US-based online media company Buzzfeed confirmed a $200m investment by media group and existing investor NBCUniversal today.
Documents provided by CB Insights confirmed a report by Recode last month stating that NBCUniversal was providing $200m of funding to the company at the same $1.5bn valuation at which it invested $200m in August 2015. It is now valued at $1.7bn post-money.
Founded in 2008, Buzzfeed operates a text, listicle and video-focused platform that has more than 200 million monthly visitors. It divided its output into news and entertainment sections in August this year.
In addition to investing more money, NBCUniversal will expand the advertising sales partnership it already has in place with Buzzfeed, which will also help NBCUniversal’s Content Studio distribute short-form video content.
The flat valuation for the funding is likely due to the company reportedly falling considerably short of its 2015 revenue targets. A Financial Times report stated that its $500m revenue target for 2016 had been halved, but chairman Ken Lerer disputed that, claiming the targets were nowhere near $500m anyway.
The filing for the latest funding contains a ratchet provision that will ensure NBCUniversal is issued more shares in the company in the event Buzzfeed floats or is acquired at a lower valuation than that at which the corporate invested.
A source told Recode that Buzzfeed is aiming for an initial public offering in 2018. The latest investment will take its overall funding to about $500m.
Hearst Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of media group Hearst, was among the investors in Buzzfeed’s $8m series B round in 2010 and its $15.5m series C two years later.
The unit joined telecom and internet firm SoftBank for a $19.3m round in 2013 that included New Enterprise Associates, RRE Ventures and Lerer Ventures, and which was followed by a $50m investment by Andreessen Horowitz in 2014.
– This story was adapted on November 22, 2016 to reflect a press release issued by Buzzfeed formally announcing the round.