FriendsReunited has bought www.schoolfriends.com.au for an undisclosed sum - or £1m according to Aussie papers.

The deal gives it access to one million Australian members. Aussie users will not see much difference yet. Branding will be changed once FriendsReunited has sorted out its new logo and design.

This is FriendsReunited's first major acquisition. It intends to build a central database serving all countries, searchable by all members.

Michael Murphy, CEO at FriendsReunited, said: "In this business, our belief is that ultimately there can be only one profitable operator per region. FriendsReunited is perfectly positioned to be that operator as we have a proven track record of delivering functional websites at minimal variable cost, under one powerful and trusted brand."

Robb Barron and Vicki Dawson, brother and sister who started the Aussie site from home in October 2000, are staying with the company. Their site also operates in New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa.

FriendsReunited claims 11m members in the UK. ®

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