EliteSingles owner Affinitas GmbH has just announced the acquisition of French dating brand Attractive World.
The acquisition, for a price between €10m – €20m, is the Berlin-based premium dating site’s first acquisition.
With the purchase, both brands will continue to trade under their own names, as Affinitas looks to solidify its position in the French market and push Attractive World into new areas.
Speaking about the deal, EliteSingles CEO Jeronimo Folgueira said: “We are delighted to add Attractive World to our portfolio of premium dating brands and consolidate our market leader position in France, making France our largest country alongside the USA.
“We feel that Attractive World complements EliteSingles and we intend to harness the power of each brand to achieve a firm foothold in the global premium online dating sector.
“We see a lot of potential for Attractive World in English-speaking markets and we will use EliteSingles’ vast international knowledge to turn Attractive World into a global success.”
Launched in 2007, Attractive World is a relationship-focused dating site that utilises a peer-approved signup process, where only one in three applications are accepted by the community.
Operating in France, Luxembourg, Belgium and Switzerland, the company has seen its revenue grow sixfold over the past six years, and expects to post a 15% net profit in 2016.
Attractive World founder Ludovic Huraux, who is also the CEO of Tinder-style networking app Shapr, said: “It is with great pride that Attractive World begins its next adventure. We feel this exciting new chapter in the life of the company will see the brand expand to new territories, with success on a much larger scale.
“This move proves the validity of Attractive World’s original concept in online dating. Such an achievement could never have happened without the passion and unwavering dedication of people in the team over the past nine years.”
In our recent interview with EliteSingles CEO Jeronimo Folgueira, he revealed the company registered €60m in revenue last year, and said the business was growing at 25-30%.
And this big money acquisition is certainly a marker of the company’s success, as it seeks to affirm its position as one of Europe’s top dating businesses.
Check out the interview below: