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The online learning companies hope to combine their capabilities and customer bases to create more immersive experiences and boost revenue.
Skillsoft has entered a definitive agreement to acquire learning platform Codecademy for $525m in cash and stock.
The digital learning company expects this deal to significantly help revenue and growth, with the deal expected to close in the first half of 2022.
Skillsoft CEO Jeffrey R Tarr said there is potential for revenue synergies, as the company combines its 12,000 corporate customers and 46m learners with Codecademy’s 40m learners along with its “sophisticated digital marketing capability and influential brand”.
“We acquired virtual instructor-led training capabilities with Global Knowledge and coaching with Pluma earlier this year. With the addition of Codecademy’s innovative capabilities, we will create an even more immersive online learning experience,“ Tarr added.
Founded in 2011, Codecademy offers technical courses in a range of areas including application development, data science, cloud and cybersecurity. As part of the deal, its team will join Skillsoft to focus on accelerating growth in technology and developer business.
Codecademy CEO Zach Sims said the company has helped tens of millions of people around the world learn new technology skills.
“Together with Skillsoft, we will have the opportunity to rapidly increase the size of our content library and scale Codecademy across the millions of learners and thousands of companies – including approximately 75pc of the Fortune 1000 – that work with Skillsoft worldwide. With additional resources and opportunities to drive growth, we are excited to embark on this important next chapter.”
Skillsoft said it has a large set of learning options such as virtual instructor-led training, coaching, micro videos, audio, books, bootcamps and live events. It hopes to combine Codecademy’s interactive, self-paced courses with its own AI-driven platform, Percipio, to deliver more immersive experiences for its users.
Earlier this year SiliconRepublic.com spoke to NovoEd CTO Farnaz Ronaghi about the future of online learning and the need for more “human-centered approaches”.
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