Media company Axel Springer agreed yesterday to acquire a stake in US-based digital media company Thrillist as part of a deal that will involve Thrillist splitting from sister company JackThreads.
Thrillist and e-commerce company JackThreads will split into separate companies with a total of $54m in funding, Re/code reported yesterday. Axel Springer is investing an undisclosed amount in Thrillist while Oak Investment Partners and SBNY are funding JackThreads.
Ben Lerer, CEO of Thrillist, explained to Re/code: “At a certain point, these businesses have each become living, breathing creatures, and to share a source of food is not the most productive.”
Founded in 2005, Thrillist operates a lifestyle site, along with a mobile app and daily newsletter, which is focused on men in the 18-34 age range. It received funding in 2005 from Pilot Group, which sold a portion of its stock in the latest transaction.
Thrillist will use the cash to expand its video programming and events business, and expand beyond the 35 cities in which it has local editions. JackThreads, a clothing flash sale business originally acquired by Thrillist in 2010, will operate separately with a new CEO.
Mathias Doepfner, CEO of Axel Springer, said, “The investment in Thrillist is a further step we are taking to expand our global footprint as a digital publisher, especially in English-language markets. Thrillist has become a first choice, particularly among millennial men.”