Online Personals Watch: News on the Online Dating Industry and Business

Mixing Chatroulette With Tinder - the Future of Online Dating?

GIZMODO - Apr 26 - Dating platforms in China are starting to experiment with livestream. China's biggest Internet dating site Jiayuan first started offering video streaming in January. First, a user would start a streaming session with a set topic, then wait for a second user to join. Then if someone wanted to talk to that host, they would request to join. If the request was accepted, then the two could video chat. That conversation would then broadcast live for other users to watch and comment. There were a lot of empty rooms. So the company added third party emcees to serve as matchmaker hosts. It also created a karaoke feature. Since then, two other major dating platforms - Baihehunlian and Zhenai - also added livestream features. Americans have been swiping left and right for more than five years now and are collectively ready for a different online dating experience.

by Jennings Brown
See full article at Gizmondo

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VCs Aren't Falling in Love With Dating Startups

CRUNCHBASE - Feb 14 - In 2018, venture investors put $127M globally into 27 dating-focused startups. It's certainly tiny compared to the ~$300B in global venture investment across all sectors last year. While the US is home to the majority of funded startups in the dating category, the bulk of investment has gone to China. In 2018, ~80% of dating-related investment went to a single company - Blued, a Grindr-style hookup app for gay men. In 2017, the bulk of capital went to Chinese mobile dating app Tantan, and in 2014, Beijing-based matchmaking site Baihe raised ~$250M. Meanwhile, in the U.S, we are seeing an assortment of startups raising smaller rounds.

by Joanna Glasner
See full article at Crunchbase

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The Billion-dollar Business of Matchmaking China's 200M Singles

FINANCIAL REVIEW - Jan 3 - Many people in China who want to get married are having trouble finding a partner. China is home to ~200M singles. The combination of freedom of choice and social pressure has become overwhelming for many. Thousands of flirt trainers, marriage brokers and love gurus are now employed in China's quest for happiness. Baihe has ~300M members and 3000 would-be matchmaker employees. The origin of a potential husband is extremely important for well-educated Chinese women, who value prestige and status: things like an apartment and a car. But even the rich struggle with love. The elite agency Diamond Love has 5M members, with the especially well-to-do paying up to $21K a month for "custom services" promising them the wife of their dreams.

by Katrin Kuntz
See full article at Financial Review

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China's 200 Million Singles Are A Big Business

SPIEGEL.DE - Aug 4 - As a result of the government's decades long one-child per family policy and a preference for boys, an imbalance of the sexes has developed. For every 114 men in China, there are 100 women; overall, there are 30M more men than women. Those who remain unmarried die a quick social death in the country. The combination of freedom of choice and social pressure has become overwhelming for many. Thousands of flirt trainers, marriage brokers and love gurus are now employed in China's quest for happiness. Baihe, the largest online platform for people looking for someone to marry, has 300M members and 3k would-be matchmaker employees. The elite agency Diamond Love has its headquarters in Shanghai. It has 5M members, with some of them paying ~$15K a month for "custom services" promising them the wife of their dreams. A person's social status in China is determined by the authorities. The so-called Hukou system of household registration, splits all people into two categories: rural or urban. The place where a Chinese person is registered determines their access to doctors, schools - and also to urban, middle-class women. No date takes place in China without someone politely asking about the other person's Hukou status. Someone who moves to the city can, with some luck, attain the same privileges as the people who were born there. The Chinese government long ago recognized that the hordes of frustrated men migrating to the cities are a problem. The party now wants more children and is organizing mass group dates across the country.

by Katrin Kuntz
See full article at Spiegel.de

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China's Tinder Embraces AI

SCMP - July 11 - AI will be a key focus for Tantan this year, said CEO Yu Wang. The technology will be used to help the company accurately identify new users, boost the accuracy of advertising, as well as contributing to growth in terms of user numbers and revenues, he said. Mobile dating is a popular trend in China where the number of smartphones outstripped the country's 1.4B population. Even WeChat, the country's most popular messaging app owned by Tencent, whose active monthly users have topped nearly 1B, offers apps such as Shake and Drifting Bottle that give its users more opportunities to get in touch with potential dates. Momo, another popular location-based hook-up app in China, acquired Tantan in February for $760M. Unlike Momo and Tantan, which are mostly favoured by younger users who are more inclined to have casual dates, a number of Chinese apps, such as Jiayuan and Baihe, specifically target those looking for a life-long partner. Revenue generated by China's online dating industry reached 4B yuan ($603M) in 2017, according to iResearch.

by Li Tao & Iris Deng
See full article at SCMP

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Fosun Buys Matchmaking Service Provider From Chairman For $603M

