April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Bridgepoint Education Inc., which offers postsecondary courses online and in classrooms, raised $141.8 million, less than anticipated, in this year’s second initial public offering by a U.S.-based company.

Bridgepoint, based in San Diego, sold 13.5 million shares for $10.50 each, according to Bloomberg data. The shares were priced below the $14 to $16 the company targeted last week.

The market for new shares has almost vanished this year. Two U.S. companies have now raised $969.8 million in 2009, compared with 20 companies that went public in the first quarter of last year, raising $24 billion. Rosetta Stone Inc., a seller of language-learning products based in Arlington, Virginia, said it plans to raise as much as $106.3 million in an IPO that may occur as early as tomorrow.

“The IPO market is still viable for fundamentally sound companies that are willing to price their deals attractively,” said Paul Bard, an analyst at Renaissance Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut. “One of the main reasons that has kept IPOs on the sidelines is that it’s difficult to price these deals when the markets are bouncing up and down 10 percent on any given day.”

Bridgepoint shareholders will receive 81 percent of the proceeds, according to a regulatory filing. The cash will be used by the company to pay holders of convertible preferred stock and for general corporate purposes.

Warburg Pincus LLC, a New York-based private-equity firm that owns 90 percent of the company, will hold at least 65 percent after the sale.

Degrees, Campuses

Bridgepoint said net income in 2008 was $26.4 million, up from $3.29 million the previous year. The company offers associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in business, education, psychology, social sciences and health sciences, the filing shows. It has campuses in Clinton, Iowa, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, and offers courses using the Internet.

Grand Canyon Education Inc., a Phoenix-based education company, raised $144.9 million in its November debut. The shares have gained 23 percent through today, compared with a 10 percent advance in the Russell 2000 index in the same period.

“The education sector is viewed by many as benefiting from that counter-cyclical trend,” Bard said. “Sentiment in the broader market has also been on the rise, and with that type of backdrop you can produce some IPOs that are fairly successful.”

Bridgepoint will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BPI. The sale is being managed by Credit Suisse Group AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co. with assistance from four other firms.

Mead Johnson Nutrition Co., the former Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. unit that’s the world’s biggest maker of baby formula, raised $828 million in February.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael J. Moore in New York at mmoore55@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 14, 2009 17:55 EDT