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Dive Summary:
- Simplilearn, an online bootcamp and course platform, announced Monday that it has acquired Fullstack Academy, a bootcamp provider that has contracts with 20 universities and other organizations.
- A representative for Fullstack did not disclose the purchase price, but said it was a cash deal. Fullstack’s previous owner, Zovio, estimated in September that it may sell the bootcamp provider to up to 55 million dollars.
- With the sale of Fullstack, Zovio has offloaded the last remaining business. Shareholders of the company approved a plan in October to go out of business after Zovio failed to turn from a for-profit college operator to a provider of education technology services.
Dive Insight:
of selling Fullstack is part of Zovio’s plan to liquidate its assets. The company, which once approached $1 billion in revenue as the owner of two for-profit universities, had hoped to become an education services provider but failed to gain traction.
Zovio began offloading its businesses earlier this year. In May, she sold TutorMe, a tutoring services provider, to GoGuardian, a K-12-focused technology firm, for $55 million. Months later, she ended a 15-year contract to provide educational services to the University of Arizona Global Campus – its largest business segment.
Under the deal, UAGC paid Zovio $1, received a $20 million lease in Arizona and hired nearly all of the company’s education services employees, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In return, Zovio paid UAGC $10.5 million and surrendered the right to a $2.7 million security deposit for the lease.
Under Simplilearn, Fullstack Academy will operate as an independent business unit, retaining the bootcamp name and offerings, according to the announcement. Jerrad Tausz, CEO of Fullstack, will remain in his role and Simplilearn will bring the boot camp provider’s staff. Simplilearn’s headcount will now cross 2,500.
“This acquisition marks an exciting opportunity for our organization,” Tausz said in a statement. “We are very confident in the future success of our organization and excited about what the change in ownership will bring for all staff, students, partners and alumni.”
The acquisition comes after Simplilearn raised $45 million in a recent funding round. It was led by GSV Ventures, a venture capital firm.
Simplilearn, which is based in San Francisco and India, has about 70,000 monthly active users and more than 500 enterprise customers, according to the sale announcement. With the acquisition, it hopes to bring in $200 million in revenue by fiscal 2024.
“Through Fullstack Academy’s strong footprint in the US with its bootcamps and elite partnerships with top universities, we are confident that this collaboration will enable us to accelerate our global expansion plans,” said Krishna Kumar, founder and Simplilearn CEO in a statement.
