It’s a done deal: James Murdoch‘s Lupa Systems has acquired New York magazine, the Vox Media Podcast Network and Vox.
Notably, Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff will also join New York and Vox within the new company, which will take the name Vox Media. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but The New York Times pegged the value at more than $300 million.
The deal gives Murdoch control over the prominent magazine, which includes sub-brands like The Cut, Vulture, Intelligencer, The Strategist, Curbed, and Grub Street, as well as Vox.com, which originated the explainer news format, and produces popular shows like Today, Explained. The podcast networks includes shows like Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, Criminal, and Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel.
Murdoch’s father, Rupert Murdoch, also once owned New York, though he sold it in 1991.
“This acquisition aligns well with our existing holdings and investments and reflects both our interest in the forward edge of culture and our deep commitment to ambitious journalism and agenda-setting conversations,” said Murdoch in a statement. “It will allow us to apply new tools across the businesses we are building, adding substantial production, distribution, and editorial capability to our group.”
Eater, Popsugar, SB Nation, The Dodo, and The Verge are not included in the transaction. it is not immediately clear what will happen with those media brands. Ryan Pauley will lead the RemainCo.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with James and Lupa Systems. Each one of these Vox Media divisions is marked by its strong relevance with audiences, its commitment to quality, and its enormous growth potential,” Bankoff said. “We are incredibly proud to have built and scaled several of the leading media properties of this generation. Together under Lupa’s stewardship we are primed to be the best home for talent and the most dynamic media company of this new era.”
Murdoch of course settled a long-running family dispute last fall over control of the family’s media assets Fox Corp. and News Corp. The settlement left Lachlan Murdoch firmly in control of those assets, with James Murdoch, Elisabeth Murdoch and Prudence MacLeod each receiving around $1.1 billion.
Despite the family’s association with conservative politics, James does not necessarily share the same views. In fact, in 2020 he resigned from the board of News Corp., writing in a letter that “my resignation is due to disagreements over certain editorial content published by the Company’s news outlets and certain other strategic decisions.”
Lupa Systems also owns MCH Group’s Art Basel, as well as Tribeca Enterprises, the operator of the Tribeca Film Festival.
Penske Media, the owner of The Hollywood Reporter, also has a stake in Vox Media as part of a 2023 deal announced by Bankoff and PMC owner Jay Penske.
Gibson Dunn advised Lupa Systems. LionTree served as financial advisor to Vox Media.
