In another big media deal, Red Ventures buys Lonely Planet
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Red Ventures headquarters (courtesy of Red ventures)
In another huge local media merger, Indian Land-based Red Ventures has acquired the travel brand Lonely Planet from NC2 Media.
The companies did not disclose terms of the deal. An estimate from Skift, which provides research and marketing about the travel industry, puts the deal in the $50 million range.
Lonely Planet, the world’s No. 1 travel guidebook brand, employs about 100 people at its various offices globally, including at its Tennessee headquarters, as well as in India, China, and Ireland. There were no layoffs at Lonely Planet as a result of this deal, according to Hallie Cornetta, executive vice president, people operations at Red Ventures.
Red Ventures, she says, plans to grow the Lonely Planet brand “significantly,” and this could mean adding new Lonely Planet jobs in the Charlotte area. Locally, Red Ventures employs about 2,000 people.
Why it matters: The pandemic crushed the travel industry. As travelers put their trips on hold because of government restrictions or fear, airlines have laid off or furloughed thousands of workers. Hotel construction projects have paused. Restaurants, bars, and cafes have closed.
But Red Ventures appears to be quite optimistic about the recovery of the travel industry. Company CEO Ric Elias said in a statement travel will “come back stronger than ever.”
Red Ventures already owns one big consumer name in travel: The Points Guy, a travel website. Adding Lonely Planet will help RV expand its travel services and offerings, the company says.
“RV will combine Lonely Planet’s existing premium content with the company’s proprietary data platform and channel expertise to create end-to-end experiences designed to help more travelers research, book and enjoy their trips,” Cornetta said in an email.
[Related Agenda story: Why it matters that Charlotte-based Red Ventures just bought $500 million worth of digital media brands]
Zoom out: The Lonely Planet deal is the latest big media acquisition for Red Ventures. It helps further position Red Ventures as a digital media hub.
- In October, the company bought CNET Media, which operates well-known brands like GameSpot, TVGuide.com, and Chowhound, for $500 million.
- Red Ventures already owns a handful of other consumer brands such as Bankrate and Healthline Media.
Lonely Planet is a prominent travel brand with an impressive social media following — 6.2 million followers on Twitter and 2.7 million Instagram.
“At Red Ventures we are bringing together the world’s most and trusted brands with a digital marketing platform and methodology that allows us to super-serve the millions of people that use our services every day,” Elias said in the statement.
Join us: This coverage is made possible and free to all (no paywall) with the help of Agenda Members. If you’d like to support more reporting like this, become an Agenda Member.