Hong Kong-listed Chinese education firm Virscend Education Co., Ltd. has made a strategic investment in Babycare.cn, a Beijing-based early education company focused on children aged between zero to six.
No financial details were announced.
As China loosens population control measures to allow every couple to have two kids, the country is expected to have over 17 million newborns annually in the next few years.
The acquisition will add early education capabilities to Virscend, which operates four K-12, one pre-school and one university in Chengdu city in southwest China.
Babycare.cn, also known as Dongfang Aiying, previously raised venture and private funding from Chinese private equity firms Prax Capital and the CID Group, as well as Vertex Ventures China, a subsidiary of Singapore's Temasek Holdings.
Babycare.cn currently operates nearly 1,000 baby centers across China via franchisees to serve over 200,000 families every week. The company also has an online portal with baby care content and education materials for parents.