Industry giants Various, the parent company of online dating and adult personal sites Friend Finder, and cam program Streamray have merged.
Although no financial details were announced, the move means Friend Finder will employ Streamray’s cam technology and the companies will be able to level their already huge affiliate bases.
“Live cams and dating have started to merge in the last year or so. Andrew from Friend Finder has been putting cams inside of his web site, so it just made sense to use our technology in that space. It was a good fit since we were doing the back end for him to merge the two companies together,” Streamray owner Legendary Lars told AVNOnline.com.
While the move is being touted as a merger, a source observant of the negotiations has informed AVNOnline.com that the deal is more like an acquisition for Various and that Lars’ role in the combined company would be largely symbolic, something Lars denied.
“I’m not selling out. I’m still a shareholder in the company and I’m still around,” Lars said. “I’m going to continue on as president of Streamray and I’ll also be taking on a position as either marketing director or business development director. It hasn’t been totally fleshed out yet.”
Although the affiliate programs will remain separate, they will be enabled to easily promote both sites.
“There will be no difference for users or affiliates. We will be able to use both sets of affiliates to promote both sites,” Lars said.
The complete integration of Friend Finder and Streamray should be complete in three to six months.
Various CEO and founder Andrew Conru was unavailable for comment at press time.
“Various and Streamray have a natural affinity and offer preeminent products aimed at similar markets. This merger brings together two market leaders and creates an unparalleled partnership with the strongest technology and talent in the industry. The merger will give us an opportunity develop new and innovative services for members in our FriendFinder network, and use our resources to further develop Streamray,” he said in a statement.
Palo Alto, California-based Friend Finder was founded in 1996. Streamray, home to Cams.com, was founded in 1998.
