BuzzFeed buys HuffPost in a stock deal with Verizon Media

Two firms will syndicate content on each others platforms

BuzzFeed has bought its digital media rival HuffPost in a stock deal with Verizon Media.

The purchase is part of a wider deal between BuzzFeed and Verizon Media, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The two companies will reportedly explore joint advertising opportunities and syndicate content on each others platforms.

Verizon Media will get a minority stake in BuzzFeed and also make a cash investment in the company.

BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti will reportedly run the newly combined media company.

In a joint statement, the companies said BuzzFeed and HuffPost have complementary audiences and will benefit from greater scale.

“We’re excited about our partnership with Verizon Media, and mutual benefits that will come from syndicating content across each other’s properties, collaborating on innovative ad products and the future of commerce, and tapping into the strength and creativity of Verizon Media Immersive,” said Mr Peretti.

BuzzFeed will carry out the search for a new editor-in-chief for HuffPost, which was launched by Arianna Huffington in 2005, and was known as the Huffington Post until 2017.

Mr Peretti began his career at the HuffPost under Ms Huffington, according to the New York Times.

The Huffington Post was sold to AOL in 2011 for $315m, and  mobile phone network Verizon acquired it when it bought AOL for $4.4bn in 2015.