acquires
Quantum Partners exclusively advised elbdudler GmbH and its shareholders in the M&A process
Andreas Brinkrolf has many years of corporate finance experience and has already founded several successful companies.</p>
<p>As Venture Manager and later as Managing Director of the Siemens Technology Accelerator, he was responsible for the external marketing of Siemens technologies through sales, spin-offs and licensing. The focus was on high-tech projects, e.g. in the fields of sensor technology, new materials and software. </p>
<p>As founder and CEO of Tiburon Partners AG, he invested in Internet and software companies and accompanied some of the companies through their entire life cycle to exit. He was responsible for the subsequent sale of Tiburon Partners AG to a listed holding company. Mr. Brinkrolf was a co-founder of Invoco Holding GmbH and helped it develop into one of the leading providers of outsourcing services in Germany. In 2013, he was responsible for the sale of the company to Xerox Corporation. In recent years, Mr. Brinkrolf has advised on over 50 transactions - initial investments, capital increases and sales. </p>
<p>He studied business administration at the Universities of Bamberg and Aston (UK) and completed his doctorate at the University of St. Gallen (CH).
<p>As Venture Manager and later as Managing Director of the Siemens Technology Accelerator, he was responsible for the external marketing of Siemens technologies through sales, spin-offs and licensing. The focus was on high-tech projects, e.g. in the fields of sensor technology, new materials and software. </p>
<p>As founder and CEO of Tiburon Partners AG, he invested in Internet and software companies and accompanied some of the companies through their entire life cycle to exit. He was responsible for the subsequent sale of Tiburon Partners AG to a listed holding company. Mr. Brinkrolf was a co-founder of Invoco Holding GmbH and helped it develop into one of the leading providers of outsourcing services in Germany. In 2013, he was responsible for the sale of the company to Xerox Corporation. In recent years, Mr. Brinkrolf has advised on over 50 transactions - initial investments, capital increases and sales. </p>
<p>He studied business administration at the Universities of Bamberg and Aston (UK) and completed his doctorate at the University of St. Gallen (CH).
Andreas Brinkrolf
Deal Partner
brinkrolf@quantum-partners.de
+49 89 414 144 355
Quantum Partners advises the shareholders of elbdudler GmbH on the sale to Obsidian Digital
Social media marketing is one of the most important disciplines within digital marketing. Branded goods companies need to be present on social media channels so as not to leave the field to competitors alone. However, the challenge is to plan and manage social media engagement correctly: Based on a strategy tailored to the target group, interesting content must be continuously created, user reactions and daily events must be responded to flexibly and users must be activated. Against the backdrop of a highly dynamic environment, branded goods companies often work with specialised social media agencies. These agencies operate at the interface of overarching brand strategy, content creation and the comprehensive management of a social media channel. Hamburg-based elbdudler GmbH is one of the leading providers in this field.
Clients are increasingly demanding that agencies cover the broadest possible spectrum of social media channels and content as well as other digital marketing disciplines. This has fuelled M&A activity in the market in recent years. Many owner-managed agencies have been taken over by larger agency groups. According to the information service provider Mergermarket, for example, there were around 450 transactions with European participation in the media and advertising industry in 2023. As in previous years, digital marketing agencies proved to be the most attractive takeover targets for all buyer groups.
The management of elbdudler has also been repeatedly approached by clients for additional agency services in recent years. Against this background, we as Quantum Partners were commissioned as part of an M&A project to examine the options for partnerships with larger agency groups. Discussions were held with various potential partners in a structured sell-side process. Ultimately, a combination with the Danish Obsidian Digital was the most convincing approach for the challenges of the coming years: the takeover will bundle the expertise of both companies and enable customers to be offered holistic solutions in digital marketing. elbdudler’s data-driven creative expertise ideally complements Obsidian Digital’s performance marketing and data analytics know-how to meet changing requirements and develop innovative solutions for customers.
About elbdudler
elbdudler GmbH, based in Hamburg, is a social media agency with over 60 employees that specialises in the development and implementation of content strategies. elbdudler is one of the most recognised social media agencies in Germany and works with clients such as Stihl, comdirect, EnBW, eckes-granini, Rügenwalder Mühle and others.
About Obsidian Digital
Obsidian Digital is a Danish digital marketing group with over 400 employees in Denmark, Finland, Germany and Bosnia. Its services include digital strategy, performance marketing, SEO and data analytics. Elbdudler is the second acquisition in Germany: Projecter GmbH from Leipzig was acquired in 2023.
About Quantum Partners
Quantum Partners GmbH, headquartered in Munich, is a specialized corporate finance advisor that supports clients in company transactions as well as in finding financing.
