Scout24 AG: FINANZCHECK.de acquisition successfully completed

FINANZCHECK.de acquisition successfully completed

• Federal Cartel Office has given its approval
• Scout 24 strategically strengthens its Scout 24 Consumer Services business unit
• Takeover will enable an even better user experience when buying a car or real estate in the future

Berlin / Munich, 29 August 2018 - Scout24 AG, a leading operator of digital marketplaces focusing on real estate and cars in Germany and other European countries, took over the FINANZCHECK.de portal in full on 28 August 2018. The Federal Cartel Office has granted the necessary clearance. The acquisition with a transaction volume of 285 million euros was then completed in full. Scout24 had already concluded the purchase agreement for the acquisition of FINANZCHECK.de with the previous owners in mid-July. However, the purchase was still subject to approval by the cartel authorities.

FINANZCHECK.de operates an online platform for consumer financing and offers users a fast and efficient comparison of consumer loans in real time. In addition, FINANZCHECK.de cooperates via its own technology platform for consumer financing with affiliate websites, point-of-sale financing partners and partner networks in Germany. With regard to market share and market positioning in the online comparison of consumer loans, FINANZCHECK.de is one of the top three portals in Germany.

The acquisition of FINANZCHECK.de is of great strategic importance for Scout24 for the expansion of the Scout24 Consumer Services division. Since 2018, Scout24 has bundled individual additional services in this area relating to the purchase of real estate and cars, such as the brokerage of construction and car financing. Together with FINANZCHECK.de, Scout24 is working in future to offer users an outstanding user experience and to support them in saving time and money in their search for the right consumer loan. Banks and financial institutions can also be offered a cost-efficient and scalable way of offering their services to borrowers.

FINANZCHECK.de will continue its business as part of the Scout24 Group at its Hamburg location and under its own brand. Scout24 will support the company in further growth.
 

About Scout24

With our leading digital marketplaces ImmobilienScout24 in Germany and AutoScout24 across Europe we are inspiring people to make their best decisions on finding a home and a car. Additional services, such as credit information, the brokerage of relocation services or construction and car financing, are bundled in the Scout24 Consumer Services business division. More than 1,200 employees are working on the success of our products and services, putting the consumers' needs first in order to create a connected network for living and mobility. Scout24 is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE000A12DM80, G24). For further information, please visit www.scout24.com, our Corporate Blog and Tech Blog, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
 

Investor Relations

Britta Schmidt
Vice President Investor Relations & Treasury
Tel: +49 89 44456 3278
Email: [email protected]
 

Media contact

Jan Flaskamp
Vice President Communications & Marketing
Phone: +49 30 24301 0721
E-mail: [email protected]
 

Disclaimer:

All information contained in this document has been carefully prepared. However, no reliance may be placed for any purposes whatsoever on the information contained in this document or on its completeness. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of the Company or any of its directors, officers or employees or any other person as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this document and no liability whatsoever is accepted by the Company or any of its directors, officers or employees nor any other person for any loss howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of such information or opinions or otherwise arising in connection therewith.

The information contained in this release is subject to amendment, revision and updating. Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this document are forward-looking, which reflect the Company's or, as appropriate, senior management's current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. Statements contained in this document regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any information contained in this press release (including forward-looking statements), whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this document.

Scout24 also uses alternative performance measures, not defined by IFRS, to describe the Scout24 Group's results of operations. These should not be viewed in isolation, but treated as supplementary information. The special items used to calculate some alternative performance measures arise from the integration of acquired businesses, restructuring measures, impairments, gains or losses resulting from divestitures and sales of shareholdings, and other material expenses and income that generally do not arise in conjunction with Scout24's ordinary business activities. Alternative performance measures used by Scout24 are defined in the "Glossary" section of Scout24's Group Interim Report 2018 which is available atwww.scout24.com/financial-reports.

Due to rounding, numbers presented throughout this statement may not add up precisely to the totals indicated, and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures for the same reason.