Olswang has advised dunnhumby Ltd., the world's leading customer science company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesco PLC, on its acquisition of Sociomantic Labs GmbH, the Berlin-based global advertising technology firm, from KBN Investment Group UG.
Famous for supporting the launch of Tesco Clubcard in 1995, dunnhumby analyses data and applies insights from more than 400 million customers across the globe to create enhanced customer experiences and build loyalty. Through Clubcard, Tesco and dunnhumby pioneered the idea of "customer first marketing," the concept of using data and insight to reward customers for their loyalty. dunnhumby now employs nearly 2,500 employees in offices throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, and serves a prestigious list of companies including Tesco, The Kroger Co., Coca-Cola, Macy's, Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo.
Sociomantic Labs GmbH is a global leader in programmatic digital advertising solutions. The company employs more than 200 professionals in 16 offices worldwide with over $100 million in revenue in 2013, working with brands in electronics, retail, fashion and travel services in more than 60 markets spanning six continents.
Mark Bertram, corporate partner at Olswang who led the team advising dunnhumby, said: "Bringing together innovative companies who break the boundaries of technology, marketing and science has been a pleasure for our joint London and Berlin team. The increasing relevance of data for digital advertising mean brands can now be more sophisticated with the customisation of their messages to customers online and across mobile devices. It's been great working on such a unique deal with dunnhumby and our corporate, IP, data protection and AdTech specialists in London and Berlin."
The transaction was led by London-based partner Mark Bertram with Senior Associate Katie Nagy de Nagybaczon. The wider Olswang cross-border team included London corporate associates Yasmine Meeajun and Marie Ingham, tax partner Mark Joscelyne and Robert Sartor, commercial associates Alex Dixie, Alvin Chan and Adam Wright, data and technology partners Ross McKean and Dominic Dryden and employee share schemes partner Andrew Quayle with a Berlin team led by Partner Thomas Schubert including employment, corporate and commercial associates, Henrik Armah, Carsten Kociok, Luisa Einsporn and Claudia Stremel.
