Bumble Inc S-3, filed Mar 17, 2026
Bumble Inc. (BMBL)
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 17, 2026
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Bumble Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 85-3604367 | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
1105 West 41st Street
Austin, TX 78756
Telephone: (512) 696-1409
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Deirdre Runnette
Chief Legal Officer
Bumble Inc.
1105 West 41st Street
Austin, TX 78756
Telephone: (512) 696-1409
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
Joshua Ford Bonnie
William R. Golden III
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
900 G Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
Telephone: (202) 636-5500
Facsimile: (202) 636-5502
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this Registration Statement.
If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box: ☐
If any of the securities being registered on this form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box. ☒
If this form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☒ | |||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☐ | Smaller reporting company | ☐ | |||
| Emerging growth company | ☐ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment that specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. The selling stockholders named in this prospectus may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS, DATED MARCH 17, 2026
58,618,411 Shares
Bumble Inc.
Class A Common Stock
This prospectus relates to the offer and sale from time to time of up to 58,618,411 shares of Class A common stock, $0.01 par value per share, of Bumble Inc. by the selling stockholders identified in this prospectus or in supplements to this prospectus. See “Selling Stockholders.” This includes up to 21,230,911 shares of Class A common stock that we may issue from time to time to the selling stockholders upon exchange of an equal number of common units representing limited partnership interests (“Common Units”) in our operating partnership, Buzz Holdings L.P. (“Bumble Holdings”), held by them. Pursuant to the terms of the exchange agreement we entered into with holders of Common Units on February 10, 2021 (the “Exchange Agreement”), the selling stockholders that are holders of Common Units may (subject to the terms of the Exchange Agreement) exchange their Common Units for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to customary conversion rate adjustments for stock splits, stock dividends and reclassifications. Bumble Inc. is a public company incorporated under the laws of Delaware, the parent company of Buzz Holdings L.P., a Delaware limited partnership.
The registration of the shares of Class A common stock to which this prospectus relates does not require the selling stockholders to sell any of their shares of our Class A common stock. We cannot predict when or in what amounts the selling stockholders may sell any of the shares of our Class A common stock offered by this prospectus.
We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the shares by the selling stockholders, but we have agreed to pay certain registration expenses, other than underwriting discounts and commissions. The selling stockholders from time to time may offer and sell the shares held by them directly or through underwriters, agents or broker-dealers on terms to be determined at the time of sale, as described in more detail in this prospectus. For more information, see “Plan of Distribution.”
Our Class A common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “BMBL.” On March 16, 2026, the last sale price of our Class A common stock as reported on Nasdaq was $3.87 per share.
Investing in our Class A common stock involves risks. Before making a decision to invest in our Class A common stock, you should refer to the risk factors included in our periodic reports, in prospectus supplements relating to specific offerings and in other information that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). See “Risk Factors” on page 4 of this prospectus.
None of the Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission, or any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is .
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Neither we nor the selling stockholders have authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any amendment or supplement to this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus prepared by us or on our behalf. Neither we nor the selling stockholders take any responsibility for, or can provide any assurance as to the reliability of, any information other than the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any amendment or supplement to this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus prepared by us or on our behalf. The selling stockholders are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, shares of our Class A common stock only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus, any amendment or supplement to this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus prepared by us or on our behalf is accurate only as of their respective dates or on the date or dates which are specified in such documents, and that any information in documents that we have incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of such document incorporated by reference. Our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a shelf registration statement that we have filed with the SEC using a “shelf” registration process. Under the shelf registration process, the selling stockholders may, from time to time, offer and sell the shares of Class A common stock described in this prospectus and in any accompanying prospectus supplement in one or more transactions. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the shares of Class A common stock the selling stockholders may offer. Each time the selling stockholders sell shares of our Class A common stock using this prospectus, to the extent necessary, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering, including the number of shares being offered, the manner of distribution, the identity of any underwriters or other counterparties and other specific terms related to the offering. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. To the extent that any statement made in an accompanying prospectus supplement is inconsistent with statements made in this prospectus, the statements made in this prospectus will be deemed modified or superseded by those made in the accompanying prospectus supplement. You should read both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together, along with the information incorporated by reference herein or therein and any free writing prospectus prepared by us or on our behalf.
For investors outside of the United States, neither we nor the selling stockholders have done anything that would permit the offering, possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. You are required to inform yourselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to the offering, possession or the distribution of this prospectus outside of the United States.
Investment funds and vehicles associated with or designated by Blackstone Inc. are referred to herein as “Blackstone” or “our Sponsor.” We refer to our initial public offering completed on February 16, 2021 as our “IPO.” We refer to Whitney Wolfe Herd, the founder of Bumble, our Chief Executive Officer and member of our board of directors, together with entities beneficially owned by her, herein as our “Founder.”
Unless the context requires otherwise, references to “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company,” “Bumble,” “BMBL,” and the like terms refer to Bumble Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries (including Bumble Holdings).
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This summary highlights information contained elsewhere or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement and does not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in shares of our Class A common stock. You should read carefully this entire prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein and any free writing prospectus prepared by us or on our behalf before making an investment decision, especially the risks discussed under “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes which are incorporated by reference herein, before you decide to invest in shares of our Class A common stock.
Bumble
Bumble’s mission is to bring people closer to love. Our platform of apps enables people to connect and build healthy and equitable relationships on their own terms. We focus on building authenticity and safety in the online space. We also have extended our platform beyond online dating into healthy relationships in other areas of life, such as friendships.
The Bumble brand was built with women at the center. Our platform is designed to help women feel safer and more empowered and, in turn, provide a better environment for everyone. We are leveraging innovative technology solutions to create a more inclusive, safe and accountable way to connect online for all members regardless of gender.
In 2025, we operated a family of apps, including Bumble app, Bumble For Friends app, BFF app and Badoo app, where members come to discover new people and connect with each other in a secure and empowering environment. Our apps monetize via a freemium model, where the use of the service is free and a subset of the members pay for subscriptions or in-app purchases to access premium features.
Bumble app, launched in 2014, is one of the first dating apps built with women at the center. Bumble app is a leader in the online dating sector across several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. We had approximately 2.4 million Bumble App Paying Users during the year ended December 31, 2025.
Badoo app, launched in 2006, was one of the pioneers of web and mobile free-to-use dating products. Badoo app’s focus is to make finding meaningful connections easy, fun and accessible for a mainstream global audience. Badoo app is a leader in the online dating sector in several countries in Europe and Latin America. We had approximately 1.2 million Badoo App and Other Paying Users during the year ended December 31, 2025.
Building on the BFF mode in Bumble app, in July 2023 we officially launched a standalone Bumble For Friends app and, in September 2025, we relaunched Bumble For Friends app as BFF app in the United States. BFF app is a friendship app for friend-finding, group connections and community-building.
Bumble was built on a simple truth: when technology is built with women’s experience at its core, it makes the experience better for everyone. It is this belief that ensures that our values guide our business decisions, and our business performance enables us to drive impact. Our strategy is anchored by our powerful brand, product leadership, operational excellence, and public policy and social impact initiatives. Our mission drives our business in tangible ways:
| • | We strengthen our brand by leading on safety and accountability. Beyond our in-app features, we advocate for policies and industry standards that address online harms, helping to create a safer digital ecosystem. |
| • | We engage in global nonprofit partnerships to support healthy, safe and respectful relationships, and to further our commitment to equity by supporting women and other underrepresented communities. |
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| • | We enhance our brand through marketing centered around elevating women, including our multi-year partnership with the Women’s National Basketball Association. |
We believe that the best way to compete in a world where people have multiple ways to connect is through product innovation. We uniquely design our products to facilitate engagement prioritizing safety and accountability across the member experience. We continuously collect member feedback, which informs our product development roadmap. The more we know about our community’s interests, the better we can innovate products that maximize their chances of meeting in person and making connections most likely to turn into the relationships they are seeking.
Our apps share some common infrastructure, which allows insights to be shared between apps and is critical to providing our members with personalized and superior experiences. Our team has a strong track record of product leadership in online dating. We were the first company in the dating app industry to develop technology to proactively blur lewd photos shared within a chat, which we open-sourced in 2022 for the technology community as part of a larger effort to help rid the internet of “cyberflashing,” the sharing of unsolicited lewd photos online. We are also continuously introducing new artificial intelligence capabilities to enhance our members’ experience and safety, such as detection of inauthentic profiles and usage, and to improve our matching algorithm to help Bumble app members see the most relevant potential matches. In addition, the insights we have gained from our community have encouraged us to extend Bumble app into many more areas of life, such as platonic friendships, and we have built our platform with the flexibility to pursue these opportunities.
