EX-99.2
Published on November 7, 2018
ATA INC.
PROXY STATEMENT
General
Our board of directors is soliciting proxies for the annual general meeting of shareholders to be held on December 17, 2018 at 2 p.m., local time, or at any adjournment or postponement thereof. The annual general meeting will be held at Da Vinci 2801, The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, Estrada da Baia de N. Senhora da Esperanca, s/n, Taipa, Macau.
Revocability of Proxies
Any proxy given pursuant to this solicitation may be revoked by the person giving it at any time before its use by delivering a written notice of revocation or a duly executed proxy bearing a later date or, if you hold common shares, by attending the meeting and voting in person. A written notice of revocation must be delivered to the attention of ATA Inc. (the Company), if you hold our common shares, or to Citibank N.A. if you hold American Depositary Shares (ADSs) representing our common shares.
Record Date, Share Ownership, and Quorum
Shareholders of record at the close of business on November 5, 2018 are entitled to vote at the annual general meeting. Our common shares underlying ADSs are included for purposes of this determination. As of October 31, 2018, 45,796,886 of our common shares, par value US$0.01 per share, were issued and outstanding, approximately 21,124,326 of which were represented by ADSs (with each ADS representing two common shares). Two (2) shareholders entitled to vote and present in person, or (in the case of a common shareholder being a corporation) by its duly authorized representative, or by proxy that represent not less than one-third in nominal value of our total issued voting shares shall form a quorum for all purposes.
Voting and Solicitation
Holders of common shares outstanding on the record date are entitled to one vote for each common share held. At the annual general meeting every common shareholder present in person, or (in the case of a common shareholder being a corporation) by its duly authorized representative, or by proxy, may vote for the fully paid common shares held by such common shareholder. A resolution put to the vote of a meeting shall be decided on a poll. The result of the poll shall be deemed to be the resolution of the meeting.
The Company will pay the expenses of the preparation of proxy materials and the solicitation of proxies for the annual general meeting.
Voting by Holders of Common Shares
When proxies are properly dated, executed and returned by holders of common shares, the common shares they represent will be voted at the annual general meeting in accordance with the instructions of the shareholder. If no specific instructions are given in a proxy that is properly dated, executed and returned by a holder of common shares, the common shares will be voted FOR each proposal and in the proxy holders discretion as to other matters that may properly come before the annual general meeting. Abstentions by holders of common shares are included in the determination of the number of common shares present and voting but are not counted as votes for or against a proposal. Broker non-votes will not be counted towards a quorum or for any purpose in determining whether the proposal is approved.
Voting by Holders of American Depositary Shares
Citibank, N.A., as depositary of the ADSs, has advised us that it intends to mail to all owners of ADSs this proxy statement, the accompanying notice of annual general meeting and an ADR Voting Instruction Card. Upon the written request of an owner of record of ADSs, Citibank, N.A. will endeavor, insofar as practicable, to vote or cause to be voted the amount of common shares represented by such ADSs in
accordance with the instructions set forth in such request. Citibank, N.A. has advised us that it will not vote or attempt to exercise the right to vote other than in accordance with those instructions. As the holder of record for all the common shares represented by the ADSs, only Citibank, N.A. may vote those common shares at the annual general meeting.
Citibank, N.A. and its agents have advised us that they are not responsible if they fail to carry out your voting instructions or for the manner in which they carry out your voting instructions. This means that if the common shares underlying your ADSs are not able to be voted at the annual general meeting, there may be nothing you can do.
If (i) the enclosed Voting Instruction card is signed but is missing voting instructions, or (ii) the enclosed Voting Instruction card is improperly completed, Citibank, N.A. will deem such holder of ADSs to have instructed the Depositary to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by the Company.
PROPOSAL 1
RE-ELECTION OF CLASS A DIRECTOR
According to Article 87 of our Articles of Association, our board of directors is divided into three classes, namely class A directors, class B directors, and class C directors. At the upcoming general meeting, the class A director shall retire from office and be eligible for re-election. As a result, Zhilei Tong, our class A director, is subject to retirement and re-election at this meeting. We now hereby nominate Zhilei Tong for re-election as a class A director at the 2018 annual general meeting. Zhilei Tong will hold office for a three-year term and until his successor is elected and is duly qualified, or until his disqualification in accordance with our Articles of Association.
Common shares represented by executed proxies will be voted, if authority to do so is not withheld, for the election of Zhilei Tong. The board has no reason to believe that Zhilei Tong will be unable or unwilling to serve as a director if elected. In the event that Zhilei Tong should be unavailable for election as a result of an unexpected occurrence, such common shares will be voted for the election of such substitute nominee as management may propose.
