NBCUniversal is set to invest $250 million in the popular website Buzzfeed, a deal that would value the company at $1.5 billion, according to a report Thursday in Re/code.
Buzzfeed was most recently valued at $850 million, after it raised $50 million last summer from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Re/Code cautions that the deal is not yet final, and that “As in all dealmaking, these negotiations could fall apart,” but that the deal is close to final.
According to the report, NBCUniversal’s decision to invest in the website is part of its strategy “to bet on digital outlets he thinks can tap into millennial audiences, who are tuning out of NBCU’s TV networks and most others.”