Bumble will be acquired by Ithaca Holdings for $1.3 billion, the company announced on Tuesday. The deal will take the dating app off the public markets after a period of declining users and revenue.
According to the release, an independent committee of Bumble’s board conducted a review of strategic options and, after consulting outside legal and financial advisers, recommended the transaction. Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble’s founder, did not participate in the board discussions and did not vote on the deal.
“In Ithaca, we have found a partner who shares our vision, believes in our women-first mission, and is committed to investing in Bumble’s future,” Wolfe Herd said in the statement. She also indicated she intends to remain actively involved in the business alongside Ithaca representatives Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman and the Bumble team.
Background and financial trends
Bumble was founded in 2014 by Whitney Wolfe Herd and gained recognition for its model in which women make the first move. The company went public in 2021 with an approximate valuation of $14 billion.
Since the IPO, the dating-app market has shifted and Bumble has faced falling revenues and a shrinking base of paying users. In its latest reported quarter, second-quarter 2026 revenue was $211 million, down 15.2% year over year, while paying users declined 16.4% to about 3.2 million.
Why going private matters
Taking Bumble private may give management greater freedom to experiment and to make product changes without the quarterly scrutiny of public investors. The company has been exploring AI-driven features and placing more emphasis on encouraging in-person connections as younger users change how they approach dating.
In July, Bumble introduced Plans, an initiative designed to bring people together around real-world activities. Wolfe Herd has also said the company is developing a new interaction model that could eventually replace the swipe-based experience.
The announcement did not provide a detailed timeline for closing the transaction. Still, the move signals a shift in strategy: stepping away from public markets to focus on longer-term product development and strategic change under Ithaca Holdings’ ownership.
