Cupid plc Acquisition of French online dating company

Cupid plc (AIM: CUP), the online dating company, announces today that it has acquired 100% of the French online dating company Assistance Genie Logiciel ('AGL') for a total consideration of €3.7m which was payable on completion of the transaction.
 
The AGL dating business delivered revenues of €6.5m in the year ended 31 December 2011 and EBITDA of €0.6m, excluding one off items. The acquisition is expected to be EBITDA neutral for the remainder of 2012 as the business is integrated and marketing spend increased. During 2013 Cupid expects AGL to demonstrate revenue growth and be earnings enhancing. Net assets acquired amount to €0.6m.
 
The acquired business trades principally in France and operates with a subscription billing model which includes the following brands: Amour.com (traditional dating), SeRencontrer.com (serious dating), and Ulla.com (casual dating). It is operated by a team of 25 staff based near Paris.
 
AGL was created in 1986 and was an online content pioneer with content initially delivered across telephone lines, and then later moving onto the web. More recently, AGL was considered non-core by the previous owners, the private equity fund Financiere PES, which focuses on property development, and had acquired the company several years ago as part of a larger property transaction.
 
Bill Dobbie, CEO of Cupid plc, commented:
 
"The AGL business is a highly complementary addition to our current French portfolio, allowing us to become one of the largest French online dating businesses. In addition, we see the potential to expand at least one of the French brands into other international markets".