Deutsche Telekom sells t-online.de, InteractiveMedia
August 13, 2015
Deutsche Telekom has concluded an agreement with Ströer for the sale of the online platform t-online.de and the digital marketing company InteractiveMedia. The transaction will take the form of a capital increase of Ströer in return for the non-cash contribution of the two companies.
New shares in Ströer worth some €0.3 billion will be issued to Deutsche Telekom, which corresponds to an equity investment of around 11 to 13 percent in the subsequently increased capital stock of Ströer. The shares are subject to a lock-up period of 12 months. Thanks to its equity investment in Ströer, Deutsche Telekom will profit from the expected increases in the value of the two companies within the new group in the future.
The transaction is awaiting approval by the Federal Cartel Office and is subject to other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to be closed in the fourth quarter of 2015.
The disposal is in line with Deutsche Telekom’s strategy of establishing itself on the market as the leading European telecommunications provider. Part of this strategy involves considering options for increasing the value of business areas that can no longer be adequately developed within the Deutsche Telekom Group, through partnerships or disposals.
“Germany’s high-reach online platform t-online.de and InteractiveMedia are ideally complemented by Ströer’s activities in the marketing of online advertising space. We are delighted to have found a partner in Ströer which can further increase the potential of the portal and leverage substantial synergies on the market for both companies. We firmly believe that t-online.de and InteractiveMedia can sustainably support Ströer’s cross-media marketing position on the German online advertising market and thereby contribute to Ströer’s growth strategy. This is one of the reasons we have decided to receive the purchase price in shares,” said Niek Jan van Damme, Member of the Deutsche Telekom Board of Management and Managing Director of Telekom Deutschland.