AG (Germany) LLP has advised the founders as well as other managers of travel tech group Midoco in connection with the acquisition of a majority stake in the group by technology investor LEA Partners, Karlsruhe, from investment company AFINUM.

Since its foundation in 2005, Midoco Group has become Germany's leading provider of mid-office software solutions for the travel industry. In 2018, travel sales worth around €11 billion were processed using Midoco's SaaS solution. Users of the software include international travel agency chains in the business and leisure travel sector, online travel agencies and dynamic tour operators. The Midoco Group has locations in Hamburg and Hilden in Germany. Part of the Midoco Group is the Swiss Umbrella AG, which enables the automatic synchronisation of traveller profile data with Umbrella Faces.

As an entrepreneurial equity partner, the technology investor LEA Partners supports founders and management teams in various development phases in their growth and in achieving a leading market position. Based in Karlsruhe, one of Europe's largest technology clusters, LEA Partners has managed investments in numerous technology companies since 2002.

With this transaction, the parties expect further growth and expansion of the Midoco Group. Midoco will continue to benefit from the experience and expertise of LEA Partners. The previous co-shareholder BID Equity as well as the three Midoco founders and managing partners will continue to hold shares in the Travel Tech Group. The founders are long-standing clients of the advisors now involved, who advised them on the entry of Afinum and BID Equity at the end of 2016, among other things.

Legal Advisors Midoco-Gründer

Addleshaw Goddard (Hamburg):

• Dr. Hubertus Schröder (Partner)
• Dr. Michael Leue (Partner)
• Dr. Natalia Ilyevich (Associate, all Corporate / M&A)

Legal Advisors LEA Partners

Gütt Olk Feldhaus (München):

• Dr. Sebastian Olk (Partner, Leadership)
• Adrian von Prittwitz (Partner, both Private Equity/M&A)
• Dr. Tilmann Gütt (Partner, Finance law)
• Thomas Becker (Of Counsel, IP/IT)
• Isabelle Vrancken
• Dr. Marcel Schmidt
• Christine Schneemann
• Dominik Forstner, (Associates, all Private Equity/M&A)
• Christopher Ghabel (Senior Associate, Finance law)

Flick Gocke Schaumburg (Munich, Tax)

Staudacher Annuß (Munich):

• Ingo Sappa (Partner)
• Dr. Felix Halfmeier (Associate, both Employment law)

Walder Wyss Ltd. (Switzerland)

Legal Advisors BID Equity

AHB Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater (Hamburg):

• Dr. Benjamin Waitz (Partner, Corporate / M&A)

Legal Advisors Afinum

CMS Hasche Sigle (München):

• Dr. Martin Kuhn (Partner)
• Dr. Lukas Stegemann (Associate, both Corporate / M&A)