MagicLab Products – Credits: MagicLab

Baker McKenzie, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Davis Polk & Wardwell are advising on the sale of a majority stake in dating and social networking app-owner MagicLab to management fund Blackstone Group.

MagicLab, which owns a family of dating and social networking apps including Badoo, Bumble, Lumen and Chappy, is selling a majority stake to New York-headquartered funds manager Blackstone in a deal that would value the company at approximately $3 billion.

The company's founder and current chief executive officer, Andrey Andreev, is selling his stake and will step away from the business. He is to be replaced by founder and CEO of Bumble, Whitney Wolfe Herd.

Baker McKenzie is acting for the company on the transaction. The firm is fielding a team led by London M&A partner David Scott, with the support of a Silicon Valley team led by corporate partners Leif King and Lawrence Lee, according to a firm statement.

Blackstone turned to Simpson Thacher for advice, with New York corporate partner Anthony Vernace and Palo Alto M&A partner Robert Langdon leading, according to the firm.

The team is further supported by U.K. corporate partner Clare Gaskell; Palo Alto-based intellectual property litigation partner Harrison Frahn; and in New York, corporate partners Alden Millard, Steven Klar and Jonathan Karen, private equity partner Peter Gilman, tax partner Andrew Purcell, employee benefits partners Jeannine McSweeney and Gregory Grogan, litigation partner Lori Lesser and antitrust partner Peter Guryan.

Meanwhile, Davis Polk is providing advice to Wolfe Herd with a team led by London corporate partner Will Pearce and corporate counsel William Tong, as well as New York corporate partner Evan Rosen.

This is the second big-value deal for Davis Polk's Pearce in a week, having last week picked up the mandate for the financial advisers to housebuilding giant Bovis Homes' £1.1 billion acquisition of housing rival Galliford Try.