Penske Media Corp. has acquired the Vox Media portfolio of digital brands, including high-profile news and lifestyle hubs Eater, The Verge, SB Nation, Popsugar, The Dodo, Punch and Thrillist as well as Vox Studios and Vox Creative.
The pact makes PMC‘s the world’s largest digital publisher. The parent company of Variety, Rolling Stone, Deadline, Billboard, WWD, The Hollywood Reporter and many other publishing brands has created a subsidiary, PMX, to house PMC’s publishing portfolio. Ryan Pauley, who has been president of Vox Media, will join PMC as president of PMX Global.
The deal follows the sale last month of New York magazine, Vox.com and the Vox Media Podcast Network to James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems for a reported price tag of more than $300 million. Financial terms of the PMC-Vox Media pact weren’t disclosed.
PMC’s acquisition of the Vox Media brands creates a formidable digital content platform spanning entertainment, music, sports and technology, fashion, beauty, food, art and luxury. PMX assets reach hundreds of millions of consumers every month, and its labels produce more than 300 live events per year. The brands will continue to operate autonomously under the PMX umbrella, including the new additions from Vox. PMC was already the largest shareholder in Vox before the acquisition agreement.
