Bumble in advanced talks to go private at $1 billion

Bumble is in advanced talks to be taken private by Ithaca Holdings in a deal valuing the dating app operator at roughly $1 billion, and its shares surged about 50 percent on Monday.

Why it matters: A take-private at more than double Friday’s market value would end Bumble’s public run while it tries to revive growth under founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, with paying users down 16.4 percent in the second quarter.

Data as of Monday, October 12, 2026: Reuters report via SRN News, opened and read in full; the talks rest on a single unnamed source and neither Bumble nor Ithaca Holdings commented, so treat the deal and the $1 billion valuation as unconfirmed. Developing item.

Bumble is in advanced talks to be taken private by Ithaca Holdings, a holding company for technology businesses, in a deal valuing the Austin, Texas based dating app operator at roughly $1 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter cited by Reuters on Monday. Shares surged about 50 percent to $3.81 following the report, against a market value of roughly $389 million at Friday’s close, and neither company responded to requests for comment.

The talks follow a slide in the business Wolfe Herd founded in 2014: total paying users fell 16.4 percent in the second quarter to 3.2 million, and 2025 revenue declined nearly 10 percent to about $966 million. Wolfe Herd returned as chief executive in March 2025 and has been adding AI powered features as the wider dating sector grapples with weaker engagement among younger users.

Bumble in advanced talks to go private at $1 billion

Sources