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Showing posts with label sterling Partners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sterling Partners. Show all posts
Friday, January 11, 2013
Thursday, December 13, 2012
A second Loop campus for expanding Tribeca Flashpoint
A second Loop campus for expanding Tribeca Flashpoint
Howard Tullman, Tribeca Flashpoint CEO
Fast-growing Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy, with an enrollment of 600, has expanded to its second Loop campus since opening at the Burnham Building at 28 N. Clark four years ago.
The new campus at 33 N. LaSalle, which conveniently connects to the Burnham building by a throughway, adds 20,000-sq. ft. to the school. The second and third floors of what originally had been the classic high-ceiling headquarters of the American National Bank have been in the process of remodeling since the move-in two months ago.
Part of the new space is being converted into a 180x60-ft. shooting stage, with a 42-ft. clear span to the ceiling. The space also will have a 200-seat screening room and event space that will be available for public rentals.
Tribeca Flashpoint gave up its lease on NBC/5 former Merchandise Mart studios to make way for Google’s Chicago offices, says the school’s CEO/president Howard Tullman. Students used the NBC studios for TV production. They will continue to use Ch. 2’s studios at 22 W. Washington.
It only took a month for Tribeca Flashpoint to find the new space. “I knew these spaces existed in a couple of Loop buildings where big banks had grand open spaces and soaring ceilings. We began remodeling about two weeks after the previous tenant, the City of Chicago, moved out,” Tullman says.
The architectural firm for the new campus is A. Epstein & Sons, which also worked on Tribeca Flashpoint’s original 125,000-sq. ft. Burnham Building campus and Barbara Pollack, designer of its interior, is doing the same on LaSalle St.
Tribeca Flashpoint also has an option to add 12,000-sq. ft. of third-floor office space and “a couple of more floors,” says Tullman. The lease runs until 2027, when the Academy’s Burnham Center lease ends.
Last June, Chicago private equity firm Sterling Partners, the biggest investor in education in the world, acquired a majority stake in the Academy. “We wanted a substantial partner,” says Tullman, given the school’s expansion and growth. It started with 100 media arts students at the end of 2007.
The new campus at 33 N. LaSalle, which conveniently connects to the Burnham building by a throughway, adds 20,000-sq. ft. to the school. The second and third floors of what originally had been the classic high-ceiling headquarters of the American National Bank have been in the process of remodeling since the move-in two months ago.
Part of the new space is being converted into a 180x60-ft. shooting stage, with a 42-ft. clear span to the ceiling. The space also will have a 200-seat screening room and event space that will be available for public rentals.
33 N. LaSalle St. building
It only took a month for Tribeca Flashpoint to find the new space. “I knew these spaces existed in a couple of Loop buildings where big banks had grand open spaces and soaring ceilings. We began remodeling about two weeks after the previous tenant, the City of Chicago, moved out,” Tullman says.
The architectural firm for the new campus is A. Epstein & Sons, which also worked on Tribeca Flashpoint’s original 125,000-sq. ft. Burnham Building campus and Barbara Pollack, designer of its interior, is doing the same on LaSalle St.
Tribeca Flashpoint also has an option to add 12,000-sq. ft. of third-floor office space and “a couple of more floors,” says Tullman. The lease runs until 2027, when the Academy’s Burnham Center lease ends.
