Internet Dating Investments

Kippo Raises $2M for a Dating App for Gamers

VENTURE BEAT - May 28 - Kippo has raised $2M for a dating app for gamers who want to find like-minded companions. Primer Sazze Partners led the round, with participation from Tinder executives and partners at Eaton Workshop, NextGen Venture, and IHeartComix. The capital will primarily be used to expand the interactive features on the app. The name for the company comes from a Korean word, and it's a twist on "happiness". The grand vision is to create a platform for everybody, a platform that is a gamified experience for people to meet new people". Gamers identify what games they like and include a lot of photos in their profiles. They also connect using in-game names, rather than phone numbers. 93% of Kippo users go on a virtual date and play video games together before meeting in-person. The company was founded in 2019 by David Park, Cheeyoon Lee, and Sean Suyeda.

by Dean Takahashi
See full article at Venture Beat

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Paktor Acquired by Singapore Advisory Firm Kollective Ventures

TECH IN ASIA - May 21 - Singapore-based advisory firm Kollective Ventures has acquired dating and networking app operator Paktor Group from Taiwan's M17 Entertainment. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Paktor Group was formed in 2013 by M17's current CEO Joseph Phua. It owns a number of dating assets, including its namesake app that has operations in Taiwan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. It also runs Goodnight, an app that enables voice conversations between strangers. Paktor was merged with livestreaming company 17 Media in April 2017 to form M17.

by Miguel Cordon
See full article at Tech In Asia

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Private Equity Outfit KKR Has Acquired 5.2% Stake in ProSiebenSat.1

TBI - May 12 - KKR has decided to invest in the broadcaster because it believes that the market is undervaluing the company. The investment marks the second time around with ProSiebenSat.1 for KKR. KKR's move comes six weeks after former CEO Max Conze left ProSiebenSat.1, following two years in the job. The former Dyson exec saw the company's share price tumble, while execs departed amid a strategy that included investing $500M in dating app developer The Meet Group. The company has now outlined new plans to turn away from e-commerce, with an eye on selling its NuCom arm (parent of Parship, ElitePartner, eharmony) and concentrating purely on entertainment.

by Stuart Thomson
See full article at TBI

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Match Is Offering $500 Million in Bonds That Mature in 2028

MARKETWATCH - May 12 - Match Group is offering $500M in senior notes that mature in 2028 in a private offering. Proceeds will be used to redeem the company's 6.375% senior notes due 2024 and for general corporate purposes.

by Ciara Linnane
See full article at MarketWatch

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Live Streaming Platform M17 Raises $26.5M in Series D Round

DEALSTREET ASIA - May 11 - M17 Entertainment has landed $26.5M in a Series D funding round led by the Temasek-backed Vertex Growth Fund. The company will focus on deepening its presence in Japan and the rest of developed Asia, while planning expansion into the US and new markets such as the Middle East. M17 said it has the largest live streaming platform in developed Asia, with ~60% market share by revenue in Japan and Taiwan. M17’s estimated annual revenue is $180M. In 2018, M17 raised $25M. The company also raised a $40M Series A round in 2017. M17 was formed in April 2017 after the merger of Singapore-based Paktor Group and Taiwan-based 17 Media, a regional live streaming company. The company's main dating apps are Paktor and Goodnight. M17 had planned to list its Paktor dating and networking app on the New York Stock Exchange in a $115M IPO in 2018, but it withdrew the application after the IPO roadshow only raised $60M.

by Leslie Shaffer
See full article at DealStreet Asia

See the top news on Paktor
See the top news on Goodnight

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Sam Altman Backs 'Video-First' Dating App Curtn

TECH CRUNCH - May 5 - A new dating app advised by Grindr founder Joel Simkhai and former YC chief Sam Altman is aiming to capitalize on the skyrocketing popularity of video chat. The new app, called Curtn, is pushing video as its differentiating factor, encouraging users to create short videos for their dating profiles and aiming to move conversations to video chat after users match. CEO Brenden Strauss and his co-founder and CTO, Benjamin Honig have some noteworthy advisors. For one, Strauss' boyfriend Joel Simkhai is the co-founder of Grindr and was one of his biggest inspirations for building out the app. Former YC president and current OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is also serving as an advisor and is one of the startup's first investors. The team has raised ~$425K pre-seed round of investment to get the app ready to share with the world.

by Lucas Matney
See full article at Tech Crunch

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Grindr Sale Finalized for ~$608.5 Million

QUEERTY - Mar 28 - The move came just four years after Kunlun bought the app from its original creator, Joel Simkhai. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S, a government watchdog group, ordered Kunlun to sell off a majority stake in the company last year. One of the new investors is James Lu, a Chinese tech mogul. A company called San Vicente Acquisition Partners was set up to make the purchase and allow the buyers to stay anonymous.

by Dan Tracer
See full article at Queerty

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Dating.com Group Launches $50 Million Corporate VC Fund

PULSE 2.0 - Mar 20 - The fund will invest in companies and projects in the dating space. Dating.com Group has recently acquired India-based Dil Mil - which is known as the "Tinder for South Asians". Some of the company's other apps include Dating.com, AnastasiaDate.com, Tubit, DateMyAge, AsianDate.com, and AfricanDate.com. The first investment was in S'More - which is a dating app encourages users to learn more about a person before looking at profile photos.

by Amit Chowdhry
See full article at Pulse 2.0

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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

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The Meet Group to Be Acquired by NuCom for $500m

BUSINESSWIRE - Mar 5 - The Meet Group shareholders will receive $6.30 per share in cash. The deal is expected to close in the 2nd half 2020. NuCom Group is a joint company owned by of ProSiebenSat.1 and General Atlantic's. NuCom's portfolio, under Parship Group, currently includes Parship, Elite Partner and eharmony. The purchase price represents a 30% and 43% premium to the unaffected 30 and 60 trading day volume weighted average price.

Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group said. "This transaction will allow us to tap new strategic growth opportunities by leveraging our video platform and ProSiebenSat.1's experience with content and entertainment. What's more, with this transaction and the participation of both General Atlantic and ProSiebenSat.1, we will achieve a new level of financial scale and backing, which has the potential to further accelerate our growth."

Max Conze, CEO, ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE said, "The acquisition of The Meet Group is one of ProSiebenSat.1's largest transactions. It will significantly advance our ambition to create one of the leading global players in online dating and interactive live video. We believe the combination of these two successful and complementary businesses will also create synergies within the ProSiebenSat.1 universe and accelerate the growth of our market share in the German live video apps sector."

Tim Schiffers, CEO Parship Group said: "Following a successful acquisition of eharmony, we have proven that we can manage new businesses and accelerate their growth by combining the best of both worlds."

See full article at Businesswire

Mark Brooks: The Meet Group is a wonderful fit. Great news for the industry. The dating industry is heating up again. (Full Disclosure: The Meet Group are a client of Courtland Brooks, and I own shares)

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