Bumble, the dating app where only women can make the first move, is raising $2.15 billion in an initial public offering, expanding the size of the listing and pricing the shares above a marketed range, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The company on Wednesday sold 50 million shares for $43 each, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information wasn’t public yet. Bumble had planned to sell 45 million shares for $37 to $39 apiece, a target that was raised earlier from 34.5 million shares at $28 to $30.
At $43 a share, Bumble would have a market value of about $8.2 billion based on the outstanding Class A shares listed in its filings. Private equity firm the Blackstone Group Inc. took a majority stake in Bumble’s parent company in 2019, in a transaction that valued it at $3 billion.
The Bumble app was started in 2014 by CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, who previously co-founded the dating app Tinder.
In a letter to investors, Wolfe Herd said women making the first move is a “powerful shift.”
“Archaic gender dynamics and old-fashioned traditions still ruled the dating world,” she said. “This led to all sorts of unhealthy dynamics that ultimately disempowered women and created unnecessary pressure for men.”
For the nine months ended Sept. 30, Austin, Tex.-based Bumble had a pro forma net loss of $28 million attributable to owners and shareholders on revenue of $413 million, according to its filings.
The offering is being led by Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase. Bumble’s shares are expected to begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol BMBL.
