Bumble agrees to $1.3 billion Ithaca buyout

Bumble has agreed to be acquired by Ithaca Holdings in an all-cash deal valuing the dating-app company at about $1.3 billion, with shareholders set to receive $6.05 per share. The agreement, announced October 13, would take Bumble private once it closes; no closing date was supplied in the reports, and completion remains pending. Bumble said its board approved the transaction unanimously, with founder Whitney Wolfe Herd recusing herself. The company also said Blackstone affiliates and Wolfe Herd provided the required shareholder approval by written consent. The deal still requires completion of regulatory and other conditions, and the supplied information does not establish that those steps have been satisfied. Ithaca cofounders Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman are set to become Bumble’s co-chief executives after the acquisition closes. Wolfe Herd is expected to remain involved with the company, according to the announced leadership arrangement. The ownership and management changes therefore depend on the transaction being completed. The agreement follows reports on October 12 that Bumble was in advanced sale talks with Ithaca at a valuation of roughly $1 billion.