BOSTON—Online Buddies Inc., the parent company of gay dating site Manhunt.net, has acquired a majority stake in DList.com, a leading social-networking site for gay men younger than 30. The acquisition is the first for eight-year-old Online Buddies.
Under terms of the agreement, Online Buddies will assume all marketing efforts for DList. In addition, Online Buddies Chief Executive Officer Adam Segel and Chief Financial Officer Richard Scott will assume those roles for both companies.
DList founder Todd Sowers, recently named chief marketing officer at Online Buddies, retains a minority partnership in DList, where he will assume the role of chief operations officer and continue to oversee the site’s daily operation.
“Online Buddies is committed to providing the biggest and best arena for men to meet men on the internet,” Chairman Jonathan Crutchley said in making the announcement Wednesday morning. “While many gay men love sex and sex-related sites, others are looking for friends or for simple social networking with other men. This is where DList comes in. Our acquisition of DList allows Online Buddies to broaden the scope of services we offer to men across the world.”
Segel added, “We are excited to be able to present our members with yet another platform on which to express themselves.”
Dlist.com launched in 2006 and grew rapidly by supporting personal and creative freedom of expression. Similar to MySpace, the site allows members to share music, art and photos while building personal pages to reflect their individual personalities.
“The main reason we decided to do this deal with Online Buddies now is that Dlist has it within its grasp to become the leading social network for gay men globally, we needed the strong management team and resources that Online Buddies brings to the table,” Sowers explained.
Dlist.com joins Manhunt.net and OnTheHunt.net under the Online Buddies umbrella. All will remain separate websites, but executives plan to take advantage of cross-promoting across platforms. While Manhunt and OnTheHunt will focus on sexually explicit content, DList will offer a milder platform to assist men in connecting with one another.
