Puck, the subscription-focused newsletter platform founded in 2021, is in advanced talks to bring RedBird Capital Partners in as a leading investor at an approximate valuation of $250 million, the company confirmed.
The planned transaction would see existing institutional investors sell a portion of their holdings to RedBird, giving the private equity firm a meaningful stake in the business, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified.
In a statement provided to Reuters, a Puck spokesperson said: "Puck is in advanced discussions about a strategic recapitalization to accelerate growth that would make RedBird our leading investor," and added: "Puck’s journalist-centric model, commitment to premium I.P., direct audience relationships, and journalistic independence are at the core of its business model and that will not change.”
Founded in 2021, Puck positions itself as a publisher of insider journalism delivered by writers with established reputations across beats that include media, finance, entertainment, fashion and politics. The company has pursued an author-led model that shares equity with reporters and rewards them for building direct subscriber followings.
The company gained a higher profile among media investors after acquiring AirMail last year, a digital magazine focused on luxury and travel that was founded by former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. RedBird was already an investor in Puck at the time of that acquisition, and the new transaction would expand RedBird’s ownership through purchases from the startup’s institutional backers.
RedBird declined to comment on the prospective transaction.
Puck’s approach ties value to its individual writers. Co-founder and editorial lead Jon Kelly designed the platform so writers receive a share of subscription revenue, an arrangement that has helped reporters with strong followings attract paying readers. Journalists such as Matthew Belloni, who covers Hollywood, have drawn thousands of subscribers, making Puck’s commercial performance closely linked to the audience pull of particular authors.
Sources familiar with the company told Reuters that Puck currently has roughly 50,000 paying subscribers. The company has previously raised about $20 million in venture funding from investors that included the growth arm of TPG, Standard Investments and J Rothschild Capital Management.
People familiar with the proposed transaction said the deal being discussed would not include shares held by Puck’s founders or reporters, and that the company’s editorial independence would remain intact. Those terms were described by one source but are part of ongoing talks and have not been finalized publicly.
RedBird’s broader media footprint
RedBird is an active investor across the media and entertainment landscape. The firm is a principal backer of David Ellison’s bid for Paramount-Skydance to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery - a transaction that is currently facing legal challenges from a group of about a dozen states. Those challenges argue the proposed deal could adversely affect theatrical and television distributors and studios, increase costs for consumers and reduce competitiveness in wages for workers.
Other RedBird investments span Artists Equity, the studio created alongside actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon; Fulwell Entertainment, formed last year after the merger of Fulwell 73 and The SpringHill Company, the media platform launched by LeBron James and Maverick Carter; and EverPass Media, which holds commercial distribution rights for NFL Sunday Ticket in restaurants and bars. On Wednesday, DAZN said it had agreed to buy EverPass for an undisclosed price.
Earlier this year, Cardinale and RedBird were reported as leading contenders in a process for Telegraph Media Group before the newspaper was ultimately sold to German media group Axel Springer.
What this means for Puck
- Puck is negotiating a recapitalization that would inject growth capital and bring RedBird to a leading investor position at a roughly $250 million valuation.
- The transaction is expected to be structured around purchases from existing institutional investors rather than a sale of founder or reporter stakes, according to sources.
- Puck continues to emphasize a journalist-centric model that links compensation and equity to author-driven subscription revenue.