EDINBURGH, Scotland – Cupid Plc, one of the giants in the European online dating space, has sold its “casual dating” properties to a co-founder for a reported £43.1 million (approximately U.S. $65.2 million). The company also expects a software licensing agreement between Cupid and the buyer to generate another £2 million in revenue over four years.

In a statement released Monday, Cupid said co-founder Max Polyakov’s Ukraine-based Grendall Investment Ltd. picked up BeNaughty.com, Flirt.com and WildBuddies.com because the sites “can lead into areas of adult content, which Cupid has tried to avoid.”

“Cupid believes that in mainstream dating, customers are demanding increasingly higher quality and that this can be a rewarding area for the company to focus its efforts,” the statement noted. “By contrast, the company believes the casual market consumer ultimately requires the potential for more adult-oriented content and that moving towards this end of the spectrum of dating is not a route that the company wishes to pursue.”

Cupid stressed that it will continue to own and operate mainstream dating sites including Cupid.com, LoveAgain.com and UniformDating.com. Analysts suggested the company may acquire additional mainstream dating sites with some of the proceeds from the sale.

Although many analysts expect Cupid’s mainstream properties to thrive under the company’s new, more restricted focus, some expressed concern that the casual-dating sites have generated the majority of Cupid’s profits in the recent past. In 2012, for example, Cupid posted total revenues of £80.9 million. Of that total, casual dating produced £51.1 million, or 63 percent.

Polyakov retains a 15-percent interest in Cupid Plc, which he co-founded with Bill Dobbie in 2005. Dobbie currently serves as Cupid’s chief executive officer. On Monday, told the Telegraph he believes the sale represents a “significant positive step” for the company.