Brazilian Leading Web Media Groups Targeted at Women Announce Merger

SAO PAULO, Oct. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Brazilian Internet groups Bolsa de Mulher, a multi-platform digital media company for women belonging to Ideiasnet, and e-Midia, the company that holds the properties Vila Mulher, Cyber Cook and Cyber Diet, trend-setters in vertical markets, are going to merge their operations. As a result, the merger, negotiated for four months and announced for October, will position GrupoMulher.com as one of the giants in the sector. This merger constitutes yet another major step towards consolidation for Brazil's online industry.

With the expectation of increasing its audience in one year by 40% – which now stands at 17.5 million individual users (Google Analytics, August 2011) – with billing of R$ 40 million by 2013, the group is coming into being with a respectable portfolio of business solutions for the B2C and B2B advertising market.

GrupoMulher.com will have as its CEO Carla Esteves, who now heads Grupo Bolsa de Mulher. Alexandre Canatella, current CEO of e-Midia, will take the position of COO, and Luiz Lapetina, current CTO of e-Midia, will be the CTO of the new Group. With the merger, the company will have 80 employees, divided among three offices in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Santos. Revenues will come from advertising (60%) and other business models (40%), with e-commerce, e-learning, licensing of content and platforms, subscription of services, market intelligence and applications for emerging platforms, such as videos and tablets.

GrupoMulher.com will have 12 properties – Bolsa de Mulher, Vila Mulher, Cyber Cook, Cyber Diet, Bolsa de Bebe, Estrela Guia, Te Contei, Pink Adnetwork, iTodas, Bem Leve, Bolsa Gourmet and Movimento Rosa – and four business units – Sophia Mind, Bolsa de Mulher Shop, Universidade Feminina and Bolsa TV.

"Based on research by Bolsa on users and potential users, we have discovered certain opportunities in terms of portfolio, and e-Midia was the owner of properties that best complemented Grupo Bolsa de Mulher. Another point that's even more significant was the low degree of overlap in our combined audiences, which makes GrupoMulher.com one of the giants in the women's digital sector in Brazil," notes Carla Esteves, CEO of the new company.

The merger brings together two pioneering firms in the Brazilian internet, considering that e-Midia began its operations in 1997, while Grupo Bolsa de Mulher got its start in 2000, which reinforces the positioning that the two companies have earned separately.  

To Alexandre Canatella, COO of the new enterprise, "the company resulting from this merger definitely brings a competitive advantage to its stakeholders, bringing together complementary talents for product development and creation, accelerating the offering of a valuable, increasingly sophisticated online experience for women and for the market."

"We believe we have brought together in this merger a unique set of shareholders, management team and entrepreneurs with an innovative vision that positions GrupoMulher.com as the leading digital media player on the Brazilian Internet," states Sami Haddad, Director of Investor Relations at Ideiasnet.

"Much more than a movement to consolidate the women's sector, this merger between Bolsa de Mulher and e-Midia not only defines the resulting company as one of the giants of the segment, but also offers advertisers unprecedented solutions to connect to the 17.5 million visitors of its properties," says Romero Rodrigues, partner investor at e-Midia.

More information:
FirstCom Comunicacao
(www.firstcom.com.br)

SOURCE GrupoMulher.com