Kirkland Advises FP-Backed VitalSource on Acquisition of RedShelf

Kirkland & Ellis advised VitalSource, a Francisco Partners portfolio company, on its acquisition of RedShelf, the Chicago-based course materials distributor servicing hundreds of U.S. higher education institutions. The acquisition expands VitalSource’s network of institutional and publisher partners, providing additional scale and talent to drive affordability and outcomes in a rapidly evolving landscape. The transaction was announced April 21, 2025.

Read the transaction press release

The Kirkland team included corporate lawyers James Brownstein, Jacob Reichman and Tyler Martin; debt finance lawyer Andrea Weintraub; antitrust & competition lawyer Psalm Cheung; tax lawyer Devin Heckman; and technology & IP transactions lawyer Seth Pritchard.