Meredith Agrees to Sell National Media Group to IAC’s Dotdash

Washington, DC – October 14, 2021 – Cooley advised Meredith Corporation, a multiplatform media and marketing company, on its agreement to sell its National Media Group to IAC’s Dotdash for $2.7 billion. Partners Kevin Mills and Aaron Binstock led the Cooley team advising Meredith.

The sale combines the power of Dotdash’s digital publishing model with Meredith’s trusted, iconic brand portfolio, loyal audience and scale. The combined company – to be called Dotdash Meredith and led by Dotdash CEO Neil Vogel – is expected to be one of the largest publishers in the US with leading brands across the highest-value commercial categories online, including home, health, food, finance, parenting and beauty.

“The combination of Meredith’s celebrated cross platform brands, creative content and first-party data with Dotdash’s digital first brands is a game-changer for the industry,” Tom Harty, chairman, president and CEO of Meredith, said in a news release. “Nowhere else will you find such a premium portfolio of media assets under one roof. We are thrilled to join forces to accelerate Meredith’s digital future.”

Meredith is a multiplatform media and marketing company that provides information and inspiration to women’s lives daily through its trusted brands, which include People, Better Homes & Gardens, Allrecipes, Southern Living and Real Simple. The company creates content and experiences focused on entertainment news, house and home, food, style, health, fitness, travel and luxury, and parenting – priority topics for its largely female audience.

Cooley previously advised Meredith on its purchase of Time in 2017 for $2.8 billion, its sale of several former Time assets, including Time, Fortune, Travel + Leisure, Sports Illustrated and Money, its $3.5 billion debt financing and numerous other corporate transactions. In a transaction announced in May 2021, Cooley advised Meredith on the sale of its TV broadcast group to Gray Television for $2.85 billion and the spinoff of its National Media Group. Combined with the sale to Gray, the sale of Meredith’s National Media Group to Dotdash represents the sale of the entire company to two buyers.

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