Wall Street Institute International Acquires Company Franchise Rights in Italy

BALTIMORE, Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Wall Street Institute, a Pearson owned organization and the world's premier provider of English language instruction for adults, today announced the acquisition of the Master Franchise rights in Italy, the largest single franchise network within the Wall Street Institute global organization. The acquisition was announced at Wall Street Institute's Annual Conference for its global network partners held in San Diego, CA, USA.  

Wall Street Institute was launched in Italy in 1972. As the company expanded, "Master Franchise" rights were awarded to an organization in each of the countries where Wall Street Institute operates. There is one master franchise for each country with the exception of China and Germany, which are directly operated by Wall Street Institute International. Italy now joins these two countries as a corporate owned entity.

"This is an exciting step forward for Wall Street Institute as we return 'home' to Italy where it all started back in 1972," said David Kedwards, President and CEO of Wall Street Institute. "Wall Street Institute International is committed to bringing quality, development, and sales growth to this very important market."

Emiliano Battaglia has been named the General Manager of the Wall Street Institute Italy operations. Mr. Battaglia brings with him significant experience with Wall Street Institute including center and national Italian management positions.

The acquisition was announced at Wall Street Institute's Annual Conference. The annual conference is designed to gather franchise owners and other top executives from the Wall Street Institute network to present new products and discuss corporate goals and strategies for the coming year. Representatives from around the world gathered in San Diego for this year's event.

"The annual conference is a great opportunity for people across the WSI network to get together and share ideas," said Kedwards. "It is great for business, as products are introduced and best practices are shared, and it is good for teambuilding."

Wall Street Institute currently operates in 27 countries around the world. The company was acquired by Pearson, the global education company, in August 2010. For a complete list of countries with Wall Street Institute centers, please visit their website at www.wallstreetinstitute.com.

About Wall Street Institute

Wall Street Institute (www.wallstreetinstitute.com) is the premier provider of English language instruction for individuals and corporate clients around the world. The Company's innovative blended learning method integrates the best of proven learning approaches to provide the most effective English language instruction available for adults. Students listen, read, write, speak, and practice English with guidance and support from highly trained native English speaking teachers. Wall Street Institute's curriculum is aligned to the Common European Framework Reference for Languages (CEFR), according to a study undertaken with the support of the University of Cambridge English for Speakers of Other Languages Examination group (CESOL). Utilizing both company-owned and franchised centers, Wall Street Institute has provided instruction to over 2 million students in over 400 centers in 27 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.  Founded in 1972, Wall Street Institute's international offices are in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States, Barcelona, Spain, and Luxembourg. Wall Street Institute is owned by Pearson, the education company.

SOURCE Wall Street Institute