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United Internet AG
M&A Activity • Mar 28, 2017
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M&A Activity
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News Details
Corporate | 28 March 2017 09:00
United Internet acquires 29.93% stake in rankingCoach
DGAP-News: United Internet AG / Key word(s): Investment
28.03.2017 / 09:00
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
- Investment in leading supplier of cloud-based online marketing solutions
- rankingCoach as future technology partner of United Internet subsidiary 1&1 Internet
Montabaur, March 28, 2017. In the course of a capital increase, United Internet AG has acquired – via United Internet Investment Holding GmbH – a stake of 29.93% in
rankingCoach GmbH, a leading provider of cloud-based online marketing solutions.
Based in Cologne, rankingCoach was founded in 2014 by its current management team
Daniel Wette, Marius Gerdan and Thomas Meierkord as a spin-off of a major online marketing agency. The company was mainly financed by the family office “Wecken & Cie.” based in Switzerland.
Today, an international team of over 60 specialists in Cologne (Germany) and Arad (Romania) supports small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) in 11 languages and 24 countries. rankingCoach markets its products both directly to end-users and agencies, as well as indirectly via international partners, such as hosting providers, telecommunications companies and publishers.
Online visibility and online reputation have a major impact on the business success of SMEs. rankingCoach offers affordable, web-based solutions in the field of search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO) and social media which are tailored to the needs of its various target groups. The imminent launch of the “rankingCoach Suite” will bring together the company’s various offerings on a central cloud platform.
The capital increase is aimed in particular at driving technical product development, the expansion of services, and the company’s further internationalization.
In addition to the equity stake, rankingCoach and the United Internet subsidiary 1&1 Internet SE have signed a long-term cooperation agreement for 1&1 to use the online marketing solutions of rankingCoach as part of its hosting and cloud products marketed in Europe and North America.
“The user-friendliness and ease-of-use of cloud-based solutions are decisive factors in the competition for SME clients,” says Frank Krause, CFO of United Internet AG. “And this is exactly what rankingCoach has achieved with its online marketing solutions. By investing in the company, we want to help actively shape the further successful development of this model. Moreover, rankingCoach Suite is an ideal fit for 1&1’s portfolio of cloud applications for SMEs,” states Frank Krause in summarizing the reasons for the investment and future cooperation.
The transaction is still subject to approval by the relevant anti-trust authorities.
About United Internet
With 16.97 million fee-based customer contracts and 34.29 million ad-financed free accounts, United Internet AG is Europe’s leading internet specialist. At the heart of United Internet is a high-performance “Internet Factory” with approx. 8,100 employees, of which around 2,600 are engaged in product management, development and data centers. In addition to the high sales strength of its established brands (1&1, GMX, WEB.DE, united-domains, Fasthosts, Arsys, home.pl, InterNetX, Sedo, affilinet and 1&1 Versatel), United Internet stands for outstanding operational excellence with around 51 million customer accounts worldwide.
Contact
Press
United Internet AG
Elgendorfer Strasse 57
56410 Montabaur
Germany
Tel: +49 2602/96-1616
Fax: +49 2602/96-1013
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.united-internet.de
28.03.2017 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
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| Language: | English |
| Company: | United Internet AG |
| Elgendorfer Straße 57 | |
| 56410 Montabaur | |
| Germany | |
| Phone: | +49 (0)2602 / 96 – 1100 |
| Fax: | +49 (0)2602 / 96 – 1013 |
| E-mail: | [email protected] |
| Internet: | www.united-internet.de |
| ISIN: | DE0005089031 |
| WKN: | 508903 |
| Indices: | TecDAX |
| Listed: | Regulated Market in Berlin, Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange |
| End of News | DGAP News Service |