For a description of our business, financial condition, results of operations and other important information regarding the Company, we refer you to our filings with the SEC incorporated by reference in this prospectus. For instructions on how to find copies of these documents, see “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Information Incorporated by Reference.”
Bumble Inc. was incorporated in Delaware on October 5, 2020. Our principal executive offices are located at 1105 West 41st Street, Austin, Texas 78756 and our telephone number is (512) 696-1409.
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Investing in our Class A common stock involves risks. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are incorporated by reference herein, as the same may be updated from time to time by our subsequent filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). You should also carefully consider the other information contained in this prospectus, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Exchange Act, and the risk factors and other information contained in any applicable prospectus supplement before acquiring any shares of our Class A common stock. These risks could materially affect our business, results of operations or financial condition and cause the value of our Class A common stock to decline. You could lose all or part of your investment.
This prospectus contains or incorporates by reference “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management of Bumble Inc. with respect to, among other things, its operations, its financial performance, its industry and its business. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “outlook,” “believe(s),” “expect(s),” “potential,” “continue(s),” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “seek(s),” “predict(s),” “intend(s),” “trends,” “plan(s),” “estimate(s),” “anticipate(s),” “projection,” “will likely result” and or the negative version of these words or other comparable words of a future or forward-looking nature. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:
| • | our ability to retain existing members or attract new members and to convert members to paying users (including as a result of shifts in strategy) |
| • | competition and changes in the competitive landscape of our market |
| • | our ability to distribute our dating products through third parties, such as Apple App Store or Google Play Store, and offset related fees |
| • | our ability to attract, hire and retain a highly qualified and diverse workforce, or maintain our corporate culture, including as such factors may be impacted by our global workforce reductions and efforts to restructure our operations |
| • | our ability to maintain the value and reputation of our brands |
| • | risks relating to changes to our existing brands and products, or the introduction or acquisition of new brands or products |
| • | risks relating to certain of our international operations, including geopolitical conditions and successful expansion into new markets |
| • | the impact of data security breaches or cyber attacks on our systems and the costs of remediation related to any such incidents |
| • | challenges with properly managing the use of artificial intelligence |
| • | our ability to obtain, maintain, protect and enforce intellectual property rights and successfully defend against claims of infringement, misappropriation or other violations of third-party intellectual property |
| • | our ability to comply with complex and evolving U.S. and international laws and regulations relating to our business, including data privacy laws |
| • | our substantial indebtedness and our ability to repay or refinance such debt prior to its maturity |
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| • | affiliates of Blackstone Inc.’s and our Founder’s control of us |
| • | the outsized voting rights of Blackstone and our Founder |
| • | the risk that our restructuring efforts may not generate their intended benefits to the extent or as quickly as anticipated |
| • | risks relating to the TRA Buyout, including changes in applicable laws or fluctuations in our taxable income that could impact our ability to realize the anticipated benefits from the TRA Buyout |
| • | risks relating to the market price volatility of our Class A common stock, which could limit our ability to make acquisitions and retain key personnel and employees, and result in dilution if our stock-based compensation programs issue increased numbers of shares because of a depressed stock price or could result in increased cash compensation expense in the event that we shift the mix of incentive compensation in favor of cash-based awards over equity-based awards |
| • | changes in business or macroeconomic conditions, including the impact of lower consumer confidence in our business or in the online dating industry generally, recessionary conditions, increased unemployment rates, stagnant or declining wages, changes in inflation or interest rates, geopolitical events (such as trade wars), political unrest, armed conflicts, including conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, widespread health emergencies or pandemics and measures taken in response, extreme weather events or natural disasters |
| • | foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations |
For more information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties that we face, see “Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors,” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 filed with the SEC, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the SEC, which are incorporated by reference herein and accessible on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and in our filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus, and we expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except to the extent otherwise required by law.
We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of our Class A common stock by the selling stockholders.
The following table and accompanying footnotes set forth information regarding the beneficial ownership by each selling stockholder of shares of our Class A common stock and Common Units as of February 27, 2026, the maximum number of shares of Class A common stock that may be offered by each selling stockholder pursuant to this prospectus and the beneficial ownership of shares of our Class A common stock and of Common Units after the sale by each selling stockholder of the maximum number of shares of Class A common stock.
The selling stockholders may offer all, some or none of their shares of Class A common stock. We cannot advise you as to whether the selling stockholders will in fact sell any or all of such shares of Class A common stock. In addition, the selling stockholders may have sold or transferred, in transactions pursuant to this prospectus or otherwise, some or all of their shares since the date as of which the information is presented in the
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table below. Information concerning the selling stockholders may change from time to time and any such changed information will, if required, be set forth in supplements to this prospectus or post-effective amendments to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, as may be appropriate.
For further information regarding material relationships and transactions between us and the selling stockholders, see “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC based on 129,815,720 shares of Class A common stock and 151,064,166 common units outstanding as of February 27, 2026.
| Shares of Class A Common Stock Beneficially Owned(1) |
Common Units Beneficially Owned(1) |
Shares of Class A Common Stock Beneficially Owned After the Sale of the Maximum Number of Shares of Class A Common Stock |
Common Units Beneficially Owned After the Sale of the Maximum Number of Shares of Class A Common Stock |
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| Number of Shares |
Percent of Class A Common Stock Outstanding |
Number of Common Units |
Percent of Common Units Outstanding |
Shares of Class A Common Stock that May be Offered for Resale |
Number of Shares |
Percent of Class A Common Stock Outstanding |
Number of Common Units |
Percent of Common Units Outstanding |
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| Blackstone(2) |
37,387,500 | 28.8% | — | — | 37,387,500 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Whitney Wolfe Herd(3) |
1,169,232 | * | 21,230,911 | 14.1% | 21,230,911 | 1,169,232 | * | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * | Less than 1%. |
| (1) | Subject to the terms of the exchange agreement, the Common Units are exchangeable for shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis. See “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence—Exchange Agreement” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus. Beneficial ownership of Common Units reflected in this table has not been also reflected as beneficial ownership of shares of our Class A common stock for which such units may be exchanged. In calculating the percentage of Common Units beneficially owned, the Common Units held by Bumble Inc. are treated as outstanding. |
| (2) | Reflects 906,717 shares of Class A common stock directly held by BX Buzz ML-1 Holdco L.P., 12,475,943 shares of Class A common stock directly held by BX Buzz ML-2 Holdco L.P., 2,025,363 shares of Class A common stock directly held by BX Buzz ML-3 Holdco L.P., 5,404,511 shares of Class A common stock directly held by BX Buzz ML-4 Holdco L.P., 16,394,804 shares of Class A common stock and one share of Class B common stock directly held by BX Buzz ML-5 Holdco L.P., 147,871 shares of Class A common stock and one share of Class B common stock directly held by BX Buzz ML-6 Holdco L.P., and 32,291 shares of Class A common stock and one share of Class B common stock directly held by BX Buzz ML-7 Holdco L.P., (together, the “Blackstone Funds”). |
BX Buzz ML-1 GP LLC is the general partner of BX Buzz ML-1 Holdco L.P. BX Buzz ML-2 GP LLC is the general partner of BX Buzz ML-2 Holdco L.P. BX Buzz ML-3 GP LLC is the general partner of BX Buzz ML-3 Holdco L.P. BX Buzz ML-4 GP LLC is the general partner of BX Buzz ML-4 Holdco L.P. BX Buzz ML-5 GP LLC is the general partner of BX Buzz ML-5 Holdco L.P. BX Buzz ML-6 GP LLC is the general partner of BX Buzz ML-6 Holdco L.P. BX Buzz ML-7 GP LLC is the general partner of BX Buzz ML-7 Holdco L.P.
