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Associated Press
04-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Redbrick Acquires Quartz from G/O Media To Drive Next Phase of Growth for Pioneering Digital Media Company
Redbrick, a company that builds, acquires, and supports innovative businesses, today announced the acquisition of pioneering digital media company Quartz and The Inventory, the consumer product media company, from G/O Media for an undisclosed amount. The addition of Quartz to Redbrick's portfolio of forward-looking tech and media properties brings renewed momentum to the trusted publisher and will serve as the foundation for expanding into next-generation media strategies. Amid the ongoing transformation of the media industry due to evolving consumer behaviors and emerging technologies such as AI, Redbrick sees a new opportunity to help shape the future of media. Redbrick's previous digital media investments include the launch of Digital Entrepreneur in 2024, a biweekly interactive magazine aimed to help entrepreneurs. 'As the media landscape continues to shift, the only way to survive and thrive is by embracing the advancements in innovation to connect and engage with audiences,' said Tobyn Sowden, CEO at Redbrick. 'Redbrick's portfolio will serve as the foundation for the future of media, enabling media companies like Quartz to develop direct relationships with audiences, deliver personalized experiences wherever people are watching, and create a more sustainable ecosystem with better advertising touchpoints.' Quartz marks Redbrick's fifth major acquisition. Last month, the company acquired Paved, a newsletter advertising platform connecting publishers and advertisers, which Redbrick will integrate with Quartz. This will enable Quartz to connect with Paved's premium marketplace of top advertisers like Uber, DoorDash, and Salesforce, and better monetize its newsletter subscription base of more than one million opt-in members. 'For over a decade, Quartz has covered the biggest news stories essential to the business leaders of today and tomorrow,' said Dan Hirschhorn, editor in chief, Quartz. 'The way we connect with audiences is evolving and today marks a new chapter for Quartz as we work with Redbrick to help shape the future of media as the landscape rapidly transforms.' Redbrick is a Certified B Corporation™, demonstrating its commitment to building an equitable and sustainable future. The Redbrick technology portfolio aims to give entrepreneurs, teams, and companies the competitive edge they need, and includes Animoto for video production, Delivra for email and SMS marketing, Duplex for syndicated news discovery, Leadpages for sales enablement, Paved for newsletter advertising, and the Shift 'power browser.' Oaklins worked with both Redbrick and G/O Media throughout the acquisition. About Redbrick Redbrick builds, acquires, and operates innovative companies, providing the strategic guidance and shared resources that enable them to scale. With expertise in finance, people and culture, and marketing, Redbrick fuels the success of its portfolio—Animoto, Delivra, Duplex, Leadpages, Paved, and Shift—while supporting long-term sustainability. Headquartered in Victoria, BC, Redbrick is a Certified B Corporation and has been recognized as one of Canada's Top Small and Medium Employers for five consecutive years. About Quartz SOURCE: Redbrick Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 04/04/2025 03:28 PM/DISC: 04/04/2025 03:28 PM
Axios
04-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
Exclusive: Quartz sells again
G/O Media has sold business news brand Quartz and commerce site The Inventory to Canadian software firm Redbrick, Axios has learned. Why it matters: This deal marks the fourth ownership change for Quartz over the past seven years. It also represents further erosion of G/O Media as it offloads nearly all of its assets. Zoom in: Redbrick is buying Quartz as part of an effort to scale publishing sites using tech from its other portfolio companies, a similar model to that used by Recurrent Ventures, The Arena Group and others. In 2024, Redbrick launched Digital Entrepreneur, a biweekly interactive magazine. Quartz will serve as Redbrick's "foundation for expanding into next-generation media strategies," the company said in a statement on Friday. Redbrick said it will integrate Paved, a newsletter advertising platform it acquired last month, with Quartz to better monetize Quartz's newsletter subscription base "of more than one million opt-in members." Financial terms of the deal, which marks Redbrick's fifth major acquisition, were not disclosed. What they're saying:"As the media landscape continues to shift, the only way to survive and thrive is by embracing the advancements in innovation to connect and engage with audiences," Redbrick CEO Tobyn Sowden said in a statement. "The way we connect with audiences is evolving and today marks a new chapter for Quartz as we work with Redbrick to help shape the future of media as the landscape rapidly transforms," Quartz editor in chief Dan Hirschhorn said. Zoom out: Like many digital media startups from the 2010s, Quartz's business has suffered from inconsistent ownership. Quartz launched in 2012 as a digital-only news site targeting global business leaders. Atlantic Media sold Quartz in 2018 to Japanese business data and news firm Uzabase, which paid between $75 million and $110 million for the asset. Quartz's management bought the company back in 2020, with plans to reinvest in the outlet. In 2022, they sold Quartz to G/O Media, owned by private equity firm Great Hill Partners and formerly known as Gizmodo Media Group, for less than $10 million. The big picture: The sale of Quartz and The Inventory marks a near completion of the unraveling of G/O Media's portfolio. A series of sales kicked off in 2023 with Ziff Davis buying Lifehacker and Paste Media acquiring Jezebel and Splinter. In 2024, Paste Media also bought The A.V. Club. Other 2024 sales included Static Media acquiring The Takeout and Jalopnik, Lineup Publishing buying Deadspin and Keleops acquiring Gizmodo. Global Tetrahedron, a new firm backed by former Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson, acquired The Onion.
