Vice and BuzzFeed are each looking to go public through a deal with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, according to a report from The Information on Tuesday morning. Both deals, according to the report, are “likely” to come in below what the outlets have previously been valued at.
A rep for BuzzFeed declined to comment, while a rep for Vice did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Vice is currently talking to “at least” two SPACs, per The Information, with one of the offers at about $2.5 billion — or about 56% less than Vice’s peak valuation of $5.7 billion back in 2017. BuzzFeed, meanwhile, is discussing a deal with 890 Fifth Avenue Partners priced “a little below” BuzzFeed’s peak valuation of $1.7 billion, the report added.
Earlier this year, 890 Fifth Avenue Partners raised $250 million when it started trading on Nasdaq. The blank check company is led by executive chairman Adam Rothstein, who is a co-founder and general partner of Disruptive Technology Partners, a tech and media-focused investment firm, and CEO Emiliano Calemzuk, who is currently serving as lead independent director at MercadoLibre. The Information’s report aligns with 890’s stated plans of targeting a business in the tech and/or media space for between $750 million and $2 billion.
For more details on tech and media-focused SPACs, check out TheWrap’s recent report on 10 blank-check companies to keep an eye on.