Linklaters has advised Mediahuis on the acquisition of the remaining 30 per cent of the shares in the German publishing house Medienhaus Aachen GmbH. At the beginning of 2022, the European media group had acquired a participation of 70 per cent in Medienhaus Aachen GmbH from the founding families of the “Aachener Zeitung”. The remaining 30 per cent were held by Rheinische Post Mediengruppe, which has now sold its participation to the Belgian media company. With this transaction, Medienhaus Aachen is now fully owned by the Mediahuis Group.
The expansion into the German region of North Rhine-Westphalia at the beginning of 2022 also marked Mediahuis’ entry into the German newspaper market. As the majority shareholder, Mediahuis has supported the German publishing house in its digital transformation over the past two years.
Medienhaus Aachen is a leading media group in the Aachen, DĂĽren and Heinsberg region. In addition to the “Aachener Zeitung” newspaper, Medienhaus Aachen’s portfolio also includes other print and digital media, radio, logistics, trade fairs and postal services.
Since its foundation in 2013, the European media group Mediahuis has built up a diversified portfolio of news media and digital brands with more than 30 national and regional news titles. The group employs around 4600 people and has an annual turnover of more than one billion euros.
The Linklaters was led by Sebastian Klingen (Counsel, Corporate/M&A) and Julian Böhmer (Counsel, Tax; both Düsseldorf). Further team members were Kristina Klaaßen-Kaiser (Partner, Corporate/M&A), Carsten Grave (Partner, Antitrust & Foreign Investment Control; both Düsseldorf), Charles-Antoine Leunen (Partner, Corporate and Finance, Brussels), David-Julien dos Santos Goncalves (Managing Associate, Antitrust & Foreign Investment Control), Christopher Scholz (Managing Associate, Corporate Law/M&A), Ibrahim Toksöz (Associate, Corporate/M&A), Chao Fan Chen (Associate, Corporate/M&A) and Dr Alexander Fuchs (Associate, Antitrust & Foreign Investment Control; all Düsseldorf).
