Dating-App Bumble für 1,3 Milliarden Dollar verkauft

Düsseldorf - Dating app Bumble, known for empowering women by giving them the first move, has been sold for $1.3 billion. The buyer is a private investment firm called Ithaca Holdings, which also includes prominent former Facebook executive John Hegeman. The company will be delisted from the stock market following the acquisition. The $1.16 billion price tag represents a fraction of Bumble's former stock market valuation of $14 billion and a significant premium over Bumble's current market value of around $340 million.

Bumble's sale comes at a time when online dating appears to be losing appeal among younger users. The company went public in early 2021 with a market value of $14 billion. Just last week, Bumble's value had dropped to approximately $340 million. The founder of Bumble, Whitney Wolfe Herd, who co-founded Tinder, aimed to give women the central role on the app by allowing them to make the first contact. However, this restriction was abandoned in August as Bumble grappled with declining revenues.

Ithaca Holdings, the private equity firm leading the purchase, plans to invest in companies that improve people's lives in an era transformed by artificial intelligence. Hegeman and co-founder Ravi Gupta are expected to become co-chiefs of Bumble after the acquisition.