/or the Designee(s), unencumbered by any security interests, and cause Party A and/or the Designee(s) to become the registered owner(s) of the Optioned Interests.  For the purpose of this Section and this Agreement, “ security interest s ” shall include securities, mortgages, third party’s rights or interests, any stock options, acquisition right, right of first refusal, right to offset, ownership retention or other security arrangements, but shall be deemed to exclude any security

 

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interest created by this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney.  “Party B’s Power of Attorney” as used in this Agreement shall refer to the Power of Attorney executed by Party B on the date hereof granting Party A with a power of attorney and any modification, amendment and restatement thereto.

 

2.                   Covenants

 

2.1                      Covenants regarding Party C

 

Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:

 

2.1.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;

 

2.1.2                     They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;

 

2.1.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any material assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C of more than US$100,000, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;

 

2.1.4                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;

 

2.1.5                     They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses within the normal business scope to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;

 

2.1.6                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for the purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding US$100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);

 

2.1.7                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;

 

3



 

2.1.8                     They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;

 

2.1.9                     If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;

 

2.1.10              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;

 

2.1.11              They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;

 

2.1.12              To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.1.13              Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;

 

2.1.14              At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.

 

2.1.15              Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and

 

2.1.16              Unless otherwise required by Philippine laws, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.

 

2.2                      Covenants of Party B

 

Party B hereby covenants as follows:

 

2.2.1                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall not sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any other manner any legal or beneficial interest in the equity interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.2                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting and/or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C not to approve any sale, transfer, mortgage or disposition in any other manner of any legal or beneficial interest in the equity

 

4



 

interests in Party C held by Party B, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest, except for the interest placed in accordance with Party B’s Power of Attorney;

 

2.2.3                     Without the prior written consent of Party A, Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting of Party C not to approve the merger or consolidation with any person, or the acquisition of or investment in any person;

 

2.2.4                     Party B shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C held by Party B;

 

2.2.5                     Party B shall cause the shareholders’ meeting or the directors (or the executive director) of Party C to vote their approval of the transfer of the Optioned Interests as set forth in this Agreement and to take any and all other actions that may be requested by Party A; To the extent necessary to maintain Party B’s ownership in Party C, Party B shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;

 

2.2.6                     Party B shall exercise [his/her] equity interests in Party C to vote in favor of electing any designee of Party A as the director or the executive director of Party C, at the request of Party A;

 

2.2.7                     Party B hereby waives its right of first refusal to the transfer of equity interest by any other shareholder of Party C to Party A (if any), and gives consent to the execution by each other shareholder of Party C with Party A and Party C the exclusive option agreement and the power of attorney similar to this Agreement and Party B’s Power of Attorney, and accepts not to take any action in conflict with such documents executed by the other shareholders;

 

2.2.8                     Party B waives any profit, interest, dividend or proceeds of liquidation in favor of Party A or any other person designated by Party A to the extent permitted under the applicable Philippine laws; and

 

2.2.9                     Party B shall strictly abide by the provisions of this Agreement and other contracts jointly or separately executed by and among Party B, Party C and Party A, perform the obligations hereunder and thereunder, and refrain from any action/omission that may affect the effectiveness and enforceability thereof.  To the extent that Party B has any remaining rights with respect to the equity interests subject to this Agreement hereunder or under Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B shall not exercise such rights except in accordance with the written instructions of Party A.

 

5



 

3.                   Representations and Warranties

 

Party B and Party C hereby represent and warrant to Party A, jointly and severally, as of the date of this Agreement and each date of the transfer of the Optioned Interests, that:

 

3.1                      They have the power, capacity and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and any equity interest transfer contracts to which they are parties concerning the Optioned Interests to be transferred thereunder (each, a “Transfer Contract”), and to perform their obligations under this Agreement and any Transfer Contracts.  Party B and Party C agree to enter into Transfer Contracts consistent with the terms of this Agreement upon Party A’s exercise of the Equity Interest Purchase Option.  This Agreement and the Transfer Contracts to which they are parties constitute or will constitute their legal, valid and binding obligations and shall be enforceable against them in accordance with the provisions thereof;

 

Party B and Party C have obtained any and all approvals and consents from the competent government authorities and third parties (if required) for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.

 

3.2                      The execution and delivery of this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts and the obligations under this Agreement or any Transfer Contracts shall not: (i) cause any violation of any applicable laws of the Philippines; (ii) be inconsistent with the articles of association, bylaws or other organizational documents of Party C; (iii) cause the violation of any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them, or constitute any breach under any contracts or instruments to which they are a party or which are binding on them; (iv) cause any violation of any condition for the grant and/or continued effectiveness of any licenses or permits issued to either of them; or (v) cause the suspension or revocation of or imposition of additional conditions to any licenses or permits issued to either of them;

 

3.3                      Party B has a good and merchantable title to the equity interests held by Party B in Party C.  Except for Party B’s Power of Attorney, Party B has not placed any security interest on such equity interests;

 

3.4                      Party C has a good and merchantable title to all of its assets, and has not placed any security interest on the aforementioned assets;

 

6



 

3.5                      Party C does not have any outstanding debts, except for (i) debt incurred within the normal business scope; and (ii) debts disclosed to Party A for which Party A’s written consent has been obtained.

 

3.6                      Party C has complied with all laws and regulations of Philippines applicable to asset acquisitions; and

 

3.7                      There are no pending or threatened litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to the equity interests in Party C, assets of Party C or Party C.

 

4.                   Effective D ate and Term

 

This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by the Parties, and remain effective until all equity interests held by Party B in Party C have been transferred or assigned to Party A and/or any other person designated by Party A in accordance with this Agreement.

 

5.                   Governing L aw and R esolution of D isputes

 

5.1                     Governing Law

 

The execution, effectiveness, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Agreement and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.

 

5.2                      Methods of R esolution of D isputes

 

In the event of any dispute with respect to the construction and performance of this Agreement, the Parties shall first resolve the dispute through friendly negotiations.  In the event the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the dispute within 30 days after either Party’s request to the other Party for resolution of the dispute through negotiations, either Party may submit the relevant dispute to Hong Kong International Arbitration Center ( “HKIAC”) for arbitration, in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rule.  The language used in such arbitration shall be English, and the place of arbitration shall be in Hong Kong at HKIAC.  The decision by the Board of Arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties.

 

6 .                   Taxes and Fees

 

Each Party shall pay any and all transfer and registration taxes, expenses and fees incurred thereby or levied thereon in accordance with the laws of Philippines in connection with the preparation and execution of this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts, as well as the consummation of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and the Transfer Contracts.

 

7



 

7.                   Notices

 

7.1                      All notices and other communications required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered personally or sent by registered mail, prepaid postage, a commercial courier service or facsimile transmission to the address of such Party set forth below.  A confirmation copy of each notice shall also be sent by email.  The dates on which notices shall be deemed to have been effectively given shall be determined as follows:

 

7.1.1            Notices given by personal delivery, courier service, registered mail or prepaid postage shall be deemed effectively given on the date of receipt or refusal at the address specified for notices;

 

7.1.2            Notices given by facsimile transmission shall be deemed effectively given on the date of successful transmission (as evidenced by an automatically generated confirmation of transmission).

