Private-Equity Juggernaut Rolls through Higher Education

Overview & Synopsis

The deluge of money that private-equity investors have been pouring into buyouts of companies in all sectors of the economy is having a growing impact on higher education. Until recently, outside investors were primarily interested in the for-profit college industry, acquiring family-owned colleges and chains of colleges. Now several of those investors are putting their billions into companies that sell services to students and colleges, from admissions-marketing firms to the student-loan giant Sallie Mae, and into buyouts of publicly traded companies, such as Education Management Corporation, Concorde Career Colleges, and internationally focused Laureate Education. The force behind this buyout frenzy in higher education is the same one that feeds the phenomenon in the economy at large--a huge flow of capital from endowments and pension funds into private-equity funds. Investors are also realizing that changes in higher education offer prospects of big profits. In this article, the author explores this trend and examines the return on investment on college buyouts for private-equity investors.