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Grindr makes $250M healthcare bet with Freddie acquisition - GRND stock inches higher overnight. Published: Oct 01 2026, 12:15 PM IST * FB * TW * Linkdin * Whatsapp * GNFollow Us Grindr looks to build a broader LGBTQ-focused platform as it expands beyond dating. * Grindr would combine Freddie with its Woodwork healthcare offering under Grindr Health. * Grindr expects the expanded healthcare business to generate more than $400 in monthly revenue per active patient. * GRND has traded in a narrow range since August. Grindr Inc. (GRND) shares rose 0.2% in overnight trading ahead of Thursday after the LGBTQ-focused dating platform said it had agreed to acquire HIV-prevention telehealth provider Freddie for $250 million. The deal marks Grindr's first major acquisition since its founding in 2009 and expands the company beyond its core dating and advertising business into healthcare and recurring services. GRND stock declined 4.3% in Wednesday's regular session, before the deal was announced. Grindr expands beyond dating. Grindr will acquire PurposeMed, the parent company of Freddie, for $190 million in cash and $60 million in Grindr stock. The deal also includes up to $70 million in additional cash tied to Freddie's 2027 performance, payable in 2028. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Freddie provides telehealth consultations, HIV testing, prescriptions and medication delivery, and serves patients across all 50 U.S. states. It was launched in 2020. Grindr plans to combine Freddie with its existing Woodwork healthcare offering under Grindr Health, allowing users to learn about PrEP, review insurance coverage, connect with clinicians, arrange testing, obtain prescriptions and manage refills through the app. Grindr estimates about 650,000 people in the U.S. currently use PrEP, while roughly 2.2 million could benefit from it. The company expects the combined U.S. telehealth and pharmacy business to generate more than $400 in monthly revenue per active patient. CEO George Arison told CNBC that the business could eventually become as large as, or larger than, Grindr's core operation. The company expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to EBITDA dollars, although investments to scale the U.S. operation will initially pressure margins. GRND stock in narrow range. Grindr's second-quarter revenue jumped 33% to $138 million, while the company raised its full-year revenue outlook to about $540 million and adjusted EBITDA guidance to about $232 million. Grindr has also been expanding its AI capabilities and preparing its premium Edge product, while CEO George Arison has pushed the company toward becoming a broader platform for LGBTQ users. GRND stock has traded in a narrow range since the Aug. 6 report and is up 14% year to date. Morgan Stanley reiterated its 'Overweight' rating and $20 price target on Grindr stock early last month. Currently, all five of the analysts covering the stock recommend 'Buy' or higher, per Koyfin data. Their average price target of $20.80 implies a 35% upside from the stock's closing price on Wednesday. Retail view on GRND. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment for GRND dipped to 'neutral' from 'bullish.' $GRND 49% of people under 30 still live with their parents, leaving them with plenty of extra money to spend on the only 'dating' app that actually works for more than 5% of men," a trader wrote. "Probably 25% of these people identify as something inside the LBGTQ group. Common sense tells me this is safe and undervalued and unique enough that it would diversify any portfolio." For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.< Stay updated with all the latest Business News, including market trends, Share Market News, stock updates, taxation, IPOs, banking, finance, real estate, savings, and investments. Track daily Gold Price changes, updates on DA Hike, and the latest developments on the 8th Pay Commission. Get in-depth analysis, expert opinions, and real-time updates to make informed financial decisions. Download the Asianet News Official App from the Android Play Store and iPhone App Store to stay ahead in business. 0 Comments / 0 New

Grindr expands beyond dating with $250 million telehealth acquisition of PurposeMed. Oct 1, 2026 - 03:17 Grindr announced on Wednesday that it is expanding further into health care with the acquisition of PurposeMed, the parent company of HIV prevention telehealth provider Freddie, in a deal worth $250 million. The LGBTQ-focused dating platform will pay $190 million in cash and $60 million in Grindr common stock, according to the terms of the agreement. The agreement also includes up to $70 million in additional cash consideration tied to Freddie's performance in 2027, payable in 2028. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter. The deal is Grindr's first major acquisition since the company was founded in 2009. "Now we have the next business line that we believe will be as profitable as the core business, and the same size, if not bigger, than what the core business is today," said CEO George Arison in an interview with CNBC. The acquisition comes as Grindr looks to build out its own LGBTQ healthcare platform Woodwork, which it launched in 2025, into a larger source of revenue alongside its core subscription and advertising businesses. Arison said the company could have built the offering, but it would have taken two to three years to reach the same scale. "You need to build out pharmacies, and you need to have clinicians to be able to fulfill the care that you're providing people," Arison said. "As you get more patients, then utilization improves, and then you're in a very high margin profile." Grindr expects the combined U.S. telehealth and pharmacy business will generate more than $400 in monthly revenue per active patient, or more than $4,800 annually for a patient who remains in care for a full year. At a scale of 50,000 U.S. patients, he estimates the business could represent roughly $240 million in annual revenue. "We're doing exactly what we promised the street," said Arison. "I hope people view us as a platform company that is not just an online business, but rather multiple lines of business with a community that really cares about this product, and we care about them." While the platform is expected to be immediately accretive to Grindr's EBITDA dollars, the company said that the investments needed to build out the U.S. operation will initially weigh on margins. Arison said the company will share more details with shareholders in November about how much capital will be invested to grow the business, but he expects those margins to improve with scale and eventually approach the more than 40% margins of its core business. Freddie, founded in Canada in 2020, expanded into the United States in 2024 and now serves patients in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. It has served more than 55,000 patients in the U.S. and Canada, according to Grindr, and provides telehealth services, testing, prescriptions and medication delivery. The acquisition gives Grindr a way to integrate those services into its app, which is used by millions of people globally. Grindr estimates that about 400,000 U.S. users currently indicate on their profiles that they take PrEP, while more than two million additional U.S. users could benefit from the medication. PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, can reduce the risk of acquiring HIV from sex by 99% when taken as prescribed. Under the new model, users will be able to learn about PrEP, review coverage, connect with clinicians, arrange testing, obtain prescriptions and manage refills on the Grindr platform. "My hope and dream here is that we'll take the 10% growth in PrEP that we see today per year, and maybe double that," Arison said. "If you did that, you're getting about 300,000 more people on PrEP over the next five years, and that's roughly about 5,000 patients not getting HIV." The expansion into healthcare also comes as investors have focused on how Grindr can diversify monetization beyond its core business. Morgan Stanley analyst Nathan Feather, in a July note on the stock, described Grindr as an underappreciated company with strong network effects, high engagement and significant profitability. The firm upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight and raised its price target from $16 to $18, citing potential for greater product-led monetization. Shares closed on Wednesday at $15.43. Grindr stock chart.