{"id":67420,"date":"2026-06-10T14:37:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T11:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/?p=67420"},"modified":"2026-06-10T17:59:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T14:59:15","slug":"webook-com-expands-into-europe-with-the-acquisition-of-portugals-smartmove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/2026\/06\/webook-com-expands-into-europe-with-the-acquisition-of-portugals-smartmove\/","title":{"rendered":"webook.com Expands into Europe with the Acquisition of Portugal\u2019s SmartMove"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saudi Entertainment and Sports Technology Platform webook.com Expands into Europe with the Acquisition of SmartMove<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 10, 2026\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/webook.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">webook.com<\/a> announced today its acquisition of SmartMove, a Portugal-based company specializing in event technology, membership management, ticketing systems, access control, customer relationship management, e-commerce solutions, and digital event operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The acquisition marks a significant milestone in Saudi Arabia\u2019s technology sector, positioning webook.com as one of the first Saudi entertainment and sports technology platforms to pursue global expansion through the acquisition of a European technology platform. The move reflects the growing capabilities of Saudi companies to export technology, expand into international markets, and contribute to the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Founded in 2014 in Saudi Arabia to meet the growing demand for major events in the region, webook.com has evolved into a global live experiences platform, reaching more than 17 million users across over 180 countries and processing more than 40 million ticket booking requests. Through the acquisition of SmartMove, the platform enters a new phase in its journey by establishing its first operational base in Europe, enabling it to expand its technologies, partnerships, and operations across the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SmartMove brings more than 30 years of experience in the industry and is considered one of Portugal\u2019s leading sports technology companies. The company provides the technical infrastructure for ticketing platforms and fan membership systems for major Portuguese clubs, the Portuguese Football Federation, the Portuguese Professional Football League, national cup competitions, and corporate ticketing platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The acquisition combines SmartMove\u2019s deep expertise in club membership management, ticketing systems, access control, and event management with webook.com\u2019s capabilities in event discovery, high-demand ticket sales, fan engagement, AI-powered anti-scalping solutions, identity-linked ticketing, digital commerce, and scalable event infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Commenting on the acquisition, Nadeem Bakhsh, CEO of webook.com, said: webook.com was founded in Saudi Arabia with a global ambition from day one. This transaction is a strong example of Saudi success in technology, reflecting the ability of Saudi companies to build platforms that can compete globally, attract international expertise and capabilities, and help shape the future of sports and entertainment technology.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He added: Saudi Vision 2030 has created an enabling environment for Saudi companies to think bigger and expand into global markets with confidence. Through this deal, we are strengthening our presence in Europe with a strong operational base through SmartMove, supported by its specialized expertise in football memberships, ticketing, and matchday experiences. By combining our capabilities and experience, we look forward to redefining the live entertainment booking experience for audiences and organizers across Europe.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">webook.com selected Portugal as its gateway to European operations, leveraging the country\u2019s strong position in football, its thriving tourism sector, advanced digital infrastructure, and dynamic live events and entertainment industry. Through the acquisition of SmartMove, webook.com strengthens its presence in the European market with an experienced team, an established client network, and a technology platform deeply rooted in the local market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Antonio Bricatado, General Manager of SmartMove, said: We have established our position as a key partner in the Portuguese football ecosystem and across several other sports by providing integrated solutions that cover the full fan journey, from membership registration to ticketing and matchday experience management. With webook.com\u2019s capabilities, investments, and broad global network, we are now in a strong position to scale this model and offer it to clubs and stadiums across Europe.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bakhsh added: \u201cThis is the kind of global growth that Saudi technology companies are now capable of achieving. Our achievements are no longer limited to expanding beyond the Kingdom; we are now taking to the world the advanced infrastructure, leading operational expertise, and ambition we have developed in Saudi Arabia to compete internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">webook.com is expected to announce further partnerships and projects in Europe in the coming weeks as it continues to expand its global presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saudi entertainment and sports technology platform webook.com has expanded into Europe through the acquisition of Portugal-based SmartMove, a company specializing in event technology, ticketing, access control, membership management, CRM, e-commerce, and digital event operations. The deal marks webook.com\u2019s first operational base in Europe and reflects the growing ability of Saudi technology companies to export locally developed solutions and compete in global markets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":67415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8850],"tags":[12841,12842],"class_list":["post-67420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-venture","tag-smartmove","tag-webook-com"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67420"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67440,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67420\/revisions\/67440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}