BookRenter Secures $40 Million in Financing to Continue Rapid Platform Growth

SAN MATEO, Calif., Feb. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- BookRenter, the largest and fastest growing online textbook platform, today announced it received $40 million in Series C financing from new and existing venture partners Adams Capital Management, Comerica Bank, Focus Ventures, Lighthouse Capital Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, and Storm Ventures.  

Since enabling college stores to launch their own textbook rental site, the BookRenter Platform has gained tremendous traction with schools looking to reduce the cost of education for their students.  Over 560 college bookstores that serve six million students are using BookRenter for their online textbook rentals, including eight of the ten largest independent bookstores.  This growth is propelling the company to expand by 600% year-over-year and saving students $45 million in the past six months alone.  The new round of funding will drive product innovation helping to enable BookRenter store partners to bring affordable education to their students.

BookRenter has also become the partner of choice for associations and educational service companies, as exemplified by its exclusive relationship with the National Association of College Stores (NACS), which was also announced today (see separate press release for details).  

"In 2011, we'll continue to help schools reduce the cost of education for their students, and enable store partners to deliver the best quality of service on campus," said Mehdi Maghsoodnia, Chief Executive Officer of BookRenter. "Students want to shop locally, but also want the best deal.  BookRenter will continue to innovate and enable our partners to offer the best of both worlds, fulfilling our mission of making education more affordable and accessible for millions of students."

BookRenter is the only provider offering schools a full-service, branded textbook rental solution while delivering what students want most from their store – the largest selection of titles in the industry (5.5 million), at the best price, and with the highest level of service.  Through BookRenter's RapidReturns™ service, students can easily return their rented textbooks at participating college stores, who benefit from increased buyback activity and merchandise transactions.  This high quality of service and customer satisfaction is helping stores win back their customers, reversing the trend of students shopping elsewhere for their textbooks.

"BookRenter is redefining how college campuses can help reduce the cost of education," said Sergio Monsalve, Norwest Venture Partners (NVP).  "Students everywhere are seeking a more affordable education, while colleges must adopt innovative technologies to better serve students and help make their education costs less prohibitive. BookRenter has made this vision a reality for universities and students across the country and we believe there will be continued mass adoption in the coming year."

By standardizing on the BookRenter Platform, college stores are positioning themselves for long-term success.  According to NACS' OnCampus Research from January 2011, compared to last year, customers of stores that offer BookRenter rentals are 21% more likely to rent from their college store and 10% more likely to shop at the bookstore for items other than textbooks.

"We are pleased to be partnering with a company whose primary focus is helping our members succeed through continuous product and service innovation," said Brian E. Cartier, Chief Executive Officer of NACS Inc.  "As BookRenter brings its leading platform to more and more campuses nationwide, it helps our members lower students' cost of education.  We have been impressed with how their services have been viewed by campus administrators."  

To learn more about BookRenter and the BookRenter Platform, please visit www.bookrenter.com and store.bookrenter.com, or visit BookRenter at CAMEX in Booth #1254.

About BookRenter

BookRenter launched in 2008 and is dedicated to making education more affordable by allowing students to rent textbooks for up to 75% off the retail price.  BookRenter's innovative pricing and operating systems provide students with the best price, highest quality books, and most flexible rental experience available today.  Currently offering more than 5.5 million titles and serving thousands of students on over 5,000 campuses, BookRenter is one of the fastest growing startups in Silicon Valley, growing at over 600% each year. BookRenter, with offices in San Mateo, California, is a private company that is funded by prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firms.  To learn more about how to use BookRenter for all of your textbook rental needs, please visit www.bookrenter.com.

SOURCE BookRenter