![\"Classmates](\"http:\/\/www.skipease.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/classmates-com-logo.jpg\"){kind=logo}
In July, we reported on the sale of Intelius, a leading people search and background check company, to private equity firm H.I.G Capital.<\/p>\nIn July, we reported on the sale of Intelius, a leading people search and background check company, to private equity firm H.I.G Capital.<\/p>\n
This month it was announced that Intelius has bought Classmates for a reported $30 million.<\/p>\n
For people who don’t know, Classmates.com was the original classmate reunion site before there was Facebook.<\/p>\n
Intelius bought Classmates from United Online, an internet company that purchased Classmates in 2004 for $100M.<\/p>\n
According to H.I.G., Intelius and Classmates will continue to operate as separate companies with their current offices.<\/p>\n
H.I.G. plans to use the social networking platform of Classmates with the people search and background check capabilities of Intelius to help people find each other and reunite online.<\/p>\n
Classmates was started in 1995 as a way for people to search online yearbooks and reunite with friends and coworkers from kindergarten through college, places of employment as well as military branches.<\/p>\n
However, new social networks have made Classmates virtually irrelevant today and the site has had a difficult time attracting paid subscribers.<\/p>\n
In 2011, the Classmates name was changed to Memory Lane and the site was redesigned to focus on nostalgic and historical content. However, the Memory Lane site is no longer in use.<\/p>\n
The Classmates site reportedly still gets around 25 million visitors a month.<\/p>\n
Over the years, Classmates has been the focus of a number of consumer complaints and legal problems including:<\/p>\n
– problems with cancelling paid memberships<\/p>\n
– sending out misleading marketing emails that led people to believe their friends were on the site and wanted to reconnect<\/p>\n
– charging people hidden fees<\/p>\n
The Classmates site continues to get complaints and poor user reviews on sites like Yelp and Consumer Affairs over credit card charges and other site-related issues.<\/p>\n
Intelius founder, Naveen Jain, said that the purchase of Classmates gives Intelius access to a new types of personal data on people, including schools attended, maiden names, photos etc.<\/p>\n