 

7.2                      Any Party may at any time change its address for notices by a notice delivered to the other Parties in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

8.                   C onfidentiality

 

The Parties acknowledge that the existence and the terms of this Agreement , and any oral or written information exchanged between the Parties in connection with the preparation and performance of this Agreement are regarded as confidential information.  Each Party shall maintain confidentiality of all such confidential information, and without obtaining the written consent of other Parties, it shall not disclose any relevant confidential information to any third parties, except for the information that: (a) is or will be in the public domain (other than through the receiving Party’s unauthorized disclosure); (b) is under the obligation to be disclosed pursuant to the applicable laws or regulations, rules of any stock exchange, or orders of the court or other government authorities; or (c) is required to be disclosed by any Party to its shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels or financial advisors regarding the transaction contemplated hereunder, provided that such shareholders, directors, employees, legal counsels, or financial advisors shall be bound by the confidentiality obligations similar to those set forth in this Section.  Disclosure of any confidential information by the shareholders, director, employees of, or agencies engaged by any Party shall be deemed disclosure of such confidential information by such Party and such Party shall be held liable for breach of this Agreement.

 

9.                   Further W arranties

 

The Parties agree to promptly execute documents that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement and take further actions that are reasonably required for or are conducive to the implementation of the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

 

8



 

10.            Breach of Agreement

 

10.1                         If Party B or Party C conducts any material breach of any term of this Agreement, Party A shall have right to terminate this Agreement and/or require Party B or Party C to compensate all damages; this Section 10 shall not prejudice any other rights of Party A herein;

 

10.2                         Party B or Party C shall not have any right to terminate this Agreement in any event unless otherwise required by the applicable laws.

 

11.            Miscellaneous

 

11.1                         Amendments, changes and supplements

 

Any amendment, change and supplement to this Agreement shall require the execution of a written agreement by all of the Parties.

 

11.2                         Entire agreement

 

Except for the amendments, supplements or changes in writing executed after the execution of this Agreement, this Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement reached by and among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and shall supersede all prior oral and written consultations, representations and contracts reached with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

11.3                         Headings

 

The headings of this Agreement are for convenience only, and shall not be used to interpret, explain or otherwise affect the meanings of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

11.4                         Language

 

This Agreement is written in English language in three copies, each Party having one copy.

 

11.5                         Severability

 

In the event that one or several of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any aspect in accordance with any laws or regulations, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected or compromised in any respect.  The Parties shall strive in good faith to replace such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with effective provisions that accomplish to the greatest extent permitted by law and the intentions of the Parties, and the economic effect of such effective provisions shall be as close as possible to the economic effect of those invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

 

9



 

11.6                         Successors

 

This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the interest of the respective successors of the Parties and the permitted assigns of such Parties.

 

11.7                         Survival

 

11.7.1               Any obligations that occur or that are due as a result of this Agreement upon the expiration or early termination of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or early termination thereof.

 

11.7.2               The provisions of Sections 5, 8, 10 and this Section 11.7 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

11.8                         Waivers

 

Any Party may waive the terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such a waiver must be provided in writing and shall require the signatures of the Parties.  No waiver by any Party in certain circumstances with respect to a breach by other Parties shall operate as a waiver by such a Party with respect to any similar breach in other circumstances.

 

10



 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused their authorized representatives to execute this Exclusive Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

 

Party A:

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party B:

Nelson Tan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Nelson Tan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party C:

On Demand English Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 




Exhibit 10.18

 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Alfonso Ang Po, a citizen of the Philippines, with Tax Identification No. ******, and a holder of 0.0008% of the entire registered capital in On Demand English Innovations Inc. (the “ Philippines Company ”) as of the date when this Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education Group (the “ CAYMAN CO ”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“ My Shareholding ”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The CAYMAN CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) appointing a representative to act as my proxy to attend and represent me at any and all shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company , and at any adjournment(s) thereof, for a period not exceeding five years from the date hereof; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, encumbrance or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing, on behalf of myself and as applicable, the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the CAYMAN CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the CAYMAN CO and the Philippines Company on February 1, 2016 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “ Transaction Documents ”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the CAYMAN CO.

 

The CAYMAN CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the CAYMAN CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the CAYMAN CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

The execution, effectivity, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Power of Attorney and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on 1 February 2016.

 

2



 

(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Alfonso Ang Po

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Alfonso Ang Po

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

On Demand English Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

3


 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Frank Lin, a citizen of the United States of America, with Tax Identification No. ******, and a holder of 0.0008% of the entire registered capital in On Demand English Innovations Inc. (the “ Philippines Company ”) as of the date when this Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education Group (the “ CAYMAN CO ”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“ My Shareholding ”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The CAYMAN CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) appointing a representative to act as my proxy to attend and represent me at any and all shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company , and at any adjournment(s) thereof, for a period not exceeding five years from the date hereof; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, encumbrance or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing, on behalf of myself and as applicable, the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the CAYMAN CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the CAYMAN CO and the Philippines Company on February 1, 2016 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “ Transaction Documents ”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the CAYMAN CO.

 

The CAYMAN CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the CAYMAN CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the CAYMAN CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

The execution, effectivity, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Power of Attorney and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on 1 February 2016.

 

2



 

(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Frank Lin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Frank Lin

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

On Demand English Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

3


 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Jimmy Y. Lai, a citizen of the United States of America, with Tax Identification No. ******, and a holder of 0.0008% of the entire registered capital in On Demand English Innovations Inc. (the “ Philippines Company ”) as of the date when this Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education Group (the “ CAYMAN CO ”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“ My Shareholding ”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The CAYMAN CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) appointing a representative to act as my proxy to attend and represent me at any and all shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company , and at any adjournment(s) thereof, for a period not exceeding five years from the date hereof; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, encumbrance or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing, on behalf of myself and as applicable, the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the CAYMAN CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the CAYMAN CO and the Philippines Company on February 1, 2016 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “ Transaction Documents ”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the CAYMAN CO.

 

The CAYMAN CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the CAYMAN CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the CAYMAN CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

The execution, effectivity, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Power of Attorney and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on 1 February 2016.

 

2



 

(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

On Demand English Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

3


 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Luzviminda Santos Castro, a citizen of the Philippines, with Tax Identification No. ******, and a holder of 0.0008% of the entire registered capital in On Demand English Innovations Inc. (the “ Philippines Company ”) as of the date when this Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education Group (the “ CAYMAN CO ”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“ My Shareholding ”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The CAYMAN CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) appointing a representative to act as my proxy to attend and represent me at any and all shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company , and at any adjournment(s) thereof, for a period not exceeding five years from the date hereof; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, encumbrance or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing, on behalf of myself and as applicable, the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the CAYMAN CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the CAYMAN CO and the Philippines Company on February 1, 2016 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “ Transaction Documents ”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the CAYMAN CO.

