Grindr Announces Plans to Go Public With Multibillion Valuation

Grindr is going public. The gay dating and hookup app announced it has entered into an agreement with Tiga Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company. The two companies have agreed to merge under the name Grindr Inc. in a deal that has valued the app at $2.1 billion.

"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," Grindr CEO Jeff Bonforte said in a statement announcing the merger.

"Grindr has established itself as the primary social network for LGBTQ+ people, enabling meaningful expansion of its monetization within a continuously growing market," G. Raymond Zage, chairman and CEO of TAC, said in the statement. "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."

Rather than going public in a traditional IPO, Grindr has instead chosen to merge with TAC, a shell acquisition company that is already publicly traded. The agreement calls for raising $384 million, including $284 million of TAC's cash, as well as up to $100 million in a forward purchase agreement. Grindr's rollover equity will be valued at approximately $1.6 billion with an estimated post-transaction enterprise value of $2.1 billion. Grindr's existing equity holders will maintain an estimated 78 percent of the company following the merger.

Grindr and TAC announced the new company will maintain a strong LGBTQ+ presence on its board of directors including George Arison, CEO of Shift Technologies Inc., and Hootsuite CMO Maggie Lower.

"It is an honor to help safeguard and nurture this incredible brand, and I am excited to work with my fellow Directors and the whole Grindr team to expand our product offerings and further support the community around the world, especially in places where it is most difficult to be LGBTQ+," Arison said of his addition to the board.

Describing Grindr as "iconic," Lower said she "can't wait to work with this board and the impressive folks at Grindr to show up for even more LGBTQ+ people."