Linklaters advised Funke Media Group on the sale of some select magazine titles to Klambt Media Group. The portfolio includes, amongst others, Funke Media Group’s own TV guides: die zwei, Super TV, TV 4 Wochen, TV 4x7 and TVpiccolino. The latter also comprises tvGENIE and myTV. In addition, Funke also disposed of the TV guides Bildwoche, Funk Uhr and TV NEU, which it had previously acquired from Axel Springer.

In completing this transaction, Funke has fulfilled an obligation it had towards the Federal Cartel Office, which recently approved the combination between the media companies Funke and Springer in the area of TV guides subject to the condition that Funke dispose of three of the TV guides it acquired from Springer, as well as its own five titles, to an independent competitor.

The acquisition of the daily newspapers and women’s titles from Springer by Funke was previously approved by the Federal Cartel Office. It is only with respect to the establishment of joint ventures for the advertising marketing and distribution of print and online offers agreed by Funke and Springer that the antitrust merger clearance still remains to be granted.

A Linklaters team led by Dr Nikolaos Paschos and Dr Christoph van Lier (both Corporate, Düsseldorf) advised on the deal. The team also included Achim Kirchfeld (Corporate, Düsseldorf), Dr Eva Reudelhuber (Banking, Frankfurt), Dr Sebastian Benz (Tax, Düsseldorf), Dr Daniel Pauly (TMT, Frankfurt), Dr Tim Mundhenke (Tax, Düsseldorf), Judit Körmöczi, Przemyslaw Lipin (both Banking, Frankfurt), Nadine Annette Geppert (TMT, Frankfurt), Dr Hubertus Witte, Dr Eva Kotthaus, Dr Fabian Rösner (all Corporate, Düsseldorf), Dr Julian Böhmer (Tax, Düsseldorf), Marco Huchzermeier and Alexander Ofiarkiewicz (both Corporate, Düsseldorf).