GoAdv buys Italian blog network Blogosfere

[Italy] GoAdv, the pan-European online media company listed on Alternext market of Nyse-Euronext Paris, has acquired leading Italian blog network Blogosfere.

The actual sum isn’t being disclosed but our sources say it’s in the low 7 digits and was paid in cash.

Milan-based Blogosfere was launched in 2005 and has a network of 210 blogs consisting of over 150 contributors. The online property claims an audience of over 3 million unique monthly visitors and specialises in providing news, comment and opinion written by professionals and experts across a range of verticals, including politics, economics, entertainment, technology and sport.

GoAdv, which has a staff of over 130 working across offices in Italy, Ireland and Asia, already operates various vertical and horizontal websites including Excite Europe, Better Deals and Nanopublishing (see our previous coverage). The company says the acquisition of Blogosfere as in-line with its mission to deliver “high quality editorial to passionate communities.”

GoAdv’s growth strategy for Blogosfere includes enhanced social network integration (Twitter, Facebook) and expanding its content offering to include more video content. It will also help with monetization by focusing on contextual advertising to increase ROI for advertisers and improve the user experience through better targeted ads that are relevant to the content offered on each vertical blog.