Cross-border team from CMS advises Holtzbrinck Networks and Weltbild publishing group on sale of HTW Medienhandel Holding and bol.com

Holtzbrinck Networks GmbH and Verlagsgruppe Weltbild GmbH are each selling their 50% stake in HTW Medienhandel Holding GmbH to Flevo Deelnemingen I B.V., a Cyrte Investments company. bol.com b.v. is a wholly owned subsidiary of HTW Medienhandel Holding GmbH.

A team led by partners Dr Thomas Meyding, Dr Barbara Wössner (Germany) and Roman Tarlavski (Netherlands) advised Holtzbrinck Networks GmbH and Verlagsgruppe Weltbild GmbH on all aspects of the transaction.

With more than two million customers, bol.com is the leading online retailer for media and entertainment in the Netherlands. The company generated sales of around 224 million euros in 2008 and has approximately 200 employees. The vendors are selling their stakes in order to focus on their core business. They believe that Cyrte is a partner that can leverage its experience in this sector to take the bol.com success story forward. The transaction is currently awaiting approval from the competent cartel authorities.

CMS Hasche Sigle advisory team:

Dr Thomas Meyding, Corporate (Lead Partner)
Dr Harald Kahlenberg, Competition
Dr Peter Ruby, Banking and Finance
Dr Barbara Wössner, Corporate
Dr Rolf Hempel, Competition
Dr Ralf Rose, Corporate
Anne Meckbach, Corporate
Jan Hansen, Corporate

CMS Derks Star Busmann advisory team:

Roman Tarlavski, Corporate (Lead Partner)
Robert Bosman, Competition
Steffen Hagen, Intellectual Property
Christian Delgado, Corporate

Contact:

Dr Thomas Meyding
Tel.: +49 711 9764 388
E-mail: Thomas.Meyding@cms-hs.com