Grindr owner pays wife $1.1 billion divorce settlement

Zhou Yahui, the owner of the gay dating application Grindr, has split with his wife.

As part of the divorce settlement must now hand over 705.4 million shares of the company.

The settlement handed down by a Beijing court equates to roughly $1.1 billion, easily making it one of the most expensive divorce settlements in China's history. However Yahui will still retain 34.% of the shares.

According to Forbes, Yahui bought his stake in the app earlier in 2016. The Chinese businessman is also in possession of a 34.5% stake in Kunluch Tech, an online gaming company.

Time reports that the couple met while in primary school, but the reason for their divorce has not been made public.

According to his listing on Forbes, Yahui was ranked at number 91 on China's rich list in 2015 and was ranked the 93rd richest in the tech industry this year.

The site also logs that the 39-year-old billionaire has a net worth of $2.2 billion with the source listed as 'online games' and 'self made'.

Divorce overall is on the rise in China with a 27% increase between 2011 and 2014.