Drake Star Acts as Exclusive Financial Advisor to RYSM Founders, Benjamin Minack & Andreas Nickel, on their Management Buyout from Hirschen Group

Berlin | August 27, 2026 – Communications agency RYSM becomes fully owner-managed: as part of a management buyout, RYSM’s founders, Benjamin Minack and Andreas Nickel, are acquiring Hirschen Group's shares in RYSM. The agency group, which employs 250 people across six locations and was founded in 2009 as a seven-person Berlin agency called Ressourcenmangel, is now opening the next chapter in its growth and success story.

Drake Star acted as Exclusive Financial Advisor to RYSM’s founders, Benjamin Minack & Andreas Nickel, on this transaction.

"17 years ago, we decided to become part of Hirschen Group. In hindsight, that was one of the best entrepreneurial decisions we could have made," said Benjamin Minack and Andreas Nickel, RYSM’s founders. "Together, we built a Berlin agency into a corporate group with more than 250 colleagues across six locations. For that, we are very grateful to Bernd Heusinger, Marcel Loko and everyone at Hirschen Group. Now we look forward to making all entrepreneurial decisions ourselves, with all the creative freedom and speed that brings. We are very pleased that this step has been possible on an amicable and fair basis. This was achieved with the support of our financial advisor, the Drake Star team led by Julian Riedlbauer, who guided us throughout the process."

As a full-service agency, RYSM intends to further expand its position in consulting, strategy, creative and integrated communications – as well as in its RYSM Integral business unit, which delivers solutions for digitally operating organizations.

The share acquisition comes at a time of fundamental change in the communications industry. "Artificial intelligence is accelerating many processes; clients are reorganizing communications and investing more specifically in consulting, creativity and specialized expertise. In such a market, entrepreneurial freedom and fast decisions matter more than ever," emphasized Minack and Nickel.

Julian Riedlbauer, Partner at Drake Star and deal team lead, added: "We are proud to have advised Benjamin Minack and Andreas Nickel on this transaction. It reflects their confidence in RYSM's platform and their ambition to shape its next chapter as independent owners. Full ownership, independent of a large group, gives founders the speed and flexibility they need in a communications market that is being reshaped by AI and changing client demands. We wish the entire RYSM team continued success."

Drake Star team: Julian Riedlbauer, Jannis Grimm, Konstantin Stöhr, Raphael Berger

Inquiries

For further inquiries, please contact:

Julian Riedlbauer

Partner | Drake Star

julian.riedlbauer@drakestar.com

About RYSM

RYSM is an owner-managed communications agency with more than 250 colleagues at six locations in Germany. The group is led by its founders Andreas Nickel and Benjamin Minack. The agency's clients include DHL, ECE, Subway, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, AOK Rheinland-Hamburg, the DAAD, the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung), and the German Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Verband der forschenden Arzneimittelunternehmen).

The team delivers strategy and execution, communicative narratives and idea development, digital concepting and implementation. Under the banner "Creative solutions, excellently executed," RYSM brings together the best experts in their field for contemporary, connected communications. The predecessor agency ressourcenmangel was named Communications Consultancy of the Year 2024, and Benjamin Minack was named Agency Personality of the Year 2025. The group, with offices in Berlin, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Dresden and Gütersloh, has officially operated under the name RYSM since February 2, 2026.

For more information, visit: www.rysm.com.

About Hirschen Group

Hirschen Group is an owner-managed agency group and entrepreneur platform. In total, Hirschen Group employs more than 550 people across five locations in Germany. The group is led by founders Bernd Heusinger and Marcel Loko together with Hans Langguth. In addition to the six agencies of the founding brand Zum goldenen Hirschen, the group also includes the agencies Freunde des Hauses, Health Angels and Hype Hart. The group ranks among the top 5 owner-managed agencies by annual revenue in the German-speaking region.

It is an independent agency group within the worldwide communications network WPP. Hirschen Group serves more than 300 clients, including ADAC, AIDA Cruises, ALDI, Amazon, Bosch, Buderus, Bundesdruckerei, Dräger, Essity, Freenet, the General Directorate of Customs (Generalzolldirektion), Hansgrohe, Ipsen Pharma, Kaufland, L'Oréal, RheinEnergie, Segmüller, OBI, Wilkinson, Würth, as well as several federal and state ministries. All agencies within the group follow the shared Impact First strategy. They develop concrete communications offerings and solutions tailored precisely to their clients' challenges. Flexible teams bring strategy, technology and execution together in an integrated way, creating measurable added value and tangible benefit for clients.

For more information, visit: www.hirschen-group.com.

About Drake Star

Drake Star is an award-winning global tech investment bank that has completed over 500 transactions since 2003. The Drake Star global team of experienced professionals and senior advisors across offices in New York, Munich, London, Paris, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berlin, West Palm Beach and Dubai* focuses on mergers & acquisitions and corporate finance services worldwide in Software/SaaS, Artificial Intelligence, HR Tech, Digital Services, FinTech, Digital Media, Industrial Tech, Consumer & Retail Tech and Mobility & Sustainability.

Drake Star is the marketing name for the global investment bank Drake Star Partners Limited and its subsidiaries and affiliates. In the USA, all securities are transacted through Drake Star Securities LLC. In the USA, Drake Star Securities LLC is regulated by FINRA and is a member of SIPC. Drake Star UK Limited (FRN 942020) is an appointed representative of Razlin Ltd (FRN 730805), which is authorized and regulated by the FCA. © 2026 Drake Star Partners Limited.

*Partner Office