Yahoo! today (Aug. 25) announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Maktoob.com, a leading online community in the Arab world.
“This acquisition will accelerate Yahoo!‘s strategy of expanding in high-growth emerging markets where we believe Yahoo! has unparalleled opportunity to become the destination of choice for consumers,” said Yahoo! chief executive officer Carol Bartz.
As a result of the acquisition, Yahoo! says Internet users in the region will get Yahoo!’s products and services with Maktoob’s local content. The company will offer Arabic versions of Yahoo! Messenger and Yahoo! Mail services.
Maktoob.com is accessed by users in countries including UAE, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
“Yahoo! and Maktoob are natural partners and this combination should help energize the Internet market in the region as a whole,” said Samih Toukan, founder of Maktoob.
Following the acquisition, Maktoob.com will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Yahoo!. The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
