Pluralsight, Inc. (NASDAQ: PS) and Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”)
today announced that they have entered into a revised definitive
agreement under which Vista will acquire all outstanding shares of
Pluralsight for $22.50 in cash through a tender offer. The offer,
which represents a best and final offer, is an 11% increase from
the original $20.26 per share agreement. The independent
Transaction Committee and Pluralsight’s Board of Directors have
each unanimously approved the revised agreement and recommend that
all shareholders tender their shares in support of the transaction.
As part of the revised transaction, there have also been waivers of
certain payments owed under Pluralsight’s Tax Receivable Agreement
(“TRA”).
Aaron Skonnard, co-founder and CEO of Pluralsight, said, “The
Pluralsight Board and management team are committed to acting in
the best interests of the company and all of our shareholders, and
appreciate the input that we have received from shareholders
throughout this process. We worked with Vista to reach a revised
agreement that provides an enhanced cash premium for Pluralsight
shareholders. To that end, the directors who are parties to the TRA
in their individual capacities, including me, have waived our
rights to receive any TRA payments in connection with the
acquisition by Vista, with those amounts being added to the
additional consideration being offered by Vista to achieve the
$22.50 per share price. Importantly, the revised transaction
maintains a structure that preserves the ability of shareholders
who are not officers and who are not receiving benefits under the
TRA to determine the ultimate outcome of the transaction.”
“The independent Transaction Committee and the Pluralsight Board
each unanimously support this revised agreement, which provides
cash consideration of $22.50 per share to our shareholders. The
amended agreement we announced today provides Pluralsight
shareholders with immediate and certain value for the shares that
they own at an 11% premium to the original transaction price and an
approximately 38% premium to the volume weighted average closing
stock price for the 30 trading days prior to the initial
announcement of a transaction with Vista,” said Gary Crittenden,
Pluralsight’s lead independent director. “The independent
Transaction Committee and the Pluralsight Board each unanimously
recommend that all Pluralsight shareholders tender their shares in
support of the transaction.”
“This is our best and final offer for Pluralsight,” said Monti
Saroya, co-head of the Vista Flagship Fund and senior managing
director at Vista. “We are pleased that we have been able to enter
into this revised merger agreement with Pluralsight and look
forward to closing the transaction.”
Transaction Details
Under the terms of the revised agreement, Vista will commence a
tender offer on or before March 10, 2021, to acquire all
outstanding shares of Pluralsight’s common stock for $22.50 in
cash.
Consistent with the conditions to the acquisition initially
required by the Pluralsight Board, the consummation of the tender
offer will be conditioned on the participation of a majority of the
shares not held by (1) parties to the TRA that are receiving
benefits under the TRA in connection with the acquisition by Vista
or (2) any of Pluralsight’s officers, including Aaron Skonnard.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of
2021.
In light of the revised agreement, the special meeting of
Pluralsight shareholders scheduled to be held on March 9, 2021, has
been canceled.
Following the completion of the tender offer, Vista will acquire
any shares of Pluralsight that are not tendered in the tender offer
through a second-step merger and any units of Pluralsight Holdings,
LLC not held by Pluralsight through a merger under Delaware law, in
each case for consideration equal to the tender offer price. Upon
completion of the transaction, Pluralsight will become a privately
held company and shares of Pluralsight’s Class A common stock will
no longer be listed on any public market.Shareholders who would
like to tender their shares or have questions about the tender
offer may contact MacKenzie Partners, Inc. who will act as
Information Agent for the tender offer at 1-800-322-2885
(toll-free), 212-929-5500 or by email at
Vistaoffer@mackenziepartners.com.
Qatalyst Partners is serving as financial advisor to Pluralsight
and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation
is serving as legal counsel. For Vista, Morgan Stanley & Co.
LLC is serving as financial advisor, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP
is serving as legal counsel.
About Pluralsight
Pluralsight is the leading technology workforce development
company that helps companies and teams build better products by
developing critical skills, improving processes and gaining
insights through data, and providing strategic skills consulting.
Trusted by forward-thinking companies of every size in every
industry, Pluralsight helps individuals and businesses transform
with technology. Pluralsight Skills helps enterprises build
technology skills at scale with expert-authored courses on today’s
most important technologies, including cloud, artificial
intelligence and machine learning, data science, and security,
among others. Skills also includes tools to align skill development
with business objectives, virtual instructor-led training, hands-on
labs, skill assessments and one-of-a-kind analytics. Flow
complements Skills by providing engineering teams with actionable
data and visibility into workflow patterns to accelerate the
delivery of products and services. For more information about
Pluralsight (NASDAQ: PS), visit pluralsight.com.
