Grindr: Chinese parent company plans to list gay dating app

The Chinese owner of gay dating app Grindr plans to list the firm publicly after US authorities abandoned their opposition to the move.

Kunlun Group suspended plans for an initial public offering (IPO) last year due to US objections.

Kunlun bought a 61.5% stake in the app in 2016 from its US founders and took full control in 2018.

The US had reportedly expressed concern over Chinese ownership of the US-based firm.

In a statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange, Kunlun said it suspended plans to list Grindr in 2018 because of "communication" with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

The firm said CFIUS now had "no objection" to the listing, according to a translation of the statement.

CFIUS is a US government body that reviews the national security implications of foreign investments in US companies or operations.

US authorities had previously expressed concern, according to reports, that Kunlun's ownership of the US-based company posed a national security risk.

"The company plans to restart...[the] listing," the statement said.

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Kunlun said Grindr would be listed on a market outside China but no date for the listing was provided.

It comes at a sensitive time for US and China relations, with both countries battling over trade as well as whether or not Chinese telecoms giant Huawei poses a threat to national security. Huawei denies those claims.

Grindr, which is based in Los Angeles, is a hugely popular dating network for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, with more than 27 million users globally.

The app was founded in March 2009 and is currently available in 192 countries, although its user base is primarily located in developed countries in Europe and North America.