Grindr – variously described as a social network or a gay dating app – is set to merge with Tiga Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). According to regulatory filings, the merger with Tiga will see US$384mln in fresh capital raised, while the combined entity will have a stock market capitalisation of US$2.1bn. Tiga – a so-called “blank cheque company” – listed in November 2020 and had until the end of this month to make its first acquisition otherwise it would have been liquidated. Raymond Zage, the founder and chief executive of Tiga, was a member of San Vincente Acquisition Partners, a consortium of investors that acquired Grindr from Kunlun Tech in 2020 for US$600mln. Grindr operates a dating app that is predominantly used by the LGBTQ+ community. At the end of 2021 it had 723,000 paying users and had an average of 10.8mln users a month last year. The company saw underlying revenues rise 30% year-on-year to US$147mln in 2021, while adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) jumped 51% to US$77mln. “Grindr is the leading platform focused on the LGBTQ+ community for digital connection and engagement,” said chief executive Jeff Bonforte. “Grindr is well positioned to be a public company and will continue to expand the ways it serves the LGBTQ+ community,” he added.