London-based Beowolff Capital has made a public offering to take over financially struggling art giant Artnet AG.
If Beowolff Capital, managed by investor Andrew Evan Wolff, succeeds in the negotiations, it would make the company private after nearly two decades of being publicly listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany. Right now, the Artnet AG stock is trading at €11.25 – a sharp increase since May 26th after hovering around €9.50 mark for almost a month. It is also almost double its lowest dip this year on March 3rd.
For quite some time, Artnet has been facing financial struggles. In 2023, the company reported a loss of €1.9 million. In 2024, the company reportedly had only half the liquidity as the previous year and had only around 500,000 euros in cash. Reportedly, the media division of the company was the worst performer, bringing in only $162,000 in revenues last year. Despite a huge user base of over 60 million, Artnet saw a decline of 7 percent in revenues in the first half of 2024.
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A takeover by Beowolff Capital might bring the much-needed stability as the company would move to private ownership. Over 65 percent of the general stakeholders and Weng Fine Art AG (one of the largest stakeholders in the company) are already on boardwith the decision. The acquisition is in line with Andrew Wolff’s plan to be more proactive in the art sector. He had previously acquired Artsy, another major art marketplace. With Artnet in his bag, Wolff would have a near-monopoly on the digital art marketplace.
