Laureate Education goes public with Baltimore bell-ringing

Nasdaq came to Baltimore on Tuesday, as Laureate Education officially went public.
The for-profit education company rang the opening bell remotely from the Four Seasons, which is right around the corner from the company’s offices in Harbor East.
The occasion also happened to be a homecoming for Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman, who is a Roland Park Country School alumna.
“As a fellow Baltimorean who went to school across the street from you, I’m very glad that you could join us. It’s wonderful to celebrate this and celebrate Baltimore,” said Laureate Education CEO Douglas Becker as he began remarks from the Nasdaq podium.
Moments later, they rang the bell. Along with the first appearance of LAUR on the Nasdaq ticker, the company’s name was emblazoned on Nasdaq’s tower in Times Square.

The pomp, which returned the company public after 10 years as a private company, was the end of a process that began with Laureate’s filing in 2015 both for an IPO and as a public benefit corporation. The company raised $490 million from the IPO, with 35 million shares priced at $14.00 per share on Tuesday evening. That was lower than the $17-$20 initially expected.
Laureate Education spun out of Sylvan Learning Systems, and is a key part of Baltimore’s edtech roots.