Tinder-maker Match Group acquires dating app The League

US-based tech company Match Group has reportedly acquired popular dating app The League for an undisclosed sum. The League is now in Match Group’s dating app portfolio which includes Tinder, OKCupid, Match, Hinge, Pairs, Meetic, Azar, PlentyOfFish and OurTime. 

“We have just closed our acquisition of The League, a premium, niche dating app with a curated member base focused on matching career-oriented users looking for a serious relationship,” Match Group CEO Bernard Kim wrote in a company email a copy of which was sent to TechCrunch by an anonymous internal source. 

Founded in 2014 by Amanda Bradford, The League is an ‘intelligent dating’ app targeting users with ‘high standards’. The app requires an application process where users are asked to submit their LinkedIn and Facebook profiles and set their preferences. While it offers various subscription models, users are also able to experience the app as a ‘guest’ for free. 

The news comes months after Match Group acquired Seoul-based Hyperconnect for $1.7 billion and launched a new dating app called ‘Stir’ for single parents

In May this year, the company sued Google over its Play Store billing rules alleging that it’s acting as a monopolist. Two weeks later, the company announced that it reached a deal with the tech giant and withdrew its request. 

However, Google has now filed its counterclaim alleging that Match Group is seeking a way to access its tools while escaping their fees. 

”While Match Group claims that Google Play only provides payment processing, that simply isn’t true,” wrote the company, as reported by TechCrunch. ”Google Play provides tools and a global distribution platform that has allowed Match Group to thrive and build a successful network of users that is critical for its dating apps. Match Group now seeks to access Google Play’s global distribution platform and users and leverage Google’s substantial investments in the platform, all for free.”