British media group The Independent to acquire BuzzFeed’s UK operations

British newspaper group The Independent is acquiring US-based online media BuzzFeed's operations in the UK and Ireland in a multi-year licensing deal, the companies announced on Thursday.

Financial terms of the deal are yet to be disclosed.

BuzzFeed had, last year, signed a similar deal with Australian online advertising and media company Val Morgan Digital in Australia and New Zealand.

The Independent will absorb around 30 employees of BuzzFeed as part of the deal, according to reports.

The deal comes at a time when media groups, both print and online, are grappling with declining revenue. 

BuzzFeed is reported to have registered a 26 per cent decline in its fourth-quarter (October-December 2023) revenue at $75.7 million.

Major media outlets like the Los Angeles Times and the Business Insider are resorting to cost cuts, including through staff reductions to stay afloat.

The Independent, on the other hand, is looking at business consolidation as a means to survive in an uncertain business environment. 

Established in 1986 as a broadsheet newspaper, it was later changed to tabloid format in 2003 and, subsequently shifted to online mode on 26 March 2015.

The newspaper also saw a change3 of ownership from Tony O'Reilly's Irish Independent News & Media to Russian oligarch and former KGB Officer Alexander Lebedev, who in turn sold a 30 per cent stake to Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel in 2017.