Univision finds a buyer for its English-language websites The Onion and Gizmodo – By Rene Rodriguez (Miami Herald) / April 8 2019
Univision Communications is officially out of the English-language website business.
The Spanish-language TV giant has found a buyer for Gizmodo Media Group (GMG), a suite of English-language websites that include The AV Club, Jezebel and The Root, along with its majority stake in the humor website The Onion.
The assets were put on the market in July 2018 as part of Univision’s refocus on its traditional U.S. Hispanic viewers.
The buyer was Great Hill Partners, a private equity firm based in Boston. Details of the transaction, including the sales price, were not disclosed.
Univision acquired a majority stake in The Onion in 2016 and paid $135 million for Gizmodo Media to launch Fusion Media Group, a multi-platform, bilingual endeavor intended to attract U.S. millennials through a combination of hard news, political coverage and entertainment.
But the ambitious experiment fizzled, resulting in massive layoffs and the cancellation of an IPO offering Univision had been planning for years. Univision’s TV studios are based in Doral.
“Today’s announcement is the culmination of a very thorough process, as part of Univision’s broader strategic realignment and return to its core strengths in Hispanic media and marketing,” said Vince Sadusky, Chief Executive Officer of Univision, in a statement.
“Our aim from the outset of this process was to sell these assets as one, and we are pleased to have found a terrific buyer in Great Hill Partners that is committed to growing these properties. We are grateful to our colleagues at GMG and The Onion for all of their high-quality journalism and achievements as part of our company and we wish them and Great Hill Partners tremendous success.”
Under its new owners, The Onion and GMG will be combined into a new company called G/O Media Inc., which will operate as independent assets within the Great Hill Partners portfolio.
“This opportunity comes at a time when the entire digital media category is beginning to be recognized again for its unique ability to meet the diverse content and delivery needs of consumers and advertisers,” said Jim Spanfeller, who will lead G/O Media Inc.
“As the largest player in our space, G/O Media is in an ideal position to capitalize on this dynamic, and I am excited to collaborate with a great team that boasts an incredible track record to further expand our reach, add value to our advertisers and enrich our visitors’ lives,” Spanfeller said.
Spanfeller previously founded the Spanfeller Media Group in 2010. That company, which operates websites dedicated to food and outdoor sports, was acquired by Tribune Publishing in 2016.
According to Univision’s fourth quarter 2018 report, total revenue decreased 8.9 %, from $755.5 million to $$688.5 million over the same period in 2017. Total core revenue fell 8.7%, from $721.5 million to $659 million.
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