Entertainment conglomerate Walt Disney Company made enquiries about purchasing Buzzfeed, the online media company backed by Softbank and Hearst, earlier this year before negotiations floundered over the price demanded by Buzzfeed, Fortune has reported.
Buzzfeed, which raised $19m in January 2013 at a $200m valuation, reportedly attempted to secure a price of more than $1bn from Disney, which instead decided to target online video content producer Maker Studios. Disney subsequently paid $500m for Maker in March, though the overall amount could rise to $950m if certain conditions are met.
A source told Fortune that Disney favoured the Maker deal because Maker’s strength lay in producing over-the-top online content, a market Disney did not want to enter itself, while Buzzfeed’s relative lack of original content meant that it could be less easily monetised.
Buzzfeed has so far raised more than $46m from backers including Hearst Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of media company Hearst, Japan-based telecommunications company Softbank, New Enterprise Associates, Founder Collective, RRE Ventures, SV Angel and angels Ron Conway and Ken Lerer.
Crucially, Buzzfeed has also moved into profit, according to CEO Jonah Peretti, while its revenues are expected to double to $120m in 2014 as the company moves forward with a range of sponsored content, much of which consists of lists or quizzes.