Former Republican presidential candidate and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has bought a minority stake in BuzzFeed, a digital publishing company that shut down its media operations last year.
The company’s shares soared on Wednesday.
Vivek Ramaswamy joins Trump in Manhattan court on Tuesday
Mr. Ramaswamy acquired a 7.7% stake in BuzzFeed, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Tuesday.
In the filing, Ramaswamy said he believes BuzzFeed’s shares are undervalued and wants to speak with the company’s board and management.
BuzzFeed has struggled to support revenue since going public in 2021. It began cutting staff in late 2022 due to a worsening digital advertising environment and announced early last year that it would shut down its Pulitzer Prize-winning digital media outlet BuzzFeed News.
Jonah Peretti, co-founder and CEO of the parent company, said in a memo to employees at the time that the cuts would be made across the news division, as well as business, content, technology and administrative functions.
Vivek Ramaswami speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC 2024) at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Ramaswami bought a 7.7% stake in BuzzFeed, the Pulitzer Prize-winning digital media company that restructured last year. The stock price soared more than 50% before the market opened on Wednesday, May 22. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Earlier this month, BuzzFeed reported a loss of $35.7 million, or 72 cents per share, on revenue of $44.8 million for the first quarter. Advertising revenue fell 22% and content revenue fell 19%, and the company is forecasting a worsening profit situation.
Ramaswamy ended his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in January, endorsing former President Donald Trump after coming in a distant fourth place in the Iowa primary.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The son of Indian immigrants, Mr. Ramaswamy charted and built a career while attending Harvard University and then Yale Law School, earning hundreds of millions of dollars at the intersection of hedge funds and pharmaceutical research before reaching the highest levels of politics. entered in.
Shares of New York City-based BuzzFeed Inc. rose 22 percent to about $3.05 early Wednesday.
