Contributed by: kellyseal on Monday, March 06 2023 @ 10:10 am
Last modified on Monday, March 06 2023 @ 10:16 am
Match Group, parent company of popular dating app Tinder, is in talks to purchase a strategic stake in Shaadi, an India-based online matchmaking service.
The Economic Times first reported that the two companies were in talks, and that Match Group was looking to buy out Shaadi’s institutional stakeholders, but few details have emerged.
According to Ink 42, this latest development comes after Match Group has refocused its efforts and brought on a new executive team to run Tinder, which last year saw its first quarter of revenue decline since the company went public. Match Group has set its sights on the fast-growing Asian market, especially India and its large under-30 market.
In fact, Match Group restructured its business to focus on four key areas of growth, one of them being the Asian market. The company has launched ad campaigns for Tinder highlighting the changing attitudes towards dating in India among younger generations, hoping to appeal to singles.
Matchmaking is still hugely popular in India and a lucrative market as well, and with this stake in such a popular platform, Match Group is set up to be a major player in the Indian online dating market.
This news also comes a few months after the parent company of Shaadi.com, People Group, said that the company was looking to go public in the second half of 2023.
According to Ink 42[*1] , a source to the deal making was quoted as saying: “Over the past one month, Match Group and Shaadi.com have had a few rounds of strategic discussions and are currently at the final stage of discussions where finances are being discussed.”
Another source for the article who was privy to discussions told Ink 42 that Match Group is also looking at the option of investing in primary equity in Shaadi.com, but there is still no final decision or clarity, at least publicly, on the terms of the deal.
In Match Group’s last earnings report, the company wrote: "As we start 2023, the macroeconomic pressures we are seeing in our business thus far are in line with our expectations. We expect at least the first half of 2023 to remain challenging, but we expect to build momentum as the year progresses and remain confident in our ability to deliver on our full-year financial outlook."
While there was no mention of strategic partnerships with other companies, the move has been in the company’s playbook for a long time. In addition to purchasing several up-and-coming apps like [topic:the-leagueThe League] and Hinge, the dating app company also purchased social platform Hyperconnect to ramp up its interface and technical capabilities.