REUTERS – Mar 27 – Shares in ProSiebenSat.1 Media rallied by 9% on Friday after the departure of CEO Max Conze. ProSieben announced that Conze was leaving with immediate effect and CFO Rainer Beaujean would assume his responsibilities. Conze had sought to accelerate a pivot to digital commerce and advertising to offset a relentless decline in ProSieben's core commercial TV franchise, but while this preserved top-line growth it squeezed profitability and pushed up debt. The recent announcement of the $500M takeover of The Meet Group incurred the disapproval of Italian broadcaster Mediaset, which took advantage of a precipitous decline in ProSieben's share price to up its stake to 20%. Mediaset wanted ProSieben to change course and concentrate on its core media business. Analysts at Citi said it was possible that Mediaset could partner with Czech investor Daniel Kretinsky, who owns a 10% stake in ProSieben, to make a takeover bid.
Category: Outlets – Reuters
Beijing Kunlun to Sell Grindr for $608.5M
REUTERS – Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun Tech has agreed to sell Grindr for ~$608.5M to San Vicente Acquisition. San Vincente Acquisition comprises a group of entrepreneurs and investors in the technology, media and telecommunications industries. One of the investors in the group is Chinese-born U.S. citizen James Lu, a former executive at Chinese search engine giant Baidu.
by Echo Wang & Chibuike Oguh
See full article at Reuters
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
Russia’s Security Service Tells Internet Firms to Hand Over User Data
REUTERS – Feb 11 – Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has ordered some of the country's major internet companies to give it continuous access to their systems. The list, drawn up by Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor, contains more than 200 entities such as popular messenger service Telegram, some Yandex services, social network VK and classified advertisement website Avito.ru. Companies that fail to comply can be blocked. Tinder said last year that it had agreed to be added to Roskomnadzor's register but had not divulged users' personal information.
Alibaba Praised by China’s Gay Community for Ad Recognizing Same-sex Couples
REUTERS – Jan 9 – Alibaba Group has released subtle ad that features a gay couple returning home for the Lunar New Year. The spot began to circulate widely on Chinese social media as gay groups praised it for its good-natured humor and subtlety. Depictions of gay and lesbian individuals in entertainment and media are rare, due to government dissuasion or outright censorship. However, China has vibrant gay communities and activists in its major cities, and same sex couples are increasingly tolerated across society.
Parent Company of eharmony Eyes Acquisition of The Meet Group
REUTERS – Dec 16 – German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE's e-commerce arm NuCom Group is exploring the acquisition of U.S. livestreaming app developer The Meet Group. NuCom, whose holdings include online dating website eharmony, has made a preliminary expression of interest to buy The Meet Group, the sources said, cautioning that there is no certainty that there will be negotiations that lead to a deal.
IAC Must Face Tinder Co-founder’s $2 Billion Lawsuit
REUTERS – Oct 30 – A New York state appeals court has rejected IAC's bid to dismiss a $2B lawsuit by a group of Tinder founders, executives and early employees who said it undervalued the dating app to avoid paying them billions of dollars. The decision affirmed a June 13 ruling by New York State Supreme Court Justice Saliann Scarpulla in Manhattan. IAC and Match separately sued Rad in January, accusing him of having secretly copied files and other proprietary information. They also filed a $400M countersuit in September accusing him of having recorded conversations with his superiors without their consent. Rad has sought to dismiss the January lawsuit, and in an Oct. 17 court filing Rad's lawyer called the countersuit "legally without merit" and an effective attempt to bankrupt Rad.
Tinder to Launch Its First Scripted Video Series
REUTERS – Sep 17 – Tinder has wrapped filming on its first television series. Making new shows is part of a larger strategy that will be revealed in the near future. The multi-episode series centers on an "apocalyptic" storyline and includes a relationship sub plot. It was filmed in Mexico City in late August. Offering original content is an increasingly popular strategy for the technology and retail industries. The strategy seeks to engage users on a deeper level even when they are not using the service.
by David Alire Garcia & Angela Moon
See full article at Reuters
China’s Kunlun to Relaunch Grindr IPO
REUTERS – July 28 – Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun is relaunching Grindr's IPO process after it said a U.S. national security panel had dropped its opposition to the plan. Beijing Kunlun was preparing for an IPO (IPO) of Grindr in September, but the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS), which reviews deals for potential national security concerns, intervened. At the request of U.S. officials, Kunlun that month agreed to sell the dating app. Grindr will be listed on a stock exchange outside China. Beijing Kunlun acquired a majority stake in Grindr in 2016 for $93M and bought out the remainder of the company in 2018.
Grindr’s Data Misstep and Scramble to Make up
REUTERS – May 22 – Early last year, Grindr's Chinese owner Beijing Kunlun Tech gave some Beijing-based engineers access to personal information of millions of Americans such as private messages and HIV status, prompting U.S. officials to ask it to sell the dating app. After taking full control of Grindr in January 2018, Beijing Kunlun Tech stepped up management changes and consolidated operations to cut costs and expand operations in Asia. In the process, some of the company's engineers in Beijing got access to the Grindr database for several months. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a government panel that scrutinizes foreign acquisitions of U.S. companies, worried that Grindr's database may include compromising information about personnel who work in military or intelligence. China's foreign ministry said it was aware of the situation with Grindr and urged the US to allow fair competition and not politicize economic issues. Grindr hired a cyber forensic firm and a third-party auditor at CFIUS’s behest to report on its compliance and to make sure the data was secure. Kunlun kept trying to salvage the Grindr deal until as recently as last week, when it said it would sell it by June next year.
Grindr Defeats Appeal Over Harassment on Gay Dating App
REUTERS – Mar 27 – A U.S. federal appeals court refused to hold Grindr liable to a New York man who said his former boyfriend used the gay dating app to post fake profiles, in a harassment campaign that caused 1,000 men to approach the victim for sex. The man sued Grindr in Jan. 2017, and a federal judge dismissed his case a year later, prompting the appeal. His lawyer Tor Ekeland said he was "disappointed but not surprised" by Wednesday's decision because courts are "extremely deferential to big tech" when interpreting the CDA (Communications Decency Act). "Apps are being used to stalk, rape and murder. Under the court's reading of the CDA, big tech companies don't have responsibility to do anything about it, even if they know it is happening. Congress needs to amend this statute," he said.