DEAL STREET ASIA - July 5 - Fosun International Ltd said it would buy 69% of match-making and dating service provider Baihe Jiayuan Network Group from Chairman Guo Guangchang for 4B yuan ($603.4M) cash. Baihe Jiayuan has ~310M registered users and ~200 offline service centres covering 75 Chinese cities. In May, Fosun's tourism arm said it was hunting for more overseas deals to grow its leisure vacation business.

by Donny Kwok
See full article at Deal Street Asia

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Chinese Singles Economy

THE STAR - June 29 - ~200M Chinese, or 14% of China's population, are single, representing a huge market for online dating apps and matchmaking services. Baihe and its sister company Jiayuan face stiff competition from apps such as Zhenai. Together, the three apps boast market shares of ~65%. They became market leaders through innovation. They enable young singles to connect via live streaming, games, anonymous telephone chats and instant messaging widgets. White-collar professionals in first- and second-tier cities make up ~90% of dating app consumers, according to a latest report by iResearch. An industry report predicted that the total market revenue of online dating services will exceed RM28B ($4.2B) by 2025.

by Cheng Yu
See full article at The Star

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China's 21st Richest Person To Purchase 70% Of Baihe

TECHNODE - May 4 - Fosun International chairman and business magnate Guo Guangchang plans to purchase a majority stake in marriage and dating site Baihe.com for just under RMB 4B ($630M). Baihe.com's shareholders entered into an agreement with Yuanhong Investment to sell 869M shares at a price of RMB 4.6 ($0.72) per share. Guo controls 100% of Yuanhong, which will make him a controlling shareholder of Baihe.com when the deal goes through. There has been no indication as to when the purchase will be concluded. In Dec 2015 Baihe acquired rival dating and marriage platform Jiayuan for $250M. The company then reorganized to become the Baihe Jiayaun Network Group in September 2017.

by Christopher Udemans
See full article at Technode

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Technology Is Changing How China's Youth Find Love

TECHNODE.COM - Apr 11 - From Tinder-like Tantan to Momo, to marriage-focussed Baihe, tech companies are taking advantage of increasingly independent young adults. Just under half of China's 1.4B people fall between the ages of 25 and 54 years old. Most are men. Within this total, 200M are unmarried. One study shows that 54M people made use of online dating services in 2016, a number that is expected to increase by 24M, or 45%, by 2022. Baihe was founded in 2005 and claims to have ~100M users. Baihe-owned Jiayuan.com also focuses on marriage-related services. It claims to have ~170M users and operates offline stores in 71 cities. Tantan and Momo are designed for more casual dating. In 2013, the total revenue for the sector was RMB 1.93B. This more than doubled to RMB 4B at the end of 2017 and is expected to reach RMB 5B by 2020. According to researchers, online dating can also have a profound effect on marriage diversity. According to the Center for China and Globalization, the number of foreigners increased by 50% between 2000 and 2013. Additionally, over 1500 foreigners were granted green cards in 2016, a 160% YOY increase. In the same year, the number of cross-cultural marriages swelled by 2.5% in Shanghai.

by Christopher Udemans
See full article at Technode

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China To Ban Citizens With Poor 'Social Credit' From Public Transport, Credit Info Shared On Baihe

V3.CO.UK - Mar 19 - China's government, which has just voted to make President Xi Jinping president for life, is to implement the latest phase of its Social Credit System on 1 May, with citizens with a poor social-credit rating to be banned from planes and trains. China's Social Credit System is coordinated by the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms. It mashes together information from the country's social insurance database and the criminal records system, as well as information gleaned online. It is intended to penalise not just citizens who have failed to pay fines or taxes, for example, but also people the government deems guilty of 'spreading false information' and 'causing trouble'. The credit score is also shared with Baihe, one of China's biggest online dating services, which promotes subscribers with good social credit scores.

by Graeme Burton
See full article at V3.co.uk

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PAG Buys Controlling Stake In Zhenai.com

SCMP - Nov 21 - PAG Asia Capital, one of Asia's largest investment firms, has closed a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Zhenai.com, China's largest online matchmaking and dating service provider. The transaction size was not disclosed. Founded in 2005 by Li Song, a former Morgan Stanley executive director, Zhenai.com now boasts ~140M registered users. It is expected to generate revenues of ~1.6B yuan and a net profit of ~200M yuan ($30M) in 2017, according to the company. This compared to the 51.4M yuan ($7.7M) in 2015 net profit of Jiayuan.com, a major rival of Zhenai. Jiayuan was bought by Baihe.com, another matchmaking website last year, resulting in the country's matchmaking business being mainly split among the three companies.

by Jane Li
See full article at SCMP

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Baihe's Shares Fall After WePhone Founder's Suicide

