The social dating/rating site HotOrNot has just been sold to Avid Life Media for $20 million.
The site is based on the concept of people voting for the "hotness" or "notness" of people who post their photos on the site. Basically, how "shagable" the person photographed is. Over the past year the site has gathered a bit of a cult following.
It was set up by James Hong and Jim Young in October 2000, originally as a paid dating site, but decided to go free when faced with stiff competition from rivals. It has never previously had any outside cash from investors to prop it up.
The investors are creating a new company, called HotOrNot Media and they may be acquiring more properties as well.
Their annual revenue is estimated to be around $5 million, with $2 million in profit.
The bubble is back.
The bubble is back.