Post by Dr. Lena Wallenhorst, MBA, LLM

WE DID IT – We just closed the deal to team up with ABOUT YOU! 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗭𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼! While there is plenty to be said why this deal just makes sense (see our official press release here https://lnkd.in/d_4Pa5MU), my post will not be about this. My post will be about 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨 to all Zalando colleagues who worked hard to see this through to the finish line. My particular thank you goes to María Carrasco López-Jurado, Nadin Michel, Nadine Krug, Ramona Bobbert, Rita Gnoth-Novak, Verena Petermann, Benjamin Radenz, Dr. Gregor Schroll LL.M. oec., Dr. Hans-Christian Woger, Dr. Martin Bredol, Martin Prokoph, and Dr. Stefan Naumann, M.A. from Corporate Governance. Together, we  - Shaped the deal structure, the negotiation process and tactics, including all due diligence work in the background.  - Orchestrated the successful public tender offer.  - Secured ZAG clearance from BaFin.  - Obtained unconditional antitrust clearance from the EU Commission after having explained the world of fashion e-commerce to the moon and back,  prepared Zalando for day 1. - Steered through the complex purchase price payment process. And finally - Successfully secured ownership of more than 90% of ABOUT YOU’s share capital (excluding treasury shares).  I am immensely proud of you and the extraordinary dedication you showed throughout all these past many months! You really rock. And my post will be about 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘 to our colleagues from ABOUT YOU Felicitas Schultz, Kathrin Lechner, Wiebke Schöning, Jan Murmann, Michael Bayer, Nikolas Allemeyer, Sebastian de Raad and Dr. Thomas Müller. It’s really great to have you on board! We are looking forward to working together with you! Zalando and ABOUT YOU - 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀. We will continue to shape the trends of the European fashion market. Tomorrow wears our names! Really excited for what’s to come.