EXCLUSIVE: We had previously speculated that New York-based Fotolog would be the next one to get acquired. And we were right. It has been acquired by Hi Media, a Paris-based interactive media company for roughly $90 million — a combination of cash and stock, according to well-placed sources. The announcement is likely to be made later today.
Hi-Media is Europe’s third-ranked interactive advertising agency and also a provider of electronic micro-payment solutions in France. This deal makes them one of the largest pure-play Internet companies in Europe. Fotolog CEO John Borthwick explained to us that Hi Media management believes that it can better monetize the traffic on Fotolog, and it also add a publishing-element to their over all business.
The deal, while not as rich as Fox Interactive’s $250 million buyout of Photobucket, is a darn good exit for a company that has been flying under the radar in the U.S. There were rumors that some Latin American acquirers were taking a hard look at Fotolog and the price tag was north of $100 million. Fotolog was started in May 2002, and since then has grown rapidly — in Europe and Latin America — and is one of the Alexa 25 companies.
Congratulations to the Hi-Media and the Fotolog teams!
Fotolog’s success in Latin America, and now Europe, is quite impressive, and the geographical fit for Hi-Media makes a lot of sense.
It is really interesting to see that a lot of things are happening outside of the US market (albeit usually on a smaller scale). And hopefully this will help bring more attention from US investors and companies to the Brazilian and Latin American markets :-)
Cheers!
Julien