REUTERS – 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.
Category: Outlets – Reuters
China Drone Maker Wants To Buy Zhenai.com
REUTERS – 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
See full article at Reuters
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
‘Snap’ Trademark Fight Waged Ahead Of Snapchat IPO
by Eric M. Johnson
See full article at Reuters
ProSiebenSat.1 Buys Majority Of Online Dating Group Parship Elite
REUTERS – Sep 5 – German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 is buying a majority stake in German online dating group Parship Elite in a deal valuing the company at 300M Eur ($335M) to expand its digital portfolio. ProSieben is paying 100M Eur for 50% plus one share in Parship Elite Group, which operates Parship and Elite Partner in the German-speaking world. It will also replace loans worth 100M Eur with preferred capital bearing a fixed rate of interest. The previous owners, Oakley Capital Private Equity II and the existing management, will keep just under 50% of shares in the group.
by Maria Sheahan
See full article at Reuters
See all posts on ElitePartner
See all posts on Parship
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
Ashley Madison Facing FTC Probe, CEO Apologizes
REUTERS – July 5 – The company faces a mountain of problems, including U.S. and Canadian class action lawsuits filed on behalf of customers whose personal information was posted online, and allegations that it used fake profiles to manipulate some customers. Avid said it does not know the focus of its own FTC investigation. Asked about the fembot messages sent to U.S. customers, Segal said: "that's a part of the ongoing process that we're going through … it's with the FTC right now."
by Alastair Sharp & Allison Martell
See full article at Reuters
eHarmony Sees Revenue From Elevated Careers Late This Year
Smell Dating Uses Dirty T-Shirts For Matchmaking
REUTERS – Mar 24 – Smell Dating is a New York matchmaking service that promises to help single people sniff out their perfect match by breathing in the odors from dirty T-shirts. The idea is based on the science of pheromones. The founders describe it as an art project. Each of its first 100 clients received a T-shirt to wear for three days straight without bathing. The clients then mailed the T-shirts back to be cut into swatches. Smell Dating then sent batches of 10 mixed swatches back to the clients to sniff.
by Barbara Goldberg & Angela Moore
See full article at Reuters
Match Group Short Sellers Not Looking For Long-term Commitment
REUTERS – Jan 6 – Short sellers have been having trouble committing to Match Group. Match's stock has fallen 8% from the close of its first day of trading on Nov. 19, but following over a month of volatile trading, it is still up 13% from the $12 per share price set by underwriters in its IPO. Traders are betting Match would fall further and join other freshly listed stocks struggling to keep stock prices above their IPO levels. Short sellers borrow shares and then sell them, hoping to repurchase them at a lower price and then return them to their owner. In the meantime, they must also pay interest to the owner.
Matchmaking Seen As Game Changer In Online Job Search Market
REUTERS – Nov 20 – In March 2016, eHarmony plans to launch Elevated Careers, an online employment service using the compatibility matching techniques it has used in pairing couples. "It could be a game changer," said Michael Haberman, an HR consultant. Elevated Careers will use predictive algorithms and dozens of variables based on features within CVs and profiles and the firm's job listings to find a professional match.
eHarmony’s Elevated Careers Would Contribute 60% Of The Revenue
REUTERS – Aug 31 – With surveys showing 70% of Americans are unhappy with their jobs, Neil Clark Warren thinks that matching personalities can work in the recruitment industry. "Nobody has really matched personalities in terms of the applicant and the supervisor. That's not something that LinkedIn or Monster do," Warren said, explaining eHarmony's plans to get into the employment industry. eHarmony plans to launch its recruitment service – Elevated Careers – in 2016, and expects the business to contribute ~60% of the company's revenue within three years. eHarmony expects revenue to be between $275M and $350M this year.
by Sai Sachin Ravikumar & Lehar Maan
See full article at Reuters