CHOPPING BOARD: The Advisory Board, a research and consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. that primarily serves healthcare and education institutions, will be split and sold.
The education business, EAB, will be purchased by Vista Equity Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, for approximately $1.55 billion. (Vista’s education portfolio includes PowerSchool, a widely-used K-12 student information system.)
Founded in 1979 with an initial focus on financial and healthcare industries, The Advisory Board expanded its work to higher education in 2007. This division claims it has worked with more than 1,100 colleges and universities, providing services from budgeting to student enrollment, marketing, recruitment and retention. Under Vista’s ownership, EAB will continue operate as a standalone business, according to the press release.
The healthcare side will be sold to Optum (owned by UnitedHealth) for about $1.3 billion. Altogether, the transaction value is estimated at $2.58 billion (also accounting for assumption of debt).
