heise acquires Mindfactory: Federal Cartel Office gives green light

The heise group is acquiring hardware retailer Mindfactory as planned. The handover will take place on July 31, 2025, after which the company will be renamed heise mindfactory GmbH. The German Federal Cartel Office has not raised any objections. The Mindfactory brand name will be retained, and there will be virtually no changes for customers.

Heise has appointed Marcel Kirchner, who has been working at Mindfactory for almost 16 years as purchasing manager, as the new managing director. He holds a 3.57 percent stake in the company. The Wilhelmshaven location, all employees, and customer relationships will be retained.

Customers who made purchases from Mindfactory before its insolvency will continue to receive support from heise mindfactory GmbH in the future. Managing Director Ansgar Heise says: “heise will not leave Mindfactory customers in limbo with complaints; complaints will be accepted.”

Mindfactory operates independently

The editorial teams of the heise group, including heise online and c't, will remain independent of the new retail division. The same applies to the price comparison sites Geizhals and guenstiger, which are majority-owned by heise. Mindfactory will not receive preferential treatment there.

Ansgar Heise says: “Both the editorial teams and Geizhals will remain independent. We will not squander the high level of trust we have built up with our readers and customers. That would be neither morally nor rationally consistent with our values. We see great opportunities in the takeover and will not jeopardize our relationships with retailers.”

Neither heise nor Mindfactory have commented on the purchase price of the hardware retailer.

Mindfactory is sending emails to customers to inform them about the sale to heise. Those who do not object will retain their customer accounts and can continue to order online as usual.

(mma)