British media firm The Independent are in negotiations to acquire ownership of BuzzFeed and Huffington Post’s UK and Ireland operations in a multi-year agreement, Reuters reported.
Under a license agreement, The Independent will assume management of BuzzFeed’s editorial and business activities in the United Kingdom, including HuffPost, Tasty, and Seasoned.
The negotiations for the takeover are taking place at a time when prominent media companies, such as Business Insider and the Los Angeles Times, have let off employees due to dwindling advertising income in an unstable economic climate.
Jonah Peretti and John Johnson launched BuzzFeed in 2006; the company closed its news division in April of last year. In 2021, BuzzFeed went public through a blank-check merger.
BuzzFeed’s news branch was previously seen to be a major competitor to established media outlets; it was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 2021 for its coverage of China’s widespread Muslim incarceration policy. However, the division was a persistent financial loss and was unable to come up with a viable business plan.
BuzzFeed’s stock rose over 40% to 29 cents on Thursday. Since its launch, they have lost around 98% of their value.
