Can Bundles, SPACs Finally Give Buzzfeed, Bustle, Vox, Other Digital Publishers A Profitable Exit?

Can Bundles, SPACs Finally Give Buzzfeed, Bustle, Vox, Other Digital Publishers A Profitable Exit?

(Photo by Esra Hacioglu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)



Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Five major digital publishers – Bustle Digital Group, Buzzfeed, Group Nine, Vice Media and Vox Media – reportedly are in talks to merge, possibly with each other, and possibly use SPACs to finally go public.

Such an approach neatly wraps together three hot trends in the media space – bundling media networks, roll-ups and mergers, and the use of so-called blank check corporations – while giving the pioneering sites and their long-suffering investors a realistic shot at a profitable exit after years of financial challenges. CNBC initially reported the talks.

Bryan Goldberg, publisher of female-skewing Bustle Digital Group, told CNBC he's been in conversation with several SPACs about a possible reverse merger that would take public the company and its properties such as Bustle, Mic, and Nylon.



“Of the five of us, I wouldn't be surprised if five turns into three,” Goldberg said. “Maybe it's five to four. I don't think five will turn into one or two. These companies do merge well. They capture a lot of synergy on cost and revenue when they merge.”



Typically,