(Reuters) -U.S. publisher McGraw Hill, backed by investment firm Platinum Equity, said on Wednesday it had raised $414.63 million in its initial public offering in the United States.

The company sold 24,390,000 shares, priced at $17 each, below its marketed range of $19 to $22. The offering valued McGraw at $3.25 billion.

The IPO market is gaining momentum on the back of a rally in equities and some stellar debuts in recent months.

Private equity sponsors, who have been sitting on a massive backlog of portfolio companies waiting to go public, are looking to capitalize on this window.

McGraw Hill will debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, nearly 13 years after it was taken private by Apollo. The private-equity giant had also attempted to re-list the company in 2015.

It was then sold to Platinum Equity, which will continue to hold 84.6% of McGraw's total outstanding shares after the offering.

McGraw Hill is one of the most recognized names in the publishing industry, known for its textbooks and other learning resources, with 82% of U.S. higher education institutions using its products, according to company filings.

The company revealed in its IPO filing that revenue rose 7% to over $2 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31.

It aims to trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "MH".