Codecademy, the online learning platform for coding and technical skills, has agreed to be acquired by Skillsoft, a provider of corporate digital learning. The transaction is structured as a combination of stock and equity, valuing Codecademy at $525M (40% cash or $210M + 60% equity or $315M). “Since our founding, Codecademy has been focused on empowering our learners to build inspiring careers in technology,” said Zach Sims, Founder and CEO of Codecademy. “We have 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 75% 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.”
Since our founding, Codecademy has been focused on empowering our learners to build inspiring careers in technology. We have 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 75% 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. – Zach Sims
Founded by Ryan Bubinski and Sims in 2011, Codecademy had raised a total of $87.5M in reported equity funding. The company last raised a $40M round earlier in February and backers include Y Combinator, SV Angel, SV Angel, Kleiner Perkins, Index Ventures, Slow Ventures, Founder Collective, Initialized Capital, Social Capital, Flybridge, Union Square Ventures, Tuesday Capital, Thrive Capital, Collaborative Fund, Naval Ravikant, Alexis Ohanian, Oreilly AlphaTech Ventures, Owl Ventures, Bowery Capital, Sam Altman, Joshua Schachter, Prosus & Naspers, Prosus Ventures, Virgin Group, Yuri Milner, Ruchi Sanghvi, Vivi Nevo, Jared Hecht, and Steve Martocci. The entire Codecademy team is expected to join Skillsoft upon the close of the transaction. Skillsoft stock (NYSE:SKIL) is trading down slightly at $9.48 with a market cap of $1.26B.
“Codecademy will significantly expand Skillsoft’s capabilities in the high-growth Tech & Dev segment,” said Jeffrey R. Tarr, Chief Executive Officer of Skillsoft. “Strategic acquisitions are an important part of our growth strategy. 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. When we combine Skillsoft’s enterprise customer base of more than 12,000 corporate customers and over 46 million learners with Codecademy’s 40 million learners, sophisticated digital marketing capability and influential brand, we expect to unlock significant revenue synergies.”
Codecademy will significantly expand Skillsoft’s capabilities in the high-growth Tech & Dev segment. Strategic acquisitions are an important part of our growth strategy. 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. When we combine Skillsoft’s enterprise customer base of more than 12,000 corporate customers and over 46 million learners with Codecademy’s 40 million learners, sophisticated digital marketing capability and influential brand, we expect to unlock significant revenue synergies. – Jeffrey R. Tarr
