Noerr advises VG Media on the accession of twelve publishers

The international law firm Noerr is advising and supporting VG Media Gesellschaft zur Verwertung der Urheber- und Leistungsschutzrechte von Medienunternehmen mbH (VG Media) on the accession of twelve publishers as shareholders of the collection society. This engagement covers all advice provided in the course of the transaction on company and antitrust law issues. The team which is advising Media VG is headed by the Noerr partners Prof. Dr Karsten Metzlaff (antitrust law) and Prof. Dr Christian Pleister (company law).

The new shareholders will acquire a total of 50 per cent of the shares of VG Media by way of an increase of the company’s share capital. The new shareholders include, amongst others, Axel Springer SE, Burda Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, Mediengruppe M. DuMont Schauberg GmbH & Co. KG and FUNKE MEDIENGRUPPE GmbH & Co. KGaA. The German Federal Cartel Office must give its consent to the completion of the transaction.

The shareholders, thirteen private television and radio broadcasters and twelve publishers, are with this step underlining the need for solidarity-based protection of the copyrights and neighbouring rights of private media companies and their consistent assertion against a large variety of users.

Advisors to VG Media: Noerr LLP

Prof. Dr Karsten Metzlaff (antitrust law, Berlin) and Prof. Dr Christian Pleister (company law, Frankfurt/Berlin, both team co-heads), Dr Fabian Badtke, LL.M. (antitrust law, Berlin)

Associates: Dr. Andrea Petsch, Robert Korndörfer (both company law), Hanno Schaper (antitrust law, all Berlin)

VG Media (in-house): Dr Christine Jury-Fischer (Head of Legal and Regulatory), Dr Marco Holtz, Katharina Franke, Marie von Manteuffel