Thieme has agreed to acquire 100% of Relias DE from Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA, according to a LinkedIn post by a Thieme executive. The agreement was signed last week, the post said. The proposed merger is subject to antitrust approval, and closing is expected in Q4 2026. The amount was not disclosed in the sources.
Relias Germany and Thieme both provide digital training and lifelong learning solutions to nurses and other healthcare professionals, according to the post. Together, the companies would serve more than 1 million nurses across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the post said.
The post described the proposed transaction as a unique opportunity for Thieme to double down on its commitment to nursing professionals, and said the acquisition would mark one of the largest transactions in Thieme's 140-year history.
The news was shared with the Relias and Thieme teams in Berlin, Stuttgart, Schwerin and across Germany, according to the post. Adrian Thiessen, who the post said has built Relias Germany with his team over the past years, will stay on board post-closing, and the author said he looks forward to leading the integration with him.
The post credited the core deal team of Dietmar Scheja, Elmar Weber, Lucie Volquartz and Michael Munz, and thanked Joana Hauff and Albrecht Hauff, who lead Thieme as fourth- and fifth-generation family entrepreneurs. It also thanked Benedikt Dalkmann and the Bertelsmann Education Group team for the way the process was navigated.