Bumble to Go Private in Ithaca Holdings Acquisition

Bumble ( (BMBL) ) has issued an announcement.

On October 12, 2026, Bumble Inc. agreed to be acquired by Ithaca Holdings in an all-cash deal that will take the dating-app operator private and value the company at about $1.3 billion. Common shareholders of Class A stock are set to receive $6.05 per share in cash, a roughly 138% premium to the unaffected closing price on October 9, 2026, while Class B holders will receive a nominal cash amount per share.

The transaction, unanimously approved by an independent special committee and Bumble’s board and swiftly consented to by affiliates of Blackstone and founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, restructures Bumble and its operating partnership into wholly owned subsidiaries of Ithaca. The deal includes cancellation of stock options and certain Opco incentive units, cash-settled treatment of restricted stock units, no further shareholder vote, and a set of mutual termination fees, and it positions Bumble to pursue its women-first, connection-focused mission under new co-CEOs Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman as a privately held company based in Austin.

The acquisition, announced in a joint press release on October 13, 2026, underscores continued private equity and technology-holding company interest in underperforming public consumer-tech platforms, offering public shareholders a significant premium while shifting future upside and operational control to Ithaca and rollover investors aligned with Wolfe Herd. It also means Bumble will forgo its usual third-quarter 2026 earnings release and call, indicating a transition phase as the company prepares to report results only via its Form 10-Q filing with the SEC while moving toward closing, subject to customary regulatory and antitrust conditions.