DatingDirect owner buys rival Match.com

Ask.coms owner IAC is selling Match.com Europe to rival online dating and chat company Meetic.

Ask.com’s owner IAC is selling Match.com Europe to rival online dating and chat company Meetic.

Meetic – which already owns ten dating properties, including DatingDirect, across 15 European countries and Latin America – will pay €5m (£4.43m) for the site, with IAC acquiring a 27% stake in Meetic.

Marc Simoncini, founder and CEO of Meetic, said, “Match.com is a well-established brand with an outstanding value proposition for consumers. Its European offerings complement our existing operations and should provide substantial profit growth opportunities through marketing and operating savings and increased revenue opportunities.”

Meetic acquired DatingDirect in a deal worth £27.3m.

Earlier this month, match.com appointed former Yahoo! marketer Karl Gregory as its UK marketing director.

This story first appeared on newmediaage.co.uk