Match Group priced its initial public offering at the low end of expectations to raise $400 million, a person familiar with the matter said, valuing the parent of Tinder, OkCupid and other online dating services at around $4.2 billion, including debt.
The company, owned by media mogul Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp, has developed online dating sites that work well on smartphones, attracting busy young professionals that are highly coveted by advertisers.
Match priced its IPO at $12 per share, within the indicative range of $12 to $14, the person said, asking not to be identified ahead of an official announcement.
A Match Group spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The IPO was priced on Wednesday, the same day that mobile payments company Square Inc priced its $243.5 million IPO at a steep discount, demonstrating that even some of the technology sector's hottest names have struggled in an IPO market roiled by trading volatility.
Some high-profile listings, such as those of luxury department chain Neiman Marcus Group Inc and supermarket operator Albertsons Companies, were postponed in the last two months. Others, such as payment processor First Data Corp, had to offer hefty discounts to see them through.
Match Group generated around $753 million in revenue in the first nine months of 2015, a 16 percent jump over the same period in 2014.
In July, Match Group agreed to buy dating site PlentyOfFish for $575 million. It previously acquired OkCupid, Meetic and Twoo.
IAC is using proceeds from the IPO to pay down debt. The IPO will also help distinguish Match Group from IAC's non-dating oriented portfolio companies, such as video website Vimeo and humor website College Humor.
Shares of Dallas, Texas-based Match Group are expected to start trading on Thursday on NASDAQ under the ticker "MTCH."
JPMorgan Chase & Co, Allen & Co LLC and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are the underwriters for the offering.
