• by Shankar Gupta , December 15, 2006

Fashion and lifestyle online publisher Glam Media has secured $18.5 million in venture funds, which it will use for mergers and acquisitions, Samir Arora, company chairman, said Thursday.

The company also forged a deal with Hearst Magazines to distribute content from Marie Claire magazine on Glam.com. At the same time, Glam.com will link to other Hearst publications, in an effort to promote subscriptions and circulation.

Arora said Glam Media is currently in talks to buy one company, and intends to make several other acquisitions next year. "We're looking for either Web 2.0 technology companies that we believe will be a good fit for our platform, or very targeted vertical content that has a highly engaged audience that is tied to it," he said. "Our goal will be to do several acquisitions next year--we have a short list of companies we're looking at."

Aside from acquisitions, the funds will be used to expand internationally, and branch out beyond fashion, beauty and lifestyle. The company also intends to add to its sales and editorial teams.

The site currently commands CPMs from brand advertisers ranging from $20 to $30 for static, non-rich media placements, and ranging from $50 to $125 for more integrated placements, a spokesman for the company said. The company claims 7 million unique monthly users across its media properties.

The funding round was led by Duff Ackerman & Goodrich Ventures, with participation from Accel Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, WaldenVC, and Information Capital. As part of the financing, CNET chairman and E. W. Scripps board member Jarl Mohn is joining the board of Glam Media.