Major news publisher News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS) announced today that it was acquiring Storyful, the world’s first social news agency. The transaction was valued at 18 million euros ($25 million). The company headquarters will remain in Dublin.
Terms of the deal with News Corp
Dublin-based Storyful, founded in 2008, agreed to a complete buyout of the business and intellectual property by News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS), but will continue to operate as a stand-alone entity. No Storyful clients or personnel are impacted as a result of this transaction. News Corp Senior Vice President of Video for News Corp Rahul Chopra is also joining Storyful as the Chief Revenue Officer.
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About Storyful
Storyful, billed as the world’s first social news agency, is dedicated to discovering, acquiring and distributing timely video, written and other user-generated content to its partners. Leveraging its proprietary technology and journalistic expertise, Storyful has developed social media dashboards, real-time discovery tools and a variety of analytics, allowing partners to easily monitor social conversations and integrate video into their online and mobile platforms.
The company is also growing rapidly, with Storyful videos and other content producing more than 750 million views of its partners web pages in 2013.
Company statements
Robert Thomson, CEO of News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS), elaborated on his company’s rationale for the purchase. “Storyful has become the village square for valuable video, using journalistic sensibility, integrity and creativity to find, authenticate and commercialize user-generated content. Through this acquisition, we can extend the village square across borders, languages and platforms.”
Mark Little, CEO of Storyful, was enthusiastic about the transaction and the future of both companies. “By joining forces with News Corp, Storyful can quickly transform its vision into a global reality.” We believe that journalism in the age of social media needs to be open, innovative and collaborative, and so does the business model that will sustain it. News Corp is a natural fit for a company which wants to help reinvent the news industry.”
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