Blackstone Keeps Selling Bumble, Now at Its Lowest Price Yet
SEC filings show Bumble's largest outside shareholder selling on a quarterly schedule while the company explores a sale. The latest sale was its cheapest yet.
What changed: Corrected the claim that each sale cleared at a lower price; the June sale was priced above March.
Blackstone-affiliated funds sold about 4.8 million Bumble Class A shares on September 28 for roughly $11 million, according to a Form 144 notice filed with the SEC on September 29. That works out to about $2.94 a share. The filing also lists a further forward sale planned for the next three months.
It is the third sale of its kind this year, and the cheapest. Blackstone entities sold 7,477,504 shares on March 17 at a volume-weighted $3.51, and another 7,477,500 on June 16 at $3.7751, both settled through forward contracts with an unaffiliated financial institution. The September sale was smaller and cheaper than either.
What the filings show
Blackstone's most recent amended Schedule 13D, filed June 18, put its direct holding at 22,432,496 Class A shares, or 17.2% of the class. The same filing says all of those shares were pledged under margin loans with about $28.9 million outstanding. The filings describe the forward sales as running on quarterly calculation periods. They do not say why Blackstone is selling or whether it intends to exit completely.
The business behind the stock
Bumble's second quarter did not give sellers a reason to wait. Revenue fell 15.2% to $210.5 million, paying users fell 16.4% to 3.2 million, and the company guided third-quarter revenue to $205 million to $213 million. In June, Reuters reported that Bumble had hired Morgan Stanley to explore a sale, while cautioning that no deal was certain. Bumble went public in February 2021 at a valuation above $7 billion.
Why it matters: A large holder selling steadily into a live sale process is a signal buyers will read closely. If Blackstone expected a takeover premium soon, the rational move would be to wait for it. Selling on a schedule instead, at its lowest price this year, suggests either little confidence in a near-term bid or a need for liquidity that outweighs it. For any acquirer, it also means one less large shareholder to win over.
Sources: Form 144, September 29, 2026 · Form 4, March 2026 · Form 4, June 2026 · Schedule 13D/A, June 18, 2026 · Bumble Q2 2026 results · Reuters on the sale process
Correction, October 5, 2026: An earlier version of this story said each of Blackstone's 2026 sales cleared at a lower price than the last. The June sale was priced above the March sale. The September sale was the lowest of the three.
Key takeaways
- 01Blackstone funds sold about 4.8 million Bumble shares on September 28 at roughly $2.94.
- 02Earlier 2026 sales cleared at $3.51 in March and $3.78 in June.
- 03Blackstone held 17.2% of Bumble's Class A shares as of June, all pledged against margin loans.
- 04Bumble is exploring a sale; Q2 revenue fell 15.2%.
Reviewed by an operator. Last updated October 5, 2026. High Intent is led by founder and CEO Bill Alena, backed by a team of industry experts with over 100 years of online dating experience between them.
Sources
- Form 144, September 29, 2026 · Stocktitan
- Bumble Q2 2026 results · Ir.Bumble
- Reuters on the sale process · Finance.Yahoo
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