Match Group looks to test the shaky IPO waters to raise money to pay down debt and to expand its dating site operations.
The dating site Match Group has announced that it will be making an initial public offering in the hopes of raising $537 million for continued operations. Match Group owns the dating sites Match.com, Tinder, and OKCupid. The parent company of the Match Group is IAC, which is a huge media and entertainment Goliath headed by Barry Diller.
Match Group, which is based in New York, is looking to offer 33.3 million shares of stock with initial prices coming in at the $12-$14 range, according to The Financial Times. According to its initial filings with regulators, the underwriters of the IPO will have an option on buying up an additional 5 million shares.
According to sources at IAC, Match Group will be offering a total of 20 percent of the company with its IPO launch. Most of the expected $537 million will be used by the company for operating and expansion plans as well as to pay back debt it owes to the IAC parent company. They will also pay a dividend to IAC out of the IPO funds.
The Match Group is currently IAC’s best performing and rapidly expanding division. The Match Group claims 4.7 million paid subscribers as well as nearly 60 million regular monthly users. Revenues for last year topped $888.3 million and their net earnings were up over 17 percent at $148.4 million.
The recent atmosphere in the United States for IPO’s has been a bit murky and uncertain to say the least. The IPO launches for both Match Group and Square should set the tone for the immediate future of IPO’s in the country. Square is a start up company that makes it easy for businesses to accept debit and credit cards through their cell phones. For the past month or so, every recent IPO launch has come in beneath its projected share price range.