Prime Highlights
- Puck is in advanced talks with RedBird Capital for an investment valuing the company at around $250 million.
- RedBird will become Puck’s leading investor as part of a strategic recapitalization to accelerate growth.
Key Facts
- Puck, founded in 2021, is a journalist-led newsletter startup covering media, finance, entertainment, fashion and politics.
- Puck has around 50,000 paying subscribers, while its acquisition Air Mail adds about 50,000 more.
Background
Newsletter startup Puck is in advanced talks for an investment from RedBird Capital Partners, a deal that will help fund the company’s growth, Puck confirmed in a statement.
The deal will value Puck at around $250 million and will involve the company’s existing institutional investors selling their stakes to RedBird, giving RedBird a significant position in the platform, people familiar with the matter said.
A Puck spokesperson said the company was in advanced discussions about a strategic recapitalization to accelerate growth that would make RedBird its leading investor. The spokesperson added that Puck’s journalist-centric model, focus on premium content, direct audience relationships and editorial independence remain central to its business and will not change.
Founded in 2021, Puck offers an insider’s perspective from journalists with established reputations across media, finance, entertainment, fashion and politics. RedBird first invested in Puck after the company acquired Air Mail, a digital magazine focused on luxury and travel, last year.
Puck gives its reporters equity stakes and encourages them to build audiences in a manner similar to social media creators. The founders and staff will remain shareholders, and the company will keep its editorial independence, one source said.
The company was co-founded by former New York Times and Condé Nast journalist Jon Kelly, who leads its editorial operations. Puck has around 50,000 paying subscribers, while Air Mail brings in about 50,000 more, according to sources. Puck has previously raised around $20 million in venture funding from investors including the growth arm of TPG, Standard Investments and J Rothschild Capital Management.
RedBird is also a major backer of David Ellison’s Paramount-Skydance bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal being challenged by a dozen states. Its media portfolio includes Artists Equity, Fulwell Entertainment, All3Media-Banijay and EverPass Media.
