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Tagged Buys Hi5

Tagged, the social network for meeting new people, has completed the acquisition of hi5. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

“Together, Tagged and hi5 create a unique social networking company that will dominate the social discovery category,” said a statement from Tagged. The acquisition combines hi5’s 230 million registered users with Tagged’s user base of over 100 million registered users.

Initially, hi5 and Tagged will operate as two independent and freestanding brands, but Tagged has plans to update both products in the coming months to offer users an improved social discovery experience.

Tagged and hi5 were both created with the help of Stanford Ph.D. candidates Johann Schleier-Smith and Greg Tseng in 2003. In 2005, Mr. Tseng and Mr. Schleier-Smith made the decision to dedicate themselves full-time to Tagged. Now, as 2011 closes, Tagged and hi5 come together again.

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