In just over six months China Education Alliance (NYSE: CEU) has moved from the NYSE Amex to the world’s premier stock exchange: The NYSE. And the uplisting could not have come at a better time for the Company as its much anticipated acquisition plan is now beginning to reveal itself.

On the Company’s last earnings call, management repeated their intent to make additional investments in educational services, and with over $57 million in cash and a newly found liquidity in the stock, the Company hinted at the possibility of multiple acquisitions as a use for the cash.

The first reveal of these mentioned plans came in the form of a recent announcement for the acquisition of Beijing Shifan Culture Communication Co., Ltd. (Beijing Shifan), a publisher of academic magazines for high school students and nationwide academic contest organizer in China. The company publishes a “Senior High School Students Mathematic, Physics, and Chemistry” magazine endorsed by the PRC Ministry of Education, as well as sponsors and organizes a nationwide mathematics/physics/chemistry contest for middle and high school students.

China Education Alliance CEO Xiqun Yu calls the acquisition “the first of several planned for 2010” and believes the new company will generate at least $10 million in revenue and an estimated $3.5 million in net profit for CEU in the next five years.

The new acquisition is likely the first in a strategy that will broaden the scope for CEU’s market penetration. Establishing an on-site student base, an Internet student base, two print publications and a tangible presence as a contest holder in schools across China is sure to elevate CEU’s status as a dynamic and aggressive competitor within the education market.

At a time when American education is ever-increasing in costs and declining in quality, the Chinese government is investing heavily in its own citizens. A recent Chinese stimulus package invested RMB 40 billion (over USD $5 billion) in both education and health.

Couple CEU’s developing acquisition story with its NYSE listing, and the stock looks like a potential New Oriental Education (NYSE: EDU). That stock has rocketed 368% since its IPO. With good daily trading volume averaging over 300,000 shares, CEU is sure to attract position builders, making the ride a profitable one for any investor who tags along.

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