European-American investment company to buy Artnet and take it private

Beowolff Capital Management Ltd, an investment company founded by ex-Goldman Sachs partner Andrew Wolff, has acquired 65% of the shares in the online data company Artnet. The investment company already owns a majority stake in Artsy and aims to create a “portfolio of market-leading companies to enhance scale and drive collaboration and profitability,” according to a press release.

The voluntary takeover offer values Artnet at around €65m, at €11.25 per share. When completed, the deal will take the company private. Currently a publicly-quoted company on the German stock exchange, Artnet was founded in 1989 by Hans Neuendorf, who retired earlier this year; its chief executive is his son-in-law Jacob Pabst, one of multiple Neuendorf family members employed by the company.

Crucial to the transaction was the acquisition of shares from the German shareholder Rüdiger Weng, who held just under 30%, representing slightly over 1.7 million shares.

“We are receiving about €20m, it is a wonderful deal, it helps in the current weak art market – we are now cash rich,” Weng told The Art Newspaper. A long-time critic of the management of Artnet, Weng added he has “exited for now, but will come back later as a shareholder”.

Weng said that Wolff would be combining Artnet and Artsy and might acquire more; “In order to monetise these companies, you need a bigger structure”, he says.

Jan Petzel, chief investment officer of Beowolff Capital, said in a statement: “Artnet represents a compelling opportunity that aligns perfectly with our goal of building an interconnected art market. The strength of the Artnet brand and scale of its global reach are significant, and we intend to further develop and enhance its value proposition.”

Claiming 67 million unique users annually, Artnet is the largest global platform for fine art, notably its price database, which tracks international auction results going back decades. As for Artsy, it claims 600,000 registered users and 2.5 million monthly visits; both sites offer editorial content and reports on the art market as well as art for sale. Launched with the intention of being the “Amazon of the art world,” according to founder Carter Cleveland, Artsy initially attracted $50m in early funding from investors such as Larry Gagosian, Wendi Deng Murdoch and Dasha Zhukova.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Beowolff Capital on this exciting next phase of growth,” said Artsy chief executive Jeffrey Yin. “We look forward to continuing to support our partners and collectors as we invest in products that make it easier than ever to discover and buy works of art.”