Bright Scholar Education

EducationChina
New to Unitard
🀝 Acquired
PeakΒ $1.54 BillionToday
~-97%
from peak
  1. πŸ¦„
    Became a unicorn
    2017
  2. πŸ“ˆ
    Peak valuation
    $1.54 Billion ’17
  3. πŸ’”
    Became a Unitard
    2021
  4. πŸ’Έ
    Last valuation
    ~$46.2M
Current status
Taken private in December 2025 at $2.30/ADS (~$52M) after the China education crackdown gutted its value

The rise & fall

5 moments Β· 1994–2025

The key moments.

1994
Roots in a Country Garden school
Property developer Country Garden's education arm grows from its first school into China's largest operator of international and bilingual K-12 schools.
Wikipedia
May 2017
NYSE IPO: unicorn on day one$1.54B
Lists at $10.50 per ADS with a market value around $1.5B β€” the peak, on listing day.
Renaissance Capital
2021
Beijing turns on for-profit education
New restrictions on private schools teaching compulsory-education grades gut the business model and investor confidence overnight.
Reuters
2021
Slips out of the club
The crackdown starts a slide that ultimately erases about 97% of the company's value.
stockanalysis
Dec 2025
Taken private at $2.30 per ADS β€” ~$52M$52M
Eight years after a $10.50 IPO, the go-private deal values the company at roughly 3% of its listing-day worth.
StockTitan

How it happened

Bright Scholar Education was the largest operator of international and bilingual K-12 schools in China, spun out of property developer Country Garden, and listed on the NYSE in May 2017 at a market value around $1.5B.

China's 2021 crackdown on for-profit education β€” including new restrictions on private schools teaching compulsory-education grades β€” devastated its business model and investor confidence. The stock collapsed roughly 97% to about $52M, and in December 2025 Bright Scholar was taken private at just $2.30 per ADS, ending its run as a public company far below the $1B line.

Source: Renaissance Capital / stockanalysis / StockTitan (largest operator of international and bilingual K-12 schools in China, spun out of Country Garden; May 2017 NYSE IPO at $10.50/ADS, ~$1.5B market value; China's 2021 education crackdown crushed the stock ~97% to ~$52M; went private Dec 2025 at $2.30/ADS)

Who ran it

  • Robert Niu
    CEO (since 2024)
    Still there β€” Chief Executive OfficerLinkedIn β†—

Current roles as self-reported on LinkedIn, retrieved 2026-08-19. See our methodology.

More from the club

Same sector Β· Education
Same fate Β· go-private buyout
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