Viadeo
| Viadeo
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | Public company (France) |
| ISIN | FR0010325241 |
| founding | 2004 |
| resolution | 2016 |
| Reason for dissolution | insolvency |
| Seat | Paris, France
|
| management | Renier Lemmens |
| Number of employees | 157 (November 2016) |
| sales | EUR 24.4 million (2015) |
| Branch | professional social network |
| Website | fr.viadeo.com |
Viadeo , based in Paris, is a professional social network owned by the French Le Figaro media group. The formerly independent and listed company had over 65 million members at times, and was one of the biggest competitors of LinkedIn and XING , but had to announce bankruptcy at the end of November 2016 after a failed internationalization. At the end of December 2016, the takeover by Le Figaro became known.
background
The company was founded in May 2004 by the French Dan Serfaty and Thierry Lunati as a network for professional / business contacts. In order to establish itself on the Indian and Chinese markets, the Viadeo Group bought the ApnaCircle and Tianji networks in 2006 and 2007 . In 2009, Apna Circle was acquired in India and Unyk in Canada. At the time, Viadeo had 25 million users (compared to 48 million on LinkedIn). According to official figures, the group had 40 million users in 226 countries at the beginning of 2012 and had 10 agencies with around 400 employees. Most users at the time came from China, followed by France, Brazil and Mexico. After Mandarin , the most widely spoken languages in Viadeo were French, English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Although the company was not profitable, it was floated on the Paris stock exchange in 2014, but had to curb its strong expansion course. Activities in China were closed at the end of 2015. In January 2015 the founder, Dan Serfaty, had to leave the company; Despite a new management, job cuts and a return to the French home market, it was not possible to bring the company into the profit zone. On November 29, 2016, the company was declared insolvent ( redressement judiciaire ). The stock listing was suspended in the course of the bankruptcy. On December 23, it was announced that the newspaper publisher Le Figaro , which will take over the network with 11 million users in France and 98 of the last 128 employees. The newspaper already has a successful online presence; In addition to an online edition, the Figaro Classifieds branch operates a number of online advertising sites , including Cadremploi , Keljob and ChooseYourBoss .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Les Echos: Viadeo placé en redressement judiciaire, ses actifs pourraient être repris , November 29, 2016, accessed on December 9, 2016 (French)
- ↑ Viadeo continues to grow: 65 million members worldwide, including 25 million in China . Viadeo SA. December 11, 2014. Accessed February 24, 2015.
- ↑ a b Le Monde: Figaro Classifieds, la filiale petites annonces du groupe de médias, reprend Viadeo , 23 December 2016; accessed on December 27, 2016 (French)
- ↑ a b Les Echos: Comment Viadeo a fini par valoir 2,440 fois moins que LinkedIn , November 30, 2016, accessed on December 9, 2016 (French)
- ^ Viadeo Group: Our Story. March 2012, accessed March 14, 2012 .
- ↑ Viadeo détaille ses 40 millions de membres. November 15, 2011, accessed March 14, 2012 .