Gauselmann Group officially rebrands as Merkur Group

The German gaming group’s holding company Gauselmann AG will now operate under the new name Merkur.com AG.

The renaming was completed on 1 January, with the entry in the commercial register now amended.

The ownership structure of the business unit will remain unchanged. The unit was founded in 1980 as a holding company to provide central services for businesses within the Gauselmann Group.

The change comes 67 years after the foundation of the Gauselmann Group and half a century since the Merkur brand was introduced in the 1970s.

“The corporate group is becoming increasingly digital and international. The change of name reflects this fact,” said Paul Gauselmann, the group’s founder and chairman of the management board. “Both developments will benefit from linking the appeal of our Merkur brand to the company name.

“Continuity and stability are cornerstones of our corporate philosophy and will continue to be important factors for success going forward.”

Merkur brand harmonisation

The change was announced in September and officially completed on 1 January 2024. Gauselmann AG is the latest business unit to adopt the Merkur name as part of what the group described as brand “harmonisation”. In March 2022, the adp Gauselmann GmbH subsidiary was renamed adp Merkur GmbH.

Gauselmann introduced the Merkur B amusement with prizes (AWP) machine in the 1970s and later opened its first arcade, Merkur Spielothek. Since then, numerous games, machines and gaming systems have been developed, produced and distributed under the laughing sun brand logo.