Gay dating app Grindr soars on stock market debut

Shares in gay dating app Grindr shot up more than 300 per cent in its public markets debut after completing a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, making it one of the few businesses over the past year to have its stock price pop following a Spac deal.

Shortly after Grindr executives rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, the stock leapt from an opening price of $16.90 (€16.37) to $71.51.

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The jump was likely because few shares were being traded on the market after 99 per cent of shareholders opted to redeem their investment in the Spac following the deal’s completion. Spacs are listed vehicles set up to acquire target companies and take them public, and shareholders have the right to redeem their investment when they approve the merger.

Grindr announced in May it had agreed to go public through a merger with Tiga Acquisition Corp, a Spac set up by Ashish Gupta in 2020. The deal gave the business an implied valuation of $2.1 billion and an expected $384 million in proceeds that the company said it would use a significant portion of to pay down debt. — Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2022