HMT advised the shareholders of Netmums Limited on the disposal to the Aufeminin Group, the No.1 publisher of women’s websites worldwide. HMT led a competitive sale process which resulted in realising maximum value for the shareholders.
Established in 2000, London based Netmums.com is a parental website “designed for mums by mums” with its main features being editorial content, discussion forums and chats. The website operates on the basis of contributions from its users which attracted 2.25m unique users in July 2011.
aufeminin.com has been present in the UK since 2005 with sofeminine.co.uk. The acquisition makes the Aufeminin Group the market leader and gives it an added competitive edge for advertising clients in realising Pan-European campaigns.
“With Aufeminin, we have found a new parent company which has great synergy with the Netmums brand and shares many of the same values.
During the entire process, the HMT team have offered us professional advice and guidance of the highest quality and have helped us navigate our way through the legal and financial process which otherwise might have been overwhelming for the founders who have not been through this process before.
The outcome is one which satisfies the interests of the shareholders whilst securing the future for the Netmums brand and creating exciting new opportunities.”– Siobhan Freegard, joint founder and Managing Director
“Having previously completed two deals with HMT, I am still amazed at the pragmatism and how quickly HMT can present all options and solutions at every hurdle. Their ability to put themselves in their clients’ shoes and the buyer’s at the same time is just uncanny.”
– AK Than, joint founding shareholder
“Siobhan and the rest of the Netmum’s team have been extremely innovative in creating and developing this exciting business and we are delighted to have assisted the founders in realising significant value and at the same time found an acquirer who is well placed to see Netmums continue to grow and flourish.”
– Andrew Thomson
