DLA Piper has advised the publishing group Gruner + Jahr on the acquisition of VideoPlay, a video platform and its underlying technology from V-Bazzar Digital Group.

VideoPlay is a digital marketplace for videos, advertising and data traffic. The buyer of the video platform is a subsidiary of Gruner + Jahr, NetworkPlay.

Through this strategic investment, Gruner + Jahr and NetworkPlay are extending their digital portfolio and further strengthening the group and its position in the growing Indian media and advertising market.

The DLA Piper team was led by partner Dr Benjamin Parameswaran and comprised associates Sebastian Decker and Christopher Albien (all Corporate, Hamburg).

"We thank DLA Piper for their efficient advice," said Dr Frank Ludwig, LL.M, corporate counsel at Gruner + Jahr. "Once again Benjamin Parameswaran and team have demonstrated that they are one of the leading firms for transactions involving India."

Gruner + Jahr, which is headquartered in Hamburg, is a majority holding of the Bertelsmann group of companies, the largest media enterprise in Europe. With over 500 media activities, magazines and digital offerings in more than 30 countries and a foreign turnover share of 55 per cent, Gruner + Jahr is one of the largest international publishing houses in the world. In 2013, Gruner + Jahr generated a turnover of 2.1 billion Euro with approx. 10,800 employees and is thus the largest German publisher in terms of turnover.

The Delhi-based digital marketing company NetworkPlay, with branches in Mumbai and Bangalore, is the fastest growing supplier of digital advertising in India. NetworkPlay offers solutions for all digital advertising platforms (online, mobile and direct-to-home) in the fields of brand advertising and performance marketing. Gruner + Jahr acquired a majority shareholding in NetworkPlay in 2012, also advised by DLA Piper.

In India, DLA Piper worked together on this transaction with the lawyers Smruti Shah and Kalpesh Unadkat from the firm Amarchand & Mangaldas in Mumbai.

The in-house legal team of Gruner + Jahr was led by corporate counsel Dr Frank Ludwig, LL.M.