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Laureate Education tries to close the books on its buyout

Tom Taulli — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 08:15:00 EST

Filed under: Private Equity, Citigroup Inc. (C), Clear Channel Commun (CCU)

Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: LAUR) has certainly attracted a long list of top-notch investors, such as KKR, Citigroup, SAC Capital and even the company's CEO, Douglas Becker.

But the deal hasn't been easy - that is, until the investors started to boost the bid.

The latest was an increase from $60.50 to $62.00 (or $3.82 billion or so). And, that was enough to get the approval of Laureate's board.

As we have seen in other deals - such as with Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (NYSE: CCU) - major institutional public shareholders are not potted plants. Instead, they are getting tough on shareholder approvals.

In the case of Laureate, T. Rowe Price was making lots of noise. In fact, the firm even wrote a letter to the management and indicated that the offer was "significantly below the true long-term value of the company." According to its analysis, T. Rowe Price projects a stock price of $110 by 2010.

T. Rowe Price is not alone. Another major Laureate shareholder -- Select Equity Group - was not pleased with the pricing.

To get the deal done, Laureate only needs to get a majority of the shareholder vote - and that looks likely now. On the news of the new offer, the company's shares increased 2.53% to $61.63.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Laureate Education tries to close the books on its buyout originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Jun 2007 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Laureate Education gets another "F" on its buyout

Tom Taulli — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:45:00 EST

Filed under: Private Equity

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) is in the process of a $3.1 billion buyout deal with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Citigroup Private Equity and SAC Capital Management.

The problem is that shareholders hate the deal. Select Equity is going to vote "no," as will T. Rowe Price Associates. Now, there is another dissenter: BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), according to a story in TheDeal.com (subscription required.)

Basically, shareholders think Laureate still has lots of growth potential (especially in foreign markets) and that the $60.50 buyout offer does not reflect this. Counting up the votes for the three dissenters, it is still below 20%. But if a couple more shareholders join the mutiny, it could mean this deal falls apart.

Although Wall Street is not betting on that. Laureate's current stock price is $58.55. You may also check out Select Equity's analysis on the deal at the SEC website.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Laureate Education gets another "F" on its buyout originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An interesting situation brewing in Laureate Education

Kevin Kelly — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 15:10:00 EST

Filed under: SEC Filings, Deals, From the Boards

Laureate Education Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR) is an education company focused on the full-time/working-adult demographic. It operates campus-based and online-based universities offering both undergraduate and degree programs. The company's network includes institutions in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Due to the company's focus on the international markets, which offer faster growth potential than the domestic market, the company has grown very substantially over the last several years. From 2001 to 2005, Laureate increased sales from $485 million to $875 million, and increased profits to $160 million from from $56 million.

In the end of January, the company announced that an "investor group" would purchase Laureate for $60.50 per share. This group is led by the company's chairman and CEO, Douglas Becker. With the stock trading at $60.30, the opportunity certainly doesn't look tremendous. That is, until you read the recent 13D filings on the stock!

Within the last two weeks, two interesting 13D filings have hit the SEC filing page for Laureate. The first filing was released by Select Equity and the second filing was released by T. Rowe Price. Both of these large holders of Laureate's stock are against the management-led buyout because they believe the $60.50 per share being offered to shareholders isn't adequate.

Continue reading An interesting situation brewing in Laureate Education

An interesting situation brewing in Laureate Education originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 03 Mar 2007 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Laureate: Getting schooled by big investor

Tom Taulli — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:22:00 EST

Filed under: Private Equity, Citigroup Inc. (C), Goldman Sachs Group (GS)

Back in late January, Laureate Education Inc. (NASDAQ: LAUR) announced it was going private in a $3.8 billion deal. The investors included the typical private equity players, such as Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts, Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C). Although, this time there was a twist in the form of another investor -- hedge fund S.A.C. Capital Management.

Well, not everyone's happy with the deal. In fact, Laureate's third largest outside investor (with a 7.14% stake), Select Equity Group, sent an interesting letter to management.

The letter doesn't hold back. Simply put, it says that the $60.50 buyout offer is "grossly inadequate." What's more, it alleges that the deal was "flawed by clear conflicts of interest." As a result, the fund is not going to support the deal.

The letter does a pretty good job in going through the valuation analysis. Basically, it does look like the buyout group is getting a good deal (but, this is why they are buying the company, right?)

However, it looks like Wall Street thinks the deal will get done at the proposed offer. Currently, the stock is trading at $59.89, up $0.33.

If you want to check out the letter, you can see it at the SEC web site.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Laureate: Getting schooled by big investor originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cramer's SELL BLOCK

Jon Ogg — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 19:23:00 EST

Filed under: After the Bell, Analyst Reports

Jim Cramer tonight had a quick SELL BLOCK feature where he reviewed names he has previously liked and usually suggests taking your profits. On most of these he advised sell, but on one he did not. You can access the full notes here.

He has been behind Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) for some time, thinking the negative cloud swirling was too much; he said take the 11% profit on his call and walk away. Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) is one he said to take profits in. Cramer said 3M Co. (NYSE:MMM) is PERMANENTLY on the SELL BLOCK and he was wrong there. Smith & Wesson Holding (NASDAQ:SWHC) is one where he is glad he maintained the sell stance.

Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St., LLC; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Cramer's SELL BLOCK originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 Feb 2007 19:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Laura Bush rings closing bell in a triumph of pink

Sarah Gilbert — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 18:39:00 EST

Filed under: After the Bell, Newspapers

According to the Wall Street Journal, Laura Bush was wearing "a pink skirt-suit" when she rang the closing bell for the New York Stock Exchange today, marking the first time, ever, that a First Lady has rung the closing bell. The White House website says brightly that her visit was made to "symbolize the vital contribution that women bring to a growing global economy."

And what better way to symbolize women in economy, everywhere, than to wear pink?

The Journal pointed out that she pronounced the floor trading "interesting" after receiving a description of the NYSE's workings from Spear Leeds & Kellogg.

Laura Bush has certainly worked hard for women's rights in her time as First Lady, but has labored much of this second term deep in the shadow of her husband. She's visiting New York City by herself this week, attending a conference on global literacy, accepting an award, and talking at the Clinton Global Initiative. She'll also talk at the UN about Burma's humanitarian crisis.

The history-making step at the NYSE seems at once flamboyant and girlish, feminista and feminine. Why ring the bell now? Why wear pink? As a woman in business, I'm at once bemused and a little insulted at this would-be economic role model. Will anyone remember Laura's actions as a mark on the timeline for feminism, or women, or pink -- or is it just a trivia footnote that will be quickly forgotten by all but the most dedicated Bushophiles? What do you think?

Laura Bush rings closing bell in a triumph of pink originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 18 Sep 2006 18:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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