Accompanied by Zerbach & Company Corporate Finance GmbH ("Z&C"), the owner of Erstling GmbH ("Erstling") has sold its shares to the Soennecken eG ("Soennecken Group").
Erstling has been based in Berlin for over 50 years. In 1972, the company began as a mail-order and travel bookshop supplying schools in West Berlin with schoolbooks. In the 1990s, the initial range of schoolbooks was continuously expanded to include teaching materials and furniture. In 2003, one of the largest schoolbook portals in the German-speaking region was launched under the domain www.erstling.de. Erstling supplies school equipment of all kinds and covers all the needs of schools, daycare centers and educational institutions, from textbooks and school furniture to digital devices.
Soennecken Group is the leading trade cooperation for office, school and home office products and services in German-speaking countries. In this market, the Soennecken brand has stood for innovation and problem-solving expertise for almost 150 years. The idea of Soennecken's founder "We make work worth living" is continuously pursued by the cooperatively organized company with its approximately 800 affiliated trading companies.
Retailers have access to more than 25,000 branded articles and the exclusive Soennecken brand via the most modern logistics centers in the industry in Germany. Soennecken Group currently employs around 550 people at its sites in Overath, Melsdorf and Essen.
