Altas Partners to acquire University of St. Augustine for $400m

Altas Partners has paid $400 million for the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, an academic institution that provides graduate health-science degree programs, primarily in the field of physical and occupational therapy.

The 39-year-old school, which offers classroom and distance training opportunities, has campuses in San Marcos, Calif.; St. Augustine and Miami, Fla.; and Austin, Texas.

The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, will transfer ownership of USAHS to Altas from Laureate Education, a global network of post-secondary institutions. Laureate acquired a majority interest in 2013.

USAHS is the third investment of Altas Partners Holdings LP, which raised $1 billion in 2016. The other acquisitions included Capital Vision Services, a manager of optometry practices bought in 2015 by a group led by Altas and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and PADI, a scuba diving trainer, purchased last year.

The firm’s other investments have included medical school St. Georges University and salt provider NSC Minerals.