Another article with seemingly more details https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vista-backed-tech-firm-moves-...
Vista Equity writes off PluralSight value, after $3.5B buyout
21–30 of 81 posts
Re: Vista Equity writes off PluralSight value, after $3.5B buyout
#22> One source says that the Utah-based company's financials have improved, with a around 26% EBITDA growth in 2023, but not enough to service nearly $1.3 billion of debt that was issued when interest rates were lower. Pluralsight hasn’t failed entirely as a company. It’s just that it can’t produce enough profits to pay down the huge debt Vista took to acquire it. Many tech PE deals happened under low interest rates, b…
This is arguably more fallout from elevated interest rates, and the risk thereof, being off the radar of people that work(ed) finance professionally. The company was performing and without the debt would be fine. Vista gambled and lost. It happens.
Re: Vista Equity writes off PluralSight value, after $3.5B buyout
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
One reason for Pluralsight’s success is through acquiring a bunch of tech training and e-learning companies to have a huge content library. No doubt they used some of their quarter of a billion in VC cash to perform those acquisitions. Who is to say they reach “unicorn” status and have a good exit if they didn’t take on that VC cash to do those acquisitions?
Besides the founders, who gives a shit if they have a good exit? As a user, them destroying chunks of the e-learning space and cashing out is something I view as a negative.
I was just referring to the idea that they could just not take VC cash or the PE deal and that would have worked out better for them. The current structure and offering from the company are based on those things. It would look very different without those things.
For context, I've used PluralSight for 10+ years. Scott Allen (RIP) was my favorite. I'm still salty about PluralSight acquiring CodeSchool and effectively shutting it down (what was the point of that?).
Re: Vista Equity writes off PluralSight value, after $3.5B buyout
#24> One source says that the Utah-based company's financials have improved, with a around 26% EBITDA growth in 2023, but not enough to service nearly $1.3 billion of debt that was issued when interest rates were lower. Pluralsight hasn’t failed entirely as a company. It’s just that it can’t produce enough profits to pay down the huge debt Vista took to acquire it. Many tech PE deals happened under low interest rates, b…
This is kind of sad. It was /is a functioning profitable public company with employees. A PE firm decides to take a huge loan to buy it, and now the company is gone. All those people lost their jobs. A huge net negative on the world and society because of greedy PE.
Re: Vista Equity writes off PluralSight value, after $3.5B buyout
#25“It's also a company whose future could be dimmed by advances in artificial intelligence, since some of the developer skills it teaches are becoming automated.” Interesting take.
There's absolutely a tail risk of this stuff making the vast majority of "knowledge workers" jobless.
Re: Vista Equity writes off PluralSight value, after $3.5B buyout
#26The timing coinciding with the founder exiting is interesting. I've heard multiple horror stories from founders who sold to Vista. They don't exactly have the best reputation. I wouldn't be surprised if this move stripped value away from other stakeholders in some slightly questionable manner.
I know many who have had hugely successful exits to vista. They are extremely good at what they do - but perhaps what they do doesn’t align with your morals
Re: Vista Equity writes off PluralSight value, after $3.5B buyout
#27> One source says that the Utah-based company's financials have improved, with a around 26% EBITDA growth in 2023, but not enough to service nearly $1.3 billion of debt that was issued when interest rates were lower. Pluralsight hasn’t failed entirely as a company. It’s just that it can’t produce enough profits to pay down the huge debt Vista took to acquire it. Many tech PE deals happened under low interest rates, b…
This is kind of sad. It was /is a functioning profitable public company with employees. A PE firm decides to take a huge loan to buy it, and now the company is gone. All those people lost their jobs. A huge net negative on the world and society because of greedy PE.
the company isn't gone. vista is likely getting wiped out and the lenders will own the business.
Re: Vista Equity writes off PluralSight value, after $3.5B buyout
#28Normally PE funds are know for not writing things down due to a few reasons: - they are private so whose to say what its worth - rolling funds where as one fund closes the new fund that is raising can take in those positions so no need to mark down or try and sell those positions at firesale prices. This is a bit different as this is a "dropdown". Here the company is moving some IP into a new company and using that t…
Tax-loss harvesting.
Re: Vista Equity writes off PluralSight value, after $3.5B buyout
#29“It's also a company whose future could be dimmed by advances in artificial intelligence, since some of the developer skills it teaches are becoming automated.” Interesting take.
There's absolutely a tail risk of this stuff making the vast majority of "knowledge workers" jobless.
I took it more as Pluralsight courses are barely better than documentation, and from my experience of being a subscriber I definitely agree.
Re: Vista Equity writes off PluralSight value, after $3.5B buyout
#30I've been a Pluralsight subscriber for probably over a decade now. Their content is awesome for getting up to speed quickly or just learning about a technology without too much fluff. I do see though how AI is a huge threat to them. Using Claude 3 for coding and being able to ask questions about my specific issues and getting tailored responses every time to my exact issue (vs watching a general video and applying th…
I agree that their products are amazing but having dealt with their sales staff last year and this year, I completely understand why they're underperforming. They're rude, sarcastic, always have a very take-it-or-leave-it attitude, and had a bad attitude when I asked about certain features, like I was wasting their time. I canceled talks for 6 months just to let the memory fade.