The Meet Group
 | |
| Type of business | Public |
|---|---|
Type of site | Social networking service |
| Available in | English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Turkish, Malay, Indonesian. |
| Traded as | Nasdaq: MEET (2014-2020) |
| Founded | April 2005 (as MyYearbook) |
| Headquarters | , |
| Owner | ProSiebenSat.1 Media |
| Founder(s) | Geoff Cook David Cook Catherine Cook |
| Parent | ParshipMeet Group |
| URL | www |
| Advertising | Banner ads, custom ads |
| Registration | Required |
| Current status | Active |
| Written in | PHP |
The Meet Group, Inc. (formerly MeetMe) owns several mobile social networking services including MeetMe, hi5, LOVOO, Growlr, Skout, and Tagged. The company has offices in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dresden, and Berlin.
Origins
Two high school students, Dave and Catherine Cook, created myYearbook during their Spring break of 2005. They persuaded their older brother Geoff, who had founded EssayEdge and ResumeEdge from his Harvard dorm room, to invest in their project. At the launch of the site, Dave was a junior and Catherine was a sophomore; the project was initially activated at Montgomery High School, in suburban New Jersey where they attended. The site was created entirely by workers in India.[1]
In 2006, myYearbook raised $4.1 million from U.S. Venture Partners and First Round Capital. In 2008, it raised $13 million in a Series B round.[2]
Features
In July 2011, myYearbook announced it had agreed to be acquired by Latino social networking site Quepasa.[3][4][5]
In June 2012, the company formed from the combination of myYearbook and Quepasa was renamed MeetMe. This change is because "Yearbook" means more about meeting friends from the past while "MeetMe" would convey the meaning of users making new friends, which is what the website is intended for.[6]
In October 2016, MeetMe acquired Skout, a global mobile app for meeting new people, for $55 million.[7][8]
On April 3, 2017, the company acquired if(we) and rebranded it to The Meet Group.[9]
In September 2017, Meet Group acquired German dating app Lovoo[10]
In 2020, The Meet Group was acquired by ProSiebenSat.1 Media with a parent company, ParshipMeet Group, being formed to manage both The Meet Group and Parship.[11][12]
See also
References
- ^ Olsen, Stefanie (16 August 2007). "The secrets of a teen's Internet success". CNET.
- ^ Kincaid, Jason (July 30, 2008). "Teen Social Network myYearbook Gets $13 Million". TechCrunch.
- ^ "MyYearbook bought by Latino social network Quepasa". TechCrunch.
- ^ Kim, Ryan (July 20, 2011). "Latino social network Quepasa swallows MyYearbook". Reuters.
- ^ KIRPALANI, RESHMA (July 21, 2011). "New Jersey Siblings Net $100 Million for myYearbook Sale". ABC News.
- ^ Ha, Anthony (June 5, 2012). "Quepasa, MyYearbook Complete Rebranding As MeetMe, Will Start Trading Today As MEET". TechCrunch.
- ^ "MeetMe Announces Closing of Skout Acquisition" (Press release). Business Wire. October 4, 2016.
- ^ Yeung, Ken (June 27, 2016). "MeetMe acquires mobile flirting app Skout for $55 million in cash and stock". VentureBeat.
- ^ "MeetMe Announces Closing of if(we) Acquisition and Rebrands to The Meet Group" (Press release). Business Wire. April 3, 2017.
- ^ Butcher, Mike (September 20, 2017). "German dating app Lovoo is acquired for $70M by The Meet Group". TechCrunch.
- ^ Nicola, Stefan (March 5, 2020). "ProSieben to Buy Dating Firm Meet Group in Tough TV Market". Bloomberg News.
- ^ "The Meet Group Announces Closing of Acquisition by eharmony Parent Company Parship Group" (Press release). Business Wire. September 4, 2020.