Scoop: Blackstone's IDG nears deal to sell Foundry to Regent
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Blackstone-backed IDG is nearing a deal to sell Foundry, its division that runs publications like PCWorld and Macworld, to private equity firm Regent, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The expected sale comes amid an uptick of ad tech, marketing tech, and digital content deals as companies seek to consolidate the fragmented market.
Zoom in: According to sources familiar with the matter, Foundry's sale to Regent is expected to be announced soon and would be set to close by the end of the first quarter. The sources wished to remain anonymous because the deal is not yet public.
- Terms of the agreement could not be determined.
- Los Angeles-based Regent's portfolio includes media and consumer companies.
- In 2016, it bought Sightline Media Group, a collection of military-related publications like Defense News and Federal Times from Tegna. In 2023, it acquired streaming network Cheddar from Altice USA.
- Blackstone and IDG declined to comment. Regent did not respond to a request for comment.
Catch up quick: Blackstone acquired IDG for $1.3 billion in 2021. That company had two subsidiaries: IDC, a data-driven research and intelligence business, and IDG Communications, a 60-year-old publisher. The latter rebranded to Foundry in 2022 as it invested more in marketing tech.
- Former Foundry president Kumaran Ramanathan told Axios in 2022 that the company's biggest source of revenue is its data and software unit, which includes demand generation.
The big picture: With the deprecation of internet-tracking cookies, companies have looked to new marketing tools and first-party data partnerships to better understand and reach potential customers.
- Foundry's pitch is it can offer intent data informed by its own portfolio of websites that serves B2B audiences, including IT managers with ComputerWorld, developers with InfoWorld and chief information officers with CIO.
What we're watching: Foundry pursued a series of acquisitions prior to and just after the Blackstone deal, including Triblio, KickFire, LeadSift and Selling Simplified.
