DLA Piper has been advising the TecDAX-listed, Hamburg-based company XING AG on the acquisition of the Austrian kununu GmbH. With more than 12 million members, XING AG operates the leading social network for professional contacts in the German-speaking world.
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Vienna, kununu GmbH is regarded as the leading German-speaking online platform for employer evaluations. It is primarily used by people seeking employment to gain information on future possible employers. The platform enables users to publish their experiences with an employer on the online platform at no cost and to submit evaluations on aspects such as the climate within the company or the salary prospects. Employers can use the platform for branding purposes on payment of a fee.
A two-stage structure with a fixed price and success-related component has been agreed with regard to payment terms. Until 2015, further payments based on the company’s success will follow a fixed payment. Through acquisition of the Austrian kununu GmbH, XING AG is substantially expanding its portfolio of services in the field of e-recruiting.
In Germany, XING AG was advised by a team under the management of partner Dr Matthias Lupp (Corporate, Hamburg/Munich) and associate Sebastian Decker (Corporate, Hamburg).
In Austria advice was provided by a team from DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach headed by partner Dr Christian Temmel (Corporate, Vienna) together with senior associate Dr Christian Stuppnig (Intellectual Property & Technology, Vienna) and associate Dr Maximilian Jacob (Corporate, Vienna). Among other aspects, they were responsible for due diligence.
“We are happy for our client Xing AG, that through the acquisition of Austrian kununu GmbH they can further develop their portfolio of products in the field of eRecruiting,” said Dr Christian Temmel. “With the advice on this transaction we were able prove our special expertise in IT – and internet related mergers & acquisitions.”
The internal legal support and negotiation of the takeover by kununu was provided by Kai Hollensteiner (General Counsel of XING AG), Anika Seidenfaden (Corporate) and Felix Lasse (IT and Data Protection).
