Ebner Stolz advised on the acquisition of a majority interest in Thalia by A consortium led by the Herder publishing family from Advent International
- The Herder family, the Kreke family, the digital entrepreneur Leif Göritz and the CEO Michael Busch have acquired Thalia, the market leader in the retail book market
- Ebner Stolz advised the purchasers on financial and tax matters as well as on purchase price determination and during SPA negotiations
Ebner Stolz advised the purchasers on financial and tax due diligence, tax structuring as well as during SPA negotiations and on purchase price determination.
Thalia is the market leader in German-speaking countries with more than 280 bookstores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The company is a cross-channel retailer, offering expert advice to its valuable customers in the “real” and “virtual” world of books both in traditional bookstores and in its online shop. In March 2013, Thalia launched the tolino brand together with partners in the book shopping segment and Deutsche Telekom as technology partner. Since then, it has brought to market six e-readers. With more than one million e-books, the partners offer one of the largest German-language e-book assortments. Thalia was founded in 1919 in Hamburg in the building that houses the Thalia Theatre.
The Ebner Stolz team: Markus Schmal (head of financial due diligence, purchase price determination, SPA advice), Dr. Markus Emmrich (head of tax due diligence and tax structuring, SPA advice) and Dr. Holger Mach (tax due diligence and tax structuring).
Parties to the contract: Ranjan Sen (Managing Partner of Advent International) was in charge for the sellers, while Manuel Herder (publisher), Leif Göritz (media entrepreneur) and Dr. Henning Kreke (representative of the Kreke family) were responsible for the buyers.
Contact
Markus Schmal
Ludwig-Erhard-Straße 1
20459 Hamburg
phone +49 40 37097-175
markus.schmal@ebnerstolz.de
About Ebner Stolz
Ebner Stolz is one of the largest independent mid-sized MDP firms in Germany and is among the Top Ten in the sector. The firm has decades of in-depth experience in auditing, tax advice, legal advice, and corporate consulting. More than 1,200 employees in all major German cities and business centres offer a broad range of services based on a multi-disciplinary approach. With around 100 employees, Ebner Stolz Corporate Finance service line is a key area of Ebner Stolz service portfolio, which is characterized by a market leading position in the segment for SME transactions. In addition to mid-cap clients, Ebner Stolz advises also numerous private equity firms and family offices on both domestic and cross-border transactions. Cross-border auditing and consulting assignments are carried out with partners of Nexia International, one of the world’s leading networks of independent consulting and auditing firms. Nexia has more than 560 offices in 120 countries.