Think: Education Group acquires Billy Blue Group
Think: Education Group today announced the acquisition of the Billy Blue group of education and training companies.
Sydney-based
Billy Blue is one of Australia’s most successful private institutions,
offering a range of courses in design and hospitality management.
Billy Blue also provides English language training and recently
launched a corporate training business. This is the first time Billy
Blue has changed hands since it was founded in 1977 by Ross Renwick and
Aaron Kaplan.
For Think: Education Group, Billy Blue represents the first in a series of planned
acquisitions. The company plans to establish Australia’s leading
private education and training group through the acquisition, growth
and development of high-quality education businesses. Think: Education Group's major financial backer is Chester Capital, an investment and
finance company which is part of the Chester Finance Group.
The
directors of Think: Education Group include Robert Gavshon
(Chairman), Sam Linz, Milton Levine, Mark Rohald and Anthony Böhm. Mr
Rohald, CEO of THINK: Education Group, was a co-founder and
Director of Educor, a global listed education group, and has been a
Director of more than 15 education and human resources companies
worldwide. Mr Linz and Mr Gavshon are best known as the co-founders of
Rebel Sports and Barbeques Galore, and Mr Levine is Chairman of Chester
Finance Group.
After leading the organisation for nine years,
Billy Blue’s Managing Director Bruce McKenzie will retire, but will
continue to work with Billy Blue in a consulting capacity. Think: Education Group's Anthony Bohm, a former Vice President of private
education giant Kaplan International, will become Billy Blue’s Chief
Executive Officer. Billy Blue’s Chief Financial Officer Chris Parker
will become Chief Operating Officer.
Billy Blue Creative, a
separate design agency, will remain under the ownership of founders
Ross Renwick and Aaron Kaplan. It will continue to be co-located with
the other Billy Blue businesses, with the current close working
relationship retained.
Think: Education Group's Chief
Executive Officer, Mark Rohald, said: “Billy Blue has experienced
significant growth and invested heavily in the development of a
portfolio of world-class higher education programs. As a result, Billy
Blue is now well positioned to capitalise on growth opportunities
through the launch of a broader range of education offerings. Think: Education Group brings a team of executives who have the vision,
experience and resources to realise these growth opportunities for this
iconic education institution.”
Currently, Billy Blue offers
Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma courses. It jointly delivers
Bachelor degree programs in Design and Hospitality Management with
Swinburne University and La Trobe University respectively. From
February 2007, Billy Blue will also offer its’ own Associate Degrees in
Communications Design, Multimedia Design and Hospitality Management.
From June 2007, a suite of Masters degrees will also be offered in
partnership with Swinburne University. In a significant development,
degree students at Billy Blue will be able to access FEE-HELP – the
Federal Government’s loan program for full-fee higher education
programs.
Outgoing Managing Director and board member of
Billy Blue, Bruce McKenzie, said: “In our discussions with Think: Education Group, it became clear to us that they share a similar
vision for the Billy Blue Group – in particular, our commitment to
delivering exceptional graduate outcomes through teaching excellence
and industry engagement. I’m delighted that the new executive team
brings both passion for education and deep business experience to Billy
Blue.”
Think: Education Group Chairman Robert Gavshon
paid tribute to the contribution of Billy Blue’s founders, Ross Renwick
and Aaron Kaplan, and executive team, led by Bruce McKenzie.
“Their
passion, vision and dedication have made Billy Blue one of Australia’s
premier private education institutions. Thanks to their efforts, we
see tremendous and exciting opportunities.”
“The
introduction of degrees and FEE-HELP positions Billy Blue for
significant growth. Importantly, we see the acquisition of Billy Blue
as the first major step in the building of a group of high-quality
private education and training institutions in Australia,” Mr Gavshon
said.
About Billy Blue
Founded in
1977, Billy Blue is a highly respected provider of vocational and
higher education programs in design and hospitality management. Based
in North Sydney, Billy Blue operates three schools - the Billy Blue
School of Graphic Arts, the William Blue School of Hospitality, Tourism
and Leisure and the Billy Blue English School. In September this year
Billy Blue launched Billy Blue Training to target the short-course
corporate training market.
For more information see: www.billyblue.com.au