IPO Edge and The Palm Beach Hedge Fund Association hosted a fireside chat with Jeff Tarr, incoming CEO of Skillsoft, a global leader in digital learning and talent management solutions, and Larry Illg, head of global EdTech investment for Prosus, one of the largest technology investors in the world, to discuss the pending merger of Skillsoft, Global Knowledge Training LLC and Churchill Capital Corp II ((NYSE: CCX).
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IPO Edge recently published a detailed analysis of the Skillsoft deal: Investors Should Get Smart with Skillsoft’s Peerless Digital Learning Platform
The pending combination of Skillsoft, the pioneer of digital learning, and Global Knowledge, a worldwide leader in IT and professional skills, will create a leading global corporate digital learning company with a comprehensive suite of content; customized learning journeys; accessible modalities, and an expanded course portfolio of next-generation, on-demand and virtual content for enterprise learning.
Investment Highlights discussed:
- High level of recurring revenue supported by a blue-chip enterprise customer base
- Opportunity for future margin expansion
- Favorable cash conversion attributes
- Competitive advantage in a dynamic and in-demand market
- Award-winning, proprietary immersive learning technology platform Percipio
- Tremendous reach, including serving approximately 70{efe5d79870c08482e17ab0c97855f89429dac5f22c46026d3ca83573faec2208} of Fortune 1000 companies, customers in over 160 countries and more than 45 million learners globally
Jeffrey R. Tarr, Skillsoft Incoming CEO
Jeffrey R. Tarr is an experienced public company CEO and director. Over the last two decades, he has built three publicly traded, tech-enabled information companies into industry leaders. Mr. Tarr was CEO, president and a director of DigitalGlobe, the world leader in satellite imagery and geospatial intelligence, from 2011 until the sale of the company in 2017 to MDA (now Maxar Technologies). Prior to DigitalGlobe, he was President & COO of IHS (now IHS Markit) and Chairman & CEO of the publicly-traded business information company, Hoover’s, Inc. (now a division of D&B). Mr. Tarr currently serves on the board of EchoStar and is chairman emeritus of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Management Board. He also serves on the board of DSST Public Schools, one of the leading open enrollment school systems in the United States. Mr. Tarr previously served on the board of CEB (The Corporate Executive Board Company) until the sale of the company to Gartner in 2017. Mr. Tarr began his career with Bain & Company. He received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Larry Illg, CEO Prosus EdTech and Food
Larry Illg heads the EdTech and Food teams for Prosus ensuring the company identifies opportunities for future growth in the sectors globally. Previously, he served as the CEO of Prosus Ventures, where he led investments in food delivery, education, healthcare and more, as well as the CEO of PayU, the payments and fintech division of Prosus. He joined Naspers in 2013 as the COO of eCommerce.
Before Naspers, Larry served as Vice President and General Manager of New Ventures at Trulia, Inc. Prior to Trulia, Larry worked at eBay for eight years in varied roles within the classifieds organization including GM, North America and Emerging Markets, GM of Scandinavia, COO of Classifieds, and Sr. Director, Strategy and New Ventures for eBay, where he was an advisor to the President of eBay and senior executives managing eBay’s e-commerce properties around the world.
Prior to his work at eBay, Larry spent five years as a strategy consultant, working primarily with some of the largest CPG companies in the world: Nestle, Pepsi, Mattel, and Levi’s. He started his professional career as an analyst at the Federal Reserve Board. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.
As filed in its registration statement on Form S-4/A on May 27, 2021, Churchill II will hold a Special Meeting of its shareholders on June 10, 2021. Recently, Churchill II provided an update regarding Skillsoft and Global Knowledge results, the outlook and the new Board of Directors, which can be found here.
About Churchill Capital Corp II
Churchill Capital Corp II was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. For more information, visit churchillcapitalcorp.com.
About Skillsoft
Skillsoft delivers digital learning, training, and talent solutions to help organizations unleash their edge. Leveraging immersive, engaging content, Skillsoft enables organizations to unlock the potential in their best assets — their people — and build teams with the skills they need for success. Empowering 45 million learners and counting, Skillsoft democratizes learning through an intelligent learning experience and a customized, learner-centric approach to skills development with resources for Leadership Development, Business Skills, Technology and Developer, Digital Transformation, and Compliance. For more information, visit www.skillsoft.com.
About Global Knowledge
Global Knowledge is a world leader in technology skills training, supporting major enterprises and IT professionals with innovative and flexible learning solutions and offering authorized content from major technology providers. Global Knowledge delivers training in multiple modalities, both on-demand and instructor-led through virtual delivery and classrooms, blended formats and customized on-site training, directly and through a worldwide partner network. For more information, visit www.globalknowledge.com.
About Prosus
Prosus is a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world. Operating and investing globally in markets with long-term growth potential, Prosus builds leading consumer internet companies that empower people and enrich communities.
The group is focused on building meaningful businesses in the online classifieds, food delivery, payments and fintech, and education technology sectors in markets including India, Russia and Brazil. Through its ventures team, Prosus invests in areas including health, logistics, blockchain and social commerce. Prosus actively seeks new opportunities to partner with exceptional entrepreneurs who are using technology to improve people’s everyday lives.
Every day, millions of people use the products and services of companies that Prosus has invested in, acquired or built, including Avito, Brainly, Bux, BYJU’S, Bykea, Codecademy, DappRadar, DeHaat, dott, ElasticRun, eMAG, Eruditus, Honor, iFood, Klar, LazyPay, letgo, Meesho, Movile, Oda, OLX, PayU, Quick Ride, Red Dot Payment, Remitly, Republic, Shipper, SimilarWeb, Skillsoft, SoloLearn, Swiggy, Udemy and Wolt.
Today, Prosus companies and associates help improve the lives of around a fifth of the world’s population.
Prosus has a primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam (AEX:PRX) and secondary listings on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (XJSE:PRX) and a2X Markets (PRX.AJ). Prosus is majority owned by Naspers.
For more information, please visit www.prosus.com.
IPO Edge Contact:
Jarrett Banks, Editor-at-Large
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