September 20, 2011 (Mountain View, CA) – Fenwick & West LLP represented Chegg, Inc., the number one online textbook rental company and social education platform, in its recent acquisitions of Zinch, an online social network connecting prospective college and graduate students to scholarships, admissions officers and other students, and Student of Fortune, an online tutorial marketplace and homework help site. These acquisitions help Chegg become a social education platform that is transforming the way millions of students learn by connecting them to the people and tools needed to succeed in college. The Zinch acquisition is subject to standard closing conditions and financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
This is the Santa Clara-based company's fifth major acquisition in a little over a year. Fenwick recently represented Chegg in its acquisition of Notehall, an online class and study notes provider. Last year, the firm represented Chegg in its acquisitions of Cramster, which provides a range of online academic tutorials for college and high school students, and CourseRank, which enables college students to share course schedules with friends and rate professors online. Fenwick also represented Chegg in its $95 million Series E financing in 2010 and its $57 million Series D financing and $25 million credit facility in 2009.
Dave Borders, Senior Corporate Counsel at Chegg (and former Fenwick associate) led the transaction teams for Chegg, and corporate partner David Bell led both Fenwick transaction teams. In addition to Mr. Bell, the Fenwick team for Zinch also included corporate associate Jaw Wedge, executive compensation and employee benefits partner Blake Martell, technology transactions associate Morgan Fong, tax partner Andy Kim and tax associate Zachery Jones. In addition to Mr. Bell, the Fenwick transaction team for Student of Fortune also included corporate associate Amna Latif, executive compensation and employee benefits partner Blake Martell, technology transactions associate Morgan Fong, tax partner Andy Kim and tax associate Zachery Jones.
For more information about Chegg’s recent growth, visit their news section.
Fenwick & West provides comprehensive legal services to technology and life sciences clients of national and international prominence. The firm is recognized among the leading U.S. law firms for technology startups and was named “Law Firm of the Year” for the Internet and eCommerce industry by InterContinental Finance Magazine. Fenwick is ranked by Mergermarket as one of the top 5 M&A legal advisors in North America for technology deals, by Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters as one of the top 10 M&A legal advisors in the U.S., and by FactSet and Thomson Reuters as one of the Top 25 M&A legal advisors worldwide.