Friends Reunited could see new owners |
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Tue, 09 Aug 2005 06:05
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LONDON: Friends Reunited, the website that brings together old school friends, could fetch over £120 million for its owners if they choose to sell it. The website’s founding trio have been holding discussions with Long Acre - a corporate finance advisory firm.
Friends Reunited was started in July 2000 and today ranks among the top new media companies of the UK with over 10 million registered members.
The website helps people get in touch with old friends, acquaintances and classmates. Over the last couple of years the firm has resisted several takeover offers. Instead, the website’s partners chose to expand with funding from a management buy-in. Last June, the firm acquired another reunion site School Friends that is very popular in New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. Placement site Top Dog Jobs also joined the wings of Friends Reunited in March.
Its founding partners - Steve and Julie Pankhurst and Jason Porter denied that they were contemplating a trade sale in the near term, although Long Acre is believed to be assessing an offer. The Pankhursts said they were “keeping their options open”.
According to analysts the firm could easily be worth close to £120 million. Last fiscal year, the website made a profit of £4.6 million (revenue £8.8 million) 27 percent more than previous year.
The website’s CEO Michael Murphy, a former Financial Times COO, was hired in February 2003. The Pankhursts and Porter own around 85 percent of the company while Murphy is a minority stakeholder.
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