 

The CAYMAN CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the CAYMAN CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the CAYMAN CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

The execution, effectivity, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Power of Attorney and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on 1 February 2016.

 

2



 

(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Luzviminda Santos Castro

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Luzviminda Santos Castro

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

On Demand English Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

3


 

Power of Attorney

 

I, Nelson Tan, a citizen of the Philippines, with Tax Identification No. ******, and a holder of 0.0008% of the entire registered capital in On Demand English Innovations Inc. (the “ Philippines Company ”) as of the date when this Power of Attorney is executed, hereby irrevocably authorize China Online Education Group (the “ CAYMAN CO ”) to exercise the following rights relating to all equity interests held by me now and in the future in the Philippines Company (“ My Shareholding ”) during the term of this Power of Attorney:

 

The CAYMAN CO is hereby authorized to act on behalf of myself as my exclusive agent and attorney with respect to all matters concerning My Shareholding, including without limitation to: 1) appointing a representative to act as my proxy to attend and represent me at any and all shareholders’ meetings of the Philippines Company , and at any adjournment(s) thereof, for a period not exceeding five years from the date hereof; 2) exercising all the shareholder’s rights and shareholder’s voting rights I am entitled to under the laws of the Philippines and the Philippines Company’s Articles of Association, including but not limited to the sale, transfer, encumbrance or disposition of My Shareholding in part or in whole; and 3) designating and appointing, on behalf of myself and as applicable, the legal representative, directors, supervisors, chief executive officer and other senior management members of the Philippines Company.

 

Without limiting the generality of the powers granted hereunder, the CAYMAN CO shall have the power and authority to, on behalf of myself, execute all the documents I shall sign as stipulated in the Exclusive Option Agreement entered into by and among myself, the CAYMAN CO and the Philippines Company on February 1, 2016 (including any modification, amendment and restatement thereto, collectively the “ Transaction Documents ”), and perform the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

All the actions associated with My Shareholding conducted by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed as my own actions, and all the documents related to My Shareholding executed by the CAYMAN CO shall be deemed to be executed by me.  I hereby acknowledge and ratify those actions and/or documents by the CAYMAN CO.

 

The CAYMAN CO is entitled to re-authorize or assign its rights related to the aforesaid matters to any other person or entity at its own discretion and without giving prior notice to me or obtaining my consent. If required by the Philippine laws, the CAYMAN CO shall designate a Philippine citizen to exercise the aforementioned rights.

 

During the period that I am a shareholder of the Philippines Company, this Power of Attorney shall be irrevocable and continuously effective and valid from the date of execution of this Power of Attorney.

 

During the term of this Power of Attorney, I hereby waive all the rights associated with My Shareholding, which have been authorized to the CAYMAN CO through this Power of Attorney, and shall not exercise such rights by myself.

 

Strictly Confidential

 

1



 

The execution, effectivity, construction, performance, amendment and termination of this Power of Attorney and the resolution of disputes hereunder shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.

 

This Power of Attorney is written in English and executed on 1 February 2016.

 

2



 

(Signature page to Power of Attorney)

 

 

 

 

Nelson Tan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Nelson Tan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepted by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jack Jiajia Huang

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledged by:

 

 

 

 

 

On Demand English Innovations Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By :

/s/ Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Jimmy Y. Lai

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

Director

 

 

 

3




Exhibit 10.19

 

Technology Service Agreement

 

(Amended and Restated on December 28, 2015)

 

Party A:                                                                         Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

Legal Representative: Huang Jiajia

Address:                                                                          Suite 9154, Building No. 3, 3 Xijing Road, Badachu Hi-Tech Park, Shijingshan District, Beijing

 

Party B:                                                                         Guangzhou Huaduo Network Technology Company Limited

Legal Representative: Li Xueling

Address:                                                                          24/F, Building B-1, North District Wanda Commercial Plaza, Wanbo Business District, 79 Section 2 Wanbo Road, Nancun Zhen, Panyu District, Guangzhou

 

(Individually a “Party”, and collectively the “Parties”)

 

Whereas:

 

1.                                       Party A is the operator of www.51Talk.com website;

 

2.                                       The Parties agree Party B or its affiliate (collectively “YY”) to be the provider of audio/video services to Party A by supplying Party A with audio/video software development kit (including Web SDK, PC SDK and Mobile SDK, collectively “SDK Technology”), for Party A to conduct online English language education through the 51Talk website, as well as servers and bandwidth resources which are necessary for Party A to conduct online English language education.

 

3.                                       Party A agrees that, subject to the terms of this Agreement, all the user accounts registered with www.51Talk.com by users utilizing Party B’s SDK Technology may be connected to their user accounts registered with Party B’s audio products.

 

Therefore, the Parties have been cooperating since January 20, 2014, and entered into Technology Service Agreement (the “Original Agreement”) on June 19, 2014. Based on the performance of the Original Agreement, the Parties now wish to enter into this Agreement to amend some terms of the Original Agreement. The Parties through friendly consultation and based on the principle of equality and mutual benefit, agree on the amended terms and the Agreement is restated as follows:

 

I.                                         Services

 

1.1                      Technology Services: refer to Party B providing SDK, including Web SDK, PC SDK and Mobile SDK, to 51Talk website operated by Party A to support Party A’s teachers based in the Philippines, Europe, the U.S., China, etc. to deliver one-on-one or one-to-many audio-visual lessons to students across China; and support activities such as teacher training, etc.

 



 

1.2                      Party B shall provide the applicable version of SDK

 

1.2.1                      Flash version for Web SDK;

 

1.2.2                      Windows version for PC SDK;

 

1.2.3                      Android and iOS version for Mobile SDK.

 

1.3                      The SDK provided by Party B as the SDK provider shall have the following features on a “one-to-many” basis:

 

1.3.1                      one-on-one audio features;

 

1.3.2                      one-to-many audio features, many-to-many audio features;

 

1.3.3                      one-on-one video features, and supporting one-to-many video features on PC and mobile;

 

1.3.4                      one-on-one, one-to-many text chat features;

 

1.3.5                      original audio stream interface;

 

1.3.6                      supporting background processes on mobile;

 

1.3.7                      cross-platform communication between SDKs;

 

1.3.8                      Web SDK that supports video-viewing features, but does not support sending videos to other users;

 

1.3.9                      querying users’ online status (by user/lesson/providing batch query interface);

 

1.3.10               supporting administrators listening to audios by enabling “Appear Offline” status, and recording videos on the server; and

 

1.3.11               6 types of voice changer SDKs.

 

1.4                      Party B warrants that the following SDK technical index shall be achieved in respect of Party A’s teachers located in the Philippines and China mainland:

 

1.4.1                      Regarding one-on-one audio services, delay within one second, average packet loss rate within 2%, and interruption rate no higher than 2% (unless caused by the user’s network quality);

 

1.4.2                      Regarding one-to-many audio services, delay within two seconds, average packet loss rate within 2%, and interruption rate no higher than 2% (unless caused by the user’s network quality);

 

2



 

1.4.3                      Supports maximum and minimum bitrate control, audio and video non-synchronicity less than 300ms (unless caused by the user’s network)

 

1.4.4                      No occurrence of massive non-functioning situations; upon the occurrence of any non-functioning situation, Party B shall respond within the shortest time and ensure restoration within 30 minutes (unless caused by the user’s network).

