Cafeyn lbo with Bregal Milestone

Cafeyn announces a growth investment from Bregal Milestone to accelerate its international expansion

LBO 2020, November

Digital media

“I am delighted by this collaboration that will drive further growth and internationalisation for Cafeyn. Bregal Milestone is a perfect fit for Cafeyn given their digital and media expertise, as well as their willingness to support fast-growing companies as a hands-on partner. Their global network and strategic support will allow us to accelerate our international expansion, by way of both organic growth and additional bolt-on acquisitions.”

Ari Assuied, CEO and Founder of Cafeyn

Cafeyn announces it has secured funding from Bregal Milestone, a European growth capital fund. The funding will support Cafeyn’s mission to create the best information streaming product and will bring additional resources to accelerate its international expansion and external growth strategy.

The company, which was founded by Ari Assuied, will grow by 40% in 2020 and has expanded its team significantly from 50 in 2018 to an overall headcount of 170 by the end of the year, including the recent acquisitions of miLibris and Blendle. The investment will drive forward product innovation and enable the company to pursue its growth strategy in Europe and globally.

The investment comes at an exciting time for Cafeyn since it has seen an unprecedented rise in usage over the last 12 months, with a reach now exceeding 2 million users. The global press and magazines industry is worth around $145bn and experiences a huge growth in digital adoption as a result of a structural change in media consumption habits, which has been accelerated by the current pandemic.

Earlier this year, Cafeyn announced a strategic partnership with SFR and the introduction of a number of leading UK newspapers to the platform, adding The Independent, The Guardian, The Observer and The Evening Standard. It acquired miLibris, a SaaS platform enabling its publisher partners such as Les Echos, L’Equipe, Daily News and Grupo Godo, to digitalise, enrich, distribute and monetise their content. The Group also made the acquisition of Blendle, the largest digital news platform in the Netherlands, adding leading Dutch and European newspapers such as De Volkskrant, HP De Tijd or Der Spiegel and establishing Cafeyn as the European leader in its market.

In connection with this investment which marks Bregal Milestone’s first transaction in France and the seventh out of its €495 million fund, Philippe Lautenberg, Managing Partner, and Rob Hetherington, Head of Milestone Performance Partners, the firm’s in-house value creation team, will join the Cafeyn Board of Directors.