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Vox Media, one of the preeminent editorial roll-ups of the last decade, is expected to unwind parts of its portfolio in the coming months via a combination of sales, spin-offs, and divestitures, according to five people familiar with the company and its finances.
The house of brands, which was assembled through a series of acquisitions since its founding in 2011, now appears poised to disassemble in a similarly incremental fashion.
Since the pandemic, the value of Vox Media has been shrinking faster than its constituent elements can be optimized, according to three of the people.
That reality spurred chief executive Jim Bankoff to begin exploring potential exit strategies for the company several years ago. The $100 million investment Vox Media received from Penske Media Company in 2023, widely interpreted inside the company as a prelude to acquisition rather than a vote of confidence, has only accelerated the expectation.
“The value that these businesses once held is shrinking,” said one person close to the business. “It’s harder to compete now than ever. It doesn’t feel like it is getting more valuable.”
Vox Media declined to comment on the record.
The Vox Media hierarchy
Across its portfolio, Vox Media generates revenues of between $400 million and $500 million, according to three people with visibility into its finances.
Two sources pegged the figure as closer to $400 million, while another said $500 million is plausible only with podcasts folded in. Either way, the sum is meaningfully lower than the roughly $600 million figure that The Information reported in 2023.
One of the primary catalysts driving Vox Media to sell is the rapid decline in traffic across its portfolio. According to one source, readership to its lifestyle brands has fallen roughly 50%. That drop arrived “faster than anyone expected,” they added.
This downward pressure has long motivated efforts to sell, but finding a single suitor for the entire portfolio, whose coverage ranges from sports to dining to technology, has proven next to impossible. Few strategic buyers would benefit from absorbing such a heterogenous mix of titles.
Meanwhile, financial buyers like private equity firms, which are struggling with broader macroeconomic factors and increasingly uninterested in the meager returns of digital media, have grown far more selective in their shopping.