FREEDA MEDIA RAISES $ 16 MILLION SERIES B TO CONTINUE ITS INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION AND LAUNCH A DTC BUSINESS

Freeda Media will continue investing in the internationalization process with the launch of the UK operations and the consolidation of the Italian and Spanish market with the closing of a $ 16 million capital raise, Freeda Media is ready to expand its activities beyond Italy, Spain and South America, opening its office in London. The goal is to launch Freeda in strategic geographies such as the UK and other English-speaking markets and to continue its journey to become the most relevant female media brand worldwide.

The funding round is led by Alven, the French VC, who also led the $10 million Series A closed in May 2018. Along with Alven, the Italian investor club U-Start and other existing partners renewed their commitment to the company. New investors include Endeavor Catalyst, Unicredit which has granted the company a debt facility of $ 3 million, strategic family offices and private investors. Since the launch in September 2016, Freeda has raised more than $ 30 million in total.

The UK market is managed by Joanna Lyall – former Managing Director at Mindshare UK. The appointment follows that of Beatriz Medina in Spain – former Head of Digital at Atresmedia -, and other international executives who will support the company in the global expansion.

The company will invest in growing its B2B media model, with a clear focus on a premium branded content proposition. In addition, it is also expanding to offer a 360° strategic approach to its brand partners.

Leveraging Freeda’s knowledge on brand building, the extensive understanding of its community, and the strong penetration of social media platforms, the company will enter the physical product business. A new Direct to Consumer brand will be launched in 2020, in one of the most relevant markets for the Millennials and Gen Z women.

As of today, Freeda is the most relevant female media brand in Italy, Spain and South America, with more than 5M members across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. The company will continue working to extend the distribution strategy by launching new platforms.

In 2019, Freeda’s Instagram accounts generated +100M interactions, being the #1 global female media brand in terms of engagement and interactions on Instagram. In addition, Freeda generated more than 33M premium branded content video views on Facebook, being among the top 50 media partners on the platform worldwide.