Rider Sells WCC To Chinese Company For $40 Million

PRINCETON, NJ — Rider University has revealed the identity of the Chinese firm that has agreed to purchase Westminster Choir College.

The Rider University Board of Trustees has signed a non-binding term sheet with Beijing Kaiwen Education Technology Co., Ltd. for the transfer of ownership of Westminster Choir College, Westminster Conservatory of Music, and Westminster Continuing Education for $40 million, the university announced on Wednesday. It said said this step ensures that the choir college and its entities will remain open in Princeton.

Beijing Kaiwen Education Technology Co., Ltd. is a Chinese firm that owns the Kaiwen Academies, two prominent K-12 international schools in Beijing.

“This is the beginning of an exciting new era for Westminster Choir College, its faculty, staff and students,” Rider University President Gregory G. Dell’Omo, Ph.D. said. “Kaiwen Education put forth an impressive proposal rooted in their sincere interest in the Westminster brand and in keeping the institution as a part of the Princeton community. We are eager to continue collaborating with Kaiwen Education to develop a binding agreement, the next step in this process.”

The money Rider makes off the sale of the college and its entities will allow Rider to invest in many priorities outlined in its recently adopted strategic plan, Dell’Omo said. It will also allow the university to offset some of the losses incurred in operating Westminster since 1992, according to Dell’Omo.

Details of the term sheet remain confidential, but Kaiwen Education said it intends to make offers of employment to faculty and staff, with terms to be determined. It will also offer continue committed student aid at the time of closing in the form of endowed scholarships, tuition discounts and other grant obligations, according to the university. More information will be forthcoming as the entities finalize a binding agreement.

Dell’Omo said the $40 million purchase price is indicative that the partner has the resources to invest in Westminster and is committed to its long-term viability.

“They are well positioned to continue the significant investment in Westminster that Rider has made over the past 25 years,” Dell’Omo said.

Rider’s Board of Trustees convened and selected Kaiwen Education to acquire Westminster and maintain the campus in Princeton last year, the university said. It was part of a selection process to find a new owner for the college from among 280 institutions.

PwC Corporate Finance LLC partnered with the university in the selection process. Rider said it has worked closely with Kaiwen Education and outside consultants to share detailed information and negotiate a non-binding term sheet that was acceptable to both parties.

“From the very beginning, the Board has remained deeply committed to our Guiding Principles, including a desire to find a partner who would preserve and enhance the Westminster brand, mission and history,” Rider Board of Trustees Chairman Robert S. Schimek said. “The completion of the term sheet is a definitive sign of progress and a clear declaration that Westminster will continue operating in Princeton.”

The Kaiwen Academies, operated by its parent company, Kaiwen Education, offer international education from the 1st to 12th grade, with focus in several areas including arts education and sports training.

Kaiwen Academies features top-rated teachers, an American teaching structure, a combination of Chinese and American curricula, and teaching philosophies and methods that strive to foster students’ arts literacy and international vision through well-rounded education, according to the university.

Kaiwen Education has hired two consultants recommended by Westminster to provide assistance in the next stages of this process.

Catherine (Kitty) Jarjisian, an accreditation consultant who is retired from a career in music education and administration, will lead and coordinate efforts to obtain accreditation with the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). NASM is the accreditation body charged with maintaining national standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees and other credentials for music and music-related disciplines.

Additionally, Larry Livingston will serve as the project manager and liaison to guide this process to a successful conclusion. Livingston is currently the chair of the Department of Conducting at the University of Southern California’s Flora L. Thornton School of Music.

He will also work with Westminster and Kaiwen Education to assure they receive all necessary regulatory approvals such as state licensure, accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and federal recognition.

Livingston has served as the vice president and music director of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston; dean of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston; and dean of the USC Thornton School of Music where he is now chair.

Plans are currently being finalized to bring representatives from Kaiwen Education, as well as Livingston and Jarjisian, to campus in the near future to meet the Westminster community.

For more information on the Kaiwen Academies, visit www.kaiwenedu.com.

Patch file photo