March 17, 2006

2 Companies Plan to Buy a Chain of For-Profit Colleges for $3.4-Billion

By JEFFREY SELINGO

Education Management Corporation, which enrolls 72,000 students on 72 campuses in 24 states, agreed to sell itself last week to two private equity firms for $3.4-billion, becoming the first publicly traded higher-education company to turn private. The move triggered speculation among analysts that the deal could lead to other takeovers of for-profit colleges.

The purchase by Providence Equity Partners Inc. and the investment arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., contingent upon approval by

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