IVG

What IVG does

Verlagsgruppe Industrie- und Handelsverlag GmbH & Co KG (IVG) is a privately held German publishing group operating in the business-directory and electronic-publishing segment. The company runs a database-driven directory platform anchored by firmenregister.de, a nationwide company database of approximately 1 million German companies with editorially maintained content updated monthly, plus a network of 55 regional @dressbuch portals covering metropolitan regions including Hamburg, Bremen/Oldenburg, Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen, Frankfurt/Rhine-Main, Schleswig-Holstein, and additional cities across southern and eastern Germany. Each portal offers alphabetical and industry-based search, a route planner, company location mapping, and listings spanning local businesses, public authorities, emergency contacts, and professional services. The platform exposes both free consumer-facing search and paid business-side listings.

The business operates on a multi-tier SMB listing model with entry fees of EUR 190 (Basis), EUR 290 (Basis Plus), and EUR 390 (Basis Plus Premium), typically sold on multi-year contracts, plus premium add-on modules: Webvisitenkarte (web visit card on hover), TopRanking (guaranteed top-5 placement for a city or industry keyword, sold on a transaction basis), and banner advertising priced per placement. CD-ROM distribution of firmenregister.de to all German Industry and Commerce Chambers (IHKs) provides an institutional channel layered on top of direct self-serve web ordering and a field-sales organization that recruits Gebietsleiter (territory managers) and commission-based Handelsvertreter (independent sales agents) across five metropolitan regions. The company is led by Managing Director (Geschäftsführerin) Svea Makowka, operates with 1-10 employees from Tarmstedt/Heeslingen in Lower Saxony, and is structured as a GmbH & Co KG with a holding Komplementär entity; it carries no external investors, no funding rounds, and no public listing.

Name

IVG

Legal name

Verlagsgruppe Industrie- und Handelsverlag GmbH & Co KG

Website

https://industrieundhandelsverlag.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1944

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IVG operates firmenregister.de and a network of 55 regional @dressbuch portals covering major German metropolitan regions, providing searchable business directory listings and premium placement services to German SMBs and B2B decision-makers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Heeslingen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Premium Directory Listings: Tiered subscription-style fees for enhanced business directory entries including logo placement, web visit cards (appearing on hover), TopRanking positions (guaranteed top 5 placement), and additional category assignments.
2. Advertising (Banner): Banner advertising placements over specific industries or locations, includes basic alphabetical and category listing entry.
3. CD-ROM Distribution: Sale and distribution of firmenregister.de CD-ROM to Industry and Commerce Chambers (IHKs) and key decision-makers. Growing order volumes.
4. Keyword Ranking: Limited keyword-based ranking positions for premium visibility in search results.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

IVG (Verlagsgruppe Industrie- und Handelsverlag) operates the firmenregister.de nationwide company database of approximately 1 million German companies and a network of 55 regional online address book portals (@dressbücher) covering metropolitan regions such as Hamburg, Bremen, Hannover, Frankfurt, and Schleswig-Holstein. The company sells premium directory listings (with logos, web visit cards, TopRanking placements) and banner advertising, while offering free basic search access to consumers and B2B decision-makers. CD-ROM products are distributed to all German Industry and Commerce Chambers (IHKs).

Product overview

IVG (Verlagsgruppe Industrie- und Handelsverlag) is a German publishing group offering a unified platform-plus-modules architecture centered on business directory products. The core offering consists of the Firmenregister.de nationwide company database (~1 million companies) and the @dressbuch network of 55 regional online address books covering metropolitan areas across Germany. Add-on modules include Webvisitenkarte (web business cards) in three tiers (Basis, Basis Plus, Basis Plus Premium), TopRanking premium placement, and banner advertising. The company historically published print and CD-ROM products but has transitioned to digital-first operations since 1999, maintaining B2B focus with products distributed to German Chambers of Industry and Commerce.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Firmenregister.de: Online business register database - formerly 'Firmenhandbuch der deutschen Länder' - offering free nationwide search of approximately 1 million companies by address, product, and keyword criteria with monthly editorial updates
• @dressbuch
• Media Group (Mediengruppe)

Products and services

• Firmenregister.de Nationwide German company address database offering online search of approximately 1 million companies by address, product, keyword, and communication criteria, with editorially maintained content updated monthly and distributed via CD-ROM to all German IHKs.
• @dressbuch Hamburg Regional online business directory for the Hamburg metropolitan region covering businesses, authorities, emergency numbers, pharmacy on-call services, lawyers, notaries, tax consultants, and doctors, with integrated route planner and company location mapping.
• @dressbuch Bremen Regional online business directory for the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan region featuring alphabetical search, industry register with product information, homepage links, and integrated route planner.
• @dressbuch Frankfurt Regional online business directory for the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main metropolitan region providing business listings, government information, and professional service directories.
• @dressbuch Hannover Regional online business directory for the Hannover economic region covering Braunschweig and Göttingen with business, professional services, and public authority information.
• Regional City Address Books (55 Internet Portals) Network of 55 regional online business directories covering cities across German federal states, with alphabetical search, industry registers, product information, homepage links, route planning, and business location mapping.
• firmenregister.de CD-ROM CD-ROM edition of the firmenregister.de database distributed to all German Industry and Commerce Chambers (IHKs) and key decision-makers for offline access to the company registry.

Quantifiable outcome

• ~1 million companies in searchable database
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• German Industry and Commerce Chambers (IHK)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStrategic distribution partnership where IVG provides firmenregister.de CD-ROM products to all German Industry and Commerce Chambers (IHKs). The CD-ROM is distributed to chamber members and key decision-makers, providing broad institutional reach for the database content.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Hotfrog: Smaller international business directory with a German presence. Comparable business model to IVG but with weaker brand recognition and smaller curated database.

Broad incumbents

• Yelp: Global online directory with reviews and business listings. Operates in Germany and competes with IVG for SMB visibility budgets, though with a stronger consumer-review focus.
• Dun & Bradstreet: Global leader in business data and commercial directories. Operates a broader, enterprise-grade data offering that overlaps with IVG's firmenregister.de but at a much larger scale.
• LinkedIn (Company Directory): B2B professional network with extensive company directory functionality. Overlaps with IVG's B2B decision-maker discovery use case, particularly for professionals seeking purchasing contacts.
• Google Business Profile: Free business listing and discovery platform integrated with Google Search and Maps. The dominant modern alternative to paid directory listings and the primary structural threat to IVG's premium positioning.

Direct peers

• Wer liefert was (wlw.de): Leading German B2B sourcing and supplier directory. Comparable to IVG in serving B2B decision-makers seeking German suppliers, though more focused on industrial sourcing.
• Das Örtliche: Long-established German local business directory with both print and online editions. Directly comparable to IVG's @dressbuch regional portals in serving consumer/business local discovery.
• Gelbe Seiten (Yellow Pages Germany): Germany's leading printed and digital business directory operated by Deutsche Telekom / Yandex–sourced operator. Competes head-to-head with IVG for German SMB directory listings and B2B visibility.
• Kompass: European B2B directory with significant presence in Germany. Directly comparable in compiling and selling access to structured company databases for lead generation.
• 11880.com (11880 Solutions): German telephone inquiry and business directory service with strong digital presence. Competes with IVG's directory listings and serves similar SMB advertising customers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IVG