Match Group Completes Acquisition of Hyperconnect For $1.725 Billion

18th June 2021 Dominic Whitlock

Match Group has completed its $1.725 billion acquisition of livestreaming outfit Hyperconnect, as the dating company looks to continue its expansion of social discovery products.

The deal was closed using an even split of cash and stock, four months after the initial announcement. Match Group’s price finished trading 5% higher yesterday and has continued to trend upwards during the post-market.

Hyperconnect is based in Seoul, South Korea and operates two brands with a significant impact across the Asian market.

‘Azar’ supports one-to-one video and voice chats and also has a growing presence in Europe. Meanwhile, ‘Hakuna Live’ is focused more on one-to-many and group videos, as well as avatars and augmented reality.

Match Group CEO Shar Dubey said in a statement: “Hyperconnect’s forward-looking technology has already forged new ways for the next generation to make friends and engage with new people, regardless of borders and language barriers.

“Our immediate goal is to accelerate Hyperconnect’s growth, while deploying their technology across our portfolio, helping to ensure people around the world have access to the best products to meet new people, and create joyful connections.”

With this completed acquisition, Match Group has the potential to strengthen its position in Asia, while also using Hyperconnect’s technology to add new streaming features to the rest of its portfolio.

CFO and COO Gary Swidler appeared on CNBC’s ‘Closing Bell’ to talk more about the news and discuss how it will alter Match Group’s monetisation strategy. It currently operates with a traditional premium subscription model, but there is now an opportunity to introduce one-off payments for consumables.

Swidler explained: “[Hyperconnect is] much less subscription and much more a la carte or consumables. They’re very good in understanding how consumables are to be sold and how customers enjoy buying consumables.

“Going forward for us it’s going to be a mix of subscription and consumables. That’s a way that we were heading anyway and as we expand in Asia, where the market is typically more focused on consumables, this plays right into the growth opportunity for us.”