PRESS RELEASE
Hamburg,21. Oktober 2021
ESCHE advises The Social Chain AG on acquisition of DS Group
THE SOCIAL CHAIN AG acquires all shares in DS Holding GmbH via a subsidiary. ESCHE advises THE SOCIAL CHAIN AG on the acquisition.
Esche Schümann Commichau advises THE SOCIAL CHAIN AG on the acquisition of all shares in DS Holding GmbH via a subsidiary. Social Chain AG is active in the areas of e-commerce and brand building from its locations in Berlin, Munich, London, Manchester, New York and Los Angeles with currently around 850 employees and focuses on the areas of e-commerce, online communities with more than 86 million followers and the distribution of direct-to-consumer brands in the categories of food, home & living, beauty & fitness. The shares of Social Chain AG are listed on XETRA and other German stock exchanges under WKN A1YC99.
DS Holding GmbH is the holding company of the DS Group based near Hamburg. The DS Group is an internationally operating brand and trading company with currently more than 4,000 products, more than 700 brands, designs, patents, and utility models. One of the best-known brands is the barbecue manufacturer LANDMANN. The DS Group is one of the major suppliers of articles for food retailers, discounters, drugstores, and other distribution channels in Europe. The DS Group expects sales of more than EUR 270 million in 2021 and employs a total of 550 people.
The chairman of the supervisory board and indirectly largest shareholder of Social Chain AG, Dr.Georg Kofler, and the managing partner of DS Holding GmbH, Ralf Dümmel, are both jurors on the TV show “Die Höhle der Löwen”.
ESCHE advised Social Chain AG on the legal due diligence and on the contractual implementation of the acquisition. M&A partner Dr. Stephan Bauer was the lead partner. Also involved were Dr. Philipp Engelhoven (Partner, Antitrust Law), Dr. Oliver Stegmann (Partner, IP/IT), Dr. Jan-Boris Ingerowski (Associated Partner, Public Law), Stefan Gatz (Partner, Labour Law) as well as associates Dr. Lukas Eßers, Hendrik Greinert and Lara Bos (all Corporate Law, Commercial), Yannick Maaß (Labour Law), Hanna Wiedenhaus (Commercial), Julian Leucht (IP/IT) and Saskia Hahn (Real Estate). The in-house team at Social Chain AG was led by General Counsel Dr. Stefan Eisele and Frank Volpers.
ESCHE SCHÜMANN COMMICHAU
Esche Schümann Commichau is one of the largest consultancy firms in Hamburg with around 130 lawyers, tax advisors, auditors, and specialist staff as well as a further 100 employees and is one of the largest law firms in Germany. For more than 40 years, ESCHE has been providing interdisciplinary advice in the fields of law, tax and auditing and has been convincing clients with reliable advice and representation for more than 195 years. The range of services is primarily aimed at companies and their shareholders, internationally operating medium-sized businesses, and large corporations. Private individuals are advised in particular in the area of asset succession and in tax matters.
THE SOCIAL CHAIN AG–Social Commerce on a global scale
The Social Chain AG is reshaping the world of brands and commerce. Our strategy and our actions are “Digital first-direct to Customer”: from branding to marketing to direct sales of our products in the categories Food, Home & Living, Beauty, and Fitness. Our online shops are the most efficient points of sale for our direct-to-consumer brands. More than 70 percent of sales to end consumers are made in our own webshops. Our communities, with over 86 million followers worldwide, inspire consumers and reinforce brand messages. We manage the expansion of our social commerce system of communities, brands, digital points of sale, and logistics via a proprietary technology platform: LINKS analyses interests, purchase intentions, and product satisfaction along the entire digital customer journey.
The company is headquartered in Berlin, with additional locations in Munich, London, Manchester, New York, and Los Angeles. SocialChain AG employs a total of around 850 people. The shares of Social Chain AG (WKN: A1YC99) are traded on XETRA and other German stock exchanges.
Ansprechpartner:
Dr. Stephan Bauer, LL.M.
–Partner–
Tel 040 36805-363
E-Mail stephan.bauer@esche.de
Esche Schümann Commichau
Rechtsanwälte Wirtschaftsprüfer SteuerberaterPartnerschaftsgesellschaft mbBAm Sandtorkai 44
20457 Hamburgwww.esche.de
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