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BXG Buzz Holdings L.P. is the sole limited partner of BX Buzz ML-1 Holdco L.P. and the sole member of BX Buzz ML-1 GP LLC. BCP Buzz Holdings L.P. is the sole limited partner of BX Buzz ML-2 Holdco L.P. and the sole member of BX Buzz ML-2 GP LLC. BSOF Buzz Aggregator LLC is the sole limited partner of BX Buzz ML-3 Holdco L.P. and the sole member of BX Buzz ML-3 GP LLC. BTO Buzz Holdings II L.P. is the sole limited partner of BX Buzz ML-4 Holdco L.P. and the sole member of BX Buzz ML-4 GP LLC. Blackstone Buzz Holdings L.P. is the sole limited partner of BX Buzz ML-5 Holdco L.P. and the sole member of BX Buzz ML-5 GP LLC. Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Fund—FD L.P. is the sole limited partner of BX Buzz ML-6 Holdco L.P. and the sole member of BX Buzz ML-6 GP LLC. Blackstone Family Investment Partnership Growth—ESC L.P. is the sole limited partner of BX Buzz ML-7 Holdco L.P. and the sole member of BX Buzz ML-7 GP LLC.
BTO Holdings Manager-NQ L.L.C. is the general partner of Blackstone Buzz Holdings L.P. Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Associates-NQ L.L.C. is the managing member of BTO Holdings Manager-NQ L.L.C. BTOA-NQ L.L.C. is the sole member of Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Associates-NQ L.L.C. Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Associates III-NQ L.P. is the general partner of Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Fund-FD L.P. BTO DE GP-NQ L.L.C. is the general partner of Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Associates III-NQ L.P.
BXG Side-by-Side GP L.L.C. is the general partner of Blackstone Family Investment Partnership-Growth ESC L.P. Blackstone Holdings II L.P. is the sole member of BXG Side-by-Side GP L.L.C.
BXG Holdings Manager L.L.C. is the general partner of BXG Buzz Holdings L.P. Blackstone Growth Associates L.P. is the managing member of BXG Holdings Manager L.L.C. BXGA L.L.C. is the general partner of Blackstone Growth Associates L.P.
Blackstone Strategic Opportunity Associates L.L.C. is the managing member of BSOF Buzz Aggregator L.L.C. Blackstone Holdings II L.P. is the sole member of Blackstone Strategic Opportunity Associates L.L.C.
BCP VII Holdings Manager-NQ L.L.C. is the general partner of BCP Buzz Holdings L.P. Blackstone Management Associates VII NQ L.L.C. is the managing member of BCP VII Holdings Manager-NQ L.L.C. BMA VII NQ L.L.C. is the managing member of Blackstone Management Associates VII NQ L.L.C.
Blackstone Holdings II L.P. is the managing member of each of BTOA-NQ L.L.C., BTO DE GP-NQ L.L.C., BXGA L.L.C., and BMA VII NQ L.L.C. Blackstone Holdings I/II GP L.L.C. is the general partner of Blackstone Holdings II L.P.
BTO Holdings Manager L.L.C. is the general partner of BTO Buzz Holdings II L.P. Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Associates L.L.C. is the managing member of BTO Holdings Manager L.L.C. BTOA L.L.C. is the managing member of Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Associates L.L.C. Blackstone Holdings III L.P. is the managing member of BTOA L.L.C. Blackstone Holdings III GP L.P. is the general partner of Blackstone Holdings III L.P. Blackstone Holdings III GP Management L.L.C. is the general partner of Blackstone Holdings III GP L.P.
Blackstone Inc. is the sole member of Blackstone Holdings I/II GP L.L.C. and Blackstone Holdings III GP Management L.L.C. The sole holder of the Series II preferred stock of Blackstone Inc. is Blackstone Group Management L.L.C. Blackstone Group Management L.L.C. is wholly-owned by Blackstone’s senior managing directors and controlled by its founder, Stephen A. Schwarzman.
Each of the Blackstone entities described in this footnote and Stephen A. Schwarzman may be deemed to beneficially own the securities directly or indirectly controlled by such Blackstone entities or him, but each disclaims beneficial ownership of such securities (other than the Blackstone Funds to the extent of their direct holdings). The address of Mr. Schwarzman and each of the other entities listed in this footnote is c/o Blackstone Inc., 345 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10154.
Based on information provided to us, as of the date of this prospectus, the Blackstone Funds have pledged, hypothecated or granted security interests in substantially all of the shares of Class A common stock and Common Units held by them pursuant to a margin loan agreement with customary default provisions. In the
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event of a default under the margin loan agreement, the secured parties may foreclose upon any and all of the shares of Class A common stock or of Common Units pledged to them and may seek recourse against the borrowers.
| (3) | Reflects (a) 21,230,911 Common Units and one share of Class B common stock directly held by Beehive Holdings III, LP, (b) 153,141 shares of Class A common stock directly held by Ms. Wolfe Herd, (c) 433,464 shares of Class A common stock which Ms. Wolfe Herd has the right to acquire on or within 60 days of February 27, 2026 through the vesting of restricted stock units, (d) 343,093 shares of Class A common stock which Ms. Wolfe Herd has the right to acquire on or within 60 days of February 27, 2026 through the exercise of stock options, (e) 100,000 shares of Class A common stock held directly by Ms. Wolfe Herd’s spouse, (f) 23,255 shares of Class A common stock held by a trust, of which Ms. Wolfe Herd’s spouse is the trustee and (g) 116,279 shares of Class A common stock held in a foundation over which Ms. Wolfe Herd’s spouse may be deemed to have shared voting and dispositive power. Ms. Wolfe Herd may be deemed to have shared investment and voting power over the shares held by her spouse, the trust and the foundation described above. The shares of Class A common stock described in (b) through (g) above are entitled to one vote per share. |
The general partner of Beehive Holdings II, LP is Beehive Holdings Management II, LLC. The general partner of Beehive Holdings III, LP is Beehive Holdings Management III, LLC. Whitney Wolfe Herd is the sole member of Beehive Holdings Management II, LLC and Beehive Holdings Management III, LLC. The address of Ms. Wolfe Herd and each of the other entities listed in this footnote is c/o Bumble Inc., 1105 West 41st Street, Austin, Texas 78756.
The following is a brief description of the Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company, which is the only security of the Company registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act. The following also contains a description of the Class B common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company, which is not registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act. The description of the Class B common stock is necessary to understand the material terms of the Class A common stock. The following description does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the Company’s amended and restated bylaws, each as in effect as of the date of this prospectus, copies of which are filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”). See “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Information Incorporated by Reference.”
Under “Description of Capital Stock,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and the “Company” refer to Bumble Inc. and not to any of its subsidiaries.
General
The Company is authorized to issue 6,000,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share, 1,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.01 per share, and 600,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share. Unless our board of directors determines otherwise, we will issue all shares of our capital stock in uncertificated form.
Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock
Voting Rights. In general, holders of shares of our Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters on which stockholders are entitled to vote generally, including the election or removal of directors. Notwithstanding the foregoing, unless they elect otherwise, each of our Founder and our Sponsor, to whom we refer collectively as our “Principal Stockholders,” is entitled to outsized voting rights as
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follows. Until the earlier to occur of (i) February 16, 2028 and (ii) the date the parties to our stockholders agreement cease to own in the aggregate 7.5% of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock, assuming exchange of all Common Units of Bumble Holdings (such date, the “High Vote Termination Date”), each share of Class A common stock held by a Principal Stockholder will entitle such Principal Stockholder to ten votes. In addition, if, at any time, our Founder is neither an employee nor a director, any Class A common stock held by our Founder will be entitled to one vote per share on all matters on which stockholders of Bumble Inc. are entitled to vote generally. The holders of our Class A common stock do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors. Each holder of Class B common stock is generally entitled, without regard to the number of shares of Class B common stock held by such holder, to one vote for each Common Unit held by such holder on all matters on which stockholders of Bumble Inc. are entitled to vote generally. The voting power afforded to holders of Common Units by their shares of Class B common stock will be automatically and correspondingly reduced or increased as the number of Common Units held by such holder of Class B common stock decreases or increases.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, unless they elect otherwise, each of our Principal Stockholders will be entitled to outsized voting rights as follows. Until the High Vote Termination Date, each Principal Stockholder that holds Class B common stock will be entitled, without regard to the number of shares of Class B common stock held by such Principal Stockholder, to a number of votes equal to 10 times the aggregate number of Common Units (including Common Units issued upon conversion of vested Incentive Units of Bumble Holdings (“Incentive Units”)) of Bumble Holdings held by such Principal Stockholder. In addition, if, at any time, our Founder is neither an employee nor a director, any Class B common stock held by our Founder will be entitled to a number of votes that is equal to the aggregate number of Common Units (including Common Units issued upon conversion of vested Incentive Units) of Bumble Holdings held by our Founder, on all matters on which stockholders of Bumble Inc. are entitled to vote generally.
