If You Invested in First High Sch Ed Group Co Ltd (FHSEY)

First High-School Education Group Co., Ltd. (historically traded in the U.S. under the symbol FHSEY) is an education service provider in the educational services sector, with a primary focus on high schools in Western China. According to the company’s public statements, it positions itself as a modern education company that integrates high-school education, education technology and education services. The business is associated with the elementary and secondary schools industry classification.

The company describes its long-term aspiration as becoming a leader and innovator in private high school education in China. To pursue this goal, First High-School Education Group focuses on what it calls comprehensive education management. In its disclosures, this concept covers several activity areas: education information consulting, education research project development, education talent management, education technology management, education service management and general vocational integration development services. These areas outline how the group approaches school operations and related support services across its network.

Historically, First High-School Education Group has operated school programs and provided management services to public schools. Company reports describe its operations in terms of the number of school programs under management and the number of students enrolled in those programs and in public schools to which it provides management services. The group has highlighted growth in student enrollment and changes in the number of school programs as key operational indicators for its continuing operations.

In its financial communications, the company has distinguished between continuing operations and discontinued operations. This distinction is linked to regulatory changes in China. The company has explained that the amended Implementation Regulations of the Law on the Promotion of Private Education of the People’s Republic of China (the Implementation Rules) affected its control over affiliated entities providing compulsory education and certain sponsor entities. As a result, it determined that it would cease to recognize revenues for activities related to schools providing compulsory education and related sponsor entities after September 1, 2021, and classify these affected entities as discontinued operations. The company has stated that the discontinued operations of these affected entities had an impact on its financial condition in subsequent periods.

For its continuing operations, First High-School Education Group’s public reports describe revenue sources in broad categories such as revenue from customers and revenue from government cooperative agreements. The company has discussed how changes in government cooperative agreements, sales of education materials, income from meal catering services, and the operating status of certain schools in its network have influenced total revenues and gross profit. It has also referred to an asset-light approach in focusing expansion efforts on providing school management services, particularly where public or private schools seek to improve school operation efficiency.

The group’s communications emphasize services in three key areas for schools under its management: student admission, teacher training and academic guidance. These areas are presented as part of its effort to refine its business model and to help schools deliver high-quality education services with solid academic performance. The company has also referred to education technology management and information technology as part of its general and administrative functions, indicating a role for technology in its education management activities.

First High-School Education Group has reported its financial information in Renminbi, with translations into U.S. dollars for the convenience of international readers. It has used both GAAP and non-GAAP metrics, including adjusted net income or adjusted net loss, as supplemental measures to assess operating performance. The company has explained that these non-GAAP measures are intended to exclude certain non-cash charges or specific items, such as asset impairment losses or other adjustments, to provide an additional perspective on its results.

From a capital markets perspective, the company was originally listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker FHS and later quoted on the OTC market under FHSEY as an American depositary share (ADS) program, with each ADS representing three Class A ordinary shares. On March 12, 2025, First High-School Education Group announced the completion of a going-private merger under an Agreement and Plan of Merger with One Education Holding Limited and One Education Merger Limited. The merger became effective on March 10, 2025 as a short-form merger under Cayman Islands law, with the company surviving the merger and becoming a private company wholly owned by the parent entity.

As a result of this merger, the company disclosed that its ADSs are no longer quoted on the OTC Market and that its ADS program was terminated. The company also stated that it intends to file a Form 15 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to suspend and ultimately terminate its reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. According to the company, its obligations to file or furnish reports such as Form 20-F and Form 6-K will be suspended as of the filing date of the Form 15 and will terminate once deregistration becomes effective. These steps mean that FHSEY functions as a historical ticker for U.S. investors, reflecting a company that has transitioned from public to private ownership.

For investors and researchers reviewing FHSEY as a historical listing, the company’s disclosures provide insight into how a private high school–focused education group in Western China has responded to regulatory changes in the private education sector, managed its mix of school operations and management services, and ultimately moved from a U.S.-listed structure to private ownership. The emphasis on comprehensive education management, regulatory compliance with the Implementation Rules, and the use of both GAAP and non-GAAP metrics are central themes in understanding the company’s reported business model and financial profile during its period as a U.S.-reporting issuer.