BuzzFeed exploring merger talks with Group Nine: Report
BuzzFeed, which is cutting 15 percent of its staff, is reportedly exploring a merger with Group Nine, another digital-media company that owns brands like NowThis News and The Dodo.
While the two companies are not close to a deal -- and could find different partners -- they are discussing a merger, according to Recode, which first reported the news.
BuzzFeed and Group Nine did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.
The New York Times reported last year that Peretti was openly considering a series of mergers with “five or six top internet publishers.”
“You have Vice and Vox Media and Group Nine and Refinery,” Peretti said at the time. “There’s tons of them that are doing interesting work.” By doing so, the larger media entity would then be able to lobby for a higher percentage of the ad dollars Facebook and Google share with publishers when their content runs on those platforms.
On Friday, BuzzFeed began the process of eliminating jobs, gutting its national security news team. It confirmed on Wednesday that it was slashing 15 percent of its staff, or about 220 staffers of its 1,450 employees.
In an internal memo sent to employees, CEO Jonah Peretti said that after “extensive work” over the past few months, the company had developed a “good understanding” of where to consolidate its team, focus on content that’s working and achieve the right cost structure to support its model.
The restructuring that BuzzFeed will undertake, he added, will reduce overall costs and improve their operating model so they can avoid raising funds from outside investors.
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According to The Wall Street Journal, the New York-based company has raised about $500 million and was valued close to $1.7 billion following its last funding round in 2016. Its investors include NBCUniversal, Hearst Media and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
In order to complete the merger, the media organizations would need their backers to agree on its valuation. Discovery owns the largest stake in Group Nine, which means it would have to join forces with Comcast, according to Recode.
