(Reuters) – Activist investor Starboard has a stake of more than 6.5% in Tinder owner Match and is pushing for a potential sale if the turnaround attempts fail, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Match shares rose about 9% in extended trading after the report.
Starboard believes Match would improve Tinder, which accounts for more than half of the company’s total revenue, and sees opportunities for Hinge’s business among other emerging apps, according to the report.
The report added that the company also believes that Match should consider going private if it fails to make changes, including more aggressive share buybacks.
Starboard and Match did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Activist investor Elliott has pushed Match’s performance and also appointed Instacart (NASDAQ:) CEO Laura Jones and Zillow (NASDAQ:) co-founder Spencer Rascoff to its board in March of this year.
Investment firm Anson Funds Management also took a stake and was pressing Match to revamp its board, Bloomberg News reported in March.
Match offers dating apps — including Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid — and has been struggling with slowing revenue due to weak discretionary spending by users in an uncertain economy.
