360Learning, the global collaborative learning SaaS leader, announced the acquisition of Looop, the UK’s leading and top-rated learning management system (LMS), for $20 million in a mix of cash and shares.
The acquisition will not have any immediate impact on each of the current businesses and customers have been assured that the two teams have a shared commitment toward maintaining a seamless user experience for customers as they move forward.
With this acquisition, 360Learning and Looop will usher in a new era of collaborative learning, focused on L&D automation and leadership, to help customers succeed in the face of shifts towards remote work, employee turnover, and the looming skills shortages.
Founded by Ben Muzzell and Dan Gray in 2014, Looop helps L&D teams scale their impact by automating routine jobs so they can focus on performance, not admin. The platform delivers resources to learners’ inbox, phone, and team chat in automated campaigns; allows teams to create effective resources using pre-built templates; and provides automated feedback through surveys and resource ratings.
The company shares 360Learning’s vision to transform corporate learning into a strategic function that drives business impact and was founded on the belief that the future of workplace development lies in reaching staff where they are. Instead of taking people out of their day jobs to improve their skills, Looop harnesses the power of technology to embed learning into their workflows.
Speaking about the company, Co-founder and CEO of Looop, Ben Muzzell, said, "We started Looop because L&D deserved better than the outdated technology they were being burdened with. They needed tools to be true collaborators, not just administrators, so that’s what we built, and that’s what we’ve seen work fantastically well. 360Learning saw the same need at the same time, and to now join forces with combined resources, complementary approaches, and a shared belief in Collaborative Learning is unbelievably exciting."
360Learning empowers Learning and Development teams to drive culture and growth through Collaborative Learning. Its learning platform combines collaborative tools with the power of an LMS, enabling high-growth companies to unlock learning based on collective expertise instead of top-down knowledge. 360Learning is the easiest way to onboard new employees, train customer-facing teams, and develop professional skills–all from one place.
Commenting on the acquisition, Founder and CEO of 360Learning, Nick Hernandez, said, "Together, 360Learning and Looop will build a new era of collaborative learning where subject matter experts are fully utilized, L&D workflows are fully automated, and L&D professionals go from admins to true collaborative operators with a laser focus on data-driven performance. Our respective teams’ shared passion for transformational technology, simple UX and customer success will help bring about this new era. One that will be built on the incredible customer satisfaction scores we’ve both already achieved, and the rapid growth we’ve both already experienced."
Since its launch, 360Learning customers, from the likes of LVMH, Aircall, Toyota and Appen, have created more than 3 million courses (with an average 95% Relevance Score) and the platform is helping them reshape company cultures, increase new hire time-to-productivity, free up billable days and ultimately increase sales.
The acquisition marks the first major step towards 360Learning’s ambitions to increase its penetration in the UK, and help reach new audiences across Asia, North & South America, and Europe.
Last year in October, 360Learning had raised $200 million in a funding round co-led by Sumeru, SoftBank, and Silver Lake Waterman, and M&A activities were specifically mentioned.