Last June, Chicago private equity firm Sterling Partners, the biggest investor in education in the world, acquired a majority stake in the Academy. “We wanted a substantial partner,” says Tullman, given the school’s expansion and growth. It started with 100 media arts students at the end of 2007.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy may acquire a school within 18 months, CEO says
| 20/06/2012 | Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy may acquire a school within 18 months, CEO says |
| Story | Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy (TFA), the Chicago, Illinois-based media arts college, seeks to acquire a school with related curriculum in the next 18 months, said Howard Tullman, president and CEO. TFA offers two-year degree programs in media and digital arts. The company seeks to acquire schools particularly in New York, the home base of TFA’s strategic partner, Tribeca Enterprises. Other cities of interest include Austin, Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana. Students have expressed an appetite for longer and more diverse programs, along with business and entrepreneurial training to become more valuable employees, Tullman said. TFA plans to introduce two-year programs in new disciplines along with three- and four-year programs. It would like to offer programs in social media, mobile applications, design, and communications. The development and accreditation process for such offerings will take one to two years. Earlier this month, TFA sold a majority stake to Sterling Partners for an undisclosed sum. It is working with Sterling to evaluate its options for acquisitions, but has not yet appointed an advisor, Tullman said. He anticipates moving forward on an acquisition within 18 months. Internationally, TFA also has its sights on the UAE or Qatar, which hosts the Doha Tribeca Film Festival. Strong government support and the lack of bureaucratic regulatory hurdles in this region are incentives for offshore expansion, Tullman explained. While there is no set time frame, Tullman envisions digital media centers for university communities that are already in place, such as Doha’s Education City, which hosts eight universities. The UK, China, France, and India have also shown strong interest in TFA’s programs, but a new location would depend upon global interest in its online offerings, Tullman said. Some of its offerings are well-suited to online courses, such as game development and animation, while other disciplines such as film rely on physical locations. Traditional four-year schools want to partner with TFA to add digital arts majors using TFA’s curriculum instead of developing their own program, Tullman said. They range from the Big Ten to state schools and small humanities colleges. Prior to its stake sale to Sterling, TFA had been searching for a buyer for some time, Tullman said. It eventually ruled out large for-profit education buyers because those institutions are under congressional scrutiny and have low stock values. Once TFA can provide Title IV funding to students and has grown to a larger size, it will be a better target for strategic buyers, a source familiar with the company said. Due to regulatory uncertainty, future interest is more likely to come from media companies, gaming companies, or larger private digital arts schools. The source named Orlando, Florida-based Full Sail University, an art, music, and film school, as a good fit for TFA. Accredited in April 2011, TFA is in the process of receiving approval to provide Title IV aid to students, which could boost enrollment, which has grown by 500% since the school’s foundation, Tullman said. Demand for digital media professionals is growing steadily and TFA’s student enrollment could grow in three-to-five years to between 3,000 to 5,500 from roughly 600 today. At that rate, more add-on buys may be necessary, the source said. Henry Druker of Druker Capital and Stifel Nicolaus advised TFA on its stake sale to Sterling. by Elise Garofalo in New York |
| Source | Proprietary Intelligence |
Monday, June 04, 2012
Northbrook private-equity firm to take controlling stake in Tribeca Flashpoint
Northbrook private-equity firm to take controlling stake in Tribeca Flashpoint
(Crain's) — Sterling Partners, a Northbrook-based private-equity firm, is buying a controlling stake in Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy, the Chicago digital media arts college led by Howard Tullman.
The school, which has about 600 students, will use the new capital to expand under the continuing leadership of Mr. Tullman, an entrepreneur who has been CEO and an owner of the academy since operations began in 2007. Terms of the transaction weren't disclosed.
“Educational institutions today must provide their students with the technical and critical-thinking skills required to succeed in a workplace that's increasingly changing, and Tribeca Flashpoint Academy does just that,” said Jason Rosenberg, a Sterling principal.
The school provides students real-world, hands-on experience using digital technology in a two-year program focused on getting them a job. It awards associate's degrees in several disciplines, including film and broadcast, game and interactive media, and plans to add more in September.
“We've got a Chicago investor in a Chicago company and that means that the local company is going to stay right where it is and keep growing,” said Chicago Deputy Mayor Mark Angelson, lauding the new investment.
Sterling Partners, which has about $5 billion in assets under management, concentrates its investments in education, health care and business services and tends to buy into small and mid-market companies.
Mr. Tullman has worked with Sterling in the past, selling a stake in Chicago culinary arts and hospitality school Kendall College to the private-equity firm in the early 2000s.
“I've had a long history with these guys,” Mr. Tullman said of the Sterling partners. “They were on my list from day one as a potential partner.”
New York-based Tribeca Enterprises LLC, the parent company of Tribeca Educational Ventures LLC and the Tribeca Film Festival, became an investor in the academy in 2010 and will continue to own a stake.
