dating apps

Malaysian men appear to have a greater inclination to use dating apps to find love than their Taiwanese and Singaporean counterparts. Pic: girafchik/Shutterstock

Singapore: Paktor Group acquires more match-making apps in quest to go global

SINGAPOREAN dating app company Paktor Group has acquired three other dating app firms from different parts of the world in a move that marks its expansion into the international love arena, less than two months after acquiring a controlling stake in livestreaming platform 17 Media.

The group now has Down, Inc. (U.S.), Goodnight (Taiwan), and Kickoff (Brazil) under its wing. According to Deal Street Asia, team members from each company will form a division under Paktor Group known as Paktor Labs.

Paktor Labs will act as an accelerator for social apps, and will be headed by Down, Inc.’s former CEO and co-founder, Colin Hodge.

The company is on a quest to build the most comprehensive portfolio of dating apps in the Asian region, and said that the acquisitions were a natural complement to Paktor’s app.

SEE ALSO: Ready, set, date: Singapore dating app Paktor receives $10m Series C funding

Two of the apps that have been acquired, including Down, will be contributing their collective five million organically-acquired users to Paktor Group.

Hodge said about Paktor Labs: “I’m thrilled to be part of the Paktor Management team and to be founding the high-growth, fast-paced Paktor Labs team! We’re working hard to create and accelerate the next generation of dating and social apps in Asia and beyond, leaning on my expertise in organic growth. Paktor Group is a natural home for us and has an impressive track record since its founding in 2013.”

Paktor Group will also bring Groopify, a group dating app known in European and Latin American countries, on board with its more than 250,000 user base. However, the Groopify app will no longer exist, and Groopify’s CEO and co-founder Pablo Viguera will lead growth and product strategy at the Singapore-based company.