UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of
January 2022
PEARSON plc
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
N/A
(Translation
of registrant's name into English)
80 Strand
London, England WC2R 0RL
44-20-7010-2000
(Address
of principal executive office)
Indicate
by check mark whether the Registrant files or will file annual
reports
under
cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:
Form
20-F
X
Form 40-F
Indicate
by check mark whether the Registrant by furnishing the
information
contained
in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to
the
Commission
pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934
Yes
No X
Pearson acquires Credly
Acquisition enhances Pearson's presence in the fast-growing
Workforce Skills sector.
LONDON: 31 January 2022 - Pearson plc, (FTSE:PSON), the world's
leading learning company, today announces that it has acquired
Credly, the market leader in digital credentials and certifications
for the workforce.
The acquisition of Credly, in which Pearson already had a c.20%
stake, expands its current presence in the fast-growing workforce
skills sector, bringing together workforce analytics, learning,
assessment and credentialing services to meet the needs of learners
and employers in a rapidly changing global economy. It further
expands Pearson's digital footprint and accelerates Pearson's focus
on growth.
Credly offers an easy-to-use platform for organisations, companies,
educational institutions and learners to award trusted digital
credentials that verify an individual's skills and help
connect them with the right opportunities. The company's talent
mobility solutions help businesses recruit, engage and develop
their workforce, with a skills-based approach to talent management
that operates at enterprise scale. More than 2000 organisations use
Credly and since its inception, the company has issued over 50
million credentials to 25 million people, making it the world's
largest professional credentialing business.
The acquisition comes at a time of increasing demand for digital
credentials to recognise skills and certifications in a global
talent market valued at c.$400bn. Over the last year, Credly has
added nearly 1,000 new organisations to its network, expanded its
density of skill coverage in key segments of the labour market and
maintained net renewal rates of well over
100%*.
Andy Bird, Chief Executive of Pearson, said: "The
Credly acquisition is another important step in accelerating our
strategy in the workforce skills market and in building
connectivity across the entire Pearson portfolio. The growing
skills gap is putting enormous pressure on the labour market,
making verified credentials more essential than ever
before."
"We originally invested in Credly in 2018 because we recognized its
potential and have been impressed with the strong management team
and their deep understanding of the talent
market. Credly complements
our other recent acquisition - Faethm - to address the full learner
journey, enabling us to work with employers and employees to
identify skills needs, provide learning to address those needs and
offer trusted credentialing to prove
proficiency."
Jonathan Finkelstein, founder and CEO of Credly,
said: "This exciting move combines Credly's expertise in
the skills economy with the global scale, learning expertise and
financial strength of Pearson. Joining forces accelerates the
realisation of our vision to build a world where every person can
achieve their full potential based on their verified skills
and where organisations can make better human capital decisions and
build more equitable workforces using trusted information about
what people know and can do."
The combination of Credly and Pearson will create a powerful
solution in the global workforce skills sector. The acquisition
follows Pearson's 2021 purchase of Faethm, the strategic workforce
AI and predictive analytics platform. These businesses will sit at
the heart of Pearson's Workforce Skills division, complementing
Pearson's existing expertise in reskilling and workforce learning.
This will enable the Company to serve employers and learners
together in a single ecosystem: helping employers to understand
labour market dynamics and future proof their workforces whilst
helping workers gain the skills needed to boost their employability
prospects.
The purchase price for Credly, including Pearson's existing stake,
represents a total value of $200m, which will be funded from
Pearson's existing cash and available liquidity. This comprises a
total upfront consideration of c.$140m, Pearson's existing stake
valued at c.$40m and a deferred consideration.
In the year ending December 2021, Credly grew revenues by 47% to
$13.3m, and have delivered CAGR revenue growth of 42% from
2019-2021.
* Net retention rates
includes upselling to existing customers enabling a >100%
retention rate.
###
Contacts
Investor Relations Jo
Russell +44 (0) 7785 451 266
Media Tom Steiner +44 (0)
7787 415 891/ Gemma Terry +44 (0) 7841 363 216
Teneo Charlie Armitstead
+44 (0) 7703 330 269
Forward looking statements:
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters
discussed in this statement include forward-looking statements. In
particular, all statements that express forecasts, expectations,
and projections with respect to future matters, including trends in
results of operations, margins, growth rates, overall market
trends, the impact of interest or exchange rates, the availability
of financing, anticipated cost savings and synergies and the
execution of Pearson's strategy, are forward looking statements. By
their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on
circumstances that will occur in future. They are based on numerous
assumptions regarding Pearson's present and future business
strategies and the environment in which it will operate in the
future. There are a number of factors which could cause actual
results and developments to differ materially from those expressed
or implied by these forward-looking statements, including a number
of factors outside Pearson's control. These include international,
national, and local conditions, as well as competition. They also
include other risks detailed from time to time in Pearson's
publicly filed documents and you are advised to read, in
particular, the risk factors set out in Pearson's latest annual
report and accounts, which can be found on its website
(www.pearson.com/corporate/investors.html).
Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are
made, and Pearson gives no undertaking to update forward-looking
statements to reflect any changes in its expectations with regard
thereto or any changes to events, conditions or circumstances on
which any such statement is based. Readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on such forward-looking
statements.
About Pearson
Learning is the most powerful force for change in the world. More
than 20,000 Pearson employees deliver our products and services in
nearly 200 countries, all working towards a common purpose - to
help everyone achieve their potential through learning. We do that
by providing high quality, digital content and learning
experiences, as well as assessments and qualifications that help
people build their skills and grow with the world around them. We
are the world's leading learning company. Learn more at
pearsonplc.com
About Credly
Credly is helping the world speak a common language about people's
knowledge, skills and abilities. Thousands of employers, training
organisations, associations, certification programmes and workforce
development initiatives use Credly to help individuals translate
their learning experiences into professional opportunities using
trusted, portable, digital credentials. Credly empowers
organisations to attract, engage, develop and retain talent with
enterprise class tools that generate data-driven insights to
address skills gaps and highlight opportunities through an
unmatched global network of credential
issuers. Credly.com
SIGNATURE
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
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PEARSON
plc
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Date: 31
January 2022
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By: /s/
NATALIE WHITE
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Natalie
White
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Deputy
Company Secretary
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