- Beringer Capital, a Toronto-based private equity firm, announced it acquired a majority stake in Detroit-based Benzinga at a $300 million valuation. These are the details.
Beringer Capital, a Toronto-based private equity firm that specializes in media, marketing services, and the tech sector, announced it acquired a majority stake in Detroit-based Benzinga. Benzinga is known as a tech-enabled financial media platform company that publishes news articles and offers investment analytics.
Founded by Jason Raznick, Benzinga has become one of the most widely used tools by individual investors, which is integrated into every major online brokerage. With the Beringer Capital deal, Benzinga plans to keep its operations and key staff in Detroit. And Raznick will be maintaining a significant ownership stake in the company. The terms of the deal were undisclosed, but Raznick said that the company was valued at $300 million.
Currently, Benzinga has around 150 content contributors. And this includes over 75 full-time employees. Benzinga reported about 25 million readers every month and over 1 million email subscribers. And the company sells the Benzinga Pro service for prices ranging between $99 to $347.
Raznick had started Benzinga in 2010 out the basement of his home in Birmingham, Michigan. Later they moved into a space based out of Southfield before settling into the One Campus Martius building in Detroit. Billionaire entrepreneur and investor Dan Gilbert was an early investor Benzinga.
Earlier this year, Beringer Capital had announced its acquisition of Inman News – an authority on news and insights for the real estate industry. And in 2016, Beringer acquired leading media and events company Adweek.
Benzinga was advised in the deal by Canaccord Genuity.
KEY QUOTES:
“Benzinga is just entering the second inning of what we will build. Partnership with Beringer drastically accelerates the timeline to realize our ambitions of what we can provide investors globally. I call myself the co-founder of Benzinga because I truly believe Benzinga is co-founded everyday by our amazing team of Zingers who are empowered and encouraged to build everyday.”
— Jason Raznick, founder and CEO of Benzinga
“Benzinga was built by being honest and genuine with our users. We are excited to step forward not only hand in hand with Beringer, but also our users.”
— Benzinga’s SVP of revenue Luke Jacobi
“We’re thrilled to partner with Jason and the team at Benzinga, a company at the forefront of trends affecting the next generation of investors. To date, Benzinga has done a remarkable job of differentiating its offerings and building a vibrant, engaged community across its various platforms. We’re looking forward to building on this impressive trajectory, collaborating closely with its team on exciting new offerings that empower more investors to take control of their financial futures.”
— Perry Miele, chair and managing partner at Beringer Capital