The outsized voting rights held by our Principal Stockholders relate to shares of Class A common stock and (by virtue of their Class B common stock) Common Units held by our Principal Stockholders from time to time. Until the High Vote Termination Date, any shares of Class A common stock or Common Units purchased or otherwise acquired by the Principal Stockholders would also entitle the Principal Stockholders to outsized voting rights. Consequently, the voting power of our Principal Stockholders, and the disparity between the voting power held by our Principal Stockholders and the level of their economic interest, would increase if they acquire additional shares of Class A common stock or Common Units. Additionally, if a Principal Stockholder sells shares of Class A common stock or exchanges Common Units for Class A common stock and sells those shares, the voting power on a percentage basis of the other Principal Stockholders will increase due to the decrease in total votes outstanding.
Shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock are not entitled to outsized voting rights in the hands of any transferee of a Principal Stockholder’s Class A common stock or Class B common stock and Common Units that is not itself a Principal Stockholder. Accordingly, these outsized voting rights are not transferable to other holders and the transfer or sale of shares of Class A common stock or Common Units by a Principal Stockholder to other holders will terminate the outsized voting rights. However, our Sponsor and its affiliates may assign their rights and obligations under the stockholders agreement, in whole or in part, without our prior written consent, and may designate an assignee as a “Principal Stockholder” for the purposes of the voting provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which would entitle any such transferee to outsized voting rights with respect to shares of Class A common stock or Class B common stock and Common Units transferred by our Sponsor to such transferee. If the identity of our Principal Stockholders changes, we will disclose this change in our future reporting under the Exchange Act.
Holders of shares of our Class B common stock will vote together with holders of our Class A common stock as a single class on all matters on which stockholders are entitled to vote generally, except as otherwise required by law. Delaware law entitles the holders of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock to vote separately as different classes in connection with any amendment to our certificate
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of incorporation that would increase or decrease the par value of the shares of such class or that would alter or change the powers, preferences or special rights of such class so as to affect them adversely. As permitted by Delaware law, the amended and restated certificate of incorporation includes a provision which eliminates the class vote that the holders of Class A common stock would otherwise have with respect to an amendment to the certificate of incorporation increasing or decreasing the number of shares of Class A common stock the Company is entitled to issue and that the holders of Class B common stock would otherwise have with respect to an amendment to the certificate of incorporation increasing or decreasing the number of shares of Class B common stock the Company is entitled to issue. Thus, subject to any other voting requirements contained in the certificate of incorporation, any amendment to the certificate of incorporation increasing or decreasing the number of shares of either Class A common stock or Class B common stock that the Company is authorized to issue would require a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting power of all capital stock (including both the Class A common stock and the Class B common stock), voting together as a single class.
Dividends and Liquidation Rights. Holders of shares of our Class A common stock are entitled to receive dividends when, as and if declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available therefor, subject to any statutory or contractual restrictions on the payment of dividends and to the rights of the holders of one or more outstanding series of our preferred stock. Upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up and after payment in full of all amounts required to be paid to creditors, and subject to the rights of the holders of one or more outstanding series of preferred stock having liquidation preferences, the holders of shares of our Class A common stock will be entitled to receive pro rata our remaining assets available for distribution. Holders of our Class B common stock do not have any right to receive dividends or to receive a distribution upon a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of Bumble Inc. Shares of Class B common stock are not convertible into or exchangeable for shares of Class A common stock or any other security.
Miscellaneous. All shares of our Class A common stock outstanding are fully paid and non-assessable. The Class A common stock is not subject to further calls or assessments by us. Holders of shares of our Class A common stock do not have preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the Class A common stock. The rights, powers, preferences and privileges of holders of our Class A common stock will be subject to those of the holders of any shares of our preferred stock or any other series or class of stock we may authorize and issue in the future. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide for any restrictions on transfer of shares of Class A common stock.
Preferred Stock
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes our board of directors to establish one or more series of preferred stock (including convertible preferred stock). Unless required by law or by any stock exchange, and subject to the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the authorized shares of preferred stock will be available for issuance without further action by holders of our Class A or Class B common stock. Our board of directors is able to determine, with respect to any series of preferred stock, the powers (including voting powers), preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, including, without limitation:
| • | the designation of the series; |
| • | the number of shares of the series, which our board of directors may, except where otherwise provided in any preferred stock designation, increase (but not above the total number of authorized shares of the class) or decrease (but not below the number of shares then outstanding); |
| • | whether dividends, if any, will be cumulative or non-cumulative and the dividend rate of the series; |
| • | the dates at which dividends, if any, will be payable on shares of such series; |
| • | the redemption rights and price or prices, if any, for shares of the series; |
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| • | the terms and amounts of any sinking fund provided for the purchase or redemption of shares of the series; |
| • | the amounts payable on shares of the series in the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of our affairs or other event; |
| • | whether the shares of the series will be convertible into shares of any other class or series, or any other security, of us or any other entity, and, if so, the specification of the other class or series or other security, the conversion price or prices or rate or rates, any rate adjustments, the date or dates as of which the shares will be convertible and all other terms and conditions upon which the conversion may be made; |
| • | restrictions on the issuance of shares of the same series or of any other class or series of our capital stock; and |
| • | the voting rights, if any, of the holders of the series. |
We could issue a series of preferred stock that could, depending on the terms of the series, impede or discourage an acquisition attempt or other transaction that some, or a majority, of the holders of our Class A common stock might believe to be in their best interests or in which the holders of our Class A common stock might receive a premium over the market price of the shares of our Class A common stock. Additionally, the issuance of preferred stock may adversely affect the rights of holders of our Class A common stock by restricting dividends on the Class A common stock, diluting the voting power of the Class A common stock or subordinating the rights of the Class A common stock to distributions upon a liquidation, dissolution or winding up or other event. As a result of these or other factors, the issuance of preferred stock could have an adverse impact on the market price of our Class A common stock.
The DGCL permits a corporation to declare and pay dividends out of the corporation’s “surplus” or, if there is no “surplus,” out of its net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and/or the preceding fiscal year. “Surplus” is defined as the excess of the net assets of the corporation over the amount determined to be the capital of the corporation. The capital of the corporation is typically calculated to be (and cannot be less than) the aggregate par value of all issued shares of capital stock. Net assets equals the fair value of the total assets minus total liabilities. The DGCL also provides that dividends may not be paid out of net profits if, after the payment of the dividend, the remaining capital would be less than the capital represented by the outstanding stock of all classes having a preference upon the distribution of assets. Declaration and payment of any dividend will be subject to the discretion of our board of directors.
Annual Stockholder Meetings
Our amended and restated bylaws provide that annual stockholder meetings will be held at a date, time and place, if any, as exclusively selected by our board of directors. To the extent permitted under applicable law, we may conduct meetings solely by means of remote communications, including by webcast.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our Class A common stock is Computershare Trust Company, N.A.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and Certain Provisions of Delaware Law
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws, and the DGCL contain provisions that are summarized in the following paragraphs and that are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of our board of directors. These provisions are intended to avoid costly takeover battles, reduce our vulnerability to a hostile or abusive change of control and enhance the ability
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of our board of directors to maximize stockholder value in connection with any unsolicited offer to acquire us. However, these provisions may have an anti-takeover effect and may delay, deter or prevent a merger or acquisition of the Company by means of a tender offer, a proxy contest or other takeover attempt that a stockholder might consider in its best interest, including those attempts that might result in a premium over the prevailing market price for the shares of common stock held by stockholders.
Authorized but Unissued Capital Stock
Delaware law does not require stockholder approval for any issuance of shares that are authorized and available for issuance. However, the listing requirements of the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”), which would apply so long as the shares of Class A common stock remain listed on Nasdaq, require stockholder approval of certain issuances equal to or exceeding 20% of the then outstanding voting power or the then outstanding number of shares of Class A common stock (we believe the position of Nasdaq is that the calculation in this latter case treats as outstanding shares issuable upon exchange of outstanding Common Units not held by Bumble Inc.). These additional shares may be used for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings, to raise additional capital or to facilitate acquisitions.
