The following was posted on December 13, 2020 the Twitter account of Aaron Skonnard, co-founder and CEO of Pluralsight Inc.:
We are excited to announce that @pluralsight has entered into a definitive
agreement to be acquired by @Vista_Equity. With their help, we can move faster and accelerate our strategic vision. See press release for important information: [link].
The following was reposted on December 13, 2020 from the Twitter account of Aaron Skonnard, co-founder and CEO
of Pluralsight Inc., to the Twitter account of Pluralsight, Inc.:
We are excited to announce that @pluralsight has entered into a definitive agreement
to be acquired by @Vista_Equity. With their help, we can move faster and accelerate our strategic vision. See press release for important information: [link].
The following was posted on December 13, 2020 to the LinkedIn account of Pluralsight, Inc.:
An Exciting New Chapter in Pluralsights Evolution
I
am thrilled to partner with Vista Equity Partners as we enter this exciting new chapter in Pluralsights evolution. Vista is a global investment firm with significant resources and institutional knowledge that will open doors and help fuel our
growth. Through this partnership with Vista, Pluralsight will be positioned to move faster and be more agile, accelerate our strategic vision and further strengthen our leading market position.
This agreement is validation of the value that Pluralsight provides in developing world-class technologists and technology teams and empowering them to drive
the next wave of innovation for their organizations. Im so proud of all that weve accomplished together at Pluralsight and look forward to our bright future with Vista. You can read my message to our Global Team regarding this milestone
below. See press release for important information.
Team,
Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in
Pluralsights evolution. Moments ago, we announced that weve entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Vista Equity Partners, a leading global investment firm focused on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled
businesses. This agreement will allow us to build upon what weve created together in the years ahead. You can read the press release here.
Over the
past 17 years, we have done an incredible job reaching new and larger customers and continuing to innovate in our products and solutions. Our customers recognize the value that we provide in developing world-class technologists and technology teams
and empowering them to drive the next wave of innovation for their organizations. I am more confident than ever in the importance of what we deliver to our customers.
Amid a year of challenge and change, our products, our brand and our outstanding team attracted the interest of a highly respected, technology-focused
investment firm that has conviction in our strategic vision. The Board and I carefully reviewed the opportunities available to our company, including continuing as a standalone public company. We want to be sure that we are best positioned to
continue to grow and innovate, and of course, our Board and executive leadership team must consider our responsibilities to shareholders. Ultimately, we determined that this transaction with Vista is the best path forward.
Vista has a proven track record of helping management teams drive profitable growth. They have pioneered an investment and operating model for market-leading
SaaS companies with substantial untapped opportunity ahead of them. And the global Vista ecosystemover 65 software companies with more than 70,000 employees, serving over 200 million usersprovides significant resources and institutional
knowledge that will open doors and help fuel our growth. Youll likely recognize some of the companies that Vista has acquired and helped succeed, including Marketo, Jamf, and Ping Identity.
As a private company supported by Vista, Pluralsight will be positioned to move faster and be more agile, accelerate our strategic vision and further
strengthen our leading market position. Importantly, Vista and our executive team are committed to our people, business and product strategy and Vista shares our belief in the transformative power of technology and technology skills. One of the many
reasons they are excited about Pluralsight is because they and many of their portfolio companies are Skills and Flow customers. We look forward to leveraging their expertise to further improve our operations and performance and deliver deeper, more
powerful solutions that help companies adapt and thrive in the digital age. Im very excited about our future with Vista.
Its important to
know that todays announcement is the first step in completing this transaction. For this to happen, we need to satisfy certain conditions, including receiving approval from Pluralsight shareholders. We expect to complete the transaction in the
first half of 2021. Until the close, we will continue to operate as usual.
Right now, our top priority is closing out Q4 strong. I know I can count on
you to remain focused on supporting our customers, partners, authors and instructors to ensure that we finish 2020 with success and enter 2021 with a running start.
This agreement is a testament to your outstanding work. Im so proud of all that weve accomplished together. Thank you for your continued
commitment to excellence, being a lifelong learner, delivering for our customers and partners, and supporting each other.
I look forward to hearing from
you all tomorrow and over the coming weeks.
Aaron
Additional Information and Where to Find It
Pluralsight,
its directors and certain executive officers are participants in the solicitation of proxies from stockholders in connection with the acquisition of Pluralsight (the Transaction). Pluralsight plans to file a proxy statement (the
Transaction Proxy Statement) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) in connection with the solicitation of proxies in connection with the Transaction.
Aaron Skonnard, Gary Crittenden, Scott Dorsey, Arne Duncan, Ryan Hinkle, Leah Johnson, Timothy Maudlin, Frederick Onion, Bradley Rencher, Bonita Stewart and
Karenann Terrell, all of whom are members of Pluralsights Board of Directors, and James Budge, Pluralsights Chief Financial Officer, are participants in Pluralsights solicitation. Other than Messrs. Skonnard and Onion, none of such
participants owns in excess of one percent of the voting power of Pluralsights common stock. Mr. Skonnard may be deemed to own approximately 53.6 percent of the voting power of Pluralsights capital stock, and Mr. Onion may
be deemed to own approximately 4.2 percent of the voting power of Pluralsights capital stock. Additional information regarding such participants, including their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be
included in the Transaction Proxy Statement and other relevant documents to be filed with the SEC in connection with the Transaction. Information relating to the foregoing can also be found in Pluralsights definitive proxy statement for its
2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the 2020 Proxy Statement), which was filed with the SEC on March 18, 2020. To the extent that holdings of Pluralsights securities have changed since the amounts printed in the 2020 Proxy
Statement, such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC.
Promptly after filing the
definitive Transaction Proxy Statement with the SEC, Pluralsight will mail the definitive Transaction Proxy Statement and a WHITE proxy card to each stockholder entitled to vote at the special meeting to consider the Transaction. STOCKHOLDERS ARE
URGED TO READ THE TRANSACTION PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT PLURALSIGHT WILL FILE WITH THE SEC WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
Stockholders may obtain, free of charge, the preliminary and definitive versions of the Transaction Proxy Statement, any amendments or supplements thereto and any other relevant documents filed by Pluralsight with the SEC in connection with the