ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion of the financial condition and results of operations of Skillsoft (as defined below) is a supplement to and should be read in conjunction with Skillsoft’s condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report and with Skillsoft’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 18, 2022. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Skillsoft’s actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under “Risk Factors” in Part II, Item 1A of this report. Unless otherwise noted, amounts referenced in this discussion, other than in reference to share numbers, are in thousands.
Completion of the Business Combinations
On June 11, 2021, Churchill Capital Corp II and Software Luxembourg Holding S.A., a global leader in digital learning and talent management solutions, completed a business combination and subsequent acquisition of Albert DE Holdings Inc. (“Global Knowledge” and such acquisition, the “Global Knowledge Merger”), a worldwide leader in IT and professional skills development. The combined company operates as Skillsoft Corp. (“Skillsoft”, “we”, “us”, “our” and the “Company”) and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “SKIL” beginning on June 14, 2021.
On December 22, 2021, the Company announced a definitive agreement to acquire Codecademy, a leading online learning platform for technical skills. Codecademy is an innovative and popular learning platform providing high-demand technical skills to approximately 40 million registered learners in nearly every country worldwide. The platform offers interactive, self-paced courses and hands-on learning in 14 programming languages across multiple domains such as application development, data science, cloud and cybersecurity. The Codecademy acquisition closed on April 4, 2022 for total consideration of approximately $386.0 million, consisting of the issuance of 30,374,427 common shares and a net cash payment of $198.6 million.
Company’s Business following the Business Combinations
Skillsoft is a global leader in corporate digital learning, serving approximately 70% of the Fortune 1000, customers in over 160 countries, and a community of learners of more than 80 million globally. Skillsoft’s primary learning solutions include: (i) Percipio, an intelligent and immersive digital learning platform; (ii) Global Knowledge, a global provider of authorized information technology & development training and professional skills; (iii) Codecademy, an online learning platform for technical skills that uses an innovative, scalable approach to online coding education; and (iv) Pluma, a digital platform that provides individualized executive-quality coaching that is personal yet scalable.
The Company provides enterprise learning solutions designed to prepare organizations for the future of work, enable them to overcome critical skill gaps, drive demonstrable behavior-change, and unlock the potential in one of their most important assets: their people. The Company’s award-winning, AI-driven, immersive learning platform, Percipio, is purpose built to make learning easier, more accessible, and more effective. Percipio is an open, modern and extensible platform designed to meet the needs of the enterprise customer. Skillsoft offers a comprehensive suite of premium, original, and authorized partner content, including one of the broadest and deepest libraries of leadership & business, technology & developer, and compliance curricula. With access to a broad spectrum of learning options (including video, audio, books, bootcamps, live events, practice labs and individualized coaching), organizations can meaningfully increase learner engagement and retention. In addition, we believe our recent acquisition of Codecademy will further strengthen our content library, enhance the Percipio platform, broaden our customer reach and create significant cross selling opportunities, positioning us for faster growth.
The corporate digital learning industry is rapidly growing, driven by significant tailwinds as organizations focus on upskilling, reskilling, and future-proofing their workforces and the accelerated shift from in-person training to digital training due, in part, to the significant and likely permanent shift to largely remote and distributed workforces triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and increased emphasis on talent driven by the “great resignation.” The war for talent, labor shortages, wage inflation, hybrid work, early retirements, and burnout among those who stay behind all contribute to this growing demand. According to a January 2021 report by McKinsey, 87% of companies worldwide either currently have skills gaps or believe they will within the next few years, and core skills are changing at an unprecedented pace. In a recent survey conducted by Deloitte, the vast majority of CEO’s cited labor and skills shortages as the number one threat to their business in the coming year – ahead of the pandemic, supply chain disruption, inflation and market instability,