Group Nine Media was an American digital media holding company based in New York City. The company comprises Thrillist, NowThis, The Dodo, and Seeker.[2][3] The four brands, and former brand SourceFed, merged to form Group Nine Media in October 2016.[4] In October 2019, Group Nine Media acquired PopSugar.[5] In December 2020, Group Nine formed its own corporate SPAC to use the public funding for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination.[6] In December 2021, Vox Media announced its intention to acquire Group Nine.[7] The transaction was completed in February 2022, and Group Nine was folded into Vox Media.[8]
 | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Discovery Digital Networks |
| Founded | October 2016 |
| Founder | Ben Lerer |
| Defunct | February 22, 2022 |
| Fate | Acquired by and folded into Vox Media |
| Successor | Vox Media |
| Headquarters | New York City, U.S.[1] |
Key people | Ben Lerer (CEO) Brian Sugar (President) |
Number of employees | 415+ (2016) |
| Subsidiaries | The Dodo JASH NowThis PopSugar Seeker Thrillist |
| Website | www |
| Footnotes / references https://www.axios.com/group-nine-popsugar-joint-leadership-team-6c53b3ad-2242-4179-a854-dbd6bb424e67.html | |
Ownership
editAt the time of the 2016 merger, Discovery Communications announced a $100 million minority investment in the collective organization, becoming the biggest shareholder before Axel Springer. Discovery also acquired the right to obtain a majority stake later if it so chooses.[4] In 2017, Discovery led a $40 million funding round in the d "igital media company.[9] Group Nine Media raised $50 million in new funding in 2019, led by its lead investor Discovery along with participation from German publishing firm Axel Springer.[10]
Ben Lerer, founder of Thrillist and managing director of Lerer Hippeau Ventures, is CEO of Group Nine Media.[11]
On 13 December 2021, it was announced that Vox Media would acquire Group Nine Media.[7] The acquisition was completed on 22 February 2022.[12]
References
edit- ^ "Group Nine Media Inc". Bloomberg. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ^ Sternberg, Josh (May 3, 2018). "Group Nine Media's NewFront Was All About Obsession". Adweek – Breaking News in Advertising, Media and Technology. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ^ Gutelle, Sam (May 3, 2018). "Seeker's New Space Channel Headlines Group Nine Media's Slate Of Fresh Content". Tubefilter. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ^ a b Barr, Jeremy (October 13, 2016). "Digital Publishers Come Together as Group Nine Media, Backed by $100 Million From Discovery". AdvertisingAge.
- ^ Tracy, Marc; Lee, Edmund (2019-10-07). "PopSugar Acquired by Group Nine Media in Latest Digital Media Deal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
- ^ Ha, Anthony (15 January 2021). "Group Nine's SPAC goes public". Tech Crunch.
- ^ a b "Vox Media to Merge with Group Nine, Home to Leading Collection of Multi-Platform Media Brands". Group Nine Media. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Vox Media Completes Acquisition of Group Nine". 22 February 2022.
- ^ Smith, Gerry (28 November 2017). "Discovery Leads $40 Million Round for Thrillist Owner Group Nine". Bloomberg.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (2019-09-09). "Group Nine Raises $50 Million From Discovery, Axel Springer". Variety. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
- ^ Sherman, Alex (November 17, 2018). "How a new breed of media companies is convincing people to pay for news again". CNBC. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ^ "Vox Media Completes Acquisition of Group Nine". 22 February 2022.
External links
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