Match Group Surges as Starboard Value Buys Stake in Online Dating Giant

Shares of Match Group (MTCH) jumped in premarket trading Tuesday on the news that activist hedge fund Starboard Value has taken a significant stake in the online dating giant and is already pushing for changes.

Match operates its namesake service along with several other popular platforms including Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, and others. Starboard has recently purchased shares amounting to about 6.6% of the company, which makes the firm the third-largest shareholder, Starboard said in a letter to Match leadership included in a Monday Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.

Starboard Says Match Needs to Improve Margin, Could Also Consider Sale

Starboard Value Managing Member Jeffrey Smith made a number of suggestions in the letter to executives, stressing that Starboard is optimistic about Match’s future and believes that the company is undervalued by the market, while also identifying potential areas of improvement.

Smith wrote that Match needs to improve its margins and become more profitable, as he identified a path to get Match’s adjusted operating margins above 40%.

“We believe Match has an opportunity to meaningfully improve its profitability,” Smith wrote in the letter. “Despite significant revenue growth over the last five years–from approximately $2 billion of revenue in 2019 to an expected $3.6 billion this year–the Company’s adjusted operating margins have declined during this time.”

Smith also suggested that the company should be more aggressive in its stock buyback plans, returning more capital to shareholders while also reducing its number of outstanding shares. Starboard believes there is “no better use of cash for Match than repurchasing its own shares at this level,” Smith wrote.

If Match cannot or chooses not to pursue the suggestions from Starboard, Smith wrote that Match would also be well positioned to operate as a private company, indicating that Starboard would support Match’s board if they decided to pursue a sale of the online dating giant.

Match shares were up more than 9% to $35.00 by 7:45 a.m. ET Tuesday, putting them on track to recover much of the roughly 12% in value they have lost so far this year through Monday.