 

1.5                      As for Party A’s teachers based in Europe, the U.S. and any other area, the Parties shall agree on the technical specifications of SDK separately based on the actual technical conditions.

 

II.                                    Rights and Liabilities of The Parties

 

2.1                      Rights and Liabilities of Party A

 

2.1.1                      to arrange relevant technical staff to collaborate with Party B in SDK adaptation, and follow the technical advices given by Party B’s technical staff.

 

2.1.2                      responsible for developing programs that match with the SDK provided by Party B.

 

2.1.3                      to provide technical support, e.g. account system, etc., to connect to Party B’s user accounts.

 

2.1.4                      Party A shall only utilize the SDK technology provided by Party B when conducting online English language education through 51Talk products.

 

2.1.5                      without Party B’s written consent, Party A shall not sublicense the SDK technology provided by Party B to any third party, or utilize it for any purpose other than as specified herein.

 

2.1.6                      without Party B’s written consent, Party A shall not modify the source code of the SDK technology after decompiling it, and shall inform Party B of any modifications when using the SDK technology promptly.

 

2.1.7                      Party A is entitled to ask Party B to rectify in a timely manner if Party B fails to provide services in accordance with the agreed service standard.

 

2.1.8                      After using up the free data, Party A shall make full payment of the service fee in a timely manner to Party B, if Party A needs to continue to use Party B’s service.

 

2.2                      Rights and Liabilities of Party B

 

2.2.1                      Party B undertakes to provide Party A with the services in accordance with this Agreement, and warrants the authenticity, reliability and continuity of the services

 

3



 

provided to Party A. Party B permits Party A to utilize any SDK, server and bandwidth resources provided by Party B, and such permission shall be royalty-free.

 

2.2.2                      Party B is responsible for providing SDK audio/video services for the following products operated by Party A: the 51Talk website, AirClass Client Side (PC and mobile), AirClass Teacher Side, DuoShuoYingYu Client Side, and other products that are currently used and developed by Party A (including Web SDK/ PC SDK/ Mobile SDK, of which Web SDK is for Flash). Where the other products developed by Party A needs custom development for the SDK, the Parties shall negotiate on the terms of cooperation separately. All server resources used for Party A’s products shall be consolidated.

 

2.2.3                      Party B undertakes to provide real-time resolutions to the technical problems arising from installing, testing and using the services on the 51Talk website. Party B is responsible for arranging technical specialists to test and adjust the interface for the 51Talk website, and help resolve problems arising in the course of communication.

 

2.2.4                      Party B’s server bandwidth resources currently located in Hong Kong shall provide long-distance education services from the Philippines to China to Party A. Party B undertakes that it will not provide such services to any other education or training organizations that compete directly with Party A (e.g. vipabc, ABC360, Jiesen365, etc., or English language education or training organizations with the same or similar model). Depending on Party A’s business development, if Party A needs Party B to provide further server/bandwidth resources to support Party A’s audio/video education and teacher training, Party B shall provide such services to fulfill the demand accordingly.

 

2.2.5                      Party B shall provide the access to obtaining online statement as required by Party A to understand the overall teaching network environment quality and make more advisable product decision.  Such access must include the following information enquiry functions:

 

2.2.5.1            the number of route of communications at a certain point of time;

 

2.2.5.2            the percentage and data of good, average and poor communication quality (overall average delay time and packet loss);

 

2.2.5.3            the area where poor communication quality is concentrated and corresponding operator;

 

2.2.5.4            use of designated network width;

 

2.2.5.5            percentage of log-on failure; and

 

2.2.5.6            enquiry of the period of time for the above data.

 

2.2.6                      Party B shall provide technical support for the integration, combined adjustment, and bug fix conducted by Party A.

 

4



 

2.2.7                      Party B shall provide a complete set of testing environment that meets the specifications (as provided in Section 1.4) prior to the connection, for Party A to perform the testing.

 

2.2.8                      Party B shall give a written notice to Party A seven (7) days before Party B’s system undergoes any massive upgrade which could affect Party A using the system.

 

2.2.9                      Party B shall propose solutions within 30 minutes when Party B fails to meet the technical specifications provided in Section 1.4.1 — Section 1.4.4. Party B shall provide technical support during regular working hours.

 

III.                               Services Mode and Service Fees

 

3.1                      Service Mode: Party B provides Party A with PC/web/mobile SDK, server bandwidth resources for Party A to use the SDK, technical support for combined adjustment, and timely solutions to technical problems.

 

1)                                      Service fees: Party B will provide free Hong Kong data flow to Party A within a certain price.  Party A’s use of Hong Kong data flow on annual basis (which means a period of twelve calendar months as of January 20, 2014) shall be no more than RMB6.5 million (pursuant to Party B’s network width purchase agreement, the maximum aggregate data flow for 2014-2015 period is temporarily set as 1.2GB for both inbound and outbound flows, and Party B shall ensure the number of Party A’s concurrent online users in other countries within such data flow range shall reach 12,000), and any excessive amount shall be paid to Party B based on the cost of Party B to purchase corresponding network width.  As to the number of domestic video concurrently online users, if the number is less than 50,000, Party B shall provide relevant services free-of-charge; if the number exceeds 50,000, the Parties shall negotiate the service fee.

 

2)                                      Party B will provide Party A with access to flow enquiry at any time.  The data flow used without charge shall be accounted based on the enquiry results mutually agreed by the Parties.  Party A shall be notified when the flow charge reaches RMB6.5 million.

 

3)                                      Any excessive data flow price on annual basis shall be accounted by Party B based on mutually agreed data and calculated according to the documented purchase price for network width from third party.  Party B shall provide the charge calculation details and supporting documents (such as Party B’s documented network width purchase price) to Party A within the last month of the applicable year.  If Party A raises no objection within five business days upon receipt of such details, it shall pay the price to Party B within ten business days upon its receipt of such details.

 

4)                                      The services provided in this Agreement shall be part of the services Party B shall provide to Party A as stipulated in the financing agreement (i.e. SHARE SUBSCRIPTION AND PURCHASE AGREEMENT concerning Shares in China Online Education Group). The Parties confirm that entering into this Agreement is in compliance with the provisions of the financing agreement.

 

5



 

5)                                      If Party A raises objections after receiving summary fee invoices, the Parties shall check data usage within 5 working days after the objections are raised, to confirm the final data usage and calculate service fees accordingly. If the Parties fail to reach an agreement on the data usage, the data recorded in the backend provided by Party B shall apply.

 

3.2                      In the course of services, Party A shall bear any labor costs incurred by Party B, including but not limited to: travel expenses incurred by Party B’s staff in providing the services.

