EX-99.3 4 d272946dex993.htm INVESTORS PRESENTATATION Investors Presentatation
ChinaCast Stockholders:
Vote FOR an Independent Voice in the Board Room
Elect the Independent Nominees
on the
GREEN Proxy Card
Ned Sherwood
ZS EDU L.P.
ZS EDU GP LLC
Exhibit 3


Important Information
SECURITY HOLDERS ARE ADVISED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT FILED
WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (THE “SEC”) AND OTHER
DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE SOLICITATION OF PROXIES BY NED SHERWOOD, ZS EDU
L.P., ZS EDU GP LLC, ROBERT HORNE AND THE NOMINEES FROM THE STOCKHOLDERS OF
CHINACAST EDUCATION CORPORATION (THE “ISSUER”) FOR USE AT THE ISSUER’S
ANNUAL MEETING BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN OR WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
INVESTORS CAN GET THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER RELEVANT
DOCUMENTS AT NO CHARGE AT THE SEC’S WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV.
2


CAST Stock Price has Dramatically Underperformed
CAST revenues have grown 37% year-over-year, yet CAST’s share price is down 20%
from the 52-week high of $7.76 per share in December 2010 (as of December 22, 2011)
Indexed Simple Return (1 Year)
-70%
-60%
-50%
-40%
-30%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
Dec-10
Feb-11
Apr-11
Jun-11
Aug-11
Oct-11
CAST
NDX
3


The Board Does Not Appear to be Looking out for the Best
Interests of Stockholders
Given CAST excellent operating results and its strong cash position, but with its stock
trading at less than 3x EBITDA, why is the Board so reluctant to
share the cash flow
with the stockholders?
CAST
announced
a
$50
million
stock
buy-back
plan
on
March
16,
2011,
when
the
share
price
was $5.57, which was unanimously approved by the then five-member Board.
Since that time, CAST has reported three record quarters of earnings and the share price has
dropped below the March
16 prices.
With new university acquisitions valued at 7.5x to 9.0x EBITDA and CAST’s stock trading well
below that EBITDA multiple, new acquisitions would be quite dilutive.
However, we believe that CAST has repurchased less than 10% of the announced buy-back
shares to date.
Actively exploring a strategic transaction involving a sale of the company without
appointing a special committee consisting of Board members with the most investment
and M&A experience.
Current Special Committee members consist of two directors that were appointed (never
elected)
to
the
Board
and
a
third
director
who,
we
believe,
is
a
proxy
for
Ron
Chan.
Keeping a “poison pill”
in place making it more difficult for potential suitors to purchase
the company.
Poison Pill not submitted to stockholders for approval despite Directors Sherwood and Tseung
voting against the adoption of a poison pill.
4


The Board Appears to be Manipulating Corporate Governance and
the Election Process to Create an Entrenched Board of “Yes-Men”
We believe the Board is “rigging”
a management-friendly Board by manipulating the
election process to eliminate any dissenting voices from the Board room.
The Board attempted to hold a stockholder meeting just days after removing Ned
Sherwood from its slate in an effort to deprive stockholders of an independent voice in
the Board room.
We believe the Board removed Ned Sherwood from its slate to remove a dissenting
voice from the Board room.
We believe the current Board has removed directors from various committees
(Sherwood –
Audit and Nominating Committees, Tseung –
Nominating Committees) to
retaliate for expressing differing views in the Board room
The Delaware Court of Chancery issued a Temporary Restraining Order to force
CAST to adjourn the annual meeting to January 10, 2012 in order to provide
stockholders with sufficient time to evaluate director nominees.
The Board previously rejected another stockholder’s director nomination on purported
technicalities in order to keep a unified Board of “yes-men”.
5


It is ALL about Stockholder Value!
If successful, we are committed to the following simple plan:
1.
Follow a simple philosophy of sharing the CAST success and cash flow with the stockholders via
dividends, share buybacks and, of course, constantly evaluating strategic alternatives. Be assured that
we
will
always
be
alert
to
maximizing
value
for
all
stockholders
if
an
appropriate
opportunity
arises,
and
we do not plan to stop the process of exploring strategic alternatives. We recommend that the Special
Committee of the Board for this process consist of highly experienced investment professionals.
2.
Maintain the commitment to improving and enhancing the quality of education and the facilities at CAST’s
three
existing
universities,
with
the
goal
to
provide
a
“world
class”
education
to
all
of
the
matriculating
students.
When possible, we should also search for additional private universities to acquire and improve and
expand. Currently CAST trades at a multiple net of cash of approximately 3x EBITDA, but most university
acquisition candidates sell for multiples between 7.5 and 9 times EBITDA. Therefore, we strongly believe
our first task at hand is to work to convince the financial markets to properly value CAST stock so that
new university acquisitions would make financial sense and not be dilutive.
3.
Subject to the approval of China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange, restart CAST’s previously
announced $50
million share buyback program in earnest. Unfortunately, after announcing its buyback
program in March 2011, we believe CAST has not purchased any shares since late June and has only
purchased $4.7
million worth of shares in total to date.
4.
Consult with the relevant Chinese authorities with regard to continuing cash remittance to the United
States and, as soon as possible, initiate a twenty-cent per share annual dividend payable quarterly.
5.
Eliminate
the
“poison
pill”
and
stop
Board
action
to
remove
independent
voices
from
the
Board.
6


The Delaware Court of Chancery
Forced CAST to Delay the Annual Meeting
In its December 20
th
opinion, the Delaware Court of Chancery held that:
“Plaintiffs make a colorable claim that, to whatever degree Sherwood may have been obstinate,
that obstinance relates to sincere policy disputes between him and [directors Chan, Santos and
Tang], and a desire to avoid those disputes may have motivated [directors Chan, Santos and
Tang] to remove him from their slate.”
“[I]t also is important that directors be able to register effective dissent, even if that might offend
the sensibilities of some of their co-directors.”
“The [company’s] Proxy Supplement may be materially misleading in its failure to disclose the
board’s “motivations candidly….””
“The board should have foreseen that [removing Sherwood from the management slate] would
generate controversy, and that ChinaCast’s shareholders generally, not just Sherwood, would
lose the opportunity to express their fully informed views on that controversy via a fair election.”
Defendants have not simply expressed their disagreement with Sherwood’s positions or
dissatisfaction with his personal behavior; they have also excluded him from merely running for
election.
In
this
way,
holding
the
Annual
Meeting
on
December
21
would
not
comport
with
the
“scrupulous
fairness”
required
of
corporate
elections.
(emphasis
added)
7


Vote
FOR Independent Stockholder
Voices in the Board Room
on the
Green
Proxy Card
If you have questions or need assistance in voting your shares, please
call our proxy solicitor, Innisfree M&A Incorporated, at 212-750-5833.
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