XING, the leading online business network in German-speaking countries, has acquired InterNations with immediate effect. The basic acquisition price is around €10 million. This figure is expected to rise by between €8 million and €20 million from earn-out payments provided ambitious operating targets are met by 2020. A few days ago, Xing also announced the acquisition of the Vienna-based startup Prescreen.
InterNations is the world’s largest network for expats and was founded in 2007. Headquartered in Munich, InterNations now has more than 2.7 million members in 390 cities worldwide. The company offers expats a variety of ways to connect and exchange with other members who are in the same situation and have similar needs. Members can help each other when it comes to finding a place to live, dealing with the authorities, and cultural aspects relevant to that particular country. Offline events are a particular focus, with 2016 seeing around 50,000 such events held worldwide and attended by a total of 1.5 million people.
Thomas Vollmoeller, CEO at XING AG, stated: “XING connects people – not profiles – with one another. This is because personal encounters are indispensable, even in the digital age. This conviction is ingrained in our corporate philosophy and portfolio, and it sets us apart from every other network. For that reason, we bring people together on a regular basis so they can network with one another on a business level and have a number of opportunities to find inspiring new contacts. By acquiring InterNations we now have a real specialist for local offline networking. This new member of the XING family will help us expand our expertise considerably in this field.”
The XING platform will continue to focus its attention on German-speaking countries, while InterNations will carry on providing global networking opportunities, which is why it will continue to operate as a separate brand. As well as additionally boosting expat communities, XING will also invest in further expanding the InterNations portfolio and its B2B business.
Philipp von Plato, Founder and Co-CEO at InterNations, commented: “XING is an ideal partner that will help us grow our community business among both end customers and corporate clients, while also enabling us to continue developing our expat services. We’re looking forward to introducing our international offline event experience and expertise to XING.”
InterNations currently employs more than 100 people from over 30 countries. Founders Malte Zeeck and Philipp von Plato will remain with the company and continue to manage the business. InterNations has a global network of over 6,000 Ambassadors and Consuls who volunteer to act as local points of contact, networkers and event organisers. The company is profitable with double-digit revenue growth. In 2018 InterNations aims to achieve revenues in the low double-digit million range.
