Multiple publications featured Venable's recent representation of dating website PlentyOfFish Media, Inc. in its sale to the Match Group, a subsidiary of IAC, for $575 million in cash. The parties have entered into a definitive acquisition agreement and expect to close the transaction early in the fourth quarter. The transaction is subject to the receipt of the approval from the Minister of Industry pursuant to the Investment Canada Act.
Philip von Mehren and Michele Maney of the firm's New York office and Andrew Pratt of the firm's Washington, DC office led the Venable team representing PlentyOfFish. Damien Scott, Charles Kolstad, Lisa Jose Fales, Paul Feinstein, Milo Cividanes and Robert Davis also advised on the matter.
"We were brought here to Venable to do deals of this size, type and complexity," von Mehren told American Lawyer on July 17. He added that "the fact that PlentyofFish saw this kind of success and was based and built in Vancouver, beyond the Silicon Valley arena, is a sign of an increasingly global economy."
News of the deal was featured in LawFuel on July 21, 2015, Capital New York on July 17, Private Equity Wire on July 16, and the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Mergers & Acquisitions and Law360 on July 14.