Shares in dating app operator Bumble surged by nearly 50% on Monday, following reports that the company is in advanced negotiations to be acquired for approximately $1bn (£757m).
Technology holding company Ithaca is expected to announce the acquisition of the Texas-based firm as early as this week, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The rally in Bumble’s stock lifted its market valuation above $580m, though that figure remains far below the peak of over $14bn it reached after listing on the Nasdaq in 2021.
Bumble is among the world’s most downloaded dating apps, yet it operates in a saturated market where expansion has slowed. The BBC has contacted Bumble and Ithaca for comment.
The platform was launched in 2014 by Whitney Wolfe Herd, who also co-founded dating app giant Tinder.
Herd built Bumble’s identity around a distinctive rule that only allowed women to initiate conversations with matches.
The company recently abandoned that policy, prompting debate among users about whether the app had lost the feature that set it apart from rivals.
“Today, our community is asking for more flexibility, less pressure, and more opportunities to create real, meaningful connections and that is what this new experience provides,” Wolfe Herd said in August.
Dating apps like Bumble have faced pressure in recent years as some younger users have grown disillusioned with browsing for dates.
In 2025, Bumble announced it would cut almost a third of its workforce as the industry grappled with what Wolfe Herd described as an “inflection point” in online dating.
Investments in other dating companies have also soured as apps struggle to convince users to pay for their services.
Match Group, which owns apps including Tinder, OkCupid and Hinge, has also seen its shares fall sharply from their 2021 peak.
According to a 2025 report by media watchdog Ofcom, adults in the UK were spending less time on dating apps compared to three years earlier.
Some single people are instead turning to board game get-togethers, book clubs and other group activities in the hope of finding a partner.