BuzzFeed UK will be taken over by Britain's The Independent

In a multi-year licencing agreement, BuzzFeed and British media organisation The Independent will assume management of BuzzFeed's editorial and business activities in the UK and Ireland, the businesses said on Thursday.

BuzzFeed's stock increased by almost 10% to 44 cents after the company last year inked a similar agreement with online media publisher Val Morgan Digital in Australia and New Zealand.

The action was taken more than a month after Reuters, citing a person with knowledge of the situation, revealed the ongoing discussions between the media companies.

As part of the agreement, some thirty employees from BuzzFeed would join The Independent, an Independent representative said in an email statement to Reuters.

Both businesses, however, declined to disclose the deal's financial details.

BuzzFeed may benefit from the agreement with The Independent as it struggles with dwindling income from content and advertising. Revenue for the fourth quarter fell by 26% to $75.7 million.

Furthermore, in order to survive in an unpredictable market, big media companies like the Los Angeles Times and Business Insider have had to lay off employees.

Jonah Peretti and John Johnson launched BuzzFeed in 2006; the company closed its news division in April of last year. In 2021, BuzzFeed went public through a blank-check merger.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)