Dublin - Saongroup.com today announced that it has entered the online dating business with the purchase of Maybefriends.com for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition of Maybefriends.com represents a diversification of the Group which until now has concentrated on the online recruitment market where it has successfully carved out a significant leadership position, on an international basis.

Maybefriends.com is an Irish online dating website which has been successfully operating its current business model since 2004.

Leslie Buckley, Chairman, saongroup.com commented: "Saongroup.com is broadening its horizons with the acquisition of Maybefriends.com. We plan to grow the business aggressively to build on an already successful platform."

"We are also looking to develop our online dating business internationally, mirroring the successful business model that has worked for Saongroup.com in the online recruitment sector. With a worldwide online dating market of €1billion and online dating in Europe expected to reach €650million by 2012, this diversification represents major growth prospects for Saongroup.com," Buckley said.

"We will be investing significantly in Maybefriends.com actively promoting the site and developing the product to its maximum potential," Buckley concluded.

Jill McGrath, Managing Director of Maybefriends.com, welcomed the move: "Peoples lifestyles in Ireland are becoming increasingly busy and hectic and as such are turning to web based services including online dating. With nearly 850,000 single adults (25yrs ) in the country, the potential market for our product is huge."

"The acquisition by saongroup.com is a positive next step for us. Maybefriends.com has grown strongly since its foundation and we now have a new visitor to the site every minute of the day. As part of Saongroup.com, we hope to develop the existing Maybefriends.com business model forward at an accelerated pace," she concluded.

*Source: Central Statistics Office