Wanted: Single dot-com Yenta seeks ambitious Mr. Big with deep pockets for a long-term relationship.
The parent company of the popular Jewish online dating site JDate has put itself up for sale, people close to the auction said Thursday, and is already in talks with several prominent media companies, the New York Times reports.
The owner of JDate.com, Spark Networks, which owns dozens of online personal sites aimed at religious, ethnic and other special interests, is in early talks with suitors that include Yahoo; eHarmony; IAC/InterActiveCorp, the Barry Diller company that owns Match.com; and MySpace, which is part of the News Corporation, these people said.
Shares of Spark, which trades under the ticker LOV, have jumped more than 20 percent in recent weeks. Its shares closed yesterday at $4.90, giving the company a market value of $131.4 million. Analysts suggested that a suitor might pay as much as $185 million for the company.
Some industry executives, however, have questioned the company’s growth prospects; its revenue grew only 5 percent from 2005 to 2006.
Online dating sites have exploded in popularity in recent years as both the younger and older generations have flocked to them and other social networks to meet people. Social networks generated nearly $650 million a year in sales.
