Blum Capital Partners, managed by Richard Blum, has reduced its position in Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO). A new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that Blum Capital Partners holds around 6.36 million shares of the company, down from around 7.14 million shares the fund held previously. The new stake is equal to 9.4% of Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO)’s common stock.
Blum Capital Partners was founded by Richard Blum in 1975. The San Francisco-based public strategic block and private investment firm has about $1.6 billion of equity capital under management. It focuses on small- to mid-cap companies in both the public and private markets. Prior to forming Blum Capital Partners, Mr. Blum was employed at Sutro & Co. The concentrated equity portfolio of the Blum Capital is valued at over $415 million as of the end of September and contains only four positions, with CBRE Group Inc (NYSE:CBG), Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO), and Moneygram International Inc (NASDAQ:MGI) representing top three equity positions. In its latest 13F, Blum Capital disclosed ownership of 11.71 million shares of CBRE Group Inc (NYSE:CBG), the stake amassing 83.9% of the total portfolio value. The investor disclosed holding 6.60 million shares of Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO), which was its second largest holding. Blum Capital has also reported ownership of 1.94 million shares of Moneygram International Inc (NASDAQ:MGI) as at the end of the third quarter.
In October 2014, Blum Capital Partners disclosed reducing its activist stake in ITT Educational Services Inc. (NYSE:ESI) to more than 1.85 million shares from over 2.0 million shares held earlier. As a result, Blum Capital Partners’ stake in ITT Educational Services Inc. (NYSE:ESI) dropped to 7.9% of all outstanding shares of the company.
Now, let talk about Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO), which is engaged in education business, and the company offers education to more than 75,000 students across using online, on-ground and hybrid learning program. The company has four business units, including university, international and transitional schools, and career schools.
Schaumburg, Ill.-based Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) has a market cap of more than $394 million. The company’s stock is currently trading at $5.84. The stock lost more than 14% over the last year. The consensus average target price of the stock is $6.00, while the consensus average recommendation is ‘Hold.’ For the third quarter, Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) reported a 6.8% decline in total revenue to $227.5 million, compared to $244.2 million in the the third quarter of 2013.
On December 18, 2014, Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) announced that its board of directors approved a plan to sell the company’s Le Cordon Bleu North America colleges of culinary arts. The company’s decision to pursue the divestiture was the result of an ongoing portfolio review undertaken to evaluate the strategic direction of the company. At that time, Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) stated that it has not yet secured a buyer for the sale. However, the company engaged Parchman, Vaughan & Company LLC to identify potential buyers and evaluate proposals for these campuses. Built on the French culinary tradition and affiliated with the original school in Paris, Le Cordon Bleu North America offers hands-on educational programs in culinary arts, as well as patisserie and baking, to students at 16 campuses located in cities across the United States. It also provides online programs in culinary arts and hotel and restaurant management. Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) expects to complete the sale within the next 12 months.
Other investor seeing value in Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) include TCS Capital Management, led by Eric Semler, which upped its stake in the company by over 10% during the third quarter of 2014, owning 2.51 million shares of the company. However, AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, decreased its position in Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) during the third quarter, holding 2.08 million shares, which represents a drop of 13% over the quarter. Another investor, Akanthos Capital, run by Michael Kao, disclosed holding 700,000 Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) shares, representing an 8% increase over the quarter.
Disclosure: none
