Bumble Inc. announced that it has priced its initial public offering of 50 million shares of its Class A common stock at $43/share, well above the expected range of $37-39 per share. It has all but geared up to make a memorable debut into the stock market, expecting $2.2 billion IPO of stock on Thursday. It has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 7,500,000 shares of Class A common stock, Bumble said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
From Thursday, Bumble will be listed under the ticker symbol “BMBL.” The 23 banks underwriting the deal include Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.
The latest IPO puts Austin-based Bumble’s valuation at between $8 billion and $9 billion, based on the number of outstanding shares, according to the securities filing.
Bumble, founded in 2014 by former Tinder employee Whitney Wolfe Herd, announced that it intends to use the proceeds from the issuance of 9 million shares to repay a portion of its senior secured term loan facilities and for general corporate purposes, as well as to bear the expenses of the offering. Proceeds would be used to purchase or redeem an equivalent aggregate number of outstanding equity interests from certain entities affiliated with Blackstone. The IPO is expected to close on February 16.
Bumble had announced that it had filed to go public in mid-January 2020, offering its first price range of $28-30 per share. It was later raised to $37-39 per share. It was reported at that time that the company could seek a valuation between $6-8 billion.
Bumble works in a similar way to Tinder, where users can swipe on preferences. However, it differs in the way that it allows only women to initiate a conversation or contact. It has expanded from a dating app into a women-centric social networking platform that includes friend and business networking options.
“We purpose-built the Bumble app with features designed to empower women, giving them more control in relationships,” Bumble described the dating app. “We believe that by empowering women through rewriting relationship dynamics, we can make the world better for everyone.”
