Vox Media is reportedly buying online media company Curbed.com L.L.C., and the two companies are already celebrating in style – over fried chicken and pork buns.
The New York Times broke word yesterday that the digital media company would acquire Curbed and its three web publications, which report on real estate, dining and retail, for a mix of stock and cash valued at $20 million to $30 million.
“Both Vox and Curbed value storytelling and as a result have attracted the otherwise hard to reach young, affluent, social consumers,” Jim Bankoff, Vox’s chief executive, told the Times. “We think this combined expanded platform will clearly attract premium advertisers.”
By 1 p.m. today Vox Media, Inc. had checked into it’s own offices on Foursquare, and shortly thereafter the founder of Curbed Network, Lockhart Steele, had joined the party.
“Team Curbed just MOMOFUKU BOMBED Vox HQ. Fried chicken, Bo ssam, pork buns for all!” the message from Vox Media, Inc. read.
The acquisition follows a Vox announcement last month that is had raised $40 million from Silicon Valley’s Accel Partners, this after it had reportedly already raised $35 million. Based in Washington, Vox already runs The Verge, Polygon and SBNation.
Curbed, which also runs Eater and Racked, started in New York but expanded to include neighborhood coverage in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Vox will have roughly 140 people in journalism and video positions after the merger, according to the Times, and Mr. Steele will now work out of Vox’s New York offices.
“When I think about what we’re going to be able to do that the editor’s at Curbed, Eater and Racked create every day and deploy it using Vox’s next generation technology platform, the possibilities are incredible,” Mr. Steele, founder of Curbed Network in a Vimeo video regarding the acquisition.
