Eminence Capital joins Akaris in opposing Pluralsight's deal with Vista Equity

Pluralsight Inc. activist investor Eminence Capital LP said it plans to vote against Pluralsight's $20.26-per-share planned acquisition by Vista Equity Partners Management LLC unless the merger consideration is "increased materially."

Eminence, which holds a roughly 4.94% stake in Pluralsight, argued in a regulatory filing, among other things, that the Utah-based technology workforce development company "conducted a deeply flawed and highly manipulated sales process that conveniently occurred during a period when the Company's quarterly billings growth rate showed optically weaker growth than expected simply because of a shift in the timing of the Company's annual user conference."

In a letter sent to Pluralsight's board, Eminence CEO and Chief Investment Officer Ricky Sandler said, "[a]stoundingly, a company that was not originally looking for a buyer agreed to accept a takeover proposal from Vista at little to no premium for shareholders."

Eminence, which has joined Akaris Global Partners LP in opposing Pluralsight's deal with Vista Equity Partners, also made a books and records demand under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law to gain further insight into what it called Pluralsight's "flawed sales process."