The new group will be managed by the Independent, with staff from BuzzFeed UK, HuffPost and Tasty UK joining the online news publication
The company behind the Independent is set to take over BuzzFeed and HuffPost in the UK, creating a “digital supergroup.”
Independent Digital News and Media announced on Thursday that it had reached an agreement with US-based BuzzFeed Inc. The new group will be managed by the Independent, with staff from BuzzFeed UK, HuffPost and Tasty UK joining the online news publication.
Despite the takeover, BuzzFeed and the other platforms will continue to operate as separate websites. “The Independent’s growth and outstanding success story over the last decade has been built on bold moves, and our partnership with BuzzFeed represents a new leap forward for our business,” said Independent chief executive Christian Broughton.
The Independent, which started printing in 1986, was once a challenger to traditional media, but by 2016, it had printed its last ever paper copy. BuzzFeed, which started in the US 10 years ago, has always been an online-only and is popular that young readers.
Last year, they said they would stop their own news and mix it with the Huffington Post news, which they bought in 2020. Richard Alan Reid from BuzzFeed said: “The synergies between our companies have been clear from day one, and we know this partnership will unlock new business, drive growth and ultimately take both companies’ brands to the next level in the UK and Ireland.”
