The official signing of the agreement took place in Paris.
- I am very happy that this deal is now completed. To increase our ownership in Leboncoin.fr is of vital strategic value for Schibsted. By taking full control of the company, we strengthen the opportunity not only to develop the site, but also to use the tremendous market position to develop new online business in the exciting French market, says Rolv Erik Ryssdal, CEO of Schibsted.
On 22. September, it was announced that Schibsted and SPIR Communication had reached an agreement where Schibsted acquired the remaining 50% of the shares in LeBoncoin.fr from SPIR, and SPIR acquired Schibsted's 50% stake in Car & Boat Media.
The agreement values Leboncoin.fr at EUR 400 million on a 100% basis. The revenue growth rate for Leboncoin.fr for the full year 2010 is expected to be approximately 100%.
Massive traffic
Leboncoin.fr is a top 10 site in France, measured by unique visitors per month, and it is top 5 in terms of page views.
- Leboncoin.fr is the third largest classifieds/auction site in Europe, only trailing Ebay.de and Ebay.co.uk. Leboncoin.fr is around four times larger than Ebay.fr, measured by page views. The massive traffic on this site may create a solid fundament for possible launches of other Schibsted sites in France, says Terje Seljeseth, CEO of Schibsted Classified Media.
Schibsted launched Leboncoin.fr, with SPIR as a joint venture partner, in April 2006. Schibsted and SPIR will continue the cooperation within real estate classifieds between Leboncoin.fr and Logic-immo.com. Also, the 50/50 joint venture in 20 Minutes, the most read newspaper in France, continues unchanged.