Netherlands digital news aggregator Blendle acquired by French peer Cafeyn

In an attempt to become a European leader in information streaming, French company Cafeyn acquired the Netherland-based digital news aggregator Blendle for an undisclosed amount. 

Notably, the acquisition of Blendle is the second by Cafeyn in as many months following the successful acquisition of miLibris, the technology service provider to publishers that operates in France and Canada, in June this year

Ari Assuied, president of the Cafeyn Group comments: “At Cafeyn our ambition is to give everyone unparalleled access to quality content. This acquisition enables us to accelerate our growth. We are very happy to onboard such a talented and passionate team of media experts into our Group”.

iTunes for Dutch newspaper

To reiterate, Blendle is a website that lets readers pay for individual articles for major publishers, instead of having to pay a monthly subscription. Launched in 2014 by Alexander Klöpping and Marten Blankesteijn, Blendle operates in the Netherlands, Germany, and the US with 50,000 paying subscribers and 30,000 trial members. 

Continue to accelerate international expansion

In an interview with De Volkskrant, Alexander Klöpping said that he will step down from his role as chief exec. It’s worth mentioning that Cafeyn with Blendle will continue to accelerate its international expansion and product development. 

“It has always been our dream to go international with Blendle. After all, making quality journalism accessible to everyone is not only relevant for the Dutch,” says Blendle founder Alexander Klöpping.

Serves over 1.5 million active users 

The Dutch news platform has developed notable product expertise around the article experience including clipping, tags, recommendations, and audio, all of which are complementary to the Cafeyn platform. 

With the acquisition, the Cafeyn Group of companies now offers more than 2500 newspapers and magazines and serves over 1.5 million active users across Europe. The company aims to bring the best of both companies and apps together into a unified experience.

Ari Assuied “We’re excited for our teams to start exchanging features and experiences and to make our catalogues featuring over 2500 newspapers and magazines available to all. It allows us to become the home of the best pan-European journalism out there”.

To date, Blendle has raised over $3.8 million (approx €3.2 million) from various investors including INKEF Capital, Nikkei Inc, and others.

Main image credits: Cafeyn