Five Capital, a subsidiary of CDC International Capital based in Dubai and Riyadh, has entered into exclusive negotiations with Diwanee, a subsidiary of Webedia Group, French specialist in theme-based online publishing, for a merger between Diwanee and Uturn Entertainment, a Saudi digital content provider.
Further discussions between the parties will take place in the coming weeks with a view to concluding a final agreement. This transaction, if agreed, will be subject to board approval from each concerned party and would be undertaken in full compliance with current local and international laws and regulations.
Based in Jeddah, the company Uturn Entertainment is a specialist in online entertainment and digital content production aimed at young people in the Gulf region, through a targeted offering of premium programs in Arabic. Created in 2010, the company’s growth has been driven by an original program offering through Youtube before developing a multi-channel model based on content aggregation and mobile distribution. Today, Uturn has over 33 million subscribers and a total of around 300 million monthly video views.
Upon completion of this operation, the new Diwanee-Uturn entity will employ 310 people across four offices in Jeddah, Riyadh, Dubai and Beirut, and bring together 65 million users through all its social networks. The total number of unique visitors across Diwanee-Uturn’s proprietary platforms will reach 15 million.
Hervé Cuviliez, CEO of Diwannee, says: “The merger between Diwanee and Uturn allows us to create an undisputed leader in digital media within the Gulf. With over 300 million monthly video views and 80 key influencers, the new entity will be positioned as leading media platform for both international and local brands.”
Véronique Morali, Chairman of the Management Board at Webedia, adds: “We are extremely happy about this agreement with Uturn and Five Capital, which will allow us to accompany a Gulf leader in digital entertainment. We are very confident that this new entity will be a success, through the strength of our unique assets, such as e-sport and the management of influence.”
Laurent Vigier, CEO of CDC International Capital, says: “We are delighted to have entered into an exclusive agreement with Webedia group for the acquisition of this company undergoing strong growth. Our local subsidiary, Five Capital, is equipped with a strong expertise within the regional market, which will allow us to support the international development of this leading company in the Gulf as well as in France and Europe. The future Diwanee/Uturn entity will benefit from many assets, and particularly a robust growth dynamic within a very promising market, supported by demographic factors and high demand for quality online video content in Arabic. We hope to conclude a final agreement for this investment in the near future.”
