Engine Capital And Hawk Ridge Issue Open Letter To Board Of Adtalem Global Education
Express Significant Concerns Regarding the Investigation of Walden University by the Department of Justice
Call on Adtalem's Management to Update Investors regarding the Status of its Own Investigation during its Earnings Call
Urge the Board to Delay any Potential Financing Activities for the Walden Acquisition Until Completion of the Department of Justice Investigation
NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Engine Capital LP (together with its affiliates, "Engine") and Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP (together with its affiliates, "Hawk Ridge"), significant stockholders of Adtalem Global Education, Inc. ("Adtalem" or the "Company")(NYSE: ATGE) with an aggregate ownership of approximately 3.9% of the Company's outstanding shares, today issued an open letter to the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board").
In the letter, Engine and Hawk Ridge share their findings regarding certain practices at Walden University's ("Walden") College of Nursing that are the likely target of an ongoing U.S. Department of Justice ("DoJ") investigation. Engine and Hawk Ridge believe that the investigation centers around the large number of Walden's nursing students that are not able to graduate because the institution has failed, in Engine and Hawk Ridge's view, to adequately help them fulfill their clinical experience requirements. Those requirements are an obligation under Walden's Program Participation Agreement with the government, which allows Walden to receive Title IV funding. This explains Walden's low graduation rates compared to its peers, and its poor reputation in the industry for enrolling too many students, many of whom have no practical pathway to graduation. This has been confirmed by multiple industry executives and senior administrators at other nursing schools, including one former Walden employee. Engine and Hawk Ridge express serious concern that Walden may face steep fines and lose federal funding, jeopardizing its continued existence, if the recently announced investigations lead to actual charges.
Engine and Hawk Ridge call on management to detail the nature and status of their own investigative efforts into Walden on the February 2, 2021 earnings call.
Engine and Hawk Ridge also urge the Board not to proceed with any potential financing activities in relation to the acquisition of Walden until the DoJ investigation has been completed, and explain how a financing today could amount to $122 million in unnecessary interest payments and fees if the Walden acquisition ultimately cannot be completed.
Finally, Engine and Hawk Ridge repeat their concern that Walden is a fundamentally inferior asset with a poor revenue mix, pointing to its consistently lagging financial results compared to Chamberlain University.
The full text of the letter to the Board can be viewed at the following link:
About Engine Capital
Engine Capital is a value-oriented special situations fund that invests both actively and passively in companies undergoing change
About Hawk Ridge
Hawk Ridge is an investment firm founded in 2005 focused on investing in high quality, misunderstood small cap equities with $2 billion in assets under management.
Investor contact:
Engine Capital, L.P.
Arnaud Ajdler
(212) 321-0048
[email protected]
Hawk Ridge Capital Management, L.P.
Eric Wolff
(310) 593-7350
[email protected]
SOURCE Engine Capital, L.P.
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