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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 increased commitment and are confident that this offers great development opportunities for ARIVA.DE AG and its employees. " Outlook for the 2016 financial year After closing of the transaction, ARIVA.DE AG will be fully consolidated into the financial statements of EQS Group AG in the second half of the year. The management board of EQS Group AG expected double-digit sales growth in 2016 of 10% - 15% to EUR 20.2 - EUR 21 million and an increase in adjusted EBIT of 5% - 10% to EUR 3.1 - EUR 3.3 million as part of its international growth strategy. With the full consolidation of ARIVA.DE AG beginning in the second half of 2016, sales growth of 25% - 30% to EUR 23 - EUR 23.9 million and an increase in adjusted EBIT of 15% - to 20% to EUR3.4 - EUR3.6 million is expected. More information: Corporate notifications of EQS Group AG are also available, free of charge and immediately, on your mobile device: by DGAP News App directly to your AppleWatch or iPhone (http://newsapp.dgap.de/). About EQS Group EQS Group is a leading international technology provider for Digital Investor Relations. More than 8,000 companies worldwide trust our applications and services which securely, efficiently and simultaneously fulfill complex national and international information obligations to the global investment community. The heart of the technology is the COCKPIT, as Software as a Service (SaaS), which digitally maps the work processes of IR managers streamlining them for maximum efficiency. Special modules maintain IR websites contents (CMS), contact data (CRM) and insider data as well as access to global investor data and proprietary monitory and analytics functions. The COCKPIT platform is connected to the company website in order to guarantee integrated workflows. The COCKPIT also provides access to one of the most important Financial Newswire, over which more than 20,000 financial and corporate releases are distributed annually. In Germany, all DAX companies trust EQS Group's DGAP service as the main institution to comply with legal and regulatory submission and publication requirements. As a digital single source provider, EQS Group also develops IR and corporate websites as well as Apps, creates online financial and sustainability reports and performs corporate audio and video transmissions. EQS Group was founded in Munich, Germany, in 2000 and has developed from a start-up to an international Group with locations in the world's key financial markets. The Group employs more than 200 professionals. Contact: André Marques Head of Investor Relations Tel.: +4989-21029833 Mobile: +49175-5250009 Email.: [email protected] About ARIVA.DE AG ARIVA.DE AG was founded in 2000 in Kiel. Its business model is based on three core areas: a proprietary finance portal, the development of software for the financial sector and the licensing and provision of securities master data, key figures and share prices. The finance portal www.ariva.de has been operative online since 1998. With an average of 40 million page views and 350,000 unique users per month, ARIVA.DE AG is the second most-used independent financial portal, making it the largest German-language stock exchange community, according to IVW. ARIVA.DE AG's software development business unit operates complete financial portals on behalf of its customers and develops software applications for financial web sites. ARIVA.DE AG also specialises in regulatory documents: the company has developed new, modular software which enables issuers in the financial sector to automatically generate documents for packaged investment products which will be required by law. The company's comprehensive derivatives database is currently used by nearly 40 licensees. ARIVA.DE AG currently has 80 employees. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15.06.2016 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: EQS Group AG Karlstr. 47 80333 Munich Germany Phone: +49(0)89 210298-0 Fax: +49(0)89 210298-49 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.eqs.com ISIN: DE0005494165 WKN: 549416 Listed: Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Munich (m:access), Stuttgart; Open Market (Entry Standard) in Frankfurt End of News DGAP News Service --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 471595 15.06.2016