By combining the highly successful sites DoneDeal.ie Daft.ie and Adverts.ie the new company will have leading positions in the generalist, cars and real estate segments in Ireland.
Schibsted contributes to the new company the generalist online classifieds site DoneDeal.ie, in which Schibsted took over the majority shareholding in 2011. Ownership has later been increased to 100 percent. Distilled Media contributes Ireland’s leading real estate site Daft.ie and the generalist site Adverts.ie. Daft.ie and Adverts.ie were established by entrepreneurs Eamonn and Brian Fallon. Separately, they operate several other well established online sites which are not part of the new company.
Schibsted and Distilled Media will own 50 percent each of the new company. For accounting purposes Schibsted will fully consolidate the new company. Prior to the completion of this transaction, Tiger Global had been a minority shareholder in Distilled Media, the owner of Daft.ie and Adverts.ie.
“We are delighted to combine with Distilled Media and the Fallon brothers in Ireland. Through this new setup we will expand our reach in this exciting market to real estate, and we aim to further improve the position in the generalist and cars markets. When the leading online classifieds sites in Ireland are joining forces, we believe we will be able to create even better services for buyers and sellers,” CEO of Schibsted Media Group Rolv Erik Ryssdal says.
Eamonn Fallon will be the CEO of the new Irish company.
“Joining forces with Schibsted in this venture creates an online advertising business of scale in Ireland with the capability of competing head to head with the international internet majors. Our combined reach is currently 650,000 people per day. We look forward to working together with Schibsted, benefitting from their exceptional international experience and insights, to develop and grow this business in Ireland,” Eamonn Fallon says.
DoneDeal.ie, Adverts.ie and Daft.ie will continue operate independently and will be run by existing management and staff. The new setup is expected to generate synergies for example within advertising sales and marketing investments.
The combined entity had revenues in the first six months of 2015 of around EUR 9.4 million. The EBITDA margin was 15 percent.