Acquisition News

From Inside Higher Ed:

Laureate Education, the company that owns Walden University and more than 50 other for-profit colleges and universities worldwide, announced today that it has acquired a majority stake in National Hispanic University, a nonprofit institution with a campus in San Jose, Calif.

"We're a mission-driven university for Hispanics, like the historically black colleges are for African-Americans," said David P. López, NHU's president. "We're not going to have the leadership that this state and country need" without serving Hispanic students. But despite lofty goals, the university -- which offers certificates, associate's degrees and bachelor's degrees in education, business and information technology to a largely first-generation student population -- has struggled to expand.

"The fulfillment of their mission was being prohibited by lack of capitalization," said Paula Singer, president and CEO of Laureate Higher Education Group. Laureate will provide the capital and infrastructure to help NHU expand its mission, first in San Jose, but eventually with other brick-and-mortar campuses nationwide, and possibly online course offerings.