University of Phoenix Files for IPO After Dropping Planned Sale

(Bloomberg) -- The owner of the University of Phoenix filed for an initial public offering, after the educational institution backed by Apollo Global Management Inc. and the Vistria Group walked away from a potential $550 million sale to another school.

The majority owner of the Arizona-based university paid a $12.2 million fee to the University of Idaho in June after terminating a 2023 agreement to sell most of its assets, according to its filing Friday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

AP VIII Queso Holdings LP, the entity which is currently registered with the US SEC to go public, will be renamed Phoenix Education Partners Inc. before the closing of the offering.

The company had net income of $113.1 million on revenue of $950 million for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2024, compared with net income of $64.9 million on revenue of $835.2 million in the same period the year earlier, the filing shows.

An IPO may value the company at $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion, Bloomberg News reported in March. Apollo Education Group, the predecessor of the current firm, was taken private in 2017 by funds affiliated with Vistria and Apollo in a $1.1 billion deal.

Founded in 1976, University of Phoenix offers online learning including bachelor’s and master’s degrees in subjects including business, health care and education. The university reported 76% of its students were still employed while enrolled at the school during its 2024 fiscal year, and 71% were female, the filing shows.

In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement with the University of Phoenix over aggressive marketing practices relating to a campaign several years prior to its take-private by Apollo and Vistria. Before the ownership change, the company had been under fire for lower-quality degree programs, Bloomberg News reported in 2021.

The offering is being led by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of Montreal, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and Apollo Global Securities. The company plans for its shares to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PXED.

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