Kunlun Group Completes Grindr Acquisition

Kunlun Group Limited have completed their acquisition of  Grindr LLC from founder Joel Simkhai.

Kunlun Group, a Hong Kong-based subsidiary of the Beijing Kunlun Tech Co., is one of the world’s largest mobile gaming companies.

Simkhai will step down as CEO as part of the move, with chairman of the board Yahui Zhou taking over as an interim replacement.

Grindr’s current vice-chairman Wei Zho will move to a vice-chairman and CFO role, and former Instagram and Facebook employee Scott Chen will join as CTO.

All of the personnel changes became effective on Friday.

Simkhai said of the acquisition: “I’m beyond proud of what we’ve built as a team and how Grindr has been able to make a meaningful and lasting contribution to the global community”.

He added: “We have achieved our success because of the strength and global reach of our community. I look forward to Grindr and Kunlun’s continued commitment to building tolerance, equality, and respect around the world.”

New CEO Zhou looked to the future: “On behalf of everyone at Grindr, we would like to thank Joel for his inspiration and service as the founder of Grindr, and wish him all the best in the future.

“Looking forward, we are extremely excited about the excellent work Grindr is doing in becoming a leading global technology company, serving and supporting our users no matter where they are in the world.”

Kunlun gains total control of Grindr in the full acquisition. It had purchased 62% of Grindr in 2016, and in 2017 decided to purchase the remaining 38%.

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