Our board of directors may generally issue shares of one or more series of preferred stock on terms designed to discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of the Company or the removal of our management. Moreover, our authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock will be available for future issuances in one or more series without stockholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, to facilitate acquisitions and employee benefit plans.
One of the effects of the existence of authorized and unissued and unreserved Class A common stock or preferred stock may be to enable our board of directors to issue shares to persons friendly to current management, which issuance could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of the Company by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise, and thereby protect the continuity of our management and possibly deprive our stockholders of opportunities to sell their shares of Class A common stock at prices higher than prevailing market prices.
Voting Rights of Principal Stockholders
As described above in, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that each share of our Class A common stock will generally have one vote per share and each share of our Class B common stock will generally entitle each holder, without regard to the number of shares of Class B common stock held by such holder, to a number of votes that is equal to the aggregate number of Common Units held by such holder on all matters on which stockholders of Bumble Inc. are entitled to vote generally. Notwithstanding the foregoing, unless they elect otherwise, each of our Principal Stockholders will be entitled to outsized voting rights as follows. Until the High Vote Termination Date, each share of Class A common stock held by a Principal Stockholder will entitle such Principal Stockholder to ten votes and each Principal Stockholder that holds Class B common stock will be entitled, without regard to the number of shares of Class B common stock held by such Principal Stockholder, to a number of votes equal to 10 times the aggregate number of Common Units (including Common Units issued upon conversion of vested Incentive Units) of Bumble Holdings held by such Principal Stockholder. As a result, our Principal Stockholders will be able to control all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, even if they own significantly less than 50% of the shares of our Class A common stock, assuming full exchange of Common Units. This concentrated control could discourage others from initiating a potential merger, takeover or other change of control transaction that other stockholders may view as beneficial.
Classified Board of Directors
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, subject to the right of holders of any series of preferred stock, our board of directors will be divided into three classes of directors, as nearly equal in
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number as possible, and with the directors serving staggered three-year terms, with only one class of directors being elected at each annual meeting of stockholders. As a result, approximately one-third of our board of directors will be elected each year. The classification of directors will have the effect of making it more difficult for stockholders to change the composition of our board of directors. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that, subject to any rights of holders of preferred stock to elect additional directors under specified circumstances, the number of directors will be fixed from time to time exclusively pursuant to a resolution adopted by the board of directors.
Business Combinations
We have opted out of Section 203 of the DGCL; however, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains similar provisions providing that we may not engage in certain “business combinations” with any “interested stockholder” for a three-year period following the time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless:
| • | prior to such time, our board of directors approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; |
| • | upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding certain shares; or |
| • | at or subsequent to that time, the business combination is approved by our board of directors and by the affirmative vote of holders of at least 662/3% of our outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder. |
Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. Subject to certain exceptions, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with that person’s affiliates and associates, owns, or within the previous three years owned, 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock. For purposes of this section only, “voting stock” has the meaning given to it in Section 203 of the DGCL.
Under certain circumstances, this provision will make it more difficult for a person who would be an “interested stockholder” to effect various business combinations with us for a three-year period. This provision may encourage companies interested in acquiring us to negotiate in advance with our board of directors because the stockholder approval requirement would be avoided if our board of directors approves either the business combination or the transaction that results in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder. These provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our board of directors and may make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that stockholders may otherwise deem to be in their best interests.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our Founder, our Sponsor and its affiliates, and any direct or indirect transferees of our Sponsor and its affiliates, and any group as to which such persons are a party, do not constitute “interested stockholders” for purposes of this provision.
Removal of Directors; Vacancies and Newly Created Directorships
Under the DGCL, unless otherwise provided in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, directors serving on a classified board may be removed by the stockholders only for cause. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the directors divided into classes may be removed with or without cause upon the affirmative vote of a majority in voting power of all outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class; provided, however, at any time when our Principal Stockholders and certain affiliates of Accel Partners LP (our “Co-Investor”) beneficially own, in the aggregate, less than 30% of the voting power of all outstanding shares of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, directors may only be removed for cause, and only upon the affirmative vote of holders of at least 662/3% of the voting power of all the then outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote
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generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class; provided, further, however, that specified directors designated pursuant to the stockholders agreement may not be removed without cause without the consent of the designating party. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, subject to the rights granted to one or more series of preferred stock then outstanding or the rights granted under the stockholders agreement, any newly-created directorship on the board of directors that results from an increase in the number of directors and any vacancies on our board of directors will be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors, even if less than a quorum, by a sole remaining director or by the stockholders; provided, however, at any time when our Principal Stockholders and our Co-Investor beneficially own, in the aggregate, less than 30% of voting power of the stock of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, any newly-created directorship on the board of directors that results from an increase in the number of directors and any vacancy occurring in the board of directors may only be filled by a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director (and not by the stockholders).
No Cumulative Voting
Under Delaware law, the right to vote cumulatively does not exist unless the certificate of incorporation specifically authorizes cumulative voting. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not authorize cumulative voting. Therefore, stockholders holding a majority in voting power of the shares of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors will be able to elect all of our directors.
Special Stockholder Meetings
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that special meetings of our stockholders may be called at any time only by or at the direction of the board of directors, the chairman of our board or the chief executive officer; provided, however, that at any time when our Principal Stockholders and our Co-Investor beneficially own, in the aggregate, at least 30% in voting power of the stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, special meetings of our stockholders shall also be called by the board of directors or the chairman of the board of directors at the request of our Sponsor. Our amended and restated bylaws prohibit the conduct of any business at a special meeting other than as specified in the notice for such meeting. These provisions may have the effect of deterring, delaying or discouraging hostile takeovers, or changes in control or management of the Company.
Director Nominations and Stockholder Proposals
Our amended and restated bylaws establish advance notice procedures with respect to stockholder proposals and the nomination of candidates for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of the board of directors or a committee of the board of directors. In order for any matter to be “properly brought” before a meeting, a stockholder will have to comply with advance notice requirements and provide us with certain information. Generally, to be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be received at our principal executive offices not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the first anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders. Our amended and restated bylaws also specify requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice. These provisions will not apply to the parties to the stockholders agreement so long as the stockholders agreement remains in effect. Our amended and restated bylaws allow the chairman of the meeting at a meeting of the stockholders to adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of meetings which may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the rules and regulations are not followed. These provisions may also defer, delay or discourage a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to influence or obtain control of the Company.
Stockholder Action by Written Consent
Pursuant to Section 228 of the DGCL, any action required to be taken at any annual or special meeting of the stockholders may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice, and without a vote if a consent or
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consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, is or are signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares of our stock entitled to vote thereon were present and voted, unless our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not permit our Class A common stockholders to act by consent in writing, unless such action is recommended by all directors then in office, at any time when our Principal Stockholders and our Co-Investor beneficially own, in the aggregate, less than 30% in voting power of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, but does permit our Class B common stockholders to act by consent in writing without requiring any such recommendation by the directors then in office.
Supermajority Provisions
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that the board of directors is expressly authorized to make, alter, amend, change, add to, rescind or repeal, in whole or in part, our bylaws without a stockholder vote in any matter not inconsistent with the laws of the State of Delaware or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. For as long as our Principal Stockholders and our Co-Investor beneficially own, in the aggregate, at least 30% in voting power of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, any amendment, alteration, change, addition, or repeal of our bylaws by our stockholders requires the affirmative vote of a majority in voting power of the outstanding shares of our stock present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote on such amendment, alteration, rescission or repeal. At any time when our Principal Stockholders and our Co-Investor beneficially own, in the aggregate, less than 30% in voting power of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, any amendment, alteration, rescission or repeal of our bylaws by our stockholders requires the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 662/3% in voting power of all the then outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class.
