DGAP-News

EQS Group AG acquires majority in ARIVA.DE AG

DGAP-News: EQS Group AG / Key word(s): Strategic Company Decision/Takeover
EQS Group AG acquires majority in ARIVA.DE AG

15.06.2016 / 08:00
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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EQS Group AG acquires majority in ARIVA.DE AG
New legal requirements for financial institutions open up great market
opportunities

Munich - 15 June 2016

The EQS Group AG (ISIN: DE0005494165) has increased its existing share of
ARIVA.DE AG to 50% plus one share, thereby acquiring a majority of shares.
Through the acquisition, EQS gains access to the attractive customer target
group of financial institutions, thereby entering the new market for the
production of key information documents (KIDs).

ARIVA.DE AG is a leading provider of financial data and software solutions
for financial institutions and operates the financial portal of the same
name. Its newly developed software enables issuers in the financial sector
to automatically generate documents for packaged investment products which
will be required by law. The PRIIPs (packaged retail investment and
insurance-based investment products) Regulation will be mandatory for
Europe and is expected to take effect at the beginning of 2017. ARIVA.DE AG
has extensively prepared for this new regulation, appointing Frank Gräsner
to the management board to develop this particular business. Before joining
ARIVA.DE AG, Gräsner was an executive with SIX Financial Information, a
subsidiary of the Swiss stock exchange.

ARIVA.DE AG is headquartered in Kiel and recently opened a Frankfurt sales
office. The company employs approximately 80 employees. ARIVA.DE AG expects
sales of at least EUR 5.6 million and an EBIT of approximately EUR 600,000
for the 2016 fiscal year. The purchase price is slightly lower than in
August 2007, when EQS acquired its first stake in the company. EQS Group AG
will finance one quarter of the acquisition with its own capital resources
with the remaining three-quarters covered by an acquisition loan provided
by Commerzbank Munich.

Achim Weick, founder and CEO of EQS Group AG: "EQS has been invested in
ARIVA.DE AG since 2007. A stronger focus on regulatory requirements
provides us many new opportunities to strengthen our cooperation within the
company, which we intend to achieve together with the remaining founders
and shareholders of ARIVA.DE AG."

Matthias Vogelsang-Weber, CEO and co-founder of ARIVA.DE AG: "ARIVA.DE AG
has evolved steadily since its founding and is ready to launch the next
phase of growth together with EQS Group AG. We are pleased with the