1 Sep 2010 07:00
| Date: | 1 September 2010 |
| On behalf of: | Easydate plc ('Easydate', 'the Group' or 'the Company') |
| Embargoed until: | 0700hrs |
Easydate plc
§ Two acquisitions increase Easydate portfolio
§ Acquired a six-month licence for the Flirt.com domain
§ Event partnerships with Metro, Cosmopolitan and Men's Health
Easydate plc (AIM: EZD), the internet-based dating operator, is pleased to announce that it has acquired two new dating websites, a six-month licence for the Flirt.com domain, and has entered into two new events partnerships with Associated Newspapers and the National Magazine Company.
Acquisitions
Easydate has made two small acquisitions that should help its international growth and expand its niche portfolio: it has acquired PlanetSappho.com, a dating site aimed at femme lesbians, for £200,000 and Spanish based dating site Granamor.com for £25,000.
Granamor.com was established in 2003 and has over 200,000 members. It will be used as a platform to introduce other Easydate brands in Spanish speaking markets.
PlanetSappho.com was established in October 2006 and has over 250,000 members spread across the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. This acquisition will add to Easydate's niche portfolio and there should be the opportunity to grow the site through cross marketing and increased market exposure.
The addition of Granamor.com and PlanetSappho.com takes Easydate's portfolio from 13 to 15 key sites.
Licence for Flirt.com
Easydate has entered into an agreement with dating website Flirt.com to license the domain for an initial period of six months. Easydate will run the dating service across English speaking markets with an option to acquire the domain based on the performance over this period.
The Board believes that with its strong brand, Flirt.com will complement the existing network of sites within the Group. Easydate will market the site through its current channels.
Event partnerships
Easydate has entered into partnerships with Associated Newspaper's Metro newspaper and the National Magazine Company's Cosmopolitan and Men's Health magazines to promote two individual dating events in London scheduled over the next month.
Metro prints 1.3 million copies of its paper daily across the UK and is the largest free paper in the world and forth most read in the UK. Between them, Cosmopolitan and Men's Health magazine have a readership of over 650,000 men and women between the ages of 20 and 40. The participating outlets will promote these events in their publications. If successful, the Company will roll out such events nationwide.
Easydate has also extended the relationship with Metro to include an online dating service under Metro's 'Urban Dating' brand which integrates fully with the event partnership and replaces the current online offering.
Commenting on the news, Bill Dobbie, Chief Executive of Easydate, said:
"These two small acquisitions, combined with the Flirt.com licence, further enhance the Company's position as a niche dating consolidator and are important steps in growing Easydate into a more substantial global internet dating business.
"Our event partnerships show that Easydate can work with the largest media outlets in the UK to offer them new revenue streams and brand exposure opportunities. We look forward to expanding this side of the business at the same time as our growing WhiteLabel operation."
For further information please contact:
| Easydate plc | Tel: +44 (0)131 220 1313 |
| Bill Dobbie, CEO |
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| Cenkos Securities plc |
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| Ken Fleming | Tel: +44 (0)131 220 6939 |
| Jon Fitzpatrick | Tel: +44 (0)20 7397 8900 |
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| Redleaf Communications | Tel: +44 (0)207 566 6700 |
| Paul Dulieu / Rebecca Sanders-Hewett / Mike Ward | easydate@redleafpr.com |
Notes to Editors
§ Easydate plc listed on AIM in June 2010 and is a leading provider of online dating services.
§ Easydate has built a base of over 13 million registrants and over 9 million members in 29 countries (those countries with over 1,000 members), with a growing proportion of members coming from outside of the United Kingdom.
§ Easydate offers a wide variety of online dating services allowing members to interact with each other and access the content available on the Group's websites. These websites are intended to appeal to dating users of diverse ages, cultures and social interest groups. The Group's most heavily visited websites include www.benaughty.com, www.cupid.com, www.girlsdateforfree.com and www.datetheuk.com. The Group also promotes the niche brands www.datingforparents.com, www.speeddater.com and www.maturedating.co.uk
§ Further information on the Company can be found at www.easydategroup.com