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Investing.com -- Grindr Inc. (NYSE: GRND) stock surged over 20% Friday morning after the LGBTQ+ dating and social networking app received an $18 per share buyout proposal from its chairman and other investors, potentially taking the company private.
The offer, detailed in a Schedule 13D filing with the SEC, came from Chairman James Fu Bin Lu and investor George Raymond Zage III, who together with affiliated entities already own more than 60% of Grindr’s outstanding shares. The proposed purchase price represents a 51% premium over Grindr’s October 10 closing price of $11.96, the day before the proposing shareholders first informed the company of their intention to explore a going-private transaction.
In their October 24 letter to Grindr’s Special Committee, the proposing shareholders stated: "We firmly believe in the Company’s business and are not interested in selling our shares to a third party. We have been committed investors since acquiring a majority stake and have conviction in the Company and its future prospects."
The investors plan to finance the acquisition through a combination of equity rollover, a $1 billion first-lien term loan facility, up to $100 million in new cash equity from the proposing shareholders, and potentially third-party common stock and structured equity investments.
If completed, the transaction would delist Grindr from the New York Stock Exchange and terminate its obligation to file periodic reports under securities regulations. The proposing shareholders have requested a response from the company by October 31 and aim for a closing in the first quarter of 2026.
The buyers indicated they have no plans to change Grindr’s leadership team, viewing management and employees as "vital components of the Company’s success to date."