Vancouver-based Plenty of Fish, the online dating site that was started by Markus Frind in 2003, has been acquired by the Match Group, which owns many digital sites that include Match.com, Tinder, OkCupid and Meetic. The terms is a all-cash buyout of $575 million (USD) and is expected to close fourth quarter and will need the standard approval from the Minister of Industry.
“For over a decade I have followed the consistent growth of PlentyOfFish, first within North America, then globally, and most recently across platforms, as one of the most popular mobile dating products in the world,” said Sam Yagan, CEO of The Match Group. “As more people than ever use more dating apps than ever with more frequency than ever, PlentyOfFish’s addition both brings new members into our family of products and deepens the lifetime relationship we have with our users across our portfolio.”
“We are thrilled to be joining forces with Match,” said Markus Frind, CEO of PlentyOfFish. “My team and I have grown PlentyOfFish into one of the leaders in our category, and I am confident that Match will help accelerate our growth even further.”
PlentyOfFish, otherwise known as POF, employs 75 people and has over 100,000,000 registered users.