BUSINESS INSIDER – July 15 – In 1994, when only ~5% of Americans had Internet, Gary Kremen took a $2,500 advance on his credit card to buy the domain name Match.com. Today, Match is one of the most-visited dating sites in the country. According to comScore, it attracted ~6M unique visitors in May 2015. 2 years after founding the company, Kremen walked away with just $50K. In 1993. Kremen was paying $2.99 per minute on 900-number dating services. He found it inefficient so he founded Electric Classifies, an online personals database. Late in 1994, he secured ~$1.5M in funding. Match went live in April 1995. Deepak Kamra, the lead VC at Canaan Partners responsible for the Match investment, said the early content was “borderline porn.” The VCs had serious doubts about Kremen’s management skills. They removed Kremen from the CEO post in mid-1995.
Category: Match.com
What Do You Think Of The New Match Ads?
OPW – July 15 – The new Match.com ads are great / ok / terrible. What’s your thoughts? They position Match as not-for-hookups (thats Tinder isn’t it?) or Marriage (thats eharmony), but Match.com is for a strong connection. Here’s the ads…
Match Group Buys PlentyOfFish For $575M
TECH CRUNCH – July 14 – Match Group has agreed to acquire PlentyOfFish (POF) for $575 million in cash and expects to close early in Q4. Tinder flicked the monetization switch this spring. Singles are a core demographic for marketing other types of self-improvement services where Match/IAC also plays.
"As more people than ever use more dating apps than ever with more frequency than ever, PlentyOfFish’s addition both brings new members into our family of products and deepens the lifetime relationship we have with our users across our portfolio," said Sam Yagan, CEO of The Match Group. "I look forward to working closely with Markus and extending the company’s impressive growth trajectory." The acquisition adds 3 million daily actives to IAC’s digital media portfolio of more than 150 brands and 20 operating businesses. Match Group covers ~50 brands in the dating, education and fitness space. IAC reports 370 million unique monthly users and 2.5 billion monthly visits to its entire portfolio.
by Natasha Lomas
See full article at Tech Crunch
Mark Brooks: Recently Markus said he was at a $100 million revenue run rate. Match bought Singlesnet, OKCupid, then Datehookup. So the writing has been on the wall for some time. It was just a matter of price. Tinder showed that Match Group could seed and grow a credible threat to the POF business. It's a good time for Markus to join with Match Group, and cash in his chips.
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This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
The Match Group Spin-Off Preliminary Bullish Thesis
SEEKING ALPHA – July 13 – IAC is planning to spin-off its Match Group and pursue an IPO for the new company. IAC has a history of successful spin-offs of significant business such as Expedia, LendingTree, TicketMaster and Home Shopping Network. The Match Group dominates ~50% of the $2.2B eDating market. 88% of Match group revenues are generated in the dating business. Tinder held ~70% of the mobile dating market and tripled its reach between Nov '13 and Mar '15. If Tinder could convert ~2% (typical freemium conversion rate) of its 50M users to a $20 per month, it could drive an additional $240M per year, which is ~25% of Match Group dating revenues in 2014.
by Lior Ronen
See full article at SeekingAlpha
Pop Stars Turn To Dating Apps Like Tinder, Grindr To Promote Music
GLOBAL NEWS – July 1 – Madonna's latest album was advertised on Grindr, while Jason Derulo looked to Tinder to debut a music video. Carey launched a profile on Match.com to premiere her music video for the single, "Infinity," and last week DJ-producer Afrojack took over Match's Twitter account for eight hours to answer questions about love and relationships while promoting his new single, "SummerThing!". PlentyofFish also worked with Derulo when the website appeared in the music video for his song "Ridin Solo" in 2010. POF also appeared in Britney Spears, Flo Rida and Kesha’s videos.
by Mesfin Fekadu
See full article at Global News
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Match Group Could Fetch ~$1.2B From Its IPO
BLOOMBERG – June 26 – IAC’s Match Group plans to to sell ~20% of its common stock this year. The sale could fetch $600M to $1.2B if 10% – 20% of the business is sold to the public, according to Cowen and Co., valuing the division at $6B or more. IAC bought Match.com in 2003. Meetic joined in 2009 along with People Media. In 2011, IAC spent $50M for OKCupid. In 2012 came Tinder which "gamified" the online dating process. "There’s a lot of people that just weren’t prepared to get onto Internet dating," says Mark Brooks, a dating-website analyst and consultant at Courtland Brooks. "Tinder warmed people up to the psychology that it’s not a dating site. Everybody is on it; it’s fun. That’s really the thrill ride here." But free and fun dating apps can be volatile, while cannibalizing customers from such paid services as Match.com, Brooks says. Last year, as the popularity of free-to-use Tinder grew, paid subscriptions at Match fell by ~100K in the Q4, compared with Q3. Now IAC is trying to make money out of Tinder.
Match Group’s IPO Could Be A Success Story
WSJ – June 25 – IAC/InterActiveCorp has followed through on a long-expected plan to pursue an IPO of Match Group. Mr. Diller, IAC’s chairman, isn’t breaking up with Match Group entirely. The company is planning to sell a stake of less than 20% in the division, which includes fitness and educational businesses. Investors cheered the move, sending IAC’s shares up $3.93, or 5.1%, to $81.19. Match Group is IAC’s strongest growth engine, bringing in 29% of overall revenue in 2014. For all the buzz around dating sites, there hasn’t yet been a significant win for VCs in terms of an IPO, said Mark Brooks, CEO of Courtland Brooks, an adviser to dating companies. That’s been a challenge for entrepreneurs. "We need a success story, and I think the Match Group could be a success story," he said. If the IPO doesn’t go over well with investors, "we can kiss the opportunity of future funding goodbye."
by Georgia Wells & Lukas I. Alpert
See full article at Wall Street Journal
Match Group To IPO This Year
PR NEWSWIRE – June 25 – IAC's Board of Directors has approved the pursuit of an IPO of Match Group. Joey Levin, formerly CEO of its Search & Apps business, has been named CEO of IAC and joined its Board of Directors. Greg Blatt will remain Chairman, and Sam Yagan CEO of The Match Group. IAC expects The Match Group to issue less than 20% of its common stock in the IPO, with IAC's remaining stake in The Match Group represented by both high- and low-vote common shares. The IPO is expected to be completed during Q4 of this year.
See full article at IAC website
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
Britons Spend More On Dates Than French Or Italians
CNBC – June 2 – The average British singleton spends £120 per date (3 to 4 times more than in France or Italy, according to joint research by Match.com and the Centre of Economics and Business Research. Italians spent £43 on a date, while the French only £31. Germans spent ~£39 per date.
Japan’s Eureka, Developer Of Dating And Couple Apps, Acquired By Match Group
THE BRIDGE – May 27 – Since its launch in 2008, Tokyo-based startup Eureka has developed Pairs and Couples, mobile apps for dating and couples. The company has been wholly acquired by The Match Group. Details of the acquisition price has not been disclosed. Pairs is a Facebook-based dating and marriage hunting app launched in 2012 and has acquired ~1.5M users in Japan and 800K users in Taiwan to date. Couples is a memory-sharing and messaging app for couples, and has acquired ~2.2M users.
by Masaru Ikeda
See full article at The Bridge
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