Monroe Capital was the sole lead arranger and administrative agent on a $72 million senior credit facility and preferred stock investment to support the recapitalization of Education Corporation of America (ECA) and the company’s simultaneous non-cash acquisition of 38 career college campuses from Kaplan, in a transaction led by ECA’s longtime private equity sponsor, Willis Stein & Partners.
Education Corporation of America is an operator of private, accredited career colleges across the US. With the completion of the Kaplan transaction, ECA’s college brands now includes Virginia College, Golf Academy of America, Ecotech Institute, Kaplan College, Kaplan Career Institute, TESST College of Technology, Texas School of Business and the online New England College of Business. With this acquisition, ECA now has 70 campuses and online programs located in 20 states with approximately 30,000 students. According to Willis Stein, the campuses acquired from Kaplan will be rebranded with a new name prior to year end. ECA is headquartered in Birmingham, AL (www.ecacolleges.com).
“The Monroe team absolutely stepped up for us in a big way on this financing,” said Avy Stein, Managing Partner of Willis Stein & Partners. “They worked with us to create a win-win structure in order to complete a complicated transaction in a very timely manner. We look forward to working with them on our future deals.”
Willis Stein acquired ECA in January 2005 from Prospect Partners which formed ECA in 1999 to purchase Virginia College, a private, for-profit post-secondary educational institution. Willis Stein invests in the consumer services, education and specialized business services sectors of the economy. In recent years the firm has not been actively seeking new acquisitions and raised its last fund in 2000. Willis Stein is based in Chicago (www.willisstein.com).
“This transaction represents a compelling opportunity in a space that requires deep sponsor knowledge and investor expertise,” said Ted Koenig, President and CEO of Monroe. “We are pleased to partner with the team at Willis Stein and the ECA management team.”
Monroe Capital provides senior and junior debt and equity co-investments to middle-market companies. The firm was founded in 2004 and maintains offices in Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco (www.monroecap.com).
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-9-15
