North Broward Preparatory School, a long-time boarding school in Coconut Creek, has been sold to Hong Kong-based Nord Anglia Education.
The private school has nearly 1,600 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. It was part of a sale of six schools by Meritas to Nord Anglia for for $575 million in cash. The price for North Broward Prep was not broken out.
“I don’t think parents, students or faculty will see any impact,” said Elise Ecoff, headmaster of the school for four years.
North Broward Prep, founded in 1957 by Dr. James Montgomery, touts graduates who attend the Ivy League and other top colleges.
But the prep school may be best known in South Florida for graduate Ariana Grande. The singer and actress was on Broadway at 13 and was named “New Artist of the Year” at the 2013 American Music Awards.
In 2005, North Broward Prep became part of Meritas international schools.
In a Q&A on its website, North Broward Prep says the sale won’t affect students’ day-to-day academic experiences, including tuition, curriculum and our unique programs in the 2015-2016 school year. But students will have more resources and opportunities as part of Nord Anglia Education, such as an online learning community that connects their students around the world and a summer music immersion program.
Nord Anglia said it was seeking to increase its U.S. presence with the acquisition of North Broward Prep, as well as schools in Windermere, Fla., and Houston. Other Meritas schools acquired are in Monterrey, Mexico; Geneva, Switzerland; and Chengdu, in the Sichuan province of China.
The buyer said the acquired schools are “a strong fit with Nord Anglia Education’s global growth strategy.”
The Meritas schools generated $209.5 million of revenue for fiscal 2014, and the properties have a value of about $150 million, Nord Anglica said in a filing with U.S. regulators.
Nord Anglia operates schools internationally with more than 32,000 students in China, Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia and North America.
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