Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: LAUR) announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the Company to explore strategic alternatives for each of its businesses to unlock shareholder value. As part of this process, the Company will evaluate all potential options for its businesses, including sales, spin -offs or business combinations. Laureate has already initiated separate processes to explore the sale of its Peru, Mexico and Australia/New Zealand businesses.

Eilif Serck-Hanssen, President and Chief Executive Officer, said: "Laureate is taking action from a position of strength, having improved our operations company-wide through significant cost and efficiency initiatives. At the same time, we believe that the public market undervalues our portfolio of assets compared to the values that could be realized for those assets in the private market or through other transactions. As a result, our Board of Directors has decided to explore strategic alternatives to further unlock value for shareholders, students, and our other key stakeholders." This follows Laureate's successful track record over the past several years in divesting higher education institutions across the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa at accretive valuations.

Laureate expects to use substantially all of the after-tax proceeds realized from the implementation of any transactions resulting from this review process, as well as internally generated cash flows, to pay down debt and return capital to stockholders. The Company has engaged The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) as investment banker to lead this process. There can be no assurance as to the outcome of this process, including whether it will result in the completion of any transaction, as to the values that may be realized from any potential transaction or as to how long the review process will take.

The Company does not intend to provide interim updates on the progress of this review unless and until it believes disclosure is appropriate.