Dating app Bumble has agreed to go private in a $1.3 billion all-cash buyout by Ithaca Holdings, ending its turbulent five-year run as a public company at a fraction of the $14 billion valuation it commanded at its 2021 debut.
The deal, announced October 13, will pay Bumble's Class A shareholders $6.05 per share in cash — a 138% premium over the stock's unaffected closing price on October 9, the last trading day before news of the talks broke.
The deal terms
Under the definitive agreement, Ithaca Holdings will acquire all outstanding Bumble shares for $6.05 apiece. The price represents about a 138% premium to the October 9 close and roughly a 119% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price, according to the companies' filings.
A special committee of Bumble's board reviewed strategic options and recommended the transaction; the full board approved it unanimously, with founder Whitney Wolfe Herd recused from the vote. Affiliates of Blackstone and Wolfe Herd herself approved the deal by written consent, which satisfies the shareholder vote requirement. Completion remains subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Who is Ithaca Holdings?
Despite sharing a name with Scooter Braun's former management company, this Ithaca Holdings is an entirely different — and brand-new — entity. Bloomberg reported in March that Sequoia Capital partner Ravi Gupta and Meta's former chief revenue officer John Hegeman were raising at least $1 billion for the venture, which describes itself as "the long-term holding company for enduring technology businesses."
Bumble's filings confirm Gupta and Hegeman are Ithaca's co-CEOs — and they will become Bumble's co-CEOs after the deal closes. Wolfe Herd, who returned as CEO in March 2025, will remain actively involved, and Bumble will stay headquartered in Austin, Texas, with major offices in London and New York.
From $14 billion to $1.3 billion
The sale price underscores how far Bumble has fallen. The company priced its Nasdaq debut in February 2021 at $43 a share, valuing it near $8.2 billion; the stock opened at $76 on its first day and briefly pushed Bumble toward a $14 billion market value. By October 12, its market capitalization had shrunk to about $582 million.
The decline reflects a brutal operating picture: second-quarter 2026 revenue was $211 million, down 15.2% from a year earlier, while paying users fell 16.4% to about 3.2 million. Bumble and larger rival Match Group, owner of Tinder and Hinge, have both struggled with weaker engagement as younger users tire of endless swiping. In August, Bumble ditched its signature women-message-first model and introduced an AI-powered matchmaking assistant in a bid to revive growth.
What it means
Taking Bumble private removes the pressure of quarterly earnings, giving Ithaca room to attempt the turnaround away from public markets. Whether a new ownership structure can solve the deeper problem — persuading a generation falling out of love with dating apps to start swiping again — remains the open question.
Watch: WHAS11: Dating app 'Bumble' to go private in $1B deal
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