About Vista Equity Partners
Vista is a leading global investment firm with more than $73
billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2020. The
firm exclusively invests in enterprise software, data and
technology-enabled organizations across private equity, permanent
capital, credit and public equity strategies, bringing an approach
that prioritizes creating enduring market value for the benefit of
its global ecosystem of investors, companies, customers and
employees. Vista’s investments are anchored by a sizable long-term
capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented
transactions and proven, flexible management techniques that drive
sustainable growth. Vista believes the transformative power of
technology is the key to an even better future – a healthier
planet, a smarter economy, a diverse and inclusive community and a
broader path to prosperity. Further information is available at
vistaequitypartners.com. Follow Vista on LinkedIn, @Vista Equity
Partners, and on Twitter, @Vista_Equity.
Additional Information and Where to Find It
In connection with the proposed acquisition of Pluralsight Inc.
(“Pluralsight”), Lake Merger Sub I, Inc. (“Merger Sub”), will
commence a tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of
Pluralsight. The tender offer has not commenced. This communication
is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to
purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities of
Pluralsight. It is also not a substitute for the tender offer
materials that Merger Sub will file with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) upon commencement of the tender
offer. Following the commencement of the tender offer, Merger Sub
will file tender offer materials on Schedule TO with the SEC, and
Pluralsight will file a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on
Schedule 14D-9 with the SEC with respect to the tender offer. THE
TENDER OFFER MATERIALS (INCLUDING AN OFFER TO PURCHASE, A RELATED
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL AND CERTAIN OTHER TENDER OFFER DOCUMENTS) AND
THE SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT
INFORMATION THAT SHOULD BE READ CAREFULLY AND CONSIDERED BY
PLURALSIGHT’S SHAREHOLDERS BEFORE ANY DECISION IS MADE WITH RESPECT
TO THE TENDER OFFER. Both the tender offer materials and the
solicitation/recommendation statement will be made available to
Pluralsight’s shareholders free of charge. A free copy of the
tender offer materials and the solicitation/recommendation
statement will also be made available to Pluralsight’s shareholders
by visiting Pluralsight’s website
(http://investors.pluralsight.com). In addition, the tender offer
materials and the solicitation/recommendation statement (and all
other documents filed by Pluralsight with the SEC) will be
available at free of charge on the SEC’s website
(http://www.sec.gov) upon filing with the SEC. PLURALSIGHT’S
SHAREHOLDERS ARE ADVISED TO READ THE TENDER OFFER MATERIALS AND THE
SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT, AS EACH MAY BE AMENDED OR
SUPPLEMENTED FROM TIME TO TIME, AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS
FILED BY MERGER SUB OR PLURALSIGHT WITH THE SEC WHEN THEY BECOME
AVAILABLE BEFORE THEY MAKE ANY DECISION WITH RESPECT TO THE TENDER
OFFER. THESE MATERIALS WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE
TENDER OFFER, MERGER SUB AND PLURALSIGHT.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding our
pending acquisition by affiliates of Vista Equity Partners (the
“Transaction”), including the expected timing of the closing of the
transaction and considerations taken into account by our Board of
Directors in approving the Transaction. These forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties. If any of these risks
or uncertainties materialize, or if any of our assumptions prove
incorrect, our actual results could differ materially from the
results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
These risks and uncertainties include risks associated with: the
risk that the conditions to the closing of the Transaction are not
satisfied, including the risk that a sufficient number of
Pluralsight’s shareholders do not participate in the Transactions;
potential litigation relating to the Transaction; uncertainties as
to the timing of the consummation of the Transaction and the
ability of each party to consummate the Transaction; risks that the
Transaction disrupts the current plans and operations of
Pluralsight; and the risks described in the filings that we make
with the SEC from time to time, including the risks described under
the headings “Risk Factors” and “Management Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual
Report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the SEC on February 26,
2021, and which should be read in conjunction with our financial
results and forward-looking statements. Our filings with the SEC
are available on the SEC filings section of the Investor Relations
page of our website at http://investors.pluralsight.com. All
forward-looking statements in this communication are based on
information available to us as of the date of this communication,
and we do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking
statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances
that exist after the date on which they were made, except as
required by law.
Contacts
For Pluralsight
Investor RelationsMark
McReynoldsmark-mcreynolds@pluralsight.com
MediaDJ Andersonpress@pluralsight.com
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer KatcherMatthew Sherman / Jed
Repko212.355.4449
For Vista
MacKenzie Partners, Inc.Daniel H.
Burch212-929-5748dburch@mackenziepartners.com
Laurie
Connell212-378-7071lconnell@mackenzieparners.com
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