Category: SparkNetworks

Tycoons of Love: The Men Who Run Online Dating

Posted on February 16, 2019

THINKNUM – Feb 16 – The world of dating apps is dominated by four companies – Match Group, The Meet Group, Badoo and Spark. Here are the four men behind these companies.

Barry diller2Match Group – Barry Diller
Born in San Fran in 1942, 77 year-old Barry Diller is Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC and Expedia. Diller married fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg in 2001 and is now estimated to be worth $3.3B. He also created the Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting. On top of creating his own empire in media, Diller's influence has spread to those who he mentored – colloquially called the "Killer Dillers" – which included former Disney Chairman & CEO Michael Eisner and Dawn Leslie Steel, one of the first woman to become the head of a major movie studio.

Geoff cookThe Meet Group – Geoff Cook
Geoff isn't The Meet Group's founder. That honor goes to his younger brother and sister, Dave and Catherine Cook. Dave and Catherine created myYearbook in 2005 as a place for ex-classmates to meet up online. Geoff became the company's power player after investing $250K that he made from his EssayEdge and ResumeEdge startups he created in his Harvard dorm room.

Andrey andreevBadoo – Andrey Andreev
Born in February 1974 in Moscow, Russia, Andreev founded Badoo, SpyLog, Begun, and Mamba. He also famously convinced ex-Tinder exec Whitney Wolfe Herd to create Bumble, of which Badoo is a 79% owner. Andreev was recently listed by Forbes as one of the world's richest people, estimated to be worth $1.5B.

Affinitas Jeronimo Folgueira for interviewSpark Networks – Jeronimo Folgueira
Before taking over Spark in 2017, Jeronimo was a Managing Director at Betfair plc (now Paddy Power plc). The Columbia Business School grad took over the reigns of all of Spark Networks SE when JDate and Christian Mingle-focused Spark merged with Affinitas GmbH.

The full article was originally published at Thinknum Media, but is no longer available.

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Looking for LOVe? Spark Networks Offers Serious Upside

Posted on February 7, 2019

Sparknetworks logo 2018SEEKING ALPHA – Feb 6 – Spark Networks SE was formed in 2017 through a 75:25 merger between Affinitas GmbH and Spark Networks, Inc. Its shares are severely mispriced because investors remain scarred by Old Spark's dismal performance. Old Spark struggled for years with falling subscribers and revenues and was heavily loss-making. YOY its revenues fell 22% in 2015 and 27% in 2016. Unlike Old Spark, Affinitas has a long history of organic and acquisitive growth. Spark Networks SE is forecast to achieve 2018E revenue of EUR108M and adjusted EBITDA of EUR10.4M. Base case valuation indicates over 100% upside vs. 30% downside presenting a compelling asymmetric investment opportunity. A bull case would offer large profit potential.

See full article at Seeking Alpha

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Spark Networks Hires New Chief Marketing Officer

Posted on January 23, 2019

Spark logoBUSINESS WIRE - Jan 23 – Spark Networks has appointed international marketing expert Luciana Telles to the role of Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Telles will lead global marketing across all the company’s premium dating brands; a portfolio including brands such as Jdate, Christian Mingle, EliteSingles, SilverSingles, eDarling, and JSwipe. Luciana, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has over 15 years of experience in marketing.

See full article at Business Wire

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Shareholders Increase Stake in Spark Networks

Posted on November 5, 2018

Sparknetworks logo 2018FAIRFIELD CURRENT – Nov 4 – First Manhattan Co. boosted its holdings in Spark Networks by 197.3% during the Q3. The firm owned 225,170 shares. First Manhattan owned 6.99% of Spark Networks worth $2.6M at the end of the most recent quarter. Separately, PEAK6 Investments increased its position in Spark Networks by 7.4% in the Q2. PEAK6 Investments now owns 478,119 shares valued at $5.1M.

by Darrell McKinsey
See full article at Fairfield Current

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SparkNetworks Ordered To Pay $500K In Fines For Auto-Payments