 

3.3                      Party B shall submit expense report to Party B with respect to the expenses set out in Section 3.2 within 10 working days of incurring the expenses. If Party A does not raise any written objection within 5 working days of receiving the report, Party A shall pay the expenses to Party B within 10 working days of receiving the expense report.

 

3.4                      Receiving account information

 

Party B’s receiving bank account:

Account Name:                                                           Guangzhou Huaduo Network Technology Company Limited

Bank Name:                                                                           China Merchants Bank Guangzhou Branch High-Tech Branch

Account Number:                                                201980896110001

 

In the event of change of bank account, Party B shall notify Party A of such change in advance.

 

IV.                                Test on Completion And Contact Details

 

4.1                      In accordance with the demands of Party A’s internal management and business, Party A is entitled to perform completion test on the SDK provided by Party B. Party A may perform the completion test on the SDK pursuant to the agreed standard and method. For the specific standard and method, please refer to Annex I to Technology Service Agreement , which has the same legal effect with this Agreement.

 

4.2                      If the services fail to meet Party A’s standard, Party B shall make adjustment and improvement in accordance with the request and standard proposed by Party A.

 

4.3                      The Parties confirm that during the validity term of this Agreement, the project contact information of Party A is set out as follows:

 

Contact Name

 

Contact Details

 

E-mail

Qin Renzhi

 

186/1380/1363

 

qinrz@51talk.com

 

4.4                      Party B has appointed Meng Fanpeng, Yang Xuebin as the contact persons. Detailed information is set out as follows:

 

Contact Name

 

Contact Details

 

E-mail

Meng Fanpeng

 

135-7080-5577

 

mengfanpeng@yy.com

 

6



 

Yang Xuebin

 

186-6559-8175

 

yangxuebin@yy.com

 

4.5                      The project contact shall take the responsibilities set out below:

 

4.5.1                      responsible for the work coordination in the course of the development and installation of SDK;

 

4.5.2                      responsible for providing technical support in the course of providing services;

 

4.5.3                      responsible for SDK maintenance and solve technical issues.

 

4.6                      In the event of change of either Party’s project contact, written notice shall be given to the counter party no later than 14 days prior to the change. In the event that a Party fails to notify the other Party promptly and such failure results in prejudice to the performance of this Agreement or losses to the other Party, the defaulting Party shall be liable for any damages and breach of contract.

 

V.                                     Confidentiality

 

5.1                      During the period of the Agreement, all technical secrets and information such as technical solutions, product designs, technical documentation, etc.; trade secrets such as customer lists; and IP-related secrets disclosed to the Parties (collectively the “Confidential Information”) of the Parties or a third party, shall be fully kept confidential at all times. Either Party shall not use, disclose, or reveal the Confidential Information to any third party without the other Party’s written consent. The Party who breaches this Agreement shall be fully liable for any losses caused by the breach.

 

5.2                      In the course of providing the services, Party B shall not reveal or use any trade or technical secrets of a third party disclosed to Party B. Party B shall be liable for any losses caused by Party B using or disclosing any third party’s trade or technical secrets which causes Party A/ the 51Talk website operated by Party A/ users of the 51Talk website to infringe any third party rights.

 

5.3                      Upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, Party B shall return all and any documents, secrets, information, etc., to Party A, and shall not keep any backups.

 

5.4                      The obligation stipulated in Section 5.1 shall not apply to:

 

5.4.1                      the Confidential Information that has been published or made available to the public otherwise, save for the disclosures made in a manner prohibited in law, or;

 

5.4.2                      pursuant to this agreement, the Confidential Information that has been known to the Parties on a non-confidentiality basis before the disclosure, or;

 

5.4.3                      the Confidential Information that is known to one of the Parties from sources other than the other Party on a non-confidentiality basis, or;

 

7



 

5.4.4                      the Confidential Information disclosed pursuant to any order issued by government authorities.

 

5.5                      Despite the fact that Party A’s user accounts registered with the 51Talk website may be connected to their user accounts registered with Party B’s audio products, save for the information of Party A that is necessary for Party B to provide technical services (e.g. username, IP address of Party A’s users, etc.), without Party A’s prior written consent, Party B is not entitled to collect or ask Party A to provide any Party A’s user information. Pursuant to Section 5.1, Party B has confidentiality obligation as to Party A’s user information it obtains, and shall not collect or use Party A’s user information for any purpose other than performing this Agreement, subject to the relevant laws and regulations. The aforesaid limitation hereunder does not apply to Party B, where Party A’s user agrees to directly provide his/her information to Party B. Each Party shall be legally responsible for its own default in collecting Party A’s user information, and shall be obligated to compensate all the losses caused thereby to the other Party.

 

VI.                                Ownership

 

Party B shall be the sole and exclusive owner of the SDK technology stipulated in this Agreement and any improvement made therein by Party B. Party A is not entitled to transfer or sublicense such technology and improvements to any third party other than Party A’s subsidiaries.

 

VII.                           Term of the Agreement

 

The term of this Agreement is five (5) years, staring from June 19, 2014 and until June 18, 2019. The Agreement will automatically renew at the end of each term for a further term of five years unless otherwise noticed by either Party at least one month prior to the end of the relevant term. Both Parties remain bound under the terms hereto upon the renewal of the Agreement.

 

VIII.                      Amendment and Termination of the Agreement

 

8.1                      Any amendment to this agreement shall be agreed by the Parties, and shall come into force only after a written instrument is signed by the Parties. The amendment duly executed by both Parties shall be part of this Agreement and shall have the same legal effect as this Agreement. In the event of change in Party A’s business (including but not limited to expansion of business, etc.), if Party A needs Party B to provide further services, Party A may give a written request for an amendment to this Agreement to Party B, and Party B shall respond to such request within 30 days. If Party B fails to respond within 30 days, Party B shall be deem to have given its consent to Party A’s request.

 

8.2                      This Agreement may be terminated early as mutually agreed by the Parties.

 

IX.                               Force Majeure

 

9.1                      Force Majeure, means any impersonal events or occurrences that could not be anticipated, beyond Parties’ reasonable control and cannot be prevented with reasonable care, which includes but is not limited to, severe natural disasters (e.g. typhoon, flood, lightning, fire, explosion, etc.), war (whether be declared or not), government sanction, or any other risks or similar events that cannot be solved by the currently available technologies.

 

8



 

9.2                      If an event of Force Majeure occurs to a Party, the Party shall notify the other Party of such Force Majeure as soon as possible, and shall submit to the other Party a written document that effectively proves the occurrence of the Force Majeure. The affected Party shall actively take appropriate means to mitigate losses the other Party suffered from failure or delay of performance to the extent possible. After the effects of Force Majeure are removed, the affected Party shall notify the other Party immediately.

 

9.3                      In the event that the affected Party is delayed in or prevented from performing its obligations under this Agreement by Force Majeure, only within the scope of such delay or prevention, the affected Party will not be responsible for any damage by reason of such a failure or delay of performance, except as otherwise provided by law. If the Force Majeure occurs after a Party’s delay of performance, the affected Party shall not be exempted from the default.

