Thanks Vivek! Comcast Sells Part Of BuzzFeed After Stock Rally From Politician’s Purchase

Shares of digital media company BuzzFeed Inc BZFD rallied recently after former 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy disclosed a 7.7% stake in the company.

One key investor in BuzzFeed saw the rally as a way to lower its stake.

What Happened: Ramaswamy revealed a stake in BuzzFeed and said he plans to “engage in a dialogue” with the company’s board of directors on ways to maximize shareholder value. The politician said this included “a shift in the company’s strategy.”

After BuzzFeed shares rallied, Comcast Corporation CMCSA-owned NBCUniversal decided to sell a portion of its stake.

NBCUniversal sold $10.15 million worth of shares the day after Ramaswamy’s stake was disclosed, as reported by Variety.

The media company sold 3.18 million shares of BuzzFeed on May 22, which represented 61% of its stake in the digital media company. After the most recent sale, NBCUniversal owns two million shares of BuzzFeed.  

After holding around a 15% stake in BuzzFeed, NBCUniversal now holds a smaller position than the newly announced holding of Ramaswamy.

NBCUniversal invested $400 million in BuzzFeed in 2015 and 2016.

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Why It’s Important: Based on the $400 million put into the company, Comcast could end up with a loss on its position in BuzzFeed. The recent sale could indicate a plan to exit the stake when shares are up.

The stake by Ramaswamy and his comments on a new direction could worry NBCUniversal about a potential shift and more political approach to content.

The company was valued at $1.5 billion when it announced a SPAC merger back in 2021. BuzzFeed has a market capitalization of $97 million as of Friday.

“We are always open to hearing ideas from our shareholders,” a BuzzFeed spokesperson told Variety.

BZFD Price Action: BuzzFeed shares were up 6.06% to $2.80 at market close Friday versus a 52-week trading range of $0.64 to $4.56. The stock is up 71% in the past month, but up only 5% in the past year.

Read Next: BuzzFeed Shares More Than Double Following $108.6M Complex Sale, Plans To Layoff 16% Staff

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