Skillsoft
Educational technology company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Skillsoft is an American educational technology company that produces learning management system software and content.
| |
| Formerly | SmartForce[1] |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| Industry | Software as a service |
| Founded | August 8, 1998[citation needed] |
| Headquarters | 300 Innovative Way, Suite 201[2], Nashua, NH , United States[3] |
Key people | Jeff Tarr (CEO/Director) Richard Walker (CFO) Mark Onisk (Chief Content Officer) Apratim Purakayastha (CTO)[4] |
| Products | Educational technology, learning management systems, training content |
Number of employees | 2,400 (2014)  |
| Subsidiaries | Codecademy |
| Website | www |
History
Skillsoft was founded by Charles Moran in 1998. Moran served as chief executive officer and President from 1998 to 2015.[5]
Skillsoft had an IPO under the stock symbol SKIL in February 2000[6] and a SPO in July 2001.[7][8] In June 2021, Skillsoft became a publicly traded company once again under the same stock symbol.[9]
Skillsoft acquired Books24x7 in 2001.[10] In 2002, Skillsoft merged with Dublin-based IT courseware company SmartForce (formerly CBT Systems), with the combined company retaining the Skillsoft name,[11] establishing a common headquarters in Ireland.[12] The company acquired NETg from Thomson Corporation in 2007.[11]
In May 2010, the company was bought out for $1.2 billion by SSI Investments III Limited, a firm funded by Berkshire Partners, Advent International and Bain Capital.[13][14] Skillsoft acquired Element K from NIIT in October 2011, and MindLeaders from ThirdForce Group in September 2012.[13]
Skillsoft was sold by Berkshire Partners to Charterhouse Capital Partners for $2.0 billion on April 28, 2014.[13] Later that year, Skillsoft acquired SumTotal Systems in September 2014.[15] In May 2015, Skillsoft acquired Vodeclic SAS.[16]
In September 2017, Skillsoft launched virtual coding practice lab CodeX, which provides coding exercises with embedded video content.[17][18]
On June 14, 2020, Skillsoft voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States.[19] On August 27, 2020, Skillsoft was able to announce that it had emerged from bankruptcy. During the court-supervised process the company was able to reduce its debt by $1.5 billion US dollars.[20]
In June 2021, Skillsoft was acquired by Churchill Capital. Churchill Capital then merged with Software Luxembourg, then acquired the Global Knowledge technical training platform.[9][21] The combined company would be known as Skillsoft. Leadership coaching platform Pluma was also acquired that same year.[22]
In December 2021, Skillsoft announced that it would acquire Codecademy, an online computer programming learning platform, for approximately $525 million in cash and stock.[23] The sale was completed on April 5, 2022.[24]
In 2022, Skillsoft sold SumTotal to Cornerstone on Demand for $200 million...[25]