Digital media outlet BuzzFeed Inc is reportedly looking to go public via a merger with special purchase acquisition company (SPAC).
On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported BuzzFeed is in talks to merge with 890 5th Avenue Partners Inc (Nasdaq: ENFA ). No financial terms were disclosed and neither company commented on whether or not any deals were in the works.
890 5th Avenue Partners – named after the fictional Avengers mansion – is led by Adam Rothstein, co-founder and general partner of Disruptive Technology Partners, and Emiliano Calemzuk, board director of MercadoLibre Inc (Nasdaq: MELI ) and co-founder and former CEO of media venture RAZE, which was acquired by Turner Latin America last year.
The SPAC raised gross proceeds of $287.5 million in a January 2021 initial public offering to pursue an acquisition in the technology, media and telecommunication sectors.
Bloomberg’s report comes a day after BuzzFeed slashed 47 positions at HuffPost, one of the company’s first actions since acquiring its rival news site from Verizon Media in February.
As part of the HuffPost transaction, Verizon Media became a minority shareholder in BuzzFeed, making an undisclosed cash investment that Bloomberg said valued BuzzFeed at $1.7 billion.
On Tuesday, BuzzFeed chief executive officer and co-founder John Peretti said the HuffPost cuts were part of an effort to “fast track the path to profitability” for its new property.
According to Business Insider, HuffPost lost $20 million last year and was projected to post similar losses again in 2021.
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Source: Equities News
