by Linda Karlsson

Today Schibsted Media Group announced the acquisition of a majority in the online classified site DoneDeal.ie. DoneDeal is not only the number one general classified site in Ireland but the market leader for cars in the private market segment. DoneDeal.ie also shares many similarities with the successful Swedish classified site Blocket.se. Therefore the acquisition fits perfectly in Schibsted’s ongoing roll-out of the Blocket concept all over the world.

Schibsted Media Group has agreed to acquire 50.09 per cent of the site with the right to increase the ownership up to 90.1 per cent in two years and up to 100 per cent in five years.

An independent ABC audit recently showed that the car section of DoneDeal.ie counts a daily average of 88,444 unique visitors, which leaves competitors like Gumtree.ie, Buyandsell.ie and Adverts.ie – in which DoneDeal hold the majority - behind. Autotrader.ie still is the leading automotive vertical and leads in dealer relationships. The acquisition of market leaders is an important strategy of the Norwegian media company. The Blocket platform has been introduced in more than 20 countries outside Sweden including the market leading sites in France, Italy and Spain: Leboncoin.fr, Subit.it and Segundamano.es.

“We are very happy to include DoneDeal.ie into the family of online classifieds sited in Schibsted”, Terje Seljeseth CEO of Schibsted Classified Media said in a statement. ”A strong number one position and good profitability means that Ireland will be our fifth country with online classifieds sites in established phase.”

In the upcoming issue of Classified Intelligence Report, AIM Group covers Schibsted’s recently enforced internationalization strategy in depth.

Read the Schibsted press release here.