Match settles dispute with Anson Funds, adds new director to board

Svea Herbst-Bayliss

Tue, Apr 29, 2025, 6:15 AM 2 min read

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

(Reuters) - Online dating institution Match Group volition adhd a consumer-technology enforcement to its committee and laic the groundwork for each directors to basal for predetermination annually, ending a quality with shareholder Anson Funds.

The company, valued astatine $7.6 billion, said connected Tuesday that Kelly Campbell, the erstwhile president of NBCUniversal's Peacock, volition go a director.

Anson, which owned astir 0.6% of Match astatine the extremity of December, according to a regulatory filing, was pushing to elite 3 directors to shingle up what it called an outdated and insular board.

The 2 sides person present settled connected an accusation sharing statement that volition extremity a perchance disruptive combat for the institution and perchance determination person to Anson's goals for absorption to rethink superior allocation, chopped costs and see a strategical reappraisal of its MG Asia business.

Match is the genitor institution of dating sites Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid and has seen its banal terms tumble astir 70% implicit the past 5 years.

As portion of the agreement, the institution said successful a regulatory filing that committee subordinate Alan Spoon, whose word expires astatine the yearly meeting, volition not basal for re-election.

Anson and different investors had besides criticized Match's signifier of having lone a definite fig of directors basal for predetermination annually, a signifier that has go a flash constituent successful governance circles due to the fact that shareholders mostly privation each committee members to basal for predetermination annually.

"The Board is committed to beardown firm governance practices," Match said successful a statement, laying the groundwork for a displacement to yearly elections.

Match joins a increasing database of companies that person recovered communal crushed with captious investors astatine a clip erstwhile volatile markets and uncertain argumentation directives from the White House are forcing them to wage adjacent person attraction to their business, clients and shareholders.

Earlier this week, edifice concatenation Portillo's settled a quality with Engaged Capital, which had nominated 2 directors to the company's board.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss successful New York Deborah Sophia successful Bengaluru. Editing by Anil D'Silva and Mark Potter)