Web firm purchased for $13.5 million

Japanese buyer is the largest
global recipe portal

The Japanese recipe portal, Cookpad, has acquired Netsila, the local company behind shahiya.com, for $13.5 million. Shahiya has more than three million monthly users, with over one million just in Saudi Arabia.

Subject to customary closing conditions, the acquisition is expected to close in Q1 2015. “It is a landmark deal for a local startup, as well as for the Arab World,” said Hala Labaki, Co-Founder and CEO of Netsila.

She said that this deal has a major value as Cookpad is publically listed in Japan.

“Cookpad is the largest recipe website in the world,” said Daniel Neuwirth, the other co-founder of Netsila. Online since 1998, Cookpad.com serves more than 50 million unique browsers, 75 percent of who are female.

Netsila was valued two years ago at $2.5 million, following a capital increase. The new valuation is more than five times higher, yielding an Internal Rate of Return of almost 100 percent.

“This deal proves that our website is a success story,” Labaki said. Shahiya’s staff will join Cookpad’s international team and its headquarters will remain in Beirut. “We will remain on board and participate in the growth of Shahiya.”

Cookpad’s management said that this acquisition is in line with the company’s mission of leveraging technology to make everyday cooking fun and accessible to everyone. It enables Cookpad to tap into the Arabic speaking market, boost its user base, and accelerate the global launch of the company’s recipe services.