Snapchat Signs French Partners for Discover, Plans Paris Office

(Bloomberg) -- Snapchat Inc. is opening an office in Paris and making its first media deals in a language other than English, a milestone for the fast-growing social application as it builds an international strategy.

The photo-messaging startup on Thursday said it’s teaming up with eight media outlets, including newspaper Le Monde, magazine Paris Match and sports publication L’Equipe, to distribute French content via its Discover service. The Discover part of Snapchat’s app offers mobile magazines that last for 24 hours, curated by media companies. The feature has more than 100 million monthly users globally.

The Los Angeles-based company needs to prove that it can make money internationally and has a plan to broaden its business, especially as executives mull an eventual initial public offering. Snapchat was valued at about $18 billion after its last round of funding in May, people familiar with the matter said at the time. Last week, it took out a line of credit, with Morgan Stanley as the lead banker on the deal.

Snapchat, which has 8 million daily active users in France, will open its Paris office on Oct. 1, headed by Emmanuel Durand. He joins Snapchat from Warner Bros. Entertainment, where he was senior vice president of marketing, data and innovation for France and Benelux.

"Discover has been a place for Snapchatters to explore Stories from expert editorial perspectives," Nick Bell, vice president of content, said in a statement. “Starting today, Snapchatters in France will for the first time have French content to explore."

--With assistance from Sarah Frier To contact the reporter on this story: Stefan Nicola in Berlin at snicola2@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Jillian Ward, Kara Wetzel