DC Thomson-owned web company Brightsolid plans to keep the Friends Reunited brand alive, invest in its dating and genealogy sub-brands, and merge the business with its own family history-social networking sites such as Findmypast.com. After confirming the deal with ITV (LSE: ITV) for £25 million early on Thursday, CEO Chris van der Kuyl says in a video interview (embedded below) that he simply bought FR because it’s one of the “real great pioneering websites in social media worldwide and a successful and well-used business.” Or as he puts it in the release, the road is now clear for Brightsolid to be “Britain’s leading genealogy business”.

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