 

X.                                    Breach Liability

 

10.1               If the compliance ratio of the technical services provided by Party B that meet the agreed standard is lower than 99.9% in one service cycle for reasons attributable to Party B (e.g. servers, network bandwidth or quality of the SDK provided by Party B; reasons attributable to network operators shall not be attributable to Party B), Party B shall not charge Party A for the data incurred in the course of the non-compliance time in such service cycle, and shall compensate Party A for its direct losses caused thereby.

 

The “service cycle” referred to in this Section means a calendar month; a service period less than one service cycle shall be calculated as one service cycle; “service compliance ratio” means the ratio of the compliance time to the total service time in one service cycle; “compliance time” and “non-compliance time” shall be in five minute increments. The period where users are unable to enter the channel, or make audio call or watch video in the channel due to the fact that the technical services provided by Party B fail to meet the technical specifications provided in Section 1.4 shall be deemed “non-compliance time”; with Party B’s prior notification to Party A, the non-compliance occurred during the regular technical upgrade, maintenance, etc., shall not be included in the “non-compliance time”.

 

10.2               If Party A fails to pay service fees to Party B by the due date as agreed by the Parties which constitutes a breach of contract, Party A shall pay to Party B a penalty of 0.3% of overdue amount per overdue day. If the fees are 30 days overdue, Party B is entitled to terminate this Agreement early. If Party B fails to provide services to Party A as stipulated in this Agreement which constitutes a breach of contract, Party A is entitled to terminate this Agreement early, and ask for Party B to compensate pursuant to this Agreement.

 

10.3               Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, failure of either Party to comply with any of its obligations, undertaking, commitment or any other terms hereunder shall constitute a default. The defaulting Party shall make compensation to the non-defaulting party for its direct losses caused by the default.

 

9



 

XI.                               Disputes Resolution

 

The Parties shall strive to settle any dispute arising from the performance in connection with this Agreement through friendly consultation. In case no settlement can be reached through consultation, each Party can submit such matter to the people’s court of competent jurisdiction located at the defendant’s place of domicile.

 

XII.                          Miscellaneous

 

12.1               This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement among the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior communication, declaration, memorandum of understanding, etc., both written and oral, among the Parties, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof. The amendment to the Original Amendment hereof shall be effective upon execution of this Agreement by the Parties hereto. All provisions of the Original Agreement are hereby superseded in their entirety and restated herein. The Parties shall fulfill their obligations in pursuance of this Agreement.

 

12.2               This Agreement is executed in two counterparts, one for each Party. Both counterparts are equally valid.

 

( Remainder of page intentionally left blank; signature page follows )

 

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Party A:                                                                            Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.

(Company Seal:                                /s/ Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd.)

Authorized Representative:

December 28, 2015

 

Party B:                                                                            Guangzhou Huaduo Network Technology Company Limited

(Company Seal:                                /s/ Guangzhou Huaduo Network Technology Company Limited)

Authorized Representative:

December 28, 2015

 

11



 

Annex I

 

Service

 

Contact

 

Testing Standard

 

Remarks

Providing PC/mobile

one-on-one basic SDK and demo

 

Meng Fanpeng

 

Technology Service Agreement 1.3.1

Technology Service Agreement 1.3.3 (in part)

Technology Service Agreement 1.3.4 (in part)

 

To be tested in accordance with Technology Service Agreement 1.4

Providing PC/mobile

one-to-many basic SDK and demo

 

Meng Fanpeng

 

Technology Service Agreement 1.3.2

Technology Service Agreement 1.3.3 (in part)

Technology Service Agreement 1.3.4 (in part)

 

To be tested in accordance with Technology Service Agreement 1.4

Providing web basic SDK and demo

 

Meng Fanpeng

 

Technology Service Agreement 1.3.1 — 1.3.4

Technology Service Agreement 1.3.8

 

To be tested in accordance with Technology Service Agreement 1.4

Obtaining statistics reports online

 

Meng Fanpeng

 

Technology Service Agreement 2.2.5

 

 

Recording, monitoring, and querying users’ online status

 

Meng Fanpeng

 

Technology Service Agreement 1.3.5

Technology Service Agreement 1.3.9

Technology Service Agreement 1.3.10

 

 

Other SDK

 

Meng Fanpeng

 

Technology Service Agreement 1.3.11

 

 

 

12




Exhibit 21.1

 

Principal Subsidiaries and Variable Interest Entity of China Online Education Group

 

Subsidiaries:

 

China Online Education (HK) Limited, a Hong Kong company

 

51Talk English International Limited, a Hong Kong company

 

Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd., a PRC company

 

China Online Innovations Inc., a Philippine company

 

On Demand English Innovations Inc., a Philippine company

 

Variable Interest Entity:

 

Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd., a PRC company

 




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 China Online Education Group of our report dated March 7, 2016 relating to the financial statements, which appears in such Registration Statement.  We also consent to the reference to us under the heading “Experts” in such Registration Statement.

 

 

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP

 

Beijing, the People’s Republic of China

May 12, 2016

 




Exhibit 23.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frost & Sullivan (Beijing) Inc., Shanghai Branch Co.

 

Room 1014-1018, Tower B, No.500 Yunjin Road,

 

Xuhui District,

 

Shanghai, 200232

 

 

P.R.China

 

 

Tel: +86 21 5407 5780/82/83

 

 

Fax: +86 21 3209 8500

 

 

www.frost.com

 

December 21, 2015

 

China Online Education Group
6
th  Floor Deshi Building North,
Shangdi Street, Haidian District,
Beijing 100085,

People’s Republic of China

 

Re: China Online Education Group

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

We understand that China Online Education Group (the “Company”) plans to file a registration statement on Form F-1 (the “Registration Statement”) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) 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 and amendments thereto (collectively, the “Reports”), and any subsequent amendments to the Reports, as well as the citation of our research reports and amendments thereto, in the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto, in any other future filings with the SEC by the Company, including, without limitation, filings on Form 20-F or Form 6-K or other SEC filings (collectively, the “SEC Filings”), on the websites of the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates, in institutional and retail road shows and other activities in connection with the Proposed IPO, and 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 any amendments thereto and as an exhibit to any other SEC Filings.

 

Mountain View New Yok San Antonio Toronto London Oxford Paris Frankfurt Milan Moscow Warszawa Sophia Antipolis

Beijing Shanghai Shenzhen HongKong Tokyo Seoul Singapore Kuala Lumpur Bangkok Jakarta Sydney Auckland Mumbai Delhi

Chennai Bengaluru Kolkata Colombo Dhaka Dubai Istanbul Tel Aviv Cape Town Buenos Aires Bogotá Mexico City São Paulo

 



 

Yours faithfully,

 

For and on behalf of

 

Frost & Sullivan (Beijing) Inc., Shanghai Branch Co.

