Combination of dsb and Darwin CX creates global player in customer experience software for digital and print media

Livingstone is pleased to announce that the North American software firm Darwin CX has become a shareholder in dsb Group (dsb), a subsidiary of the German IT group Beck Gruppe. dsb is a market-leading customer experience software platform for digital and print media in Germany and the UK; Darwin CX is a market leader in subscription software in North America, backed by First Ascent Ventures, New Era Capital Partners, and Felicitas Global Partners. The transaction establishes a leading transatlantic player in customer experience software for media companies. Livingstone acted as exclusive financial advisor to dsb and the Beck Gruppe.

dsb Group makes an important contribution to the digital transformation of digital and print publishers by providing a customer experience ecosystem called “fly”, allowing for full end-to-end automation of the entire customer subscription journey. The dsb Group has been founded by the German IT group Beck Gruppe with approximately 700 employees and EUR 100 million in revenues in DACH, Italy and France. As part of the transaction, Beck Gruppe has sold a majority shareholding in dsb to Darwin CX.

Darwin CX is a SaaS platform developed to improve customer acquisition and retention through Customer Intelligence Management. The Canadian services platform for subscription commerce was founded in 2018 and offers real-time customer insights, campaign management, processing, financial reporting, customer support, and more from a single source. With real-time data, optimal customer experiences can be created, while simultaneously increasing acquisition and retention rates and reducing marketing expenses for publishers and membership organizations.

Ulrich Beck, CEO and owner of the Beck Group, comments: “The strategic fit between Darwin and dsb group not only looks like one – it really is! Livingstone and Michael Westhoven realized this and supported us with the transaction since the very beginning with great effort up to the closing – many thanks for your professional advice in any phase of this complex project!”

Michael Westhoven, Partner at Livingstone in Düsseldorf, comments: “We are very excited that as dsb’s corporate finance advisor, we have been able to contribute to this formation of a new leading global player in the field of customer experience management, helping to take the digital transformation in the publishing sector to the next level and thereby enabling the industry to meet its strategic challenges going forward.”