Last week I mentioned that Jiayuan is an Asian dating site that the Match business development team seems to have missed out on.
Match has had some ups and downs with their Asian investments over the years, mostly downs. But with deep pockets and IAC as a parent, Match can buy a few companies here and there until they get it right. there’s no rush, Match doesn’t have to worry about being first, its more about waiting until the time is right and acquiring a company when it makes the most sense.
But Match isn’t sitting out the Pacific Rim. About a year ago, Match continued its quest for global matchmaking domination by looking east (again) and acquiring a 20% interest in Zhenai, a leading provider of online matchmaking services in China.
Launched in 2005 by Dr. Song Li, Zhenai provides integrated Internet and telephone matchmaking services to China’s rapidly growing single population who are looking for long-term relationships.
Featuring 30 million registered members, Zhenai offers members access to over 1000 professional matchmakers at Zhenai’s call centers who are available to provide subscribers with advice and consultation throughout the dating process.
Zhenai was formerly known as 96333.com. Talk about a sexy domain name.
Ross Williams at White Label Dating commented about the investment. He said:
Very interesting – their minority share in Meetic resulted in an acquisition, no doubt this is where their long-term interest in the Chinese market is. Smart working with a local chinese business though rather than trying to enter a very scary market.
Agree with Ross. Thirty million people (profiles registered over time, so active probably what, 5 million people?). Company has been around a while, probably looks good on paper and Match is doing its pre-investment tire kicking. What’s the general consensus with Zhenai?
