DGAP-News: windeln.de closes EUR 45 million investment round led by Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, DN Capital, MCI Management and 360 Capital Partners

DGAP-News: windeln.de GmbH / Key word(s): Financing
windeln.de closes EUR 45 million investment round led by Goldman
Sachs, Deutsche Bank, DN Capital, MCI Management and 360 Capital
Partners

19.01.2015 / 06:59

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windeln.de closes EUR 45 million investment round led by Goldman Sachs,
Deutsche Bank, DN Capital, MCI Management and 360 Capital Partners

Munich, 19 January 2015. windeln.de, the German online retailer and flash
sales platform for baby and children products (the "Company"), today
announced that a consortium led by Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank invested
EUR45 million in the Company. The investment comes to support the Company's
plans for strategic expansions and is intended to finance:

- The expansion of the Company's product portfolio
- The Company's geographic roll-out
- Potential acquisitions

"2014 has been a great year for windeln.de with gross revenue of EUR 130
million", said Alexander Brand, Managing Director and Co-Founder of
windeln.de. "After a year in which we were able to almost double our gross
revenues, we are even more delighted to welcome Goldman Sachs as a new
shareholder. We consider this as a clear vote of confidence in our vision
and strategic plans by a world-class investor. As we continue to grow,
windeln.de will benefit from Goldman Sachs' financing expertise and
knowledge of key geographies and end markets."

Martin Hintze, Managing Director and Co-head of Corporate Equity Investing
in Europe of Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division, said: "windeln.de is
an emerging European leader in the pure-play online retail of baby
products. We believe that consumers will continue to move away from offline
to online and we share the management team's vision to grow the business in
the German-speaking region and beyond. This investment is a good example of
our growth capital investment strategy of backing first-rate entrepreneurs.
We look forward to assisting the Company in its further evolution." As part
of the funding round, David Reis, Executive Director and Head of Technology
Investments at Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division in Europe, will join
the Advisory Board of windeln.de.

The investment round experienced broad participation from the Company's
existing investor base including Deutsche Bank, DN Capital, MCI Management
and 360 Capital Partners. "windeln.de has continued its impressive track
record, with very high customer satisfaction," said Francesco Rigamonti,
Director at Deutsche Bank.

Konstantin Urban, Managing Director and Co-Founder of windeln.de,
summarized the funding round as follows: "We are particularly happy that
also DN Capital, one of our earliest investors, participated in this
funding round - renewing their commitment to windeln.de and our growth
strategy."

"We see that the online share of daily consumption baby products is rising
fast and that windeln.de is well perceived, especially by German
consumers," said Dr. Georg Janssen, Partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants,
who has analyzed the European baby products market on behalf of Goldman
Sachs.

Headquartered in Munich, Germany, windeln.de has seen consistent success
and strong growth since launching in 2010. Company milestones include:

- Successful expansion into neighboring Switzerland and Austria in 2013
- Successful acquisition and swift integration of kindertraum.ch and
toys.ch in 2013
- Introduction of flash sales business model windelbar in 2012

Press contact
Christian Falkowski
Phone: +49 (89) 4161 7151 21 
Email: cfalkowski@windeln.de


About windeln.de GmbH

windeln.de is one of the leading pure-play online retailers specializing in
baby and children products in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The Company
offers more than 85,000 products from over 1,000 brands, which young
parents can comfortably order from home. The offer ranges from diapers,
baby food and skin care to safety products such as gates, monitors and car
seats. Baby clothing and baby toys round out the offering, making it a
one-stop-shop for parents. windeln.de was founded by Konstantin Urban and
Alexander Brand in October 2010 and currently employs over 100 staff
members.

About Acton Capital Partners

Acton Capital Partners (www.actoncapital.com) is a growth equity investor
for technology enabled businesses. Acton's investment focus is B2C and
B2smallB oriented business models in e-commerce, online marketplaces,
e-services and digital media. The Munich-based partnership invests
worldwide, with a strong emphasis on Europe. Funding comes from private and
institutional investors. The Acton team has been working successfully
together for many years and has invested in more than 50 companies. Past
and present investments include AbeBooks, Alando, Ciao, Elitepartner, Etsy,
HolidayCheck, mytheresa.com, OnVista and zooplus.

