While the French government scuppered Yahoo’s acquisition of Dailymotion, the video platform is still planning its next expansion moves. According to news agency AFP, the French company will open a small Japanese office in the coming days to target this Asian market. It is also in talks to acquire a European video startup to fuel its growth.
Fully owned by Orange, the French telecom company had to invest $40 million (€30 million) in May so that Dailymotion could bounce back after the failed acquisition talks. While the YouTube competitor first wanted to find another investor or buyer, it looks like it is now focused on growing its business activities within the boundaries of Orange.
First, Dailymotion will open a small office in Japan. It is one of Dailymotion’s fastest growing markets and one where video ads are not very widespread. It could be a good opportunity to become a major video platform in the country to compete with YouTube and other local players. The company’s hidden goal is to capture the advertising money before its competitors.
Dailymotion already targets a global audience as 85 percent of its sales already happens outside of France, with the U.S. leading the way. The company already has an office in New York, but the Japanese office will be the first one in Asia.
The other news is that the company will switch to external growth thanks to a European acquisition — the acquisition should close in a month. Dailymotion seems confident about this deal as it is already teasing it. No word on why it makes sense, whether it will boost the website’s traffic, help its advertising platform or create a new team. It could be an easy way to set foot in the U.K. or Germany for example.
As a reminder, Dailymotion recently announced a new product offering a few days ago. The platform now provides Warner Bros. movies and TV shows in its home country. It works a lot like movie renting in the iTunes Store, with a 48-hour window to watch a movie and similar prices. The company has been profitable for a couple of years, but video distribution is a cost-intensive activity. It remains to be seen whether the company will be able to create another revenue stream with its paid movie platform.
(Image credit: SPDP)
