Coursera to Buy Udemy in $2.5 Billion All Stock Deal

Online education provider Coursera Inc. on Wednesday said it will buy rival platform Udemy Inc. in an all-stock transaction that values the combined firm at about $2.5 billion, as consolidations gather pace in a cooling digital learning market. 

Under the terms of the agreement, Udemy shareholders will receive 0.80 shares of Coursera common stock for each Udemy share they hold, representing a roughly 18% premium to recent trading levels and valuing Udemy at about $930 million. 

The deal, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory review and approval by shareholders of both firms. 

“Through this combination with Coursera, we will create meaningful benefits for our learners, enterprise customers, and instructors, while delivering significant value to our shareholders, who will participate in the substantial upside potential of the combined company,” Udemy chief executive Hugo Sarrazin said in a statement.

Coursera, listed on the New York Stock Exchange and known for partnering with universities and industry organizations to offer degree programs, professional certificates and workforce training, has increasingly focused on enterprise skilling and subscription revenue. 

Udemy, traded on NASDAQ, operates a large marketplace of courses created by independent instructors and serves both individual learners and corporate clients.

Both companies have faced slowing consumer demand and investor scepticism amid a broader post-pandemic slowdown in online education enrolments and mounting competition from free and lower-cost platforms.

The merger brings together complementary business models and aims to position the combined entity to better capture enterprise demand for workforce training, particularly in high-growth areas such as artificial intelligence, data science and software development.

Management has touted synergies from scale, broader course offerings and stronger competitive reach, though both companies cautioned integration challenges remain. 

“We’re at a pivotal moment in which AI is rapidly redefining the skills required for every job across every industry,” Coursera chief executive Greg Hart said. “Organizations and individuals around the world need a platform that is as agile as the new and emerging skills learners must master.”

After the deal closes, Coursera’s existing stockholders are expected to own about 59% of the combined company, with Udemy shareholders holding the remaining 41%, based on share counts and exchange ratios at announcement. 

The combined business is also projected to generate more than $1.5 billion in pro forma annual revenue, with expected cost synergies of roughly $115 million in annual run-rate savings within 24 months of closing, according to company statements and analysis.