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 PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The company powering online dating personals for websites such as Nerve.com, The Onion and Salon.com has been acquired by privately held Various Inc., the parent company of FriendFinder, the world's largest operator of dating and social networking websites.
Spring Street Networks is the leading provider of private-label online personals solutions for a network of more than 200 media companies, including outlets in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas and Miami.
Terms of the merger between the two privately held companies were not disclosed.
Various operates 20 multicultural and multilingual sites, including the FriendFinder network., with more than 30 million active members. The sites acquired through Spring Street will continue to be branded independently and will not be connected to the FriendFinder network.
"The union of the two companies will provide technological innovation, marketing leadership and financial strength for all of Spring Street's partners in North America and Europe," said Andrew Conru, CEO and founder of Various. "The result of the acquisition will be reliable, advanced personals sites that offer outstanding conversion and retention rates and will also allow us to more easily customize a personals product for new and existing partners and expand co-branding and private-label offerings."
FriendFinder is a pioneer and leader in co-branding, using its core technology to drive all of its 20 owned and operated sites, along with specific partner co-brand sites.
Various will continue to operate Spring Street's New York City office and add to the company's staff.
"When smart, sexually hip grown-ups look for amazing people to share their passions, they find it at Nerve.com," said Rufus Griscom, CEO Nerve.com Inc. "The acquisition by Various is great news for everyone and means our members will get access to the best technology, features, and customer service in the business."
The acquisition of Spring Street Networks is part of Various' strategy to acquire complementary synergistic companies as part of the ongoing consolidation in the online dating and networking sector.
A pioneer and innovator in online dating since its inception in 1996, Various empowers members to create virtual communities where they can privately and comfortably meet people with similar interests in a safe and stimulating environment. The privately funded company, with more than 200 employees, is based in Palo Alto, Calif.
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