Bumble’s shares rose nearly 50 per cent on Monday following reports that the company is in advanced talks to sell for around $1bn, or £757m. The holding company Ithaca could announce a deal for the Texas-based firm as early as this week, the BBC reports.
The stock surge has lifted Bumble’s market value to over $580m. This figure is significantly lower than the peak the company reached after listing on the Nasdaq in 2021, when its value exceeded $14bn.
Bumble is one of the most downloaded dating apps in the world, yet it operates in a saturated market where growth has slowed. The BBC has requested comment from Bumble and Ithaca.
The company was launched in 2014 by Whitney Wolfe Herd, who was also a co-founder of Tinder, one of the largest dating apps. Herd built the B brand around a distinctive feature that allowed only women to initiate conversations with matches.
Bumble recently abandoned that rule, sparking debate among users about whether the app had lost the quality that distinguished it from its competitors. "Our community is asking for more flexibility, less pressure, and more opportunities to form genuine, meaningful connections, which is exactly what this new experience offers," said Herd in August.
Dating apps such as Bumble have come under pressure in recent years as younger users have become disillusioned with swiping. B announced in 2025 that it would cut nearly a third of its workforce, with Herd describing the situation as a "tipping point" in online dating.
Match Group, which owns apps including Tinder, OkCupid and Hinge, has also seen a sharp decline in its share price since its 2021 peak. According to a 2025 report by the media regulator Ofcom, adults in the UK are spending less time on dating apps than three years ago. Some singles are instead turning to board games, literary clubs and other group activities in the hope of finding a partner.
