BEIJING, Sept. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Renren Inc.    (RENN),    a leading real name social networking internet platform in    China, today announced that it invested $49 million in Social    Finance Inc. ("SoFi"), a San Francisco-based private company.  
    SoFi offers an innovative lending solution that provides    students access to lower loan rates than Federal Direct and    PLUS loans with similar borrow protections. SoFi was started by    a team of Stanford Graduate School of Business students in    2011. By fostering social and economic connections with alumni    investors, SoFi has moved towards becoming a national lender    through state registration, created a broker dealer, expanded    its product offering to include both in-school and    consolidation loans, and expanded its presence to over 70    schools nationwide in the U.S.   
    "The investment in SoFi represents our continued efforts in    leveraging our social and demographics expertise. As a    pioneering company building social infrastructure over the    internet, we have closely observed and participated in the    transformation of other online vertical businesses that    leverage social to productize, market, distribute and scale,"    said Joseph Chen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of    Renren. "With gaming and e-commerce socialized, as exemplified    by social gaming and social commerce, we expect the next wave    will be finance and education; SoFi lies at the nexus of that    revolution. As the largest real-name social network platform in    China, we constantly explore for synergies of how social can    successfully transform industries and help push beyond    traditional boundaries."  
    About Renren Inc.  
    Renren Inc. (RENN)    operates the leading real name social networking internet    platform in China. It enables users to connect and communicate    with each other, share information and user generated content,    play online games, listen to music, shop for deals and enjoy a    wide range of other features and services. Renren's platform    includes the main social networking website Renren.com, the    online games center game.Renren.com, the social commerce    website Nuomi.com, and the video-sharing website 56.com. Renren    had approximately 162 million activated users as of June 30,    2012.  
    Safe Harbor Statement  
    This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These    statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the    U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These    forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology    such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends,"    "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among    other things, the quotations from Renren's management in this    announcement contain forward-looking statements. Renren may    also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its    filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission    ("SEC"), in its annual report to shareholders, in press    releases and other written materials and in oral statements    made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties.    Statements that are not historical facts, including statements    about Renren's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking    statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks    and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual    results to differ materially from those contained in any    forward-looking statement. Further information regarding these    risks, uncertainties and other factors that may affect the    Company's results of operations is included in our annual    report on Form20-F and other documents filed with the    SEC. All information provided in this    pressreleaseis as of the date of this press    release, and Renren does not undertake any obligation to update    anyforward-looking statement, except as required under    applicable law.  
    For investor and media inquiries please contact:  
    Sam Lawn    Investor Relations Director    Renren Inc.    Tel: (86 10) 8448 1818 ext 1300    Email: ir@renren-inc.com  
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Renren Invests $49 million in Social Finance, Inc.