Red Ventures

Red Ventures is an American media company and is the owner of Lonely Planet, CNET, ZDNet, TV Guide, Metacritic, GameSpot, and Chowhound since October 30, 2020; as well as Healthline Media since 2019 and Bankrate since 2017.[1]

Red Ventures
TypePrivate
Industry
Founded2000 (2000)
HeadquartersIndian Land, South Carolina
Key people
Ric Elias (CEO)
ServicesMarketing, advertising
Divisions
Subsidiaries
Websiteredventures.com

Red Ventures focuses on what it calls "integrated marketplaces", namely sites that dispense news, advice, and reviews.[2]

Red Ventures’ corporate headquarters is located in Indian Land, South Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina.[3]

History

Red Ventures was founded on September 29, 1999,[4] in Fort Mill, South Carolina, and before its 2020 acquisitions, has grown into an international presence with more than 100 brands, 3,000 employees, and operations in the United Kingdom and Brazil.[5]

In 2015, the company got a $250 million investment from Silver Lake.[6] That same year, it doubled the size of its headquarters[7] and bought postal services company Imagitas from Pitney Bowes.[8]

Red Ventures acquired Bankrate Inc. for $1.24 billion in cash in a deal announced July 3, 2017. [9][10]

On September 14, 2020, Red Ventures agreed to purchase the CNET Media Group from ViacomCBS for $500 million.[11] On December 1, 2020, Red Ventures bought Lonely Planet from Tennessee-based NC2 Media.[12]

Timeline
  • 1999: Red F, the precursor to Red Ventures, was founded. [13]
  • 2003: Red Ventures is launched, beginning with DIRECTV (DirectstarTV brand).[14]
  • 2008: Red Ventures acquires Modern Consumer[15]
  • 2010: General Atlantic announces investment in Red Ventures, and Managing Director Anton Levy joins the board of directors.[16][17][18]
  • 2012: Red Ventures acquires www.homeinsurance.com and with it a satellite office in Wilmington, NC.[19]
  • 2015: Silver Lake announces $250M strategic investment in Red Ventures.[20]
  • 2015: May - Red Ventures acquires Imagitas (now MyMove) from Pitney Bowes for $310M.[21]
  • 2016: Red Ventures acquires Soda.com[21]
  • 2017: Red Ventures acquires Choose Energy[21]
  • 2017: Red Ventures acquires Allconnect[21]
  • 2017: Red Ventures acquires Bankrate, Inc. (including The Points Guy)[22]
  • 2019: Red Ventures acquires HigherEducation.com[23]
  • 2019: Red Ventures acquires Healthline[24]
  • 2020: Acquisition of CNET Media Group from ViacomCBS for $500 million. [25]
  • 2020: Acquisition of Lonely Planet from NC2 Media for an undisclosed amount. [26] [27]

References
  1. Hudson, Caroline. "Red Ventures adding jobs as it integrates ViacomCBS' CNET Media Group". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  2. Goldberg, Steve (July 2019). "Why This $2 Billion Business Swears By the 'Pencil Rule'". Inc. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  3. "Red Ventures CEO: We're going to keep growing". charlotteobserver. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  4. "Red Ventures LLC". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  5. Sakoui, Anousha (September 14, 2020). "ViacomCBS sells CNET Media for less than half what CBS paid in 2008". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  6. De La Merced, Michael (January 7, 2015). "Silver Lake Makes Big Bet on Red Ventures, a Digital Marketing Company". The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  7. Portillo, Ely (November 4, 2015). "Red Ventures breaks ground on project to double size of its headquarters". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  8. Elkins, Ken (May 28, 2015). "Red Ventures buying company with important postal contract". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  9. Stratton, Ali (July 3, 2017). "Personal Finance Website Bankrate to be Acquired by Marketing Firm Red Ventures". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  10. Bond, Shannon; Samson, Adam (July 3, 2020). "Bankrate website to be bought by Red Ventures for $1.24bn". Financial Times. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  11. Mullin, Benjamin. "ViacomCBS to Sell CNET to Red Ventures for $500 Million". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  12. Muccigrosso, Catherine (December 1, 2020). "Red Ventures gobbles up another familiar brand name. This time it's travel related". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  13. "Staying in Red brings new life", Charlotte Business Journal, November 2, 2007
  14. Leadership: Ric Elias, Red Ventures Website, retrieved July 30, 2008.
  15. “Red Ventures Acquires Lead Generation Firm Modern Consumer”, Direct Magazine, June 23, 2008
  16. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/red-ventures-announces-growth-capital-investment-by-general-atlantic-100520839.html
  17. "General Atlantic Team - Anton J. Levy". General Atlantic website. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  18. "Press Release". General Atlantic. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  19. http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2012/04/03/red-ventures-buys-homeinsurancecom.html
  20. Merced, Michael J. de la. "Silver Lake Makes Big Bet on Red Ventures, a Digital Marketing Company". DealBook. Retrieved 2017-03-06.
  21. "We Are Red Ventures". www.redventures.com. Retrieved 2017-03-06.
  22. "Red Ventures Announces Closing of Acquisition of Bankrate, Inc". www.redventures.com. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  23. "Red Ventures Acquires HigherEducation.com". www.redventures.com. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
  24. "Red Ventures Acquires Healthline Media". www.redventures.com. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  25. Spangler, Todd. "ViacomCBS Reaches Deal to Sell CNET for $500 Million to Marketing Firm Red Ventures". Variety. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  26. "Red Ventures Acquires Lonely Planet". Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  27. Burke-Kennedy, Eoin. "Lonely Planet sold to US digital marketing group for undisclosed sum". Irish Times. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
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