Match Group picks up dating website PlentyOfFish

The US company that operates Tinder and OkCupid said Tuesday that it is buying Canada-based dating website PlentyOfFish for $575 million in cash.

Match Group expected the deal to close late this year provided it wins approval of the Minister of Industry in Canada.

"For over a decade I have followed the consistent growth of PlentyOfFish, first within North America, then globally, and most recently across platforms, as one of the most popular mobile dating products in the world," Match Group chief executive Sam Yagan said in a release.

PlentyOfFish chief Markus Frind said that he was 'thrilled' to be hooking up with Match and that he was confident the union would speed the company's growth.

Word of the acquisition came just weeks after news that popular online dating app Tinder is breaking free as part of a spinoff by parent company IAC/InterActive Corp.

IAC said its board approved a plan to spin off its Match unit which includes the online services Match.com, Tinder, Meetic, OkCupid and OurTime, and which operates in some 200 markets worldwide.

IAC chairman Barry Diller, who created the conglomerate which includes a range of Internet firms including About.com, The Daily Beast, Investopedia and ShoeBuy, said the time was right to break up.

"As many know from our actions over the last 20 years, I'm not a believer in simply agglomerating assets in perpetuity," he said in a statement.

"I've long felt that as entities grow into size and maturity it's healthy to give them separation and independence from a mother church."

Tinder, one of the popular online dating applications for mobile devices which allows users to view photos of prospective dates and swipe right to approve or left to reject, boasted making some 26 million matches each day.

Tinder last week began verifying profiles of public figures, celebrities and athletes for the smartphone-based dating service.

Tinder said it would use the system employed by social networks like Facebook and Twitter, placing a check mark on the profiles of high-profile members.

Tinder also recently launched a premium subscription service.

Diller's group has a history of acquiring and spinning off assets. It has owned brands such as Newsweek, Live Nation, Evite, Urbanspoon and others over the years.