Connecticut School of Broadcasting Sold

A Connecticut institution, the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, is being acquired by DLJ Growth Capital Partners for about $50 million.

Founded in 1964 by former WDRC radio broadcaster Dick Robinson, the CSB is the largest group of communication schools in the country, with 12 campuses in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Georgia and Florida.

Discussions about the Farmington location are ongoing, said Brian Stone, co-founder and general partner at Boston-based Knightstone Media, which will manage the schools for DLJ Growth Capital once the acquisition is complete.

"This is still a work in progress, and we have time until the closing in March to figure out what to do about the headquarters and if it should move to Boston," Stone said. "The intent is certainly to keep the Farmington location."

Jim Robinson, son of the founder, will stay in Farmington and continue as vice president and general manager of CSB, Stone said.

As for the name of the business, Stone said one of the rules of branding is to keep a well-known name. "We should just nurture it because the school has a well recognized name," he said.

DLJ Growth Capital, a unit of private investment group DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, is part of Credit Suisse First Boston. The school has more than 1,000 students a year attending its programs that run from eight to 10 weeks.

Under the new management, the Connecticut School of Broadcasting will "expand the curriculum" and "is poised to address the growing needs of a more diverse electronic spectrum through new learning initiatives," Stone said.

The school is expanding, with two locations set to open in Dallas and Orlando, FL.