MWM has acquired the French mobile app developer Picnic, signaling a potential strategic shift toward a build-up model akin to that of Italian tech giant Bending Spoons. This move comes as creating new apps becomes increasingly costly and uncertain, making the acquisition and scaling of market-validated assets an attractive alternative.
The acquisition, finalized recently, provides MWM—a French group known for apps like iGraal and Zenly—with Picnic’s portfolio, which includes popular apps such as photo editor PhotoRoom and the viral social app BeReal. While financial terms were not disclosed, the deal is described as a combination of cash and MWM shares. Picnic’s team of around 40 employees will join MWM, bringing the group’s total headcount to approximately 200.
This transaction raises questions about MWM’s broader ambitions. Industry observers note the growing traction of build-up strategies, where companies aggregate and scale existing apps rather than building from scratch. Bending Spoons, renowned for acquiring and boosting apps like Evernote and Meetup, serves as a notable benchmark. MWM’s CEO, Jean-Baptiste Hironde, acknowledged the competitive landscape, stating, “We are indeed in a world of builders versus scalers,” and emphasized that MWM aims to balance both creation and scaling.
The immediate plan is to integrate Picnic’s technologies and expertise, particularly in artificial intelligence, across MWM’s portfolio. No major restructuring or layoffs are anticipated. Hironde highlighted that the focus will be on leveraging synergies, such as enhancing user acquisition and monetization for Picnic’s apps through MWM’s established infrastructure.
This acquisition may mark the beginning of a more aggressive consolidation strategy for MWM, as it seeks to strengthen its position in the competitive app market by combining in-house innovation with strategic scaling of acquired assets.