Flick Gocke Schaumburg advises Otto Schmidt Verlag on acquisition of Handelsblatt Fachmedien

With effect from January 1, 2021, German publisher Dr Otto Schmidt Verlag is taking over significant parts of the portfolio of Handelsblatt Fachmedien GmbH from the Handelsblatt Media Group. Flick Gocke Schaumburg advised Dr Otto Schmidt Verlag on this transaction.

Significant parts of Handelsblatt Fachmedien GmbH will be transferred by way of an asset deal to Fachmedien Otto Schmidt KG, a newly founded subsidiary to Dr Otto Schmidt Verlag based in Düsseldorf, Germany.

For a transitional period the "Handelsblatt Fachmedien" brand will be used under license. The portfolio, which includes strong media titles such as "DER BETRIEB", "Der Konzern", "Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb" and "Corporate Finance", will be continued in full. The current managing director of Handelsblatt Fachmedien GmbH, Christoph Bertling, will in future manage the business together with Prof Dr Felix Hey of Verlag Dr Otto Schmidt KG.

Flick Gocke Schaumburg regularly acts as advisor to Dr Otto Schmidt Verlag; in November 2019, a team led by Bonn partner Jens Eric Gotthardt advised the publishing house on its division from RWS Verlag.

Advisers to Dr. Otto Schmidt Verlag:

Flick Gocke Schaumburg (Bonn): Jens Eric Gotthardt, Marcel Krengel (both corporate)