Exclusive-Anson Funds eyes proxy fight at Match, plans to nominate directors, sources say

Svea Herbst-Bayliss

Tue, Mar 11, 2025, 5:32 AM 3 min read

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hedge money Anson Funds is gearing up for a boardroom combat astatine Match Group and plans to nominate respective directors to the online dating company's 10-member board, 2 sources acquainted with the substance told Reuters.

Anson, which owned astir 0.6% of Match astatine the extremity of December according to a regulatory filing, has been pressing the genitor of Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid for implicit a twelvemonth to rethink superior allocation, chopped costs, and see a strategical reappraisal of its MG Asia business, the sources said.

Additionally the capitalist has raised concerns astir Match's governance and pushed for absorption to refine its firm strategy, said the sources who requested anonymity to talk astir the backstage discussions.

Only 3 of Match's 10 directors volition basal for predetermination this year, creating a flash constituent for galore investors who mostly privation each committee members to beryllium up for predetermination annually.

Anson besides highlighted choky concern connections among a fistful of Match directors and ties to erstwhile proprietor IAC/Interactive arsenic worrisome and recovered the speedy paced turnover successful the enforcement suite wherever the institution has had 4 main executives successful 5 years to beryllium problematic, the sources said.

Over the past year, Anson and Match person held a twelve meetings and the institution has made immoderate changes, including holding an capitalist time and agreeing to instrumentality superior much aggressively, suggested by activistic investors including Anson.

A typical for Match was not instantly disposable for remark and a typical for Anson declined to comment.

For Sagar Gupta, who is starring the run aft helium joined Anson arsenic a portfolio manager successful 2023 to physique the firm's activism practice, the gait of alteration remains excessively slow, the sources said.

Gupta, who joined the committee of U.S. telephone halfway bundle institution Five9 successful December, has a way grounds of investing successful technology, media and telecommunications. He spearheaded galore of those types of investments astatine activistic Legion Partners, wherever helium worked earlier joining Anson.

Match is valued astatine astir $8 cardinal but has shrunk dramatically since the COVID pandemic erstwhile it was worthy astir $40 billion. Its banal price, which closed astatine $32.03 connected Monday, has slipped astir 2% this twelvemonth but it has mislaid 67% successful the past 3 years erstwhile the broader S&P 500 banal marketplace scale gained 41%.

Match's shrinking banal terms has made the institution vulnerable, prompting astatine slightest 3 activistic investors to propulsion for changes wrong the past year.

In aboriginal 2024, Elliott Investment Management, 1 of the world's biggest and astir salient activistic investors, unveiled a $1 cardinal investment. The institution named 2 caller directors to the committee respective weeks later.