Wedia strengthens its international ambitions with the support of Cathay Capital

November 19, 2024
Europe

Paris, France – November 18, 2024 – The Wedia Group announces a new phase in its development. Following a successful public tender offer and the upcoming implementation of a squeeze-out procedure, Wedia will transition to a privately held company jointly owned by Cathay Capital, Wedia Founder and CEO Nicolas Boutet, and the Wedia management team, with the support of private debt subscribed by Financière Arbevel[1]. This strategic move will enable Wedia to accelerate its growth in the Digital Asset Management (DAM) and Social Media Management (through its Iconosquare brand) sectors.

A more visual, more social, more personalized form of marketing

In an era of exponential digital content growth, generative AI is revolutionizing how brands create and adapt visual assets. For brands and their agencies, mastering visual marketing across photos, videos, 3D content, and the distribution of these visuals, particularly on media platforms networks (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest…), is now essential. These challenges are particularly key for companies of all sizes striving to deliver personalized, engaging marketing experiences, whatever the circumstances they face: multiplicity of brands, channels, countries, languages, etc.

SaaS solutions for optimized communication

To meet these challenges, Wedia group offers unique SaaS solutions for Digital Asset Management and Social Media Management. Its easy-to-use platform, combined with a data-centric approach, and extra support is fully configurable to suit customer’s needs. With customers such as Decathlon, Total, and Merck Wedia uses AI to help brands optimize their digital content, automate distribution across various channels, measure effectiveness.

International expansion backed by Cathay Capital

With more than 4,000 clients, Wedia is already one of the top five European players in Digital Asset Management and Social Media Management, two sectors undergoing rapid transformation. With the strategic support of Cathay Capital, Wedia aims to become the leading European player and the essential partner for marketing and communications departments worldwide. Wedia’s vision is to drive the digital transformation of marketing by making it ever more visual, social and contextual, with personalized content designed specifically for each audience.

Innovations in customer experience and marketing performance

The company will enhance its SaaS offerings with the most advanced AI technologies to meet the needs of marketing and communications professionals. By revolutionizing search across millions of campaign contents, automatizing the declination and local adaptation of campaigns for each country, and maximizing their distribution on social networks, Wedia boosts marketing performance. These initiatives are part of an ambitious strategic vision embodied by Wedia.ai.

A team of specialists dedicated to the digital transformation of brands

With this new capital structure, the 100 employees of the Wedia Group, based in Paris, Limoges, Berlin and Frankfurt, are poised to meet challenges of digital transformation and continue to support brands in the creation, distribution, and optimization of their digital content on a global scale.

Nicolas Boutet, Founder and CEO of Wedia: “We are delighted with the success of this transaction, the first step in a strategic partnership with Cathay Capital, designed to establish Wedia as a European leader. This ambition will be achieved through international organic growth, the launch of new solutions and innovations related to AI especially, and strategic acquisitions to contribute to market consolidation.”

Jean-Marc Prunet, Partner at Cathay Capital: “Our investment in Wedia illustrates Cathay Capital’s ability to carry out tailor-made deals alongside visionary entrepreneurs. Nicolas Boutet and his team chose us for our expertise in B2B software (Cathay Capital has completed seven deals in the last six years in this sector) and for our sector-specific and international ecosystem. After this successful first step, we are now working alongside Wedia to strengthen the organization, accelerate expansion and identify new opportunities for growth and innovation.”

Ghada Kneisel, Managing Director at Financière Arbevel: “We were won over by the Group’s unique positioning and its ability to provide a personalized response to the challenges faced by their customers, and are delighted to support Nicolas and his team in their ambitions for international expansion and innovation”.

About Wedia

The Wedia Group is an international player, specializing in B2B SaaS for Digital Asset and Social Media Management. Through its two offerings, Wedia and Iconosquare, the Group supports its customers (marketers, communicators, e-merchants, social media managers, etc.) in the perpetuation, personalization, distribution and performance measurement of their content (photos, videos, social posts, etc.).

These offerings enable the Group’s customers to simplify the organization of their marketing content, automate its distribution across different digital and physical channels, and ultimately measure its effectiveness. The Group’s high-end, innovative positioning has been validated by prestigious customers (Decathlon, Universal, Merck and NASA) and leading technology analysts (Gartner, Forrester and Constellation Research).

To serve its 4,000 customers in over 120 countries, the Wedia Group, based in France, Germany and Canada, can count on more than 100 committed employees. The Wedia Group has 2023 sales of almost €14 million, of which over 80% is SaaS revenue, and is driving its development with a proven mix of controlled organic and external growth.

About Cathay Capital

Cathay Capital is a private equity and venture capital firm that supports companies in Europe, North America, and Asia. Cathay Capital helps companies at all stages of development, from start-ups to mid-sized companies, to unlock growth opportunities, drive international expansion, and enable sustainable transformation. With its international reach and deep local expertise, its platform connects people – investors, entrepreneurs, management teams, and leading corporations – to share knowledge and resources, fostering the evolution and transformation of businesses. Founded in 2006 with a strong entrepreneurial heritage, Cathay Capital now manages more than 6 billion euros in assets and has completed more than 280 investments in sectors such as healthcare, technology, and consumer goods from its offices in Paris, New York, San Francisco, Munich, Berlin, Madrid, Shanghai, Beijing, and Singapore.

For more information, please visit www.cathaycapital.com

Follow us on LinkedIn, X (Formerly Twitter) @CathayCapital

About Financière Arbevel

Financière Arbevel is an independent asset management company and a leading player in the small and mid-cap universe. Following the merger with Actis in 2022 and with Montpensier Finance in 2024, Financière Arbevel, which has been owned by Weinberg Capital Partners since 2024, now has over €6 billion in assets under management and has expanded its range of products and services (listed equities, flexible management, bond management, alternative investments, private debt).

For further information: www.arbevel.com

About the European Investment Fund and InvestEU

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is affiliated with the European Investment Bank (EIB). Its core mission is to support European micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises by helping them access financing. InvestEU consolidates under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments currently available to support investment in Member States, making the financing of investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient, and more flexible.

More information at www.eif.org.

[1] Benefiting from a InvestEU guarantee from the European Investment Fund