YAHOO FINANCE – June 25 – Last week, Match Group announced it had purchased a 51% controlling stake in the dating app Hinge. Match Group has the right to acquire the remaining shares of Hinge within the next 12 months. Match Group's dominance in the online dating market and aggressive acquisition strategy raises the question: Why hasn't the company raised antitrust concerns? The company already owns ~45 dating businesses, with over 25 of those businesses acquired since 2009. "We're highly acquisitive, and we're always talking to companies," said Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg. "If you want to sell, you should be talking to us." Last year, Match Group generated ~$1.3B in revenues, accounting for roughly one-third of the dating market's $4B in global revenues in 2017, according to Aegis Capital Managing Director Victor Anthony. It's possible the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has deemed Match Group's spate of acquisitions over the years insufficient to warrant an antitrust case. Amazon, for example, accounted for ~44% of e-commerce sales in 2017 and has yet to face a lawsuit from federal antitrust regulators. Monopolization is just hard to prove.
by JP Mangalindan
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