Dec 22, 2014 11:27 AM EST By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Career Education Corporation announced Monday that it plans to pursue the divestiture of its Le Cordon Bleu North America colleges of culinary arts.

The decision was the result of an ongoing portfolio review that Career Education has undertaken to evaluate the strategic direction of the company.

Built on the French culinary tradition and affiliated with the original school in Paris, Le Cordon Bleu North America is a well-renowned brand in the hospitality industry. It offers hands-on educational programs in culinary arts, as well as patisserie and baking, to students at 16 campuses located in cities across the United States. It also provides online programs in culinary arts and hotel and restaurant management.

 Le Cordon Bleu students learn under the guidance of experienced chef instructors using high quality ingredients in well-equipped commercial-grade kitchens.

"We are proud of our Le Cordon Bleu culinary colleges and remain committed to the success of students who attend them, but we believe that it is in the best interest of all involved to identify a new owner who can make a larger investment in order to expand the schools and their offerings. We know that the Le Cordon Bleu brand is highly regarded and in selling the institutions, we plan to maximize shareholder value, maximize the student experience and maximize professional opportunities for staff," President and CEO Scott W. Steffey said in a statement. "This divestiture will allow us to reallocate funds across our portfolio, adding flexibility to our balance sheet as we look to position Career Education for growth in 2015 and beyond."

Le Cordon Bleu North America's financial results are reported in the Culinary Arts segment of Career Education Corporation's Career Schools group. For the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2013, Culinary Arts recorded total revenues of $177.5 million. As of Sept. 30, 2014, total student enrollment in Culinary Arts was 10,100 students.

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