PARIS, FRANCE, Gimv, one of the main investment companies in Europe, is spearheading the second financing round to the tune of USD 25 million in Ebuzzing (www.ebuzzing.com), formerly Wikio Group, the reference social media group in Europe.

Gimv is investing USD 14.5 million along with existing shareholders and the founder, Pierre Chappaz. Thanks to this financing, Gimv wishes to support the development and growth of this ambitious company, and provide the means to become the leader in social media in Europe.

Geoffroy Dubuz, Partner Venture Capital at Gimv: "Ebuzzing is a reference platform for the distribution of content on social media in Europe. We are thrilled to support this group in its international development so that it can become the sector leader. It represents one of the best online teams in Europe, positioned on a market with a very high potential."

With Overblog, the leading blog platform in Europe, Ebuzzing is a genuine social media, with over 28 million unique visitors per month according to Comscore. Founded in 2005, the company provides companies with marketing solutions that allow them to promote their brands on social media, especially by the distribution of viral videos on social media (blogs, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.).
Pierre Chappaz, CEO of Ebuzzing: "This financing will allow us to speed up our growth throughout Europe." Ebuzzing recently carried out a series of eight mergers and acquisitions, with the latest, Trigami, taking place in June 2011. Trigami is a leading social marketing platform in German-speaking countries. He added: "Today, thanks to our financial capabilities, we intend to seize new development opportunities."

Directed by experienced managers and serial entrepreneurs, and with offices in Basel, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, London, Luxembourg, Milan, Paris, Madrid, Toulouse and Rome, Ebuzzing made revenues of USD 15 million in 2010, and expects revenues for this year at USD 25 million. Today, the Group employs over 160 staff.

Gimv will be represented on the Board of Directors of Ebuzzing.
All the parties involved decided not to disclose any further financial information regarding this transaction.