SKW Schwarz advises OverDrive Europe on the acquisition of divibib

SKW Schwarz has advised OverDrive Europe GmbH, the European subsidiary of the leading U.S. digital library platform OverDrive,Inc., on the acquisition of divibib GmbH, the company behind the German digital lending service Onleihe, from ekz.bibliotheksservice GmbH.

Onleihe will be gradually migrated to the Libbyplatform, bringing together the digital catalogs of OverDrive and divibib for libraries and patrons across the DACH region. All other divisions of the ekz Group will not be affected by the transaction.

The acquisition deepens OverDrive’s commitment to libraries and readers in the DACH region.

OverDrive, Inc. is the company behind Libby, Sora, and Kanopy, the leading digital reading, learning, and entertainment apps for libraries and schools. OverDrive serves more than 600 public libraries, schools, and academic partners across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

divibib, a subsidiary of ekz.bibliotheksservice based in Reutlingen, has been operating the digital lending platform Onleihe since 2007, serving public libraries across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and other European markets. ekz Group is a long-standing provider of services and technology for public libraries in the German-speaking countries.

The SKW Schwarz team advising OverDrive was led by Stephan Morsch (Corporate/M&A) and Stefan Peintinger (IT & Digital Business/IP), and included partner Alexander Möller (Employment), associated partner Matthias Pajunk (Procurement), counsel Eva Bonacker (Corporate/M&A), as well as associates Christine Wärl (Corporate/M&A) and Tamara Ulm (Employment).