Comcast recently held acquisition talks with digital publisher Vox Media, Coins2Day has learned. The potential deal fizzled out within the last month.
One trouble spot? Comcast’s (CMCSA) proposed $45.2 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable (TWC). For the past year, Comcast has been wary of acquisitions while the Department of Justice scrutinized its mega-buyout for antitrust concerns, putting the tech giant on the M&A sidelines.
Now, however, it appears that Comcast is planning to withdraw its Time Warner Cable bid, making it well-positioned to go on an acquisition spree for smaller companies.
Washington, D.C.-based Vox has raised over $100 million in venture capital funding, including from Comcast Ventures. Other investors include Accel Partners, Allen & Company, General Atlantic, Khosla Ventures and Ted Leonsis. Its most recent round was a $46.5 million raise last fall at a reported valuation of $380 million.
The company was founded in 2003 as SportsBlogs, and later renamed itself after expanding into several other areas of editorial focus. Today, Vox has seven editorial brands . In general, Vox is known for pursuing a well-educated, wealthy “premium” audience rather than focusing on high-volume pageviews.
Comcast did not respond to a request for comment. Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff did not respond to a request for comment.