France-based news app provider News Republic has been acquired by internet company Cheetah Mobile for $57m, providing an exit to shareholders including semiconductor producer Intel, PhoneRadar reported yesterday.
The deal also offers an exit to Xange Private Equity, which is backed by postal service La Poste, and venture capital firm Creathor Venture.
News Republic operates a mobile app that aggregates articles from more than 1,650 sources. Users can select topics they are interested in to create a personalised newsfeed, while the app also curates trending information and send notifications.
Founded in 2008 as Mobiles Republic, the company originally developed a technology dubbed MXplora which enables the delivery of curated content and advertising on low and mid-range phones.
The company first pivoted to offering a range of news-focused apps before rebranding to News Republic, the name of its flagship product,in 2014 and focusing on the development of that app.
Creathor provided an undisclosed amount of seed capital for News Republic in 2009, before contributing to a $3m series A round in 2012 alongside Xange, then backed by La Poste’s financial subsidiary La Banque Postale.
Intel Capital, the corporate venturing unit of Intel, led a $6m series B round in 2013 that also featured Xange and Creathor.