One month after announcing that they were exploring a potential merger, the two Newton-based liberal arts schools said in a brief statement that they would “not move forward with a merger,” the Boston Business Journal reports.
Mount Ida and Lasell College won’t be merging
by Village 14 | Mar 23, 2018 | Newton | 6 comments
I predict one or both will be purchased by a Chinese corporation. They have already purchased a college in back bay and a choir school in the northeast.
You can’t just “purchase” a nonprofit institution.
Bugek, if you’re talking about Bay State College, they’re a for-profit school. Lasell and Mt. Ida aren’t.
@Greg – Rider University in NJ just announced plans to sell one of it’s colleges (Westminster Choir College) to a for-profit Chinese company:
https://communitynews.org/2018/01/12/rider-university-sell-westminster-choir-college-uncertainty/
http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2018/03/chinese_company_buying_choir_college_also_builds_b.html
Rider’s stance is they can’t support Westminster and would be using the proceeds to shore up it’s own operations, similar shades to what Mt. Ida just did selling off a chunk of their land so maybe not as far fetched a scenario.
My point was that a commercial entity can’t just swoop in and buy a nonprofit, the nonprofit’s trustees would have to agree to dissolve and be purchased.
Jenna Fisher at Patch has added details here.