Post: #1

Match Group (parent company of Match.com, Tinder and OKC) is soon to be releasing an IPO.


I'm wondering if this is a good investment, and though I generally don't like IPOs, this one is probably a safer bet than most. Analysts often cite the fact that people do not stay on dating sites forever the way that they do with Facebook, but this only means they are off the site temporarily. With the average cock count of a millennial girl well into the double digits by the time they even think of getting hitched, they are more often than not going to be right back on these sites again and again.

Zoosk spends 75% of their revenue on marketing and they even cancelled their IPO last year. But Match group (their parent is some other big company) is set up for the trends. I think this might be one to watch.

Post: #2

I'm in a betting mood. This might do well.

Post: #3

I wouldn't bet on it. Most of their business is based on the success of Tinder.

One outside app developer writing a Tinder-killer and the company would go south really quickly.

Post: #4

I just can't imagine that in 5 years we will still be using Tinder.

OKC and Match parts definitely seem safer but these are websites. Historically, few websites that rely on network effects have remained popular for more than a decade.

This IPO is not at all safe. Tech IPOs are the most dangerous of all. This is doubly true today with the Nasdaq at a P/E of 23.

Edit: If you can actually get in on the IPO then you may want to go for it because IBs tend to set the price quite a bit lower than what they project the the market price to be. But I would sell by end of business of that day.

Post: #5

How will they make money? Membership fees?

Post: #6

It's a good cash flow business, they do a good job at identifying and buying potential threats (OKC) and they invest a lot (Tinder)

Post: #7

(07-02-2015 11:38 AM)WestIndianArchie Wrote:  How will they make money? Membership fees?

It costs money to join Match.com outside of free trials. I surprisingly know a lot of couples who met because of Match.

Post: #8

(07-01-2015 12:12 PM)HighSpeed_LowDrag Wrote:  I wouldn't bet on it. Most of their business is based on the success of Tinder.

One outside app developer writing a Tinder-killer and the company would go south really quickly.

Perhaps, but there's no getting around the numbers. Match Group is part of Interactive Corp (IAC), which owns a boat load of other online companies. The dating sites are by far experiencing the most growth.

There are challenges, but I suspect the SJW/Cougar/Millenial girls pissing away their 20s will need to go somewhere. Though Apple has 500 dating apps in the app store, none of them have the financial backing of Match.

Quote:IAC Plans IPO of Match Dating Business

Barry Diller is going public with his love for dating websites.

The media tycoon's IAC/InterActiveCorp on Thursday followed through on a long-expected plan to pursue an initial public offering of Match Group, a division that houses the dating sites and apps Match.com, Tinder and OkCupid.

IAC also named Joey Levin, who oversaw the conglomerate's search business, as its first chief executive since 2013, and said finance chief Jeff Kip is resigning.


The IPO plan, which is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter, comes as the market for dating sites in the U.S. is booming. (Yep. Along with the number of full time sluts. Coincidence?)

The services are expected to rake in $1.17 billion in revenue this year, while dating apps are expected to pull in $ 628.8 million, both up nearly 10% from 2014, according to the research company IBISWorld. Match Group has about a 22% share of that market.

Mr. Diller, IAC's chairman, isn't breaking up with Match Group entirely. The company is planning to sell a stake of less than 20% in the division, which includes fitness and educational businesses such as the Princeton Review.

Wall Street had been expecting a sale of some kind ever since IAC in late 2013 put its dating properties in one unit under Sam Yagan, co-founder of OkCupid. He will remain chief executive of the group after the IPO.

Investors cheered the move, sending IAC's shares up $3.93, or 5.1%, to $81.19 in 4 p.m. trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

In announcing the IPO plans, Mr. Diller continues a longtime strategy of compiling a hodgepodge of online businesses before setting some loose.

Other companies that grew up under IAC's roof before going solo include Expedia Inc., Live Nation Entertainment Inc., LendingTree Inc. and HSN Inc.

Mr. Diller said in a statement that he's "not a believer in simply agglomerating assets in perpetuity." Growing and maturing businesses deserve to have "independence from a mother church," he said.

IAC declined to comment on its IPO plans beyond its news release.

Match Group is IAC's strongest growth engine, bringing in 29% of overall revenue in 2014. In the most recent quarter, the unit's revenue was up 13% from a year earlier to $239.2 million—nearly a third of IAC's top line. Profit in the segment fell 36% but paid subscribers to its dating sites grew 16%.

Selling a chunk to the public disentangles Match Group from IAC's slower-growing businesses, like search and applications, media and e-commerce.

IAC is still home to a sprawling roster of well-known sites such as the Daily Beast, Investopedia, CollegeHumor and Vimeo.

Revenue for the search group, which includes the Ask.com site purchased from the New York Times in 2012, fell 3.8% in the first quarter from a year earlier.

