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Cortiva sells to Steiner
| Steiner Leisure Limited Announces Entry Into an Agreement for the Acquisition of the Assets of Cortiva Group, Inc. |  |
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Thursday, 13 October 2011 16:35
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| Steiner Leisure Limited has entered into an agreement for the acquisition of the assets of Cortiva Group, Inc. ("Cortiva"). Cortiva operates seven post-secondary massage therapy schools with a total of 12 campuses located in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington and which had revenues in 2010 of approximately $24.6 million. Post-closing, Steiner, through its Schools division, would own and operate a total of 30 campuses in 14 states with an anticipated total population of approximately 5,200 students. This transaction, which is expected to be accretive to earnings post integration and neutral to slightly accretive to earnings in 2012, has a purchase price of $33.0 million in cash. Prior to closing, we will determine the extent to which the purchase price will be paid from existing cash and/or through borrowings under our credit facility. Leonard Fluxman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Steiner, said, "The acquisition of Cortiva Institute, a well-known participant in the massage therapy education field and one of our longtime competitors, would considerably expand and fortify the presence of our Schools division in the post-secondary massage therapy school market. The integration of Cortiva's extensive massage therapy offerings into our existing curriculum, as well as the availability of a variety of new campus locations in several regions of the United States new to us, would further assist the growth of our Schools division. We look forward to introducing even more graduates, with increasingly diverse skill sets, into the growing massage therapy and spa industries." Closing of the transaction, which is anticipated to take place in 2011, is subject to conditions similar to those in other transactions of this type including, among others, the receipt of regulatory approval from the Department of Education (the Cortiva schools are eligible to receive Title IV student loan funding). Steiner Leisure Limited is a worldwide provider of spa services. The Company's operations include shipboard and land-based spas and salons. We provide our services on 155 cruise ships and at 68 land-based spas. Our land-based spas include resort spas, urban hotel spas and day spas and are operated under our Elemis(R), Mandara(R), Chavana(R), Bliss(R) and Remede(R) brands. In addition, a total of 28 resort and hotel spas are operated under our brands by third parties pursuant to license agreements with the Company. Our cruise line and land-based resort customers include Azamara Club Cruises, Caesar's Entertainment, Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Cruise Line, Hilton Hotels, Holland America Line, InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, Kerzner International, Loews Hotels, Marriott Hotels, Nikko Hotels, Norwegian Cruise Line, P&O Cruises, Planet Hollywood, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Lines, Silversea Cruises, Sofitel Luxury Hotels, St. Regis Hotels, Thomson Cruises, W Hotels and Resorts, Westin Hotels and Resorts and Windstar Cruises. Our award-winning Elemis, Bliss and Remède brands are used and sold in our cruise ship and/or land-based spas and are also distributed worldwide to exclusive hotels, salons, health clubs, department stores and destination spas. Our products are also available at www.timetospa.com and www.blissworld.com . Steiner Leisure also owns and operates five post secondary schools (comprised of a total of 18 campuses) located in Miami, Orlando, Pompano Beach and Sarasota, Florida; Baltimore, Maryland; Charlottesville, Virginia; York, Pennsylvania; Salt Lake City and Lindon, Utah; Las Vegas, Nevada; Tempe and Phoenix, Arizona; Westminster and Aurora, Colorado; Groton, Newington and Westport, Connecticut; and Dallas, Texas. Offering programs in massage therapy and, in some cases, skin care, these schools train and qualify spa professionals for health and beauty positions within the Steiner family of companies or other industry entities. |
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Relax & Rejuvenate on
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Steiner UK does the cruise ship therapist training. Steiner Education Group is the US branch which trains MTs and Estys for all work environments.
We have a Steiner school down the road from us -- at least 200 miles from the ocean.
Vlad said:I always regarded Steiner as the cruise therapist trainer.
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Everyone loves to complain about the big bad corporate schools "forcing out" the little guy, but the reality is much different.Where are the complaints about your MT bretheren selling out? I don't recall many headlines about them taking their new wealth and "spreading it out to more people in society." They took the money and ran, as well they should. They gave their students an education in exchange for the tuition and don't owe anyone -- let alone "society" the spreading of anything.
