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7
2015 ANNUAL REPORT
If this sounds like a determination to preserve Don’s
legacy, then you read me correctly. It’s not my com-
mitment to Don. It’s my commitment to all of you.
How will we allocate capital?
Post cable spin-o, we have become a much
smaller company and have turned to the future.
First and foremost, we’ll look to build around our
existing sectors: education, media, health care, and
industrials. The financial quality of our businesses
varies, as do the opportunities to deploy capital
within them. But I believe we already have businesses
that over time we will be able to grow with very
nice returns while expanding their moats. We know
something about these industries already and quite a
bit about the people running these businesses for us.
We think the best risk-reward outcomes come from
concentrating on this approach.
Our Pathways business is one such example. Run by
David Jones, Andrew Thick, and Linda Cowan with
operations predominantly in the U.K. and Australia,
Pathways oers an opportunity for international
students to conduct a year of study at one of our
high-end traditional university partners. After a
year, most become full-fledged students at the
university. Or put another way, they’ve completed
a “pathway” to become a full-fledged student at a
top Western university. In order to be successful
at this business, you must have the ability to
recruit qualified students from dozens of countries
throughout the world. The Kaplan network of agents
and recruitment oces is second to none. Agents
are crucial because they are the in-country trusted
touch-point for parents and prospective students.
With every new school we add to our Pathways
business, we create a stronger selection for students,
increase the superiority of our oering, and enhance
the agents’ available options to meet the needs of
prospective students. These programs oer a huge
benefit to partner universities. In fact, if your alma
mater could use a financial boost and a more diverse
international population, it may help to suggest a
Pathways partnership with Kaplan. We’ll look to
continue to expand our Pathways oerings over the
coming years.
In a perfect world, we would be able to allocate all
of our capital through a combination of well-priced
tuck-in acquisitions and high-confidence organic
growth initiatives. However much we’d like that to
be the case, it is unlikely to be constantly true. We
will be ready to look at new companies when internal
returns aren’t compelling. So what are our criteria?
n Well-run, profitable businesses in fields we can
understand
n Strong management with a dedication to con-
tinuing to run the business
fIrst and foremost, We’ll look
to buIld around our exIstIng
sectors: educatIon, medIa,
health care, and IndustrIals.