Ziff Davis announced it is buying CNET for over $100 million. CNET was originally founded in 1994 and the company went public two years later. Then CBS bought CNET in 2008 for $1.8 billion in a deal to take the company private. Then in 2020, Paramount Global sold CNET to Red Ventures for $500 million.
Red Ventures sold several of CNET Media Groups properties in 2022, including TV Guide, Metacritic, GameSpot and Giant Bomb to Fandom as part of a $50 million deal. Last year, The Verge discovered last year that CNET has been producing a large amount of content using generative AI, but it is unclear whether this will continue under the ownership of Ziff Davis.
Ziff Davis was originally founded in 1927 with an original focus on hobbyist magazines. Ziff Davis’ portfolio of brands include ZDNet, PC Mag, Mashable, IGN, and Lifehacker. Back in July 2000, CNET Networks interestingly bought Ziff-Davis Inc. and ZDNet for $1.6 billion in stock – which was a separate entity from the current Ziff Davis opepration.
The deal for CNET is expected to close in Q3 2023, subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.
In an interview with The New York Times, Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah said: “I have a very clear and optimistic view on content.” And Shah indicated that more M&A deals are expected to come soon.
