Guardian News Sells paidContent to GigaOm

GigaOM has acquired paidContent from Guardian News & Media Ltd. Financial terms weren’t announced. GigaOm said it bought all the assets of ContentNext Media, including paidContent.org, mocoNews.net, contentSutra.com and paidContent:UK. It will retain editorial and business staff, according to the statement.

PRESS RELEASE

GigaOM, a leading business and technology media company, announced today that it has acquired paidContent from Guardian News & Media Limited. The company has acquired all the assets of ContentNext Media, including paidContent.org, mocoNews.net, contentSutra.com and paidContent:UK, and will retain its editorial and business staff.
“With our shared commitment to journalistic ethics, GigaOM and paidContent are a natural fit,” said Paul Walborsky, CEO of GigaOM. “paidContent is the leading voice covering the evolution of media, an area that is very important to us. Integrating our teams will enrich our editorial coverage and expand our footprint immediately in two markets that are critical to our growth – New York City and the UK.”
paidContent is the defacto voice in the business of media – a business being transformed by technology and new methods of consuming information. Together, paidContent and GigaOM will cover this fast-changing industry even more closely and with more resources.
“We’re very excited about the opportunity to be part of GigaOM and to join forces with their team,” said Ernie Sander, executive editor of ContentNext Media. “Together, we’ve got a potent blend of distinguished content on the sites, smart events, and deep-dive research products. I think the combination of GigaOM and paidContent will be unstoppable.”
Like GigaOM, paidContent produces industry-leading events that attract some of the most powerful names in media, information, business and technology. GigaOM readers can expect to see more coverage of social and digital media at events, on GigaOM.com and in GigaOM Pro research reports.
Staci D. Kramer, editor and EVP of ContentNext Media, said: “I’m excited about being part of the outstanding GigaOM team and especially pleased to be making the journey with so many people from ContentNext. I look forward to working alongside Om Malik, whom I’ve long respected, Paul Walborksy, and the combined staffs — and applying the best of paidContent to GigaOM’s expansion.”
Guardian News & Media will take a minority share in GigaOM, joining existing investors such as Reed Elsevier Ventures, Alloy Ventures and True Ventures.  Other terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
Andrew Miller, CEO of Guardian Media Group (parent company of Guardian News & Media), said: “paidContent has a fantastic presence in the tech/media space and the match with GigaOM – itself a really smart and pioneering company – is a good one. We are delighted to become shareholders in GigaOM as part of the deal.”
With staff already in Europe and New York City, making a larger investment in both regions will provide GigaOM with deeper roots in growing technology markets and bolster its position as the leading independent voice of the technology industry.
About GigaOM
Founded in 2006, GigaOM has grown into the leading provider of online media, events and research for global technology innovators. The company is one of the most credible and insightful voices at the intersection of business and technology, with an online audience of more than 4.5 million monthly unique visitors; industry-leading events; and a pioneering market research service and digital community, GigaOM Pro, which provides research on emerging technology markets from over 110 independent analysts.
About paidContent
paidContent, the flagship brand of ContentNext Media, provides global coverage of the economics of digital content and supports various events and conferences serving decision-makers within the media, entertainment, publishing, advertising, marketing, and technology sectors. paidContent and the other ContentNext brands – mocoNews, contentSutra and paidContent:UK – are known for breaking stories, offering in-depth analysis and maintaining a high level of journalistic integrity. As of January 31, 2012, the company served approximately 726,000 unique monthly visitors, corresponding to 1.54 million page views to its sites, and had hosted 17 paid events since the beginning of 2008, addressing the digital content, entertainment, advertising and mobile markets.
About Guardian News & Media
Guardian News & Media (GNM) publishes guardian.co.uk, one of the world’s leading news websites, guardiannews.com, and the Guardian and Observer newspapers. GNM is the core business of Guardian Media Group (GMG), whose sole shareholder is The Scott Trust. The core purpose of The Scott Trust is to secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity. Profits generated by GMG are reinvested to sustain journalism that is free from commercial or political interference. No individual can benefit financially from being a shareholder in The Scott Trust, making it a unique form of media ownership.