McGraw-Hill Education Makes Equity Investment in PRCEDU Corporation, China's Leading Online Education Company

McGraw-Hill Education Makes Equity Investment in PRCEDU Corporation, China's Leading Online Education Company

NEW YORK and BEIJING, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- McGraw-Hill Education, a leading global provider of online and print educational solutions, today announced an equity investment in PRCEDU Corporation, the leading online education service provider for Chinese universities and academic institutions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. McGraw-Hill Education is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, a global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the education, financial services and business information markets.

Enrollment in Chinese educational institutions, especially online institutions, has increased significantly in the last few years, driven by the demand for an educated workforce to support the nation's ambitious economic growth goals. PRCEDU, a leading provider of online education products, services, and technology, has established a clear leadership position in this burgeoning sector. It has partnerships with premier higher education institutions to extend their reach by offering online degrees to students eager to improve their skills but unable to enroll in traditional site-based colleges.

"We are delighted to establish a partnership with PRCEDU, which is a leading innovative provider of educational solutions for the growing student population in China," said Harold McGraw III, chairman, president and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies. "The McGraw-Hill Companies' long experience in the education and digital learning market in China and around the world, combined with PRCEDU's distance education abilities and local market knowledge, form a powerful combination that will allow us to best serve China's education needs."

"PRCEDU Corporation aspires to make a world of difference in the lives of our students and academic institutions in China," said Julia Huang, CEO of PRCEDU. "Leveraging McGraw-Hill Education's vast experience accumulated in the global education markets, we will be able to improve and expand our offerings to meet the growing education demand in China."

For many years, The McGraw-Hill Companies has developed important business relationships with Chinese partners. In 1986, BusinessWeek and the publishing arm of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce launched a Chinese language version of the magazine, the first for an American business publication. Standard & Poor's has been doing business in China for more than 10 years offering a wide array of services, including corporate and sovereign ratings, risk solutions, corporate governance, equity research and indices. In 1999, McGraw-Hill Education opened an office in Beijing, focusing on the higher education, professional and English-language teaching markets. Platts has serviced a number of government oil companies in China with critical energy information for more than 20 years.

About McGraw-Hill Education

McGraw-Hill Education is a leading global provider of electronic and print products for the pre-K through 12th grade, higher education and professional markets. It is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), a global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's and Business Week. Founded in 1888, the corporation has more than 280 offices in 37 countries. Sales in 2004 were $5.3 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mheducation.com/.

About PRCEDU

PRCEDU is the leading online education service provider in China. The company and its joint ventures with academic institutions have built comprehensive online degree education operations and produce a series of e-learning technologies and products that satisfy China's unique distance education requirements. PRCEDU was the first to provide Internet-based degree education programs through its joint ventures in China. With over 90,000 enrolled students and seven long-term university partners, PRCEDU has established a clear leadership position in this burgeoning sector. Additional information is available at http://www.prcedu.com/.


Source: McGraw-Hill Education

CONTACT: April Hattori
Vice President, Communications
McGraw-Hill Education
+1-212-904-2078
april_hattori@mcgraw-hill.com

Web site: http://www.mheducation.com/
http://www.prcedu.com/


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