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☆ BuzzFeed sells Complex Networks for less than half of what it paid and slashes 16% of staff
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“This is also an opportunity to unlock greater value for the Complex brand by combining it with NTWRK’s expansive, commerce-driven business.”The uniting of NTWRK and Complex is, indeed, something of a natural marriage. NTWRK serves as a marketplace for many of the items that Complex covers, such as sneakers. BuzzFeed has been something of an avatar for such struggles among digital publishers. In April, BuzzFeed shut down BuzzFeed News, its award-winning news division that once boasted hundreds of employees and bureaus around the world. Reuters reported last week that The Independent is in talks to take control of the company’s UK operations.

Persons: BuzzFeed, Jonah Peretti, ”, Peretti, NTWRK, ” Peretti, Jimmy Iovine, Goldman Sachs, TikTok Organizations: New, New York CNN, Networks, Digital, New York Times, CNN, Reuters, ”, Universal Music Group, Main Street Advisors, Universal Locations: New York

☆ BuzzFeed in Advanced Talks to Sell Complex, Backtracking on Digital Media Bet
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BuzzFeed is in advanced talks to sell Complex Networks, the streetwise digital media company behind the popular ComplexCon cultural festival, at less than half the price it paid for the company two years ago, a sign of the industrywide troubles afflicting digital media. BuzzFeed paid about $300 million for Complex in 2021. Buzzfeed is planning to keep First We Feast, the division of Complex responsible for the popular “Hot Ones” interview franchise, after the transaction, one of the people said. When BuzzFeed went public two years ago, it made Complex a centerpiece of its pitch to investors. Complex was reliably profitable, a milestone that had eluded many in the digital media industry, and its portfolio of brands seemed a natural fit for BuzzFeed’s focus on young audiences.

Persons: BuzzFeed, Buzzfeed Organizations: Networks, LiveNation Entertainment, Main Street Advisors, YouTube

☆ Read the 16-page pitch deck that 'Million Dollar Listing' star Josh Flagg and his cofounders used to raise $1.7 million for their real estate media startup
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Celebrity real estate agent Josh Flagg, media exec Griff O'Brien, and investor Andrew Shanfeld have teamed up to launch Estate Media, a personality-driven media company. Real estate has become a huge pop culture topic, aided by reality TV series like "Selling Sunset" and the "Million Dollar Listing" franchise. The company will offer content created with a network of real estate personalities who, Estate Media said, reach a collective 25 million followers. While the real estate industry has come down from its pandemic frenzy, O'Brien believes Estate Media can ride ups and downs in the market. Scroll down to see the deck Estate Media used to raise its seed round.

Persons: Josh Flagg, Griff O'Brien, Andrew Shanfeld, O'Brien, Flagg, Shanfeld, Jack Davis, Chip, Joanna Gaines —, There's, Margot Ettedgui, TikToker Aaron Grushow, Robert Rivani, Glennda Baker, Ricky Carruth, Adam Weitsman, Chris Heller, Rich Antoniello, Austin Rief, Devin Emery, Brian Goldsmith, Ricky Van Veen, Justin Killion, Spence Markel Organizations: Estate Media, Entertainment, Crypt, HGTV, Los Angeles, Estate, Ojo Labs, Complex Networks, Austin, Morning, Growth Partners, Powerhouse Capital, CollegeHumor

☆ Dave Clark's Flexport just bought an e-commerce fulfillment company — but the ex-Amazon leader says it will be like 'an extension of the Amazon network' for online sellers, not a competitor
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The acquisition includes Deliverr, an e-commerce fulfillment company Shopify acquired last year. Dave Clark's getting back into the e-commerce fulfillment game, but this time it's different, he told Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business Thursday. Deliverr's core business is e-commerce fulfillment which covers inventory storage, picking and packing, and handing off to delivery companies for online orders. The Amazon comparison points to Fulfillment By Amazon, the company's fulfillment service for sellers. "If you look at who they brought over from Amazon, it's all the people that built domestic transportation at Amazon," said Derek Lossing, an Amazon Logistics alum-turned-investment advisor with Cirrus Global Advisors.

☆ LeBron James' SpringHill is circling Complex Networks as owner BuzzFeed struggles to regroup after layoffs and a stock price plunge
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

LeBron James and Maverick Carter's SpringHill has had conversations about buying BuzzFeed's Complex Networks, sources said. SpringHill Co., LeBron James and Maverick Carter's media and entertainment venture, has explored buying troubled BuzzFeed's Complex Networks, two sources familiar with the situation said. In addition to Complex Networks, BuzzFeed has HuffPost; food vertical Tasty, which includes licensed cooking products; as well as video series like travel-themed "Bring Me." Complex built long-form, host-driven video series like "Hot Ones" and "Sneaker Shopping" into high-profile brands in their own right. SpringHill Co. is a rollup including SpringHill Entertainment, which Carter founded with LeBron James, his childhood friend.

