Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp has upped its stake in West Hollywood hookup app Tinder Inc.
But while confirming a deal had been made with Palo Alto venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, who held a 10 percent stake in the business, IAC said a report that it had bought out his full interest for $500 million was “nowhere near the truth.”
Sam Yagan, chief executive of IAC’s Match Group, confirmed to Forbes that the company did indeed make a deal with Palihapitiya, but denied a Bloomberg News report that would have valued Tinder, founded in September 2012, at $5 billion.
An email from IAC’s press office said it would have no further comment beyond what it told Forbes. A Tinder spokeswoman declined to comment. An email to Palihapitiya’s Social+Capital Partnership was not immediately returned.