Frankfurt Office Advises on $2 Billion Sale of German Advertising Company Scout24

Willkie serves as counsel to Scout 24 in Deutsche Telekom’s sale of a 70 percent stake in Scout24 to San Francisco-based Hellman & Friedman LLC.

On November 21, German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom AG announced the signing of a definitive agreement to sell a 70 percent stake in Scout24 Holding GmbH, represented by Willkie, to San Francisco-based Hellman & Friedman LLC for €1.5 billion ($2 billion) in cash. Deutsche Telekom will retain a 30 percent stake in the company. The deal values Scout24 at approximately €2 billion. The partial sale of Scout24 is a cornerstone transaction for the online investment strategy pursued by Deutsche Telekom over the past decade. Under Deutsche Telekom’s ownership, Scout24 successfully developed Germany’s leading online classifieds business including the core ImmobilienScout24 and AutoScout24 franchises. Subject to regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to close in the first quart of 2014. Scout24 is one of Europe's leading groups of companies for online market places. It’s six marketplaces are present in 24 countries.

The Willkie deal team, led by partner Mario Schmidt and national partner Dr. Christian Rolf, included partners Dr. Stefan Jörgens and Dr. Patrick Meiisel and associates Jochen Riechwald and Dr. Jan Claudio Munoz.