WSJ - July 15 - FriendFinder Networks has made a proposal to acquire
Playboy Enterprises, Inc. for $210 million. FriendFinder Networks owns
over 30 000 web sites with over 350M registrants in 180 countries,
offering a wide variety of online services. With ~200,000 affiliates in
its network, FriendFinder Networks maintains one of the world's largest
internet affiliate programs, providing the Playboy brand the ability to
help extend its global reach. FULL ARTICLE @ WSJ
EDINGBURGH NEWS - July 14 - Bill Dobbie, founder of EasyDate, is a St Andrews pure maths graduate
who got a job with Burroughs in Cumbernauld in the 1970s making
"business machines" - today they're known as computers. Then he build
up Teledata, a telephone information services company that he sold to
Scottish Telecom, and Iomart, an internet web hosting firm he helped
create with his brother-in-law Angus MacSween. He left six years ago,
but maintains interests there, and launched web-based DVD rental firm, dvds365.com.
When that was sold to LoveFilm.com, it was time to seek out a new
venture. Named last year as one of Deloitte Technology's Fast 50 - a
list of the 50 fastest growing technology companies in the UK -
EasyDate attracts about 200,000 new fee-paying members a month. "We
wouldn't be maximising the company's capability if we didn't take it
worldwide," said Bill Dobbie, the founder. "And we've had an
international outlook from the beginning." Boosted by the stock market
cash injection, EasyDate is now preparing to do just that. First up is
the acquisition of an American firm that will increase the firm's
presence there. Australia, where EasyDate already draws ~£200,000 a
month, is targeted for expansion, as is Brazil, China and almost
everywhere else you might care to mention. FULL ARTICLE @ EDINBURGH NEWS
