SEEKING SAFE HARBOR Apollo Education Group, the owner of the for-profit University of Phoenix, is in talks Apollo Global Management, a New York-based private equity firm, about a possible sale. The two are not affiliated. Apollo Education was valued at $714 million before its stocks spiked in response to the announcement of the sales talks, and the Wall Street Journal forecasts that the deal could be worth $1 billion.
University of Phoenix's student numbers continue to suffer in the face of tighter regulations and ongoing investigations, and its stock has lost three-quarters of its value in the last twelve months, dropping 38 percent in Q4 2015 alone. This is the third quarter that the company has operated at a loss. Barclays and Credit Suisse are advising Apollo Education on the prospective sale.
