School Manager Edison Plans 1st Stock Sale

Edison Schools Inc., formed by media entrepreneur Christopher Whittle to manage public schools, will seek to raise as much as $172.5 million through an initial stock sale. The New York-based company says it is the largest private operator of public schools serving kindergarten through high school students. Edison said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it will sell Class A common shares that have less voting power than its Class B shares. Chief Executive Whittle, who sparked controversy in the early 1990s by piping advertising-supported programming into classrooms, originally conceived of Edison as a private network of schools. The former publisher of Esquire magazine later revised that plan, remaking Edison into a company that last school year had contracts to manage 51 U.S. schools serving 23,900 students. As of March 31, Edison had an accumulated deficit of $112.2 million. The company reported a net loss of $20.7 million for the nine months ended March 31, compared with a $16-million loss a year ago, even as revenue jumped 90% to $96 million.