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The Wall Street Journal reported on October 12 that Bumble is in advanced talks to go private in a deal valuing the company at about $1 billion with Ithaca Holdings, a newly formed technology investment firm, sending its shares surging as much as 57 percent intraday before closing up around 50 percent at $3.80. The move lifted Bumble’s market capitalization to approximately $580 million from $335 million at the previous close, though that figure remains well below the more than $14 billion peak reached shortly after its 2021 Nasdaq debut. Bloomberg and Reuters both confirmed the discussions, which could result in an announcement as soon as this week though no final decision has been made and the talks could still fall apart.
Ithaca Holdings was founded by Silicon Valley executives Ravi Gupta, a partner at Sequoia Capital and former chief financial officer of Instacart, and John Hegeman, the former chief revenue officer at Meta, with plans to apply advanced technologies including artificial intelligence to its investments. Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd is expected to roll at least part of her stake into the deal and stay involved with the company, according to people familiar with the matter cited by the Journal. The premium implied by the $1 billion valuation would offer relief to investors after Bumble shares had dropped more than 90 percent since going public.
Reuters data shows Bumble’s total paying users fell more than 11 percent across 2025 to about 3.7 million while annual revenue declined nearly 10 percent to roughly $966 million as the online dating sector confronted slowing growth. In the second quarter ended in June 2026, paying users decreased 16.4 percent to 3.2 million, underscoring the challenges facing the Austin, Texas-based operator. The company has faced pressure from Gen Z users growing tired of endless swiping, a trend that has also weighed on larger rival Match Group which owns Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid.
Wolfe Herd, who co-founded Tinder before launching Bumble in 2014 on a women-first messaging model, returned as chief executive in March 2025 after a brief hiatus and has overseen a broad overhaul that includes AI-powered features aimed at boosting engagement and countering swiping fatigue among younger users. Bumble reported upbeat fourth-quarter results in March 2026 that beat estimates and fueled optimism around its product reset, prompting a sharp share rally at the time, while the firm has also cut costs significantly including reducing performance marketing spend by more than 80 percent year-over-year in late 2025. The company ditched its signature women-go-first approach in August as part of efforts to revive growth.
Reuters first reported in June that Bumble had engaged Morgan Stanley to explore a potential sale amid the industry headwinds, a process that appears to have led to the current advanced discussions with Ithaca. Blackstone, which acquired a majority stake in Bumble’s predecessor company in 2019 at a $3 billion valuation, held around 22 percent of the shares as of recent filings and had sold some stock earlier this year. Industry analysts have pointed out that while AI tools and efficiency measures have provided some lift, the sector requires fresh ways to drive user engagement and paid subscriptions to achieve sustainable growth.
A deal at the reported level would value Bumble at nearly triple its recent market capitalization, offering a significant exit for shareholders even after years of decline that saw the stock fall nearly 29 percent in 2026 before the surge. The surge on October 12 saw more than 42 million shares change hands, roughly seven times the average daily volume. Neither Bumble nor Ithaca Holdings responded immediately to requests for comment from the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg or Reuters.
