Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has bought up a large stake in the leftist media company BuzzFeed, according to financial filings.
Ramaswamy, a successful businessman who is among those believed to be on President Donald Trump’s shortlist for his 2024 running mate, purchased the activist stake between March 14 and May 21.
He acquired a 7.7% stake in the company consisting of 2.7 million shares at costs ranging from $1.47 to $2.51 per share, according to a May Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
In the filing, the anti-woke entrepreneur asserts that he feels the company’s shares are “undervalued and represent an attractive investment opportunity.”
He also vows to push for a “shift in the Company’s strategy.”
According to the filing, Ramaswamy says he “will seek to engage in a dialogue with the Issuer’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) and/or management about numerous operational and strategic opportunities to maximize shareholder value, including a shift in the Company’s strategy.”
According to the Associated Press, BuzzFeed has been laying off employees since late 2022.
As traffic on its website has sunk in recent years, the once-popular far-left media outlet has struggled with losses from digital advertising, causing revenue to plummet.
In early 2023, the company closed down its BuzzFeed News.
The company also recently reported a loss of $35.7 million in the first quarter of 2024 as advertising revenue plunged 22%, according to the AP.
“It’s an interesting bet,” an individual who is close to Ramaswamy told Mediaite.
“Vivek, the anti-woke warrior, buying a material stake in one of America’s most woke media entities would signal to this long-time investor that he intends to make it a free speech platform …
“If he turns it around financially, he would have serious street cred for another conservative political move.”
In January, Ramaswamy suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed President Trump as the 2024 Republican nominee.
He also recently visited Trump at the New York courthouse where he is currently on trial.
In a statement about the anti-Trump “hush money” trial, Ramaswamy said:
“The most remarkable part was the one thing you get from being in that courtroom is a sense of the depressing atmosphere, which matches the depressing nature of what’s happening in there.
“It’s sort of like a concrete poem for the decline of America, actually.
“You get like a third-world visual, atmospheric courtroom, open wires sticking out, temperature regulation nonexistent, stuffy air a thick scent.
“And in the same place is happening.
“It’s not just third-world atmospherics, but a third-world proceeding.”
Online news outlet The Messenger also shut down in January after less than a year of operations.
The outlet started out with $50 million in May 2023 but it was hemorrhaging tens of millions of dollars while only taking in about $3 million in revenue last year.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post planned to eliminate roughly 240 jobs as of December 2023 amid its financial struggles.
NPR has similarly been laying off workers since 2022.
https://slaynews.com/news/vivek-ramaswamy-buys-stake-leftist-buzzfeed-vows-shift-companys-strategy/
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