Sterling Partners Acquires Majority Stake in Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy
Sterling Partners Acquires Majority Stake in Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy
BUSINESSWIRE NORTHBROOK, ILL.
Sterling Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm with approximately $5 billion of assets under management, has acquired a majority stake in Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy, Chicago’s premier digital media arts college. TFA has gained national prominence for providing students real-world, hands-on projects using cutting-edge digital technology in a two-year, career-focused program. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed and the transaction remains subject to certain regulatory filings.
TFA has been led by veteran high-tech entrepreneur Howard A. Tullman, its president and CEO, since it began operations in 2007. From a central downtown Chicago campus and two learning sites, TFA offers associate’s degrees in four disciplines, including film and broadcast, game and interactive media, recording arts, and animation and visual effects. In September, it will introduce graphic design and visual communication.
Sterling Partners concentrates on investing growth capital in small and mid-market companies in three primary sectors: education, healthcare and business services. Sterling has a long history in building leading education companies that focus on providing superior outcomes for students.
“This important partnership between Tribeca Flashpoint Academy and Sterling Partners will arm our young people with the tools to find quality jobs and launch careers in a rapidly evolving digital world, and is the kind of initiative that will help cement Chicago’s position as a hub for exceptional educational institutions for higher learning,” said Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago. "Investments like this one -- where Chicago-based private equity firms are investing in Chicago institutions -- are important to the city's future economic success."
“Educational institutions today must provide their students with the technical and critical-thinking skills required to succeed in a workplace that’s increasingly changing, and Tribeca Flashpoint Academy does just that,” said Jason Rosenberg, a Sterling principal. “We are thrilled to partner with the management team led by Howard Tullman as well as with the existing investors, to continue building a world-class program at one of the nation’s leading digital media arts schools.”
“Sterling Partners’ education expertise, tremendous resources and capital support will enhance and expand TFA's ability to train tomorrow’s innovators and leaders in digital media. The digital revolution impacts businesses across the globe - whether it’s consumer goods, media, education, medicine, gaming, music, animation, film and broadcast, visual effects or visual communications,” said Tullman.
“We are very excited to partner with Sterling Partners to continue to build out the vision for TFA,” said Craig Hatkoff, co-founder of Tribeca Enterprises, the parent company of Tribeca Educational Ventures LLC and the Tribeca Film Festival. Tribeca Enterprises became an investor in TFA in 2010.
At TFA, which is accredited by the American Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, the curriculum erases the traditional boundaries between education and the professional world through a combination of hands-on learning, expert instruction and an emphasis on collaboration and professionalism. TFA has achieved strong placement rates across each of its core disciplines. Graduates have taken jobs with such companies as Disney, NBC Universal, Nickelodeon and a variety of other leading media and advertising companies.
About Sterling Partners
Sterling Partners is a private equity firm with a distinct point of view on how to build great companies. Founded in 1983, Sterling has invested billions of dollars, guided by the company’s stated purpose: INSPIRED GROWTHTM, which describes Sterling’s approach to buying differentiated businesses and growing them in inspired ways. Sterling focuses on investing growth capital in small and mid-market companies in industries with positive, long-term trends – education, healthcare, and business services. Sterling provides valuable support to the management teams of the companies in which the firm invests through a deep and dedicated team of operations and functional experts based in the firm’s offices in Chicago, Baltimore, and Miami.
The people at Sterling believe in ideas and ideals, in people and partnerships that drive long-term success. For more information, please visit www.sterlingpartners.com.
About Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy
Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy, Chicago’s premier digital media arts college, offers a two-year, career-focused program leading to an associate degree in disciplines including Film & Broadcast, Game & Interactive Media, Recording Arts, Animation & Visual Effects and, most recently, Graphic Design & Visual Communication. The downtown Chicago campus and two learning sites provide a combination of hands-on learning, expert instruction, cutting-edge technology and an emphasis on collaboration and professionalism. TFA is accredited by the American Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. For more information, please visit www.tfa.edu. Click here to watch a video of CEO Howard Tullman describing Tribeca Flashpoint’s mission and approach.
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