Hugely popular gay dating app Grindr announced in early May that it will soon be going public. Tiga Acquisition Corp. will acquire the 13-year-old company, which will be called Grindr Inc. and is valued at about $2.1 billion.
Cayman Islands-based Tiga plans to put up $384 million, including $284 million in cash in trust and an additional $100 million in a forward purchase agreement. The additional funds will be used to pay off debt and “fund planned growth initiatives,” Grindr said in a press statement. Its existing equity holders will keep an estimated 78% of the company, according to a Tiga press release.
The acquisition is expected to close later this year.
“Grindr is the leading platform focused on the LGBTQ+ community for digital connection and engagement. We have a near ubiquitous global brand in the community we serve, impressive scale, best-in-class user engagement metrics and adjusted EBITDA margin, and we’re still just beginning our monetization and growth journey,” said Grindr Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bonforte in a company statement.
The platform, which allows people to connect based on proximity and preference, has about 11 million monthly users. It has also endured scrutiny for selling off sensitive private information to advertising partners, such as users’ location data, age, gender, and relationship preferences – and even HIV statuses. In one infamous case, Grindr’s tracking data led to the outing and ultimate expulsion of a Catholic priest.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the company’s shady practices earlier this month. Grindr has claimed that those practices are no longer being used and that the company’s privacy policies were updated in 2020.
