Online learning company 2U files for IPO of up to $100 million

(Reuters) - 2U Inc, which builds online learning platforms, filed with U.S. financial regulators on Friday to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering of common stock. The Landover, Maryland-based company provides cloud-based online learning platforms that help nonprofit colleges and universities in student enrollment, education, support and other services. Goldman Sachs & Co and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC are the lead underwriters to the offering, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (http://r.reuters.com/cex96v) 2U, founded in 2008, is betting on the growing acceptance of and demand for online post-secondary education programs among students, academic institutions and employers. The enrollments for post-secondary degrees rose 37 percent in the decade through 2010 in the United States, and is expected to grow 13 percent to 23.8 million by 2021, the company said citing the U.S. Department of Education. 2U, which counts the University of Southern California, Georgetown University among its customers, said its revenue rose 49 percent to $83.1 million in the year ended December 31. Its net loss widened to $28 million from $23.1 million during the same period. The company, whose investor include Redpoint Ventures and Highland Capital Partners among others, said it intends to list its common stock on the Nasdaq under the symbol "TWOU". The filing did not reveal how many shares 2U planned to sell or their expected price. The company said it plans to use the proceeds from the IPO for marketing, investment in technology and for ongoing services and support programs. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different. (Reporting By Neha Dimri in Bangalore; Editing by Savio D'Souza)