The last time a Murdoch made news in the American media business, it generally involved expanding an empire. This time, it involves a younger Murdoch — the one who left — circling a company that is itself in the process of contracting.
James Murdoch, who departed the family trust in 2020 with approximately $1.1 billion and a reputation for politics rather different from those of his father and brother, has entered the bidding for pieces of Vox Media, according to reports this week. He joins Versant Media in pursuing what Vox has decided are its most valuable properties: New York Magazine and its podcast network.
The competition is, one imagines, not unwelcome to Vox Media's leadership. As the recent Warner Bros. Discovery auction demonstrated, even modest competition tends to improve the arithmetic. According to The Times of London, Vox Media is favoring Mr. Murdoch's bid, which involves more cash than Versant's offer. Whether this note ends the contest or merely invites a counteroffer remains to be seen.
(It is worth pausing to note that Vox Media is selling what it has already decided matters most. The remaining portfolio — Eater, The Verge, The Dodo, and others — will continue under a company that has, by its own admission, concluded that podcasting is the future. This is the kind of strategic clarity that tends to accelerate further sales.)
There is also the matter of who actually receives the proceeds. Penske Media invested $100 million in Vox Media in 2023, and if the deal included standard preferred equity terms, the first cash from any sale could flow directly to Penske rather than to Vox itself. A company divesting its best brands while retaining little cash would find itself in a familiar position: selling the rest of the portfolio piece by piece, much as G/O Media, Recurrent Ventures, and Condé Nast have done in recent years.
Capital One has reportedly examined Eater. Other bidders are circling. Vox Media does not need to sell anything immediately — but once the flagship properties depart, that calculus may shift with some speed.
Original story published in adweek.com: "Vox Media Welcomes a Bidding War"