Guardian buys digital media news site paidContent

Guardian News & Media has bought ContentNext, the publisher behind digital media and technology news website paidContent.org.

The acquisition of ContentNext, which also publishes paidContent:UK and Indian news site contentSutra.com, marks a 'significant expansion' of GNM's US presence, a press statement said.

No price for the sale has been released, but an early report by the Wall Street Journal's AllThingsD column reported a figure 'north of $30 million' according to sources.

Under the terms of the deal ContentNext will be run as an independent business as part of the Guardian Professional group. Founder and editor Rafat Ali and CEO Nathan Richardson will remain at the helm.

"We have long been admirers of Rafat and the business he has built, which is an indispensable resource for so many senior people in our industry. So we are genuinely excited at the prospect of being able to help Rafat, Nathan and the team take ContentNext to the next level," said Tim Brooks, managing director of Guardian News & Media.

Writing on paidContent.org, Ali said the sale marked 'phase 2.0' of the company's development.

"We were planning another round of funding and were not out shopping the company but when Guardian approached us, all the pegs fit into the right holes: a company that will help us scale, add to our existing portfolio of products, and most importantly, help keep 'Our Essence of Being' intact," he said.

The possibility of a buy-out was mooted by the Guardian back in 2003, Ali added in the post.

“For our team, the biggest consideration was working with a media company known for its journalistic integrity, its long-term view of businesses—and its international outlook in editorial coverage as well as business.”

To cater for a US audience GNM has already launched Guardian America – an online-only offering – and later forged an advertising deal with Reuters for the US website.

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