Tree.com, Inc. Announces Special Cash Dividend of $1.00 per Share and Updates Fourth Quarter 2012 Guidance

Tree.com

, the parent company of wholly owned subsidiary LendingTree, LLC, today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a special cash dividend of $1.00 per share. Additionally, the company expects to meet or exceed the upper end of its most recent guidance, which was $14 million Adjusted Exchanges EBITDA for the full year 2012, and $2.5 million Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations for the fourth quarter 2012. Doug Lebda, chairman and CEO of Tree.com, noted, "As we committed to our shareholders, we are examining all the potential uses of our cash, and in addition to our continued share buyback plan, we believe it is appropriate at this time to return capital to our shareholders. Following this dividend, we will still have substantial capital resources to explore prudent acquisition opportunities, operate our business, and continue to repurchase our stock. We will continue to explore all of these avenues, in addition to the possibility of future dividends, and keep our shareholders appropriately informed of our strategy." Commenting on the increased guidance for the fourth quarter, Lebda continued, "Sales to lenders and our marketing performance have continued to outperform our expectations, countering the typical seasonal trends in the fourth quarter. We are continuing to take market share and gain momentum which bodes well for our 2013 growth plans." The $1.00 special cash dividend is payable on December 26, 2012 to shareholders of record on December 17, 2012. The total amount of the special dividend paid to shareholders will be approximately $11.5 million based on the current number of shares outstanding and will be paid using cash on hand.