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Uber wants to predict your habits, Apple and Google team up, and Lebron James eyes Complex Networks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

And minting it could be a solution to avert a major economic catastrophe (here's an explanation of the looming disaster, by the way). This average-looking coin could prevent job losses, steep cuts to retirement savings, and other major financial blows. Shopify employees and experts brace for shakeup. Multiple sources told Insider that his company, SpringHill Co., has internally discussed offering around $100 million to buy Complex from Buzzfeed. Google tells employees to limit publishing AI research.

☆ BuzzFeed is shutting down its news arm and parting with 2 top executives
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

BuzzFeed News is shutting down as part of broader cuts at BuzzFeed that sent its stock price tumbling. The digital media company has struggled financially since its 2021 IPO. BuzzFeed is shutting down BuzzFeed News along with making layoffs of 15% in divisions across the organization, according to a memo shared with Insider. Two top BuzzFeed execs, Christian Baesler, COO, and Edgar Hernandez, CRO, are leaving the company as well. A handful of top execs from BuzzFeed's Complex Networks left as part of that round, including Complex's president, Justin Killion.

BuzzFeed wasn't the only digital media company to announce layoffs Thursday. Miller added that going public is probably not the best strategy for digital media companies like Buzzfeed. The news comes during a tough period for digital media companies as publishers are cutting staff as advertisers reduce spending. BuzzFeed will lay off 15% of staff and shut down its news unit, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti wrote in an email to staff Thursday. The digital media company scaled back its news operation in an attempt to make BuzzFeed News profitable, resulting in the departure of several editors.

☆ BuzzFeed's $300M purchase of Complex promised to grow both brands, but insiders say strategies have clashed and Complex's culture is being 'completely gutted'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Complex insiders worry that the cuts threaten their brand's culture and future. Clashing video strategies as some fear Complex culture is being 'completely gutted'Kevin Hart appeared on Complex's "Hot Ones" series. Before joining with BuzzFeed, Complex's then-CEO Rich Antoniello had conversations with Vice Media and Vox Media. But Complex insiders felt especially aggrieved when, this fall, BuzzFeed announced a global expansion for ComplexCon. To Complex insiders, BuzzFeed's plan to take the event to Australia, Europe, and Asia simultaneously was unrealistic and under-resourced.

☆ Complex insiders say owner BuzzFeed has shed key talent, failed to invest in core content, and threatens to dilute the hip culture brand: 'The BuzzFeed ethos does not get it'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Clashing video strategies as some fear Complex culture is being 'completely gutted'Kevin Hart appeared on Complex's "Hot Ones" series. Before joining with BuzzFeed, Complex's then-CEO Rich Antoniello had conversations with Vice Media and Vox Media. Rubbing salt in the wound, Complex insiders said they felt their brand was scrappier and more culturally relevant than BuzzFeed, which many consider past its prime. But Complex insiders felt especially aggrieved when, this fall, BuzzFeed announced a global expansion for ComplexCon. To Complex insiders, BuzzFeed's plan to take the event to Australia, Europe, and Asia simultaneously was unrealistic and under-resourced.

☆ BuzzFeed Plans to Cut 12% of Workforce as Challenges Mount
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Alexandra Bruell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BuzzFeed Inc. plans to cut about 12% of its workforce as a result of worsening economic conditions and challenges in the digital-media business, the company said in a securities filing Tuesday. The cuts will impact just under 180 employees primarily across sales, tech, studio production and BuzzFeed .com, as well as Complex Networks, according to a person familiar with the matter. BuzzFeed News and HuffPost won’t be affected.

☆ BuzzFeed to cut 12% of its workforce
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Stefan Sykes | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The BuzzFeed website on a smartphone arranged in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021. BuzzFeed on Tuesday announced plans to cut its workforce by nearly 12%, or around 180 staffers. The company expects to cut most of the jobs by the end of the first quarter. Last year, BuzzFeed went public via a special purpose acquisition vehicle, and shares fell nearly 40% in their first week of trading. Peretti said Tuesday that he wants the company to invest "in areas that will drive growth" and build "a more robust creator business."

☆ California tries to harness megastorm floods to ease crippling droughts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Sharon Bernstein | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] The dried out Arroyo Pasajero Creek is seen alongside an aqueduct in Huron, California, U.S. on October 25, 2022. Outside the United States, countries including India are also beginning to increase the use of recharge ponds to store water in natural or human-made aquifers. While the idea of storing water underground is not new, a recent California law regulating groundwater use has spurred a spate of projects that the state is helping to fund. The new pond, on about 20 acres of former farmland , will help to guide water underground to store it for residents as well as agriculture. Since then the state's population has nearly doubled to 40 million residents.

Ukraine has accused Russia of deploying missiles made by MMZ Avangard against ground targets since Russia launched what it terms its "special operation" on Feb. 24. "Extreme equipment is used on Russian warships," the complaint said, "in communications systems." "It was necessary to use a cover because the Russian company is blacklisted in the U.S.," one of the people familiar with the shipments said. The executive said he had never heard of Extreme or of DEMZ buying Extreme equipment for itself or on behalf of others. Like MMZ Avangard, United Shipbuilding has been listed as a "blocked" entity by the U.S. Treasury since July 2014.

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