BuzzFeed’s CEO Open to Merger
Facebook and Google’s margins continue to widen
TL;DR
- BuzzFeed wants to more compete more effectively
- Last year, the company missed its revenue targets by $90 million (25%)
- It laid off over 100 employees and has shut down its podcast team
- Its CEO is intrigued by the work of Vice, Vox, Group Nine & Refinery
- Thinks that the synergies of a merger will position it against the tech giants like Facebook and Google
$0.02
After Facebook’s News Feed changes in early 2018 that demoted publishers in favour of personal connections, a plethora of companies were left in critical condition and have largely withered. BuzzFeed has been one of the few companies that have aggressively experimented to find independent footing. They’ve spun off some relatively successful brands (Tasty), diversified their revenue models (subscription membership) and focused more investment on their owned & operated platform.
Still, it seems like these efforts haven’t been enough. The continuous narrative from the company, in particular its CEO Jonah Peretti, has been of distress and frustration. While a merger could help the company and a few of its fellow casualties capitalize on operational synergies, it’s hard to tell if it would be enough to compete with the internet giants.
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