PHOENIX, Dec. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Grand Canyon
Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: LOPE), a publicly traded shared services
partner dedicated to serving colleges and universities, announced
today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire
Orbis Education Services, LLC, an education services company that
supports healthcare education programs for 17 regionally accredited
universities across the United
States ("Orbis Education"), for $362.5 million in cash. The transaction is
expected to close during the first quarter of 2019, subject to
customary closing and regulatory conditions.
The acquisition combines the strengths of two of the nation's
most innovative service providers in higher education in an effort
to align their expertise and better address a nationwide shortage
in licensed healthcare professionals.
"This is a natural extension of what Grand Canyon Education is
already doing as an education services partner," said Brian Mueller, GCE's CEO. "We are very impressed
with the quality of nursing and healthcare education that Orbis
Education's client institutions are providing. GCE can help grow
that by providing investment capital and advanced technologies with
behind-the-scenes support that will help University partners
accomplish their goals and increase the number of licensed
healthcare professionals they educate with the same high-quality
outcomes.
"There is a significant shortage of healthcare professionals in
this country due to the aging Baby Boomer population and impending
retirements of many in the nursing profession," Mueller added.
"These are noble and well-paying professions that many students are
interested in, yet many universities are forced to turn away
qualified applicants due to budget constraints, a shortage of
faculty, and an insufficient amount of clinical sites and
classrooms. Orbis has been very innovative in providing scalable
solutions for universities across the country."
Orbis Education, founded in 2003, has created collaborative
partnerships between academic institutions and employers by
managing clinically intensive pre-licensure healthcare programs
through a hybrid learning model that incorporates online
coursework, off-campus laboratory facilities where students can
practice clinical skills, and guaranteed clinical placements with
healthcare partners.
Orbis Education's partner schools have best in class outcomes
including graduation rates, placement rates and first-time pass
rates on the NCLEX professional licensure tests.
GCE, a pioneer of the hybrid campus model, is one of the largest
providers in education services due to its partnership with
Grand Canyon University, a private
nonprofit Christian university with enrollment of more than 95,000
students. GCE created the infrastructure that allowed Grand Canyon University to grow from 900
traditional students on its ground campus to approximately 20,500
in just 10 years while also increasing admission requirements and
increasing the average incoming GPA to more than 3.5. Over
the same period online enrollment grew to more than 75,000. That
was accomplished while the university invested $1.2 billion in academic infrastructure since
2009, froze tuition on the ground campus for 10 straight years,
kept debt levels of its graduates to $10,000 less than the national average (according
to data from the Institute for College Access and Success), and
maintained low student loan default rates, which is estimated to be
5.8 percent for the most recent cohort.
"Grand Canyon Education is an excellent fit for Orbis and
provides a transformational opportunity for our academic and
healthcare partners as well as our employees," said Steve Hodownes,
chief executive officer, Orbis Education. "Both organizations are
mission-driven and intently focused on generating high-quality
results and outcomes. GCE's extensive resources combined with
Orbis' healthcare education expertise in helping university
partners create cutting-edge programs will enable more students to
pursue their dreams in well-paying professions. This partnership
will also allow Orbis and its University partners to increase the
pipeline of exceptionally well-qualified licensed healthcare
professionals that our healthcare partners need to meet the growing
demand."
DLA Piper LLP (US) (Phoenix,
Arizona) is serving as outside corporate counsel to GCE in
the transaction. Barclays Capital Inc. is serving as financial
advisor to GCE.
Morgan Lewis & Bockius
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is
serving as outside corporate counsel to Orbis Education in the
transaction. Macquarie Capital is serving as financial advisor to
Orbis Education.
For more information on GCE's services, contact Vince Grell, Executive Vice President of
University Partnerships, at 602-639-8921, or visit gce.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
Forward-Looking Statements. This press release
contains "forward-looking statements," including statements
relating to the proposed transaction discussed above. Words
such as "may," "should," "could," "would," "predicts," "potential,"
"continue," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans,"
"believes," "estimates" and similar expressions, as well as
statements in future tense, identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are based on information available at
the time those statements are made or management's good faith
belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are
subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events
to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the
forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause such
differences include, but are not limited to: the failure of GCE to
be able to operate Orbis Education in the manner it was operated
prior to the Merger; the occurrence of any event, change or other
circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the
definitive agreement; the effect of the announcement of the
transaction on GCE's ability to retain key personnel of Orbis
Education; and other factors discussed in GCE's reports on file
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Factors or events that
could affect the transaction contemplated herein or cause GCE's
actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is
not possible for GCE to predict all of them. GCE undertakes no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future
developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any
applicable securities laws.
About Grand Canyon Education: GCE is a publicly
traded shared services partner dedicated to serving colleges and
universities. GCE's leadership team has been leading educational
transformation since 1983, and supports partner institutions'
students through operational functions that achieve organizational
growth and student success. GCE can design programs that serve
diverse student bodies on campus or online at the undergraduate,
master and doctoral program levels. These functions support the
complete student life cycle including strategic enrollment
management, academic counseling, financial services, learning
management system support, technical support, student information
system support, compliance, marketing, human resources, classroom
operations, curriculum development, faculty recruitment and
training, among others. For more information, visit gce.com.
About Orbis Education: Orbis Education Services, LLC
develops, markets and manages healthcare education solutions that
result in outstanding student outcomes and help alleviate workforce
shortages for hospitals and healthcare systems. Founded in 2003,
the Carmel, Indiana-based company
forms strategic partnerships with academic institutions and
healthcare systems to enable the delivery of high-quality,
clinically intensive nursing, occupational therapy and other
healthcare education programs. The company provides course
development, site management, program marketing and enrollment, and
student support. For more information, visit
www.orbiseducation.com.
Contact: Christel Mosby, Grand Canyon Education |
602-639-6680; christel.mosby@gce.com
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SOURCE Grand Canyon Education, Inc.