Education

BC Partners finds awkward fix for low-tech buyouts

7 December 2020

After three failed IPOs, the private-equity firm may sell publisher Springer Nature to a new fund it controls for 6 bln euros, the FT says. It’s messy, but probably better than a botched listing. With public investors wary of sluggish assets, other deals may face a similar fate.

Corona Capital: Record Dow, Basketball, GoCompare

25 November 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Vaccine optimism shunts the blue-chip Dow Jones index through 30,000; U.S. college basketball gets back on the court; and UK publisher Future snaps up the bargain-hunting website.

Teaching apps confront elephant in the classroom

15 October 2020

SoftBank’s call to buy a 9.7% stake in Kahoot! reflects a surge in demand for educational tech. But given users of the $2.7 bln Norwegian group’s app access it using Google, the U.S. tech giant may decide to develop its own version. That could at least limit stateside growth.

Corona Capital: Bankers, Virus vices, Student digs

8 October 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Japan’s Mizuho tries to get its employees to take it easy; smokers and gamblers struggle to kick the habit during lockdown; UK landlord Unite Group finds even student property is not immune to Covid-19.

Corona Capital: Dividends, Zoom, Big-screen blues

24 August 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: As company bosses try to conserve cash, investors are feeling the pinch; Zoom has a back-to-school problem; and a mediocre debut for Russell Crowe’s new road-rage movie shows Hollywood is stuck in the slow lane.

UK exam U-turn exposes algorithms’ deep flaws

19 August 2020

Popular fury forced the abandonment of hypothetical calculations of likely grades for Covid-canceled national exams. From credit scoring to criminal sentencing, even well-intentioned models of this kind make many harmful mistakes. Most victims lack the clout to force a reversal.

Corona Capital: Champagne, Canada, College chaos

18 August 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Champagne growers cut production; Canada’s finance minister quits over stimulus costs; and some American universities are collecting tuition fees before telling students that in-person classes can’t happen.

Guest view: U.S. universities need some self-study

17 August 2020

Even before the pandemic, America's higher education system was in crisis. It’s an opportunity to question orthodoxies about how it works and how it’s paid for, McKinsey’s André Dua says, and to develop new ways of equipping students with the skills for today’s economy and world.

American college football needs to play long game

10 August 2020

Collegiate athletes recently penned a letter arguing for better safety, healthcare and cash compensation. Players have increasingly been using their star power to pressure coaches and administrators. But the time for tweaks is over – a total NCAA revamp is long overdue.

Corona Capital: College mergers, UK property funds

3 August 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: M&A goes to the University of Arizona; Britain’s financial watchdog considers stopping property fund withdrawals.

Corona Capital: Movies, Sports

24 July 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Walt Disney is pushing back the highly anticipated movie “Mulan,” with a domino effect for “Avatar” and “Star Wars” sequels; and sport stars are still making it rain when it comes to pay.

Corona Capital: A tax on martinis

24 June 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Uncle Sam has bad news for those enjoying the libation during lockdown as it’s putting up import duties on gin, vodka and olives.

Pearson is poster child for post-pandemic activism

12 June 2020

Cevian Capital has revealed a 5% stake in the ailing education group, sending its shares up 12%. Though the company lagged under departing CEO John Fallon, it should benefit from a long-term shift to more online learning. Pressure from a patient but persistent activist will help.

Chinese online tutor gets lesson in multiplication

29 May 2020

GSX Techedu deflected one sloppy short-seller attack and a second sensational one. A third from Muddy Waters calling the $7 bln company a fraud hit as Luckin buckled and Congress moved on U.S.-listed Chinese stocks. Growing scepticism will require targets to have strong defences.

The Exchange: Vaccine optimist

26 May 2020

Lloyd Minor, the dean of Stanford’s school of medicine, tells Rob Cox that research into the coronavirus shows promising signs for the discovery of a vaccine. Just the same, the world needs to better prepare for pandemics, and medicine is at the cusp of extraordinary change.

M&A bankers should consider going back to college

8 May 2020

Not for the frat parties. Even before the pandemic, demographics were working against the economics of higher education. Crunched finances make it worse, and online learning has exposed absurd tuition costs. Colleges seeking size, scale and stability will need strategic advice.

Corona Capital: Corporate debt

3 April 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Despite uncertainty, investors have big appetites for investment-grade bonds.

Corona Capital: Dining bonds

20 March 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Restaurant industry cooks up a unique form of funding to help alleviate revenue wipeout.

Holding: Governance brawl a boon for stakeholders

10 March 2020

Attorney Martin Lipton and Harvard’s Lucian Bebchuk are at it again, with the latter saying company pledges to serve the greater good are illusory. Lipton counters that firms really are moving past shareholder primacy. At least the debate could benefit all corporate constituents.

Blackstone bets big on Boris British housing hedge

26 February 2020

The private equity giant is buying iQ Student Accommodation for $6 bln from Goldman Sachs in what it calls the biggest private UK real estate deal ever. It’s a play not on whether Brexit is a boom or a bust – but rather the continuing global allure of a proper English education.