Munich, Germany, 11 October 2013 – Reflecting its strategy to focus on B2C business models, TOMORROW FOCUS AG has decided to sell its entire stake in the Munich-based digital technology and creative services agency TOMORROW FOCUS Technologies GmbH (TFT GmbH) to the Dutch firm TIE Kinetix N.V. with effect from 2 December 2013. The agreement includes plans for a long-term collaboration between the parties to the contract. There are not expected to be any redundancies, and the company will retain its premises in Munich.
As a full-service agency for web business performance and a pioneer in the field of user experience, Munich-based TFT GmbH provides e-commerce strategies, consulting services and managed hosting solutions. It serves a number of high-profile customers such as blick.ch, swisscom, wetter.com, FOCUS Online and HolidayCheck. The company currently has around fifty employees. In the financial year 2012, TFT generated revenue of EUR 8.2 million.
The Dutch firm TIE Kinetix N.V. is an international provider of integrated e-commerce solutions. It already has a significant market presence in the Netherlands and the United States. The acquisition will strengthen its position in the German e-commerce market and in other European countries. Together with TFT, TIE Kinetix now plans to generate further sustainable growth. It will take over the entire workforce at TFT and benefit from the expertise of the employees. Erik Jan Hengstmengel will retain his position as Managing Director at TFT GmbH, and the company will remain based in Munich. At the same time, the two parties to the contract signed a long-term framework agreement designed to maintain the successful collaboration between them.
In line with its Strategy 2018, which it adopted at the beginning of this year, TOMORROW FOCUS AG will now focus on its core competencies in the B2C field, including online business models such as ElitePartner, FOCUS Online, HolidayCheck and jameda. To this end, it intends to pursue a consistent strategy of organic growth and acquisitions in order to expand its successful travel and online advertising business. A further element of its strategy involves creating a third income-generating pillar.
The parties have agreed not to release details of the price paid. The takeover still has to be formally approved by the shareholders of TIE Kinetix N.V. at their extraordinary general meeting on 27 November 2013.
Commenting on the deal, TOMORROW FOCUS AG’s CEO Toon Bouten explained: “As part of our Strategy 2018 we decided to concentrate on our successful B2C business models and on their further expansion. With that in mind, we took great care in our search for an experienced and well-known partner for TFT GmbH – one that can take the company forward on a sustainable path and ensure that it has a successful future. We believe TIE Kinetix is that ideal partner. At the same time, we are delighted at the prospect of maintaining the close and trusting relationship we have had with TFT and of working with and benefiting from the expertise of TIE Kinetix.”
Jan Sundelin, CEO at TIE Kinetix N.V. was equally enthusiastic: “At present, TIE Kinetix is focused on building up partnerships in the European media publishing sector. Our acquisition of TFT GmbH gives us a strong e-commerce and content management partner in the B2B field. For us, that is a vital step on our way to providing customers with the best global e-commerce and content management solutions. TFT GmbH fits perfectly into our corporate strategy. TFT’s know-how in terms of user experience and hosting are an ideal complement to our own business model. We are confident that the resulting synergies will translate into increased revenue and a wide range of innovative services and product solutions at both companies.”
About TFT
The Munich-based digital technology and creative services agency TOMORROW FOCUS Technologies (TFT) studies its customers’ web business performance from a 360°perspective, with a focus at all times on the user. As well as offering high-performance managed hosting solutions, TFT develops and implements innovative e-commerce strategies. It creates intuitive and highly profitable web portals that deliver outstanding performance, stability and security. As a full-service agency, TFT is a pioneer in the field of user experience.
About TOMORROW FOCUS AG
TOMORROW FOCUS AG (ISIN DE005495329) is based in Munich, Germany, and is one of the leading exchange-listed Internet groups in Germany. The Group has a workforce of around 700, and its business operations are divided into three segments: Transactions, Advertising and Technologies
The Transactions segment includes HOLIDAYCHECK AG, which operates a number of hotel reviews and travel booking portals by the same name; WEBASSETS B.V., which operates the ZOOVER hotel reviews portals and the METEOVISTA/WEERONLINE weather portals; TOMORROW TRAVEL B.V., which operates the Dutch online travel agent TJINGO; RPC VOYAGES SAS, which operates the French online travel agent ECOTOUR; ELITEMEDIANET GmbH, which operates the premium online dating agency ELITEPARTNER; and JAMEDA GmbH, which operates the physician ratings portal JAMEDA.de.
The Advertising segment includes TOMORROW FOCUS MEDIA GmbH, one of the leading German online marketing providers, which markets numerous well-known portals on behalf of business partners in addition to those operated by the TOMORROW FOCUS Group itself, such as the news and utility journalism site FOCUS Online, the finance and stock market information portal FINANZEN100 and the parent portal NETMOMS.
About TIE Kinetix N.V.
TIE Kinetix is an international provider of integrated e-commerce solutions. Based in the Dutch town of Breukelen, it has been developing certified and award-winning cloud- and licence-based solutions for over twenty-five years. The company has offices in Australia, Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and in the USA.