McGraw-Hill Education announced an equity investment in PRCEDU Corporation, an online education service provider for Chinese universities and academic institutions.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

McGraw-Hill Education is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, a global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the education, financial services and business information markets.

Enrollment in Chinese educational institutions, especially online institutions, has increased significantly in the last few years, driven by the demand for an educated workforce to support the nation's ambitious economic growth goals. PRCEDU, a leading provider of online education products, services, and technology, has established a clear leadership position in this burgeoning sector. It has partnerships with premier higher education institutions to extend their reach by offering online degrees to students eager to improve their skills but unable to enroll in traditional site-based colleges.

"We are delighted to establish a partnership with PRCEDU, which is a leading innovative provider of educational solutions for the growing student population in China," said Harold McGraw III, chairman, president and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies. "The McGraw-Hill Companies' long experience in the education and digital learning market in China and around the world, combined with PRCEDU's distance education abilities and local market knowledge, form a powerful combination that will allow us to best serve China's education needs."

For many years, The McGraw-Hill Companies has developed important business relationships with Chinese partners. In 1986, BusinessWeek and the publishing arm of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce launched a Chinese language version of the magazine, the first for an American business publication. Standard & Poor's has been doing business in China for more than 10 years offering a wide array of services, including corporate and sovereign ratings, risk solutions, corporate governance, equity research and indices. In 1999, McGraw-Hill Education opened an office in Beijing, focusing on the higher education, professional and English-language teaching markets.