Thursday, October 4, 2001

Princeton Review Buys Online College-Admissions Service By ANDREA L. FOSTER In a sign of consolidation among dot-com college businesses, the Princeton Review announced Tuesday that it has acquired the operating assets of Embark.com, an online college-admissions service. John Katzman, chief executive officer of the Princeton Review, a test-preparation and college-admissions service, declined to say how much his company spent on the deal. Jerry Herman, an equity analyst with Legg Mason, said the acquisition would allow Princeton Review, which went public in June, to offer a broader array of services to students and colleges. "It is also an illustration that consolidation is going on in the industry, especially for companies that evolved as technology-centric companies," he said. He said he sees additional mergers coming in the private e-learning market. Still unclear is how the purchase of Embark will affect a $40-million lawsuit the company was hit with in July 2000. The suit was brought by Embark's chief competitor, CollegeNet.com, which accused the company of maligning CollegeNet's reputation among colleges. Mr. Katzman said Wednesday that his company's acquisition of Embark excludes assuming liability in that lawsuit. "It's a dispute over things that happened years ago among people who have long since left the companies, and I'm going to work hard to see if I can settle things between the two organizations," he said. The Princeton Review will maintain Embark's Web site until spring 2002. Then the company will move Embark's services to the Princeton Review site. Mr. Katzman said his company would maintain Embark's office in San Francisco, but the office staff of 80 has been pared down to 40. "We got rid of some redundancy," he said. Among the former Embark executives not hired by the Princeton Review is Phillip Dunkelberger, Embark's president. He declined to comment Wednesday on the acquisition or his departure. The Princeton Review, based in New York City, hired the former chief technology officer of Embark, David Mosher, to be vice president of the Princeton Review's West Coast operations. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

House panel approves budget proposal with increases for NIH, student-aid programs Supporters and critics of Congressional earmarks meet to seek consensus Colleges largely complying with requests for information on foreign students, survey finds In a first, scientists find a gene involved in language At request of Emory U., historian will defend his book on America's gun culture Arizona State professor arrested in connection with alleged Ecstasy ring Flag burning sets off controversy at Emory U. U. of British Columbia stands behind professor who blasted U.S. foreign policy Princeton Review buys online college-admissions service 6 Boston-area colleges to coordinate IT services  Catholic colleges use distance education to train lay ministers