LA BUSINESS JOURNAL - Apr 26 - Spark Networks turned down a March 2 offer from Great Hill Equity Partners III, a Boston-based private equity fund that owns 44% of Spark, to buy the rest of the company for $3.10 per share. The bid represented a 5% premium to Spark’s March 1 closing price of $2.95 and valued the company at $64M. The offer was widely denounced as low ball for Spark, which owns 29 niche dating sites, including JDate.com. Osmium Partners, another fund that owns 6.1% of Spark, called the deal “grossly inadequate” and vowed to fight any offer less than $6 a share. Shares have since risen, closing at $3.59 on April 22. Mark Brooks, editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch.com and a dating service consultant, believes the Great Hill valuation was probably about right – for now. “I think the valuation is pretty solid at $3.10,” Brooks said. However, he believes that Spark can do better. “I know the management at Spark Networks and they are smart people. Someone is going to acquire them,” he said. “They have a hallmark brand and they think they can do better once the market picks up.” The decline in Spark’s business corresponds to a slump in the entire online dating sector, as paid providers face new competition from free dating sites and social networks such as Facebook, Brooks said. FULL ARTICLE @ LA BUSINESS JOURNAL
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