Noah Completes Acquisition of Yuanbo Education

SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Noah Education Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NED) ("Noah" or the "Company"), a leading provider of education services in China, today announced the completion on July 31, 2011 of its acquisition of an 80% interest in Shanghai Yuanbo Education Information and Consulting Corporation Ltd. ("Yuanbo Education"), a company focused on early childhood education services in the Yangtze Delta region, for a total consideration of RMB94.866 million, pursuant to the terms of a definitive agreement entered into on April 13, 2011, and a supplemental agreement signed on July 22, 2011. The supplemental agreement contained an adjustment to reflect the fact that Yuanbo was unable to secure local government approval for the transfer of one of the 16 kindergartens mentioned in the definitive agreement. The acquisition is funded by Noah's current cash reserve, and is expected to be accretive to the Company's earnings in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012.

Of Noah's RMB94.866 million investment in Yuanbo Education, RMB46.276 million is to be used to extend its reach by opening new kindergartens and making acquisitions across the Yangtze Delta region. Its management team, which has successfully grown the company since its establishment in 2001, will retain a 20% stake in Yuanbo Education. The kindergarten operator achieved revenue of approximately RMB32 million in 2010.

Yuanbo Education operates 15 kindergartens in the economically developed and prosperous Yangtze Delta region under the brand name Qingan. Yuanbo Education targets children aged 0-6, and has the competitive advantage of offering world-class courses from Taiwan, Germany, Italy and Canada. The kindergarten operator has a total student enrollment of approximately 4,300 and over 600 staff members.

Mr. Jerry He, Noah's Chief Executive Officer, said, "The acquisition of Yuanbo Education is testament to the successful execution of Noah's strategy of accelerating its profitable expansion within China's education services space via selective acquisitions. Yuanbo Education's focus on China's premium pre-school segment makes it an ideal complement to Wentai Education's portfolio of high-end kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, as well as to Little New Star's English language training centers catering to the 3-12 age group. The RMB46.276 million in fresh capital that we've injected into Yuanbo Education as part of the acquisition will serve to facilitate the opening of additional kindergartens, and our experience within education management equips us with the knowledge to enhance the operational efficiency of the kindergarten operator.

"China's high-growth, fragmented and underpenetrated education services market continues to offer a wealth of opportunities to generate healthy margins, high visibility and recurring cashflow. As such, we will continue to leverage our extensive industry experience and strong cash balance to pursue organic and acquisitive growth within this space."

About Noah Education Holdings Ltd.

Noah is a leading provider of education services in China. The Company's brands include Wentai Education, which operates and manages high-end kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, Little New Star, which provides English language training for children aged 3-12 in its directly owned and franchised training centers, and Yuanbo Education, which operates premium kindergartens under the Qingan brand. Noah was founded in 2004 and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol NED. For more information about Noah, please visit http://ir.noahedu.com.cn.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect Noah's current expectations and views of future events that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Noah has based these forward-looking statements largely on its current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that it believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. You should understand that our actual future results may be materially different from and worse than what Noah expects.  Information regarding these risks, uncertainties and other factors is included in Noah's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F and other filings with the SEC.

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SOURCE Noah Education Holdings Ltd.