PITTSBURGH, Sept. 27, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Education Management Corporation (EDMC) (Nasdaq:EDMC) announced today that it has closed into escrow on its purchase of 4.9 million shares of Argosy Education Group, Inc., beneficially owned by Argosy's chairman and chief executive officer. The aggregate cash purchase price for the shares, which represent approximately 75% of the outstanding shares of Argosy, is $58.8 million. The shares and the purchase price will be released from escrow upon the satisfaction of certain conditions, including regulatory approvals and the approval by Argosy's shareholders of the previously announced merger agreement between Argosy and EDMC.
Education Management Corporation (www.edumgt.com) is among the largest providers of proprietary post-secondary education in the United States, based on student enrollment and revenue. EDMC's education institutions offer master's, bachelor's and associate's degree programs and non-degree programs in the areas of design, media arts, culinary arts and fashion. The Company has provided career-oriented education programs for more than 35 years, and its Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu) have graduated more than 125,000 students.
This press release may include information that could constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any such forward-looking statements may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results encompassed within the forward- looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include those matters disclosed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.