Release date: July 23rd, 2014

On July 23, 2014, New Oriental Education & Technology Group (“NYSE: EDU”), the largest provider of private educational services in China, and ATA (Nasdaq: ATAI), a leading provider of advanced testing technologies and testing-related services, jointly announced that they will join hands to enter the education market for working professionals. The two parties will form a joint venture to be funded by both parties. New Oriental will invest through Koolearn.com, its wholly owned online education subsidiary. Leveraged on New Oriental’s strengths in content and distribution channels, as well as ATA’s rich experience in testing technologies and assessment instruments, the joint venture plans to launch a new online education and training website catering to workforce towards 2014 year-end.

In recent years, online workforce education has become hotspot of the market. According to the 2014 China Online Education Development Report released by IResearch, as much as 38.6% of users of online education website in China are working professionals.  Important instructions have also been given by the national government to speed up the development of workforce education, for example, policies to set up a modern workforce educational system that is employment-oriented, cater for lifelong learning and available to everyone, have brought significant good news to the education and training market.

Koolearn.com is among the first few companies in China that penetrates into the online education market, with an unwavering brand influence among college and school students in China.   It received remarkable market feedback when it gave its first try in test preparation and training for medical examinations in 2013. For the past 15 years, ATA has been focusing on computer-based exam delivery and assessment services, and has achieved unparallel leading position in both technology and experience for workforce assessment. The cooperation of the two leaders is based on the common belief that workforce education in China has a bright future and learning online is the best approach for working professionals, with how to enhance learning efficiency and effectiveness being the most important topic facing online education industry. With New Oriental aiming to build a one-stop lifelong learning platform, and ATA dedicated to enhance learning efficiency through assessments, the cooperation symbolizes a new footnote in the interpretation of their positioning.

In fact, the close to 3 million candidates enrolled in New Oriental training programs every year can easily be converted to a massive workforce learning community after they enter the workforce market; ATA’s approximately 9 million annual test volume also confirms the extraordinary demand and potential of the workforce education industry.

Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, the joint venture company will have free and unlimited access to New Oriental's learning management system, courseware authoring tools, and both live and archived broadcasting platforms and technical resources, as well as free and unlimited access to ATA's leading testing and assessment technologies (such as item production technology, Dynamic Simulation Technology), learning tools, software and other technical resources.

Regarding the formation of the joint venture with ATA, Yu Minhong, Chairman and CEO of New Oriental, stated, "It will establish our advantage in the market rapidly and comprehensively. The integration of ATA's leading testing and assessment technologies with Koolearn's proprietary self-adaptive learning engine will provide valid support for the application of formative assessment technology in the field of workforce education and training, making the learning of working professionals more effective."

Mr. Cheng-Yaw Sun, ATA's Chief Executive Officer, stated, "With the evoluting development of online education, testing and assessment is now being integrated into the entire online learning process, rather than being a simple summative assessment. I believe the integration of contents, platforms, and technology advantages of New Oriental and ATA will enable us to help a wider range of people achieve their educational and career goals.”


(If there is any inconsistency or conflict between the English and Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.)