Digital Shakeup: Vox Media and Group Nine Media Reportedly in Advanced Merger Talks

Vox Media Chief Executive Jim Bankoff. Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for TechCrunch

In major news for the digital media landscape, Vox Media and Group Nine Media, Inc. are reportedly in advanced merger talks.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the two digital powerhouses are negotiating an all-stock transaction, in which Vox Media would secure a 75 percent to 25 percent split with Group Nine Media in a combined company.

Sources told the Journal that the combined company, expect to be led by Vox Media Chief Executive Jim Bankoff, would generate some $800 million in revenue and profit shares in 2022.

Group Nine Media’s top publications are viral-video content brand NowThis, lifestyle brand Thrillist, and the Dodo – an animal-based content brand.

Vox Media’s main publication is news website Vox.com, sports site SB Nation, and the tech site The Verge. The Journal noted that the two brands each grew some 30 percent in revenue in the last year.