MoFo Advises CIC Capital in Acquisition of Minority Stake in e-Commerce Platform Expondo

Morrison & Foerster advised CIC Capital Deutschland GmbH (“CIC Capital”), an equity investment company of French banking association Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, in its acquisition of a minority stake in e-commerce platform Expondo. The MoFo team, led by partner Dr. Joerg Meissner, advised CIC Capital on the entire transaction, including all aspects of corporate, tax, and employment law. 

With headquarters in Berlin and subsidiaries in Poland, Great Britain, and China, Expondo specializes in offering high quality yet inexpensive devices and tools for craftsmen and small businesses. Currently, Expondo offers around 5,000 products and launches up to 2,000 new products every year under its own brand name. To find niches for these products, the company uses algorithms that continually search the internet for supply and demand information in connection with devices in the food, craft, and health sectors. It is the first external investment for Expondo. The partnership with CIC Capital will facilitate further growth for the company. 

The MoFo team advising Expondo was led by partner Dr. Joerg Meissner, together with senior associate Dr. Monika Obal, and associate Julia Michels (all Corporate/M&A); partner Hanno Timner and senior associate Christin Fieber (Employment); counsel Lukas Kawka (Tax); senior associate Jannis T. Werner (Commercial/IP/IT); and Hong Kong partner Marcia Ellis (Private Equity Investments) and Shanghai associate Letian Ge (M&A).