The first Media for Equity fund in France has launched. With the support of ClearChannel and 20Minutes, 5MVentures announced investment in the subscription model eBook vendor YouBoox as well as local job board company JobAroundMe. We’ve already written about YouBoox’s success so far, and it will be interesting to see how their Media for Equity exchange will help them grow.
Founded by Christophe Montague, formerly CEO of international operations at NRJ Group, and Steeve Louzoun, the fund claims inspiration from Germany’s Pro7 Media for Equity fund, the venture arm of TV channel ProSiebenSat/1 which famously invested in the now Billion dollar Zalando eCommerce site. The group negotiates advertising space on major media outlets in exchange for equity in startups, usually high-growth companies which require large marketing budgets to acquire users/customers.
While not explicitly stated, it would seem that 20Minutes and Clear Channel will be two of the outlets used by 5M Ventures, which will focus on providing advertising in the French market.
Only time will tell if the Media for Equity model will work in France; however, with the success of media for equity elsewhere, it will, at the very least, provide alternative investment opportunities for startups in France or looking to attack the French market.