Both Cortiva and Steiner BOUGHT small independent schools in order to become big corporate schools. Now one has bought the other. What is the difference between having 2 corporate entities controlling 10 schools each and 1 controlling 20? It actually dilutes their position, as lobbying is less likely to be successful when it is pursued by a monopoly instead of multiple players.
if small, advanced classes are a need in the marketplace, someone, be it Steiner or some small local school, will fill that need. Money does not get left on the table.
Daniel Cohen said:
Yes, from what I have seen in California, growth of chain schools has forced out of business many small individual schools. These schools taught from experience and offered many advanced classes in various modalities taught by MTs experienced in the modality in the area. The loss of these small schools has made it difficult to find advanced classes in our area. The chain schools tend to teach lengthy and costly core curriculum with a few advanced classes sponsored by manufacturers and chain spas to boost their own business.
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EVERY massage school -- whether it is run by a single MT or a corporation -- is a for-profit entity, including all of those local heros like Ben Brenneke in SEA and the owners of MTI in Boston, who sold out to Cortiva for a hefty pay day.So long as Steiner/Cortiva are saddling students with loans they can't afford, they should get into the sub-prime mortgage business and saddle them with a house they could never afford.
Personal responsibility and critical thinking are clearly dead if adults can't be responsible for making good choices with their lives, so now lets kill the corporations who took advantage of them.
Really??!?! Don't you have a street named WALL to go occupy?
Alexei Levine said:
It tends to raise the cost of entry into the profession as the large chain schools push the smaller independent schools out of business. It also concentrates wealth in the hands of a few corporate shareholders rather than spreading it out amongst more people in our society. The large chain schools advocate for legislation that raises the entry level criteria unnecessarily as the longer a program is the more profit they can make. Corporate for-profit schools are also becoming famous for predatory recruitment tactics that result in outsize student loan debt for their graduates, and students who might not be a good fit for the field of massage therapy.
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Permalink Reply by Daniel Cohen on
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Not all are for profit. There are the Community Colleges which are subsidized by our taxes. These, like a number of private chain schools offer a core curriculum to get licensed but no advanced courses to continue professional development.
The presence of such schools makes continuance of the small schools which offer the advance classes difficult. I am a hands on person and prefer learning from an individual in person with classmates to try out on and get feed back than webair classes.
The big difference between the real estate loans and the massage education loans is that education is presented as a money maker easy to pay back from your new career. Real Estate was a gamble that when the balloon payment came there would be another easy loan. Yes people should think more clearly but intentional misleading sales is sometimes not so obvious and they prey on the trusting.
When do you want to meet on Wall Street?
Relax & Rejuvenate said:
EVERY massage school -- whether it is run by a single MT or a corporation -- is a for-profit entity, including all of those local heros like Ben Brenneke in SEA and the owners of MTI in Boston, who sold out to Cortiva for a hefty pay day.So long as Steiner/Cortiva are saddling students with loans they can't afford, they should get into the sub-prime mortgage business and saddle them with a house they could never afford.
Personal responsibility and critical thinking are clearly dead if adults can't be responsible for making good choices with their lives, so now lets kill the corporations who took advantage of them.
Really??!?! Don't you have a street named WALL to go occupy?
Alexei Levine said:
It tends to raise the cost of entry into the profession as the large chain schools push the smaller independent schools out of business. It also concentrates wealth in the hands of a few corporate shareholders rather than spreading it out amongst more people in our society. The large chain schools advocate for legislation that raises the entry level criteria unnecessarily as the longer a program is the more profit they can make. Corporate for-profit schools are also becoming famous for predatory recruitment tactics that result in outsize student loan debt for their graduates, and students who might not be a good fit for the field of massage therapy.
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Permalink Reply by Emmanuel Bistas on
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Cortiva did a remarkable job bringing together several diverse programs into a single brand. Their marketing campaigns deserve kudos and helped make massage therapy better known to a lot of people. The impression that they are one of the best schools stems from marketing but in reality each location is different and with varying placement and completion statistics. Cortiva came and went quickly, as the owners capitalized on the popularity of massage therapy training (which has declined in the past 3-4 years).
