US-based technology business company GigaOM acquired the assets of US-based media and information company ContentNext Media from media corporation Guardian News & Media (GNM) last Monday for an undisclosed amount. As part of the deal, GNM will receive a minority stake in GigaOM.
GNM joins GigaOM backers including Reed Elsevier Ventures, the corporate venturing unit for publishing corporation and information provider Reed Elsevier, as well as venture capital firms True Ventures and Alloy Ventures, and assorted angel investors. GigaOM has raised about $14m since its launch in 2006.
GNM paid about $12.5m for ContentNext in 2008, according to reports, but has recently upscaled the US-based output of its central brand, The Guardian, and has stated its intention to concentrate its resources there.
ContentNext’s flagship brand is digital business website paidContent but the company as a whole operates four different news sites, including mobile device-focused Moco News and regional equivalents of paidContent in India and the UK.
In addition to the quality of its written output, ContentNext stated in its own release that GigaOM’s revenue model, which extends from site advertising to conferences, subscriptions and research services, was a significant incentive in the deal, which will see the two merge their commercial product suites under the umbrella of the GigaOM brand.
Andrew Miller, chief executive officer of GNM’s parent company, Guardian Media Group, said: "paidContent has a fantastic presence in the tech/media space and the match with GigaOM, itself a really smart and pioneering company, is a good one. We are delighted to become shareholders in GigaOM as part of the deal."
As part of the transaction, a yet unnamed representative from GNM will join the GigaM board as an observer. Coady Diemar Partners acted as GNM’s financial advisor for the deal.