Norwegian media company Schibsted has bought Spain’s biggest classified site, Milanuncios.com and combined its Moroccan unit, Bikhir.ma with Avito.ma to create that country’s top classified advertising site.
“This reinforces our position as a clear leader in the Spanish online classifieds market,” the company said, after paying 50 million Euros for the site .
Schibsted has outperformed many media industry rivals in recent years as it successfully converted much of its content from print to digital and expanded rapidly in online classifieds in countries such as Sweden, Brazil and Spain.
Analysts said the moves in Spain and Morocco offset any negative sentiment about expected weakness in Norway and France.
“Our leading French site Leboncoin.fr holds significant long-term potential in new verticals and products, although growth may slow down in the short term due to prudent monetization strategies and tougher year-on-year comparisons,” it added.
Schibsted Media Group released its Q4 2013 report, showing operating revenues of NOK 3.94 billion. The underlying growth was 2 percent. The Online classifieds segment increased its revenues underlying with 15 percent, 20 percent excluding Spain. The gross operating profit (EBITDA) was NOK 406 million (501 million).
Schibsted operates under the Tradestable name in Nigeria.
