Ideiasnet launches digital media holding company
| Valor Econômico |
Empresas & Tecnologia |
| André Borges |
23/09/2008 |
Ideiasnet, a company that holds interest in technology- and internet-related businesses, has created a new holding to merge the operations of four digital marketing companies in its portfolio. Brands, as they named it, will include services and products offered by Hands, a company specialized in marketing for mobile devices; TVaoVivo, which targets multimedia projects; and the digital communication agencies Addcomm and Media Factory.
Investment figures for the operation were not disclosed by the company. "What we will do is similar to what we did with Virtus a while ago," says George Ellis, founder and vice-chairman of the Ideiasnet Board of Directors. Virtus, created in march from the merger of seven companies, now includes nine companies, two of which - Automatos and Visionaire - are Ideiasnet companies.
In May, Ideiasnet, which holds interest in 18 companies, captured R$100.5 million for investments. EBX, holding company of businessman Eike Batista, acquired 47% of the 15 million new shares.
With Brands, Ideiasnet aims to group the products and services currently offered individually by its companies, targeting the domestic online advertising market. "This year, marketing expenses are expected to total R$20 billion, 3.5% of which will come from the Internet," says Marcelo Almeida, Ideiasnet business development director.
Brands will be run by Nélio Bilate, former marketing director of Nissan do Brasil, who joined Addcomm a year ago. "We will be an active holding company, supported by a team of 200 people," he said
Outside the holding, each company will continue operating individually with their own brands, but the idea is to promote and concentrate the sale of bundled services at the new company. The business will be expanded mainly through acquisitions with the opening of offices in Latin America and Europe. "In one week, we will be announcing the acquisition of the first company," says Ellis without providing further details.
Recently, Ideiasnet increased its investments in female-oriented online content. The company, which already holds 93% of the Bolsa de Mulher internet portal, has acquired another three specialized websites: its direct competitor Feminice; health and beauty site Bem Leve; and astrology site Estrela Guia. Figures involved in the acquisition were not disclosed.
Through the creation of Brands, the company strives once again to diversify its revenue sources. Currently, 80% of the company's sales come from Officer, a wholesale distributor of IT equipment. Officer's sales this year are expected to reach R$1 billion. Profit margin for the business, however, is very limited as opposed to digital media companies, which are service providers. In the second quarter of the year, Ideiasnet revenues totaled R$225.9 million, with a profit of R$2.3 million in the period.
