Date Issued: 10 April 2008
IDP Education Pty Ltd has purchased the 41.2% stake in IELTS
Australia Pty Ltd owned by nine Australian universities for $28.7
million.
Following the purchase, completed on 9 April 2008, IDP Education
owns 100% of the equity in IELTS Australia.
The Chief Executive of IDP Education, Anthony Pollock, said the
deal meant that IELTS Australia would be a stronger, more
competitive company with the resources and funding required to
respond to growth opportunities in English proficiency testing
world-wide.
“IDP’s resources, including its international network of student
offices, will be fully available to support IELTS Australia
operationally and help it meet the growth in demand for English
testing and the competitive challenge from other players,” he
said.
The nine universities which sold their shareholdings to IDP
Education are Curtin University of Technology; Macquarie
University; the University of Queensland; Monash University; the
University of Tasmania; the University of Technology, Sydney;
Deakin University; Griffith University; and the University of
Wollongong (through its subsidiary the Illawarra Technology
Corporation Ltd).
These universities will retain an interest in IELTS Australia
through their shareholdings in IDP Education Australia Ltd, which
owns 50% of the equity of IDP Education Pty Ltd.
About IELTS Australia and IDP Education
IELTS, the International English Language Testing System, is one
of the world’s leading English language proficiency tests. IELTS
Australia jointly owns the IELTS test with the British Council and
the University of Cambridge. It delivers the test in 114 locations
around the world. Over 938,000 candidates took the IELTS test in
2007.
IDP Education Pty Ltd is the largest placement service for
international students enrolling in Australian educational
institutions with 78 student offices in 29 countries. IDP Education
is half-owned by Australian universities and half-owned by SEEK
Ltd, Australia’s leading online employment and training
company.
For further information:
Tim Dodd, Manager, External Relations, IDP Education
0407 440160, tim.dodd@idp.com
