Back to News
M&A

BuzzFeed Makes Top Targets List, Adds Complex

|
Published: June 30th, 2021
Special purpose acquisition company 890 5th Avenue Partners will merge with BuzzFeed while the latter will acquire youth media and events venture Complex Networks from Verizon and Hearst.

Millennial and Gen Z media company Buzzfeed Inc. said it will go public through a merger with 890 5th Avenue Partners Inc. (ENFA), on June 25.

The New York digital media and commerce company co-founded by CEO Jonah Peretti in 2006 will retain the BuzzFeed name and trade under the ticker BZFD.

Buzzfeed says it will have a $1.5 billion valuation following the merger and a related deal.

Rye, N.Y., special purpose acquisition company 890 5th Avenue Partners holds $288 million in trust. Redwood Capital Management LLC leads a group purchasing $150 million in convertible notes alongside the merger.

Meanwhile, BuzzFeed will acquire youth media and events venture Complex Networks from Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Hearst Corp for $300 million. The price includes $200 million in cash and $100 million of BuzzFeed stock.

BuzzFeed expects to complete the deals in the fourth quarter.

Led by venture capitalist and frequent SPAC player Adam Rothstein and sponsored by his investment firm as well as Craig-Hallum, the SPAC went public in January in a $287 million IPO.

—David Marcus contributed to this report

Editor’s note: The original version of this article was published earlier on The Deal’s premium subscription website. For access, log in to TheDeal.com or use the form below to request a free trial.

More From M&A

M&A

Review: Thinking Through Contract Drafting

By David Marcus
|
Published: March 25th, 2024
In their new book 'Deals,' Stanford’s Mike Klausner and Harvard’s Guhan Subramanian offer a theoretical framework for thinking about how to write corporate contracts.