DLA Piper has advised SevenVentures on its media-for-equity investment in Berlin-based start-up Sanity Group. The investment sum is in the single-digit million range. Sanity Group will use the investment to further promote its lifestyle brand VAAY and natural cosmetics line This Place on the high-reach TV channels of Seven.One Entertainment Group. SevenVentures is part of the Commerce & Ventures segment of the Entertainment Group.
SevenVentures sees great potential in SanityGroup’s brands and will support the company with the media investment and comprehensive know-how to drive further growth. The portfolio of the investment company includes brands such as AboutYou, Ottonova, Friday, tink and Movinga.
With its investment, SevenVentures expands Sanity Group’s investor community, which already includes several capital-strong investors such as HV Capital, TQ Ventures, Atlantic Food Labs and Cherry Ventures. With numerous investments in various market segments, SevenVentures is a leading media investor worldwide. As an investment-arm of Seven.One Entertainment Group, SevenVentures is also a partner for high-growth B2C companies, especially in the consumer goods, retail and services industry. In the Commerce & Ventures segment, Seven.One Entertainment Group bundles the Group’s minority and majority investment areas.
The DLA Piper team was led by client relationship partner Prof Dr Stefan Engels (Media and Advertising law) and partners Dr Michael Stulz-Herrnstadt (Public Commercial Law/Regulatory, both Hamburg) and Simon Vogel (Corporate/Private Equity, Munich). The team also included partners Prof Dr Ludger Giesberts (Public Law, Cologne) and Dr Thilo von Bodungen (Commercial, Munich), counsel Gabriele Engels (IPT, Cologne), senior associates Fabian Jeschke (Public Commercial Law/Regulatory), Dr Nico Brunotte (Media Law, both Hamburg), Olga Blaszczyk (Commercial), Michael Rebholz (Corporate/Venture Capital, both Munich), and associate Philip Weyand (Public Law, Cologne).
The inhouse team of SevenVentures for this transaction comprised Thomas GrĂĽnwald (Legal Counsel, Corporate Law & M&A), Dr Florian Kolb (Legal Director Entertainment) and Susanne Doods (Legal Counsel Entertainment).
