Dating app Grindr explores go-private deal, Semafor reports

(Reuters) -Insiders at dating app Grindr are discussing taking it private after a share slump put its top owners in a tight personal financial position, Semafor reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Grindr shares jumped more than 10% following the report. They have lost about 26% so far this year. Raymond Zage and James Lu, who control majority of Grindr, are in talks to secure debt financing from Fortress Investment Group to acquire the dating app, the report said. Zage and Lu have discussed a buyout price of around $15 per share, the report said, adding that the number could change. A deal at that price would value Grindr at around $3 billion. The talks have accelerated after a unit of Temasek, having extended personal loans to at least one of Grindr's owners secured by their holdings, seized some of those shares last week and sold them, Semafor reported. Both Grindr and Fortress Investment Group declined to comment on Reuters' requests. Originally owned by Beijing Kunlun Tech, Grindr was sold to San Vicente Acquisition LLC for more than $600 million in 2020 after the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment raised national security concerns. (Reporting by Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

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