(Reuters) -Starboard Value has built a stake of about 6.6% in Tinder-parent Match Group, the activist hedge fund said in a letter, and urged the dating app operator to explore a sale if it is unable to revitalize its business.
Match Group’s shares were up more than 8% in premarket trading on Tuesday.
The company, which offers offers dating apps including Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, and has been grappling with slowing revenue due to weaker discretionary spending by users. It also competes with smaller rival Bumble.
Activist investor Elliott has also pushed for improvement in Match’s performance and named Instacart executive Laura Jones and Zillow co-founder Spencer Rascoff to its board in March this year.
Match continued to remain focused on Tinder’s growth and Hinge’s expansion, a spokesperson said in an emailed statement, adding that the company would “look forward to continuing our open dialogue with all of our investors, including Starboard.”
Investment firm Anson Funds Management had also amassed a stake and was pushing Match to refresh its board, Bloomberg News reported in March.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the Starboard development on Monday.
(Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru, Additional reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh and Shreya Biswas; Editing by Alan Barona and Shounak Dasgupta)
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