Ambow Education Holding (NYSE:AMBO), a China-based provider of educational and career enhancement services, priced its IPO at $10 per share on the 4th of August at the lower end of its expected range of $10 - $12 per share, giving a first day return of -7.5%.
Business Overview (from prospectus)
We are a leading national provider of educational and career enhancement services in China. Our business addresses two critical demands in China’s education market, the desire for students to be admitted into top secondary and post-secondary schools, and the
desire for graduates of those schools to obtain more attractive jobs. We offer consistently high-quality, individualized services and products through our combined online and offline delivery model powered by our proprietary technologies and robust infrastructure. Our regional service hubs, comprised of our five K-12 schools, 96 tutoring centers, two colleges and 16 career enhancement centers as of March 31, 2010, combined with our distributors, enable us to provide our services and products to students in 30 out of the 31 provinces and autonomous regions within China, which we believe will serve as a solid foundation for our future growth.
Offering: 10.7 million shares (includes 3.2 million from selling stockholders) at $10 per share. Net proceeds of approximately $50 million will be used for the expansion and $20 million for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Lead Underwriters: J.P. Morgan (JPM), Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. (GS)
Financial Highlights:
Net revenues increased by 47.6% from RMB176.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2009 to RMB260.3 million (US$38.1 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2010...Cost of revenues increased by 25.0% from RMB101.8 million in the three months ended March 31, 2009 to RMB127.2 million (US$18.6 million) in the three months ended March 31, 2010...Gross margin increased from 42.2% in the three months ended March 31, 2009 to 51.1% in the three months ended
