Catagonia Capital GmbH sold its shares of Deutsche Messe Interactive (DMI) to Deutsche Messe AG. Catagonia, the Berlin-based Consulting and Investment Company was significantly involved in establishing DMI and now withdraws from DMI as planned at the onset of the joint venture. The purchase price was not disclosed.
Since its foundation in late 2009, DMI has established itself as a major player in the field of B2B lead generation, as well as in supplying trade show services. DMI has generated many thousands of highly-qualified leads for blue chip companies such as Google, IBM, Cisco and Citrix and is responsible for the online exhibitor and product directory of trade shows such as HANNOVER MESSE, CeBIT, LIGNA, DOMOTEX and BIOTECHNICA.
Co-founder and Investor Catagonia was instrumental in planning and establishing the company: Catagonia´s consulting division developed the business strategy, selected the initial management team and was in charge of designing the employee stock ownership plan and implementing the corporate governance. Dr. Ralph Eric Kunz, founder and partner of Catagonia, is chairman of DMI´s advisory board. In 2013 he also served as DMI´s interims-CEO.
Dr. Wolfram von Fritsch, chairman of Deutsche Messe AG´s management board: “With the support of Catagonia and Dr. Kunz, we successfully managed to enter the B2B lead generation market. Within a few years, DMI has established itself as a major player, whose innovative product portfolio provides us with access to new customer groups. Our Joint Venture with Catagonia, which was designed to be of temporary nature from the onset, now comes to an end in accordance with the terms agreed initially. Catagonia receives its share of the created company value as purchase price. Deutsche Messe AG will now manage the company by itself and is able to optimize synergies with other company units even further”.
Dr. Kunz further states: “I am proud to have built a company in close cooperation with Deutsche Messe that has already brought significant innovation to the market of B2B lead management. This creates the foundation for Deutsche Messe’s strong and sustainable market position in the field of digital lead generation”.
Eric Berger, who had been heading DMI since November 2013, added: “We will expand the strong market position of DMI even further and thus continue to play a significant role in the market for B2B lead generation. Deutsche Messe’s 100% ownership of DMI also illustrates the sustainable and strategic integration of digital businesses into its value chain, which in its intensity is unique among German trade show companies”.
The transaction is effective immediately.