French company acquired majority in Diwanee

Site to develop further
its content and products

Diwanee is a Lebanon-based digital media company that offers content targeting women in the Arab world. It has been acquired by Webedia, a Paris-based digital publishing company.

Diwanee was founded in Beirut by Delphine Edde and her husband Hervé Cuviliez in 2009. It attracted a female Arab audience of over five million monthly unique visitors. Diwanee has three platforms in its portfolio, all targeting women: Yasmina.com (lifestyle, beauty, and fashion), 3a2ilati.com (mother and baby, family health, beauty, and recipes), and Mooda.com(e-commerce selling bags, shoes, jewelry, and accessories). The company also runs two platforms affiliated to Yasmina.com: Wikeez.Yasmina.com for entertainment, and Wayyana.Yasmina.com, a social network. Diwanee has offices in Beirut, Dubai, and Belgrade.

Webedia is present in France, Brazil, Turkey, Germany, and Spain. It has sites focusing on various topics including home and personal lifestyle, reality TV, and television entertainment.

Cuviliez said that this acquisition will enable Diwanee to reinforce its position as a leader in the digital media sector in the region and promote innovation and growth.

The amount of the deal has not been disclosed, but close sources believe that the deal is worth more than $20 million. It is considered one of the biggest website deals in the region. “The deal makes Webedia a majority shareholder in Diwanee, but we are still on board,” said Edde.

“We share with Webedia the same background, and this is what made collaborating with each other a mutual interest,” Edde said.

Webedia will invest an additional $5 million to help Diwanee expand into new products. “We might also launch a magazine soon,” said Edde.

According to Edde, the Middle East has a great potential and Diwanee will be focusing on supplying more products to the market.

Last summer, Diwanee has obtained a $3.25 million investment from MedSecurities, a subsidiary of BankMed. Edde said that this funding pushed them forward.