French media group Webedia – which houses several leading entertainment and lifestyle websites – has acquired a majority stake in the capital of Middle East digital media company Diwanee. The deal entails a five-million dollar investment by Webedia into Diwanee, which will be used by the latter to accelerate its product innovation, development, improvement, and vertical diversification. It will enable Diwanee to advance its content creation capabilities, high-quality digital video production, and technologies.
Founded in 2009, Diwanee – operating in Beirut, Belgrade, and Dubai – has grown a portfolio encompassing premium vertical sites, including luxury, lifestyle and women portals 3a2ilati, Yasmina, Atyab Tabkha, and Mooda, which bring in a total of five million monthly unique visitors – with most of their strategic audience located in the GCC region.
Commenting on the acquisition, Hervé Cuviliez, CEO and founding partner of Diwanee, said in a statement: “the acquisition of the majority of the capital by Webedia will enable us to reinforce Diwanee’s position as a leader in the digital media sector, to lead innovation and to accelerate its development providing the highest quality content and state-of-the- art technology and advertising solutions.”
Meanwhile, Guillaume Multrier, co-founder of Webedia, commented on the transaction : “Diwanee has all the elements of a successful player in the digital media space, a solid business model, strong management and a growing market segment. The capital injection is exactly what they needed to realize their potential. For Webedia, thanks to this operation, we are strengthening our position as a leader among digital media companies and continue with the Group’s development internationally”.
