{"id":182644,"date":"2025-08-28T15:49:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T15:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/182644\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T15:49:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T15:49:10","slug":"following-the-phoenix-money-17-million-and-counting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/182644\/","title":{"rendered":"Following the Phoenix money, $17 million and counting"},"content":{"rendered":"

In July 2024, the University of Idaho\u2019s $685 million bid for the University of Phoenix was still alive, but not by much.<\/p>\n

The U of I still had almost a year to come to terms<\/a> with the for-profit online university, and win over legislators who had derailed the deal earlier that year<\/a>. The U of I and Phoenix had no agreement in place, though, and the State Board of Education had given Phoenix permission to listen to other offers.<\/p>\n

And meanwhile, the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Nixon Peabody billed the U of I for work on a purchase that would never come to fruition. The firm\u2019s \u201cIdaho\/4-3 Financing\u201d invoice was an apparent reference to Four Three Education, the nonprofit the U of I had created to handle day-to-day Phoenix administration.<\/p>\n

Nixon Peabody billed the U of I more than $681,000.<\/p>\n

Invoices from the U of I \u2014 obtained by Idaho Education News, through a public records request \u2014 quantify the costs of the failed, high-profile courtship of Phoenix. While heavily redacted, the invoices also shed light on the U of I\u2019s final attempts to close a deal.<\/p>\n

The U of I bills us for records, again<\/strong><\/p>\n

On June 9, Idaho Education News asked the University of Idaho for all invoices \u201crelative to the proposed acquisition of the University of Phoenix, from June 19, 2024 to the present.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using this round of documents \u2014 and invoices received through previous public records requests \u2014 we wanted to determine how much the U of I had spent in pursuing the Phoenix purchase. We also wanted to determine whether the $17.2 million \u201ctermination fee\u201d paid by Phoenix would cover the U of I\u2019s costs, making the publicly funded university whole.<\/p>\n

Based on EdNews\u2019 analysis, the U of I has spent $17 million on Phoenix-related costs.<\/p>\n

It cost EdNews $156.99 to find this out.<\/p>\n

The U of I billed EdNews to compile, gather and redact the invoices \u2014 even though the U of I had already calculated its costs while settling on Phoenix\u2019s \u201ctermination fee.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the third time the U of I has billed EdNews for Phoenix-related invoices<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The U of I\u2019s 2 \u00bd-year pursuit of Phoenix officially came to an end in June<\/a>, when the two parties jointly agreed to walk away. That breakup essentially took taxpayers off the hook. Phoenix agreed to a $17,244,420.11 \u201ctermination fee,\u201d calculated to fully cover the money the U of I spent studying and planning a possible purchase.<\/p>\n

The payment appears to have covered the U of I\u2019s costs, making the publicly funded university whole, with a small bit of cushion. According to invoices obtained by Idaho EdNews, the U of I has spent slightly more than $17 million.<\/p>\n

EdNews has received invoices through early June \u2014 when the U of I\u2019s bid for Phoenix fizzled. And that might not be all-inclusive, university spokeswoman Jodi Walker said in an email.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe university is in the process of negotiating final invoices from some legal counsel and consultants, as is common at the conclusion of complex transactions such as this,\u201d said Walker, adding that the U of I\u2019s \u201cintended goal\u201d is to bring in costs at or below the $17.2 million paid by Phoenix.<\/p>\n

The U of I\u2019s spending slowed since last summer (click here for detailed coverage of what the U of I spent up to the summer of 2024<\/a>.). However, the university still fronted an additional $2.4 million \u2014 with the money going largely to high-powered national law firms, in an attempt to build the framework of a deal.<\/p>\n