Atlanta, the U.S-based leading communications, media and automotive service company Cox Enterprises, announced the acquisition of Axios Inc. The conglomerate company reported it on August 8, 2022. The deal values Axios Inc at USD 525 million. It is expected to close this month.
As a part of the acquisition, Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz will continue to hold substantial stakes in the company. Further, they will lead editorial and day-to-day newsroom and business decisions.
Purpose of acquisition by Cox Enterprises
The acquisition move aligns with Cox Enterprises’s strategy to diversify its business. The company intends to scale and expand Axios into more cities while covering more national topics and focusing on more premium niches for professionals. The deal also includes an additional investment of USD 25 million in Axios’ media arm. The investment aims to help the company expand across its local, national and subscription news products.
However, the current media companies of Cox Enterprises – Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dayton Daily News and other Ohio newspapers, have no bearing on the deal. The subsidiaries will continue to operate independently.
As per the deal, The Axios communications software business, i.e., Axios HQ, will become an independent company majority-owned by the founders. Whereas Cox will act as the sole minority investor. The board of Axios HQ has plans to have Jim VandeHei as chairman and Roy Schwartz as its CEO.
What the Cox enterprises official has to say
Alex Taylor, who has plans to onboard Axios, and currently holds the position of chairman and CEO of Cox Enterprises, said, “With so much happening in the world, Axios plays a critical role in delivering balanced, trusted news that people need. A big part of this investment is to expand the number of local markets we serve. Local watchdog journalism is so important to the health of any community, and no one is more focused on building that out nationally than Axios.Our company started in the media business, and we have always had a passion for journalism. Bringing a forward-thinking organization like Axios into Cox Enterprises is exciting for us on many levels, and we look forward to helping them continue to scale and grow.”
What Axios has to say
Axios CEO Jim VandeHei, said, “We have found our kindred spirit for creating a great, trusted, consequential media company that can outlast us all. Our shared ambitions should be clear: to spread clinical, nonpartisan, trusted journalism to as many cities and as many topics as fast as possible. This is great for Axios, for our shareholders and for American journalism. It allows us to think and operate generationally, with a like-minded partner — and build something great and durable that lives long after we are gone.”
About Axios
Axios was launched in January 2017 by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz. It caters for a digital media company that delivers trustworthy breaking news and invaluable insights. It is renowned for bulletin-style reporting of politics, business and technology news. Axios Local currently operates in 24 cities. It has plans to expand its coverage to 30 U.S. cities by the end of this year.
For more extensive analysis and Market Intelligence reports, feel free to approach us.
We try our best to fact-check and bring well-researched as well as non-plagiarized content to you. Please let us know
if there are any discrepancies in any of our published stories,
-how we can improve,
-what stories you would like us to cover
–what information you are looking for, in the comments section below or through our contact form! We look forward to your feedback, and thank you for stopping by!
Next Article
