Home » Axios to sell itself to Cox Enterprises for $525 million

Axios to sell itself to Cox Enterprises for $525 million

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Jim VandeHei, Co-Founder and CEO of Axios speaks on the 2022 Milken Institute World Convention in Beverly Hills, California, Could 3, 2022.

Mike Blake | Reuters

Axios is being acquired by Cox Enterprises, the businesses stated Monday, with plans to develop the digital information web site’s protection to incorporate extra cities.

The deal values Axios at $525 million, in response to individuals conversant in the matter, who requested to not be named as a result of monetary phrases of the deal weren’t disclosed. Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz will stay on the corporate’s board and proceed to handle its day-to-day operations, the businesses stated in a launch. Alex Taylor, the CEO and chair of Cox Enterprises, will be a part of the Axios board.

Cox, which is privately held in and primarily based in Atlanta, had beforehand invested in Axios in fall 2021. The corporate ramped up talks to purchase Axios a number of months in the past, intrigued by the corporate’s push into native journalism, VandeHei stated in an interview. Axios, which focuses closely on politics and enterprise information, launched in 2017 and affords native protection of cities that embody Austin, Texas, Boston and Seattle, in response to its web site.

“We have been searching for two issues: a purchaser that was authentically dedicated for the very long run to critical media, and somebody who was nice with us being in management for a very long time,” VandeHei stated. “That is not as a result of we’re conceited however as a result of we have now a transparent thoughts about what a very good journalism enterprise appears to be like like.”

Axios by no means employed a banker and solely spoke with Cox a few sale, relatively than soliciting different patrons, stated VandeHei, who described the deal as “good and straightforward,” with talks escalating over the previous few months. Axios had previously held talks to sell to Axel Springer and to merge with The Athletic, which The New York Occasions purchased earlier this 12 months.

That is the second time VandeHei has based a media firm that offered for greater than $500 million. He co-founded Politico, which sold for $1 billion to Axel Springer last year after he had departed for Axios. Allen was Politico’s first rent and Schwartz was Politico’s former chief income officer.

Cox owns cable and automotive companies. It additionally owns The Atlanta Journal Structure, the Dayton Each day Information and different Ohio newspapers, which the corporate stated will proceed to function independently. It offered management over the vast majority of its media assets in 2019 to non-public fairness agency Apollo World Administration.

Axios HQ, the corporate’s software program element, will grow to be a separate entity led by Schwartz, president of Axios.

“We’re enthusiastic about getting into into this new chapter with Cox and the alternatives we will discover with Axios HQ as a separate enterprise,” Schwartz stated.

Disclosure: CNBC guardian firm NBCUniversal invested in Axios.

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