Glam Media, a US-based online advertising network, has agreed to acquire Ning, a local developer of social websites for about $150m.
The deal will create a social media content company with more than 240 million users and 100,000 publishers.
Jason Rosenthal, Ning’s chief executive, will join Glam as executive vice-president of social media and general manager of Ning, which will be a new business unit within Glam Media.
Ning has raised around $120m from angel investors Marc Andreessen and Reid Hoffman, mutual fund manager Legg Mason, venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners and media-focused investment bank Allen & Co. Ning’s series C round raised $44m in July 2006 at a $214m valuation before a $60m D round at a $500m valuation in 2008 and a final $15m a year later at a $750m valuation.
Samir Arora, executive chairman of Glam Media, said: "With the addition of Ning, Glam Media will truly become the first next generation media company in the post-social world."
Glam Media has raised about $150m in venture funding from Burda Digital, part of Germany-based publisher Hubert Burda, which has Marcel Reichart on Glam’s board; Aeris Capital, the family office of SAP enterprise software company Klaus Tschira; and VCs Mizuho Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Accel Partners, DAG Ventures, Information Capital and Walden Venture Capital, according to news provider PEHub.
In March, Glam had acquired Canada-based peer BBS Media as a way to open an office in its fifth country.