IENS has been sold to TripAdvisor

IENS has been sold to TripAdvisor

M&A International Team Holland Corporate Finance and (now Oaklins Netherlands) DeSilva+Phillips LLC collaborated in the sale of IENS, the largest Dutch online restaurant review and booking platform, to TripAdvisor.

Founded in 1998, IENS is the largest online restaurant review guide in the Netherlands, with 20 million annual visitors and a network of 20,000 restaurants, of which 1,550 are bookable through its sister brand SeatMe. The site features 200,000 restaurant reviews and receives 4,000 new reviews every week.

TripAdvisor is the largest online travel community in the world, offering travel and entertainment-related reviews. The company has more than 300 million unique monthly visitors and more than 200 million reviews covering accommodations, restaurants and attractions worldwide. The site operates in 45 countries.

The integration of the company is being led by the management team of LaFourchette, a prominent restaurant reservation platform in France, Spain and Switzerland that TripAdvisor acquired in May 2014. This latest acquisition of IENS is in line with TripAdvisor’s strategy to further accelerate its growth and geographical footprint in the restaurant review and reservation space in Europe. Financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

M&A International Inc.’s Dutch team (Holland Corporate Finance) originated the deal and acted as the lead advisor to IENS’ shareholders. M&A International Inc.’s digital media specialist team in New York, USA (DeSilva+Phillips LLC) played an important role in approaching the potential buyers and maintaining a continuous dialogue with them.

IENS_TripAdvisor
Details
Transaction TypeM&A Sell-side
ClientIENS
Sold toTripAdvisor
IndustryMedia, Technology, Data & Information
DateJanuary 2015