The Netherlands, Breukelen, 11 October 2013
TIE announces a major acquisition in Germany: expected
revenue up 50%
TIE Kinetix N.V. (“TIE”) announces that it entered into an agreement to buy the
Munich-based digital technology and creative services agency TOMORROW FOCUS
Technologies GmbH (“TFT”) from TOMORROW FOCUS AG with effect from 2 December
2013, subject to shareholders’ approval. The acquisition will immediately contribute to
TIE’s earnings and will make Germany TIE's largest market.
Strategic Rationale
• Adding creative consulting capacities, front-end design and user experience
expertise to TIE.
• Enrichment of services like content management portals, monitoring analytics,
website performance analytics and search optimization.
• Target of being a € 25mln revenue company will be in reach.
• Strong customer base with opportunity of cross selling existing TIE Kinetix’ products
in Germany.
• Opportunities to sell TIE’s Content Syndication Solution via the (media) network of
Tomorrow Focus AG and Tomorrow Focus Technologies.
• Establishing critical mass in the German speaking market.
As a full-service agency for web business performance and a pioneer in the field of user
experience, Munich-based TFT 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. TFT currently has around fifty
employees. In the financial year 2012, TFT generated revenue of €8.2mln.
The acquisition will strengthen TIE’s position in the German e-commerce market and in
other European countries. Together with TFT, TIE plans to generate further sustainable
growth. It will take over the entire workforce at TFT and benefit from the expertise of the
employees. Mr. Erik Jan Hengstmengel will retain his position as Managing Director at TFT,
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.
The parties have agreed not to release details of the price paid. The purchase price is
envisaged to be financed as follows:
• partly via a loan provided by seller under market conditions.
• partly via a non-recourse locally funded bank loan under market conditions.
• partly via private placement of new Tie Kinetix NV shares
Mr. Jan Sundelin (CEO of TIE) said enthusiastically: “At present, TIE Kinetix is focused on
building up partnerships in the European market. Our acquisition of TFT gives us a strong
e-commerce and content management knowledge and expertise in the B2B field, which
perfectly fits into our corporate strategy. For us, this is a vital step to continue our
growth in Germany by creating critical mass. TFT’s know-how in terms of user experience
and hosting is an ideal complement to our own business model.”
Mr. Toon Bouten (CEO of TFAG) said: “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 – 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.”
Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders
A proposal for the formal approval of the acquisition of TFT from Tomorrow Focus AG and
the issuance of new shares will be submitted to the shareholders of TIE Kinetix N.V. An
Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders will be held for that purpose on 27
November 2013. The notice of meeting will be placed on TIE’s investor center on Tuesday
October 15, after trading hours of the Stock Exchange Amsterdam.
For further information,
[email protected].
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Profile TIE Kinetix
TIE Kinetix transforms the digital supply chain by providing Total Integrated E-commerce
solutions. These solutions maximize revenue opportunities by minimizing the energy
required to market, sell, deliver and analyze online. Customers and partners of TIE Kinetix
constantly benefit from innovative, field tested, state-of-the-art technologies, which are
backed by over 25 years of experience and prestigious awards. TIE Kinetix makes
technology to perform, such that customers and partners can focus on their core business.
TIE Kinetix is a public company (NYSE Euronext: TIE Kinetix), and has offices in the United
States, the Netherlands, France, Australia, UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
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.
Further information:
TIE Kinetix
TIE Kinetix N.V.
Corridor 5
3621 ZA Breukelen
Nederland
T:
E:
W:
+31 88 369 8000
[email protected]
www.TIEKinetix.com