"Grindr's majority owners are scrambling to take the LGBTQ+ dating app private after a stock decline triggered a personal financial crisis, according to a report from Semafor. The owners in question are Raymond Zage, a former hedge fund manager and U.S. expat now based in Singapore, and James Lu, a Chinese-American entrepreneur and former Amazon and Baidu exec. Together they led the 2020 acquisition of Grindr from Chinese ownership for over $600 million, then took the app public in 2022 through a blank-check merger."
"Reportedly, Zage and Lu, who together control more than 60% of Grindr, pledged nearly all their shares as collateral for personal loans from a unit of Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek. After Grindr began a slide at the end of September, those loans became undercollateralized (worth less than the debt), so the Temasek unit seized and sold some of the shares last week."
Raymond Zage and James Lu control more than 60% of Grindr and pledged nearly all their shares as collateral for personal loans from a Temasek unit. After Grindr’s stock slid at the end of September, those loans became undercollateralized and the Temasek unit seized and sold some shares. Grindr reported a 25% profit increase in the second quarter but has experienced executive turnover and investor concern over narrowing margins. Zage and Lu are pursuing financing with Fortress Investment Group for a buyout near $15 per share, which would value Grindr at about $3 billion; shares rallied after the news.
Read at TechCrunch
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