Univision Seeking to Sell Minority Stake in Fusion Media Group
Univision Communications may be looking to spin off Fusion Media Group — its digital-centric unit that includes the six Gawker Media websites it acquired last year — as it approaches prospective investors about taking a minority stake in the venture, Variety has confirmed.
Univision is seeking up to $200 million from investors to take a minority stake in FMG, per a report from Recode, which first broke the news.
Univision declined to explicitly confirm that it’s looking for outside investors for Fusion Media Group. “FMG is an important and growing part of our portfolio and we are committed to positioning it for continued success,” a rep said in a statement.
Univision created the Fusion Media Group in April 2016, after Disney exited the Fusion cable and digital-media joint venture in April 2016.
FMG’s Gizmodo Media Group brands are Gizmodo, Deadspin, TrackRecord, Lifehacker, Jezebel, Splinter, The Root, Kotaku, and Jalopnik. In addition, the Fusion Media Group includes the operations of Univision.com as well as the company’s interest in the Onion, Clickhole and The A.V. Club. FMG includes two cable networks — Fusion TV, a news and lifestyle English-language network, and Univision’s interest in El Rey Network — and a production studio.
However, Univision’s purchase of the Gawker assets in a bankruptcy auction for $135 million (which didn’t include the now-defunct Gawker.com) hasn’t resulted in substantial revenue growth at this point.
For the third quarter of 2017, Univision said core digital advertising revenue for the period was $34.4 million, down 0.3% year over year on a pro-forma basis. For the first nine month of 2017, core digital ad sales were $95.6 million, up 2.9% year over year on a pro-forma basis.
FMG’s collection of digital sites have over 110 million unique visitors monthly — well more than BuzzFeed, Vice Media, or Vox Media, according to comScore.
Fusion Media Group is headed by Isaac Lee, who also is Univision Communications’ chief news, entertainment and digital officer.
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