BuzzFeed sells Complex Networks for less than half of what it paid and slashes 16% of staff

BuzzFeed on Wednesday sold Complex Networks to NTWRK, an e-commerce company specializing in collectible items rooted in street culture, in a deal that further shrinks the struggling Jonah Peretti-led digital media empire that was once synonymous with virality and the social media age.

BuzzFeed on Wednesday sold Complex Networks to NTWRK, an e-commerce company specializing in collectible items rooted in street culture, in a deal that further shrinks the struggling Jonah Peretti-led digital media empire that was once synonymous with virality and the social media age. The $108.6 million sale of Complex is less than half of the $300 million BuzzFeed paid for the brand in 2021 and came as the company announced it would lay off 16% of its staff ahead of a “planned strategic restructuring” next week to “enhance the company’s profitability” and “reduce centralized costs.” “The sale of Complex represents an important strategic step for BuzzFeed, Inc. as we adapt our business to be more profitable, more nimble, and more innovative,” said Peretti, the chief executive of BuzzFeed. “This is also an opportunity to unlock greater value for the Complex brand by combining it with NTWRK’s expansive, commerce-driven business.” The uniting of NTWRK and Complex is, indeed, something of a natural marriage. NTWRK serves as a marketplace for many of the items that Complex covers, such as sneakers. Combined, NTWRK said it hopes to “create the definitive cultural commerce, content, and experiential platform.” While NTWRK’s acquisition of Complex unites two similar companies that could complement each other from a business standpoint, BuzzFeed’s willingness to part ways with Complex reflects a retreat for the once high-flying digital publisher that sought to redefine the internet. Digital publishers have struggled in recent years as they navigate brutal industry headwinds, a soft advertising market, plummeting social media referral traffic, and the looming threat of artificial intelligence.