Colo­gne — Venture capi­tal inves­tor Endeit Capi­tal and Tengel­mann Ventures invest $34 million in Chron­ext AG, an emer­ging online portal for luxury watches.

Partech Ventures, Capna­mic Ventures, NRW.BANK, InVen­ture Part­ners and Octo­pus Vent ures most recently inves­ted 11 million euros in 2016 in the young company, which is based in Zug, Switz­er­land, in London and in Colo­gne. Previously, around more than $5 million had alre­ady flowed into the watch store, which was laun­ched in 2013. Chron­ext compe­tes in the watch segment with compa­nies such as Chrono24, Horando, Mont­redo and Watch­mas­ter, among others. Chrono24 alre­ady raised 21 million euros in 2015.

Endeit Capi­tal is a VC inves­tor based in Amster­dam and Hamburg that provi­des growth capi­tal to young tech­no­logy companies.

Since 2009, Tengel­mann Ventures has inves­ted in more than 50 compa­nies and is one of the leading venture capi­tal inves­tors in Germany. Many of these compa­nies have become global play­ers and market leaders in their respec­tive market segments. The focus is on early and later stage invest­ments in the areas of consu­mer inter­net, market­places and technology.

CHRONEXT AG (www.chronext.com) was foun­ded in 2013 by Phil­ipp Man and Ludwig Wurlit­zer. The leading e‑commerce company for luxury watches has opened its first store in London, employs around 100 people and has a 250 sqm watch work­shop for quality and authen­ti­city test­ing. With a head office in Zug (Switz­er­land) and further offices in London and Colo­gne, the company is inter­na­tio­nally posi­tio­ned and ensu­res a fast and secure service. CHRONEXT simpli­fies the comple­xi­ties of the watch market and enables a unique buying experience.

Advi­sors to Endeit Capi­tal: CMS Germany
A cross-border team led by Dr. Malte Bruhns and Dr. Stephan Werlen provi­ded legal advice to Endeit Capi­tal. In addi­tion to Endeit Capi­tal and Tengel­mann Ventures, exis­ting inves­tors inclu­ding Partech Ventures, Capna­mic Ventures and Octo­pus Ventures parti­ci­pa­ted in the $34 million finan­cing round. CMS has acted for Endeit Capi­tal on seve­ral occa­si­ons in the past.
Dr. Malte Bruhns, Lead Part­ner, Stephan Weling, Senior Asso­ciate, both Corporate/M&A
CMS Switz­er­land: Dr. Stephan Werlen, Part­ner, Corporate/M&A