- Private equity giant CVC Capital is discussing a $200 million investment into Vox Media.
- Vox Media, which owns New York magazine, Recode, The Verge and more, recently laid off more than 100 staffers.
- Both CVC Capital and Group Black had talks aimed at acquiring the digital media company, according to reports.
Vox Media, the digital media venture that houses assets including New York magazine, The Verge, Eater, and SB Nation, is looking to raise around $200 million, according to two people familiar with talks. One of them said Vox was discussing a cash infusion from UK-based private equity giant CVC Capital.
The talks come alongside drastic cost-cutting measures at the company. Vox is in the process of letting go 130 employees. That round follows layoffs of 39 people in July, Axios reported. Many media outlets are downsizing their employee rolls as 2023 advertising revenue comes in below expectations and short-form video giants such as TikTok and YouTube continue to attract digital ad dollars.
The sources said they believe Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff wants to use the money to acquire new assets while also potentially putting some Vox Media properties on the block.
One possible spinoff could be some or all of Ben Lerer's Group Nine Media, a group of lifestyle sites — including PopSugar, Thrillist, and NowThis News — that have not been regularly profitable. A third person who spoke to Insider also suggested the company's Code tech conference could go under the hammer — though its value may have dipped as it's no longer helmed by noted tech journalist Kara Swisher.
Vox closed its acquisition of Group Nine in February 2022 for an undisclosed amount, one of several combinations by online media companies to better compete for digital ad dollars. The two companies combined were expected to bring in $700 million in revenue in 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported.
In November, Axios reported that CVC and Group Black, a media collective that reportedly has looked at acquiring properties from Bustle to Vice, were pursuing a joint bid for Vox Media. Group Black is trying to get advertisers to shift more of their spending to Black-owned media companies.
What Bankoff may want to buy remains a mystery. Several small media assets are on the block, including Barry Diller's politics and pop culture site The Daily Beast and crypto news destination Coindesk.
A Vox spokeswoman declined to comment and CVC Capital did not immediately respond for comment.