The biggest exits of Hamburg startups in 2022
For many founders, the exit, thus the sale of their own startup to another company, is a declared goal. We summarize four of the most important exits of 2022 from Hamburg in this article.
Ankerkraut to Nestlé
In April, the acquisition of Ankerkraut by the food company Nestlé made headlines far beyond the startup scene. Founded in 2013 by Anne and Stefan Lemcke, the spice startup gained nationwide awareness in 2016 when it closed a deal with Frank Thelen at "Die Höhle der Löwen." What followed was one of the show's biggest success stories to date. The sale to Nestlé caused displeasure, especially in social media, as the corporation has a bad reputation on environmental issues, for example. The exact purchase price is not known, but a three-digit million amount is assumed.
exmox to Aonic
Founded in 2015, ad tech startup exmox specializes in advertising for video games for mobile devices and says it reaches more than 250 million users in 180 countries every month. The Swedish games company Aonic has only been around since early 2022, since when it has been on an international buying spree. In August, it paid 100 million US dollars for exmox. The company headquarters of the startup is still Hamburg.
Rebelle to Vinted
In February 2022, Rebelle, an online marketplace for secondhand designer fashion, went public in Sweden, but in September it was already withdrawn from the stock market. The reason: the Lithuanian company Vinted, also a second-hand platform, had taken over the competitor from Hamburg for around 30 million euros. In Germany, Vinted was on the market for a long time under the name Kleiderkreisel, but all activities in 16 countries are now run under the name of the parent company. Rebelle was founded in 2013 by Cécile Wickmann and Max Schönemann.
shipcloud to Waterland
Also in 2013, shipcloud came into being. Founders Claus Fahlbusch and Stefan Hollmann positioned their startup as a shipping service provider. The platform offers an interface to all relevant shipping companies and allows online stores the greatest possible flexibility. In July 2022, the private equity investment company Waterland acquired shipcloud; no details were given about the price. Waterland is headquartered in the Netherlands and has offices in numerous European countries.
