German broadcaster Prosieben has acquired US online dating website Eharmony in the first major deal since it launched an e-commerce partnership with investment firm General Atlantic.
ProSiebenSat.1, one of Germany’s largest media groups, has agreed to buy US dating website eharmony as part of its drive to create the world’s biggest online matchmaker. ProSieben, which will merge eharmony with Parship Elite — the German group’s internet dating company — did not disclose financial terms of the deal. But one person briefed on the acquisition said it valued eharmony at $85m — making it a surprisingly cheap date compared with rival Match, which has a market value of $13.7bn. Eharmony, which raised more than $100m during just one fundraising round nearly 15 years ago, has spent more than $1bn on marketing in recent years, according to the person.