Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP has advised Affinitas GmbH on its merger with Spark Networks, Inc.

Affinitas, which operates premium dating platforms such as EliteSingles and eDarling, and Spark Networks, a leading brand for specialized online communities such as JDate and ChristianMingle, have entered into a definitive agreement to combine in a stock-for-stock merger, creating one of the world's largest online dating providers. Together, the two companies today have more than half a million subscribers.

The new formed company, Spark Networks SE, is to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange for smaller companies (NYSE MKT) but organized as a European stock corporation (SE). The head office will be in Berlin, while in the US there will be branches in New York and Utah. Following the implementation of the combination, the Affinitas shareholders will own approx. 75 percent of the new company, the shareholders of Spark Networks approx. 25 percent.

A Milbank team led by Scott Golenbock and Norbert Rieger comprehensively advised Affinitas on corporate, tax, finance and antitrust law in relation to the merger.

Advisor to Affinitas GmbH: Milbank, Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP

Norbert Rieger (Corporate/M&A, Munich), Scott W. Golenbock (Corporate/M&A, New York), Christoph Rothenfusser (Corporate/M&A, Munich), Rolf Füger (Tax, Munich), Russell J. Kestenbaum (Tax, New York), Brett D. Nadritch, (Capital Markets, New York), Alexander Rinne (Antitrust, Munich), Fiona A. Schaeffer (Antitrust, New York), Joel I. Krasnow (Employment & Pensions, New York), Malte Krohn, Sebastian Reiner-Pechtl (both Corporate/M&A, Munich), Stephen I. Iya, Amy Kurtich, Renee Stern (all Corporate/M&A, New York), Max A. Goodman, James Beebe, Archan J. Hazra, Christina Skaliks (all Tax, New York), Arielle Katzman, Robert Stewart (Capital Markets, New York), Vanessa van Weelden (Antitrust, Munich), John O'Brien (Technology & Outsourcing, New York), Javier J. Ramos (Intellectual Property, Washington)