Yahoo Acquired Middle East Internet Company Maktoob.com for $164 million

Yahoo! just announced that it has acquired Maktoob.com, the major online community in the Arab world for an undisclosed amount. The tech publications paidContent and TechCrunch are reporting the deal in the $75 million to $85 million range. - Update: It is $164 million

(Maktoob.com was founded in 2000 as the world's first free Arabic/English Web-based email service and grow to a major portal with 16.5 million unique users.)

From a private equity and venture capital perspective, in 2000 Maktoob received $2.5 million investment from EFG-Hermes, a regional investment bank. In 2005, Dubai-based Abraaj Capital purchased a 40 per cent stake in the company in a deal estimated to have valued Maktoob at about $10 million. At the end of 2007, Abraaj sold its stake to another Maktoob investor, Tiger Global Management, a US-based hedge fund.

You can check their microsite on maktoob.yahoo.com for more details about the deal.