BharatMatrimony to power Yahoo's matrimony search

By agencies   |   Wednesday, 15 November 2006, 20:30 IST
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New Delhi: Leading online matchmaker BharatMatrimony would soon edge out rival Shaadi.com as Internet giant Yahoo India's preferred matrimonial search partner. A link of BharatMatrimony, which in July raised about Rs 40 crore from Yahoo and Canaan partners, would replace that of Shaadi.com on Yahoo's India specific site, BharatMatrimony Group founder and CEO Murugavel Janakiraman said here. The matrimonial portal, which claims a membership of nine million, hopes to cater to 10 million users by March 2008. He said a part of the funds would be used for promoting 300 'offline' matrimonial centres that the group plans to set up across the country by March 2008. "We will set up 300 offline centres in India, of which a majority will be franchisee outlets. About 53 such centres have already been opened and another 25 will be set up in north India by March next year," Janakiraman said. It will also open four franchisee-based offline BharatMatrimony Centres in UK, Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka by March next year, he said. The total Indian matrimony market is estimated at Rs 1,000 crore, while the online market currently stands at Rs 100 crore with a growth rate of 100 per cent year on year, he said. The group also plans to launch another portal Bharateyebank.org, which would tie-up with eye banks in the four metros by the end of this year, he added. "We have options of raising funds through an IPO or tie-ups with other partners to raise more funds in the future," he added.

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