Dailymotion finally finds a buyer, acquired by Vivendi

Steven Loeb · June 30, 2015 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/3e7c

Vivendi buys 80% of the video streaming website for $241 million

For years video streaming website Dailymotion has been trying to sell itself off. It came close a few years ago, with Yahoo reportedly going deep into talks to buy the site, before the deal fell apart only months later. 

Now, finally, Dailymotion has found a buyer in Vivendi, which announced on Tuesday that that it has acquired an 80% stake in the company, buying it from French carrier Orange, formerly France Telecom, for €217 million, or $241.89 million. Orange will keep the remaining 20% of the company.

For Vivendi, buying Dailymotion means its gets access to one of the top video streaming sites in the world. The company said in its own press release that it is "the second largest aggregation and distribution platform in the world, with over 2.5 billion videos seen per month."

Dailymotion is especially strong internationally, particularly in France and Turkey. 

"This acquisition is at the core of Vivendi’s digital strategy. With Dailymotion, the Group benefits from an over-the-top distribution platform of international stature and of a technological expertise which complements the Group’s existing one," Vivendi wrote in the announcement.

As for Dailymotion, becoming part of Vivendi offers the streaming service "the means to strongly accelerate its growth and continue its international expansion," as well as the opportunity for integration with other Vivdeni assets, most notably the Universal Music Group and Canal+ Group teams.

“Orange has supported the development of Dailymotion since 2011 as the company has increased its audience by 2.5 and grown into one of Europe’s biggest success stories in the digital domain. Our partnership with Vivendi will enable Dailymotion, in which we remain a 20% shareholder, to accelerate its growth internationally and to enhance its content offer," Stéphane Richard, Chairman and CEO of Orange, said in a statement.

"The proceeds from this transaction will enable Orange to reinforce its efforts in the digital ecosystem. Finally, this agreement also illustrates our willingness to reinforce our partnership with Vivendi.”

France Telecom purchased 49% of Dailymotion in 2011, and then purchased the rest of the site in 2013 for a total purchase price of €127 million, or $164 million.

It has been trying to unload the site for the last few years, and came closest with Yahoo in 2013. The compan was in talks to purchase a controlling stake in the online video website, as much of 75%, and had gone so far as to even sign a provisional deal.

Then Yahoo's chief operating officer, Henrique de Castro, and France Télécom's chief financial officer, Gervais Pellissier, had a meeting with French Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg, during which Montebourg called off the deal, saing that he did not want sell such a large stake of "a rare French Internet success story" to be sold to an American company. 

Montebourg is said to have then offered Yahoo a chance to buy a stake in the company without having majority control, an offer which Yahoo declined.  Obviously no such issues would have come up for Vivendi, which is a French multinational mass media company, which allows the company to stay in its home country. 

Dailymotion registered sales of €64 million in 2014, a figure that has increased by 30% every year since 2012. It employs 222 people in the world, based mainly in France and the United States of America.

VatorNews has reached out to Dailymotion for a statement or comment on the purchase. We will update this story if we learn more.

(Image source: press.dailymotion.com)

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