International law firm Simmons & Simmons has advised Waterland Private Equity Investment Funds Netherlands on its add-on acquisition of Sonoma Internet GmbH for the EQOM group. The deal is subject to approval by the competent antitrust authorities.
Waterland is an independent private equity investment firm that helps entrepreneurs achieve their growth objectives. Waterland is already invested in EQOM, a consortium of wholesale and retail erotic companies created in 2020 and based in Groningen, Netherlands. EQOM specializes in supplying products to consumers and retailers to deliver its intention of becoming a leader in the global sexual wellness industry.
This latest add-on acquisition of Sonoma Internet, acquired in a tendering process, operates the brand Amorelie.de, one of Europe's largest online mail-order companies for erotic toys founded in Berlin in 2013. Waterland acquired Amorelie from majority owner ProSiebenSat.1 Media, a major player in Germany's free TV market, and Amorelie's founder Lea-Sophie Cramer.
Simmons has advised Waterland on all relevant aspects of the acquisition, particularly the tendering process, acquisition documentation, legal due diligence, deal structuring, and W&I insurance. Having advised Waterland in Germany regularly, most recently on the acquisitions of Yieldkit, digi-dip, and Shopping24, this matter is the first where Simmons is acting for Waterland Netherlands.
The Simmons team advising on this deal was led by the Waterland client partner, Christian Bornhorst and Counsel Slaven Kovacevic, both focusing on private equity investments and based in our Düsseldorf office, with cross-practice support from Simmons Germany.
Commenting on the deal, lead and client partner Christian Bornhorst said: "It was a pleasure to advise Waterland Netherlands on this exciting transaction. This is a significant add-on acquisition for Waterland and its portfolio company EQOM. The transaction demonstrates our team's expertise advising on transactions in the growing and fast-moving e-Commerce space and perfectly aligns with our AMIF and TMT sector focuses. We are delighted to extend our trusted client relationship with Waterland, working with the Netherlands’ arm for the first time. This transaction once again underlines Simmons Germany's extensive footprint in the private equity sector."
ProSiebenSat1 Media was advised by a team of Schilling, Zutt & Anschütz, lead by Dr. Martin Kolbinger.
Simmons & Simmons Team
Lead: Dr. Christian Bornhorst (Partner, Corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf)
Co-Lead: Slaven Kovacevic (Counsel, Corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf)
Daniel Zhu (Supervising Associate, Corporate/M&A, Munich)
Sabine Krause (Supervising Associate, Corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf)
Dr. Anja Schlichting (Supervising Associate, Corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf)
Leonie Raymann von Loefen (Supervising Associate, Corporate/M&A, Munich)
Isabella Schmidt (Associate, Corporate/M&A, Munich)
Michael Surmann (Associate, Corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf)
Udo Pickartz (Counsel, Insurance/W&I, Düsseldorf)
Dr. Martin Gramsch (Counsel, Antitrust; Intellectual Property & Compliance, Düsseldorf)
Christopher Götz (Partner, Digital Business, Munich)
Kilian Wolf (Associate, Digital Business, Munich)
Dr. Bernulph von Crailsheim (Partner, Tax, Frankfurt)
Elmar Weinand (Counsel, Tax, Frankfurt)
Annika Scheske (Supervising Associate, Employment, Düsseldorf)
Sven Lombard (Associate, Employment; Compliance, Düsseldorf)
Jan Zücker (Associate, Litigation and Data Protection, Düsseldorf)
Steffen Kaiser (Associate, Real Estate, Frankfurt)
David Kless (Associate, Intellectual Property, Munich)
