Company Licenses World-Renowned Les Roches Hospitality Management School Programs to Kendall College; Provides Financing for Kendall's New World Class Campus in Downtown Chicago
Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR), the world's leading international provider of higher education, today announced its agreement to offer Les Roches Hospitality Management School programs in the United States through a license agreement with Kendall College, a regionally accredited Chicago-based school known for excellence in culinary programs.
As part of the agreement, Laureate Education will loan a total of $18.3 million to Kendall College. The loan will fund buildout, equipment and opening costs for Kendall's new campus in downtown Chicago to replace its current campus in Evanston, Illinois.
In addition, Laureate Education obtains a two-year option to acquire the operating and real estate assets of Kendall for forgiveness of the loan amount and assumption of the $25 million real estate mortgage on the new 150,000 square foot facility.
"The combination of Kendall College's culinary education with Les Roches' world-renowned hospitality management programs is a powerful offering that can address the tremendous need for a quality workforce in the hospitality industry," stated Wolf Hengst, President of Worldwide Hotel Operations at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and a member of the Laureate board of directors.
Doug Becker, Laureate Education's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated, "Today's agreement with Kendall College marks the launch of Les Roches offerings in the United States, one of the largest untapped markets for our hospitality business. Our existing recruitment network will offer Les Roches and Kendall programs to international students seeking to study in the United States. Kendall College will likewise serve as a feeder school to our hospitality management programs in Switzerland and Spain and will serve as a premier platform for campus expansion in the United States," added Mr. Becker.
Founded in 1934, Kendall College (http://www.kendall.edu/) offers bachelors, associates, and certificate programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, Early Childhood Education, Business and Technology. The Commission on Institutions of Higher Learning of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools has continuously accredited Kendall College since 1962. The American Culinary Federation has accredited the School of Culinary Arts since 1988.
Kendall College currently enrolls over 500 students at its suburban Evanston location and plans to relocate to its newly purchased Riverworks facility - a larger, state of the art facility located in Downtown Chicago. The school will begin serving students from the downtown location this September and expects all culinary operations to be fully transitioned by December 2004.
In its fiscal year ended June 2004, Kendall College generated revenues of approximately $10 million.
Additional details of the planned cooperation and curriculum-sharing between Les Roches and Kendall College are featured in a separate news release issued today. This release is available for viewing on Laureate Education's website, www.laureate-inc.com.
About Les Roches
As one of the world's premier hospitality management schools, Les Roches has over 4,000 alumni in management and executive positions throughout the worldwide hospitality industry. The Switzerland-based school has over 25 years of history and was the first hospitality program in Switzerland to offer programs in English.
Les Roches is internationally recognized with over 1,400 students from 75 countries and is continuing its tradition of leadership and innovation.
Recently, Les Roches announced a partnership with Jin Jiang International, one of the largest and most diversified hospitality and tourism groups in China, to opening Les Roches Jin Jiang International Hotel Management College in downtown Shanghai.
About Laureate Education, Inc.
Laureate Education Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR), formerly Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc., is focused exclusively on providing a superior university experience to over 130,000 students through the leading global network of accredited campus-based and online universities. Addressing the rapidly growing global demand for higher education, Laureate offers a broad range of career-oriented undergraduate and graduate programs through campus-based universities located in Latin America and Europe. Through online universities, Laureate offers the growing population of non-traditional, working-adult students the convenience and flexibility of distance learning to pursue undergraduate, master's and doctorate degree programs in major career fields including engineering, education, business, and healthcare.
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