NEW YORK: Bumble is in advanced talks to be taken private by Ithaca Holdings in a deal valuing the dating app operator at roughly US$1 billion (RM4.1 billion), a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.
Shares of the Austin, Texas-based company closed around 50% higher on Monday at US$3.80, marking their biggest-ever percentage gain in a single session. The company had a market value of roughly US$389 million at Friday’s close.
Bumble and Ithaca, a holding company for technology businesses founded by Silicon Valley executives Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Reuters exclusively reported earlier this year that Bumble was exploring a sale amid slowing growth in the online dating sector.
Dating apps such as Bumble and its larger rival Match Group, which owns Tinder and Hinge, have come under pressure as younger Gen Z subscribers grow disillusioned with endless swiping, leading to softer user engagement.
“Going private looks less like a strategic masterstroke and more like an admission that Bumble‘s current strategy is failing,“ said PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore. “A change in ownership will not magically fix these fundamental problems.”
Founded in 2014 by CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble pioneered the “women-first” approach to online dating. But after its US$14 billion blockbuster Nasdaq debut in 2021, the company has struggled with a post-pandemic slowdown in growth.
Under Wolfe Herd, who returned to the CEO role in March last year after stepping down in January 2024, Bumble has rolled out AI-powered features and new ways for users to connect as it works to reinvigorate growth.
Total paying users for Bumble fell more than 11% to about 3.7 million in 2025, while annual revenue declined nearly 10% to about US$966 million.
In the second quarter ended June 30, total paying users decreased 16.4% to 3.2 million.
“AI is not going to be the silver bullet, nor is another round of cost-cutting. Bumble desperately needs to give consumers a compelling reason to return and, more importantly, pay,“ Pescatore said.
