Complicated Media Acquired by Reside-Purchasing Platform Ntwrk

The dwell procuring platform Ntwrk has acquired the music and tradition writer Complicated Media from BuzzFeed Inc. for $108 million in money, finalizing a months-long sequence of discussions between the 2 corporations.

Common Music Group will function a strategic accomplice within the tie-up, as ADWEEK first reported. Buyers within the deal embrace Most important Avenue Advisors, Jimmy Iovine, Common Music Group and Goldman Sachs.

“Complicated has been a beacon of tradition and innovation for over 20 years,” stated Aaron Levant, founding father of Ntwrk and the brand new CEO of Complicated. 

“My journey with Complicated started as an admirer of their unique journal in 2002, and it has now come full circle as I step into the management position. Alongside this spectacular staff, we’ll create the definitive international content material, commerce and experiential platform of convergence tradition,” he added.

The deal doesn’t embrace key Complicated Media franchises, similar to First We Feast or Sizzling Ones, which is able to stay below BuzzFeed Inc. possession. 

As a part of the acquisition, BuzzFeed Inc. will even obtain $5.7 million associated to the usage of its places of work and different employment-related prices, based on the writer. 

BuzzFeed Inc. will even scale back its workforce by 16% as a part of the deal, which is anticipated to yield $23 million in annualized financial savings. The main points of the restructuring can be shared on Feb. 28.

“The sale of Complicated represents an vital strategic step for BuzzFeed Inc. as we adapt our enterprise to be extra worthwhile, extra nimble and extra progressive,” stated BuzzFeed Inc. CEO Jonah Peretti. “That is additionally a chance to unlock larger worth for the Complicated model by combining it with Ntwrk’s expansive commerce-driven enterprise.”

Complicated and Ntwrk deal logic

Complicated Media was initially acquired by BuzzFeed Inc. in 2021 for $198 million in money and $96 million in fairness, however structural headwinds difficult the BuzzFeed enterprise have led it to contemplate choices for procuring money to pay down looming debt obligations.

The sale represents a stark about-face for BuzzFeed Inc., which acquired Complicated Media in tandem with going public through a particular acquisition firm (SPAC). The male-skewing viewers of Complicated Media, together with its experiential flagship occasion ComplexCon and its commerce enterprise, aimed to enrich BuzzFeed Inc., which additionally owns HuffPost.

However the economic system has shifted drastically since BuzzFeed Inc. acquired Complicated Media, and the social writer has fared poorly on the open change, with its inventory buying and selling at lower than $1.