IGN, PCMag, AskMen Owner Acquires Mashable For $50 Million

Mashable has found a buyer. Months after a Wall Street Journal report indicated that the social media-focused publication was looking for an all-out sale, it has been acquired by Ziff Davis, a publisher that owns several media brands.

The price of the deal has been pegged at $50 million, which is far less than the valuation Mashable received as part of its most recent time. When it picked up a $15 million jolt from Turner in early 2016, The Wall Street Journal notes, its worth was estimated at $250 million.

The steep declined in Mashable’s value does not come as a huge surprise. It has dealt with several

issues over the past 20 months, including a wave of layoffs that arrived shortly after the media company’s last funding round. Several top executives, including chief strategy officer Adam Ostrow, have moved on as well. At the end of 2016, Mashable recorded a net loss of $10 million for the calendar year.

Ziff Davis will add Mashable to its extensive roster of publications, media outlets, TV stations, and other properties. Its most notable subsidiaries include IGN, PCMag, and AskMen. It itself is owned by j2, a communications company known for its cloud-based services.