KSA-Based webook.com Acquires Portugal’s SmartMove To Establish First European Base

webook.com, a Saudi Arabia-born global technology platform for live experiences, has acquired SmartMove, a Portugal-based event technology company, with the deal marking its first acquisition in Europe, as well as the establishment of its first operational base in the continent.  

Founded in Riyadh in 2014 by Nadeem Bakhsh, Faheem Bakhsh, Farrukh Bandey, Yousef Shanti, and Hamdi Missaoui, webook.com is building the infrastructure powering how fans discover, access, and experience live events globally. Since its launch, webook.com has processed more than 40 million ticket bookings and reached over 18 million users across more than 180 countries.  

Meanwhile, SmartMove, with more than 30 years of market presence, is one of Portugal’s most deeply embedded sports technology companies. Specializing in membership management, ticketing systems, access control, fan engagement, e-commerce, and digital event operations, SmartMove is known for operating the technology behind the ticketing platforms and fan membership of Portugal’s biggest clubs, the Portuguese Football Federation,  Liga Portugal, national cup competitions, and corporate ticketing platforms. 

The acquisition of SmartMove thus strengthens webook.com's presence in one of Europe's largest live entertainment and sports markets, while expanding its capabilities across football, motorsport, live entertainment, and fan experiences. It also brings an established European team and long-standing industry relationships into webook.com's growing global ecosystem. In an interview with Inc. Arabia, Nadeem, co-founder and CEO of webook.com, discussed the company's global ambitions and the rationale behind the acquisition. 

“Our goal is genuinely global, [from] Hawaii to Tokyo,” Nadeem told Inc. Arabia. “We want webook.com to be how people discover and book live experiences anywhere in the world. At that scale, you face a fundamental choice: build teams, relationships, and market credibility from the ground up in every new geography, or find partners who are already there and already trusted. The first path can work, but it is slow, and in live experiences, trust is not something you can shortcut. So, our approach is to be flexible about how we enter a market, but very clear about what we need—credible local foundations, real relationships, and capabilities—that help us move faster without losing relevance.” 

“SmartMove has been in this market for over 30 years,” Nadeem continued. "They operate the technology behind ticketing, fan membership, and matchday access for Portugal's biggest clubs, the Portuguese Football Federation, and Liga Portugal. And European football ticketing isn't a simple checkout process; it's connected to membership status, season-ticket rights, eligibility rules, access control. In many European football markets, club membership models such as Sócios are a core part of the fan relationship and an important source of recurring revenue for clubs. SmartMove understands that world deeply, and in Portugal, has built its technology and expertise around the entire journey. The relationships that come with it can't be put together quickly. They have to be earned.” 

webook.com’s acquisition of SmartMove thus provides it with an established foothold in the European market; however, Nadeem noted that the deal also brings together the two companies respective strengths. “The fit works because both sides bring something the other doesn't have in quite the same way,” he explained. “SmartMove brings deep expertise in European club membership systems and the relationships that come from being at the centre of that market. We bring the technology infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered anti-scalping and identity-linked ticketing technology, and a connected ecosystem that goes well beyond the match itself: travel, hotels, dining, digital commerce. Together, we cover more of the fan journey than either of us could reach on our own.” 

With the combined capabilities of webook.com and SmartMove now in place, Nadeem said that he and his team’s focus is on scaling the business’ presence across Europe. “Portugal was the entry point, not the destination,” Nadeem said. “Within a month of completing the acquisition, we were active in France. It has also put us in position to support major international sports projects in Portugal, the kind that demand local trust, complex operations, and global-standard delivery well before the public ever sees them. Those opportunities would not have been available to us without an established, credible presence on the ground. The goal is a European platform, and Portugal gives us the credibility, relationships, and operating foundation to build from across the continent.” 

Beyond webook.com's own growth ambitions, Nadeem pointed out that its acquisition of SmartMove also signals a broader shift in the GCC's technology ecosystem. “For years, the assumption was that the region's role in global technology was to be a customer, a source of capital, or an eventual acquisition target for companies coming from somewhere else,” he said. “That's changing. Companies here are now building the technology, the operational capability, and frankly the confidence to go out and acquire internationally themselves. The SmartMove acquisition isn't just a Saudi company buying a Portuguese company. It's a technology export—infrastructure built here, finding a market in Europe.” 

“And what made that possible is worth being honest about,” Nadeem continued. “webook.com grew up in the middle of Vision 2030's most intense phase of expansion, inside one of the fastest-growing entertainment and sports ecosystems in the world. That doesn't just create opportunity. It creates pressure. Saudi users are some of the most demanding digital platform audiences anywhere. When a major event goes on sale, millions of people are competing for tickets in minutes. they don't accept crashes. They expect it to work, every time, at scale. Building under that kind of pressure is what made us genuinely competitive when we entered international markets.” 

For Nadeem, the momentum behind such cross-border expansion is underpinned by broader changes taking place within Saudi Arabia's startup ecosystem. “The conditions for this kind of shift are real,” he noted. “Saudi Arabia became the MENA's leading venture capital market in 2025, with record funding and deal activity. That investment should now translate into the next phase: Saudi companies using what they've built to go out into the world and compete. The real measure of an ecosystem's maturity isn't how many startups raise money. That's an input. What actually matters is whether companies can build real technology, generate sustainable revenue, make acquisitions, integrate international teams, and compete in markets where they weren't born.” 

According to Nadeem, webook.com's acquisition of SmartMove is one example of that evolution already taking shape. “Deals like this one show that Saudi companies don't have to wait to be acquired,” Nadeem said. “They can be the ones doing the acquiring. There's also a mindset shift happening that I don't think gets talked about enough. Vision 2030 changed the scale of ambition for Saudi founders. The next generation isn't building for the region and hoping to be discovered. They're building with the expectation that a company from Riyadh can compete globally, acquire European businesses, and shape industries that go way beyond the Kingdom. The direction of travel is two-way now.” 

Looking back on the acquisition, Nadeem highlighted one aspect about it that he doesn’t want any of his fellow entrepreneurial peers to miss. “A lot of what made it work was having the right person as a bridge between two different cultures,” Nadeem shared. “Our Vice President of International Sales and Business Development in Europe, Johannes Lippert, is European, but he's spent a lot of time working in Saudi Arabia. He understands how both sides think, communicate, and build trust. Without him, I genuinely don't think the deal would have happened. In a cross-border cross-culture acquisition, that kind of person is not just helpful; it can be the difference between a deal that looks good on paper and one that actually works successfully.” 

“The basic foundations still matter as well,” Nadeem added. “You need to build a business that gives you options; real revenue, controlled burn, and enough financial strength to move when the right opportunity appears. Before you can acquire, your own financial systems, processes, governance, and decision-making need to be ready for bringing on another entity. When you look at a potential target, don’t start only with the revenue line. Start with the strategic gap. Ask what they have that you can’t build quickly: embedded relationships, operational expertise, local credibility, or market knowledge that would take years to earn.” 

Nadeem also urged startups to ensure that the technology they’re building is ready to work beyond their operational borders. “If your platform only works in one geography, one language, one payment environment, or one use case, it becomes much harder to combine with another company or adapt to different cultures, regulations, and customer behaviors,” Nadeem said. “And you have to keep your own house clean; documented intellectual property, clear contracts, strong processes, and fast decision-making. That’s what lets you move seriously when the right moment arrives.” 

Pictured in the lead image is webook.com cofounder and CEO Nadeem Baksh. Image courtesy webook.com.