SCMP - Sep 13 - The death of Su Xiangmao, 37, sparked online debate about whether dating sites are accountable for verifying users' personal data. Shares of Baihe.com plunged by almost half after its dating site Jiayuan.com was accused of failing to verify personal information about a woman who allegedly drove her ex-husband, a successful technology entrepreneur, to suicide. The stock traded as low as 3.6 yuan, down 48%, on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations, China's over-the-counter stock market for start-ups. It later recovered some ground, closing 19% lower at 5.68 yuan.

by Laura He
See full article at SCMP

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Baihe.Com To Launch Wedding M&A Fund With JD Capital

CHINA MONEY NETWORK - Feb 28 - China's biggest online dating platform Baihe.com plans to establish an investment fund with private equity firm JD Capital to invest in wedding service and wedding related companies to push for industry consolidation via mergers and acquisitions. Baihe.com merged with NASDAQ-listed Jiayuan.com last May. They both now control ~50% of China's online dating market.

by Jillian Yue
See full article at China Money Network

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VCs Swipe Left On Dating Apps

TECH CRUNCH - Feb 15 - VC investment in the online dating space declined over the past year, with smaller average rounds and fewer funded companies, according to Crunchbase company profile data. U.S.-based online dating startups saw ~$7M funding in the past 12 months. Globally, disclosed venture, seed and growth funding totaled ~$47M for the past 12 months, down from 280$ in the prior 12 months ($240M went to Baihe). Over the past two years, the largest funding rounds by far for dating startups have gone to Chinese companies.

by Joanna Glasner
See full article at Tech Crunch

Mark Brooks: Now the VC money is drying up dating apps will have to fend for themselves. It's time for profit over growth. 2017 will be a shakeout year.  

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Jiayuan.com Shareholders Approved Merger With Baihe Subsidiaries

PR NEWSWIRE - Dec 28 - Jiayuan.com shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the merger with LoveWorld and FutureWorld. Of the 56.7% of ordinary shares voted, 97.5% backed the deal, expected to close in Q1.

See full article at PR Newswire

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Heng Ren Investments Urges Jiayuan.com To Reveal All Bids To Shareholders

STREET INSIDER - Dec 9 - On Dec 7, an agreement was announced between Baihe and Jiayuan.com to buy out shareholders at $7.56 per share, an increase from the previous bid of $7.20 from Vast Profit of Hong Kong. Heng Ren Investments believes this is a positive step in the right direction, but the bid is still 50% below full and fair value of $11.74 per share. Jiayuan.com has admitted it has received multiple buyout bids. Heng Ren urges Jiayuan to disclose to shareholders all the bids it has received.

The full article was originally published at Street Insider, but is no longer available.

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Baihe To Buy Chinese Dating Site Jiayuan

WSJ - Dec 7 - Jiayuan.com International, the largest online dating platform in China, agreed to be bought by Baihe for $7.56 per share in a deal that values the company at ~$250M. The deal is expected to close in Q1 of 2016. Jiayuan executive Linguang Wu will become co-executive of the new company, which will be changing its name.

by Austen Hufford
See full article at WSJ

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China Is Working On 'Social Credit' System

BBC - Oct 26 - The Chinese government is building a "social credit" system that is meant to rate each citizen's trustworthiness. By 2020, everyone in China will be enrolled in a vast national database. That system isn't in place yet. For now, the government is watching how eight Chinese companies issue their own "social credit" scores under state-approved pilot projects. One of them is Sesame Credit, the financial wing of Alibaba. Baihe, has teamed up with Sesame to promote clients with good credit scores, giving them prominent spots on the site.

by Celia Hatton
See full article at BBC

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Baihe.com Offers Free Of Charge Commutation For Members

PR NEWSWIRE - May 27 - Baihe.com members are now able to communicate with other members free of charge instead of paying membership fees. Baihe.com’s initiative will overturn the current business mode and trigger an industry reshuffle. Mr. Tian Fanjiang, CEO of Baihe.com, said the company aims to increase online market share to ~61.8% via the new initiative to become a leading online dating site in China.

See full article at Blackbird PR News

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Baihe Raises $242M New Funding Ahead Of IPO

CHINAMONEYNETWORK - May 21 - Baihe.com has completed RMB1.5 billion ($242M) new round of financing, and is planning for an IPO on China's domestic stock exchange by the end of this year. The investors' identities are not revealed, but reportedly include several publicly listed Chinese companies and a number of private equity and brokerage firms.

by Nina Xiang
See full article at ChinaMoneyNetwork

Mark Brooks: I'm interviewing Jason Tian, the CEO of Baihe, at the Internet Dating Conference in Beijing this Thursday. Please comment here or email me at mark@courtlandbrooks.com with any questions you recommend I ask. Thanks.

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