FILED UNDER SOMETHINGISRAELI >> Business
Yahala
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Internet Gold, one of Israel's largest digital media companies has acquired a 51% stake in Yahala, a popular internet portal aimed at Israel's 1.5million Arab population.
The move comes following recent growth in the Arab community going online and looking for local services to provide relevant information to them.
"This acquisition reflects our expectation that Internet usage in the Arab sector will continue growing dramatically as it has during the past year, making the Arab population an important new target market for Internet advertising," said Eli Holtzman, chief executive of Internet Gold. "We believe that ownership of an Arab-language portal may also help us identify additional investment opportunities in neighboring emerging markets."
The acquisition is through Internet Gold's GoldMind subsidiary which will see the Yahala site be integrated into its Smile.Media Group which will allow it to leverage resources of its portfolio of sites including MSN Israel.
Yahala's founder Nizar Hori will own the remaining 49% in the portal and will be its chief executive while Eli Holtzman becomes chairman.
For more information: www.igld.net