NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BuzzFeed, Inc. (Nasdaq: BZFD) today announced the closing of its sale of First We Feast to a consortium led by an affiliate of Soros Fund Management LLC in an $82.5 million all-cash deal. The proceeds of the transaction combined with a partial prepayment of the Company’s outstanding convertible notes has the Company operating with a cash balance that exceeds its remaining debt. Refer to the Company’s 8-K filed with the SEC on December 12, 2024 for additional details.
The divestiture of First We Feast completes the Company’s strategic shift away from lower-margin content products, allowing for a greater focus on high-margin, tech-enabled revenue lines: programmatic advertising and affiliate commerce.
“The sale of First We Feast and continued reduction of our convertible debt marks an important step in BuzzFeed, Inc.’s strategic transformation into a media company positioned to fully benefit from the ongoing AI revolution,” said BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti. “In the coming years, we will continue to invest in our most scalable and tech enabled services, launching new AI-powered interactive experiences, and delivering for our loyal audience and business partners.”
During the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company concluded that First We Feast was classified as a held for sale asset and met the criteria for discontinued operations in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Therefore, the performance of First We Feast will be presented as a discontinued operation within our financial results.
Today the Company also issued guidance for the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2024 on a continuing operations basis, which excludes expected fourth quarter contributions from First We Feast.
- Fourth quarter revenues on a continuing operations basis are expected to be in the range of $54 million to $58 million.
- Fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA1 on a continuing operations basis is now expected to be in the range of $4 million to $9 million.
“As we close out 2024, we are poised to deliver year-over-year growth in Programmatic Advertising and Affiliate Commerce combined revenue for the third consecutive quarter,” said Matt Omer, CFO of BuzzFeed, Inc. “Our focus on these high-margin businesses has also positioned us to drive significant improvement in Adjusted EBITDA profitability this year, with Adjusted EBITDA expected to grow by $12.7 million at the midpoint versus 2023 — and that’s without one full quarter of the $23 million of annualized compensation savings implemented in Q1 2024.”
“We now have removed more than $150 million of debt since December 31, 2023 and enter 2025 with a stronger balance sheet, so that we can focus on growth and driving expanded profitability.”
The Company acquired “First We Feast” as a part of “Complex Networks” in December 2021 for approximately $198 million in cash and 2.5 million split-adjusted shares of equity. “Complex” was sold to NTWRK earlier this year for $108.6 million plus $5.7 million in related fees received from NTWRK.
The Company plans to release its fourth quarter and full year 2024 financial results on March 13, 2025, after the market closes. BuzzFeed, Inc. Founder and CEO Jonah Peretti and CFO Matt Omer will host a conference call to discuss the results at 5:00 PM ET.
The financial results conference call will be available via webcast at investors.buzzfeed.com under the heading News and Events. A replay will be made available at the same URL. To participate in the conference call, interested parties must register in advance.
UBS Investment Bank served as the exclusive financial advisor to BuzzFeed, Inc. on the transaction. Freshfields US LLP served as external legal counsel to BuzzFeed, Inc.
About BuzzFeed, Inc.
BuzzFeed, Inc. is home to the best of the Internet. Across pop culture, entertainment, shopping, food and news, our brands drive conversation and inspire what audiences watch, read, and buy now — and into the future. Born on the Internet in 2006, BuzzFeed is committed to making it better: providing trusted, quality, brand-safe news and entertainment to hundreds of millions of people; making content on the Internet more inclusive, empathetic, and creative; and inspiring our audience to live better lives.
