The German Association of Journalists called the insolvency administrator's decision a "catastrophe for editors and freelance journalists". DAPD employs 175 people. The Berlin-based news agency filed for insolvency for the second time in five months at the beginning of March (Werbewoche.ch reported). Journalist Ulrich Ende took over DAPD on February 1, but was then left in the lurch by partner investors, according to his own statements. DAPD and its predecessor agency DDP had gone bankrupt a total of four times in the company's 42-year history.

Regret in the media industry

The end of Germany's second-largest news agency was greeted with regret in the media industry. The Federal Chairman of the German Journalists' Association DJV, Michael Konken, called the insolvency administrator's decision a "catastrophe for the editors and freelance journalists at DAPD". The agency scene in Germany will become poorer with the end of DAPD: "This is a loss for media diversity in our country."

Cornelia Hass, Federal Managing Director of the German Journalists' Union DJU in the trade union verdi, spoke of a "consequence of irresponsible business management". The DJV and DJU unanimously called on other agencies to take on former DAPD editors. They also accused the former dapd owners Peter Löw and Martin Vorderwülbecke of a "kamikaze course", "which ultimately led to a total loss". They had tried to "stir up the agency market with dumping offers, then fled before the personal crash landing and left the employees to their fate". (SDA)

It was only at the beginning of February that an investment company founded by former N24 managing director Ulrich Ende took over the business of DAPD. The news agency first filed for insolvency at the beginning of October (Werbewoche.ch reported). In the course of the insolvency proceedings, around one hundred of the almost 300 employees were made redundant. Several customers terminated their contracts. Ulrich Ende wanted to make a fresh start together with investors. (SDA)
 

Melanie Ahlemeier, a member of the DAPD's editorial team, confirmed on Friday that the DAPD has now dropped the lawsuit, according to the German media blog Meedia. The hearing before a New York court scheduled for December 18 has been canceled. The DAPD is likely to have received financial compensation as part of the out-of-court settlement, according to the Meedia blog. Ahlemeier did not wish to comment on this information. The DAPD editorial team was surprised by the latest development.

DAPD will lose its AP license at the end of January 2013 as a result of the out-of-court settlement. While this license was described as life insurance for DAPD some time ago, it is now said that DAPD could make it without the AP license. DAPD filed for insolvency on October 2, 2012. Shortly afterwards, AP terminated its license to supply the German news agency with texts and images. At the same time, AP concluded a license agreement with the market leader dpa.

SDA is looking for solutions for Switzerland

The DAPD had ceded the rights for the distribution of AP texts in Switzerland to the Swiss Press Agency SDA. SDA is now looking for solutions with the new rights holder DPA in order to be able to continue to offer SDA customers AP reports around the clock.

Meanwhile, the sell-off in the DAPD Group continues. After DDP Direct (distribution of original text messages) and the French SIPA Group, the holding company HQTA, the former DAPD Media Holding, is now also selling off the picture agency DDP Images. The two managing directors of DDP Images, Katharina Doerk and Ulf Schmidt-Funke, are taking over the picture agency. HQTA will retain Airmotion, which distributes news about car on-board systems. HQTA works together with the Daimler car company. (SDA)

This move comes two and a half years after the AP's Swiss German office was closed. HQTA, to which the news agency DAPD belongs, justifies the redundancies with economic reasons, namely the loss of Tamedia Publications Romandes as an important customer.

Impressum was shocked by the "brutality" of the measure. "It simply results in the closure of an agency that plays an important role in the diversity of the press in Switzerland," the communiqué states. The union recalled the social responsibility of those involved. Every effort is being made to support the journalists affected in their job search.

Depositing the balance sheet

DAPD and six other subsidiaries declared themselves insolvent at the beginning of October and filed for insolvency at a Berlin district court. This affected 299 out of 515 employees. DAPD was formed in summer 2010 from the two news agencies DAPD and DDP. The two investors Peter Löw and Martin Vorderwülbecke, owners of Deutscher Depeschendienst (DDP), had bought the German-language service of the US news agency AP in December 2009 and merged the two companies to form DAPD.

