ASB MAGAZINE: Surfline announced that it had acquired UK based global forecasting service Magicseaweed, the deal includes include the Magicseaweed brand, Magicseaweed.com and the Magicseaweed iOS and Android apps. Founded by Sean Collins almost 30 years ago, Surfline has grown from a simple phone line, and fax surf forecasting service to become one of the surfing’s most popular websites attracting two million unique visitors a month and operating 360 surf cameras around the world.
The price of the sale was not disclosed. However, in May 2015, SurfStitch acquired Magicseaweed and Stab Magazine for a total cash consideration of A$13.8 million. Last month, Stab magazine was sold back to its previous owners, Sam McIntosh and Tom Bird.
“Our promise is connecting surfers with their passion, and the addition of Magicseaweed to our stable of brands will ensure we do that for millions of surfers around the world,” Jeff Berg, Surfline’s CEO.
Magicseaweed provides forecasting and live reporting of more than 4,000 beaches across the globe. It was founded in 2002 and has become one of the world’s leading online surf forecasting platforms, used in more than 200 countries. Its main followers are in North America, Europe and Australia.
About a decade ago, Surfline bought Buoyweather.com to get into the marine-services business. In 2008, the company beefed up its camera network, enhancing quality and bandwidth with subscription HD cameras. It built iPhone and iPad apps, and recently launched a TV app that allows viewers to watch in-house-produced videos or stream cameras to watch their favorite beaches live on television.
Surfline and Magicseaweed will remain distinct products, keeping their own styles and branding. Having both brands and teams under one roof, however, will enable collaborations with product development, and the advertising team can market to a larger, global audience.
“For over 15 years Magicseaweed has been committed to providing the very best global surf forecast we can,” Magicseaweed founder Ben Freeston said in the announcement. “Joining with the team at Surfline is the perfect next step in this journey. It allows Magicseaweed to stay true to its mission while assisting in growing a combined business that can positively touch the lives of surfers everywhere.”
VIA PRESS RELEASE.
