By Arasu Kannagi Basil

The owner of the University of Phoenix is targeting a valuation of up to $1.17 billion in its U.S. initial public offering, it said on Tuesday, setting the stage for a stock market return after more than eight years.

Phoenix Education Partners’ backers, Apollo Global and Vistria Group, are seeking to raise up to $140.3 million by offering 4.25 million shares priced between $31 and $33 apiece.

Apollo is selling 3.55 million shares and will retain majority voting control of Phoenix Education after the offering, while Vistria is offloading 0.7 million shares.

The IPO pickup has lately broadened out to private equity deals, with a steady stream of sponsor-backed companies hitting the new listings market in recent months.

“Excellent sentiment for U.S. IPOs overall will continue to benefit PE-backed IPOs as well,” IPOX CEO Josef Schuster said.

“Given that PE deals are capital structure transactions with no proceeds going to the firm; however, it’s much more a buyer’s market for those deals.”

The University of Phoenix, founded in 1976 by John Sperling, provides post-secondary education services, mainly to working adults in the U.S.

The Phoenix, Arizona-based university currently offers 72 degree-granting and 33 non-degree certificate programs across disciplines.

DROPPED SALE Phoenix Education’s predecessor, Apollo Education Group, was taken private in 2017 in a $1.1 billion deal by a consortium including Vistria and Apollo.

The university, under Apollo and Vistria’s stewardship, exited non-core programs and divested some operations, including several international schools that it shared administrative resources with.

In 2023, a non-profit affiliated with the University of Idaho agreed to acquire the University of Phoenix’s operations for $550 million. But the parties walked away from the deal earlier this year.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, BMO Capital Markets, and Jefferies are the lead underwriters to the IPO. Phoenix Education will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PXED”. (Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Shailesh Kuber)