About Deutsche Bank - Private Equity & Private Markets, part of the
Deutsche Bank Group

DB Private Equity is Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management's global private
equity asset manager business focusing on primary and secondary fund
investments as well as direct co-investments for institutional investors
and private clients. DB Private Equity has been investing since 1991 and as
of 30 June 2014 it managed client assets in excess of US$ 11.1 billion.

About DN Capital

DN Capital is a global early stage and growth capital investor in software,
mobile applications, digital media, marketplace and e-commerce companies.
The firm has operations in London, Berlin and Menlo Park and its objective
is to identify, invest in and actively support its portfolio companies to
become global leaders.

Portfolio companies include Shazam Entertainment, Apsmart (sold to Thomson
Reuters), BOOK A TIGER, Datanomic (sold to Oracle), Delectable, Endeca
Technologies (sold to Oracle), JacobsRimell (sold to Amdocs), Mister Spex,
OLX (sold to Naspers), Performance Horizon Group, PurpleBricks, Quandoo,
Tbricks, Videdressing and Windeln.de.

The professionals at DN Capital bring over 60 years of private equity
experience to their investments, and actively work with portfolio companies
to steward their growth through the various stages of development.
Additional information about the firm and its portfolio companies can be
found at www.dncapital.com.

About Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division

Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division ("MBD") is the primary center for
Goldman Sachs' long-term principal investing activity, and Goldman Sachs
has operated this business as an integral part of the firm for more than 25
years. The group invests in equity and credit across corporate, real estate
and infrastructure strategies. Since 1986, the group has raised over US$140
billion of capital to invest across a number of geographies, industries and
transaction types. With eight offices in six countries around the world,
MBD is one of the largest managers of private capital globally, offering
deep expertise and long-standing relationships with companies, investors,
entrepreneurs and financial intermediaries around the globe.

About MCI Management

MCI Management S.A. (MCI), founded in 1999, is a leading and most
experienced private equity group in Emerging Europe focused on digital
transformation. The value of assets under management exceeds PLN 1.5
billion (>US$ 450 million). So far, the MCI Group has executed over 50
investment projects and over 20 full exits. MCI focuses on digital, growth
stage investment projects in CEE, DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland),
CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and Turkey. In the period from
01/01/1999 to 30/09/2014, MCI reached a net internal rate of return (net
IRR) of 24%. MCI has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since
February 2001 and it is a member of the Polish Private Equity Association.
More information available at www.mci.eu.

About 360 Capital Partners

360 Capital Partners (www.360capitalpartners.com) is a pan-European venture
capital firm with offices in Paris and Milan, investing in highly
innovative companies since 1997. 360 Capital Partners' investment team has
managed more than EUR 300 million and invested in more than 70 companies in
nine countries including Yoox, MutuiOnline, Leetchi, Electro Power Systems,
Withings, Aramisauto, Newlisi, Qapa, Musement, Doveconviene and Eataly.

Disclaimer

The forward-looking statements in this press release are subject to risks
and uncertainties, as they relate to future events, and are based on
estimates and assessments made to the best of the Company's present
knowledge. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions,
uncertainties and other factors, the occurrence or non-occurrence of which
could cause the Company's actual results, including the financial condition
and profitability, to differ materially from or fail to meet the
expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.
This announcement does not contain or constitute an offer of, or the
solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for, securities.
This release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States of
America. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States of
America absent registration or an exemption from registration under the
U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). Any public
offering of securities to be made in the United States of America would be
made by means of a prospectus that could be obtained from the Company and
that would contain detailed information about the Company and management,
as well as financial statements. There will be no public offer of the
securities in the United States of America.



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19.01.2015 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
service of EQS Group AG.
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