grindr

Chinese Company Purchases Majority Share in Gay Dating App, Grindr

60 percent stake worth $93 million

Chinese game developer, Beijing Kunlun Tech, has purchased a 60 percent stake in Grindr, the world’s largest networking app for gay and bisexual men for $93 million.

Grindr’s remaining shares will remain with founder and Chief Executive Officer Joel Simkhai, along with other employees.

Carter McJunkin, Chief Operating Officer of Grindr, said Beijing Kunlun was a good match for Grindr as the gaming company agreed to let the app’s founders continue to use its existing business structure and development team.

Since its founding in 2009, Grindr has become immensely popular in the gay community, and is used in over 196 countries worldwide. However, the app has plagued by spam bots and other bugs which have contributed to its low user score.

This is the latest in a long list of acquisitions for Beijing Kunlun and its billionaire chairman Zhou Yahui who recently purchased a share of British mortgage lender, LendInvest.

Beijing Kunlun has not specified whether or not it plans to introduce Grindr to the Chinese market. Although Grindr has about two million daily users, Chinese-based gay networking app, Blued, already dominates the market, receiving upwards of three million daily users.

Charles Liu

The Nanfang's Senior Editor