The DGCL provides generally that the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, is required to amend a corporation’s certificate of incorporation, unless the certificate of incorporation requires a greater percentage. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that at any time when our Principal Stockholders and our Co-Investor beneficially own, in the aggregate, less than 30% in voting power of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, the following provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended, altered, repealed or rescinded only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 662/3% in voting power of all the then outstanding shares of our stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class:
| • | the provision requiring a 662/3% supermajority vote for stockholders to amend our amended and restated bylaws; |
| • | the provisions providing for a classified board of directors (the election and term of our directors); |
| • | the provisions regarding resignation and removal of directors; |
| • | the provisions regarding competition and corporate opportunities; |
| • | the provisions regarding entering into business combinations with interested stockholders; |
| • | the provisions regarding stockholder action by written consent; |
| • | the provisions regarding calling special meetings of stockholders; |
| • | the provisions regarding filling vacancies on our board of directors and newly created directorships; |
| • | the provisions eliminating monetary damages for breaches of fiduciary duty by a director; |
| • | the provision regarding forum selection; and |
| • | the amendment provision requiring that the above provisions be amended only with a 662/3% supermajority vote. |
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The combination of the classification of our board of directors, the lack of cumulative voting and the supermajority voting requirements will make it more difficult for our existing stockholders to replace our board of directors as well as for another party to obtain control of us by replacing our board of directors. Because our board of directors has the power to retain and discharge our officers, these provisions could also make it more difficult for existing stockholders or another party to effect a change in management.
These provisions may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying or preventing changes in control of us or our management, such as a merger, reorganization or tender offer. These provisions are intended to enhance the likelihood of continued stability in the composition of our board of directors and its policies and to discourage certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened acquisition of the Company. These provisions are designed to reduce our vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal. The provisions are also intended to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. However, such provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares and, as a consequence, they also may inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our shares that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts. Such provisions may also have the effect of preventing changes in management.
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES TO NON-U.S. HOLDERS
The following is a summary of certain material United States federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of shares of our Class A common stock. This summary deals only with Class A common stock that is held as a capital asset by a non-U.S. holder (as defined below).
A “non-U.S. holder” means a beneficial owner of shares of our Class A common stock (other than an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes) that is not, for United States federal income tax purposes, any of the following:
| • | an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States; |
| • | a corporation (or any other entity treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia; |
| • | an estate the income of which is subject to United States federal income taxation regardless of its source; or |
| • | a trust if it (1) is subject to the primary supervision of a court within the United States and one or more United States persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (2) has a valid election in effect under applicable United States Treasury regulations to be treated as a United States person. |
This summary is based upon provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and regulations, rulings and judicial decisions as of the date hereof. Those authorities may be changed, perhaps retroactively, so as to result in United States federal income tax consequences different from those summarized below. This summary does not address all of the United States federal income tax consequences that may be relevant to you in light of your particular circumstances, nor does it address the Medicare tax on net investment income, United States federal estate and gift taxes or the effects of any state, local or non-United States tax laws. In addition, it does not represent a detailed description of the United States federal income tax consequences applicable to you if you are subject to special treatment under the United States federal income tax laws (including if you are a United States expatriate, foreign pension fund, “controlled foreign corporation,” “passive foreign investment company” or a partnership or other pass-through entity for United States federal income tax purposes). We cannot assure you that a change in law will not alter significantly the tax considerations that we describe in this summary.
If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes) holds shares of our Class A common stock, the tax treatment of a partner generally will depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. If you are a partnership or a partner of a partnership considering an investment in our Class A common stock, you should consult your tax advisors.
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If you are considering the purchase of our Class A common stock, you should consult your own tax advisors concerning the particular United States federal income tax consequences to you of the ownership and disposition of our Class A common stock, as well as the consequences to you arising under other United States federal tax laws and the laws of any other taxing jurisdiction.
Dividends
In the event that we make a distribution of cash or other property (other than certain pro rata distributions of our Class A common stock) in respect of shares of our Class A common stock, the distribution generally will be treated as a dividend for United States federal income tax purposes to the extent it is paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under United States federal income tax principles. Any portion of a distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits generally will be treated first as a tax-free return of capital, causing a reduction in the adjusted tax basis of a non-U.S. holder’s Class A common stock, and to the extent the amount of the distribution exceeds a non-U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in shares of our Class A common stock, the excess will be treated as gain from the disposition of shares of our Class A common stock (the tax treatment of which is discussed below under “—Gain on Disposition of Class A Common Stock”).
Dividends paid to a non-U.S. holder generally will be subject to withholding of United States federal income tax at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty. However, dividends that are effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business by the non-U.S. holder within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a United States permanent establishment) are not subject to the withholding tax, provided certain certification and disclosure requirements are satisfied. Instead, such dividends are subject to United States federal income tax on a net income basis generally in the same manner as if the non-U.S. holder were a United States person as defined under the Code. Any such effectively connected dividends received by a foreign corporation may be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty.
A non-U.S. holder who wishes to claim the benefit of an applicable treaty rate and avoid backup withholding, as discussed below, for dividends will be required (a) to provide the applicable withholding agent with a properly executed Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Form W-8BEN or Form W-8BEN-E (or other applicable form) certifying under penalty of perjury that such holder is not a United States person as defined under the Code and is eligible for treaty benefits or (b) if our Class A common stock is held through certain foreign intermediaries, to satisfy the relevant certification requirements of applicable United States Treasury regulations. Special certification and other requirements apply to certain non-U.S. holders that are pass-through entities rather than corporations or individuals.
A non-U.S. holder eligible for a reduced rate of United States federal withholding tax pursuant to an income tax treaty may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld by timely filing an appropriate claim for refund with the IRS.
Gain on Disposition of Class A Common Stock
Subject to the discussion of backup withholding below, any gain realized by a non-U.S. holder on the sale or other disposition of our Class A common stock generally will not be subject to United States federal income tax unless:
| • | the gain is effectively connected with a trade or business of the non-U.S. holder in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, is attributable to a United States permanent establishment of the non-U.S. holder); |
| • | the non-U.S. holder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of that disposition, and certain other conditions are met; or |
| • | we are or have been a “United States real property holding corporation” for United States federal income tax purposes and certain other conditions are met. |
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A non-U.S. holder described in the first bullet point immediately above will be subject to tax on the gain derived from the sale or other disposition in the same manner as if the non-U.S. holder were a United States person as defined under the Code. In addition, if any non-U.S. holder described in the first bullet point immediately above is a foreign corporation, the gain realized by such non-U.S. holder may be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty. An individual non-U.S. holder described in the second bullet point immediately above will be subject to a 30% (or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty) tax on the gain derived from the sale or other disposition, which gain may be offset by United States source capital losses even though the individual is not considered a resident of the United States.
Generally, a corporation is a “United States real property holding corporation” if the fair market value of its United States real property interests equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of the fair market value of its worldwide real property interests and its other assets used or held for use in a trade or business (all as determined for United States federal income tax purposes). We believe we are not and do not anticipate becoming a “United States real property holding corporation” for United States federal income tax purposes.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Distributions paid to a non-U.S. holder and the amount of any tax withheld with respect to such distributions generally will be reported to the IRS. Copies of the information returns reporting such distributions and any withholding may also be made available to the tax authorities in the country in which the non-U.S. holder resides under the provisions of an applicable income tax treaty.
A non-U.S. holder will not be subject to backup withholding on distributions received if such holder certifies under penalty of perjury that it is a non-U.S. holder (and the payor does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that such holder is a United States person as defined under the Code), or such holder otherwise establishes an exemption.
Information reporting and, depending on the circumstances, backup withholding will apply to the proceeds of a sale or other disposition of our Class A common stock within the United States or conducted through certain United States-related financial intermediaries, unless the beneficial owner certifies under penalty of perjury that it is a non-U.S. holder (and the payor does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that the beneficial owner is a United States person as defined under the Code), or such owner otherwise establishes an exemption.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules will be allowed as a refund or a credit against a non-U.S. holder’s United States federal income tax liability provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
Additional Withholding Requirements
Under Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code (such Sections commonly referred to as “FATCA”), a 30% United States federal withholding tax may apply to any dividends paid on our Class A common stock to (i) a “foreign financial institution” (as specifically defined in the Code and whether such foreign financial institution is the beneficial owner or an intermediary) which does not provide sufficient documentation, typically on IRS Form W-8BEN-E, evidencing either (x) an exemption from FATCA, or (y) its compliance (or deemed compliance) with FATCA (which may alternatively be in the form of compliance with an intergovernmental agreement with the United States) in a manner which avoids withholding, or (ii) a “non-financial foreign entity” (as specifically defined in the Code and whether such non-financial foreign entity is the beneficial owner or an intermediary) which does not provide sufficient documentation, typically on IRS Form W-8BEN-E, evidencing either (x) an exemption from FATCA, or (y) adequate information regarding certain substantial United States beneficial owners of such entity (if any). If a dividend payment is both subject to withholding under FATCA and subject to the withholding tax discussed above under “—Dividends,” an applicable withholding agent may credit
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the withholding under FATCA against, and therefore reduce, such other withholding tax. While withholding under FATCA would also have applied to payments of gross proceeds from the sale or other taxable disposition of our Class A common stock, proposed United States Treasury regulations (upon which taxpayers may rely until final regulations are issued) eliminate FATCA withholding on payments of gross proceeds entirely. You should consult your own tax advisors regarding these requirements and whether they may be relevant to your ownership and disposition of our Class A common stock.
