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.