United Internet

Logo of United Internet

United Internet is a listed company that offers Internet services. It is one of the largest of its kind in the German-speaking world and has an enormous reach with its Web.de and GMX portals. The Group's offering includes web hosting, cloud services, broadband connections and mobile phone contracts, including its own network infrastructure. The Group unites 16 brands at 40 locations worldwide and generates sales of over 6 billion euros (6.5 billion USD). Ralph Dommermuth laid the foundation stone in 1988 with the founding of 1&1 EDV-Marketing GmbH in Montabaur. Ten years later, the company went public as 1&1 Internet AG & Co. KGaA and finally changed its name to United Internet in 2000. This was followed by numerous takeovers under the umbrella of the holding company and an expansion of the business area to numerous countries in Europe and North America.

Key Facts

Business FormCommercial / For-profit
Legal FormCorporation (Aktiengesellschaft)
Business SectorsMobile communications; broadband; web hosting; domain registration; online advertising; e-mail services; cloud services

Ownership

Individual Owner
Group / Individual Owner
  • Bank of America

    Bank of America is one of the largest financial institutions in the United States and worldwide. It manages over USD 2.4 trillion in deposits and is considered one of the 30 systemically important banks worldwide. The bank offers a wide range of financial products and services for private customers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations. These include banking services, investment solutions and digital banking offerings, among other things.
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  • Philipp Dommermuth

    Philipp Dommermuth is the son of Ralph Dommermuth. He is the founder and owner of hi Immobilien GmbH, which offers property management services. He is also an investor in the construction of an outlet centre in Remscheid Lennep. His shares in United Internet AG are managed together with his father's shares by Ralph Dommermuth GmbH & Co. KG Beteiligungsgesellschaft.
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Media Outlets

Facts

Other Media BusinessesOnline advertising
  • United Internet Media GmbH (78.3%)
Other Domestic BusinessesBroadband and mobile communications
  • 1&1 AG (78%)
Telecommunications services for business customers
  • 1&1 Versatel GmbH (100%)
E-mail services and advertising marketing
  • 1&1 Mail & Media Applications SE (100%)
Webhosting
  • Ionos Group SE (63.8%)
Online marketing
  • Awin AG (20%)
Software solution
  • Open-XChange AG (25.3%)
Online Marketing
  • RankingCoach GmbH (31.5%)
  • uberall GmbH (25.1%)
Founding Year1988
Founder
  • Ralph Dommermuth
    He is co-founder and CEO of United Internet AG. Dommermuth began his professional career with an apprenticeship at Deutsche Bank and then worked for a PC retailer in his home town of Montabaur. It was there that he met Wendelin Abresch and founded 1&1 EDV Marketing GmbH with him. What was initially a marketing service provider grew into one of the largest Internet service providers in Europe. Through Ralph Dommermuth Beteiligungen GmbH, he holds shares in United Internet AG, but also in the football club Borussia Dortmund (5%) and property companies. In 2006, Dommermuth established the civil law foundation United Internet for UNICEF. He uses the reach of his GMX and Web.de portals to collect donations.
  • Wendelin Abresch
    Wendelin Abresch founded the marketing agency 1&1 EDV-Marketing GmbH, the forerunner of today's United Internet AG, together with Ralph Dommermuth in 1988. Abresch sold his shares and remained a member of the company's advisory board until 1994. In 2005, he founded Markenberatung Gesellschaft für Markenentwicklung und Marketingberatung GmbH & Co. KG and is its managing director.
Employees11,000
ContactElgendorfer Straße 57
56410 Montabaur
Germany
info@united-internet.de
+49 2602 / 96 - 1100
https://www.united-internet.de/
Tax / ID NumberDE149340676
Revenue€ 6.2 Billion / USD 6.7 Billion (2023)
Operating Profit€ 233 Million / USD 252 Million (2023)
Advertising (in % of total funding)Missing Data
Executive Board
  • Ralph Dommermuth
    Co-founder and CEO of United Internet AG. Dommermuth began his professional career with an apprenticeship at Deutsche Bank and then worked for a PC retailer in his home town of Montabaur. It was there that he met Wendelin Abresch and founded 1&1 EDV Marketing GmbH with him. What was initially a marketing service provider grew into one of the largest Internet service providers in Europe. Through Ralph Dommermuth Beteiligungen GmbH, he holds shares in United Internet AG, but also in the football club Borussia Dortmund (5%) and property companies. In 2006, Dommermuth established the civil law foundation United Internet for UNICEF. He uses the reach of his GMX and Web.de portals to collect donations.
  • Ralf Hartings
    has been Chief Financial Officer of United Internet AG since 2023. He has worked for companies such as Vodafone, Verizon Wireless, AOL and P&I AG. Prior to his current position, Ralf Hartings was CFO of 1&1 Mail & Media Applications SE since April 2021.
  • Markus Huhn
    has been a member of the Management Board of United Internet AG since 2023 and is Head of Shared Services. He has been part of the United Internet Group since 1994 and was Commercial Director until 2007 before becoming CFO in 2008. As a member of the Management Board of 1&1 Telecommunication SE, he has been responsible for Finance and Human Resources in the Consumer Access division since 2013. Since 1 July 2019, he has also been Chief Financial Officer of 1&1 AG.
Supervisory Board
  • Philipp von Bismarck
    an independent lawyer and managing partner of the investment firm Digital Transformation Capital Partners GmbH. He has been a member of the Supervisory Board since 2020.
  • Dr Manuel Cubero del Castillo-Olivares
    The doctor of physics previously held management positions at Kabel Deutschland and Vodafone. In addition to the Supervisory Board of United Internet, he is also a member of the Supervisory Board of Tele Columbus AG (in which United Internet AG holds an interest) and of the Nürnberg Institut für Marktentscheidung e. V.
  • Stefan Rasch
    Rasch is a member of the Supervisory Board and a Senior Advisor at Boston Consulting. In the 1990s, Rasch was a financial manager at Procter & Gamble for two years. He is also a member of the supervisory board of Fond of GmbH, a manufacturer of children's products in Cologne.
  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Söffing
    Söffing is a tax consultant and partner at Flicke Gocke Schaumburg. He has been a member of the Supervisory Board of United Internet since 2021 and also sits on the Supervisory Boards of Deutsche Oppenheim Family Office AG, the Institut der Steuerberater Hessen e. V., the software company Nemetschek SE and Capella GmbH.
  • Prof. Dr. Yasmin Mei-Yee Weiß
    The business administration professor has been a member of the Supervisory Board of United Internet since 2020 and also sits on the following supervisory boards: Zeppelin GmbH, Friedrichshafen, Bayerische Beamten Lebensversicherung AG, BLG Logistics Group AG & Co. KG and the German Publishers & Booksellers Association.
  • Prof. Dr. Franca Ruhwedel
    The professor of finance and accounting at the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences also sits on the supervisory boards of Media and Games Invest SE, thyssenkrupp nucera AG & Co. KGaA and National-Bank AG in Essen.
Headlines
Active Transparency
company/channel informs proactively and comprehensively about its ownership, data is constantly updated and easily verifiable
Meta DataThe average exchange rate for 2023 was used for the conversion into USD.
Sources