IAC Confirms Match Group Spin

IAC has confirmed its intention to spin off Match Group, the parent company to dating brands including Tinder, POF and Hinge.

As part of the separation, Match will inherit a portion of IAC’s company debt. It will also buy two buildings in Los Angeles, worth a total of $120 million.

Analysts have noted that while the initial burden is significant, there is now no future risk of IAC siphoning off cash from the dating business. 

Match Group stock has climbed around 6.5% following the announcement, trading at $72.26 at the time of writing. The firm’s market cap currently exceeds $20 billion.

Joey Levin (pictured), CEO of IAC, will act as Chairman of Match Group during the initial period following the spin. 

“We’ve long said IAC is the ‘anti-conglomerate’ – we’re not empire builders,” IAC Chairman Barry Diller said in a statement. 

“We’ve always separated out our businesses as they’ve grown in scale and maturity and soon, Match Group, as the seventh spin-off, will join an impressive group of IAC progeny collectively worth $58 billion today.”

The news comes shortly after MagicLab announced significant backing from Blackstone Group, an American multinational.

It also follows Facebook Dating’s launch in the USA. The service has been live in other territories, including Canada, for several months. 

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