Steiner on the other hand is a much more solid company – the parent company has been around since the early 1900s and they have run massage schools since the late 90s. Their schools kept the original names though, and perhaps that is why they don’t have as solid as a brand as Cortiva and that is probably why they are associated with the cruise therapist trainings (which is one of the things that SteinerEd does).
I think with Steiner, as with Cortiva, if research is good for business and adds to the bottom line it will be included in the activities promoted to the students.
Vlad said:I always regarded Steiner as the cruise therapist trainer. And I'd regarded Cortiva as one of the best schools for all round training, and they put some emphasis on research literacy and encouraging students to get involved with research. I hope they don't let that slip as a result of this.
I'd be interested in how much operations change, curricula changes and what changes there are in the staffing of the Cortiva schools 6 months down the road.
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Permalink Reply by Alexei Levine on
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Why does my reply keep getting deleted?
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Don't bother discussing deceptive practices common to the for-profit education industry, apparently relax and rejuvenate doesn't like it, they keep deleting my reply. Must be a stockholder :)
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I'm trying to decide if I should be jealous.
Alexei Levine said:
Don't bother discussing deceptive practices common to the for-profit education industry, apparently relax and rejuvenate doesn't like it, they keep deleting my reply. Must be a stockholder :)
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Let's not let any facts get in the way of pushing a misuguided opinion
Evil Corporate Player Cortiva Boston - 750 hour program, $11,400 or $15.20 per clock hour
Local do-goody school, Elizabeth Grady - 750 hour program, $11,500 or $15.21 per clock hour
Local do-goody school, located 80 miles outside of high-cost of living Boston, Central MA Massage School - 651 hour program, $11, 070 or $17.82 per clock hour.
Local do-goody school, located 80 miles outside of high-cost of living Boston, Central MA Massage School - 738 hour Massage & Spa program, $13,070 or $17.71 per clock hour.
Who is to blame for overpriced massage education and unsustainable student loans? Cortiva of course!
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Hmmm....last i checked my local state-run, taxpayer subsidized university saddles out-of-state students with about $50k in student loans in order to graduate with their degree in anthropology, philosphy, literature or underwater basked weaving landing them in the unemployment line upon graduation.
Then lets not forget the 50% of college students that never graduate, who end up with debt and no degree.
Then there is the fact that college tuition has increased faster than the cost of health care.
Sounds pretty profitable for a non-profit enterprise, if they did not waste it all.
Apparently Cortiva and Steiner can learn volumes from the ultimate educational scam artists -- academia.
Daniel Cohen said:Not all are for profit. There are the Community Colleges which are subsidized by our taxes.
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All of the schools you name participate in the accreditation treadmill which raises costs, and encourages overcharging to capitalize on Pell grants funded by taxpayers. Local non-accredited do-goody school, The Massage School, Acton MA, 25 miles outside Boston, 800 hour program, $4,600, or $5.75 per clock hour.
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In reference to Relax and Rejuvenate's (nom de plume?) point about all massage schools being for profit, in addition to the community colleges, there are several non-profit schools in the USA, the most famous nationally probably being the Boulder massage school in CO.
For-profit education as a term really has become a convention for referring to large accredited corporate chain schools that depend on US taxpayer guaranteed loans and grants for the majority of their income . Many of these schools receive 80-90% of their revenues in the form of taxpayer funded checks.
Recently these schools faced very weak new regulation meant to protect the public and students from predatory recruiting and other deceptive sales tactics. The schools mounted one of the largest most expensive lobbying campaigns in history targeting Republican lawmakers, who rushed to do their corporate overlords bidding, and watered down already weak regulations which protect students and taxpayers.
It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. These student loans cannot be discharged, and as the interest compounds, many peoples financial lives have been ruined, and they are left with nothing but useless degrees or certificates, or worse if they couldn't finish their program.
It's also interesting to note that according to my contacts in the Massachusetts DOE, there are many more problems arising from accredited schools ripping off the public, than from small non-accredited independent schools.
(Full disclosure- I direct 2 independent non-accredited massage schools in Massachusetts. Our students currently pay $4,600 for a comprehensive 800 hour program in massage therapy. We are also proud to be able to offer our own 0% interest payment plan. www.TheMassageSchool.org )