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Scout24 SE is a German publicly-listed digital company headquartered in Munich, operating the online marketplace ImmoScout24. The ImmoScout24 multi-platform attracted over 20 million visitors monthly in Germany in 2021, either through the website or the app.[2]
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| ISIN | DE000A12DM80 |
| Industry | Online marketplace |
| Founded | 16 Aug 1998 in Munich, Germany |
Number of employees | 1100[1] (2023) |
| Website | www |
The company's shares have been listed in the MDAX since June 18, 2018.
ImmoScout24 serves as an online portal for real estate providers, owners, tenants, and buyers, attracting approximately 20 million visitors monthly to its website and app. As of the end of 2019, it hosted 425,000 real estate listings.[3]
The Berlin-based company has a workforce of around 1100 employees.[4]
History
editScout24 was established in 1998 by internet entrepreneur Joachim Schoss, financed by entrepreneur Otto Beisheim and others.[5] In 2004, T-Online, then a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, acquired Scout24 from Beisheim Holding. Following the merger of T-Online International with Deutsche Telekom, Scout24 became a direct subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom in June 2006.[6]
In 2011, Telekom sold Scout24 Group's job exchange, JobScout24, to CareerBuilder.[7]
By mid-2013, Deutsche Telekom announced its intention to sell the Scout24 group.[8] On November 21, 2013, Telekom disclosed that it had divested 70 percent of its shares in Scout24 to Hellman & Friedman for EUR 1.5 billion.[9]
On September 7, 2015, Scout24 announced its IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Approximately 29.5 million shares were to be placed with an offer volume of EUR 899 million. Following the IPO, Hellman & Friedman would retain 49% ownership, while Deutsche Telekom would hold 14% of the shares. The remaining shares were to be in free float. Trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange commenced on October 1, 2015.[10] In September 2016, Hellman & Friedman divested its entire stake in Scout24. In June 2018, the Scout24 share was included in the MDAX of the German Stock Exchange.[11] In July 2018, the portal Finanzcheck.de was acquired.[12]
On February 15, 2019, the Scout Group accepted a takeover bid of around 5.7 billion euros from Pulver BidCo GmbH, backed by financial investors Blackstone Group and Hellmann & Friedmann.[13] However, the takeover failed when, as of May 14, 2019, only 42.8% of shareholders approved the takeover bid, falling short of the minimum 50% approval threshold.[14] Despite this, financial investor Blackrock still retains a stake in Scout24.[15]
In December 2019, it was announced that Hellmann & Friedman would acquire the marketplaces AutoScout24, FinanceScout24, and Finanzcheck from Scout24 for EUR 2.9 billion in the first half of 2020.[16]
Conflicts with other domain owners
editScout24 International Management AG, headquartered in Switzerland, issued warnings to numerous domain owners containing "Scout" in their names, asserting that the term "Scout" alone, without "24," was protected by trademark law. However, "Scout" is not registered as a trademark, and by the end of 2012, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) had rejected an application by Scout24 International Management AG against owners of similar domains.[17]
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ https://www.scout24.com/en/reporting-2023
- ^ Halbjahresfinanzbericht H1 2021, page 15, accessed August 13, 2021.
- ^ Scout24 Geschäftsbericht 2019, retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ Scout24 Annual Report 2023, accessed April 1, 2024.
- ^ "Gründer von Scout24: Die zwei Leben des Joachim Schoss". Augsburger Allgemeine. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 2015-01-24.
- ^ Historie. Website of Scout24 Holding GmbH, www.scout24.com. Accessed May 26, 2010.
- ^ "Telekom verkauft Stellenseite überraschend an US-Rivalen". handelsblatt.com. Reuters. 2011-09-14. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
- ^ Handelsblatt (2013-11-04). "Telekom verhandelt mit drei Bietern für Scout24". Retrieved 2013-11-15.
- ^ Manager Magazin (2013-11-21). "Scout-Verkauf bringt 1,5 Milliarden Euro". Retrieved 2013-11-22.
- ^ "Scout24 AG: Scout24 legt Preisspanne auf 26,5 Euro bis 33,0 Euro je Aktie fest". dgap.de. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
- ^ finanzen.net GmbH (2018-06-18). "Scout24, Delivery Hero und Puma ab heute im MDax". boerse-online.de. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
- ^ "Scout24 kauft Vergleichsportal Finanzcheck.de für 285 Millionen Euro". Retrieved 2019-03-26.
- ^ "Internetwirtschaft: Zurück zum Ex – Was die Scout24-Übernahme über Private Equity sagt". Retrieved 2019-02-18.
- ^ magazin, manager. "Scout24: Investoren scheitern mit Übernahmeangebot". www.manager-magazin.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-02-17.
- ^ Börsennews.de. "DGAP-Stimmrechte: Scout24 AG" (in German). Retrieved 2019-09-03.
- ^ "Investor kauft AutoScout24 und Finanzcheck für 2,9 Milliarden Euro". Der Spiegel (in German). 2019-12-17. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
- ^ "WIPO Domain Name Decision: DCH2012-0016". Retrieved 2019-03-26.