China drone maker courts online matchmaker Zhenai

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Zhenai.com, one of China's largest matchmaking websites, has found itself an unlikely suitor in drone manufacturer DEA General Aviation that said on Wednesday it wants to buy the popular dating website to expand its business.

DEA said Zhenai reported 1 billion yuan ($145.59 million) in revenue last year and that it plans to integrate the dating website into its home appliance business to heed Beijing's so-called "Internet Plus" strategy.

The drone maker said in a statement it had suspended trading in its shares because of the potential deal, without giving details on how much it would pay for Zhenai, which sounds like "true love" in Chinese.

Zhenai, which has more than 100 million registered users, could not be immediately reached for a comment.

Matchmaking is big business in China, where single people are often subjected to tough lectures from relatives keen on reinforcing the importance of marriage and securing the family blood line.

($1 = 6.8685 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Himani Sarkar)