Saudi’s BinDawood Holding in talks to acquire influencer marketing firm Ykone

Jeddah: BinDawood Holding Co, through its wholly owned subsidiary Future Technology Retail, a technology and retail solutions investment company, has entered into exclusive negotiations for the potential acquisition of a majority stake in Ykone, a subsidiary of TF1 group, a French leader in content production, publishing and distribution. The potential transaction will be undertaken through a French subsidiary company to be incorporated by FTR.

Ykone is a profitable international influencer marketing agency, with a proprietary technology offering, focused on travel, beauty, fashion and luxury brands, with a presence in Europe, Asia, the US and the Middle East. It provides end to end services on strategy, talent management, content production and monitoring to more than 200 leading brands across the globe including the MENA region.

BinDawood Holding is a leading grocery retail operator of hypermarkets and supermarkets in the Kingdom. The company has a total of 78 stores of which 52 are hypermarkets and 26 are supermarkets.

Founded in 2008 in Paris, the Ykone agency is currently present in Europe, Asia and the US, and has become one of the leading international influencer marketing agencies. Its customers include L’Oreal, LVMH, Chopard and Nespresso.