Online dating site Match.com has decided that marketing dollars spent in the US on it’s home turf can only take the company so far, announcing it has acquired two international dating and social networking sites.
From PaidContent:
Online dating site Match.com has changed its strategy of organic growth by acquiring two international dating sites reports AP. Match.com has added more than 4 million subscribers by buying Netclub in France and the eDodo social networking site in China.
Most of the new subs come from NetClub: EDodo only has about 180,000 subs, but is seen as important because it gives Match.com a foothold into the burgeoning Chinese market.
Match had a social networking component several years ago and was not able to make a go of it. Acquiring a company with experience in the space that’s (way) outside the Dallas orbit might be exactly what it needs to get a foothold into the social networking space. Although 180k subs is a small site, it’s a start, and we all know the China market is taking off.
Match.com ranks second in the French market; now Netclub gives Match.com the third-largest online dating service. Netclub has been around for nine years.
Recent Match.com acquisition history:
Valentine’s Day 2001: Udate acquires Kiss.com for $17.7 million. Kiss CEO is Duane Dahl, founder of Perfectmatch.
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Match acquires Kiss.com and Udate in 2002 for $150 million.
Duane Dahl leaves Kiss.com for Marketrange parent company of Perfectmatch.
