FT Deutschland breaks SevenLoad's funding, which I got courtesy of AC:euro. It's a stunning deal with an announced valuation of €130M ! Hats off to Axel at Denwkerk and Ibo at SevenLoad for getting this done.
The funding partner is Europe's #3 outside advertising company. Outside advertising is a good medium to get broad exposure. A balanced media plan it does not replace, but if you plaster a mid sized city in SevenLoad advertising you're likely to get critical mass pretty quickly.
[Update]: Nico kindly indicates the money comes from Dirk Stroer and not Stroer AG, contrary to what the reports highlighted above indicate. I will take his word for it, I am sure as a local insider he is more reliable than even the FT. So the "strategic value" is not an obvious component. If the deal is cash only rather than cash and in-kind, the valuation number is really amazing. I really do not believe the €30M T/O + €10M EBIT for next year, it takes longer than that to fully monetize the inventory.
I still have to pinch myself over the valuation given that this site, whilst being of good quality, has yet to achieve virality and traffic. No room for error if you want to grow into your valuation. The FT article says the company will consider VC down the line. I really don't see who would bite at that level, so I hope there is enough of a cash commitment to support the growth until they can monetize. Sets a nice baseline for discussion with the content owners, should they want some equity.
Fred, the provided info is not entirely accurate. Dirk Ströer privately invested through a venture company, it was certainly not the Ströer AG.
Posted by: Nico | November 05, 2006 at 07:30 AM