As a result of the acquisition, the combined company will have more than 75 million users and serve approximately 7,000 organizations, of all sizes, around the globe.

People development technology provider Cornerstone has more than 3,600 clients encompassing more than 40 million users across 187 countries, working in 43 languages.

Saba is a portfolio company of Vector Capital.

A Cornerstone statement said: “The combined company will be well-positioned to deliver a highly differentiated portfolio of people development and talent experience software solutions by leveraging the existing product portfolio, as well as through accelerated product development enabled by a larger combined R&D team, greater financial resources, and a shared vision for the future.”

AlixPartners has been retained to help support the integration of the two organizations. Centerview Partners, LLC and Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisors to Cornerstone, while Cooley acted as legal advisor.

Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank Securities and Jefferies Finance provided financing to Cornerstone for the transaction. William Blair & Company acted as financial advisor to Saba, while Paul Hastings acted as legal advisor.

Adam Miller, CEO and founder of Cornerstone, said: “Saba and Cornerstone have always shared a passion for people development, and together we can accomplish great things. The additional depth of expertise and capability from Saba is an ideal complement to Cornerstone. With the combination, our product development team is expected to significantly expand, giving us the ability to develop faster, further increase competitive differentiation, and help millions of people around the world to overcome the skills divide.”

Phil Saunders, CEO and member of the Saba board of directors, said: “For over 20 years, Saba has been committed to helping clients around the world attract, develop and engage their people, and I am thrilled about this union because of the value it will bring to them. We see a natural fit between Saba and Cornerstone. We are aligned on mission and a view of where the industry is heading. Together, we will be better able to serve the needs of our clients and lead our industry into the future.”

Legal advisor to Cornerstone: Cooley LLP (the team was led by Ben Beerle, Rachel Proffitt and Anne Lieberman – it also included Mischi a Marca, Patrick Flanagan and McLean Crichton)

Legal advisor to Saba: Paul Hastings LLP (M&A partners Steve Camahort and Dana Kromm led the Paul Hastings team, which also included M&A partner Jeffrey Wolf, tax partner Jim Smulkowski, employment partner Dan Stellenberg, finance partner Lindsay Sparks, corporate partner Yariv Katz, government contracts partner Charles Patrizia, IP partner Todd Schneider, cybersecurity partner Sherrese Smith; of counsels Keith Pisani, Michael Wise, Jeffrey Li and Jennifer Riddle; and associates Kristy Wiehe, Chris Cruickshank, Kami LaBerge, Bill McCue, Noah Pinegar, Ryan Enchelmayer, April White, Andrew Erber, Bianca Ponziani, Randall Johnston, and Peter Larson)