Grindr Inc., the West Hollywood-based dating app platform for the queer community, is on track to go private again in a buyout offer valued at nearly $3.5 billion.
Two of its top investors – Grindr Chairman James Fu Bin Lu and board member George Raymond Zage III, who together own 60% of the company’s outstanding shares – proposed to acquire the rest of its stock for $18 apiece, the company announced on Oct. 24.
The proposition represents about a 51% premium over Grindr’s stock price on Oct. 10 at $11.96, the day before the pair first informed the company of its plan.
Shares jumped 21% following the official announcement of the offer made, sending the stock price as high as $16.22. It closed at $15.06 on that day. For the year, shares are still down about 4%, closing at $13.89 a share on Oct. 30.
“We are pleased to submit this proposal, which represents a significant premium to recent trading prices and better positions the company for focused growth as a private entity,” said Lu in a statement. “We look forward to engaging constructively with the company and other shareholders in executing our proposal.”
The offer is just the latest take-private deal for L.A.-area companies this year, following the likes of Skechers Inc., Guess Inc. and TrueCar Inc..
Zage said in a statement that they have received “considerable initial interest from both debt and equity investors in participating in this opportunity.”
He added that “we acquired Grindr in 2020 and have been intently focused on building a world class management team that is focused on improving the product for the community Grindr serves … We hope to have an active and friendly dialogue with our CEO George Arison and the board to find the best path forward for the company, our employees and investors.”
Lu and Zage led the company’s public listing in November 2022.
Grindr acknowledged in mid-October that it received a buyout offer from Lu and Zage. At that time, the company said that while there was no official offer made, the board “has established a Special Committee comprised of disinterested and independent directors in the event that a definitive, bona fide proposal, including committed financing, is presented to the Company for evaluation. The board and the special committee are committed to acting in the best interest of all stockholders.”
Lu and Zage requested a response from the committee by the end of October to solidify their goal of closing the deal in the first quarter of 2026.
The pair’s offer comes at a time when the overall online dating app scene – including Bumble Inc. and Match Group Inc. – seemed to be dwindling.
User engagement on the 10 largest dating apps fell 16% last year, according to a 2024 report published by the United Kingdom’s Office of Communications.
But Grindr has weathered the financial storm. In its second quarter reported on Aug. 7, the company generated $104.2 million in revenue, a 27% year-over-year increase.
Third-quarter earnings are set to be released on Thursday.