Media company Ziff Davis has acquired Mashable, a US-based online media brand backed by corporates Tribune Media and Time Warner, for about $50m, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
Mashable runs an online media platform that focuses on digital culture, entertainment and technology, and which generates about 45 unique views per month. It was valued at $250m as of its last funding round, in which it raised $15m in April 2016.
Like many online media properties, Mashable had been pumping money into upgrading its video production capabilities, but it made a $10m net loss in 2016 despite its revenue increasing 36% to $42m, according to the WSJ.
A Bloomberg report in August this year suggested the company was considering a sale despite still attempting to raise equity financing, and a WSJ report the following month claimed it had discussed an acquisition with media company ProSiebenSat.1.
Mashable had raised $46m in funding since being founded as a blog in 2005. Turner, a broadcasting subsidiary of Time Warner, led the 2016 round, investing alongside another Warner division, Time Warner Investments, as well as Updata Partners, R&R Venture Partners and private investors David Jones and Mike Lazerow.
The company had raised $14m from investors including Tribune Digital Ventures, a subsidiary of media group Tribune, Updata Partners, New Market Ventures Partners and Social Starts as of 2014.
Time Warner Investments subsequently led a $17m series B round early the following year that included all Mashable’s existing investors.