Digital Publishing
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BuzzFeed to go public in 2018?

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Long-swirling rumors of an eventual IPO for BuzzFeed gained credence last week when Axios’ Mike Allen reported that the company is planning to go public sometime in 2018.

In doing so, BuzzFeed would become the first digitally native news organization in its weight class (Vox Media, Vice, Gizmodo Media Group, Group Nine Media) to go public.

The Wall Street Journal and Recode both previously reported BuzzFeed planned to go public in 2018.

Allen, who credits his scoop to “industry sources” notes that BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti has rebuffed buyout offers before and has planned to take the company public for some time.

One such offer came in 2013, when Disney reportedly made an offer to buy BuzzFeed for $500 million. The deal ultimately disintegrated after Peretti reconsidered his position and opted to run the company on his own, Recode reported.

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