Two of the industry’s top digital publishers — Vox Media and Group Nine Media — are in advanced merger discussions that could see Vox retaining 75% ownership of the new, ensuing entity in an all-stock deal.
The combined firm would be led by current Vox CEO Jim Bankoff (pictured above), who confirmed the discussions in an employee memo after they were first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Group Nine CEO Ben Lerer would serve as a director of the newly-combined company’s board.
In his memo, Bankoff said a deal was expected to be signed soon. The combined company is projected to generate $700 million in revenues in 2022, and more than $10 million in profit, according to the Journal.
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“The business rationale behind this merger is to grow revenue, increase scale, and combine these incredibly powerful and complementary portfolios,” Bankoff wrote in the memo. “Together we will be an even stronger, more financially sustainable company that can invest more in our products and our people.”
In addition to its eponymous website, Vox owns media brands like The Verge and SB Nation, and recently acquired cocktail website Punch. Group Nine, for its part, owns NowThis, Thrillist, The Dodo, and PopSugar.
While Group Nine last year formed a social purpose acquisition company (SPAC), ostensibly for the purposes of going public after acquiring other companies, this deal does not involve that venture, according to the Journal. That said, the merger could pave the way for future acquisitions or an IPO down the line.
