- Vice Media has announced that it has acquired Refinery29. The terms of the deal were undisclosed, but it was rumored to be for $400 million.
Vice Media announced it has acquired Refinery29, a digital media company that is tailored towards millennial women. The terms of the deal were undisclosed, but rumor has it that the deal was valued at $400 million in mostly stock with some cash, according to The New York Times.
The deal was officially signed on Tuesday in New York by Vice Media CEO Nancy Dubuc and Refinery29 co-CEO’s Justin Stefano and Philippe von Borries.
Prior to the acquisition, Refinery29 raised over $120 million in funding and the company hit more than $100 million in revenue last year.
Vice is hoping that this acquisition will help drive a goal towards profitability. Going forward, Refinery29 will retain its brand within the Vice Media Group portfolio.
Guggenheim Securities, LLC served as financial adviser and Shearman & Sterling LLP as legal adviser to Vice. And Allen & Company LLC and The Raine Group served as financial advisers and Gunderson Dettmer as legal adviser to Refinery29.
“Vice Media’s previous employee base had an equal gender split. Now, with the addition of Refinery29, Vice Media Group will have a workforce that is majority women,” said the company in a statement.
Vice will enable Refinery29 to scale internationally. Currently, Vice generates 50% of its revenue globally.
For the first half of this year, Vice saw its best revenue performance in company history as it was up more than 14% year-over-year due to its branded content and licensing studio.
This is the second major media deal announced within the last couple of weeks. Last week, Vox Media acquired New York Media (parent company of New York magazine) in an all-stock transaction.
Vice originally started out as a free punk magazine based out of Montreal in 1994. And then it eventually pivoted to focus on global news with a number of popular field pieces and a TV show. Some of Vice’s investors include the Walt Disney Company, 21st Century Fox, and TPG. And Refinery29 is backed by Turner Group and Discovery.
