Sinovac Biotech issues shareholder letter regarding Vivo Capital claims

Sinovac Biotech (SVA) announced that its board of directors issued a public letter to shareholders in response to “hostile actions and false claims” by Vivo Capital and certain other parties against the “legitimate and lawful actions” of the board. The letter said, in part, “We are writing to set the record straight in response to the Vivo group’s recent press releases, lawsuits and other actions against SINOVAC and the Board, particularly those related to the Board’s decision to declare a cash dividend of US$55.00 per common share to SINOVAC shareholders. The Vivo group is now attempting to block the special dividend payments to you via lawsuits and by sending threatening letters and messages to the Company’s stock transfer agent and board members. It is particularly concerning that the Vivo group is trying to prevent all SINOVAC common shareholders from receiving the special dividend even though the Vivo group have themselves already received over US$800 million in cash dividends from 2021-2024 from a majority owned subsidiary of SINOVAC. The driving motivation behind the Vivo group’s hostile actions has been to “double-dip” and receive even more dividends by claiming to be shareholders of SINOVAC, a claim that goes against court rulings… In summary: We urge shareholders not to be misled by the Vivo group’s attempts to relitigate an unappealable verdict by the Privy Council, rewrite history, and paint a fictitious picture of the last few years’ events, while simultaneously attempting to line their own pockets at your expense. It is our fiduciary duty to vigorously defend against the hostile actions and lawsuits by the Vivo group so that we may ensure fairness for all shareholders, restore integrity and trust, and position SINOVAC for the future. We are confident we will prevail, and we want to emphasize that we are urgently working to make things right as soon as possible to mitigate against further chaos and litigation, after what we have all endured over the last seven years.”