Saturday, 20 de April de 2024 ISSN 1519-7670 - Ano 24 - nº 1284

Investidores otimistas com o negócio da notícia

A venda do jornal Financial Times ao grupo japonês Nikkei e a provável transferência do controle da revista The Economist para financistas europeus sinaliza uma retomada dos investimentos em veículos de comunicação em consequência da crescente demanda por informação qualificada. É o que sugere o artigo News business has the wind in its sails ( O negócio da notícia vai de vento em popa) . Recomendação de Carlos Eduardo Lins da Silva. Seguem os parágrafos iniciais do artigo publicado pelo Financial Times.

News business has the wind in its sails

By Matthew Garrahan, Global Media Editor

Potential sale of The Economist highlights that quality content still has value for investors

A fter a decade it would rather forget, the news industry suddenly has wind in its sails. From Nikkei’s surprise £844m capture of the FT Group last week to the rising valuations of digital services, investors have rediscovered their appetite for news.

They have backed a range of brands. Vox Media, which operates sites such as Eater, Curbed and Recode, secured $46.5m of financing last year from General Atlantic, the New York private equity firm, in a deal that valued it at $380m.

BuzzFeed, the news platform known for its lists, attracted a $50m investment from Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley private equity firm, which valued it at $850m.

Some older brands are attracting valuations as lofty as their digital counterparts. Pearson, the education group that sold the FT to Nikkei, owns 50 per cent of The Economist Group and is in talks to sell its stake in a deal that could value the title at £800m.

Two of the world’s richest men have also backed the sector. Mexico’s Carlos Slim doubled his stake in the New York Times this year to almost 17 per cent after exercising warrants he was issued in 2009 when he loaned the company $250m. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, is two years into his ownership of theWashington Post, having bought it for $250m.

Para ler o artigo integral em inglês acesse http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/96861494-346a-11e5-bdbb-35e55cbae175.html#axzz3hCxtBvXf   (para assinantes)