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