Category: Outlets – Reuters

Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1 Media (Parship) Acquires eHarmony

Posted on October 29, 2018

Eharmony prosiebensat1 logosREUTERS – Oct 29 – Germany's ProSiebenSat.1 Media has bought eHarmony, in the first significant deal since it carved out a new e-commerce joint venture with General Atlantic. eHarmony expects 2.8 million new users this year, and complements ProSieben's own Parship dating franchise which is the market leader in Germany. Terms were not disclosed. Parship and sister brand Elite Partner, count 2 million registrations a year. eHarmony has brand awareness of nearly 90% and a very big user base that can be served better from a common platform. ProSieben is pushing to diversify away from its core commercial TV franchise, where ad revenues are flat and the sector is being disrupted by streaming platforms like Netflix. The Munich-based broadcaster bought eharmony via its newly created Nucom division, in which investor General Atlantic took a 24.9% stake in February. Nucom owns 94% of Parship. eharmony raised $113 million in two funding rounds. Most recently in 2004, Tuputele Ventures, TCV, Sequoia Capital and Fayez Sarofim & Co. eHarmony CEO Grant Langston will continue to run the business while representatives of Parship will join its board.

by Douglas Busvine & Joern Poltz
See full article at Reuters

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This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.

Summarized by the IDEA team

Parship’s Parents Company ProSieben Wants To Double Its Market Value In 5 Years

Posted on October 15, 2018

Parship logo Sep 16REUTERS – Oct 14 – The CEO of ProSiebenSat.1 Media wants to double the market value of the German broadcaster in the next three to five years. Max Conze said he sees ProSieben's portfolio of Internet investments in companies such as online dating agency Parship or online beauty retailer Flaconi as the main lever for a higher market capitalisation. "That was nothing five years ago, today it is worth 2B euros ($2.31B) and should double in five years," he said.

by Emma Thomasson
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Match Group Hit With Patent Infringement Lawsuit

Posted on May 24, 2018

Match group logo jan 2017REUTERS – May 23 – NetSoc LLC sued Match in U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas, alleging infringement of a patent relating to "a social network to facilitate people in life issues." More info here.

by Jan Wolfe
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Market Swipes Left On Match Group

Posted on May 2, 2018

Stock fallinREUTERS – May 2 – Shares of Match Group and its parent IAC plunged, wiping some $5B off their combined market values, after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook would enter the online dating world. Match fell 22% and IAC fell ~18% in its biggest daily loss in about 13 years. Spark Networks, owner of Jdate and Christian Mingle, also closed 4% lower. Although analysts said Facebook's initial foray would not likely be a threat to established dating sites.

See full article at Reuters

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Twitter, Facebook And Google To Ban Cryptocurrency Ads

Posted on March 29, 2018

CryptocurrencyREUTERS – Mar 27 – Twitter is banning cryptocurrency ads, joining Facebook and Google in a clampdown that seeks to avoid giving publicity to potential fraud or large investor losses. The prohibition will cover advertising of ICOs – crowdfunding used to raise cash by creating new coins – as well as token sales. The new policy will also ban ads by cryptocurrency exchanges and cryptocurrency wallet services, unless they are public companies listed on certain major stock markets. Facebook has restricted crypto-related adverts, while Google announced a ban that comes into force in June. The price of bitcoin, already 4% in the red on Monday, fell further after the Twitter announcement.

by Tommy Wilkes & Fanny Potkin
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Grindr And Hornet Help LGBT Egyptians Stay Safe Amid Crackdown

Posted on October 24, 2017

Gay dating apps iconsREUTERS – Oct 23 – After a rainbow flag was raised at concert headlined by Mashrou' Leila, whose Lebanese singer is gay, over 70 people have been arrested in Egypt. Gay dating apps such as Grindr and Hornet are sending users tips on how to protect themselves from entrapment.

See full article at Haaretz

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Over-50s Dating Site Tackles Deadly Loneliness

Posted on October 16, 2017

Stitch logoREUTERS – Oct 13 – Marcie Rogo didn't see herself as a matchmaker when she started Stitch, a dating site for people 50+, after watching residents in the nursing home where she worked sit alone in their rooms with iPads. Loneliness is a serious medical problem for many older adults; research links it to declines in physical and mental health as well as premature death. Stitch asks all its members to go through a verification process to ensure they are over 50. Stitch signed up 5k members in its first year and now has 100k members around the world, with the biggest hubs being London, New York and Sydney.

by Lee Mannion
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Rela, Chinese Lesbian Dating App, Removed From Internet

Posted on May 30, 2017

Rela screenshotREUTERS – May 29 – Rela, Chinese lesbian dating app, has been shut down, along with its website and main social media account. The app, that was set up in 2012, has ~5M registered users. The service was temporarily suspended due to an "important adjustment in service," Rela told users on its WeChat app account. It was not immediately clear why Rela has been shut down. It is not illegal to be gay in China, although the country regarded homosexuality as a mental disorder until 2001. In April, another gay Chinese dating app, Zank, was also shut down after operating for about four years.

See full article at Reuters

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China Drone Maker Wants To Buy Zhenai.com

Posted on February 15, 2017

Zhenai logo aug 16REUTERS – Feb 15 – DEA General Aviation announced it's intent to acquire the dating site today, in order to expand its business. The company didn't disclose how much it would pay for Zhenai. Zhenai reported 1B yuan ($145,59M) revenue in 2016 and has more than 100M users.

by Brenda Goh
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This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.

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‘Snap’ Trademark Fight Waged Ahead Of Snapchat IPO

Posted on October 27, 2016

Infringement-300x185REUTERS – Oct 27 – Snap Inc, the newly named parent company of U.S. messaging and photo-sharing app Snapchat is facing a new lawsuit claiming it stole the trade name and reputation of an online dating services company Snap Interactive Inc. In a trademark lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Snap Interactive said the harm it is suffering is heightened by Snap's plans to go public next year in what is expected to be one of the biggest tech initial public offerings of the year.

by Eric M. Johnson
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Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team