Update: Diller's Match Group raises US$400m in online-dating IPO

[NEW YORK] Match Group, the owner of online-dating sites Tinder, Match and OkCupid, raised almost US$400 million in its initial public offering, pricing the shares at the low end of the marketed range.

The unit of billionaire Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp sold 33.3 million shares for US$12 each, according to a statement on Wednesday, after offering them for US$12 to US$14. Based on the IPO price, the company has a market value of about US$2.9 billion. The shares, equivalent to about a 14 per cent stake in the company, will start trading on Thursday, listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol MTCH.

Match's IPO will give public investors a way to bet on the online-dating behemoth, instead of indirectly holding shares of parent company IAC. It's been a relatively slow time for US-listed technology and Internet offerings: 26 companies raised US$7.1 billion this year through on Tuesday, compared with 47 IPOs for 2014 that raised US$34.3 billion.

IAC will remain the largest shareholder in Match Group, owning about 86 per cent of the company after the IPO, filings show. Proceeds from the offering will go toward repaying debt owed to IAC.

JPMorgan Chase & Co, Allen & Co, Bank of America Corp's Merrill Lynch unit managed the sale.

BLOOMBERG