Bumble in Advanced Talks to Go Private at Roughly $1 Billion Valuation

Bumble Nears $1 Billion Takeover Deal

Bumble, the operator of the dating app founded by Whitney Wolfe Herd, is in advanced talks to be taken private by Ithaca Holdings in a deal that values the company at roughly US$1 billion, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

Shares of the Austin, Texas-based company surged around 50 percent to $3.81 following the report, after a market value of roughly $389 million through last close. Neither Bumble nor Ithaca, a holding company for technology businesses founded by Silicon Valley executives Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman, immediately responded to Reuters' requests for comment.

Pressure in the Online Dating Market

Reuters exclusively reported earlier this year that Bumble was exploring a sale amid slowing growth in the online dating sector. Dating apps such as Bumble and its larger rival Match Group, which owns Tinder and Hinge, have come under pressure as younger Gen Z subscribers grow disillusioned with endless swiping, leading to softer user engagement.

PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore said: "Going private looks less like a strategic masterstroke and more like an admission that Bumble's current strategy is failing. A change in ownership will not magically fix these fundamental problems."

Declining Users and Revenue

Bumble was founded in 2014 by CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd and pioneered the "women-first" approach to online dating. Wolfe Herd returned to the CEO role in March last year after stepping down in January 2024, and the company has since rolled out AI-powered features and new ways for users to connect as it works to reinvigorate growth.

The efforts have not yet reversed the slide. Total paying users for Bumble fell more than 11 percent in the full year 2025 to about 3.7 million, while annual revenue declined nearly 10 percent to about $966 million. In the quarter ended June 30, total paying users decreased 16.4 percent to 3.2 million.

"AI is not going to be the silver bullet, nor is another round of cost-cutting... Bumble desperately needs to give consumers a compelling reason to return and, more importantly, pay," Pescatore said.

Sources: Bnn Bloomberg (Reuters) · New York Post · Bloomberg