Updates shares in paragraph 2, adds analyst comment in paragraph 4

By Akash Sriram

Dec 17 (Reuters) - Online education platform Coursera COUR.N said on Wednesday it would buy rival Udemy UDMY.O in an all-stock deal, valuing the combined company at $2.5 billion, as the industry consolidates after a post-pandemic slowdown and heightened investor scrutiny.

Udemy shareholders would receive 0.8 shares of Coursera for each held, valuing the company at about $930 million, according to Reuters calculation. Coursera shares were up about 4%, while Udemy jumped nearly 22%.

Coursera and Udemy bet that a combined platform will be better positioned to capture corporate demand for workforce training, particularly in artificial intelligence, data science and software development, as employers invest in reskilling workers amid rapid advances in generative AI.

"At a high level it seems like this deal makes sense both strategically and financially. We have long viewed a combination of these two companies as compelling given their complementary content offerings and solutions, and the potential for significant cost synergies given overlapping end-markets," said Stephen Sheldon analyst at William Blair.

Based on Coursera's last close, the offer implies a price of $6.35 per Udemy share, a premium of roughly 18.3%. The companies said the deal is expected to close in the second-half of next year, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Coursera, which partners with universities and institutions to offer degree programs and professional certificates, has increasingly focused on enterprise customers, while Udemy operates a marketplace of independent instructors selling individual courses and subscriptions to businesses.

Despite companies pitching AI upskilling as a major growth opportunity, investors have remained cautious on the sector. Shares of online education companies have lagged broader markets amid concerns over competition, pricing pressure and uncertain returns from AI-related investments.

Udemy shares have fallen about 35% so far this year, while Coursera is down roughly 7% over the same period, leaving both companies trading well below their post-IPO highs.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

((Akash.Sriram@thomsonreuters.com; On X as @HoodieOnVeshti; +91-99017-77617;))