Sylvan To Acquire National Education

Sylvan Learning Systems Inc. of Baltimore will acquire National Education Corp. of Irvine, Calif., in a stock swap valued at $750 million, the companies announced Wednesday.

The acquisition, which requires approval of shareholders and regulators, would create a titan in the fast-growing supplemental education industry, a market with an estimated $60 billion a year in sales and expanding at a rate of 10 percent annually.

The merged company would have annual revenue of $450 million and expertise in nearly every aspect of educational services, including testing, tutoring, professional licensing, off-site education - which includes teleconferencing and computer learning - and the publication of written and electronic educational material.

Sylvan’s stock fell $5.25 to close at $29.87-1/2 Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. NEC’s stock fell 87-1/2 cents to close at $16.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Some analysts interpreted the reaction as a sign that investors aren’t convinced of the benefits of the merger.