University of Phoenix owner valued at $1.35 billion as shares jump in NYSE debut

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(Reuters) -Phoenix Education Partners shares jumped 18.8% in their New York Stock Exchange debut on Thursday, valuing the University of Phoenix owner at $1.35 billion, as it weathered a U.S. government shutdown to tap a booming IPO market.

Shares of the company opened at $38, compared with the issue price of $32. The Phoenix, Arizona-based company’s backers, Apollo Global and Vistria Group, together sold 4.25 million shares in the initial public offering on Wednesday, within its target range of $31 to $33 apiece. The IPO valued the company at $1.14 billion.

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. IPOs have staged a long-awaited comeback this fall, but concerns mount over the effects of skeletal Securities and Exchange Commission staffing from the shutdown.

The SEC declared Phoenix’s registration statement effective on September 30, on the eve of the shutdown, paving the way for it go public.

Private equity sponsors, sitting on trillions of dollars of backlog, are aiming to liquidate holdings as falling interest rates and soaring markets fuel bullish sentiments.

Founded in 1976 by John Sperling, the University of Phoenix specializes in providing higher education to working adults. The average degreed enrollment was 78,900 for fiscal 2024, according to company filings, with an average age of 37.

Private market investors have been pursuing stakes and partnerships across U.S. higher education and sports in recent years. Several U.S. university endowments have large allocations to private equity funds.

(Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo and Sriraj Kalluvila)