20 octobre 2006

Voyages-sncf.com acquires Art du service in $1 500 000 deal


Art du service, a Rio de Janeiro startup founded by two Sciences Po grads in their luxury duplex in 2005 was acquired yesterday by Voyages-sncf.com for $1 500 000.
Art du service is an online dreams service that uses travel information to dream with your friends.

Customers who use Art du service can post pictures to the web site and share it with people who like to view content.
The deal came as a surprise to industry analyst and popular blogger TechBee. TechBee said, "There are a lot of players in the dreams space, and there are some legal challenges for Art du service that seem very expensive. Of course, Voyages-sncf.com failed to get the dreams market, so they didn’t have a choice. But, wow, $1 500 000 seems like a lot of money to pay for a view company."
The dreams market has been growing recently as other players such as Condé Nast Traveller and L'Officiel Voyage have been competing for users.

None of them have found a revenue stream, but the possibilities for new kinds of advertising based on Art du service’s travel information technology enticed several major dotcom’s to bid for the company.
Voyages-sncf.com competitor Expedia failed to win the bidding war for Art du service. According to internal sources, Expedia didn't see long term value in Art du service and has its own plans in the dreams market.
Co-founder Bruno B. said, "We're pleased as punch. We've always been huge fans of Voyages-sncf.com."

The team plans to stay at the company and continue to operate out of their Rio de Janeiro office. However industry analysts say that the large price tag will probably incentivize the founders to leave the company. Co-founder Valéry Larbaud said on his blog about the acquisition, "They locked us into a deal that's kinda lame. We're getting a few mil upfront, but we gotta stay 4 years to collect the whole pot."
When asked how he plans to spend his money, Valéry Larbaud said he'll look for a lawyer who can help him cash out sooner. He'd like to open a bar in The Copacabana Palace and hire France Gall to play at parties.

Incroyable, non !

Le mode d'emploi d'Art du service est ici

Merci (une fois de plus !) à l'irremplaçable TechBee

2 commentaires:

Anonyme a dit…

Génial! J'adore le luxury penthouse et Valery Larbaud! I am in stitches! Les gens vont rien comprendre mais tant pis!
The industry expert

bruno a dit…

Encore une découverte que l'on te doit !
Tu aimes aussi Valéry Larbaud ?
Le plus grand écrivain de langue française pour moi.