FINEXPERT REPORT April 2026
Annual GERMAN TAKEOVER REPORT April 2026
Content
1 Preface & People
4 Market Overview
13 Capital Market Reaction
17 Statements & Fairness Opinions
25 Success Rates
30 Takeover Case Study: ABOUT YOU
32 Endgame Analysis
37 Transaction Details 2025
The 2026 issue of the finexpert | ValueTrust German takeover report covers all takeover offers and delisting tender offers of the year 2025 according to the German takeover code WpÜG and provides extensive information on relevant variables like bid types, premia offered, market reaction of target’s and (if available) on bidder’s stock prices. In addition, our extensive database allows to compare last year´s figures of these variables against the moving average of the preceding years and thus to highlight trends and long term developments. Finally, the finexpert German takeover report contains a unique and extensive analysis of Fairness Opinions and statements
of management and supervisory board of the target company (§27 WpÜG), allowing for a detailed analysis of the relationship of these factors upon target stock price reaction and success rates of the takeover bid. Along with the “traditional” success definitions of takeover offers, we analyze an alternative success measure that takes potential bidder toeholds into account.
In 2025, German public M&A activity was characterized by two distinct trends: The number of primary offers remained broadly stable, whereas the number of delisting offers declined by two-thirds. Due to the absence of large offers, the aggregate primary offer volume has dropped to COVID-19 levels (EUR 5.9 billion).
This report contains a detailed description of the takeover offer of Zalando SE for ABOUT YOU Holding SE from January 2025.
