Goodwin Procter attorneys recently advised lynda.com in connection with its announced $1.5 billion sale to LinkedIn. The transaction, reportedly the largest ever for LinkedIn, includes a combination of approximately 52% in cash and 48% in stock. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015.
lynda.com, founded in 1995 and based in Carpinteria, Calif., is an online learning company that helps people learn business, technology and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals. Through individual, corporate, academic and government subscriptions, members have access to the lynda.com and Video2Brain video library of more than 6,300 courses and more than 267,000 video tutorials taught by recognized industry experts. The company also provides German, French and Spanish-language content under the Video2Brain brand name. lynda.com is funded in part by Accel Partners, Spectrum Equity, TPG Capital and Meritech Capital Partners.
LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network on the internet, connects professionals to make them more productive and successful and transforms the ways companies hire, market and sell. The company’s vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce through the ongoing development of the world's first Economic Graph. LinkedIn has more than 300 million members, is based in Mountain View, Calif. and has offices around the world.
The Goodwin team advising lynda.com was led by Larry Chu. Additional support was provided by Craig Schmitz (Corporate Securities) and Kirby Lewis (Antitrust), Jim Riley (IP), Lynda Galligan (Benefits), and Kelsey Lemaster (Tax).
For more information, please read the LinkedIn press release. Coverage of the transaction included articles in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com and VentureBeat, among others.