Singapore, Feb 25, 2010: China Cord Blood Corporation (CCBC), China's first and largest cord blood bank operator in terms of geographic coverage, announced that as part of its nationwide expansion strategy, it has entered into an agreement to acquire 19.92 percent equity interest in Shandong Cord Blood Bank (SCBB) for $20.5 million in cash.

For the year ending December 31, 2010, CCBC's equity interest in SCBB is expected to yield dividend income of $1.04 million.

In China, the government enforces a one-license-per-region policy for operating cord blood banks, and so far it has only granted six licenses nationwide, noted the company release. Of those six, CCBC holds two (to operate in Beijing and Guangdong Province) and this acquisition grants access to the third.

Ms. Tina Zheng, Chairperson and CEO of CCBC, said, "We are very excited about the prospects of China's cord blood storage industry, given its unique business environment and the size of its addressable market. This strategic expansion will increase CCBC's competitive advantage by enlarging the size of our potential market to three provinces with over 2.1 million new births per annum, representing growth of 1.1 million new births per annum. This, in turn, is expected to further drive CCBC's business growth and reinforce our dominance in China.”