LANHAM, Md. and NEW YORK, May 22,
2019 /PRNewswire/ -- 2U, Inc. (Nasdaq: TWOU), a global
leader in education technology, today closed its previously
announced acquisition of Trilogy Education Services, Inc., a
workforce accelerator that prepares adult learners for high-growth
careers in the digital economy. The closing of the transaction
brings together two of the world's leading education companies and
positions Trilogy as a 2U, Inc. brand.
"Technology is transforming and redefining the future of work
globally. More people at more stages in their lives are investing
in themselves and their futures, upskilling and reskilling to keep
pace and remain competitive in the job market," 2U Co-Founder and
CEO Christopher "Chip" Paucek said. "With our growing portfolio of
now 68 great university partners, 2U is well positioned to deliver
the in-demand skills working adults need–whether that's through a
degree, professional certificate, boot camp, or short course."
"Trilogy was created to help communities across the world better
prepare for the changing workforce. Our fast growth is a testament
to the winning collaborations between working professionals,
universities, and employers," Trilogy Founder and CEO Dan Sommer said. "Together with 2U, our combined
reach and impact will better serve even more students in even more
places throughout more of their lives. We are uniquely solving an
otherwise unmet need in our global economy."
The combined company will expand 2U's offerings across the
career curriculum continuum and accelerate the company's
anticipated path to $1 billion in
revenue by a year from 2022 to 2021. The strategic benefits of the
acquisition include:
- Increasing 2U's university portfolio from 36 to 68 partners,
including The University of Western
Australia and the University of
Connecticut, which launched Trilogy-powered boot camps in
the last month.
- Adding relevant, technical, skills-focused products and
curriculum to 2U's portfolio, supplementing and complementing
existing online degree and short course offerings.
- Providing 2U with in-house expertise in running and operating
in-person boot camps.
- Expanding 2U's existing presence in Mexico and Europe and establishing 2U's presence in the
Australian and Canadian markets.
- Creating a more robust enterprise channel to compete in the
$366 billion lifelong learning and
corporate training market.
2U and Trilogy have proven track records of helping the world's
best universities expand and deliver on their missions in the
digital age. Together, the companies have reached more than 150,000
adult learners, and 2U will now power more than 250 unique
educational offerings across its portfolio.
About 2U, Inc. (Nasdaq: TWOU)
Eliminating the back row
in higher education is not just a metaphor–it's our mission. For
more than a decade, 2U, Inc., a global leader in education
technology, has been a trusted partner and brand steward of great
universities. We build, deliver, and support more than 250 digital
and in-person educational offerings, including graduate degrees,
professional certificates, Trilogy-powered boot camps, and
GetSmarter short courses. Together with our partners, 2U has
positively transformed the lives of more than 150,000 students and
lifelong learners. To learn more, visit 2U.com. #NoBackRow
Cautionary Language Concern Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the
U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 concerning
the Company, Trilogy, the Mergers and other matters. In some cases,
you can identify forward-looking statements by the words "may,"
"might," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "intend,"
"plan," "objective," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate,"
"predict," "project," "potential," "continue" and "ongoing," or the
negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology intended
to identify statements about the future. Examples of
forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we
make regarding the Mergers, future results of the operations and
financial position of the Company, including financial targets,
business strategy, and plans and objectives for future operations,
are forward-looking statements. The Company has based these
forward-looking statements largely on its estimates of its
financial results and its current expectations and projections
about future events and financial trends that it believes may
affect its financial condition, results of operations, business
strategy, short term and long-term business operations and
objectives, and financial needs as of the date of this press
release. We undertake no obligation to update these statements as a
result of new information or future events. These forward-looking
statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and
assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially
from the results predicted, including, risks related to the
Mergers, including integration risks and failure to achieve the
anticipated benefits of the Mergers, trends in the higher education
market and the market for online education, and expectations for
growth in those markets; the acceptance, adoption and growth of
online learning by colleges and universities, faculty, students,
employers, accreditors and state and federal licensing bodies; our
ability to comply with evolving regulations and legal obligations
related to data privacy, data protection and information security;
our expectations about the potential benefits of our cloud-based
software-as-a-service, or SaaS, technology and technology-enabled
services to university clients and students; our dependence on
third parties to provide certain technological services or
components used in our platform; our ability to meet the
anticipated launch dates of our graduate programs and short
courses; our expectations about the predictability, visibility and
recurring nature of our business model; our ability to acquire new
university clients and expand our graduate programs and short
courses with existing university clients; our ability to
successfully integrate the operations of Get Educated International
Proprietary Limited, or GetSmarter, achieve the expected benefits
of the acquisition and manage, expand and grow the combined
company; our ability to execute our growth strategy in the
international, undergraduate and non-degree alternative markets;
our ability to continue to acquire prospective students for our
graduate programs and short courses; our ability to affect or
increase student retention in our graduate programs; our ability to
attract, hire and retain qualified employees; our expectations
about the scalability of our cloud-based platform; our expectations
regarding future expenses in relation to future revenue; potential
changes in regulations applicable to us or our university clients;
and our expectations regarding the amount of time our cash balances
and other available financial resources will be sufficient to fund
our operations. These and other potential risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ from the results
predicted are more fully detailed under the heading "Risk Factors"
in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 and other reports filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. Moreover, the Company
operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment.
New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for the
Company management to predict all risks, nor can the Company assess
the impact of all factors on its business or the extent to which
any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking
statements the Company may make. In light of these risks,
uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and
circumstances discussed in this press release may not occur and
actual results could differ materially and adversely from those
anticipated.
Media Contact
Molly
Forman, 2U, Inc.
mforman@2U.com
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SOURCE 2U, Inc.