Centralway Ventures invests in Likemag
Centralway Ventures, the investment arm of Centralway, is acquiring a 20 percent stake in the social news platform Likemag.
Likemag’s target audience is young and mobile. About 65 percent of readers are between the ages of 18 and 34. Already, 62 percent access Likemag’s interactive content via smartphone—and that number is on the rise. Likemag has 2.2 million monthly users. The investment reaffirms Centralway’s conviction that new technologies will fundamentally transform traditional media business models, according to a press release. Declining subscriber numbers and shrinking print circulations are merely the first signs of the drastic changes that traditional media must face in the wake of the digital transformation. Media companies must transform themselves into technology companies, in addition to their core competency of producing journalistic content.
It is not enough to hire young programmers and task them with creating a new «cool» website. Transforming into a technology company means that every employee, right up to top management, understands the technology and the product. Only then are the prerequisites for this transformation in place. Having a CEO who uses Twitter is not enough, the statement continued.
«LikeMag understands the communication and culture of the digital age. With over 100 experts in the fields of design, technology, marketing, finance, and investment, Centralway offers the expertise needed to develop LikeMag into a technologically leading media company,» said Antoine Verdon, Head of Centralway Ventures.
«Centralway is our ideal partner for a collaboration. As a partner, Centralway provides us with the necessary financial backing and helps us evolve from an innovative media company into a global technology leader in the industry. With passion, strong conviction, and hard work, a new, forward-looking era for the Likemag world is now beginning,» says Sandro Proietto, founder of Likemag.
With Antoine Verdon, Centralway Ventures also gains a seat on the board of directors, thereby joining the existing board, which consists of Sandro Proietto and Florian Biafori, the founders and owners of the Mediabox publishing house, as well as Markus Bucheli, the co-founder, partner, and managing director of Likemag.
