San Francisco-based Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) announced on its blog (read here) it is buying European local review site Qype.
The transaction amounted to $50m: Yelp is paying €18.6m euro for the Hamburg, Germany-based company, in addition to 970,000 shares of its Class A common stock (for a total purchase price of approximately $50m).
The acquisition is designed to accelerate Yelp’s international expansion, adding Qype’s more than two million reviews and 15 million unique visitors per month across 13 countries.
Commenting on the deal on his blog (read here), Ian Brotherston, CEO, Qype, said: “Our users reviews and opinions will be amplified as we become part of a much bigger and broader platform“.
Qype raised €6.5m in venture capital from Vodafone Ventures, Advent Venture Partners, Partech International and Wellington Partners in November 2010 (read here). The company also has operations in the United Kingdom.
Founded in July 2004 with the aim to connect people with local businesses. Yelp has expanded in major cities across the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Singapore and Poland. Yelpers have written more than 30 million local reviews on everything (from boutiques and mechanics to restaurants and dentists).
FinSMEs
25/10/2012