(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-MHG83S3');

Purdue buying Kaplan

Category
Education Marketing, News & Events
Date
April 30, 2017
Author
masonidev
Social

The Wall Street Journal reported that Purdue University is buying Kaplan, hoping to reap the benefits of the Kaplan brand, and to create a viable online presence.

Purdue President Mitch Daniels said “We took a long build-or-buy analysis and came to the honest recognition that we would be very unlikely to succeed building it ourselves.”

This makes plenty of sense for everyone.  Purdue gets a ready made online business and Kaplan gets the brand equity of a world-class University.

I predict that this is the first wave of this, and that we’ll see plenty more not-for-profit-/-for-profit M & A.

A few observations:

  • The purdue team has a steep, steep learning curve ahead of them.  Get ready for a world full of acronyms, Mr. Daniels.  CPA, CPL, CPO and CPE are about the become the most important words you know.
  • I have to think that this would not have happened in a Clinton Administration, for better or worse.
  • One wonders about Purdue’s endowment. One suspects that it is shrinking, and that this acquisition is a bold move to turn that tide.