The Netherlands-based digital news aggregator Blendle is being taken over by another European 'digital kiosk' player, France-based Cafeyn. The sum was not disclosed, but in an interview with De Volkskrant, co-founder and CEO Alexander Klöpping reveals that he will step down from his role as chief exec.
Founded in 2014, Blendle was backed by a number of media giants, including The New York Times, Axel Springer and Nikkei. Its online news platform basically collected articles from a variety of newspapers and magazines, and sold them on a pay-per-article basis.
Last year, the company switched to a subscription service, providing readers with pre-selected article suggestions and magazine access for €10/month. The company currently boasts around 50,000 paying subscribers, and 30,000 trial members.
As it was gaining momentum with subscriptions, Klöpping said he went looking for additional investors, but ultimately ended up with an acquisition deal instead.
Blendle will become fully integrated into Cafeyn as it strives for European market leadership; the combined group will have 2,500 newspapers and magazines in its digital kiosk.
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