NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Board of Directors of Sotheby's (NYSE:BID) has declared a special dividend of $300 million or approximately $4.34 per share payable on 17 March 2014 to shareholders of record as of 12 February 2014.

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Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in eight different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids in real-time from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Contemporary Art department, as well as Sotheby's Diamonds and Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby's has a global network of 90 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).

CONTACT: New York | Investor Relations | Jennifer Park |
         Jennifer.Park@Sothebys.com | +1 212 894 1023