Clickbait Site BuzzFeed Sees SPAC as Financial Salvation
Posted on 06/24/2021
890 5th Avenue Partners, Inc. is a SPAC that is taking clickbait entertainment website BuzzFeed, Inc. public. BuzzFeed has been around for 15 years. To make the deal more palatable, BuzzFeed plans to acquire Complex Networks, a digital publisher that specializes in streetwear, music and culture, for US$ 300 million. The deal is made up of US$ 200 million in cash and $100 million of equity in BuzzFeed, the company said. It is anticipated that the post-closing company will retain the BuzzFeed name and be listed on the NASDAQ.
The transaction implies a fully diluted pro forma enterprise value of US$ 1.53 billion.
The SPAC is led by Adam Rothstein, a Founder and General Partner in five Israeli venture funds under the Disruptive Technologies masthead.
BuzzFeed was founded by Jonah Peretti in November 2006 and by January 2012, the company launched BuzzFeed News. In November 2014, BuzzFeed surpassed US$ 100 million in revenue. In August 2015 and November 2016, NBC Universal invested a total of US$ 400 million in BuzzFeed. In July 2015, Tasty was launched. In November 2020, BuzzFeed bought HuffPost.
In March 2021, BuzzFeed signed a deal to buy Complex Network. BuzzFeed generated US$ 321 million in revenue in 2020 and Complex Networks delivered US$ 100 million in revenue in 2020. BuzzFeed generated US$ 4 million in net income for 2020 vs. a loss of US$ 29 million in 2019.