Posted on October 16, 2018

Sparknetworks logo 2018PATCH.COM – Oct 15 – Spark Networks USA, LLC, the parent company of niche dating sites Jdate and Christian Mingle, will pay $500K in penalties and up to $985K in restitution to customers whose subscriptions automatically renewed or whose refunds were denied when they requested them. Spark's dating sites were automatically renewing customer payments, without their express prior consent as required by federal and state law, among other alleged violations of law.

by Emily Holland
See full article at Patch.com

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Spark Networks Reports First Half 2018 Results

Posted on August 30, 2018

Spark networks logo dec 17PR NEWSWIRE – Aug 30 – For the six months ended June 30, 2018, total revenue was €53M, an increase of ~26% YOY. The growth was attributable to the 34% increase in the number of average paying subscribers. Spark contributed 91.3% of the YOY revenue increase through the addition of Jdate, JSwipe and Christian Mingle following the close of the Affinitas / Spark Merger in Nov 2017. "Our growth strategy remains focused on EliteSingles, Jdate, JSwipe and Christian Mingle, and the recently launched SilverSingles brand," said Jeronimo Folgueira, CEO of Spark Networks SE. Net Loss was €(1.1)M, a €557K reduction compared to the H1 2017.

See full article at PR Newswire

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Reasons Why L.A. Is The Perfect Market For Dating App Launches

Posted on August 2, 2018

Los angelesL.A. BIZ – July 31 – LA has a vibrant startup culture and a rapidly-growing tech industry, as well as an enormous media market, strong universities, a deep pool of human capital, a massive tech-focused consumer market, no shortage of capital investment, and a much lower cost of living than competitors like the Bay Area and New York City. Dating is naturally a local activity, so to prove that a new product concept or dating app works, you don't necessarily need to go national at the outset. L.A. is home to many of the most successful dating apps ever launched, including Tinder, eHarmony, Grindr, and Spark Networks.

by Andy Chen
See full article at L.A. Biz

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Can Match Fend Off Facebook And Bumble?

Posted on June 29, 2018

Match group website screenshot 2018FORTUNE – June 27 – Globally, there are 600M singles online – a number that's expected to jump to 700M by 2020 – yet the industry's biggest player by far, Match Group, is estimated to claim just 10% of that. If Match Group wants to stay No. 1, it will need to defend its turf. Those who know Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg say she is likely to be up to the task. She knows the industry inside and out, and she takes Match's mission almost as a personal responsibility. The company's biggest competitors include eHarmony, Spark Networks, Badoo and Bumble. Bumble claims 34M total registered users. Of its active users, roughly 10% are paid; last year the company is said to have pulled in $100M in subscription revenue. It has a Goliath-size backer: Wolfe Herd created Bumble with the help of Andrey Andreev, the founder of Badoo. Andreev owns 79%, Wolfe Herd 20% (the remaining 1% is split between two additional employees). For a few years, Tinder and Bumble coexisted but things recently turned testy. In March, Match filed its suit against Bumble, accusing it of patent infringement and stealing trade secrets. Four days later, Bumble fired back with an angry letter. A few days after that, it filed its own suit against Match, claiming Match had fraudulently obtained sensitive information during acquisition talks. But both companies were hit with a much bigger tsunami of news on May 8, when Zuckerberg made his announcement. Match Group is working on new female-friendly features, like a Gentleman's Badge, a designation recently added into its European Meetic brand that men earn through certain behaviors, such as filling out an entire profile or engaging in lengthy email correspondence; men with the badge get 33% more attention from women.

by Leigh Gallagher
The full article was originally published at Fortune Magazine, but is no longer available.

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ChristianMingle Is Expanding Across Europe

Posted on May 25, 2018

Christianmingle logo 2018CHRISTIANTODAY – May 24 – Christian Mingle already has an established presence in the UK, Canada, Australia and the US. The platform will go live across several countries in Europe this summer: it began a presence in France, Germany and Spain on March 13, and Russia, Poland and other countries are set to follow soon. The site is part of Spark Networks SE which owns several other dating brands such as JSwipe and Jdate, and the Mormon site LDSSingles.

See full article at Christian Today

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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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