UK online media company GoAdv has announced plans to acquire French online shopping company LeGuide.com. It said the acquisition will enable it to expand its portfolio of products and services by adding LeGuide.com’s online and social shopping to its network.
It said it will also consolidate its position in continental Europe following its acquisition of Excite Europe in 2007, and an alliance last year with shopping comparison site Kelkoo to integrate Kelkoo’s online catalog of products with product listings and related content on its BetterDeals and Excite networks.
It has offered offer five GoAdv shares and a E45 ($58) cash adjustment for every six shares contributed in LeGuide.com. This works out at approximately E15.19 ($19.50) for each LeGuide.com share or a total consideration of E50m ($64.2m) based on the three-month weighted average price of a GoAdv share.
Luca Ascani, president at GoAdv, said: Online shopping is a huge growth opportunity in the UK. By bringing LeGuide.com (and its subsidiary, dooyoo.com) under the GoAdv corporate umbrella it will not only help us to grow our business but also accelerate LeGuide.com’s expansion into Europe. Consumers are demanding a much more social experience where the opinions of the community affect the purchasing decisions of a single individual.
