Telematic universities, the latest somersaults of CVC and Multiversity
What does CVC combine with Multiversity? Why do contradictory news follow one another? But are we sure something will really change or is media activism just the result of the frantic frenzy of fox communicators? All the questions in Claudio Trezzano's letter on the new case concerning online universities
Dear director,
I'm no longer finding my way around the world of online universities, in particular what the major player, Multiversity, does, which owns the Pegaso, Mercatorum and San Raffaele online universities in Rome, in addition to the partnership with Sole 24 Ore now that the Confindustria's newspaper has forcefully returned to the EduTech sector, as Start Magazine reported .
On Multiversity – in addition to slip-ups, such as the Carrozza-Cnr case – we read contradictory news, I don't know whether inspired or not by communicators eager to make their clients appear in the newspapers even at the cost of running into heavy contradictions, perhaps in the hope that people do not read, understand or remember.
Let me explain, first we read that the CVC fund (which controls Multiversity) is about to sell a share of the group led by CEO Fabio Vaccarono (former number 1 of Google in Italy) and by the former president of the Chamber Luciano Violante , now president of Multiversity (summarized from MF: Multiversity, mandate from CVC to Morgan Stanley for the sale of a minority – Having entered the online universities hub in 2017, the British private equity group “wants to take advantage of the dynamism of the education sector to begin to enhance the 'investment' , note the emphasis from the press release on the part in the quotation mark), but then it turns out that the English want to valorise in another way , but I, who am not an expert in the corporate boxes and financial accounting abstruses of this piece, have understood nothing.
Here is what is written in the most recent Mf-Milano Finanza article, maybe you can help me: “Cvc relaunches on Multiversity. After the rumors of recent months regarding an interest on the part of CVC in opening Multiversity's capital to a minority partner, according to what MF-Milano Finanza understands, the global private equity giant with 177 billion dollars in assets under management would be now working with advisors Lazard and Morgan Stanley on a strategic move to relaunch the asset and further enhance the investment made in 2019, and of which it acquired full control at the end of 2021".
The fulcrum is this: “Sources close to the dossier reveal that CVC is thinking of transferring Multiversity, the main Italian hub for digital universities, from its VII Fund to a new dedicated vehicle, in an operation which in jargon is defined as a "continuation fund". Despite the interest of other international funds, CVC has in fact decided to extend its exposure in Multiversity, confirming its confidence in the prospects of the group and the education sector in Italy".
I understand the external partner's move due to the new capital, but I don't understand what the point of changing the "box" of the group would be…
And then: does the CVC fund want to sell a stake in Multiversity? A share or control? See you at the next spin.
Furthermore, in the same piece I read that Multiversity is carrying out "an important recruitment plan for professors and researchers, with the aim of continuing to push on the quality and service offered to students". But how? Director, we've been talking about it for months, at least in our newspaper, and yet in their financial statements they haven't taken into account all the legal initiatives ( not to mention the parliamentary ones ) against the rules that would oblige them to hire professors? And to say that, given the presence of Violante at the top of the Group and the pressure of the sector on the political world , I am certainly aware of it.
The para-journalistic campaigns of the sector association and even of the foundations (even the historic Einaudi, would you ever believe it? Yet read Formiche's piece here , and the entire report , director) were not enough to support the demands of digital universities as well as I am?
My head is full of doubts.
Best regards,
Claudio Trezzano
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/universita-telematiche-le-ultime-capriole-di-cvc-e-multiversity/ on Thu, 29 Feb 2024 07:19:09 +0000.