PITTSBURGH, Oct. 16, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Education Management Corporation (Nasdaq:EDMC) announced today that it has passed the most significant hurdle necessary to complete its acquisition of certain assets of ITI Education Corporation (ITI). Ernst & Young Inc. (E&Y), the court-appointed Receiver and Manager of ITI, reported that the proposal to creditors of ITI was accepted yesterday. Final approval of the court is expected in mid-November. The acquisition is structured as an asset purchase, with EDMC acquiring out of receivership only those assets necessary to operate three of the former ITI campuses, those in Halifax, Toronto and Vancouver.
"With the approval we received from creditors, I believe the sale to EDMC will be completed as planned," said Mathew Harris, E&Y Senior Vice President and Receiver for ITI.
"We're pleased that the creditors' vote is complete and look forward to finalizing the agreement soon," said John R. McKernan, Jr. Vice Chairman of Education Management Corporation. "ITI offers students a unique postgraduate education program that prepares graduates to solve today's enterprise challenges using technology. We plan to invest in ITI's growth for the benefit of students and employers in Canada and the United States."
Education Management Corporation announced in September it had closed into escrow on approximately 75% of the shares of Argosy Education Group, Inc., an important step in its announced merger with Argosy. Argosy University, a national university, offers doctoral, master's, bachelor's and associate's degrees in education, psychology, business and health care fields.
EDMC is among the largest providers of proprietary post-secondary education in the United States, based on student enrollment and revenue. EDMC's current education institutions offer master's, bachelor's and associate's degree programs and non-degree programs in the areas of design, media arts, culinary arts and fashion. The Company has provided career-oriented education programs for over 35 years, and its Art Institutes have more than 125,000 graduates. For more information about The Art Institutes and The Art Institute Online, visit their Websites at www.artinstitutes.edu and www.aionline.edu.
This press release may include information that could constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any such forward-looking statements may involve risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results encompassed within the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include those matters disclosed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Past results of EDMC are not necessarily indicative of its future results. EDMC does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.