How much did Axios sell for? All about US-based online news publication's sale to Cox Enterprises

Cox Enterprises has recently acquired Axios Media for $525 million dollars. The media and advertising firm captured a minority stake in Axios in November 2021. However, according to The New York Times, the new deal price of $525 million is about five times the revenue that Axios was aiming for in 2022.

The digital news and media company was co-founded by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz in 2017. The media company quickly became one of the most successful businesses due to its strategy when it came to presenting news and other stories. The company aimed to present bulletin-style scoops on business, technology, and politics.

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Everything we know about Cox Enterprises acquiring Axios Media

Since the media company agreed to sell itself to Cox Enterprises, the deal is reportedly set to close this month. Moreover, the brand new deal of $525 million has been planned in a way to ensure that the company's original founders, namely, Mike Allen, Jim VandeHei, and Roy Schwartz, receive financial incentives from the business. According to The New York Times, each of the co-founders will remain as minor shareholders and take part in important business decisions and regular newsroom discussions.

Along with the three original co-founders, the board will be joined by Cox Enterprises' CEO Alex Taylor. While the digital news company was profitable for the last three years, it did not expected to earn much profit in 2022, because of investments in its communications software division, HQ. This arm of the company will function as a separate standalone sector headed by co-founder Roy Schwartz.

The new deal is planned to ensure good investment in covering local news as many commercial investors have reportedly stopped paying attention to local markets.

According to Cox Enterprises' chairman Alex Taylor, the main emphasis would be given to "the number of local markets" they catered to. He added:

"A big part of this investment is to expand the number of local markets we serve. Local watchdog journalism is so important to the health of any community, and no one is more focused on building that out nationally than Axios."

The deal also includes an additional $25 million in the company's media department to further expand into local, national, and subscription-wise new products.

While the local arm of the media outlet already functions in 24 cities in the United States of America, Cox is reportedly aiming to expand the same to 30 cities by the end of 2022.

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Axios' rise to power in the field of Journalism

Previously, the media company was able to scale up their business in no time due to their clever decision to hire subject matter experts who simplified some of the news stories to make them reader-friendly and audience oriented.

It also gained wide recognition due to its political news coverage, which included on-camera sitdowns with then-President Donald Trump and other White House officers. The business journalism segment saw immense growth due to the detailed newsletters from renowned journalists including Dan Primack and Sara Fischer.

The television partnership with MSNBC was also instrumental in making the media company known globally. Another striking deal to launch a television show in the name of the company also helped the business gain recognition.

Axios HQ also helped the company rise as it became instrumental in making communication easier for internal and external corporate departments.

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As of now, the media company has over 500 employees, out of which, 100 work at HQ and 75 for the local part. The company has been able to raise $55 million till the middle of 2022. However, the new takeover might mean an increase in their revenue due to the expansion of Axios HQ.