Populis acquires Germany's largest blog network – mokono – for €8.2 million

Online vertical media publisher Populis, which we’ve likened to Europe’s Demand Media or Associated Content in the past, this morning announced that it has acquired Berlin-based mokono, Germany’s largest blog network and and social media advertising specialist.

Populis (formerly GoAdv) paid 8.2 million euros for the company, adding 14 million unique monthly users to its network of websites as well as 700,000 registered blogs and writers to its portfolio of media brands, including Blog.co.uk and Blog.de.

Founded in 2005, mokono had raised an undisclosed amount from Burda Digital Ventures, the investment arm of Burda Digital, which acquired a minority stake in 2007.

Also included in the acquisition is mokono’s social advertising platform, which provides advertisers with access to a range advertising solutions such as social ads, video-seeding or product reviews across the mokono network and its affiliated blog portals.

Vasco Sommer-Nunes and Florian Wilken, co-founders and managing directors of mokono, will continue to manage the company’s operations and staff from its headquarters in Berlin.

Populis earlier this year acquired Blogo, a blog network operational in Europe and South America, for about €6 million.

The once publicly-listed vertical content company recently reported record revenues of 58 million euros ($83 million) for 2010. Its brands include Excite Europe, Better Deals, Nanopublishing, Blogosfere, Blogo and now mokono.