M&A Deal Summary

The Blackstone Group and Lead Edge Capital Acquire Bumble

On November 8, 2019, private equity firm The Blackstone Group and growth capital firm Lead Edge Capital acquired internet software and services company Bumble for 3.0B USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is The Blackstone Group’s 10th and Lead Edge Capital’s 11th transaction in the Internet Software and Services sector.
  • This is The Blackstone Group’s 46th and Lead Edge Capital’s largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is The Blackstone Group’s 161st and Lead Edge Capital’s 13th transaction in the United States.
  • This is The Blackstone Group’s 26th and Lead Edge Capital’s 2nd transaction in Texas.
Investment Fate
  • Bumble went public in 2021.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2019-11-08
Target Bumble
Sector Internet Software and Services
Buyer(s) The Blackstone Group
Lead Edge Capital
Deal Type Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI)
Deal Value 3.0B USD
Advisor(s) Citigroup Investment Banking (Financial)

Target

Bumble

Austin, Texas, United States
website
Bumble is a women-first dating application and social community that creates empowering connections in love (Bumble Date), life (Bumble BFF), and work (Bumble Bizz). Bumble was founded in 2014 and is part of the MagicLab family of companies, which also owns Badoo, an international dating app.

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Buyer(S) 2

Buyer

The Blackstone Group

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

website

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1987
PE ASSETS 131.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

The Blackstone Group is a global alternative investment management firm. The Firm's investment activities span real estate, secondary investments, hedge funds, credit, infrastructure, and private equity. Blackstone's private equity group targets opportunities globally including buyout acquisitions of established companies, development projects, growth equity financings, and industry consolidations. Sectors of interest include automotive, healthcare, chemicals, industrial, commercial property, lodging, communications, media/publishing, consumer & retail, packaging, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, energy, technology, entertainment, telecommunications, financial services, theme parks, food & beverage, and transportation. Blackstone's private equity real estate group looks for opportunities across North/South America, Asia, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. The real estate group will consider both equity and debt investments. Areas of interest include healthcare, hotel, industrial, office, residential, and retail. The Blackstone Group was formed in 1987 and is based in New York City.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 260 of 320
Sector (Internet Software and Services) 10 of 21
Type (Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI)) 67 of 74
State (Texas) 26 of 32
Country (United States) 161 of 202
Year (2019) 15 of 16
Size (of disclosed) 46 of 167
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-10-30 AESL

New Delhi, India

AESL is a test preparation company in India, preparing students from grades 8 to 12 to prepare for medical, engineering and other competitive examinations like Olympiads and NTSE. Established in 1988 as Aakash Institute, AESL has a long history. Today, the company has more than 200 centers across 130 cities, employing over 2,200 teachers to help teach more than 250,000 students.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-12-03 HH Global

Leatherhead, United Kingdom

HH Global is an independent marketing execution partner to prominent brands in 44 countries. The company offers innovative and tailored solutions for the outsourced procurement of all types of printed marketing materials and creative production services. HH Global is based in Leatherhead, United Kingdom.

Buy -
Buyer

Lead Edge Capital

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

website

Category Growth Capital Firm
Founded 2009
PE ASSETS 5.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Focused
DESCRIPTION

Lead Edge Capital is a growth capital firm focused on software, internet, consumer, and tech-enabled services companies. The Firm has no geographic preferences and will consider both private and public company investments. Leading Edge's investment size is $10 to $200 million. Lead Edge Capital was established in 2009 and is headquartered in New York City.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 18 of 45
Sector (Internet Software and Services) 11 of 21
Type (Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI)) 2 of 5
State (Texas) 2 of 2
Country (United States) 13 of 37
Year (2019) 5 of 6
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 3
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-10-24 Grafana Labs

New York, New York, United States

Grafana is a provider of cloud monitoring, analytics, and data visualization solutions. The company provides an open source and an enterprise layer, both of which can be integrated with dozens of vendors allowing customers to build custom dashboards. Grafana Labs is based in New York City.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-11-13 Guild Education

Denver, Colorado, United States

Guild Education partners with Fortune 1000 companies and non-profit universities to offer education benefits to their employees, with a focus on frontline workers. Guild Education was formed in 2015 and is based in Denver, Colorado.

Buy -
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