Two of the largest digital media companies, Buzzfeed News and Verizon Media-owned HuffPost, today said they’ve agreed to join forces.

Buzzfeed said as part of a stock deal it will acquire HuffPost, although the two entities will stay as they are in terms of branding. BuzzFeed’s founder, Jonah Peretti (pictured), who co-founded the Huffington Post, will become the editor-in-chief.

“From powering new consumer shopping experiences, to content syndication, to innovative ad products, the partnership will unlock new revenue opportunities for both media companies,” Buzzfeed said in an article on its own website. “The addition of HuffPost — which BuzzFeed will acquire — brings BuzzFeed a universally known brand with significant scale, and an audience complementary to its own.”

Peretti said the acquisition happened because he believes in the future of Huff Post and its potential to “define the media landscape for years to come.” He added that BuzzFeed and HuffPost together will have more users than ever, and consumers will spend more time on both platforms than any of their peers’ platforms.

Guru Gowrappan, chief executive of Verizon Media, said his company has created a “powerhouse ecosystem” over the last couple of years and this new partnership is in line with its growth. Content will be syndicated across both platforms, said Buzzfeed, allowing for an “innovation group to explore monetization opportunities, and leverage emerging ad formats, including extended reality (XR) and AR applications.”

Although companies such as BuzzFeed and HuffPost became the mammoths of online media, they have struggled so far to make a profit. Advertisers have tended to look to Facebook Inc. and Google LLC to spend their money. The COVID-19 pandemic has reportedly been terrible for digital platforms in terms of revenue, so what looks like winning hasn’t actually been winning. It seems this new partnership is a way to secure success.

It’s reported that Verizon Media has for a while now been trying to sell HuffPost, a product that hasn’t really created shockwaves since it was bought by Verizon Media. It’s thought after the acquisition that Buzzfeed’s monthly reach will be boosted 29%.

“We quickly realized BuzzFeed’s strategy would complement HuffPost’s roadmap, injecting it with new energy and growing the brand into the future,” said Gowrappan. “We are deeply invested in the continued success of HuffPost and I couldn’t think of a better partner to take HuffPost to the next level.”

Photo: nrkbeta/Flickr