BuzzFeed to Go Public via $1.5 Billion SPAC Merger

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Updated: Jun 24, 2021, 14:12 UTC

(Reuters) - BuzzFeed Inc will go public through a merger with blank-check company 890 5th Avenue Partners Inc in a deal valuing the online media outlet at $1.5 billion.

Buzzfeed employees work at the company's headquarters in New York

The deal includes a $150 million convertible note financing led by Redwood Capital Management, with participation from institutional investors including CrossingBridge Advisors, Cohanzick Management and Silver Rock Financial LP.

BuzzFeed was valued at $1.7 billion in 2016, when Comcast Corp’s NBCUniversal invested $200 million in the media firm.

Adam Rothstein, co-founder of Israel-based venture capital firm Disruptive Technology Partners, is the executive chairman at 890 5th Avenue Partners, while Emiliano Calemzuk is the chief executive officer.

In November last year, BuzzFeed bought news website HuffPost from Verizon Communications Inc for an undisclosed amount.

BuzzFeed will be listed on a public exchange under the ticker symbol “BZFD”.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Devika Syamnath)

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