Rider Agrees To Sell Westminster Choir College

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — Rider University announced details of its sale of Westminster Choir College.

It has signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) for the transfer of the college, including the Westminster Conservatory and Westminster Continuing Education, the university announced on Thursday.

Rider signed the PSA with three entities. The Westminster Choir College Acquisition Corporation is a non-profit entity in New Jersey that was established by Kaiwen Education. It will operate the college until the sale is finalized, at which time it will change its name to Westminster Choir College.

Beijing Wenhuaxuexin Education Investment Limited Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kaiwen Education. Princeton Westminster International, LLC is a subsidiary of Beijing Wenhuaxuexin Education. Princeton Westminster International will operate the Westminster Conservatory and Westminster Continuing Education.

Rider previously announced it would sell Westminster Choir College to Kaiwen for $40 million. However, there has been vocal criticism of the sale in the days that have followed, including as far as Kaiwen's qualifications for running the college are concerned.

The Chinese firm has no experience operating institutions of higher education, and has only been operating schools since 2016. The Rider Chapter of the American Association of University Professors believed that Kaiwen may be purchasing the land with the intent to close the college and converting the land and buildings for other purposes. In its announcement, Kaiwen stated that it is purchasing the college to increase its own profitability.

In fact, it was previously reported that the sale of the college scheduled for June had been postponed while Kaiwen became accredited and licensed to operate the college.

The date announced for the completion of the sale is July 1, 2019. That is part of the PSA approved by the Rider University Board of Trustees on June 19, and signed by both sides on June 21.

The price of the sale remains $40 million, but Kaiwen will invest an additional $16 million in the college over a five-year period beginning on the closing date for working capital and capital expenditures, the university said on Thursday. The $40 million price tag is also subject to transaction adjustments.

Read more here: Rider Could Lose Millions On Westminster Sale, Report Says

Rider will continue to operate Westminster Choir College, the Conservatory and Continuing Education during the upcoming academic year. During that time, the university and Kaiwen will work together to recruit students for the 2019-2020 academic year, according to Rider.

As part of the PSA, current full-time and priority adjuncts at Westminster and full-time and part-time Westminster staff will be offered employment and comparable benefits, according to the university.

Read more here: Union Challenges Layoffs After Sale Of Westminster Choir College

Kaiwen also has committed to operating Westminster at the current Princeton campus for no less than 10 years. It said it will substantially maintain the current academic offerings for no less than five years.
Kaiwen is obligated to continue student aid and to work with Rider on a transition plan for the smooth transfer of Westminster operations.

The agreement and transaction are subject to a series of required internal, governmental and regulatory approvals, which Rider and Kaiwen will coordinate over the next year.

“This contract is the result of months of hard work and negotiations which will allow the Board to achieve its ultimate goals of successfully transitioning Westminster Choir College to a partner that can make the necessary investments to continue its legacy, and more strongly positioning Rider to pursue its strategic plan for long-term financial stability and growth,” Rider University Board of Trustees Chairman Robert S. Schimek said.

“From the very start, the process undertaken by the Board of Trustees was deliberate and thoughtful. As reflected in its Guiding Principles, preserving Westminster Choir College has always been a priority of the Board,” Rider University President Dr. Greg Dell’Omo said.

Rider University announced its intention to sell the campus last year. The decision came after the university initially said it was looking to close the campus and consolidate it with the campus in Lawrenceville to help with some of the university's financial problems.

Rider partnered with PwC Corporate Finance LLC to select a buyer from among 280 institutions and 13 formal proposals of interest, five of which expressed interest in Rider’s preferred option of maintaining and operating Westminster in Princeton.

No U.S. higher education institution expressed interest in operating Westminster in Princeton, and only one U.S. education institution expressed interest in taking Westminster to its campus, but after limited diligence, declined to pursue the arrangement further, according to the university.

After comprehensive discussions regarding the transaction, Rider and Kaiwen Education entered into a non-binding Term Sheet on February 14, 2018. Since then, Rider and representatives of Kaiwen have been negotiating the binding PSA.

“This contract sets the foundation for a process that creates opportunities for Westminster to evolve into a renewed institution with a strong future,” Schimek said. “This includes plans to broaden and expand Westminster far beyond what Rider is able to do, and attract more international students to the Choir College, Conservatory and Continuing Education.”

“Kaiwen Education’s mission is to sustain and grow Westminster Choir College’s reputation as a world-class institution, while maintaining it as an artistically pre-eminent, academically rigorous and fiscally sound institution,” Dell’Omo said. “It is our hope that the entire Westminster community can come together to help bring this process to a successful conclusion so the legacy of Westminster can carry on far into the future.”

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