Wort & Bild takes majority of Looping One as a new generation takes charge
In Germany, a long-standing investor has become the majority owner of the agency it backed. Wort & Bild Verlag, the publisher of health magazine Apotheken Umschau, is buying most of Looping One, the agency arm of the Looping Group, from founders Dominik Wichmann and Robin Houcken.
The founders stay on as minority shareholders and strategic investors. Percentages and price were not disclosed, and the handover is planned for the turn of the year.
Who runs it now
Michael Wingendorf, who has been with the business for eight years and has led the agency unit and Looping One Health since 2023, becomes sole managing director. turi2 describes him as home-grown talent. HORIZONT reports Looping One has around 70 staff across Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.
Wort & Bild is no stranger to the business. It has been an investor in the Looping Group since 2021 and already runs Looping One Health with it as a joint venture. Managing director Andreas Arntzen called the investment a stroke of luck and thanked the founders for their courage and foresight, turi2 reports.
The founders' next chapter
Wichmann and Houcken keep the publishing side, Beautiful Minds Media, home of Madame, Glamour and Monsieur, which will be legally separated from the agency. They also oversee newer publisher Open Minds Media.
It is a neat example of a staged exit. An investor comes in for a minority stake, works alongside the agency through a joint venture, and later buys control once a successor is ready to lead.