FriendFinder Networks

FriendFinder Networks announced September 12th that they have acquired BDM Global Ventures which owns JigoCity. JigoCity is similar to the popular Groupon website which offers visitors local daily deals. JigoCity has about 150 employees and has offices in China, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and the US (Los Angeles). JigoCity has about 1 million members. Revenue in July for JigoCity was $600,000 and in August it was $1.1 million.

The acquisition cost FriendFinder 1.6 million in shares and about 6.4 million in warrants with exercise prices ranging from $5 to $18 per share.

For more on the story you can read the press release.

I was surprised this morning when I read that Perfectmatch.com has been acquired by FriendFinder Networks (FFN). I am sure there have been others but this is the first dating site that I know of that FriendFinder Networks (or Various) has purchased. The only thing in the press release mentioned about the terms of the deal is that:

... founder Duane Dahl will join FriendFinder Networks as General Manager of the Company's general audience dating websites group ...

Having Duane Dahl join the FriendFinder ranks is a good move on FFN's part. In the past Perfectmatch.com is one of the few dating sites that has been able to get their dating service featured in movies from Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and NBC Universal. The dating site also has been a part of the "Dr. Phil Show" and "Dancing with the Stars".

For more on the story read the press release. To find out about the dating service FriendFinder acquired you can check out our Perfectmatch.com review.

FriendFinder Networks expected to raise $50 million in gross profit from its IPO which started trading May 11, 2011 on the Nasdaq under the "FFN" ticker symbol. The company expect shares to go for around $10 and plan to sell 5 million. The money raised from the IPO has been earmarked to pay down their debt.

FriendFinder Networks stock price currently sits at $5.67 per stock and it has been as low as $5.32 per stock in the past few days.

To find out more about dating sites owned by FriendFinder Networks you can read our review of Passion.com and our review of FriendFinder.

Related Story: FriendFinder Networks Plans To Revisit Public Offering

Last month in a press release FriendFinder Networks announced that they want to re-launch its proposed initial public offering of common stock.

The story of their IPO started back in December of 2008 when FriendFinder Networks first filed their IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for $460 million (see Story). In January 2010 they revised their initial public offering to less than half at $220 million (see Story). By February things were not looking so good and citing market conditions FriendFinder Networks delayed their IPO indefinitely (see Story).

For more information on dating services which FriendFinder Networks operates, you can check out our FriendFinder.com review and our Passion.com review.

The Editor's choice for the Top Pick - Sexy award for the best adult oriented dating service is Passion.com. In a vastly competitive part of the dating industry where most adult dating sites are filled with tons of fake profiles Passion.com stands out as one of the best choices for men and women to hookup.

On Passion.com there is a lot to do. Besides searching for matches, members can chat online, read steamy member blogs, and peruse the adult location directory which lists thousands of adult-themed businesses from all over the world. Passion.com members also can now form and join local or topical interest groups. These interest groups let members meet similar people, participate in discussion boards, and setup real group events local to you.

With over 34 million members and usually over 100,000 members logging in every hour, Passion.com is an ideal dating site to join if you are a man or a woman looking for a private encounter.

Read our review of Passion.com for more information about this dating service or visit Passion.com directly.

This Year's Runner Up for this award is: Lavalife

According to FriendFinder Networks Inc in a press release on Thursday, they have raised $551 million in debt financing. Any further details of this transaction were not disclosed.

For more on the story read the press release and to find out more about one of their dating sites, read our [staticpage: 010000100-FriendFinder FriendFinder review].