Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised the Volkswagen Group on the acquisition of 49 percent of the shares in the German digital specialist diconium. With the investment, the Volkswagen Group will be securing further know-how and strengthening its digital business capabilities. Together, the two companies will continue the development of Volkswagen’s business models and digital added-value services. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The transaction is subject to antitrust approvals
For the Volkswagen Group, the investment in diconium as a technology partner represents the next step in its digitization efforts. The objective is to offer customers digital value-added services quickly and easily for their vehicles, which will then be fully connected. Together with Microsoft, Volkswagen is developing the Volkswagen Automotive Cloud together – this will link the connected vehicle, the cloud-based platform and digital services.
diconium, headquartered in Stuttgart, was established in 1995 and is a leading specialist in the holistic development of digital business models. Its activities include strategy development and the design of the user experience (UX), as well as the implementation and operational realization of business ideas. The proprietor-managed company has a total workforce of about 800 people working at locations in Germany, Portugal, the USA and India.
The Clifford Chance Team for Volkswagen Group comprised partner Jörg Rhiel, senior associate Moritz Petersen, associate Nadine Fell (all Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), partner Claudia Milbradt, associates Günter Barth (both IP, Düsseldorf), partner Stefan Simon and senior associate Christopher Fischer (both Employment), partner Thorsten Sauerhering, counsel Dominik Engl (both Tax, all Frankfurt), partner Joachim Schütze and senior associate Florian Wiesner (both Antitrust, Düsseldorf) as well as transaction lawyers Ömer Cilingir (Corporate/MA, Frankfurt). Furthermore, lawyers from the Clifford Chance New York office provided legal advice.
