Match Group, the owner of some of the world's leading dating apps and websites, has bought a majority stake in millennial-favoured app Hinge.
The owner of Tinder, OKCupid and Match.com said its 51 per stake would allow it to acquire all the remaining Hinge shares within the next year, while declining to give any more details.
Match first invested in Hinge last September after it revamped its product to remove the 'swipe' feature that Tinder made famous. The redesign stimulated a 400 per cent growth in the app, especially among urban, well-educated women, which impressed Match.
Read more: Dating site Match launches Lara, an AI chatbot inside Google Assistant
"Hinge's passion for the user experience and their innovative approach to dating has created a product that is highly relevant particularly among urban, educated millennial women looking for relationships," said Match's chief executive Mandy Ginsberg.
"We are excited to welcome Hinge to Match Group and leverage our extensive experience to enable them to become a major player in the relationship space."
Hinge CEO Justin McLeod said Match's support would enable it to reach more people in the US and elsewhere.
The news of the tie-up may comes as Facebook announced it wanted to make gains in the dating market with its own app.
Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the app would focus on "real-long term relationships – not just hookups."
"There are 200 million people on Facebook that list themselves as single, so clearly theres something to do here.
"And if we are committed to building meaningful relationships, then this is perhaps the most meaningful of all," he said.
Read more: Facebook to have fling in dating market with new app
[contf] [contfnew] 
CityAM
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
