New partnership: Heuking and RWT advise on joint venture of booksellers

Osiander, the traditional Tübingen-based bookseller, and Thalia Mayersche, created in mid-2019 when Thalia and Mayersche Buchhandlung merged, are establishing a strategic partnership via a joint sales company. The new long-term partnership aims to strengthen the competitiveness of German booksellers in relation to multinational corporations by cooperating in the areas of IT, web store, and procurement.
 
Family-run bookseller Osiander has already had the opportunity to test the cooperation with Mayersche and Thalia in various constellations: in the context of the tolino alliance, the jointly founded initiative and purchasing platform “shopdaheim,” or in IT. Having worked on a joint solution, Osiander and Mayersche are now implementing the project under the umbrella of the new company.
 
Closing of the cooperation is subject to the approval of the relevant antitrust authorities.
 
Heuking is a long-standing advisor to Thalia and supported the client in previous transactions, most recently in the merger with Mayersche. In addition, Heuking has advised Thalia on issues relating to IT law in recent years, including on founding the tolino alliance and its transfer to current IT service provider Rakuten Kobo.

Counsel to Thalia Mayersche
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek:
Dr. Götz G. Karrer (Corporate/M&A),
Dr. Philip Kempermann, LL.M. (IT),
Alexa Finke, LL.M. (IT), all Düsseldorf