Ashurst advised Oakley Capital Private Equity ("Oakley Capital") on the acquisition of EliteMedianet GmbH. The operator of premium online dating agency ElitePartner was sold by Tomorrow Focus AG. The transaction reflects TOMORROW FOCUS AG's strategic realignment towards transaction-based business models centred on the travel industry. The purchaser is THMMS Holding GmbH, a subsidiary of private equity fund Oakley Capital Private Equity II. This is the second time Ashurst advised Oakley Capital within the space of a few months. In April a team led by partner Lars Jessen and counsel Jan Krekeler advised the finance investor on the acquisition of parship GmbH, operator of online dating platform parship, from publishing group Georg von Holtzbrinck.

ElitePartner is one of the leading online dating agencies in the German-speaking region of Europe. The service was launched in Germany in 2004 and in Austria and Switzerland a year later. The company is based in Hamburg, Germany, and has a workforce of around eighty. In the financial year 2014 EliteMedianet generated revenue in the region of EUR 28 million and EBITDA of EUR 2.6 million.

The acquisition of EliteMedianet GmbH is subject to approval under antitrust legislation.

Ashurst advised with a German-British team jointly led by corporate partner Lars Jessen (Munich) und corporate counsel Jan Krekeler (Frankfurt). The associates Julius Heusgen (Munich) and Maximilian Santüns (Frankfurt) supported. Finance partner Derk Opitz (Frankfurt) and senior associate Jacob Durkin (London) advised on finance law related aspects of the transaction, partner Heiko Penndorf and senior associate Felix Krüger (both Frankfurt) on the tax structuring. Partner Ute Zinsmeister and senior associate Dr Maria Held (both Munich) advised on antitrust law, counsel Dr Anna-Katharina Lohbeck (Frankfurt) covered data protection law.