The 6 Most Important Media Mergers of 2021

Billions of dollars, millions of readers and thousands of journalists sloshed about this year, as market demands pushed publishers to further consolidate into an ever-shrinking cohort of growing media behemoths. On the heels of one of the most disruptive periods in media history, publishers entered 2021 with a mind to merge, and the year that followed found itself stuffed with historic M&A activity. Below are the six most important tie-ups, listed in chronological order. Future plc. acquires Marie Claire (U.S.) (May 11, price unknown) It is a sign of the size of Future that its May acquisition of Marie Claire (U.S.) was not even its biggest of the year––that honor goes to its August purchase of 12 titles from Dennis for $416 million. Instead, its May acquisition makes the list because it signals the growing, and distinctly American, ambitions of the U.K.-based publishing titan. Future is not alone in its desire to expand to U.S. soil: the Financial Times and The Guardian have also signaled as much. But compared to its more pedigreed peers, Dennis, despite its reach of 400 million monthly visitors, remains a relatively unknown name to many U.S. readers. 7 Publishers on What’s in Store for 2022 With its acquisition of Marie Claire, the publishing giant began its efforts to change that. Key takeaway: Future plc. eyes U.S. audiences. Alden Global Capital acquires Tribune Publishing (May 24, $633 million) The decomposition of local news in the U.S. has been a slow, inexorable one, but the May acquisition of Tribune Publishing by the vulture capital firm Alden Global Capital added fresh sting to a long-suffering wound. The purchase signaled that Tribune Publishing was effectively taking itself out of the game; unlike others of its ilk, like Gannett, which has undertaken steps to revamp itself, Tribune Publishing would be bowing out of the digital media contest. Its hunger apparently unsated, Alden in recent weeks has turned its eye toward Lee Enterprises, the third-largest newspaper chain in the country and another aging enterprise quickly approaching its own make-or-break moment. Key takeaway: Local news remains an unanswered question. BuzzFeed acquires Complex Media (June 24, $300 million) Prior to its entry into the public markets, BuzzFeed needed to bulk up its audience size and announced a series of acquisitions designed to help it do so. In November 2020 it ate HuffPost, and in June it signed a deal to ingest Complex Media as part of its eventual December debut into the public market. The acquisition of Complex Media garnered less coverage than the eventual SPAC, but the deal helped buttress a key BuzzFeed claim: that its commerce capabilities could act as a much-needed source of revenue. Whether that potential will translate into reality remains to be seen. Key takeaway: BuzzFeed is a test case for commerce. Axel Springer acquires Politico (Aug. 26, $1 billion) Like Future plc., the German publisher Axel Springer has its eye on the U.S. market, and its August acquisition of Politico added teeth to those ambitions. Combined with its existing titles Insider and Morning Brew, Politico gives Axel Springer depth in the crucial, lucrative industry of American politics. The tie-up was not without theater: Reporting from The Times shined a scandalous light on the Axel Springer leadership, and some of the German sensibilities of the publishing giant––specifically its attitudes toward labor unions and the state of Israel––might not sit comfortably with its new U.S. outpost. The coming year will reveal how well the graft receives the host. Key takeaway: Axel Springer is a major U.S. media company. Dotdash acquires Meredith (Oct. 6, $2.7 billion) In terms of sheer volume and price, no deal outshone the October acquisition of Meredith Corp. by Dotdash: The resulting company now reaches more monthly visitors than any other publisher in the country. It also offers a tidy narrative thread: the merging of legacy titles with nouveau technologies. Dotdash Meredith, as it is now known, will be a titan of advertising, a sprawling armada of high-intent digital destinations and loyal readerships. But with no plans for digital subscriptions in place, and a mountain of merger scrum to sort out, all eyes will be on CEO Neil Vogel. Key takeaway: Publishers are seeking scale. Vox Media merges with Group Nine Media (Dec. 13, stock deal) Just in time for the holidays, Vox Media and Group Nine Media came together to give themselves the greatest gift of all: a fighting chance in the cutthroat world of digital publishing. Like Dotdash Meredith, the new Vox Media results chiefly from a need for publishers to achieve scale ahead of cookie deprecation and in the face of ballooning platform growth. But some key questions remain, most notably: What will happen to the Group Nine Media SPAC? And what will its digital media peers, BDG and Vice Media, do next year to respond? Key takeaway: Further consolidation is coming.

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The 6 Most Important Media Mergers of 2021

In a year of acquisitions, these are the ones to watch

Future plc. acquires Marie Claire (U.S.)

Mark Stenberg

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Future plc. acquires Marie Claire (U.S.)

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Mark Stenberg