Gleiss Lutz has advised the listed stock company United Internet AG on the financing of its partial voluntary public tender offer for the acquisition of further shares in listed 1&1 AG in which it already owns a majority stake. The required financing – EUR 306 million according to the published offer document – will be fully covered by a credit facility provided by BNP Paribas.
United Internet is one of Europe’s leading internet specialists, with established brands such as 1&1, GMX, WEB.DE, IONOS, STRATO und 1&1 Versatel, roughly 29 million fee-based customer contracts and 39 million ad-financed free accounts, and around 11,000 employees.
Gleiss Lutz has advised United Internet frequently in recent years on financing matters, most recently in late 2024 on its new syndicated facility of EUR 1.5 billion provided by an international banking consortium and a project financing for 5G network expansion provided by, inter alia, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JCIB).
The following Gleiss Lutz team advised United Internet on the financing of its public tender offer: Frank Schlobach (partner), Dr. Katja Lehr (counsel, both Banking & Finance, Frankfurt, joint lead), Dr. Jochen Tyrolt (partner), Dr. Markus Martin (counsel, both Corporate/M&A, Stuttgart), Sven Neubert (Banking and Finance, Frankfurt).
In-house, the legal aspects of the transaction were handled by United Internet’s Group General Counsel, Martin Düker, and its Senior Legal Counsel, Dr. Tilmann Becker, and by 1&1’s General Counsel, Dr. Christian Bron.
Forward
