Shares of LGBTQ dating app Grindr soared this week after the company’s majority owners proposed a buyout valuing the business at $3.5 billion.
Billionaires George Raymond Zage III and James Lu offered to buy the remaining minority shares at $18 each, a 51% premium to the stock price before the plan was announced. The offer is also 20% above the minimum price the duo had initially planned.
Grindr stock jumped 18.9% to close at $15.06 on the New York Stock Exchange, marking its largest gain in three years. Zage emphasized his long-term confidence in the company, noting that he has bought over $200 million of Grindr shares since it went public.
The majority owners currently hold a combined 64% of Grindr. They disclosed that $1 billion in preliminary debt financing has been raised to support the deal. Lu, Grindr’s chairman, said the proposal positions the company for focused growth as a private entity.
Grindr’s earnings have improved despite a rocky stock performance this year. Its net profit rose 25% year-over-year to $17 million in the second quarter, following a widened net loss of $131 million in 2024 due to non-cash accounting adjustments.
Founded in 2009, Grindr was one of the first location-based apps for gay men and has grown into the most popular LGBTQ mobile app worldwide. It now has over 14 million monthly active users.
The app was previously taken public through a merger with Zage’s Tiga Acquisition, a blank check company, in 2022, which initially sent shares up more than 200%. Despite a 60% correction since then, Grindr remains a core part of Zage’s $1.5 billion fortune.
Investors and analysts will now watch closely as Grindr shareholders weigh the buyout proposal, which could take the company private once completed.
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