ProSiebenSat.1 acquires US dating service eharmony

ProSiebenSat.1 has acquired US dating platform eharmony via its e-commerce arm NuCom Group.

The 18-year-old dating service, which bills itself as “the brains behind the butterflies”, will join NuCom’s German online matchmaking platform Parship Elite Group (PEG), which includes dating services Parship and Elite Partner and serves the German-speaking and Benelux region.

The services will now expand into the US, Canada and Australia, and the acquisition will see the formation of a new joint platform that will advance eharmony’s technology.

According to ProSiebenSat.1, which owns Married At First Sight producer Red Arrow Studios, the US online dating market is valued at around US$3bn. Eharmony is a market leader, with around 87% brand awareness, and 2.8m registered users internationally.

Eharmony CEO Grant Langston will continue to manage the business with the PEG management joining its supervisory board.

ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE CEO Max Conze said: “Creating growth and leveraging synergies are key elements of our strategy. This acquisition is an excellent fit. Bringing these two strong brands together will immediately create a world leading online matchmaking company.”

Parship Elite Group CEO Tim Schiffers added: “Eharmony has supported millions of singles in finding the right partner for a happy relationship. Parship and ElitePartner follow the same successful approach. We are extremely happy to in the future combine this matchmaking competence under one roof. We are very much looking forward to working together with Grant and his team.”

EHarmony CEO Grant Langston added: “By bringing together our well-known, like-minded companies, we have the resources and shared knowledge to compete and achieve growth together in the online matchmaking market with a laser focus on creating long-lasting, meaningful relationships.”