On July 6, 2020, the FCO approved the acquisition of online dating platform provider The Meet Group Inc. (USA), active on the German market through its mobile dating app Lovoo GmbH (“Lovoo”), by the ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (“ProSiebenSat.1”) group, which owns online dating platforms from Parship and Elite Partner.[1]

The FCO concluded that despite the parties’ relatively high combined shares and a further concentration in the online dating market,[2] the acquisition would not significantly impede competition.  The FCO found that the online dating market is characterized by dynamic growth, which particularly applies to the mobile dating app segment, market entries, and vital competition with numerous alternative providers.  In addition, users tend to rely on several platforms and barriers to entry are relatively low.


[1]               FCO Press Release, July 6, 2020, available in English here.  FCO Case Summary (B6-29/20), July 13, 2020, only available in German here.

[2]               On October 22, 2015, the FCO had already approved the acquisition of all of the shares in EliteMedianet GmbH by Oakley Capital Limited which, at the time, belonged to Germany’s largest online dating platform providers (in particular active through the platforms elitepartner.de, academicpartner.de, and parhip.de), see FCO Press Release, October 22, 2015, available in English here; see also National Competition Report October – December 2015, p. 19, available in English here.