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Viadeo Acquires Social Networking Company UNYK

Posted on: Tuesday, 13 October 2009, 05:59 CDT

PARIS, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Viadeo, one of the world's largest business social networks, today announced that it has acquired Canadian-based UNYK, one of the leading social networking companies. The acquisition includes UNYK's membership of 16 million users, which is growing at a rate of 600,000 new members each month, a smart address book product and industry leading contact synchronization technology. UNYK members will become Viadeo members, bringing the Viadeo network to over 25 million users and increasing the growth rate of the Viadeo network to over one million users per month.

Dan Serfaty, CEO of Viadeo commented, "This acquisition is highly complementary and more than doubles our subscriber base, while strengthening our global and local market presence. Our strategy continues to be to develop networks throughout Europe and emerging countries and with this acquisition I believe we have significantly strengthened our market position and offering, particularly throughout Mexico, Brazil and India. Additionally, we now have a North American presence, with 4 million members in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. We're building a global platform, but remain committed to developing local offerings specific to each market we service, one of our key competitive differentiators. We are currently profitable and anticipate this acquisition to be accretive within the first year of operations. On behalf of the management team and Board, I would like to welcome the UNYK team to our family."

UNYK is the first smart and private address book that updates itself and is used primarily by business professionals looking to keep multiple address books current with the latest and simplest technology. The Company possesses strong and innovative technology services with its core differentiator, a synchronization tool that enables members to seamlessly merge their address books from Outlook, webmail, cell phones and more. With UNYK, users are able to access a consolidated and up-to-date address book, anytime from anywhere. Launched in September 2005, UNYK has a global network spanning 180 countries, managing 870 million contacts globally.

"UNYK's unparalleled synchronization strategy and global membership meshes well with Viadeo's member needs," stated Sebastien Brault, President and Founder of UNYK. "The combination of our smart address book and synchronization technology and Viadeo's business social network is a combination unmatched by competitors today...and we intend to capitalize on this."

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Viadeo

Founded in June 2004, Viadeo quickly established itself as an essential tool for professional networking in Europe and beyond. Since then, Viadeo is used by those who want to increase their business opportunities (to discover new clients, staff and business partners), enhance their visibility and their online reputation, and manage and develop their network of professional contacts.

Viadeo's members consist of business owners, entrepreneurs and managers from a diverse range of businesses both start-up and well established. Based in Paris (head office), Viadeo also has offices and teams in the UK (London), Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), Italy (Milan), China (Beijing), India (New Delhi), Mexico (Mexico City) and Montreal (Canada). The Company employs 200 staff worldwide. For more information, please visit us on the Web at www.viadeo.com.

About UNYK

Launched in September 2005, UNYK is available in six different languages. With over ten years of experience on the Web, the UNYK team has acquired substantial expertise in the virtual community and social network sector. Based in Montreal (Canada), UNYK is a privately held and funded company. More information on the Company is available at: www.unyk.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Ephraim Cohen Glenn Wiener Fortex/Ballou PR Fortex/Ballou PR Tel: 917-215-5413 Tel: 212-786-6011 Email: cohen@fortexgroup.com Email: wiener@fortexgroup.com

SOURCE Viadeo

Source: PR Newswire

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