DAPD has expanded rapidly in recent years. In May 2011, DAPD took over the press agency Sipa in France. For its part, Sipa acquired AP's French-language service in the summer of 2012, including the editorial office in French-speaking Switzerland. Sipa described this as an important step. In February 2010, the Swiss News Agency (SDA) took over the German DDP text services and the DDP's foreign news service (DADP) for distribution in Switzerland. In return, DDP received the license to distribute the SDA services in its markets (SDA).
 

The shareholders have discontinued further financing. Six other DAPD subsidiaries are to follow suit on Thursday, including the sports service that was only launched last year, according to staff. A total of 299 out of 515 employees are affected. The holding company DAPD Media and the other 18 companies in the group are not affected by the insolvency, the company announced.

Insolvency expert Wolf von der Fecht has been appointed managing director of the insolvent companies. By the end of November, he is to examine whether the company can be restructured and continued and look for new investors. DAPD's business continued unchanged.

DAPD was created in summer 2010 from the two news agencies DAPD and DDP. The two investors Peter Löw and Martin Vorderwülbecke, owners of Deutscher Depeschendienst (DDP), had bought the German-language service of the US news agency Associated Press (AP) in December 2009 and merged the two companies to form DAPD.

On February 1, 2010, the Swiss News Agency (SDA) took over the German DDP text services and the foreign news service of the DDP agency (DAPD) for distribution in Switzerland. In return, DDP received the license to distribute the SDA services in its markets.

DAPD has expanded rapidly in recent years. In May 2011, DAPD took over the press agency Sipa in France. For its part, Sipa joined AP's French-language service in the summer of 2012, including the editorial office in French-speaking Switzerland. Sipa described this as an important step.

The restructuring expert von der Fecht announced that dapd would continue news production as usual during the provisional insolvency proceedings. Customers will receive the usual service with the same scope and quality. (SDA)

The agency DAPD is taking over the French Diora News via its existing subsidiary Sipa News, as the company announced on Thursday. Although the purchase price has not been officially announced, it is between 1 and 5 million euros, according to the German business newspaper Handelsblatt.

Diora News supplies the French and African markets and its clients include the mobile communications provider Orange. Founded in 1999, the agency and its 16 employees specialize in real-time news updates.

It was only at the end of March that DAPD announced that it was taking over AP's French-language service. It intends to offer a nationwide domestic service in France as soon as possible. DAPD was created in 2009 after the German news service (ddp) acquired AP's German-language service and the two agencies merged. In summer 2011, dapd acquired the photo agency SIPA Press in France. (SDA/AFP)

Together with AP France, DAPD is also acquiring the worldwide rights to the French-language AP services. This was announced by the DAPD Group on Thursday in Berlin, according to SDA. According to its own information, DAPD is now the largest AP partner worldwide following the purchase of AP Germany in December 2009. The price that DAPD is paying the US Associated Press for its French subsidiary was not disclosed.
 
The new owners of AP France now want to expand the domestic service into a nationwide reporting service. Martin Vorderwülbecke, Chairman of the Board of Directors of DAPD, was quoted in the communiqué as saying that the successful merger of DDP and AP Germany had encouraged the company to take similar steps in France.
 
AP France also includes AP's editorial office in French-speaking Switzerland. A total of six journalists currently work for it in Lausanne and Bern.
 

DAPD views the takeover as a strategic investment to expand its European network, explained DAPD co-owner Peter Löw on Monday. According to SDA, the new owners have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. Sipa Press delivers 6,000 images a day to more than 40 countries and has historical archives.

The news agency group DAPD, with a turnover of 27 million euros, supplies around 700 customers with news in text, image and video formats. The German group emerged from the merger of the news agency DDP and the former German service of the US agency Associated Press (AP). (SDA)