Recently, Washington Post Company’s (WPO) wholly owned subsidiary Kaplan, Inc, the provider of higher education and professional training, acquired the Murdoch Institute of Technology from the Alexander Education Group for an undisclosed sum.
The Murdoch Institute of Technology is one of Australia’s leading educational institutions, and provides courses in fields such as commerce, information technology, mass communications and science to help prepare students to enroll directly in Murdoch University.
The agreement also includes the acquisition of The Murdoch Language Institute. The Institute caters to a wide range of students who want to enhance their English proficiency to enroll in secondary, undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
Earlier in 2007, Kaplan had acquired Bradford College and Grange Business School, which was later renamed Kaplan Business School. In 2006, Kaplan entered the Australian Education market, and since then it has expanded its education business slowly and steadily. Kaplan is now the largest provider of educational services for finance, tax and accounting-related courses.
The growth of Kaplan in recent years has come from both rapid internal growth and acquisitions. The Kaplan acquisition follows a string of acquisitions by the company, including new overseas markets ( Canada, Ireland, Australia and China). We think Kaplan will continue to make small acquisitions while focusing on improving its profitability.
Washington Post’s Education division is well positioned to accelerate revenue and operating income growth with strong results from its Higher Education business of Kaplan. Higher Education business revenue jumped 36% for the second quarter of 2009.
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