Date online? If you like Europeans, this one's for you! ProSiebenSat.1 Media in Germany, announced on Monday that it bought eharmony, the U.S. online dating site.
eharmony, founded in 2000 in Los Angeles, expects to add 2.8 million new users this year. That matches up nicely with the ProSieben’s Parship dating service, which already exists with huge numbers.
ProSieben CEO Max Conze said in a statement “We are bringing together two strong brands and will build them into one of the world’s leading online dating businesses.”
No word on how much eharmony, found by clinical psychologist Neil Clark Warren, sold for. Success depends on and extensive questionnaire online that determines the compatibility of potential couples looking for long-term relationships, and possibly marriage.
Parship and sister brand ElitePartner have a similar approach for its 2 million registrations a year. They use a similar approach, said Claas van Delden, co-CEO of Nucom.
“They are based on the same conviction,” van Delden said. “In addition the takeover is so attractive because eharmony has a brand awareness of nearly 90 percent and a very big user base that we can serve better from a common platform.”
The U.S. market has the most value on a per-user basis, worth $3 billion, ProSieben said, according to independent research. The deal expects to open access not only to the online dating markets in the United States, but also expand into Canada and Australia where eharmony also exists.
Eharmony CEO Grant Langston will continue to run the business while representatives of Parship will join its board.