Did Devry just purchase Walden University

[xspect]

“Laureate Education, the parent organization of Walden University, has announced an agreement to transfer ownership of Walden University to Adtalem Global Education. You can read the press announcement here. The Board of Walden University, the governing body of the university that is charged with maintaining its accreditation and academic standards, supports the decision of Laureate Education to transfer ownership of Walden University which requires regulatory reviews and approvals, including that of the U.S. Department of Education and the Higher Learning Commission. We expect the review and approval process will take between 12 and 18 months. “

[bjcheung77]

Yes and No, it's confusing because of a company name change and Devry University being sold off...  I think it's a logical choice for Adtalem, they own two of the Big 4 Medical schools in the Caribbean already, having this would allow them to focus on the US market further.

From Wikipedia: "DeVry Education Group changed its name to Adtalem Global Education in May 2017 and announced in December 2017 that they would hand off DeVry University and Keller Graduate School to Cogswell Education.  In December 2018, the parent company Adtalem finalized the handover of both DeVry University and Keller Graduate School of Management to Cogswell Education."

Wow that's some serious cash, much more than the $225-250 million or whatever it was when ASU bid for Ashford, and Walden is prob just twice as large as Ashford at the most... probably 1.5x or less is more like it, but that's like paying 6 times as much as ASU did for Ashford.

From the linked article: "Walden University will remain part of the Laureate International Universities network until the closing of the transaction, which is expected to occur toward the end of 2021. The transaction value is $1.480 billion in cash, subject to customary adjustments, and the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval by the U.S. Department of Education and the Higher Learning Commission."

Really interesting... I knew Laureate was selling off their "Down Under" operations but thought they were going to focus on their US operations such as Walden.  Adtalem is probably the best option as they're paying such an amazing price for the purchase.  They're most suited as well because literally all of the offshore medical schools in the Caribbean partner with Walden for an MBA/MD or Masters/MD dual option already, it's a "bit of a best fit" purchase.

[Sparklette]

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktake...y-laureate
I seem to recall several prior deals that never materialized. I'm not familiar with this new buyer.....any opinions?

---

Looks like it won't be final for another year, so hoping that means no major changes before then.

[bjcheung77]

Yeah, they're another huge agency, I think they're larger than Strategic Education (who owns both Capella/Strayer Universities and Sophia.org), here's another post: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...University