US-based Strategic Education has reached a deal to buy Laureate Education’s Australia and New Zealand business, outlaying $US642.7m for the owner of the private, Adelaide-based Torrens University.
The deal was announced in the United States overnight.
It comes after the strategic buyer started closing in on the business before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, nudging out local private equity firms Pacific Equity Partners and BGH Capital.
Negotiations paused after the coronavirus outbreak and Strategic Education negotiated a slightly lower price.
The transaction comes as many deals in the making stall because they are seen as too difficult to price in the current environment.
Working for Strategic Education was Bank of America, while the Australasian operations of Laureate have been for sale through Goldman Sachs.
Laureate Education’s Australian and New Zealand operations include Torrens University Australia and Think Education in Australia, and Media Design School in New Zealand.
The three operations have about 19,000 students enrolled in technical, undergraduate and postgraduate programs in a variety of academic disciplines, including business, education, hospitality, design and creative technology, and health.
Torrens University was founded by Laureate in 2014 and was the first new university to open in Australia in 20 years.
The transaction is expected to be finalised in the first quarter of 2021.
Three on tenterhooks for Anglo’s $US2bn coal assets
Suitors vying to buy Anglo American’s steelmaking coal assets will face an anxious wait after Wednesday when final bids for the portfolio are due.
European interest in Cairns airport parent company
Amsterdam Airport owner The Schiphol Group and France-based investor Vinci are believed to be lining up for Cairns airport owner North Queensland Airports Group.