Berlin – A YPOG team led by Frederik Gärtner comprehensively advised the shareholders of product-comparison platform LionsHome GmbH (“LionsHome”) on the sale of its shares to private equity investor Waterland Private Equity (“Waterland”). Together with the founders of LionsHome, Michael Röcker and Christoph Königer, Waterland plans to build a broader commerce content group based on a buy-and-build strategy. Both founders have significantly re-invested during the transaction.
The partnership with Waterland will be the first step in a long-term growth initiative. The company's vision is to build a leading commerce content platform that combines a wide range of digital publishing models under one umbrella. With the buy-and-build strategy, LionsHome intends to grow through further acquisitions in order to cover additional product segments (e.g. fashion) and strengthen its market presence in other European countries as well as in the USA.
During the transaction, Waterland PrivateEquity was advised by a Simmons & Simmons team, co-led by Dr. Christian Bornhorst and Sabine Krause, Düsseldorf.
Advisors shareholders LionsHome:
Dr. Frederik Gärtner (Lead, Corporate/Transactions), Partner
Stefan Richter (Tax), Partner
Ann-Kristin Lochmann (Tax), Associated Partner
Dr. Benedikt Flöter (IP/IT), Associated Partner
Konstantin Häfner (Corporate/Transactions), Associate
About LionsHome
LionsHome offers a comparison platform for all aspects of interior design. With 32 million users per year, LionsHome is one of the leading European furnishing platforms. LionsHome provides an innovative online service for browsing furniture and home accessories from a wide range of online retailers in order to compare different offers with each other. Founded in 2014 by Christoph Königer and Michael Röcker in Berlin, the company became one of the fastest-growing digital brands for Home & Garden. LionsHome was ranked as a Digital100 winner by SimilarWeb, marking it as one of the top 10 fastest-growing digital brands for Home & Garden
About Waterland Private Equity
Waterland is an independent private equity investment group that supports businesses in realizing their growth ambitions. With substantial financial resources and industry expertise, Waterland enables its portfolio companies to achieve accelerated growth both organically and through acquisitions. Waterland has offices in the Netherlands (Bussum), Belgium (Antwerp), France (Paris), Germany (Hamburg and Munich), Poland (Warsaw), the UK (London and Manchester), Ireland (Dublin), Denmark (Copenhagen), Spain (Barcelona) and Switzerland (Zurich). The company currently manages more than EUR 9 billion of investor commitments.
Since its foundation in 1999, Waterland has consistently achieved above-average performance with its investments. Globally, the company is ranked fifth in the HEC/Dow Jones Private Equity Performance Ranking 2020 and is ranked eighth in the Preqin Consistent Performers in Global Private Equity & Venture Capital Report 2020 among global private equity firms. In addition, Real Deals has awarded Waterland the title Pan-European House of the Year 2020 in the PE Award.
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About us
YPOG is a law firm specialized in tax and business law, active in the core fields of Funds, Tax, Banking + Finance, and Transactions. The team at YPOG represents a broad client base, which ranges from emerging technology companies and family-run SMEs to large corporations, as well as private equity, and venture capital funds. YPOG is one of the leading advisors for venture capital, private equity, and fund structuring in Germany. The firm and its partners have been recognized nationally and internationally by JUVE, Best Lawyers, Legal 500, Focus, Chambers and Partners as well as Leaders League. Today, YPOG has more than 120 experienced lawyers and tax specialists and a notary, in three offices, located in Berlin, Hamburg, and Cologne.
