Match Group is solidifying its expansion beyond online dating through the acquisition of South Korean social media company Hyperconnect, CFO Gary Swidler told CNBC on Wednesday.
The parent company of Tinder and OkCupid announced the $ 1.73 billion stock and cash deal for Hyperconnect the day before. Hyperconnect is based in Seoul and has two main applications, Azar and Hakuna Live.
In an interview with “Closing Bell”, Swidler said that both Hyperconnect’s offerings fall into the “social discovery” category, which is a way to find friends and people who share interests.
The Match Group believes that social discovery represents a bigger market than online dating, said Swidler. “It is a very global market and is growing even faster than the dating business,” he said, adding that he was helped by the coronavirus pandemic, leading people to promote more connections virtually.
Azar is a video and chat application that offers instant translation for voice and text messages. Hyperconnect was founded in 2014 and launched Azar the same year. The app registered more than 540 million downloads in total, according to the company.
Launched in 2019, Hakuna Live is a live streaming platform that allows users to create group audio and video broadcasts. It recorded more than 23 million downloads, with increasing popularity in Japan and South Korea, according to the company.
Hyperconnect said it is profitable and generated more than $ 200 million in revenue in 2020. This represents a 50% increase compared to the previous year. The Match Group saw revenue grow 17% last year, to $ 2.4 billion.
Match Group has ventured beyond its primary focus on romantic relationships with apps like Ablo, according to Swidler, who joined the Dallas-based company in 2015. However, he said the acquisition of Hyperconnect “will take us much longer firmly to social discovery “. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.
Match Group shares rose 7.7% on Wednesday to $ 171.07, reaching an all-time intraday high. The stock rose 126% in the last 12 months.