Mondadori France has signed an agreement to acquire 60% ​​of NaturaBuy, leader in online small ads and auctions in the hunting, fishing and leisure sector.
Under the terms of the agreement, Mondadori France, has an option to increase its share in the capital of NaturaBuy up to 100% over the next five years.

NaturaBuy is a purchase site and a platform that allows, on the one hand, outdoor leisure activity enthusiasts to buy and exchange the products they need for their particular passions and, on the other, offers companies access to a new distribution channel. In fact the marketplace features small ads, auctions and, since 2011, the possibility for sellers to open their own boutique within the site.

Launched in 2007, NaturaBuy is a community of enthusiasts that is able to bring together 160,000 users and 1,500 companies. The site sells more than 140,000 items and an annual volume of transactions worth more than €24 million.

In France the hunting and fishing market is one of the most significant in the leisure sector, with a value of €2.8 billion in 2011.
With this acquisition Mondadori France increases its leadership in the “Nature” sector, supporting the largest online marketplace for hunting and fishing with the magazines Le Chasseur Français, La Revue Nationale de la Chasse and Le Grand Gibier, which have a total circulation of over 400,000 copies.

“After the acquisition, together with Axel Springer, of a significant stake in Autoreflex.com at the end of last year, this operation marks a continuation of our strategy for growth and diversification in digital,” explained Ernesto Mauri, chairman of Mondadori France. “We have three basic guidelines: assessing opportunities in areas related to our traditional activities, focusing on areas in which we are already leaders with our publications and to provide continuity in the management of the new business, with the participation of the founding partners to facilitate development over the medium term,” Mauri concluded.