Gay dating app Grindr to go public via blank-cheque company

Popular gay dating app Grindr has agreed to go public through a blank-cheque firm whose founder was part of a consortium that bought the company in 2020, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. The deal with Tiga Acquisition Corporation will raise $384m including $284m of the special-purpose acquisition company's (SPAC) cash in trust plus up to $100m in a forward purchase agreement, valuing the company at $2.1bn including debt, according to the filing. The dating app was valued at $620m when it was sold in 2020 by its Chinese owner. Tiga Acquisition Corp went public in November 2020 to raise $240m, a few months after the Grindr sale. The SPAC would have to liquidate later this month if it failed to reach a deal with a potential merger target, after several extensions of the liquidation deadline.