Grindr’s shares jumped more than 20% on Friday morning after the LGBTQ+ dating and social networking company received a buyout offer that could take it private.
The offer, worth 18 dollars per share, came from Grindr’s chairman James Fu Bin Lu and investor George Raymond Zage III. Together, along with their related companies, they already own over 60% of Grindr’s shares. The proposed price is 51% higher than Grindr’s closing price on October 10, the day before the company was first told about the plan to go private.
In a letter sent on October 24, the two investors said they have strong belief in Grindr’s business and do not want to sell their shares to anyone else. They explained that they’ve been loyal investors since buying their majority stake and are confident about the company’s future.
To finance the deal, they plan to use a mix of methods. This includes rolling over their existing equity, taking a 1 billion dollar loan, adding up to 100 million dollars in new cash from themselves, and possibly bringing in other investors for common or structured equity.
If the deal goes through, Grindr will be removed from the New York Stock Exchange and will no longer have to file regular reports under U.S. securities laws. The group has asked for a response from Grindr by October 31 and hopes to close the deal in the first quarter of 2026.
The investors also said they do not plan to change the company’s leadership team, calling its current management and employees key to Grindr’s success so far.
