Tag Archives: dating app

Tinder suing for 2 billion dollars over stock devaluation

With closing arguments expected to begin next week, the Tinder/Match trial has once again proven that when things go wrong in the world of online dating, they go very, very wrong.

With the Ashley Madison dumpster fire still in our collective memory, the founder of Tinder is suing for $2 billion usd, alleging that two companies – Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveGroup and Match Group – artificially devalued Tinder before the group could exercise stock options in the online dating platform. They claim the companies created and communicated false information to investment bankers and covered up sexual misconduct accusations against a former Match Group executive as part of the scheme.

Sean Rad (arguably the best name ever for the founder of a dating app) and the other Tinder co-founders, who at the time of sale owned 20% of the company, argue that Diller and his team undertook activities to deeply undervalue Tinder at $3 billion usd. Rad’s claim is that Diller repeatedly lied to the banks and this dramatically reduced the acquisition price. 

Tinder's $2 Billion Claim of Low-Ball Match Buyout Goes to Court - Bloomberg

IAC and Match hired high-profile lawyer Bill Carmody to represent them here. The same Bill Carmody that put $480 million usd in the pocket of WeWork’s comically villainous Adam Newman in a claim against SoftBank. And, yes, the same Bill Carmody that represented Uber against Waymo. 

The case, Rad v. IAC/InterActiveCorp, has taken several dramatic turns. While the trial was still in opening arguments on November 8th, IAC/Match called twice for a mistrial and failed both times. Character assasination has been the rule of the day throughout the trial, with a landscape of destroyed emails, personal vendettas, and  the requisite penis drawing

The case was expected to have wrapped up by Thanksgiving, but the Tinder founders are going to have to delay their feast a few days as the bad blood continues to boil in the courtroom. 

On Monday, Rad accused former Match Group CEO Greg Blatt of grabbing him during a break in the trial. Laughably – but showing how intense and polarized this case is – the incident between the two has been described as everything ranging from a failed attempt at a fist pump to an assault by Barry Diller’s henchman

So it’s understandable that it’s easy for people to see this case as perfect fodder for a Netflix series on American greed. The legal documents in the suit tell a story of a company looking to acquire another successful company in their particular vertical – here, the massive online dating space. Rather than pay fairly for the company, Diller and his companies created an elaborate fiction in the form of an unrealistic worst-case financial scenario for Tinder that valued the company at $3 billion usd, where a much more rosy yet still realistic valuation would have seen Tinder valued at up to $12 billion usd. 

Victory for Match/IAC here would be paying out significantly less than the $2 billion usd Rad claims that he and others in the suit are out of pocket given the facts of the claim. 

Tinder $2B Legal Battle is Finally Getting Its Day in Court - dot.LA

As Charlie Cartwright, a Florida lawyer points out:

“It’s possible that a case such as this, with so much at stake, could still settle before the judge puts the outcome in the hands of the jury.”

While both sides are resolved to win this heated case, settlement makes a lot of sense as Match simply doesn’t have $2 billion usd cash on hand, though they do surprisingly have access to well over $1 billion usd. A legal and regulatory analyst recently told the New York Post that a realistic settlement would be in the $300-$700 million usd range, yet a spokesperson for Match Group said that was entirely speculative. 

It’s probably not inaccurate speciation. Ultimately, it’s not like the Tinder founders and other executives haven’t done very well from running and selling Tinder anyway. So, for them, while the money is important, a moral victory wrapped in a healthy settlement figure might be the tasty and satisfying holiday feast they’re waiting for. 

This would also keep the case out of the hands of a jury. It’s important not to gloss over the fact that people are very polarized about not only apps that match people, but the characters who make these apps and run these businesses. The Ashley Madison scandal is recent enough for a jury to remember not only an app that ruined livesbut the nature of the people behind the business

Whether the case settles or is handed to a jury, the real issue here is that Tinder generated a massive amount of revenue over the years and grew into a very successful company. It’s just a question of how the ultimate pie that was actually created should have be equitably divided if the value of Tinder wasn’t manipulated. 

Body Check North America Study Shows Natural Look Is The New Sexy

A new study of the dating app Jaumo concludes that superficiality in online dating is just a preconceived prejudice. A survey among North American users shows that the majority of participants do find athleticism attractive but a couple of extra pounds on the hips will not necessarily decrease your chances of finding a date.

What attracts Jaumo users? 
What is it, that attracts one person to another? Which body features are most important to most people? To answer these questions, Jaumo carried out a survey among more than 4,400 Jaumo users from the US. Jaumo interviewed them over a period of 4 weeks about their preferences in regards to their own body and personal ideals required of a partner. Users could agree or disagree with the statements outlined in the survey.

Image: whoabooty.com

Jaumo users are not only active flirters.
63 percent of the users find an athletic partner attractive and more than half of the respondents don’t mind a couple of extra pounds on their significant other’s hips. It is noticeable that significantly fewer users, namely 42 percent, consider an athletic body sexy. And the sexes even completely agree on this question!

Raw data from Jaumo Survey.

 

 

 


Hairy is not scary.
On the subject of body hair, the female users are pretty much in total agreement: 76% think chest hair belongs on the male body. The male users see this somewhat differently, but nonetheless, 64 percent of respondents agree. A natural look is also preferred in the downstairs department. 63 percent find a hairy pubic area perfectly acceptable and a total of 70% of the women prefer to see hair when they look down.

The way to someone’s heart is through their stomach.
Vegan, vegetarian, low-carb or meat-eater – with so many varied eating preferences, it may be difficult to find a partner with the same nutritional routine. For 77 percent of the Jaumo users, however, a compatible diet with their partner is seen as a must. For the Silo, Racheal A. Mack.

Jaumo founders Jens Kammerer and Benjamin Roth.

About Jaumo
Jaumo is a dating app founded by Jens Kammerer and Benjamin Roth in 2011. Jaumo has 20 million users in 180 countries around the world, more than 2 million of them in the USA and Canada. The dating app is available for free for iOS at the Apple Store and Android at the Google Play Store. The driving force of the two friends from Germany is to offer an uncomplicated and user-oriented product that binds satisfied customers.