Beijing-based education startup Gaokaopai has been acquired by China’s TAL Education Group (NYSE:XRS), according to a Sina Tech report. The sum of the acquisition was not disclosed. It is reported that TAL will fold its own Gaokao.com service and team into Gaokaopai.
Gaokaopai is an education site aimed at preparing Chinese students for college and helping them apply. It offers services related to China’s gaokao college entrance exam but its primary focus has been on providing information and services related to the college application process. For example, it allows students to research potential college majors, providing information on what the major is, which schools offer it, what future job prospects might look like, and where each school ranks nationally for that subject. Now, with Gaokao.com’s test-prep services being moved under the Gaokaopai banner, the site should offer one-stop shopping for Chinese third-year high school students facing the high-octane test and the subsequent choice of which school to attend.
TAL Education Group is one of China’s more forward-thinking education companies, and it already operates a variety of online platforms aimed at students all the way from preschool to college. But competition in China’s online education market is fierce, with investments and acquisitions in the vertical growing 133 percent year-on-year, according to Techlist, and average deals in online education breaching US$20 million. In March, for example, we saw several similar Chinese test-prep startups rake in big investments.
(Source: Sina Tech)
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