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Following the Wednesday sale of New York Magazine, the Vox Media Podcast Network, and Vox to James Murdoch for $300 million, a key question remained unanswered: What about the rest of the brands?
The leftover titles, referred to internally as Remain Co., include the heavyweights Eater, The Verge, and SB Nation, as well as Popsugar and The Dodo. The group will be led by Ryan Pauley, previously the president of Vox Media, who is ostensibly tasked with finding a name for the newly independent company.
Officially, Vox Media has no plans to separate the brands that make up Remain Co., according to a note from CEO Jim Bankoff, who will lead New York Magazine, the VMPN, and Vox under Murdoch.
“Each [brand] will continue under its current leadership,” he wrote in a statement, “and [Pauley] will keep working closely with those leaders to deliver on every brand’s individual strategy.”
In reality, the brands are likely on their way to finding new homes, according to people familiar with the matter. In particular, Penske Media is likely to play a role in their future, as it already has a 20% stake in the business resulting from a 2023 investment.
The company, helmed by billionaire recluse Jay Penske, is likely to acquire one or more of the remaining brands, according to analysts and company insiders.
None of the assets slot perfectly into the PMC portfolio, which consists largely of Hollywood trade publications and their related events. But Popsugar, a women’s lifestyle brand with a strong social footprint, could make for a tidy addition to She Media, a network of lifestyle brands within PMC.
PMC did not respond to a request for comment. Vox Media declined to comment.
The other titles would make for awkward additions to the PMC family, as Eater, SB Nation, The Verge, and The Dodo would all be verticals of one, effectively.
