Perdoceo to Acquire South University for Up to $224M in Cash
PRDO sits 24% above its 52-week low of $26.655.
Summary
Perdoceo Education signed a definitive agreement to acquire South University for up to $224M in cash, funded entirely from its balance sheet. The deal adds a 10,500-student health sciences institution with $291M in annual revenue and is expected to close as early as April 2027.
Key Events · M&A and Partnerships · PRDO
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Definitive Agreement to Acquire South University
Perdoceo signed a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement on September 14, 2026 to acquire 100% of South University Savannah, LLC from South University – Member, Inc., a Delaware nonprofit.
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Purchase Price Up to $224M
Consideration includes $150M at closing (subject to cash, net working capital, and debt-like item adjustments), $18M in deferred consideration over 24 months, and up to $56M in earn-out payments tied to EBITDA thresholds for FY2027-2029.
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Target Financials and Scale
South University reported unaudited FY2025 revenue of approximately $291M and adjusted operating income of approximately $34M, serving about 10,500 students across 11 campuses and online.
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Closing Expected as Early as April 2027
Completion is subject to regulatory and accreditor approvals, including U.S. Department of Education, SACSCOC, and state educational agency consents, with a termination date of July 9, 2027.
Analysis · PRDO · Trade & Services
A definitive agreement has been signed for Perdoceo Education to acquire South University, a 126-year-old health sciences institution with 11 campuses and an online division. The deal is structured as $150M at closing (subject to working capital and debt-like adjustments), $18M in deferred consideration, and up to $56M in earn-out payments tied to EBITDA thresholds for fiscal years 2027-2029. South generated approximately $291M in unaudited revenue and $34M in adjusted operating income in 2025, serving roughly 10,500 students. The transaction is expected to close as early as April 2027, pending regulatory and accreditor approvals, and is not subject to financing conditions — Perdoceo will fund it entirely with cash on hand. The acquisition expands Perdoceo's graduate health sciences footprint into physician assistant, anesthesiologist assistant, pharmacy, and nursing programs, and management expects it to be immediately accretive to adjusted operating income beginning in 2027. The deal carries a $20M reverse termination fee payable by Perdoceo under certain circumstances, and the company has purchased buyer-side representation and warranty insurance as its primary recourse for seller breaches.
How filings like this one have moved
In the 30 days to Oct 1, 2026, 36.1% of the 1051 measured filings Wiseek scored 8 moved their stock by 5% or more by the next session's close. The median move was -0.56%. These are measured outcomes after filings of this importance, not a forecast for this one.
Measured one observation per ticker per day, after exclusions. Current figures: Filing Impact Tracker · open dataset
At the time of this filing, PRDO was trading at $33.06 on NASDAQ in the Trade & Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.1B. The 52-week trading range was $26.66 to $38.50. This filing was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10.