TX Group, Ringier, die Mobiliar and General Atlantic set up joint ventures
The TX Group is bringing the TX Markets platforms Ricardo, tutti.ch, Homegate and Car For You into the new joint venture. Ringier and Die Mobiliar are participating by bringing in the Scout24 Switzerland Group, which operates the ImmoScout24, AutoScout24, MotoScout24, FinanceScout24 and anibis.ch platforms. The fourth shareholder will be the global growth investor General Atlantic, who will support the group with its expertise in the field of digital marketplaces.
Lothar Lanz is appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the new, independent company. The Board of Directors will continue to include: Jörn Nikolay, Olivier Rihs, Michèle Rodoni, Pietro Supino and Marc Walder. Gilles Despas, currently CEO of the Scout24 Switzerland Group, will be the CEO of the joint venture. Previously, he was Chief Digital Officer and Group Chief Marketing Officer at Thomas Cook in London as well as Managing Director and CEO of Ebookers and HolidayCheck. “The new joint venture will bundle the expertise of the existing teams and digital talents to drive the development of innovative digital products and services. In this way, the increasing demands of users and customers will be served even better in the future. At the same time, the joint venture will make a significant contribution to further digitization in Switzerland. ”
“Our partnership with General Atlantic, Mobiliar and Ringier is the result of a long process. It is a big step for everyone involved, which shows a promising, digital perspective for Switzerland as a business location in the increasingly international competition. We are convinced that by merging our strong marketplaces, we will promote their further growth. The decisive prerequisite for further successful development is increasing the relevance of our services for users. In this way, we can also offer our business customers more efficiency. Together we can expand our investments in product development and our attractiveness as an employer.” – Pietro Supino, President and Publisher of the TX Group.
“Ringier, TX Group and Mobiliar have succeeded in merging their leading real estate, vehicle, financing and classifieds platforms. With General Atlantic, we are complemented by a globally recognized, successful investor with extensive experience in the field of digital marketplaces. This creates a uniquely positioned company in Switzerland. With this group, we will significantly expand our customer orientation across all business areas. Through targeted investments in innovative products and services, we will meet the requirements of our customers and users even more effectively. This shared vision drives all shareholders involved.” – Marc Walder, CEO of Ringier.
“As the leading Swiss insurance company, we strive for solutions with which we can find the right balance in the long term between the rapidly growing digital worlds of offerings and our long-standing, successful presence with our local entrepreneur general agencies. Thanks to our investment in Scout24 Switzerland five years ago, we gained important knowledge for the development and expansion of our own offers for everything to do with living and for SMEs. That is why it is absolutely logical for us that we are and will remain on board when one of the leading digital Swiss marketplaces is created.” – Michèle Rodoni, CEO of Mobiliar.
“We are proud that, together with our new partners, we are able to help shape one of the leading digital companies in Switzerland. As a global growth investor, we bring our many years of expertise in the strategic development of digital business models to this partnership, especially in the online classifieds business. We are pleased that we can accompany the project in this exciting growth phase.” – Jörn Nikolay, Managing Director and responsible for General Atlantic’s business in Germany.
TX Group AG holds 31 percent of the new joint venture, Ringier AG and Mobiliar each 29.5 percent and growth investor General Atlantic 10 percent. The four shareholders each have 25 percent of the voting rights.
