Content newswire NewsCred buys cloud publisher Daylife

NewsCred is a media upstart that offers a one-stop shop for high quality content from the likes of the Economist and Bloomberg. After relaunching less than a year ago with a $4 million investment, the company’s technology-driven syndication service has proved a hit with both publishers and brands.

Today, NewsCred took a further step toward the media big leagues with the acquisition of Daylife, a cloud service that offers publishing tools like image galleries, polls and timelines.

The deal creates a potent new platform for non-publishing brands to create content. The combined entity will be able, for instance, to offer a car or beer maker the ability to create an elegant news information site filled with timely content from professional news agencies. It also means NewsCred and its hundreds of partner news outlets have an opportunity to tap into Daylife’s client base which includes brands like the History Channel, GE, ESPN and Thomson Reuters.

Financial terms were not disclosed but NewsCred CEO Shafqat Islam said by phone that the acquisition would double the company’s customer and revenue base and that NewsCred would retain all Daylife staff.  He added that Daylife’s partnerships with image owners like Getty was a key part of the deal.

“Images drive websites, they’re what fuels the social web these days,” said Islam, noting that user-generated services like Instagram are typically insufficient for professional publishing.

The acquisition caps a remarkable year for NewsCred, which had to reinvent itself for the third time last November, after failing to find success as a consumer service. Since its relaunch as a digital newswire, the company appears to have hit on a niche — removing the technology and licensing friction between publishers and brands that want their content.

Asked about the future of NewsCred, Islam said further acquisitions or an IPO were far from his mind and that he is focusing instead on building the company. For now, NewsCred will focus on enterprise but Islam said down the road the company may consider offering slices of its portfolio to consumers or small businesses.