FENBI (02469) partners with Huatu strategically to reshape the valuation logic of top-level collaboration in vocational education.

On December 14, the two leading companies in the vocational education field, FENBI (02469) and Cendes Co., Ltd. (300492.SZ) (referred to as "Huatu" below), announced a deep strategic cooperation to promote resource integration in terms of service depth, cost structure, and business expansion, and jointly draw a new blueprint for the high-quality development of vocational education. FENBI and Huatu jointly announced that, in addition to developing synergistically in the business field, the two parties will also cooperate at the equity level, including but not limited to strategic investments or controlling stakes, mutual shareholding, and jointly establishing joint venture companies. At the same time, both parties will send directors to each other to build a bridge for regular communication. This cooperation marks a milestone turning point for the vocational education industry, which will fundamentally change the "triangular" market pattern long formed by FENBI, Cendes Co., Ltd., and Offcn Education Technology, reshaping the industry's competitive situation and promoting vocational education to enter a new development stage centered on comprehensive solutions and full-chain services. AI deepening and channel integration, leading players open up synergies The key to this cooperation lies in the complementarity of the two in their core strengths. As is well known, FENBI started with online business, launching several phenomenally popular products on the user end, such as FENBI question bank, FENBI mock exams, and intelligent correction, with over 70 million registered users. Huatu, on the other hand, has long been focusing on offline operations, with a network of over 1,000 offline delivery bases, providing a significant scale advantage in terms of channel breadth and depth. In recent years, FENBI's business focus has shifted towards AI applications, using self-developed industry-specific AI models to build a technological product service barrier from precision intelligent diagnosis to dynamic learning planning. Throughout the year, it launched multiple intelligent teaching products, including AI question brushing system classes, national and state-owned enterprise interview AI comments, and high-quality employment classes, continuously expanding the boundaries of the business. Both parties also have overlapping developments in the AI application field, with products positioned around key teaching aspects such as aptitude tests, essay writing, and interviews. In the future, both parties will work together to promote the deep integration of AI technology and teaching products, further optimize operational efficiency, and realize the collaborative evolution of teaching concepts and product forms. It is worth mentioning that improving employment conversion efficiency and the quality of young professionals' competencies will become a strategic focus of the cooperation. Both parties will strengthen the deep integration of channels and technical services, build a service ecosystem covering the entire learning cycle of students, jointly create employment channels from skills training to job matching, focus on optimizing resource allocation efficiency, and jointly expand and improve the employment service market. Wei Liang, President of FENBI, stated that for FENBI, this cooperation is a strategic decision based on deep industry insights and long-term value. Recently, FENBI launched high-quality employment classes, dedicated to creating a complete support system from career selection to employment for job seekers. This cooperation essentially optimizes the resource allocation efficiency between talent development and market demand through AI applications, providing a full-chain support covering career planning, skill enhancement, and job search services for users from different backgrounds, offering diversified high-quality vocational education services. The alliance of the two giants has spurred new changes in the industry, and market concentration may accelerate This round of cooperation is expected to have a profound impact on the current landscape of the vocational education track, accelerating the market transformation from multiple strong players to leading players. Market analysts point out that the vocational education market is evolving towards refined operations and full-chain services, focusing on continuously expanding the lifetime value of users, elevating competition dimensions from single teaching products to overall empowerment of students' long-term career development. Against this backdrop, achieving resource integration and improving operational efficiency through strategic cooperation has become a rational choice for the industry's development, with the collaboration seen as a proactive response to the industry's evolving direction. It is worth noting that the current vocational education market still has many regional and small institutions with service capabilities and resources scattered across single categories. This alliance of the two leading companies, through the deep integration of technical systems and physical channels, will build higher barriers to competition in terms of scale operation, product standardization, brand credibility, and more. Furthermore, as two industry leaders, FENBI and Huatu have explicitly proposed in their cooperation agreement to build a healthy and transparent industry environment, safeguarding users' rights to reasonable refunds, establishing clear and fair service agreements and exit mechanisms, and firmly opposing any form of false or exaggerated advertising, ensuring the authenticity and accuracy of course effects and employment data disclosure. They jointly resist detrimental price competition sacrifices to teaching quality and service, guiding industry competition back to teaching effectiveness, employment quality, and user experience, optimizing the overall development environment of the industry. In the long run, the strengthening of the head-effect of the vocational education market will drive the industry towards more professionalism and standardization. This round of cooperation could be a key turning point that pushes the entire vocational education track from fragmentation towards integration. The market share and competitive advantage of leading companies are expected to continue consolidating, and the efficiency improvement, model upgrading, and industry landscape optimization brought about by the cooperation are expected to have a significant positive impact on the capital market value of the two companies.