 

 

 

/s/ Charlotte Wang

 

Name:

Charlotte Wang

 

Title:

Director

 

 

2




Exhibit 99.2

 

May 12, 2016

 

To:                             China Online Education Group

South No.1, Floor 6, Deshi Building,

No. 9 Shangdi East Street, Haidian District

Beijing 100085

People’s Republic of China

 

Dear Sirs or Madams:

 

We are qualified lawyers of the People’s Republic of China (the “ PRC ” or “ China ”, and for the purpose of this opinion only, the PRC shall not include the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macau Special Administrative Region and Taiwan) and as such are qualified to issue this opinion on the laws and regulations of the PRC effective as of the date hereof.

 

We act as the PRC counsel to China Online Education Group (the “ Company ”), a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, in connection with (i) the proposed initial public offering (the “ Offering ”) of American depositary shares (the “ ADSs ”), each ADS representing certain number of  [ordinary shares] of the Company (the “ Ordinary Shares ”), by the Company as set forth in the Company’s registration statement on Form F-1, including all amendments or supplements thereto (the “ Registration Statement ”), filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (as amended) in relation to the Offering, and (ii) the Company’s proposed listing of the ADSs on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq Global Market.

 

A.                 Documents and Assumptions

 

In rendering this opinion, we have examined originals or copies of the due diligence documents provided to us by the Company and the PRC Companies and such other documents, corporate records and certificates issued by the governmental authorities in the PRC (collectively the “ Documents ”).

 

In rendering this opinion, we have assumed without independent investigation that (the “ Assumptions ”):

 

(i)                                      All signatures, seals and chops are genuine, each signature on behalf of a party thereto is that of a person duly authorized by such party to execute the same, all

 



 

Documents submitted to us as originals are authentic, and all Documents submitted to us as certified or photostatic copies conform to the originals;

 

(ii)                                   Each of the parties to the Documents, other than the PRC Companies, (i) if a legal person or other entity, is duly organized and is validly existing in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization and/or incorporation; or (ii) if an individual, has full capacity for civil conduct; each of them, other than the PRC Companies, has full power and authority to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under the Documents to which it is a party in accordance with the laws of its jurisdiction of organization or incorporation or the laws that it/she/he is subject to;

 

(iii)                                The Documents that were presented to us remain in full force and effect on the date of this opinion and have not been revoked, amended or supplemented, and no amendments, revisions, supplements, modifications or other changes have been made, and no revocation or termination has occurred, with respect to any of the Documents after they were submitted to us for the purposes of this legal opinion;

 

(iv)                               The laws of jurisdictions other than the PRC which may be applicable to the execution, delivery, performance or enforcement of the Documents are complied with; and

 

(v)                                  All requested Documents have been provided to us and all factual statements made to us by the Company and the PRC Companies in connection with this legal opinion are true, correct and complete.

 

B.                 Definitions

 

In addition to the terms defined in the context of this opinion, the following capitalized terms used in this opinion shall have the meanings ascribed to them as follows.

 

Dasheng Online

means Beijing Dasheng Online Technology Co., Ltd. ( 北京大生在线科技有限公司 ), a company incorporated under the PRC Laws.

 

 

Dasheng Zhixing

means Beijing Dasheng Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd. ( 北京大生知行科技有限公司 ), a company incorporated under the PRC Laws.

 

 

M&A Rules

means the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of

 



 

 

Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors promulgated by six PRC regulatory agencies, including 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, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, which became effective on September 8, 2006 and was amended on June 22, 2009 by the Ministry of Commerce.

 

 

Governmental Agency

means any national, provincial or local governmental, regulatory or administrative authority, agency or commission in the PRC, or any court, tribunal or any other judicial or arbitral body in the PRC, or anybody exercising, or entitled to exercise, any administrative, judicial, legislative, police, regulatory, or taxing authority or power of similar nature in the PRC;

 

 

Governmental Authorization

means any license, approval, consent, waiver, order, sanction, certificate, authorization, filing, declaration, disclosure, registration, exemption, permission, endorsement, annual inspection, clearance, qualification, permit or license by, from or with any Governmental Agency pursuant to any PRC Laws;

 

 

PRC Companies

means, collectively, Dasheng Zhixing and Dasheng Online;

 

 

PRC Laws

 

means all applicable national, provincial and local laws, regulations, rules, notices, orders, decrees and supreme court’s judicial interpretations of the PRC currently in effect and publicly available on the date of this opinion.

 

C.                 Opinions

 

Based on our review of the Documents and subject to the Assumptions and the Qualifications, we are of the opinion that:

 

(i)                                                          Corporate Structure . Based on our understanding of the current PRC Laws, (a) the ownership structure of Dasheng Zhixing and Dasheng Online, both

 



 

currently and immediately after giving effect to this Offering, will not result in any violation of PRC laws or regulations currently in effect; and (b) the contractual arrangements among Dasheng Online, Dasheng Zhixing and its shareholders governed by PRC law, both currently and immediately after giving effect to this Offering, are valid, binding and enforceable, and will not result in any violation of PRC laws or regulations currently in effect. However, there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current PRC Laws, and there can be no assurance that the PRC government will ultimately take a view that is consistent with our opinion stated above.

 

(ii)                                                       M&A Rule .  Based on our understanding of the explicit provisions of the PRC Laws as of the date hereof, given that (a) the China Securities Regulatory Commission currently has not issued any definitive rule or interpretation concerning whether the Offerings are subject to the M&A Rules; (b) the Company established the Dasheng Online as a foreign-invested enterprise 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 Rule, and (c) no provision in the M&A Rules classifies the contractual arrangements among Dasheng Online, Dasheng Zhixing and its shareholders as a type of acquisition transaction falling under the M&A Rule, we are of the opinion that, the issue and sale of the Ordinary Shares and listing and trading of the ADSs on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq Global Market, does not require any Governmental Authorization. However, there are substantial uncertainties as to how the M&A Rules will be interpreted or implemented in the context of an overseas offering and our opinions stated above are subject to any new PRC Laws or detailed implementations and interpretations in any form relating to the M&A Rules, and there can be no assurance that the PRC government will ultimately take a view that is consistent with our opinion stated above.

 

(iii)                                                    Enforceability of Civil Procedures . There is uncertainty as to whether the courts of China would (a) recognize or enforce judgments of United States courts obtained against the Company or directors or officers of the Company predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States; or (b) entertain original actions brought in each respective jurisdiction against the Company or directors or officers of the Company. 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 a company or its 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.

 

(iv)                                                   Taxation . The statements made in the Registration Statement under the caption “Taxation—People’s Republic of China Taxation,” with respect to the PRC tax laws and regulations, constitute true and accurate descriptions of the matters described therein in all material aspects.

 

(v)                                                      PRC Laws . All statements set forth in the Prospectus under the captions  “Prospectus Summary”, “Risk Factors”, “Use of Proceeds”, “Dividend Policy”, “Enforceability of Civil Liabilities”, “Corporate History and Structure”, “Business”, “Regulation”, “Related Party Transactions”, and “Taxation”, in each case insofar as such statements describe or summarize PRC legal or regulatory matters, are true and accurate in all material aspects, and correctly set forth therein, and nothing has been omitted from such statements which would make the same misleading in any material respect.

