Chinese Company Buying New Jersey College Campus

Rider University is selling one of its satellite campuses to a Chinese company on Monday, according to a Purchase and Sale Agreement signed last year by the school’s Board of Trustees.

Beijing Kaiwen Education Technology Co. Ltd will buy Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, next week. The Chinese education company is expected to spend $40 million on the Rider University satellite campus.

The Rider University Board of Trustees first announced last year that it had signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement for the transfer of Westminster Choir College, which also includes the Westminster Conservatory and Westminster Continuing Education.

In addition to the $40 million purchase, the company is also pledging to spend $16 million for capital and working capital expenditures in Westminster over a five year period, according to Rider University.

Not everyone, however, is pleased about the acquisition.

The university’s administration is facing two lawsuits challenging the legality of selling the satellite campus to the Chinese company, which includes an investigation by New Jersey’s Office of the Attorney General.

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