DuMont secures the future of Kölnische Rundschau with support from Deloitte Legal

A Deloitte Legal team led by the partners Dr Michael von Rüden and Dirk Hänisch advised DuMont on the separation of its joint business activities with Heinen-Verlag.

As of 1 April 2026, DuMont has assumed editorship of Kölnische Rundschau (KR) and, with it, editorial responsibility. By doing so, the company is securing the long-term future of the long-established daily newspaper as an independent media brand. At the same time, DuMont subsidiary Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Medien is expanding its digital business and creating more than 30 new jobs for this purpose.

DuMont and Heinen-Verlag have collaborated in the daily newspaper sector since 1998. Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Medien has been responsible for the publishing operations of KR, while Heinen-Verlag has provided the editorial content. In future, KR will be integrated into the regional structure of Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Medien. This will allow it to benefit from shared production processes and a unified newsroom — an environment that will strengthen and secure its long-term future.

Additionally, Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Medien is acquiring Heinen-Verlag’s shares in Rheinische Redaktionsgemeinschaft (RRG), which has supplied content for the majority of the Kölnische Rundschau's and Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger's regional and local sections since 2014. This will ensure that regional reporting continues reliably and sustainably in the future.

Dr Christoph Bauer, CEO of DuMont, said: Kölnische Rundschau is an important voice for the region. We are now putting the structures in place so that it can continue to fulfil its journalistic role strongly and successfully in the future.'

About DuMont:

DuMont Media Group, headquartered in Cologne, is a family-owned German media company now in its twelfth generation of leadership. With its three business divisions - Regional Media, Business Information, and Marketing Technology - DuMont is on a path of digital growth. In addition, the group includes DuMont Buchverlag, one of Germany’s most successful book publishers, which publishes literature, non-fiction, and illustrated non-fiction.

Legal Advisors to DuMont Media Group

Deloitte Legal Germany: Dr. Michael von Rüden (Co-Lead, Partner), Dirk Hänisch (Co-Lead, Partner), Maximilian Giepmann (Associate), and Victoria Zahn (Associate), all Corporate/M&A, all based in Düsseldorf