IAC's valuation has been held back by the search business, said Chris Merwin, a senior U.S. Internet analyst at Barclays PLC. "Now that there will be a true value for the Match Group in the marketplace, we think IAC will be able to unlock tremendous value," he said.

But the industry isn't without its challenges. While the stigma associated with dating apps is fading, people generally don't push their friends to join as they might with other hot sites and apps. (I beg to differ - carousel riders everywhere found out about Tinder someplace; to say nothing of all the amateur prostitutes on Seeking Arrangement and married hos on Ashley Madison)

It's also hard for dating properties to build up a consistently happy customer base—the satisfied customers leave. (and then they come back - after the pump & dump or divorce)

There is greater competition, too, for users' clicks and swipes. Apple Inc.'s App Store, for example, has more than 500 dating apps, and an increasing array of businesses are catering to niche customers, such as the League for higher- end clients and Ashley Madison for people seeking extramarital affairs.

Meanwhile, the IPO plan arrives amid pervasive talk of an investment bubble in Silicon Valley.

Mr. Merwin, though, said the timing could have more to do with the fact that Tinder's efforts to make money are paying off. Before March, analysts were worried that the popular free dating app was cannibalizing revenue at IAC's paid dating sites like Match.com.

For all the buzz around dating sites, there hasn't yet been a significant win for venture investors in terms of an IPO, said Mark Brooks, chief executive of Courtland Brooks, an adviser to dating companies. That's been a challenge for entrepreneurs.

"We need a success story, and I think the Match Group could be a success story," he said. If the IPO doesn't go over well with investors, "we can kiss the opportunity of future funding goodbye."

IAC on Thursday also announced a restructuring of its management. Mr. Levin, 35 years old, will be the first CEO of IAC since the last chief, Greg Blatt, was made chairman of Match Group in December 2013, when the division was created. At the time, IAC reorganized around having CEOs for each of its units rather than one overseeing all units.

Since 2012, Mr. Levin had been the head of IAC's search unit—the company's largest, bringing in just over 50% of all of IAC's revenÓ ue last year. He has worked for IAC in a variety of roles dating back to 2003.

Need to keep an eye on this one....

Post: #9

Whenever someone IPO's you have to ask, "Are they raising needed money to expand?, Or are they cashing out?"

Post: #10

Here I think the idea is to let Match Group grow on its own without being held down by otherwise stagnant businesses.

I'm definitely not a fan of IPOs at all, I just think the analysts are underestimating the value and growth potential of the carousel - which had a lot to do with the growth of Facebook, Instagram and smartphones, generally.

Post: #11

Answer honestly - How many Guys here on RVF have banged solid 8s, 9s or 10 unicorns from Match, Zoosk or Tinder on a consistent basis?

Then ask yourself if you should invest... just saying.

Post: #12

(12-04-2015 07:59 PM)Deepdiver Wrote:  Answer honestly - How many Guys here on RVF have banged solid 8s, 9s or 10 unicorns from Match, Zoosk or Tinder on a consistent basis?

Then ask yourself if you should invest... just saying.

That's a good point. The quality of the service and its results is certainly diminishing as time goes on. Even a year ago there was a lot less flakiness and blatant attention whoring on tinder.

Even throughout asia the flakiness is definitely creeping in too. This means it's becoming way too mainstream now and as things become more mainstream the ratios become more skewed.

I don't think any of these dating apps will have a long shelf life. It's like the hottest club in town..things fall out quickly as trends change and people will jump to new apps.

Post: #13

Gents, don't confuse your individual experience or a product offering with a business model.

I think McDonalds is absolutely shit food, but MCD makes boatloads of money.

Post: #14

(12-04-2015 09:47 PM)jj90 Wrote:  Gents, don't confuse your individual experience or a product offering with a business model.

I think McDonalds is absolutely shit food, but MCD makes boatloads of money.

Hear, hear!

Post: #15

(12-04-2015 07:59 PM)Deepdiver Wrote:  Answer honestly - How many Guys here on RVF have banged solid 8s, 9s or 10 unicorns from Match, Zoosk or Tinder on a consistent basis?

Then ask yourself if you should invest... just saying.

Why is that relevant? Male thirst is high as fuck. I have several male co-workers that have straight up married, no joke, married, overweight 6's off of Tinder.

Think of the most common denominator. RVF members they are not.

Post: #16

How are you getting in on the IPO? Unless you're an established high net worth client with the firm that's handling the IPO or one that's been thrown a few shares there's little chance of getting in on one.

Are you talking about buying into an IPO ETF? Or simply buying after the IPO?

Post: #17

Doesn't look good so far:
https://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:MTCH

   

Post: #18

But that also doesn't mean you buy their stock. To some extent(not nearly all) the price will be determined by expectations of their future growth or lack thereof. The "shitload of money" they've made is already priced into their shares. You're paying for it, not profiting from it.