The selling stockholders, and their pledgees, donees, transferees or other successors in interest, may from time to time offer and sell, separately or together, shares of Class A common stock covered by this prospectus. Registration of the shares of Class A common stock covered by this prospectus does not mean, however, that those shares of Class A common stock necessarily will be offered or sold.
The shares of Class A common stock covered by this prospectus may be sold from time to time, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to market prices, at a fixed price or prices subject to change or at negotiated prices, by a variety of methods including the following:
| • | on any national securities exchange on which our shares of Class A common stock may be listed at the time of sale, including Nasdaq (including through at the market offerings); |
| • | in the over-the-counter market; |
| • | in privately negotiated transactions; |
| • | through broker-dealers, who may act as agents or principals; |
| • | through one or more underwriters on a firm commitment or best-efforts basis; |
| • | in a block trade in which a broker-dealer may attempt to sell a block of shares of Class A common stock as agent or may position and resell all or a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction; |
| • | through put or call option transactions relating to the shares of Class A common stock; |
| • | through the writing or settlement of options or other hedging transactions, whether through an options exchange or otherwise, and/or the settlement of margin transactions; |
| • | directly to one or more purchasers; |
| • | through agents; or |
| • | through a combination of any of these methods of sale or by any other legally available means. |
In effecting sales, brokers or dealers engaged by us and/or the selling stockholders may arrange for other brokers or dealers to participate. Broker/dealer transactions may include:
| • | purchases of the shares of Class A common stock by a broker-dealer as principal and resales of the shares of Class A common stock by the broker-dealer for its account pursuant to this prospectus; |
| • | ordinary brokerage transactions; or |
| • | transactions in which the broker/dealer solicits purchasers on a best efforts basis. |
The selling stockholders have not entered into any agreements, understandings or arrangements with any underwriters or broker-dealers regarding the sale of the Class A common stock covered by this prospectus. At any time a particular offer of the shares of Class A common stock covered by this prospectus is made, a revised prospectus or prospectus supplement, if required, will set forth the aggregate amount of shares of Class A common stock covered by this prospectus being offered and the terms of the offering, including the name or
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names of any underwriters, dealers, brokers or agents. In addition, to the extent required, any discounts, commissions, concessions and other items constituting underwriters’ or agents’ compensation, as well as any discounts, commissions or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers, will be set forth in such prospectus supplement. To the extent required, any such prospectus supplement, and, if necessary, a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, will be filed with the SEC to reflect the disclosure of additional information with respect to the distribution of the shares of Class A common stock covered by this prospectus.
To the extent required, the applicable prospectus supplement will set forth whether or not underwriters may over-allot or effect transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the market price of the Class A common stock at levels above those that might otherwise prevail in the open market, including, for example, by entering stabilizing bids, effecting syndicate covering transactions or imposing penalty bids.
If the selling stockholders utilize a dealer in the sale of the securities being offered pursuant to this prospectus, the selling stockholders will sell the securities to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell the securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale.
The selling stockholders may also authorize agents or underwriters to solicit offers by certain types of institutional investors to purchase securities at the public offering price set forth in the revised prospectus or prospectus supplement pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. The conditions to these contracts and the commission that the selling stockholders must pay for solicitation of these contracts will be described in a revised prospectus or prospectus supplement, to the extent such revised prospectus or prospectus supplement is required.
In connection with the sale of the shares of Class A common stock covered by this prospectus through underwriters, underwriters may receive compensation in the form of underwriting discounts or commissions and may also receive commissions from purchasers of shares of Class A common stock for whom they may act as agent. Underwriters may sell to or through dealers, and such dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for whom they may act as agent.
Any underwriters, broker/dealers or agents participating in the distribution of the shares of Class A common stock covered by this prospectus may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and any commissions received by any of those underwriters, broker/dealers or agents may be deemed to be underwriting commissions under the Securities Act.
We and the selling stockholders may agree to indemnify underwriters, broker-dealers or agents against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and may also agree to contribute to payments which the underwriters, broker/dealers or agents may be required to make.
Certain of the underwriters, broker/dealers or agents who may become involved in the sale of the shares of Class A common stock may engage in transactions with and perform other services for us in the ordinary course of their business for which they receive customary compensation.
Some of the shares of Class A common stock covered by this prospectus may be sold by selling stockholders in private transactions or under Rule 144 under the Securities Act or another available exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act rather than pursuant to this prospectus.
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The validity of the shares of Class A common stock will be passed upon for us by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Washington, D.C. An investment vehicle composed of selected partners of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, members of their families, related persons and others owns an interest representing less than 1% of the capital commitments of funds affiliated with Blackstone Inc. If the shares of Class A common stock are being distributed in an underwritten offering, certain legal matters will be passed upon for the underwriters by counsel identified in the related prospectus supplement.
The consolidated financial statements of Bumble Inc. appearing in Bumble Inc.’s Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2025, and the effectiveness of Bumble Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025, have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such reports given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-3 under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of Class A common stock offered by this prospectus. This prospectus, and any document incorporated by reference into this prospectus, filed as part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement and its exhibits and schedules, portions of which have been omitted as permitted by the rules and regulations of the SEC. For further information about us and shares of our Class A common stock, we refer you to the registration statement and to its exhibits and schedules. Statements in this prospectus about the contents of any contract, agreement or other document are not necessarily complete and in each instance we refer you to the copy or form of such contract, agreement or document filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, which each such statement being qualified in all respects by reference to the document to which it refers.
We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act, and we are required to file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may inspect them without charge at the SEC’s website. We also make available to our common stockholders annual reports containing consolidated financial statements audited by an independent registered public accounting firm.
INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
The SEC’s rules allow us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus. This prospectus incorporates by reference the documents listed below:
| • | our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, filed on March 16, 2026; |
| • | our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A dated April 17, 2025 relating to our 2025 annual meeting of stockholders; |
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| • | the description of our shares of Class A common stock contained in Exhibit 4.1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 15, 2021; and |
| • | all other documents filed by us under sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this prospectus and before the termination of the offerings to which this prospectus relates (other than documents and information furnished and not filed in accordance with SEC rules, unless expressly stated otherwise therein). |
Any statement made in this prospectus or in a document incorporated by reference into this prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus modifies or supersedes that statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed as so modified or superseded, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus.
The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. You can obtain any of the filings incorporated by reference into this prospectus through us or from the SEC through the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. We will provide, without charge, to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a copy of this prospectus is delivered, upon written or oral request of such person, a copy of any or all of the reports and documents referred to above which have been or may be incorporated by reference into this prospectus. You should direct requests for those documents to:
Bumble Inc.
1105 West 41st Street
Austin, Texas 78756
ir@team.bumble.com
We maintain an internet site at http://www.bumble.com. Our website and the information contained on or connected to it shall not be deemed to be incorporated into this prospectus or the registration statement of which it forms a part.
