Grindr goes public

Grindr, the gay dating app based in West Hollywood, has agreed to go public through a merger with Tiga Acquisition Corp. in a deal that values the combined company at $2.1 billion

“Grindr is the leading platform focused on the LGBTQ+ community for digital connection and engagement. We have a near ubiquitous global brand in the community we serve, impressive scale, best-in-class user engagement metrics and adjusted EBITDA margin, and we’re still just beginning our monetization and growth journey,” said Jeff Bonforte, Chief Executive Officer of Grindr. “Grindr is well positioned to be a public company and will continue to expand the ways it serves the LGBTQ+ community, from products, services to the philanthropic and advocacy work done through Grindr 4 Equality.”

James F. Lu, Chair of Grindr’s Board of Directors, said, “Bringing Grindr to the public markets with TAC furthers our mission to connect the LGBTQ+ community. This transaction is a milestone event, not only for our iconic company, our people, partners, and investors, but also for the community we serve around the world. We are grateful for the resilience, courage, and creativity that are some of the LGBTQ+ community’s unifying characteristics. Lastly, we are thrilled to work with Ray Zage and Ashish Gupta and the entire TAC team, and appreciate their confidence and support in this important journey.”

G. Raymond Zage said, “The business combination with Grindr represents a tremendous opportunity to invest in critical social infrastructure for a traditionally underserved LGBTQ+ community. Grindr has established itself as the primary social network for LGBTQ+ people, enabling meaningful expansion of its monetization within a continuously growing market. We are excited to bring this diverse and thoughtful board together with the talented Grindr team to grow the business and deepen its commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.”

G. Raymond Zage, Chairman and CEO of TAC, will serve as a member of the Grindr Board, along with Jeff Bonforte, current CEO of Grindr, and Lu, who will continue as Chair post-transaction. Current investor and former Atlanta Hawks owner, J. Michael Gearon, Jr. will also remain on the Board post-transaction. With the help of Audeliss, a global Executive Search firm specializing in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Grindr has organized a majority LGBTQ+ identifying Board of Directors for its public entity, including: CEO of Shift Technologies Inc., George Arison; former United States Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Daniel Baer; senior partner at Simpson Thacher, Gary Horowitz; CMO of Hootsuite, Maggie Lower; Investor and Tech Executive, Nathan Richardson; and SVP of Marketing and Communications at BigCommerce, Meghan Stabler.