The Meet Group adds a same-sex dating app to its portfolio

New Hope, Pa.-based The Meet Group, owners of a half-dozen dating and networking apps, announced Wednesday it added a gay-focused dating app to its portfolio.

Growlr, a same-sex dating app with some 200,000 daily active users, agreed to be acquired by the Bucks County company for $11.8 million. Initech, LLC, the privately held company that owned Growlr, will receive the $11.8 million from the Meet conglomerate, in addition to another $2 million, contingent upon hitting certain revenue metrics. Its two staffers will stay put in Seattle, where it’s based.

Initech bills Growlr as the “complete social networking app for gay bears” and was launched in 2010. To date, it has amassed a community of 200,000 daily active users.

“We are thrilled to add Growlr to The Meet Group portfolio,” said CEO Geoff Cook. “Similar to what we have done with our other acquired properties, we plan to be aggressive in bringing our video model to Growlr.”

Earlier this year, Cook told us the company’s focus on live video and in-app gifting had helped the social media beat its 2018 revenue by $4.5 million. All told, the company’s brands pulled in $178 million in revenue, according to the CEO.

“We expect to begin rolling out live video on Growlr in the fourth quarter of 2019,” Cook said. “We also see opportunities to grow advertising revenue on the app, and we plan to further invest in user acquisition to expand brand awareness and reach.”