LendingTree Announces $50 Million Stock Repurchase Program

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ: TREE) (the "Company"), operator of LendingTree.com, a leading online loan marketplace, today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $50 million of the Company's common stock under the Company's existing stock repurchase program.  The Company previously announced that its Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of $10 million of the Company's common stock in January 2010 and that it authorized the repurchase of another $10 million of the Company's common stock in May 2014.

Share repurchases will be implemented through purchases made from time to time in either the open market or private transactions in compliance with applicable securities laws. The timing and extent of the repurchases will depend upon market conditions and other corporate considerations, as determined by the Company in its sole discretion. The Company has sufficient cash on its balance sheet to fund this newly authorized stock repurchase in addition to its expected ordinary course business operations. This stock repurchase authorization is in addition to the May 2014 $10 million repurchase program expansion, of which approximately $7.3 million remains.

Doug Lebda, Chairman and CEO of LendingTree said, "This repurchase program demonstrates confidence in the strength of our business and our commitment to delivering shareholder value.  We just increased our Q4 and full year 2015 guidance beyond the top end of the prior range, and while we haven't yet given updated guidance for 2016, the year is off to a great start and we expect to release increased 2016 guidance at our next earnings call." The Company will provide an update to its full-year 2016 outlook on the February 25, 2016 earnings conference call.

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

The matters contained in the discussion above may be considered to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations or anticipations of the Company and members of our management team. Factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the following: adverse conditions in the primary and secondary mortgage markets and in the economy, particularly interest rates; willingness of lenders to make unsecured personal loans and purchase leads for such products from the Company; seasonality of results; potential liabilities to secondary market purchasers; changes in the Company's relationships with network lenders; breaches of network security or the misappropriation or misuse of personal consumer information; failure to provide competitive service; failure to maintain brand recognition; ability to attract and retain customers in a cost-effective manner; ability to develop new products and services and enhance existing ones; competition; allegations of failure to comply with existing or changing laws, rules or regulations, or to obtain and maintain required licenses; failure of network lenders or other affiliated parties to comply with regulatory requirements; failure to maintain the integrity of systems and infrastructure; liabilities as a result of privacy regulations; failure to adequately protect intellectual property rights or allegations of infringement of intellectual property rights; and changes in management. These and additional factors to be considered are set forth under "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2014, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 2015, June 30, 2015 and September 30, 2015 and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results or expectations.

About LendingTree, Inc.

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:  TREE) operates the nation's leading online loan marketplace and provides consumers with an array of online tools and information to help them find the best loan for their needs.  LendingTree's online marketplace connects consumers with multiple lenders that compete for their business, empowering consumers as they comparison-shop across a full suite of loans and credit-based offerings.  Since inception, LendingTree has facilitated more than 55 million loan requests.  LendingTree provides consumers with access to lenders offering home loans, home equity loans/lines of credit, personal loans, auto loans, student loans and more. LendingTree, Inc. is headquartered in Charlotte, NC and maintains operations solely in the United States. For more information, please visit www.lendingtree.com.

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SOURCE LendingTree, Inc.