CMS advises on the sale of Sociomantic to dunnhumby Ltd.

Berlin-based sociomantic labs GmbH has been acquired by dunnhumby Ltd., a subsidiary of the London listed Tesco PLC, the world's third largest retailer. Sociomantic offers real-time bidding advertising solutions for online advertisers in 60 countries.

An international team, led by partners Jörg Zätzsch and John Hammond, advised the founders of Sociomantic on the sale, which is one of the largest exits to date in the German start-up scene. "The German start-up landscape is still pretty attractive for both domestic and foreign investors. For Berlin's entrepreneurs, this is a landmark transaction," says Jörg Zätzsch.

Sociomantic was only established in 2009. Since then, the company and its founders have been advised by CMS. Prior to the sale, the company was completely self-funded with no external investment. Sociomantic has been profitable since its incorporation and today employs more than 200 professionals in 16 offices worldwide, with a turnover of over USD 100 million in the last financial year. The company provides e-commerce marketers with programmatic display advertising solutions for online, mobile and social.

Dunnhumby is based in London and employs around 2,200 people in Europe, Asia, and the Americas and analyses data for more than 400 million customers. Founded in 1989, the company is by its own admission the world’s leading customer science company.

CMS Hasche Sigle

Dr Jörg Zätzsch
John Hammond, both lead partner
Ralf Kurney, all M&A and corporate
Dr Igor Stenzel, coordination, M&A and corporate
Dr Jan Seelinger, M&A and corporate
Jesko Nobiling, tax
Sylle Schreyer-Bestmann
Dr Kai Hermes, all intellectual property

CMS Cameron McKenna (London)

Aaron Fairhurst, tax

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