TORONTO — The Match Group, the New York-based company that owns Match.com, OkCupid and Tinder, says it has purchased Vancouver-based dating website PlentyOfFish for US$575 million in cash.
In a news release on its website, Match Group CEO Sam Yagan says it was attracted to PlentyOfFish's consistent growth and it plans to integrate the Canadian company's mobile app into its existing family of digital and online dating services.
PlentyOfFish has steadily lured in people seeking everything from no-strings attached hookups to marriage since CEO and founder Markus Frind launched the company from his Vancouver apartment in 2003.
By 2008, Frind had 15 million users, $10 million in revenue and doubled his workforce — to two.
In March of this year, PlentyOfFish surpassed 100 million users and employed more than 70 people at its downtown Vancouver office.
The Match Group says the deal is subject to approval from the federal industry minister and is expected to close early in the fourth quarter.
"We are thrilled to be joining forces with Match," Frind said in a statement. "My team and I have grown PlentyOfFish into one of the leaders in our category, and I am confident that Match will help accelerate our growth even further."
The Match Group offers dating products through nearly 50 brands in 40 languages around the world and says it has seven million new users per month.
The Match brands and PlentyOfFish both make revenue through a combination of advertising and paid subscription options.
IAC, the parent company of Match Group, owns a variety of media and Internet properties including the Princeton Review, Investopedia, Vimeo and the Daily Beast.
