The ‘Wer liefert was’ Group (wlw Group) – whose majority shareholder is Swiss private equity firm Capvis and which, amongst other things, is the provider of the leading online B2B marketplace in German-speaking Europe – has acquired all the shares in Berlin-based Gebraucht.de GmbH as of 1 May 2019. The sellers are the two founders of the online marketplace for second-hand goods, Oliver Kaiser and Stefan Tietze (who will remain as directors of the company), and a not inconsiderable number of national and international investors. A non-disclosure agreement has been signed in respect of the purchase price.
BDO Legal Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbh (BDO Legal) and BDO AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft (BDO) provided an interdisciplinary team led by Dr Daniel Wied to support Wer liefert was? Service GmbH with the acquisition. The advisory spanned legal, financial and tax due diligence, as well as transaction consultancy in the areas of legal and tax.
The wlw Group pursues a long-term growth strategy and is systematically building on its European market-leading position in the B2B segment. The transaction was primarily driven by time-to-market considerations and the opportunity to set up a further centre of excellence for product development in a short space of time by virtue of the acquisition. With its site in Berlin, Gebraucht.de also offers excellent access to IT specialists in the German capital. With Hamburg, Paris and now Berlin, the wlw Group operates in three attractive locations.
Peter F. Schmid, CEO of Wer liefert was: ‘We scour the market on an ongoing basis to find suitable companies, partners and start-ups. With their best-in-class platform, the team at Gebraucht.de have shown that it is possible to develop a high-performance, user-focused marketplace and establish it on the market. Technologies and experience of this kind are vital in the B2B sector – and therefore hugely important to us too. The integrated and professional advisory provided by BDO Legal and BDO played a crucial role in making the transaction a success.’