[ad_1]
Vivek Ramaswamy proposed three right-leaning board members in a meeting with BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti — and revealed The company reportedly took a bigger stake in the troubled media company
Ramaswamy, a biotech tycoon who ran for the Republican nomination before dropping out and endorsing former President Donald Trump, held a Zoom meeting with Peretti last Thursday. Axios reported Monday.
The meeting included two individuals Ramaswamy wanted to join the company’s board — Chris Balfe, a partner at digital marketing firm Red Seat Ventures, and podcaster Patrick Bet-David.
Ramaswamy also wanted a third person to join the board, OutKick founder Clay Travis, who was not present at the meeting but was briefed on its details, Axios reported.
The current board has five members. Ramaswamy wants to expand the board to eight directors.
The news website said the meeting was held in a friendly atmosphere and both sides agreed to hold face-to-face talks in late summer or early fall this year.
Ramaswamy also disclosed on Monday that he had increased his stake in BuzzFeed to 8.9%, up from the 7.7% reported last month.
Ramaswamy told Axios the meeting was “productive.”
A BuzzFeed representative told the site: “We appreciate Vivek Ramaswamy’s suggestions, which we will present to management following a formal process of which he is undoubtedly aware.”
The Washington Post has sought comment from Ramaswamy, BuzzFeed, OutKick and Red Seat Ventures.
BuzzFeed Stock Shutting down once-popular news site As of around 2 p.m. ET on Monday, the company’s stock had surged more than 16%. It is currently trading at around $2.48 per share.
When news of Ramaswamy’s initial 7.7% stake broke, the stock price soared to over $3 per share before falling back to around $2.
Peretti requested a meeting with Ramaswamy after he wrote a letter last month asking BuzzFeed to attract a more conservative audience.
Ramaswamy Urging companies to embrace “greater diversity of thought.” He mentioned potential new hires for BuzzFeed, including right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson, centrist comedian Bill Maher, former basketball star Charles Barkley and New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
In 2017, BuzzFeed published the controversial “Steele Dossier,” which contained unsubstantiated allegations about former President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, further fueling the public’s “distrust of the media.”
“Openly acknowledge past journalistic failures, differentiate yourself from competitors, and redefine BuzzFeed’s brand around the pursuit of truth,” Ramaswamy wrote in the letter.
Peretti, who has an effective veto over any proposed changes to the company’s board, responded by saying Ramaswamy had a “fundamental misunderstanding” of BuzzFeed’s business operations, adding that BuzzFeed would “absolutely not apologize for our Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism.”
Earlier this year, BuzzFeed reported a first-quarter loss of $35.7 million, or 72 cents per share, on revenue of $44.8 million.
Advertising revenue fell 22% and content revenue fell 19%, and the company expects the revenue situation to deteriorate.
OutKick is a sports and political news and commentary website that is a subsidiary of Fox Corporation, which in turn is a sister company of News Corporation, the parent company of The Washington Post.
[ad_2]
Source link
