M17 Entertainment
In short: M17 Entertainment was a Taipei-based live streaming company, later renamed 17LIVE, formed in 2017 when Paktor merged with 17 Media. It owned the Paktor dating business until May 2020, when it sold Paktor Pte Ltd to Kollective Ventures. Paktor later merged with Lunch Actually, so M17 matters as a former owner in Asian dating consolidation.
Key facts
| Type | Parent company (former owner of Paktor) |
|---|---|
| Status | Renamed 17LIVE in 2020; no longer owns a dating business |
| Website | about.17.live |
| Business | Live streaming entertainment company, based in Taipei at the time of the 2020 Paktor sale [M17 sells its online dating assets to focus on live streamin, 22 May 2020] |
| Formation | M17 was formed in April 2017 when Paktor merged with 17 Media [M17 sells its online dating assets to focus on live streamin, 22 May 2020] |
| Sale of Paktor | M17 sold Paktor Pte Ltd to Kollective Ventures; deal value undisclosed [M17 Announces Sale of Paktor Dating Assets, 22 May 2020] |
| Reason for sale | M17 said it would focus on live streaming in Japan and new markets, and could not devote the same resources to its dating business in Southeast Asia [M17 Announces Sale of Paktor Dating Assets, 22 May 2020] |
| Rename | Parent company M17 Entertainment Limited was renamed 17LIVE (17 LIVE Group / 17LIVE Inc.) [17LIVE, 28 October 2020] |
| Later Paktor deal | Paktor, then owned by Kollective Ventures, and Lunch Actually announced a merger under the Lunch Actually Paktor Group holding entity [A Perfect Match Between Lunch Actually and Paktor, 9 September 2024] |
About M17 Entertainment
M17 Entertainment Ltd was a live streaming entertainment company based in Taipei. TechCrunch reported that it was formed in April 2017, when the dating app Paktor merged with 17 Media. Joseph Phua, a co-founder of Paktor, took over as chief executive of the combined group, according to Wikipedia. In 2018 the company cancelled a planned initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.
In May 2020 M17 announced the sale of Paktor Pte Ltd, which ran the Paktor dating app and related online dating and offline matchmaking services in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, to Kollective Ventures. The price was not disclosed. M17's chief financial officer, Shang Koo, said the company could not give its dating business in Southeast Asia the same resources as its fast-growing Japanese live streaming business. After the sale, M17 said it would focus on live streaming in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and new markets.
According to Wikipedia, the parent company was later renamed 17LIVE, and its brands include the 17LIVE streaming app. It is no longer a dating operator. Its place in the dating industry is as a former owner of Paktor. Paktor later joined Lunch Actually in a merger announced in September 2024, creating the Lunch Actually Paktor Group. Note that the DII article dates the M17 purchase of Paktor to 2016 and describes the later Lunch Actually deal as an acquisition. Other sources point to a 2017 merger with 17 Media and a 2024 merger under a new holding entity.
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Questions about M17 Entertainment
What is M17 Entertainment?
M17 Entertainment Ltd was a Taipei-based live streaming company, later renamed 17LIVE.
Did M17 own Paktor?
Yes. M17 was formed in 2017 when Paktor merged with 17 Media, and it sold Paktor Pte Ltd to Kollective Ventures in May 2020.
Who owns Paktor now?
Paktor merged with Lunch Actually in September 2024 under the holding entity Lunch Actually Paktor Group.
What does M17 Entertainment do?
M17 Entertainment was a Taipei-based live streaming company, later renamed 17LIVE, formed in 2017 when Paktor merged with 17 Media. It owned the Paktor dating business until May 2020, when it sold Paktor Pte Ltd to Kollective Ventures.
Also known as: 17 LIVE Group, 17LIVE, 17LIVE Inc., M17 Entertainment Limited, M17 Entertainment Ltd, M17 Group.