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Spark Networks

Global dating company

Layered newspapers, civic records and oral-history reels arranged as chronological evidence
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 30, 2026
Entity authorityQ7573631 ↗
Source-derived summary

Spark Networks GmbH is an American-German dating company with a portfolio of brands designed for singles seeking serious relationships. These online dating brands include Zoosk, SilverSingles, EliteSingles, Jdate, ChristianMingle, eDarling, JSwipe, AdventistSingles, LDSSingles, and Attractive World. Formed in 2017 through the merger of Affinitas GmbH and Spark Networks, Inc., the company has a presence in 29 countries worldwide.

On July 1, 2019, Spark Networks closed on their previously announced acquisition of Zoosk, Inc., forming North America's second-largest dating company in revenues. The deal increased Spark's global monthly paying subscribers to over 1 million.

On January 12, 2024, Spark Networks successfully completed a financial reorganization process pursuant to the Act on the Stabilization and Restructuring Framework for Companies (Gesetz über den Stabilisierungs- und Restrukturierungsrahmen für Unternehmen, StaRUG) (“StaRUG”). Pursuant to the StaRUG restructuring plan, which was confirmed by the German Court on January 4, 2024, secured lender MGG Investment Group LP became Spark Networks' sole equity holder in exchange for waiving over $45 million of debt and providing approximately $24 million to support business operations.

Websites

A number of properties are included in Spark Networks’ portfolio, including LDS Singles and Adventist Singles. Other websites include:

Zoosk is an online dating service available in 25 languages and in more than 80 countries. The founders of the company are Shayan Zadeh and Alex Mehr, who ran the company until December 2014.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Spark Networks” as global dating company. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Spark, Networks and Global.

Editorial reviewMost valuable as an event-and-institution map that identifies actors, dates and record creators for deeper historical inquiry. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2017, 2019, 2024, 2014—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1997. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Spark, Networks and Global providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Spark Networks”, the useful work is to connect “global dating company” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7573631. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2017, 2019, 2024 and 2014.

Critical limits

Later summaries often reconcile disputed chronology or motive more neatly than the contemporary record permits. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.

Best used for
  • Event chronology
  • Institutional context
  • Locating named record creators
Verify next

Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Spark Networks”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Spark Networks primary sources, Spark Networks archive and Spark research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Spark Networks”?
  2. What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
  3. Which voices are present, absent or mediated by the institution?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Spark Networks” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.