The following table sets forth certain information of Zhilei Tong, including age as of December 17, 2018, the principal position currently held and biography:
Name |
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Age |
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Position |
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Zhilei Tong |
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43 |
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Director |
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Zhilei Tong is a director of our board. Mr. Tong founded Chinese All Digital Publishing Group Co., Ltd. in 2000 and is currently the chairman and CEO of ChineseAll Digital Publishing Group Co., Ltd. He is also the executive director of Pingxiang Ruiwen Enterprise Management Consulting Co., Ltd., the executive director and CEO of Beijing ChineseAll Education Technology Development Co., Limited, the executive director of Shanghai ChineseAll Culture Development Co., Ltd., and the executive director of Hangzhou ChineseAll Information Technology Co., Ltd., the executive director of ChineseAll (Tianjin) Culture Development Co., Ltd., the executive director of ChineseAll Group Limited, the director of Beijing Yajieshanghui Consulting Co., Ltd., the representative of the Beijing Municipal Peoples Congress, a representative of the 16th Peoples Congress of Beijing Dongcheng District, a member of the Secretary General in the All-China Youth Federation and secretary general in education subsector, the vice-chairman in Youth Federation of Dongcheng District of Beijing, the vice president of the Copyright Society of China, the vice-chairman of China Redactological Society. Mr. Tong received his bachelors degree from Tsinghua University and his IMBA degree from MIT and Tsinghua University.
Zhilei Tong will be elected as a class A director by an affirmative vote of a simple majority of the votes of the holders of common shares present in person or represented by proxy and voting at the annual general meeting.
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR PROPOSAL 1, THE RE-ELECTION OF THE NOMINEE NAMED ABOVE.
PROPOSAL 2
RE-ELECTION OF CLASS B DIRECTOR
Mr. Jack Huang was appointed as a class B director by our board of directors on January 22, 2018. According to Article 86(3) of our Articles of Association, any director appointed by the board as an addition to the existing board shall hold office until the next following annual general meeting of the Company and shall then be eligible for re-election. As a result, Jack Huang, our class B director, is subject to re-election at this meeting. We now hereby nominate Jack Huang for re-election as a class B director at the 2018 annual general meeting. Jack Huang will hold office for a three-year term and until his successor is elected and is duly qualified, or until his disqualification in accordance with our Articles of Association.
Common shares represented by executed proxies will be voted, if authority to do so is not withheld, for the election of Jack Huang. The board has no reason to believe that Jack Huang will be unable or unwilling to serve as a director if elected. In the event that Jack Huang should be unavailable for election as a result of an unexpected occurrence, such common shares will be voted for the election of such substitute nominee as management may propose.
The following table sets forth certain information of Jack Huang, including age as of December 17, 2018, the principal position currently held and biography:
Name |
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Age |
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Position |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Jack Huang |
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46 |
|
President and Director |
|
Jack Huang is the president and a director of our company. Prior to joining us, Mr. Huang was the chief executive officer of Lanxum Education, an online education and information security services provider in China, from 2015 to 2017. Prior to this, Mr. Huang worked at Chegg where he served as head of Cheggs China operations, and Pearson where he served as the managing director of the Language Testing Division in the Asia Pacific region. Mr. Huang received his MBA degree from HEC Paris and a masters degree from Edinburgh Napier University. Mr. Huang also received a bachelors degree from Harbin Institute of Technology in China. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Jack Huang will be elected as a class B director by an affirmative vote of a simple majority of the votes of the holders of common shares present in person or represented by proxy and voting at the annual general meeting.
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR PROPOSAL 2, THE RE-ELECTION OF THE NOMINEE NAMED ABOVE.
PROPOSAL 3
APPROVAL AND RATIFICATION OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT AND RESTATEMENT OF 2008 EMPLOYEE SHARE INCENTIVE PLAN
We amended and restated the Amendment and Restatement of 2008 Employee Share Incentive Plan in October 2018, primarily to extend its term, expand the option pool thereunder, and change the number of common shares automatically added to the option pool on each calendar year during its term to an amount equal to the lesser of (i) 1% of the total number of common shares issued and outstanding on December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year, or (ii) such number of common shares as may be established by the board of directors.
The affirmative vote of a simple majority of the votes of the holders of common shares present in person or represented by proxy and voting at the annual general meeting will be required to approve this proposal.
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR PROPOSAL 3, THE APPROVAL AND RATIFICATION OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT AND RESTATEMENT OF 2008 EMPLOYEE SHARE INCENTIVE PLAN OF THE COMPANY.
PROPOSAL 4
RE-APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITOR
Our audit committee recommends, and our board of directors concurs, that KPMG Huazhen LLP be re-appointed as our independent auditor for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2018. KPMG Huazhen LLP has served as our independent auditor since 2015.
In the event our shareholders fail to vote in favor of the re-appointment, our audit committee will reconsider its selection. Even if the shareholders vote in favor of the re-appointment, our audit committee in its discretion may direct the re-appointment of a different independent auditing firm at any time during the year if the audit committee believes that such a change would be in the best interests of our company and shareholders.
The affirmative vote of a simple majority of the votes of the holders of common shares present in person or represented by proxy and voting at the annual general meeting will be required to approve this proposal.
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR PROPOSAL 4, THE RE-APPOINTMENT OF KPMG HUAZHEN LLP AS OUR INDEPENDENT AUDITOR FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2018.
OTHER MATTERS
We know of no other matters to be submitted to the annual general meeting. If any other matters properly come before the annual general meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the enclosed form of proxy to vote the shares they represent as the board of directors may recommend.
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By Order of the Board of Directors, |
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Kevin Xiaofeng Ma |
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Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer |
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November 5, 2018 |