Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Verse Innovation on its acquisition of Magzter

VerSe Innovation, India’s biggest local language technology platform, today announced its acquisition of Magzter, a cross-platform, self-service, global digital newsstand with a library of 8,500+ premium magazines and newspapers. This move marks Dailyhunt’s strategic foray into super premium content and signifies a transformative juncture in VerSe Innovation’s journey to becoming India’s largest digital media tech conglomerate.

Avendus acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Verse Innovation on this transaction.

Launched as Dailyhunt Premium, this subscription-based offering will provide users access to premium content from international publishers in over 60 languages including English, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, and more. This includes globally acclaimed publications such as Times, Newsweek, Fortune, The Economist, Forbes, Reader’s Digest, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Maxim, Elle, Vanity Fair, New Yorker, Bazaar among others across their respective Indian and international editions. This expansion addresses the demand for high-quality premium content, particularly catering to the discerning tastes of India’s elite and aspirational upper-middle-class demographic.

The acquisition fortifies Dailyhunt's position as the largest platform for news and infotainment in the country, serving content in key international and regional languages. Furthermore, this acquisition also marks the evolution of Dailyhunt’s revenue model, expanding from pure advertising to include a blend of subscription-based revenue streams.

Speaking about the acquisition, Virendra Gupta and Umang Bedi, Co-founders, VerSe Innovation said, “Magzter is a perfect fit for our ecosystem. The acquisition aligns seamlessly with our growth trajectory and enhances our ability to deliver premium content experiences to our ever-expanding user base. We will keep strengthening our capabilities and spreading our wings, leading the way in India’s digital content space.”

“We are excited to join forces with VerSe Innovation and contribute to the evolution of content consumption in India," said Girish Ramdas and Vijayakumar Radhakrishnan, Co-Founders, Magzter. "This partnership opens up new avenues for delivering high-quality content experiences to users across India, further strengthening our goal of providing unparalleled digital reading experiences to our readers.”

Neeraj Shrimali, Managing Director & Co-Head, Digital & Technology Investment Banking, Avendus Capital said, “The acquisition of Magzter will be value accretive and will enable Dailyhunt to further monetise their massive user base. This marks the initial stride in Dailyhunt’s transformative journey as they venture into premium content and subscription-based offerings.”

Magzter, with its impressive track record of having over 1.1 million active paying subscribers from India alone and a user base exceeding 87 million since its establishment in 2011, has become the world's largest and fastest-growing digital newsstand. Offering thousands of magazines and newspapers across 40+ categories, Magzter brings a wealth of premium content to the Dailyhunt ecosystem.

VerSe Innovation’s acquisition capability is underpinned by its robust financial standing led by its successful funding round of USD 805 million, alongside Dailyhunt's consistent positive EBITDA, for over two years, and showing continuous YoY growth.

VerSe continues to build strategically with the launch of several new initiatives including VerSe Collab - a tech driven Influencer marketplace and the upcoming introduction of the VerSe NeXTChange, a Bharat focused programmatic audience network and WISE – VerSe’s Generative AI platform for content generation. VerSe Innovation remains steadfast in its pursuit of growth and expansion opportunities. With a deep and diverse cap table, the company is on track unlocking new avenues for expansion and further cementing its position as the leading media tech conglomerate.

About Avendus

Avendus Group is a leading financial services firm offering Investment Banking, Institutional Equities, Wealth Management, Credit Solutions and Asset Management. Established in 1999 in Mumbai, India, Avendus is today present in 10 cities across India, US and Singapore. Avendus partners with the Indian entrepreneur ecosystem to provide differentiated solutions that enable clients to meet their strategic aspirations.

Avendus Capital, the investment banking arm, is consistently ranked among the top investment banks in the country on the back of its in-depth domain understanding and a best in the class track record of domestic and cross-border transactions. Avendus’ wide range of clients is testimony to its ability to serve its corporates throughout their life cycle – growth stage funding, large-sized transactions, M&A advisory and access to public markets.

Avendus Capital Inc, located in New York, is an Avendus Group entity offering M&A and Private Equity syndication services to clients in the US.

For more information, please visit www.avendus.com