Buyer found for German distributor KNV

Berlin-based logistics service provider Zeitfracht has stepped in to secure the future of bankrupt KNV, Germany’s largest wholesaler and distributor.

The German book industry heaved a collective sigh of relief yesterday (Wednesday 26 June) when it was announced that beleaguered book wholesaler KNV has found a buyer. Zeitfracht bought KNV, which went into receivership in February, as a going concern with its three locations in Stuttgart, Leipzig and Erfurt and various subsidiaries, including distributor LKG which was originally not part of the bankruptcy filing. 

Financial details were not disclosed. The deal needs to be approved by the competition authorities and the creditor banks. 

Zeitfracht, a family-owned business focused on national and international distribution, special shipping and freight as well as passenger air transport, said KNV's 1,600-strong workforce will be taken on in full. 

KNV managing partner Oliver Voerster, whose family has run KNV for six generations, is going to resign from the board once formalities are completed.

Administrator Tobias Wahl has held talks with a number of interested parties in recent months, but Zeitfracht had always been among the frontrunners. Its proposal won out because it was the best offer in both "economic and personal aspects." Wahl called Zeitfracht “an ideal buyer” and “the perfect match for KNV”. Adding that by bundling the know-how and using the respective strength of both sides “strong synergies can be realised”.

KNV stocks more than 590.000 available titles from over 5000 publishers as well as 54.000 foreign-language books and 1,3 million German and foreign-language e-books. It delivers daily to 4.200 bookstores in Germany, plus another 800 in Austria and Switzerland. In 2014 it opened a state-of-the-art logistic centre covering 170.000 square metres and costing €150m in Erfurt in east Germany which Zeitfracht also intends to use for its operation in the future. 

Germany has grown into an important export market for trade and academic publishers in the UK, and the news that a buyer has been found will be greeted with relief. Gardners has built close ties with KNV, having extended its cooperation with the wholesaler in 2015 to include express delivery of 400.000 English-language titles into the German-speaking markets.