Dating app Grindr is planning an overseas IPO

The Chinese owner of gay dating app Grindr has revealed plans to spin off the company and list it on an overseas bourse.

Kunlun Technology, which bought a 61.5 per cent stake in Grindr in 2016 before acquiring the remainder in January this year, published news of Grindr's upcoming initial public offering (IPO) overnight on the Shenzhen stock exchange.

No details were given as to how much the firm is looking to raise, or a potential location for the float.

Kunlun said the listing is not expected to exert "a huge influence" on the parent group's revenues and profits.

Instead, the IPO should provide "individual and direct financing for the app which can support its expansion and long-term development".

Grindr has yet go live in China, where it remains in the shadow of current market leader Blued which has 40m registered users.

Kunlun's financial reports showed Grindr brought in $498m (£382.9m) in revenue for the parent firm in 2017, at almost 13 per cent of the group's overall intake.

Grindr is following in the footsteps of Tinder-owner Match, which went public for nearly $400m in New York in 2015.