Ziff Davis is shopping for CNET for simply $100 million

Pink Ventures is promoting CNET to Ziff Davis, the digital media and web firm that owns different notable tech publications like Mashable, IGN, and Lifehacker. Ziff Davis’ chief govt, Vivek Shah, confirmed the acquisition to The New York Instances on Tuesday.

Mockingly, again in 2000, it was CNET Networks Inc. that paid $1.6 billion to accumulate the then-tech-publishing-behemoth Ziff-Davis Inc. and its on-line providers firm, ZDNet. A lot has occurred within the final 20 years within the type of divestments and realignments that right now’s inverted buy isn’t as ouroboric because it may appear. In 2020, Red Ventures acquired CNET together with just a few different smaller properties for $500 million.

Whereas an official determine hasn’t been introduced, Ziff Davis reportedly paid “greater than $100 million for CNET” in keeping with the Instances’ sources — a fraction of the $1.8 billion it was valued at when CBS acquired the corporate in 2008. In January, Axios reported that Pink Ventures was buying CNET round for a purchaser.

CNET has struggled with its picture of late. Investigations by The Verge and Futurism in 2023 discovered that the web site was utilizing generative AI to supply a few of its articles. Turmoil and layoffs adopted, however that hasn’t dissuaded Ziff Davis from the acquisition. In keeping with the Instances, Shah needs CNET as a result of it’s a “well-known business model” and nonetheless has an viewers that’s giant sufficient to be engaging to tech advertisers. “I’ve a really clear and optimistic view on content material,” stated Shah. The chief makes no point out of how AI may issue into CNET’s future publishing technique.