Dating app deals tracker: sales, closures, insolvencies 2024 to 2026

From January 2024 to October 2026, ownership in dating apps changed faster than at any time since the pandemic. Bumble agreed to be taken private for about $1.3 billion ^[1]. Spark Networks restructured in 2024 ^[24], then its Berlin operating company went into preliminary insolvency in January 2026 ^[3]. EliteSingles closed on 30 April 2026 and came back under a new owner four months later ^[5][6]. Match Group and Bumble closed apps they no longer wanted ^[8][14], while specialists such as Perry Street Software and CatholicMatch bought niche brands ^[18][19].

This tracker lists every deal, closure and insolvency in that period that we could confirm from a filing, a company statement or named trade press. Where a price was not published, we say so.

The tracker

Source: company filings and statements ^{[1][8][10][12][13][14][15][23][24]}, court and legal reporting ^[3][4] and trade press ^{[2][5][6][9][11][16][18][19][20][21][22]}. Black Cap's portfolio is taken from its own help page ^[7].

The three big stories

Bumble goes private

Ithaca Holdings is paying $6.05 a share, a premium of about 138% to Bumble's closing price on 9 October 2026 ^[1]. Blackstone's affiliates and Whitney Wolfe Herd approved the deal by written consent, so no shareholder vote is needed ^[1]. Ithaca's co-chief executives, Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman, will run Bumble after closing ^[1]. Bumble said it will file its third quarter 10-Q but not publish an earnings release or hold a call ^[1].

For scale: Bumble's revenue in the three months to June 2026 was $210.5 million ^[25]. Multiplying that by four gives about $842 million a year, so the $1.3 billion price is roughly 1.5 times annualised revenue (our calculation from ^[1] and ^[25]).

Spark Networks unwinds

Spark's problems started well before 2026. Its 2024 restructuring under Germany's StaRUG law dealt with over $100 million of funded debt and left lender MGG Investment Group as sole owner ^[24]. In January 2026 MGG pulled funding ^[4], and a Berlin court put Spark Networks Services GmbH, which ran key operations for Zoosk, EliteSingles, SilverSingles, Christian Mingle, JDate and JSwipe, under preliminary insolvency administration ^[3]. By the end of March it was seeking US recognition and planning to sell assets while trading ^[4].

The brands then went separate ways. EliteSingles closed with two days' notice to members ^[5] and was relaunched by SuccessfulMatch on a new database ^[6]. Zoosk, JDate, JSwipe and Christian Mingle now appear in Black Cap's portfolio ^[7]. We could not find a published date or price for that transfer. We cover the EliteSingles case in detail in relaunching a dating brand.

Grindr: a buyout that didn't happen, and one that did

In October 2025 Grindr's two largest shareholders, who together own more than 60% of the company, proposed taking it private at $18.00 a share ^[10][11]. The special committee stopped talks in November, saying the buyers had not explained how the deal would be funded ^[11]. Global Dating Insights put the value of the proposal at about $3.46 billion ^[11]. That is more than two and a half times the price Ithaca agreed for Bumble a year later ^[1], even though Bumble had the larger revenue in the second quarter of 2026 ^[25].

Instead, Grindr became a buyer. On 30 September 2026 it agreed to pay $250 million for PurposeMed, the parent of the PrEP telehealth service Freddie, with up to $70 million more tied to 2027 targets ^[12]. Freddie expects 2026 revenue above $80 million ^[12].

The patterns

• Big groups are pruning. Match left live streaming and closed Hakuna in 2024 ^[13], folded its Asia unit into its Everyone Everywhere business and closed Archer in 2026 ^[8]. Bumble shut Fruitz and Official ^[14]. Both are concentrating money on fewer apps.
• Investing beats building for new audiences. Match closed its own gay men's app, Archer, within weeks of putting $100 million into Sniffies ^[8][9]. Buying a stake in an app that already has members proved more attractive than growing one from scratch.
• Specialists are buying niche brands. Perry Street added GROWLr to SCRUFF and Jack'd ^[18]. CatholicMatch bought Brazil's largest Catholic app, according to CatholicMatch ^[19]. Black Cap built a faith-focused portfolio ^[7]. Prices in these deals were not disclosed.
• Valuations are low for shrinking apps. Bumble sold at about 1.5 times annualised revenue (our calculation, above) after paying members fell 16.4% in a year ^[25]. ProSiebenSat.1 decided to keep ParshipMeet for now, with one source pointing to its depressed valuation ^[17].
• Insolvency hits members first. EliteSingles members lost their accounts and conversations ^[5]. The relaunched brand started with an independent member database ^[6].

What to watch next

• Bumble's closing. The deal has the shareholder approval it needs ^[1]. Bumble's third quarter 10-Q is due by 9 November 2026 ^[1].
• ParshipMeet. MFE wants ProSiebenSat.1 to sell side businesses including dating ^[16], but a sale is described as a longer-term goal ^[17]. ParshipMeet has already sold GROWLr ^[18].
• Grindr's Freddie deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026 ^[12].
• App store risk as a deal factor. Match recorded a $25.2 million impairment after Apple removed Azar following a February 2026 change to its guidelines ^[23]. Store status now belongs on every buyer's checklist.