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Luther Advises on Merger of Online Marketing Agencies

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Luther has advised the shareholders of the Performance Interactive Marketing Alliance (PIMA) on the incorporation of four leading German online marketing firms who merged into it, with the involvement of funds advised by the Equistone Partners Europe (EPE) private equity firm. 

The four companies – Performance Media, econda, Blue Summit Media and DELASOCIAL – will operate under the PIMA brand going forward. The goal is to expand their market leadership in the field of automated online marketing and offer customers services from a single source – including services related to digital media planning, high-end Web analyses for e-commerce customers, SEO campaigns, and communication services. The merger is still subject to approval by the competition authorities. 

EPE's goal in this transaction is to support the group's organic and inorganic growth. In the medium term, plans call for further companies from the field of marketing automation to join the holding company. 

The Performance Interactive Marketing Alliance, headquartered in Hamburg, will bring together 360 employees at locations in Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, Dusseldorf, and Karlsruhe, along with a development site in Belgrade. The newly established holding company serves more than 900 customers in all, including companies such as Lufthansa, Swarovski, and Montblanc. The full group's consolidated sales to outside parties amounted to about EUR 140 million in 2013. With EUR 100 million in sales in 2013, Performance Media is the largest of the four online marketing firms involved. 

Luther Partners Jorgen Tielmann, Peter M. Schaffler, and Helmut Janssen advised Performance Media, along with Luther Senior Associates Andre Schmidt and Maxi Eberhardt and Associates Henning Struck and Juliane Lennartz. Equistone Partners Europe lawyers Dirk Schekerka, Marc Arens, and Leander Heyken advised their employer. Also involved were lawyers from Pollath & Partners, KPMG, N+1, Ashurst, and L.E.K. Consulting.

 

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