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INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The following table sets forth the estimated costs and expenses payable by us in connection with the sale of the shares of Class A common stock being registered hereby. All amounts shown are estimates except the Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority filing fee.
| Filing Fee—Securities and Exchange Commission |
* | |||
| Fee—Financial Industry Regulatory Authority |
** | |||
| Fees and Expenses of Counsel |
** | |||
| Printing Expenses |
** | |||
| Fees and Expenses of Accountants |
** | |||
| Miscellaneous Expenses |
** | |||
| Total |
$ ** |
| * | The Registrant is filing this registration statement to replace its previously filed registration statement (File No. 333-270220). The entirety of the filing fee associated with this registration statement was carried forward from the prior registration statement pursuant to Rule 457(p) of the Securities Act of 1933, as Amended. Please see the registration fee table contained in Exhibit 107 to this registration statement for more information. |
| ** | To the extent required, any applicable prospectus supplement will set forth the estimated aggregate amount of expenses payable in respect of any offering of securities. |
Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, allows a corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a provision that limits or eliminates the liability of its directors and officers for monetary damages to the corporation and its stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty. However, no provision may limit or eliminate the liability of a director or officer for:
| • | any breach of the director’s or officer’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders; |
| • | any act or omission not in good faith or which involved intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law by a director or officer; |
| • | any unlawful payment of dividends or unlawful stock repurchase or redemption; |
| • | any transaction from which the director or officer derived an improper personal benefit; or |
| • | in the case of an officer, any action by or in the right of the corporation (including any derivative claim) against the officer. |
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for this limitation of liability.
Section 145 of the DGCL, or Section 145, provides, among other things, that a Delaware corporation may indemnify any person who was, is or is threatened to be made, party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of such corporation), by reason of the fact that such person is or was an officer, director, employee or agent of such corporation or is or was serving at the request of such corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding, provided such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the corporation’s best interests and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was illegal. A Delaware corporation may indemnify any persons who were or are a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the
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corporation by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit, provided such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the corporation’s best interests, provided further that no indemnification is permitted without judicial approval if the officer, director, employee or agent is adjudged to be liable to the corporation. Where an officer or director is successful on the merits or otherwise in the defense of any action referred to above, the corporation must indemnify him or her against the expenses such officer or director has actually and reasonably incurred.
Section 145 also provides that the expenses incurred by a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation or a person serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise in defending any action, suit or proceeding may be paid in advance of the final disposition of the action, suit or proceeding, subject, in the case of current officers and directors, to the corporation’s receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such officer or director to repay the amount so advanced if it shall be ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified.
Section 145 further authorizes a corporation to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise, against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of his or her status as such, whether or not the corporation would otherwise have the power to indemnify him or her under Section 145.
Our amended and restated bylaws provide that we must indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL and must also pay expenses incurred in defending any such proceeding in advance of its final disposition upon delivery of an undertaking, by or on behalf of an indemnified person, to repay all amounts so advanced if it should be determined ultimately that such person is not entitled to be indemnified under our amended and restated bylaws or otherwise.
The indemnification rights set forth above shall not be exclusive of any other right which an indemnified person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.
We maintain standard policies of insurance that provide coverage (1) to our directors and officers against loss arising from claims made by reason of breach of duty or other wrongful act and (2) to us with respect to indemnification payments that we may make to such directors and officers.
We are party to indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers. These agreements require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL against liabilities that may arise by reason of their service to us, and to advance expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, may be permitted to directors or executive officers, we have been informed that, in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, such indemnification is against public policy and is therefore unenforceable.
In any underwriting agreement the Company enters into in connection with the sale of the securities registered hereby, the underwriters may agree to indemnify, or contribute to, under certain conditions, the Company, its directors, its officers and persons who control the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act against certain liabilities.
Item 16. Exhibits.
The Exhibit Index appearing before the signature pages below is incorporated herein by reference.
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Item 17. Undertakings.
| (a) | The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes: |
| (1) | To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement: |
| (i) | To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933; |
| (ii) | To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and |
| (iii) | To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement. |
Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) of this section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.
| (2) | That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
| (3) | To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering. |
| (4) | That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser: |
| (i) | Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and |
| (ii) | Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date. |
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| (5) | That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities: |
The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
| (i) | Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424; |
| (ii) | Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant; |
| (iii) | The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and |
| (iv) | Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser. |
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
| (6) | Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer, or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit, or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question of whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. |
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EXHIBIT INDEX
| * | To be filed, if necessary, by amendment or as an exhibit to a document to be incorporated by reference herein in connection with an offering. |
| ** | Filed herewith. |
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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized in the City of Kentfield, State of California, on the 17th day of March, 2026.
| Bumble Inc. | ||
| By: | /s/ Kevin D. Cook | |
| Name: Kevin D. Cook | ||
| Title: Chief Financial Officer | ||
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Whitney Wolfe Herd, Kevin D. Cook and Deirdre Runnette, and each of them, any of whom may act without joinder of the other, the individual’s true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for the person and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign this Registration Statement and any or all amendments, including post-effective amendments to the Registration Statement, including a prospectus or an amended prospectus therein and any Registration Statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462 under the Securities Act, and all other documents in connection therewith to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact as agents or any of them, or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement and power of attorney have been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated and on the 17th day of March, 2026.
| Signature | Title(s) | |
| /s/ Whitney Wolfe Herd Whitney Wolfe Herd |
Chief Executive Officer and Director (principal executive officer) | |
| /s/ Ann Mather Ann Mather |
Chair of the Board of Directors | |
| /s/ R. Lynn Atchison R. Lynn Atchison |
Director | |
| /s/ Martin Brand Martin Brand |
Director | |
| /s/ Amy M. Griffin Amy M. Griffin |
Director | |
| /s/ Sissie L. Hsiao Sissie L. Hsiao |
Director | |
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| /s/ Jonathan C. Korngold Jonathan C. Korngold |
Director | |
| /s/ Elisa A. Steele Elisa A. Steele |
Director | |
| /s/ Pamela A. Thomas-Graham Pamela A. Thomas-Graham |
Director | |
| /s/ Kevin D. Cook Kevin D. Cook |
Chief Financial Officer (principal financial officer) | |
| /s/ Amy Kossover Amy Kossover |
Chief Accounting Officer (principal accounting officer) | |
II-7
Exhibit 5.1
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
900 G STREET, NW
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20001
TELEPHONE: +1-202-636-5500
FACSIMILE: +1-202-636-5502
| Direct Dial Number | E-mail Address |
March 17, 2026
Bumble Inc.
1105 West 41st Street
Austin, Texas 78756
To the Addressee Stated Above:
We have acted as counsel to Bumble Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (the “Registration Statement”) filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), relating to an aggregate of 58,618,411 shares of Class A Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Class A Common Stock”), that may be sold from time to time by certain selling stockholders of the Company (the “Selling Stockholders”), including (i) 37,387,500 shares of Class A Common Stock held as of the date hereof by the Selling Stockholders (the “Shares”) and (ii) 21,230,911 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exchange of common units (“Common Units”) of Buzz Holdings, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“Bumble Holdings”) (the “Exchange Shares” and together with the Shares, the “Registered Shares”). The Registered Shares may be sold or delivered from time to time as set forth in the Registration Statement, any amendment thereto, the prospectus contained therein (the “Prospectus”) and any supplements to the Prospectus pursuant to Rule 415 under the Act.
We have examined the Registration Statement, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company and the Second Amended and Restated Limited Partnership Agreement of Bumble Holdings, each of which has been filed with the Commission as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. In addition, we have examined, and have relied as to matters of fact upon, originals, or duplicates or certified or conformed copies, of such records, agreements, documents and other instruments and such certificates or comparable documents of public officials and of officers and representatives of the Company and have made such other investigations as we have deemed relevant and necessary in connection with the opinions hereinafter set forth.
In rendering the opinions set forth below, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, including electronic signatures, the legal capacity of natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as duplicates or certified or conformed copies and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents.
Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the qualifications, assumptions and limitations stated herein, we are of the opinion that, (1) the Shares are validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and (2) when the Exchange Shares are issued in exchange for Common Units in accordance with their terms, the Exchange Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. We do not express any opinion herein concerning any law other than the Delaware General Corporation Law.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement and to the use of our name under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Prospectus included in the Registration Statement.
| Very truly yours, |
| /s/ Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP |
| SIMPSON THACHER & BARTLETT LLP |
Exhibit 23.1
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
We consent to the reference to our firm under the caption “Experts” in this Registration Statement (Form S-3) and related Prospectus of Bumble Inc. for the registration of its Class A Common Stock and to the incorporation by reference therein of our reports dated March 16, 2026, with respect to the consolidated financial statements of Bumble Inc. and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting of Bumble Inc., included in its Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
Austin, Texas
March 17, 2026