Dorda, working with Roschier, has advised European growth investor Sprints on its partnership with Styria Media Group to acquire all of Adevinta’s shares in Willhaben. Freshfields advised Adevinta. E+H advised Styria Media Group.
The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval.
Styria Media Group, founded in 1869, is an Austrian media group.
Willhaben is an Austrian digital consumer marketplace with more than 3.8 million users per month.
Adevinta is an online classifieds group operating digital marketplaces.
According to Dorda, this joint venture, which combines Sprints’ extensive expertise in online marketplaces with Styria’s strong local market presence, is designed to drive the next phase of Willhaben’s growth and innovation.
“Sprints partners with technology companies that place long-term customer happiness at the heart of everything they do – Willhaben epitomizes this philosophy," said Sprints Managing Partner Henrik Persson. "It has one of the most recognized and beloved brands in Austria, and we’re excited to join forces with them and Styria to support the next phase of the company’s growth.”
The Dorda team included Partners Christian Ritschka, Martin Brodey, Heinrich Kuehnert, Magdalena Brandstetter, and Christoph Brogyanyi, Principal Associates Ulrich Weinstich, Mirko Marjanovic, Julia Landskron, Magdalena Nitsche, Katrin Repic, Florina Thenmayer, and Ida Woltran, and Associates Max Lesjak, Thomas Krappinger, Corina Kruesz, Anna Martseva, Julia Moser, Maxie Muellbacher, Sophia Pux, Nicole Scharl, Julia Strass, and Antonia Stubbe.
The Freshfields team included Vienna-based Partners Ludwig Hartenau, Maria Dreher-Lorje, and Katharina Kubik, Counsels Gernot Fritz and Lukas Pomaroli, Principal Associates Ludwig Pacher-Theinburg and Andreas Langer, and Associates Tanja Pfleger and Marcel Neuhauser as well as further team members in Frankfurt and Brussels.
The E+H team included Partners Peter Winkler, Stefan Jeitler, Philipp Schrader, Dieter Thalhammer, Jana Eichmeyer, Judith Feldner, and Helmut Liebel, Attorneys at Law Felix Frommelt, William Redl, Franziska Egger, Susanna Falkenburg, and Associates Yvonne Wohlmuth, Florian Vidreis, Paul Rois, Lukas Weber, Alexandra Stadlober, and Markus Feneberger.