REG - Pearson PLC - Pearson to Acquire PDRI

PearsonAnnouncement

19/12/2022 12:00

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RNS Number : 1770K  Pearson PLC  19 December 2022

Pearson to Acquire Workforce Assessment Provider, PDRI

 

Acquisition to significantly expand Pearson's services to U.S. Federal
Government

 

LONDON: 19 December 2022 - Pearson today announces it has entered into an
agreement with SHL Group to acquire Personnel Decisions Research Institutes,
LLC ('PDRI'), a trusted provider of workforce assessment services. PDRI has
significant expertise in providing assessment solutions to the U.S. federal
government, one of the largest employers in the U.S. with more than 4 million
employees. This acquisition further expands Pearson's portfolio, accelerating
the Company's strategy to capture new market opportunities and grow its
presence with large employers.

 

Founded in 1975, PDRI has built a strong reputation for delivering quality
talent assessments, including tailored assessments to support hiring practices
for U.S. federal government agencies. The acquisition significantly expands
Pearson's services to U.S. federal agencies, including through PDRI's
partnership with the Office of Personnel Management to deliver the USA Hire
platform. The USA Hire platform serves more than 40 agencies and is utilised
to assess more than 500,000 applicants annually.

 

PDRI will join Pearson's Assessment & Qualifications division. Within this
division, Pearson and PDRI already have an established, strong working
relationship, partnering to deliver assessments to federal jobseekers at
Pearson VUE test centers. This acquisition unlocks synergies between Pearson
and PDRI, whilst bringing new capabilities for Pearson to explore as the
company grows its long-standing enterprise learning presence.

 

The consideration for PDRI represents an enterprise value of $190m, which will
be funded from Pearson's existing cash and available liquidity. PDRI has a
highly attractive financial profile with an impressive revenue growth
opportunity, good margins and strong cash flow conversion. In the year ending
December 2021, PDRI recognised revenues of $33m and delivered EBITDA CAGR of
12% from 2018-2021. The acquisition will be accretive to growth and margins
for our Assessment & Qualifications division, as well as driving returns
for shareholders.

 

Completion of the acquisition is expected to occur during H1 2023 subject to
regular closing conditions, including any required regulatory filings or
approvals.

 

Andy Bird, Chief Executive of Pearson, said: "We are pleased to have the
opportunity to expand this important market for Pearson and our assessments
business. Pearson and PDRI share a culture and commitment of serving trusted,
secure, and innovative assessment solutions to major employers and millions of
people looking to establish and grow their careers. Together, we will have a
stronger proposition and a larger platform from which to drive future
growth."

 

Elaine Pulakos, Chief Executive Officer of PDRI said: "Pearson has an
excellent reputation in the assessments field, and we are excited to become a
part of their growth strategy. There is a significant opportunity to learn
from each other to further improve our products and reach more customers with
our proven assessment and talent solutions."

 

 

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Contacts:

Investor Relations Jo Russell +44 (0) 7785 451 266 / James Caddy +44 (0) 7825
948 218 / Gemma Terry +44 (0) 7841 363 216

Teneo Charlie Armitstead +44 (0) 7703 330 269

 

Forward looking statements:

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed
in this statement include forward-looking statements. In particular, all
statements that express forecasts, expectations and projections with respect
to future matters, including trends in results of operations, margins, growth
rates, overall market trends, the impact of interest or exchange rates, the
availability of financing, anticipated cost savings and synergies and the
execution of Pearson's strategy, are forward-looking statements. By their
nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because
they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in future.
They are based on numerous assumptions regarding Pearson's present and future
business strategies and the environment in which it will operate in the
future. There are a number of factors which could cause actual results and
developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements, including a number of factors outside Pearson's
control. These include international, national and local conditions, as well
as competition. They also include other risks detailed from time to time in
Pearson's publicly-filed documents and you are advised to read, in particular,
the risk factors set out in Pearson's latest annual report and accounts, which
can be found on its website (www.pearsonplc.com). Any forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Pearson gives no
undertaking to update forward-looking statements to reflect any changes in its
expectations with regard thereto or any changes to events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statement is based. Readers are cautioned not
to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

 

 

About Pearson

At Pearson, our purpose is simple: to add life to a lifetime of learning. We
believe that every learning opportunity is a chance for a personal
breakthrough. That's why our c.20,000 Pearson employees are committed to
creating vibrant and enriching learning experiences designed for real-life
impact. We are the world's leading learning company, serving customers in
c.200 countries with digital content, assessments, qualifications, and data.
For us, learning isn't just what we do. It's who we are. Visit us at
pearsonplc.com

 

About PDRI

Since 1975, PDRI has built a global reputation of excellence by designing,
developing and implementing high-quality, innovative talent management
solutions that adhere to the highest principles of professional practice.
PDRI's suite of integrated talent management solutions helps government and
commercial clients hire, train, develop, manage and motivate high-performance
organizations. For more information visit www.pdri.com.

 

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