German business social networking site XING has acquired the online event management company amiando for £8.7 million.


German business social networking site XING has acquired the online event management company amiando for up to €10.35 million (£8.7 million).


Under the terms of the deal, an initial payment of €5.1 million will be followed by an additional performance-related sum of up to €5.25 million.



Stefan Gross-Selbeck, CEO of XING, says: ‘Acquiring amiando gives XING an opportunity to meet its members’ growing need for an integrated, comprehensive event registration and ticketing service. In 2009 alone, our members organised and marketed more than 150,000 events via the XING platform.’



Founded in 2006, amiando’s website-based service allows customers to manage events online, including selling tickets and processing payments. The German company’s site is currently available in English, German, Spanish and French, and is aimed at both business and private customers. All of the company’s 35 staff are to be retained, and Felix Haas will continue in his position as CEO at amiando.



Similar to sites such as LinkedIn, XING is an online networking site aimed at business professionals, and has around ten million members worldwide.