G/O Media, which operates online properties such as Deadspin, Gizmodo and Jezebel, is acquiring online business news site Quartz, marking another move in the consolidating digital-media landscape.
Representatives from G/O Media and Quartz declined to disclose the deal price.
Zach Seward,
the chief executive at Quartz, will stay at the company as its editor in chief. There will be no staff cuts due to the sale, he said in a letter to employees. The Quartz newsroom will remain independent and focused on global business news and analysis, he said.
“Joining a larger firm will provide more resources for our most strapped teams at Quartz and more opportunities for career growth across the new company,” Mr. Seward said in the letter.
The deal is part of a wave of consolidation in media as publishers seek scale to compete with
Alphabet Inc.
’s Google and Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook, while building out new functions such as those focused on e-commerce and licensing.
In the past year, IAC/InterActiveCorp.’s Dotdash acquired magazine giant Meredith, Vox Media acquired Group Nine Media and BuzzFeed Inc. went public via a special-purpose-acquisition company in an effort to raise money to fund deals.
After the Quartz deal, G/O will own 12 publications, including automotive news site Jalopnik, satirical news publication The Onion and Black news and culture site The Root.
The publisher said it attracts 95 million unique monthly visitors. Quartz said it has 10 million monthly visitors.
Founded in 2012 by Atlantic Media, Quartz has had many owners in its decade of existence.
“This is the third time Quartz has been sold,” Mr. Seward said in his letter.
In 2018, Quartz was sold to
Uzabase Inc.
, a Japanese financial intelligence and media firm. Then two years later, Uzabase sold Quartz to Mr. Seward and Editor in Chief Katherine Bell in a management buyout.
In his letter to employees, Mr. Seward said Ms. Bell was leaving her role as editor in chief but would continue to serve as an adviser to Quartz.
“After taking Quartz private in 2020, we had sought to raise money and remain on our own,” Mr. Seward said. “Selling was not the plan, but it became the very best path for Quartz, and for all of you, when we started talking to G/O earlier this year.”
Mr. Seward previously worked for The Wall Street Journal.
Write to Omar Abdel-Baqui at [email protected] and Alexandra Bruell at [email protected]
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Appeared in the April 29, 2022, print edition as ‘Business News Site Quartz Purchased by G/O Media.’
