Online education platform Coursera announced on Wednesday it will acquire rival Udemy in a $2.5 billion all-stock deal, as the industry consolidates post-pandemic. Udemy shareholders will receive 0.8 shares of Coursera for each held, valuing the company at around $930 million. Coursera shares rose 4%, Udemy jumped nearly 22%.

Coursera and Udemy aim to capture corporate demand for workforce training in AI, data science, and software development post-pandemic. Analyst Stephen Sheldon views the deal as strategically and financially sound, citing complementary content offerings and cost synergies. The deal implies a price of $6.35 per Udemy share, a premium of 18.3%.

Coursera focuses on degree programs and professional certificates for enterprise customers, while Udemy operates a marketplace for individual courses. Despite growth potential in AI upskilling, investor caution persists in the sector. Udemy shares are down 35% this year, Coursera down 7%, trading below post-IPO highs.

The deal is set to close in the second half of next year, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals. Online education companies face challenges like competition and pricing pressure in the AI upskilling sector. Despite concerns, Coursera and Udemy are optimistic about the future of workforce training and development.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Coursera to buy Udemy, creating $2.5 billion firm to target AI training