 

Our opinion expressed above is subject to the following qualifications (the “ Qualifications ”):

 

i.                                           Our opinion is limited to the PRC Laws of general application on the date hereof.  We have made no investigation of, and do not express or imply any views on, the laws of any jurisdiction other than the PRC.

 

ii.                                        The PRC Laws referred to herein are laws and regulations publicly available and currently in force on the date hereof and there is no guarantee that any of such laws and regulations, or the interpretation or enforcement thereof, will not be changed, amended or revoked in the future with or without retrospective effect.

 

iii.                                     Our opinion is subject to the effects of (i) certain legal or statutory principles affecting the enforceability of contractual rights generally under the concepts of public interest, social ethics, national security, good faith, fair dealing, and applicable statutes of limitation; (ii) any circumstance in connection with formulation, execution or performance of any legal documents that would be deemed materially mistaken, clearly unconscionable, fraudulent, coercionary or concealing illegal intentions with a lawful form; (iii) judicial discretion with respect to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief, remedies or

 



 

defenses, or calculation of damages; and (iv) the discretion of any competent PRC legislative, administrative or judicial bodies in exercising their authority in the PRC.

 

iv.                                    This opinion is issued based on our understanding of the current PRC Laws.  For matters not explicitly provided under the current PRC Laws, the interpretation, implementation and application of the specific requirements under the PRC Laws are subject to the final discretion of competent PRC legislative, administrative and judicial authorities, and there can be no assurance that the Government Agencies will ultimately take a view that is not contrary to our opinion stated above.

 

v.                                       We may rely, as to matters of fact (but not as to legal conclusions), to the extent we deem proper, on certificates and confirmations of responsible officers of the PRC Companies and PRC government officials.

 

vi.                                    This opinion is intended to be used in the context which is specifically referred to herein.

 

vii.                                 As used in this opinion, the expression “to our best knowledge after due inquiry” or similar language with reference to matters of fact refers to the current actual knowledge of the attorneys of this firm who have worked on matters for the Company and the PRC Companies in connection with the Offering and the transactions contemplated thereunder.  We have not undertaken any independent investigation to ascertain the existence or absence of any fact, and no inference as to our knowledge of the existence or absence of any fact should be drawn from our representation of the Company and the PRC Companies or the rendering of this opinion.

 

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 name in such Registration Statement.

 

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

 

/s/ Han Kun Law Offices

 

HAN KUN LAW OFFICES

 

 


 



Exhibit 99.4

 

CHINA ONLINE EDUCATION GROUP
6 th  Floor Deshi Building North,
Shangdi Street, Haidian District,
Beijing 100085, People’s Republic of China

 

January 21, 2016

 

Confidential

 

Office of the Chief Accountant

Division of Corporation Finance

Securities and Exchange Commission

100 F Street, N.E.

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

Re: China Online Education Group — Waiver Request and Representations

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

The undersigned, China Online Education Group, a foreign private issuer organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “ Company ”), is submitting this letter in connection with the Company’s expected confidential submission of its revised draft registration statement on Form F-1 (the “ Draft Registration Statement ”) on or about January 29, 2016, relating to a proposed initial public offering in the United States of the Company’s American depositary shares (“ ADSs ”) representing ordinary shares via EDGAR to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “ Commission ”) for confidential review pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act.

 

The Company will include in the Draft Registration Statement its audited consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2013 and 2014 and for each of the two years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, and unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2015 and for each of the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2014 and 2015.

 

The Company respectfully requests that the Commission waive the requirement of Item 8.A.4 of Form 20-F, which states that in the case of a company’s initial public offering (“IPO”), the Registration Statement on Form F-1 must contain audited financial statements of a date not older than 12 months from the date of the offering unless a waiver is obtained. See also Division of Corporation Finance, Financial Reporting Manual , Section 6220.3.

 

The Company is submitting this waiver request pursuant to Instruction 2 to Item 8.A.4 of Form 20-F, which provides that the Commission will waive the 12-month age of financial statements requirement “in cases where the company is able to represent adequately to us that it is not required to comply with this requirement in any other jurisdiction outside the United States and that complying with this requirement is impracticable or involves undue hardship.” See also the 2004 release entitled International Reporting and Disclosure Issues in the Division of Corporation Finance (available on the Commission’s website at

 



 

http://www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/internatl/cfirdissues1104.htm) by the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “ Staff ”) at Section III.B.c, in which the Staff note that:

 

“the instruction indicates that the Staff will waive the 12-month requirement where it is not applicable in the registrant’s other filing jurisdictions and is impracticable or involves undue hardship. As a result, we expect that the vast majority of IPOs will be subject only to the 15-month rule. The only times that we anticipate audited financial statements will be filed under the 12-month rule are when the registrant must comply with the rule in another jurisdiction, or when those audited financial statements are otherwise readily available.” (emphasis added)

 

In connection with this waiver request, the Company represents to the Commission that:

 

1.                                       The Company is not currently a public reporting company in any jurisdiction.

 

2.                                       The Company is not required by any jurisdiction outside the United States to prepare, and has not prepared, consolidated financial statements audited under any generally accepted auditing standards for any period apart from the audited financial statements to be included in the Draft Registration Statement.

 

3.                                       Compliance with Item 8.A.4 of Form 20-F by the end of January 2016, less than one month after the end of the Company’s latest fiscal year, is impracticable and involves undue hardship for the Company.

 

4.                                       The Company does not anticipate that its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015 will be available until March 2016.

 

5.                                       In no event will the Company seek effectiveness of its Registration Statement on Form F-1 if its audited financial statements are older than 15 months at the time of the offering.

 

The Company will file this letter as an exhibit to the Registration Statement on Form F-1 pursuant to Instruction 2 to Item 8.A.4 of Form 20-F.

 



 

 

Very truly yours,

 

 

 

 

 

China Online Education Group

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Jack Jiajia Huang

 

By:   Jack Jiajia Huang

 

Title: Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive Officer

 

[ Signature Page to Waiver Request and Representations ]

 




Exhibit 99.5

 

May 11, 2016

 

China Online Education Group

6 th  Floor Deshi Building North,

Shangdi Street, Haidian District

Beijing 100085

People’s Republic of China

Tel: +86 10 5692-8909

 

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 China Online Education Group (the “Company”), effective immediately upon the effectiveness of the Company’s registration statement on Form F-1 initially filed by the Company on May 12, 2016 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

/s/ Conor Chia-hung Yang

 

Name: Conor Chia-hung Yang

 

 




Exhibit 99.6

 

May 11, 2016

 

China Online Education Group

6 th  Floor Deshi Building North,

Shangdi Street, Haidian District

Beijing 100085

People’s Republic of China

Tel: +86 10 5692-8909

 

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 China Online Education Group (the “Company”), effective immediately upon the effectiveness of the Company’s registration statement on Form F-1 initially filed by the Company on May 12, 2016 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

/s/ Xiaoguang Wu

 

Name: Xiaoguang Wu