Buzzworthy: Dating app Bumble's stock soars following Wall Street debut
Sputnik news agency and radio 00:06 GMT 12.02.2021
Bumble Inc. (BMBL) CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, who launched the location-based dating app Bumble in late 2014, became the youngest self-made woman billionaire on Thursday after shares of the 31-year-old's company closed up 63.5% in its initial public offering (IPO).
Bumble, a dating app that only allows women to make the first move in heterosexual matches, became a public company on February 11 and quickly sold an estimated 50 million shares initially priced at $43 each, according to CNBC.
BMBL ultimately opened at $76 a share Thursday, trading up almost 77% and raising $2.15 billion.
Match Group Inc. (MTCH), which oversees dating platforms like Tinder, Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Hinge, Pairs, PlentyOfFish, and OurTime, has a market cap of $45.5 billion, versus newcomer Bumble's $7.7-billion market cap, CNBC reported.
"So today is day one of our commitment to our community and shareholders to build out our long-term vision: to be the platform to meet new people, no matter who you might be looking for, whichever life stage or situation you’re in," Herd said before ringing the Nasdaq opening bell Thursday.
"I want to thank the remarkable women who paved the way for Bumble in the public markets. By supporting and championing each other, we can break down barriers for the next generation of women and folks from marginalized communities. We can’t wait to cheer them on!" the Bumble CEO said.
Herd, now the youngest female founder to take a US company public, notably sued former employer Match Group Inc. in June 2014 over sexual assault allegations tied to Tinder CEO Sean Rad and fellow Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen.
Herd, who was unmarried at the time, alleged that Rad removed her co-founder title because she was a woman, suggesting that five founders was "too many." She also claimed that Mateen, who she dated on-and-off for a year, said it was "slutty" for her to be the co-founder of a hookup app.
"Whitney’s lawsuit against Tinder has been resolved (without admission of wrongdoing)," John Mullan, a partner at the law firm representing Herd, told BuzzFeed in September 2014. "She is proud of her role as a cofounder of Tinder and of the role she played in the app’s success. She is now pleased to be able to focus her energy, talents, and ideas on exciting new opportunities."
With the lawsuit settled for "an undisclosed sum," Herd, ousted from a company she helped start, founded Bumble months later. Reports that have emerged since the settlement have claimed Herd received $1 million from Match Group Inc.
Bumble also launched social app BumbleBFF and professional marketing app BumbleBizz in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
