ProSiebenSat.1 expands online dating presence with The Meet Group acquisition

German commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 and General Atlantic, the joint owner of ProSiebenSat.1’s ecommerce arm NuCom, have agreed to acquire US online dating and social entertainment provider The Meet Group.

ProSiebenSat.1, which has invested heavily in ecommerce and online dating as part of a drive to diversify away from a declining linear TV advertising business, said that it aimed to create a leading global player in the online dating segment by combining NuCom’s portfolio company Parship Group with The Meet Group.

The deal gives The Meet Group an enterprise value of about US$500 million and the acquisition is expected close in the second half of the year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

The Meet Group owns dating and social entertainment platforms including MeetMe, Tagged and Lovoo, which will joint NuCom’s existing dating brands Parship, eharmony and ElitePartner in the portfolio.

The Meet Group has a strong presence in the US, Germany and southern Europe, with 4.46 million mobile daily active uusers , targeting primarily people between 18 and 34 years of age. The outfit generated US$206.6 million in revenues and US$39.5 million in EBITDA in the year to September 2019.

Max Conze, CEO, ProSiebenSat.1 Media, said: “The acquisition of The Meet Group is one of ProSiebenSat.1’s largest transactions. It will significantly advance our ambition to create one of the leading global players in online dating and interactive live video. We believe the combination of these two successful and complementary businesses will also create synergies within the ProSiebenSat.1 universe and accelerate the growth of our market share in the German live video apps sector.”