Photographer: Drew Angerer / Getty Images
Photographer: Drew Angerer / Getty Images
BuzzFeed Inc., the digital media store founded in 2006, is in talks to go public through a merger with 890 5th Avenue Partners Inc., a special-purpose purchasing company, according to people with knowledge of the subject.
Once public, the company can use its currency to target future acquisitions, said one of the people, who requested anonymity because the talks are private. A transaction value could not be learned immediately. As with any agreement that has not been finalized, the terms may change or discussions may break.
Representatives of BuzzFeed and 890 5th Avenue did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Discussions about the deal followed a tumultuous year for BuzzFeed, which fired employees during the pandemic and lost revenue from advertising and live events. The company’s balance sheet improved until November last year, when it agreed to buy the HuffPost online news service from Verizon Communications Inc. But now he is in another round of lay offas it separates some employees from that acquisition.
As part of the HuffPost transaction, Verizon acquired a minority stake in BuzzFeed, which valued the company at approximately $ 1.7 billion. About the same as the 2016 BuzzFeed rating, when NBCUniversal from Comcast Corp. invested $ 200 million in the business, said a person with knowledge on the subject.
The New York-based company was founded by CEO Jonah Peretti, who previously helped launch HuffPost.
Earlier this week, HuffPost reported that 47 U.S. employees will be cut in an attempt to make the division profitable. The business lost about $ 20 million last year, Peretti told employees. A union representing HuffPost workers said it was “devastated and angry” – especially since it happened less than a month after BuzzFeed completed its acquisition.
“We have never had the right blow to prove our worth,” the union said in a statement.
Read more: BuzzFeed buys HuffPost from Verizon in the latest New-Media deal
890 5th Avenue – named after the fictional Avengers mansion – is led by CEO Adam Rothstein and CEO Emiliano Calemzuk. The empty check company raised $ 287.5 million in an initial public offering in January and said it was focusing on technology, media and telecommunications.
– With the assistance of Gerry Smith and Liana Baker
(Updates with HuffPost redundancies in the sixth paragraph.)