Match Group Inc. - the parent company of popular dating services such as Match.com, Tinder and OKCupid - is gearing up to take over Wall Street as it has filed for an IPO and targets raising funds of at least $100 million.
On Friday, Oct. 16, Match Group filed for the IPO of common stock with U.S. regulators. The company is set to list its stock under the symbol "MTCH" on NASDAQ.
Earlier in June this year, the company which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barry Diller's InterActiveCorp. divulged that it would be going public and the process was estimated to be finished by Q4 2015. At the time, InterActiveCorp. also let on that it anticipated that Match Group would be looking to float less than 20 percent shares in the IPO.
Match Group has more than 45 dating services under its umbrella which cumulatively account for over 59 million active users each month. These users are spread worldwide in nearly 190 countries. According to Match Group's prospectus, the company had 4.7 million paid members in Q3 2015.
The firm's filing discloses that its "multi-brand approach" to take on board new customers aids Match Group in recruiting new employees in a more cost effective manner. Apart from dating services, Match Group also owns The Princeton Review.
Analysts are optimistic that Match Group's IPO will be well received, which augurs well for the company.
"It looks like it will be well received by the IPO market... it's got the financials that people are looking for," noted Francis Gaskins, IPO Desktop's president.
The IPO filing from the firm also reveals that Match Group's revenue increased 10.3 percent in 2014 (to $888.1 million). In Q2 2-15, the revenue leapfrogged by 19 percent and stood at $254.7 million.
Match's IPO is being underwritten by JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Allen & Company and Fenner & Smith Incorporated.
Post the IPO, InterActiveCorp. will be retaining control over more than 50 percent of the voting rightcourtesy of the Class B shares it owns.
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