Corinthian Colleges Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire Heald College

Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (Nasdaq: COCO) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Heald Capital LLC, the parent company of Heald College. Heald is a regionally accredited institution that has been delivering quality career-focused academic programs since 1863 and has created a strong brand in its markets. Heald prepares students for careers in healthcare, business, legal, information technology and other growing fields, primarily through associate degree programs. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Heald operates 11 campuses and had approximately 12,300 students at September 30, 2009.

Heald has nine campuses in Northern California, one campus in Honolulu, Hawaii and one campus in Portland, Oregon. In addition, Heald recently received approval from its accreditation agency, The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, to offer fully online degrees. The College expects to begin enrolling exclusively online students in early 2010. Corinthian currently has five nationally accredited schools in Northern California which primarily offer short-term diploma programs in healthcare, automotive technology and the trades.

"The acquisition of Heald is consistent with Corinthian's strategy of increasing its presence in markets with high growth potential and expanding its ability to offer regionally accredited programs," said Peter Waller, Corinthian's chief executive officer. "Upon completion, the Heald acquisition will give Corinthian an increased presence in Northern California, Oregon and Hawaii; a growth platform for campus-based and online regionally accredited programs; and a third strong brand. In addition, both organizations are dedicated to the mission of changing students' lives through quality, career-oriented education. We look forward to welcoming Heald's chief executive Nolan Miura and his capable team as a new and separate division at Corinthian."

"We fully support this proposed transaction, as Corinthian and Heald are both committed to preparing students for academic, personal and professional success," said Nolan Miura, Heald's president and chief executive officer. "I am proud of the strong culture and team that we have built at Heald and believe that our passion for student achievement has fueled the institution's substantial progress over the past few years. We believe the transaction will allow us to build on past success by giving Heald access to greater resources and through the sharing of best practices. Having spent eight years at Corinthian as a senior executive, I know personally that both organizations strive to put students first and to provide a positive culture for faculty and staff. We look forward to joining Corinthian and to the opportunities it will create for Heald."

Heald Capital's controlling shareholder is Brad Palmer, Founder and Managing Partner of Palm Ventures, LLC, who organized Heald Capital to acquire the majority interest in Heald College in 2007. Mr. Palmer recruited the current Heald Trustee Board, which includes a number of nationally recognized education and business leaders, and he has worked cooperatively with Mr. Miura and management to provide the resources essential for the development of the college. In March 2009, Mr. Palmer sold a minority equity interest in Heald to funds affiliated with Summit Partners.