We are excited to announce that WeddingWire recently welcomed new investors to our company, while also strengthening our relationship with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO). Catalyst Investors (www.catalystinvestors.com), a New York-based private equity firm, acquired a stake in WeddingWire by purchasing MSLO’s minority stake in WeddingWire. At the same time, WeddingWire further developed its partnership with MSLO to continue to drive success for local businesses.
As you may recall, Martha Stewart Weddings became the first WeddingWire Network partner in 2008, and since then Brides.com, ProjectWedding.com, and Weddingbee.com have been added to the network. This year, we extended our partnership with MSLO. WeddingWire currently powers the local resources on MarthaStewartWeddings.com and will do so for years to come.
Moreover, we are thrilled to announce that their flagship site, MarthaStewart.com, has joined our brand new EventWire Network, set to roll out in the beginning of next year. We invite you to preview our new EventWire site at http://www.eventwire.com.
The sale of MSLO shares in WeddingWire to Catalyst Investors is separate from the partnership. We continue to have a very close partnership with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and are happy to have helped them realize a sizeable return on their investment in WeddingWire. Furthermore, we are excited to be working with Catalyst Investors to continue to grow WeddingWire in 2012 and beyond. They not only bring a wealth of experience, but also provide a broad array of resources that we will have access to. Catalyst Investors beat out several other investors for the opportunity to invest in WeddingWire.
Now for the important stuff: What does this mean for you? The short answer: More exposure for you on MSLO sites. Click here for the official press release.
On behalf of everyone at WeddingWire, we want to thank you for your continued support. I still cannot believe that we have only been operating for 5 years in the wedding industry. It seems just like yesterday that folks were showing up in my living room with the common goal of building a more direct marketplace for the wedding industry. Today, our staff of over 100 employees remains relentlessly committed to building the most effective, efficient platform to help you grow your business online. In these 5 years, WeddingWire has become the largest wedding network and continues to be one of the fastest growing resources for engaged couples and local Wedding Pros in the market. We are delighted that MSLO will continue to grow with us as part of the WeddingWire Network, and that we have a strong partner like Catalyst to help us continue to serve local businesses in the future.
Happy Holidays,
Timothy Chi
CEO
WeddingWire, Inc.
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