IAC/InterActiveCorp : Tinder Announces Swipe Ventures, Sean Rad as Chairman of Tinder and Swipe Ventures, Greg Blatt as CEO of Tinder

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Tinder announced today the launch of Swipe Ventures: a new vehicle led by Sean Rad, Tinder's Co-Founder and CEO. Swipe Ventures will seek to expand Tinder's footprint through acquisitions, development of new businesses and investments in new and existing businesses, all within the dating and the broader social space.

The development of new companies like Tinder and successful acquisitions such as OkCupid and PlentyOfFish have been significant drivers in Match Groups' growth. Swipe Ventures will be a new vehicle through which Match Group expects to continue its history of creating value beyond the walls of its existing businesses. Some projects may ultimately be incorporated into Tinder, while others will likely remain standalone ventures.

Sean Rad will become Chairman of Tinder and Swipe Ventures, and Greg Blatt, the current Chairman of Tinder, will assume the role of Tinder CEO, in addition to his ongoing role as Chairman and CEO of Match Group, Tinder's parent company.

'There is so much untapped opportunity in our space,' said Rad. 'My new role allows me to continue to contribute meaningfully to the overall strategy of Tinder, while expanding Tinder's footprint through Swipe Ventures. Greg is absolutely the right person to continue to drive Tinder's growth given his experience operating businesses at scale and his deep understanding of our business. We have worked closely together for a long time, and I'm incredibly excited about this next phase of our partnership.'

'A growth company like Tinder often requires operational and structural changes as it evolves through its multiple stages of development,' said Blatt. 'This new configuration will allow Tinder to capture its full potential. I look forward to continuing to work with Sean and Tinder's talented team and am eager to see the opportunities that we develop through Swipe Ventures. I'm confident that the incredible leadership we have throughout the rest of Match Group gives me the ability to devote more time to Tinder without our other businesses missing a beat. Overall, we're rolling into 2017 with lots of opportunity ahead.'

These changes are effective immediately.

About Tinder

Launched in 2012, Tinder is the world's leading social app for meeting new people. With its global reach, people in all 196 countries around the world are swiping right to connect with others, making it a top 10 lifestyle app in more than 110 countries. In December 2014, Tinder had zero paying members. In 2015, the company introduced Tinder Plus, giving subscribers access to premium features, Rewind, Passport and more. Today, Tinder has more than 1.6 million Tinder Plus subscribers. Each day, 26 million matches are made on Tinder with more than 20 billion matches made to date.

About Match Group

Match Group is the world's leading provider of dating products. We operate a portfolio of over 45 brands, including Match, OkCupid, Tinder, Meetic, Twoo, OurTime, BlackPeopleMeet and FriendScout24, each designed to increase our users' likelihood of finding a romantic connection. Through our portfolio of trusted brands, we provide tailored products to meet the varying preferences of our users. We currently offer our dating products in 38 languages across more than 190 countries. In addition to our dating business, we also operate The Princeton Review, which provides a variety of test preparation, academic tutoring and college counseling services.