China Distance Education registers for IPO
New York, NY (USA), July 2008 - China Distance Education Holdings Ltd., a provider of online education and test preparation courses, plans an initial public offering of American Depositary Shares, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The Beijing-based company did not disclose the expected size or price range of its IPO, but indicated that the offering price may total up to $115 million. China Distance Education noted, however, that the estimated total offering price may change.
China Distance Education's courses are focused on professional education, including the areas of accounting, law, health care, construction engineering, and information technology.
The company reported earnings of $750,000 for the six months ended March 31, compared with $415,000 in the same period of the prior year. China Distance Education's revenue in the same period grew to $5.2 million from $3.7 million.
The company's course enrollments totaled 258,000 for the six months that ended March 31.
China Distance Education plans to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital, capital expenses to expand its operations, and potential acquisitions.
Citigroup Global Markets and Merrill Lynch are serving as the IPO's lead underwriters. Oppenheimer & Co. and Piper Jaffray are also underwriting the offering.
China Distance Education plans to list its ADS on the NYSE Arca under the symbol "DL."
