Bumble shares jump as Reuters reports talks on a $1 billion take-private deal

Bumble is in advanced talks to be taken private by Ithaca Holdings in a deal valuing the dating-app company at roughly $1 billion, Reuters reported on October 12, citing a person familiar with the matter. Bumble shares closed about 50% higher that day as investors reacted to the report, but the talks have not produced an announced agreement.

The reported valuation would be substantially above Bumble’s market value of about $389 million at the previous Friday’s close, according to Reuters. That comparison does not establish what shareholders would receive: Reuters reported an approximate value for a possible transaction, while final terms and even whether a deal will be reached remain unknown.

What Reuters reported about Ithaca Holdings and Bumble

Reuters described Ithaca Holdings as a holding company for technology businesses founded by Silicon Valley executives Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman. Its report said the parties were in advanced talks, citing a source familiar with the matter. Bumble and Ithaca did not immediately respond to the news agency’s requests for comment.

Bumble’s shares ended October 12 at $3.80, about 50% higher on the day. Reuters called it the company’s largest percentage gain in a single session. The rise reflects the market’s response to the report; it is not confirmation that either company has approved a sale or that a transaction will close.

Bumble’s falling revenue and paying-user count

Bumble’s latest published quarterly figures show why its future ownership matters to investors. In the second quarter of 2026, total revenue fell 15.2% from a year earlier to $210.5 million. Revenue from the Bumble App, its main product, fell 14.7% to $171.7 million, according to the company’s results.

The company reported 3.2 million total paying users for the quarter, down 16.4% from 3.8 million a year earlier. Average revenue per paying user rose 1.2% to $21.96, but that increase did not offset the decline in the number of people paying. The figures point to a business trying to retain and attract paying members while its revenue contracts.

Bumble reported a quarterly net loss of $127.9 million that included a $169.3 million impairment charge. It also reported $72.9 million in adjusted EBITDA, a company-defined measure of earnings. As of June 30, Bumble had $154.0 million in cash and cash equivalents and $451.0 million in total debt. Those figures describe its disclosed financial position before the reported talks; they do not establish how any potential acquisition would be financed.

For the third quarter, Bumble forecast revenue of $205 million to $213 million and adjusted EBITDA of $56 million to $60 million. The company cautioned that actual results could differ materially from those projections. The forecast provides a view of management’s expectations for the operating business, separate from Reuters’ account of the possible sale.

The challenge facing Bumble’s dating apps

Reuters described Bumble and larger rival Match Group, which owns Tinder and Hinge, as facing softer engagement, particularly among younger Gen Z users. Bumble was founded in 2014 by Whitney Wolfe Herd and built its identity around a women-first approach to dating. Wolfe Herd returned as chief executive in March 2025, after stepping down from that role in January 2024, Reuters reported.

In Bumble’s second-quarter results, Wolfe Herd said the company was completing a platform migration, changing its matching algorithms and developing new ways for members to connect, including group experiences. Chief Financial Officer Kevin Cook said Bumble was investing in product, technology and brand as it prepared an innovation roadmap. Those statements set out management’s response to the business pressures shown in the quarterly figures.

Analyst Paolo Pescatore told Reuters that going private would not, by itself, resolve Bumble’s business challenges. He argued that the company still needed to give consumers a compelling reason to return and pay. His assessment underlines the distinction between a change in ownership and improvement in the app’s ability to attract paying users.

What remains unknown about a potential Bumble sale

Reuters’ report does not establish a signed agreement, a final price, a timetable or a shareholder process. It also does not establish whether the talks will continue to a transaction. Until either company announces terms, the roughly $1 billion figure remains an attributed report about negotiations, and Bumble’s published operating results remain the clearest disclosed measure of how the business has been performing.