Boulogne-Billancourt, 4th February 2008
MEETIC, the European leader in on-line dating, announced today that the final suspensive conditions relating to the acquisition of NEU.DE, a major player in on-line dating in Germany, have been met. As announced on 28 November 2007, the acquisition of 100% of NEU.DE’s capital for €25m, entirely in cash, represents a perfect fit with the strategy of strengthening MEETIC’s leading position in Europe.
The second largest player in the German on-line dating market, after Friendscout (source: Comscore – December 2007), with 26,000 subscribers, NEU.DE registered as the best recognised on-line dating site in Germany in two recent surveys conducted by IPSOS and Harris. This acquisition will therefore allow MEETIC to consolidate significantly its market share in Germany.
Following this acquisition, the meetic.de and NEU.DE websites will be operated under the single NEU.DE brand. The new NEU.DE site will enjoy all the functionality of MEETIC “V 2.0” sites, and will give access to the European database of profiles registered on the group’s sites. The new version of the site is due to go live in mid-February, and its launch and future growth will be backed by major online and offline advertising campaigns, with a particular emphasis on poster and billboard ads, throughout 2008.