Online ad network VideoEgg has bought blogging network Six Apart for an undisclosed sum, forming a new media firm SAY Media.
Going live this week, Say Media will specialise in creating “conversational and interactive.” advertising campaigns, with the combined company reaching 345 million global unique visitors.
Launched in 2005, VideoEgg has gone through several business models and has so far generated $50 million this year.
Six Apart, founded in 2001, owns LiveJournal, designed MovableType blogware and the TypePad blog hosting service. Its blogging pla tform Vox is set to shut down at the end of September.
VideoEgg President Troy Young said his company has been growing by 100% every year and had 230 employees before the acquisition; after the acquisition it will count more than 300.
He said he and his colleagues had been looking at companies for more than a year and that buying Six Apart made a lot of sense.
“It gives us access to lots of influential voices,” Mr. Young said. “[It gives access to] lots of reach and it gives us access to a content platform that we can evolve into a media platform.” The platform will continue to make money through the ad network.
The Say Media website will go live Wednesday with a video from Mr. Young, Six Apart Co-Founder Mena Trott and VideoEgg CEO Matt Sanchez discussing the joint venture and explaining their vision of a modern media company.
Six Apart CEO Chris Alden will step down and Mr. Sanchez will run the new company as CEO.
“A modern media company has a strong technology, an ability to deliver advertising to any device — across display and mobile — and a very strong competency in managing media rights. That includes working with independent creators and sites to take that attention and sell it to advertisers,” said Mr. Young in a phone interview.
Mena Trott, Six Apart co-founder and SAY Media board member, said: “SAY Media continues Six Apart’s mission to make passionate creators successful. Whether on TypePad or another platform, developing a game or an application, the company will empower people to create great content and make money doing it. This acquisition marks a new beginning as we launch a modern media company centred on the creators, the content, and the audiences that are redefining media.”
