Apollo Education Group

Founding

Apollo Education Group, Inc. was founded in 1973 by John Sperling and John D. Murphy.[3]

Apollo Group as a Publicly Traded Corporation (1994–2016)

Corporate revenues for the year ending August 31, 2005 were $2.251 billion.[4]

In 2008, Apollo Group formed a joint venture with Carlyle Group, called Apollo Global, to make international acquisitions. Apollo also purchased schools in Mexico and Chile[5]

As of 5 October 2011, Apollo Group had a market capitalization of $5.36 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22.[6]

Declining revenues

The Apollo Group announced quarterly results on 30 June 2011. The company reported $1.45 in earnings per share for the previous quarter, exceeding the Thomson Reuters estimate of $1.33 by $0.12. Apollo Group's quarterly revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.[7]

In March 2011 the Apollo Group sold its corporate headquarters in Arizona and leased it back in order to raise $170 million in cash. The deal with Cole Real Estate Investments included a 20-year lease requiring Apollo to remain in the complex.[8] "In our view, it does not change the view of the company. Apollo isn't hungry for cash: It carries little debt but generates $4 billion in revenue and has $650 million in net income and $1.5 billion in cash on its balance sheet", commented Peter Wahlstrom of Morningstar, an investment-research company.[9]

Revenue of the company continued to fall: in the fiscal year ending on August 31, 2011, the net revenue was $4.7 billion; in 2012, $4.2 billion; in 2013, $3.6 billion.[10]

Asset under Apollo Global Management (2016–present)

On May 6, 2016, the shareholders of the company approved the sale of the firm for $1.14 billion to a group of private investors:[12] Najafi Companies, a Phoenix firm, the New York-based Apollo Global Management and, the Vistria Group of Chicago.[13] The offer amounted to $10 per share, compared to its high of $89/share in 2009. The delisting was completed on February 1, 2017.[2]

The amount of lobbyists for Apollo Education Group was reduced from 27 in 2018, to 18 in 2019, and to 10 in 2021.[14] In 2019, the Apollo Education Group was the third largest higher education funder of lobbyists.[15]

In March 2022, Pearson rejected a £7bn takeover bid from Apollo Global Management.[16]

University of Phoenix

The University of Phoenix was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Apollo Education Group. The University of Phoenix is one of the largest higher education providers in North America.[18] The university has approximately 40 campuses and confers degrees in over 100 degree programs at the associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels.[19] The University of Phoenix has an open enrollment admission policy only requiring a high-school diploma, GED, or an equivalent qualification.[20] The school also provides associate or bachelor's degree applicants opportunity for advanced placement through its prior learning assessment, through which, aside from previous coursework, college credit can come from experiential learning essays, corporate training, and certificates or licenses.

Meritus University (closed 2011)

Apollo Group owned and operated Meritus University in Canada.[36] On January 24, 2011, citing how "enrollment will continue to be insufficient to sustain the required quality academic and student service infrastructure we and our students demand," Meritus University announced its closure, with their last classes taking place on March 14, 2011.[24]

Insight Schools (sold 2011)

Insight Schools is an online high school offering classes from 9th to 12th grade. Insight both ran high schools for school districts and operated online schools in several U.S. states.[37] Apollo Group acquired Insight Schools in 2007; in 2011 Apollo Group sold Insight Schools to Kaplan, Inc.[38]