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China Wrecks IPO Plans for High-Flying Education Startups

  • A crackdown on predatory practices unravels mega IPOs
  • It’s an unprecedented campaign to dial back excesses
Students Attend Coding Class At The First Code Academy

Photographer: Xaume Olleros/Bloomberg

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Bloomberg News
Updated on

China is escalating a crackdown on its online education sector, forcing once high-flying startups to mothball plans for multi-billion-dollar initial public offerings this year.

Just months ago, edtech outfits were one of the hottest investments in China’s post-Covid internet industry, pulling in more than $10 billion of venture funding last year from powerhouses like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd. and SoftBank Group Corp. Then Beijing stepped in.